"I'm sorry." Ienzo shook his head. Aqua caught a rare sight of his other eye when his bangs shifted.

She sighed, accepting her Wayfinder back from his outstretched hand. She couldn't say she hadn't expected this. It was just one more in a long series of disappointments.

"It's alright. You and Even tried your best."

"That we did. I'm loath to give up on an experiment without seeing success, but I would not tie you to this world with such a fragile thread of hope."

She held the Wayfinder close, but its familiar presence was a small comfort. If only she had bangs like Ienzo's to hide the tears starting to prick the corners of her eyes.

"Yes, well… thank you for trying," she managed to mumble.

"It should have worked," he said to himself as he walked back to his workstation. "I wish I knew why…"

Aqua didn't care why. It was just one more hope crossed off of an already dwindling list. Questions like "why" would only torment her. Like wondering why her keyblade and glider were missing. Like wondering why they couldn't risk using dark corridors if that ended up being their only option.

Like wondering why she still bothered to cling to any hope at all.

Don't think like that, she told herself as she slunk away from Ienzo. The castle's dilapidated halls were familiar to her by now; she could find her way out on her own easily enough.

Dilan and Aeleus weren't guarding the door when she stepped out. Apparently they had better things to do than constantly watch a crumbling castle that no one really wanted to visit anyway. She hadn't seen the two often during her week in Radiant Garden.

She leaned against a short wall overlooking the town. Where before she had seen the hope of rebuilding a home, now she only picked out destruction and decay. The small sections of town that were being repaired were nothing compared to the vast swaths that had been completely razed by Heartless attacks.

The monsters weren't even gone. She had seen them skulking in the shadows; she'd even gone hunting them when dark thoughts plagued her mind and wouldn't let go. She preferred to fight them alone. If she was alone, then no one was there to see how sometimes, just sometimes, a dark violet energy would crackle around one of her spells.

Of course, she didn't actually fight the Heartless all alone. Drizzle stuck by her side like peanut butter on jelly. Aqua glanced behind her, suddenly realizing that the Inversed was missing—but as soon as she did, he came zipping out the front door. She smiled.

"Sorry for leaving you back there."

He didn't seem offended, if the way he snuggled up to her side and purred was any clue. She scratched his head behind his antennae. Even if he was silent, Drizzle was a good companion. Maybe because he was silent—Lea made sure their group rarely was. And Riku and Mickey were always checking on her, asking her questions, making sure she was alright… She was starting to understand how Terra might have felt. Dealing with a problem no one could really help, just wanting to be normal, feeling smothered by people who couldn't understand…

That's not even true. Riku understands. Lea does too, in a way. She was grateful for them both. So why did she keep running away from them? Why, after all this time, did she just want to be alone?

She shook her head. All those "whys," still trying to haunt her. There were better questions she should be asking.

"Where should we go next, huh?" she mused aloud. "Ienzo and Lea said the Organization used to operate in Castle Oblivion. You think we'll find any other ideas back there?"

Drizzle cocked his white head to the side, then shook it. She sighed.

"No, me neither." If her keyblade had been there, the Castle would have led her to it. "Maybe the Keyblade Graveyard? Xehanort always had a fascination with that place. It would have been fitting to leave my keyblade there."

Even as she said it, she shuddered. Drizzle shuddered with her, shaking his head as vigorously as if he were trying to fling the idea out of it.

"I know. I don't like it either." Picturing her blade there… it would be like visiting her own tombstone. "Do you have any better ideas, though?"

He thought for a moment. Or at least, she assumed he was thinking. Then in a blink he snatched the Wayfinder from her hands.

"Hey—!"

He held it over his head, squinting up at it with narrow blue eyes. Then he brought it close, as if to sniff it. After turning it over, swinging it by its cord, and balancing it on his head, he finally gave it back.

"Okay… That doesn't really tell me anything…"

Did he think she could still use the Wayfinder somehow? Or had he just seen a shiny thing and been attracted to it?

In spite of Ienzo's assurance that their experiments had failed, she tried channeling light into the charm. To her surprise, it actually worked—at least, more than it had since the Realm of Darkness. The Wayfinder absorbed the light from her palms and glowed faintly. When she tried to have it shoot out a guiding beam, though, it fizzled out uselessly.

"Well, it's something," she mumbled.

Maybe if she practiced with it, tried exercising her light again, she could eventually get it to work. Ienzo had said their experiments hadn't been entirely finished, after all.

Drizzle nodded and stood a little taller, as if his tinkering with it was the real reason anything happened. Aqua had to laugh. He was just so cute.

"Thank you," she told him.

Together they wandered back into town, heading for the cafe that had become their group's rendezvous point during the day since the Gummi Ship was parked a good ways outside the city. During the long walk she brushed her fingers over the piece of paper tucked in her belt.

Kairi had taken her to this world's beach a few days before, and she'd sent off the letter she'd hidden in a potion bottle, but she still kept the original letter on her. Sometimes, in her less rational moments, she wished she had sent it too. She wished she'd sent a hundred letters. Anything that would give Van a fraction of a chance at coming back.

He still has a chance. For all I know, that letter could have reached him already.

He could be strolling the halls of Castle Oblivion right now, grumbling at how bright it was. Actually, if it was her letter that opened a portal, then it would probably bring him straight back to her. It might not even matter that her Wayfinder wouldn't work or that her keyblade and glider could be worlds away. Of course, she wasn't going to leave his fate up to chance, but it gave her another needed burst of hope. For the first time in a while she allowed her mind to wander in a positive direction, to wonder what it would be like when they reunited. Would he smirk and brag about how he would've beaten the Dark Wind anyway? Would he be so stunned he'd just stare? Would he tell her that he felt the same way about her that she did about him?

She shook her head at that last flight of fancy, but allowed the thought to warm her anyway.

"Hey!" Lea flagged her down when she entered the small cafe. He sat alone at a booth; Mickey and Riku must not be back from helping the Restoration Committee take care of Heartless yet. "You're looking happier than usual. Those eggheads back at the castle finally do something right?"

"Huh?" She registered the smile on her face and blushed. "Oh. No, they definitely didn't."

He raised an eyebrow as she sat down. Drizzle squished into the booth beside her. Thankfully the citizens of Radiant Garden had seen so many strange things in the past years that her being followed by a giant white monster didn't particularly faze any of the cafe's other patrons.

"You got some other reason for grinning like a madwoman, then?"

"I was not 'grinning like a madwoman,'" she replied firmly. Unfortunately, her blush only grew hotter. Better change the subject before he could pester anything out of her. "Ienzo just gave me back my Wayfinder. Whatever their experiments were supposed to do apparently didn't work."

Lea snorted. "Go figure. You should probably be glad they didn't. Knowing them, if it did work it probably would've made an evil clone of you."

"...Has anyone told you that you say the weirdest things?" she asked him. She'd learned from Riku that sometimes the best way to deal with Lea was just to call him out.

"Once or twice." He grinned, crossing his arms and resting his elbows on the table. Then his face grew more somber. "Sorry it didn't work out, though. Really."

"It's fine." She sighed, trying to ignore how really not-fine it was. The pleasant daydreams she'd briefly entertained during her walk evaporated. "I'll find another way. I have to."

Drizzle nodded at that.

"I'm sure you will," Lea replied. "You look like the stubborn type."

She raised her eyebrows but decided to humor his train of thought.

"What makes you say that?"

"It's the blue hair." He nodded towards her. "Makes people do crazy stuff."

She just blinked at that. He really did say the weirdest things. It reminded her of the times she would stay up so late with Terra and Ven that all three of them would become delirious and lose their mental filters.

"Sorry," he said unexpectedly, ruffling his spikes of hair. "I don't usually mouth off this much. Been holed up in Yen Sid's place for too long with just Kairi for company, I guess. And… well… coming back to the Gardens hasn't exactly been a blast."

It made sense; she felt a pang of guilt for not realizing it before. This was his home, and from what it sounded like, it was just as empty for him as Castle Oblivion was to her. At least he was handling it by cracking weird jokes, and not by cracking in pieces.

"It's no excuse for taking it out on you, though," he finished.

"It's alright. I haven't handled my stress very well, either."

He nodded at that. Not that it had been a statement she meant for him to agree with.

"Sounds like we could both use a vacation, eh?"

"You mean you want to crash the Gummi Ship again?" she teased. "I don't think Mickey would appreciate that. Besides, I can't afford a vacation right now."

Not in terms of munny, but in terms of time. Any vacations would have to wait until Van was safe.

"How about a date, then?"

The casually-asked question caught her completely off guard, like a Heartless piercing her Barrier spell.

"A—a what?" She had to have misheard him. Right?

Of course not. She wasn't that lucky.

"A date. Y'know, like when two people do something fun and get to know each other? ...Flaming pants, I sound like I'm giving a Life Lesson again…" He groaned, wiping his hand down his face. "Point is, you've been in the Realm of Darkness for ten-plus years. I've been a Nobody for ten-plus years. Might be good for both of us to get out, right?"

"Uh…" Her face turned about as red as his hair.

Why does this keep happening? She thought back to Zack and briefly wondered what had happened to the young man. Hopefully he'd become a hero and found some other young woman to charm.

Lea was grinning hopefully at her, waiting for an answer. Light, what should she say? She wanted to say no, of course, but they were going to be traveling together for who knew how long. The last thing she wanted was to create even more awkward situations.

"I'm sorry," she finally replied, fumbling for words. "I'm, uh… taken."

Her face burned even hotter, if that was possible. She wanted to smack herself. That was the first excuse she thought of? Light, she'd even handled turning down Zack better…

"Really. You've been stuck in the Realm of Darkness for ten years, and you're taken." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm a big boy, y'know. If you're worried about hurting my feelings, don't be. I got along fine without 'em for long enough."

She tried to sink deeper into her seat. Drizzle glared daggers at Lea while putting an arm around her.

Lea laughed sheepishly. "You know what? Nevermind. Everyone's always telling me to keep my nose out of their business. It's probably about time I listened to them."

"Thank you," she said in a burst of relief. But then, seeing how awkward his own face looked, she couldn't help trying to explain herself. "I was being honest, though… mostly." She winced. How would Van react to her saying this? He didn't have to know, of course, but she couldn't help wondering. If it ever got back to him… Maybe she should just drop it.

Too late. Lea was leaning forward, obviously intrigued. So much for not sticking his nose in people's business. "Yeah?"

"Why am I still talking about this?" she asked herself.

Lea had a wide grin now though, which looked like it would explode into a laugh at any moment. She scowled.

"What?"

"Man, I can't believe I didn't get it sooner!" He let out the pent-up laugh—more like a cackle, actually. "You weren't lying to make me feel better. You and that Vanitas guy were a thing!" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Wh—why in the worlds would you say that!?"

"Who else would it be? Your Heartless buddy there?" He jerked a thumb towards Drizzle, who twitched like he wanted to leap over the table and slap him across the face.

"Inversed," she corrected reflexively while putting a hand on Drizzle's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. So what's he like? Tall? Dark? Handsome?"

Well… two of those three, she thought briefly.

"Probably tall and handsome, eh?" Lea said, and only then did she realize she'd said that out loud.

She groaned and actually did smack her face this time.

"Shut up…" she muttered.

Why did Lea of all people have to be the one to guess? Better him than Mickey, she supposed; at least Lea didn't have any connection to him. Only, if he said anything when Van got back…

"You cannot tell anyone."

"Hey, I'm no Xigbar. Your secret's safe with me." He grinned and reclined in the booth, fingers laced behind his head.

"I mean it. If he found out…" She bit her lip. It wasn't like telling him was completely out of the question, but she certainly didn't want anyone else forcing her hand.

"Sorry, sorry. I might tease you to your face, but I won't go saying anything behind your back." He shrugged.

She rubbed her forehead. "I suppose that's some kind of payback for turning you down?"

"Nah, it's just 'cause I don't have anyone else to tease anymore. Don't worry about the date; I just thought it'd be good to get out and do something fun. No big deal."

"What's no big deal?"

Aqua almost jumped out of her seat when she heard Riku's voice.

"N-nothing!"

How had he snuck up on them like that? Okay, Drizzle was blocking her view on that side, but still. When had he and Mickey gotten here?

"Ya sure?" Mickey asked, eyeing Lea skeptically.

"Yep. Nothing here but some friendly bonding time," Lea lied smoothly.

Maybe it wasn't a lie. After all, they had become friends—albeit strange ones—over the past week, and he was the first one she'd admitted her feelings for Van to. That probably counted as bonding.

"About time you guys showed up," Lea said. "I'm gonna go order."

He slipped out of the booth and made for the counter. Riku just shook his head.

After Riku and Mickey sat down, she explained the Wayfinder problem. Mickey's eyes widened in surprise; Riku just nodded like he had expected as much.

"Gosh, Aqua, I'm sorry. I sure thought Even and Ienzo could help."

She just shrugged, her earlier melancholy returning. "I'll find another way."

"You've got a new plan, then?" Riku asked.

"The best idea I have is still finding my keyblade," she replied more confidently than she felt. "Ienzo thinks that Xehanort moved it somewhere, maybe because the castle here is occupied again. He didn't have any solid theories on where he would have hidden it, though."

"With our luck, probably the Chamber of Waking," Lea said as he returned with a tray stacked with four burgers. He scooted in next to Riku and dropped it on the table.

"What's the Chamber of Waking?" Aqua asked, grabbing whatever burger Lea had ordered for her this time. She had given him and Riku permission to surprise her, since they were more familiar with the menu.

"A place that probably doesn't even exist." Lea snorted. "Bet Xigbar just made it up to send me and Saix on a wild goose chase. He said it was the companion to the Chamber of Repose, and that Xemnas—or Xehanort, whatever—was looking for it."

That's right. She'd heard him mention it—or complain about it, more accurately—in passing during their few days together.

"But you never found it?"

"Nope." He took a hearty bite of his triple cheeseburger. "Not for lack of trying, though. I searched Castle Oblivion from top to bottom when I was in the Organization."

Aqua's eyes widened, and not just from the delicious taste of her avocado bacon burger.

"I created Castle Oblivion, Lea. If anyone can find it, I can."

He sputtered, mustard spraying out of his mouth. A tiny speck hit Drizzle in the face, and the Inversed swatted at it fiercely.

"You're kidding! You get into the Chamber of Repose, and now you're telling me you can find Waking too? Where the heck were you when I was slaving away in the Organization!?"

"Slaving away in the Realm of Darkness," she replied. Her tone came out flatter than she meant it. "So, this Chamber of Waking. What did Xehanort expect to find there?"

Lea shrugged. "Beats me. Saix had some suspicions, but… well… let's just say he got more tight-lipped the longer we were in the Organization."

To her surprise, Riku set down his burger to put a hand on Lea's shoulder. A look passed between them, something she couldn't understand, only guess at. Maybe Roxas wasn't the only friend Lea wanted back.

"Well, I suppose it won't hurt to look for it," she said, even though she suspected she would've found her keyblade already if it were in Castle Oblivion. She hadn't specifically gone searching for it, though, so there was still a chance. At this point, feeble chances were all she had to go on. "Is everyone alright if we leave tonight?"

"I think Leon can manage without us." Riku nodded. "I'll just need to say goodbye to Kairi before we go."

"Heh, Princess isn't going to like us leaving her behind again," Lea commented.

"We wouldn't have to if someone hadn't crashed our ship."

"Alright, I walked into that one…"

They parted ways again a short time later, Riku and Mickey heading back towards the Restoration Site, Lea heading… she still wasn't sure where Lea was spending his time. Maybe annoying Kairi at Merlin's?

Aqua's feet instinctively started carrying her towards the castle. There was nothing left for her there, though. She forced herself to stop and lean against a brick ledge. Reorient herself. That's what she needed to do.

The sun still hung high in the sky. For a rare time since her first day here, Aqua relished the warmth of it on her face. She was back in the light, and how much time had she spent appreciating it?

Drizzle hopped up on the wall and swung his legs off the edge. He closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the sun.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" Aqua said with a smile, letting her own eyes fall closed. Deep breaths. She couldn't leave until nightfall anyway. As much as her feet wanted to move, rushing about aimlessly would do her no good. It was almost relieving to have to wait on the others. She hadn't taken a break in… well, since arriving in the light. Unless she counted the few minutes to inhale a meal or take care of personal hygiene, every waking moment had somehow been tied to bringing Van home.

She couldn't see that as a bad thing. Urgency was important, as her quickly-beating heart always reminded her. But if it caused her to ignore the sun she'd so longed to see…

Her eyes flickered open when she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She blinked at the sight of Drizzle's arm curled around a delicate wildflower. He proffered it to her, practically shoving it into her face.

She laughed. "Where did you find that?"

He pointed with his other arm down to a small clump of grass poking through a crack between the wall and the cobbled ground. Then, at his insistent purring, she accepted the flower.

"Thank you." She inspected it with a smile. It had a yellow center and five fragile petals tinted a pale blue. "It's beautiful."

Drizzle nodded like it was obvious. Which it was, she supposed. Just as obvious as the warmth of the sun, and the beauty of a cloudless sky, and the care of her new friends.

She'd been doing a pretty good job of missing the obvious. Was it any wonder she would find herself bombarded by darkness when she had ignored the light?

"Come on," she told Drizzle as she hopped down from the wall. "It's a beautiful day. I think it's about time we enjoyed it."

He nodded emphatically at that, but she didn't get far before he stopped and grabbed her hand.

"Hm?"

His thin arm reached through her fingers, taking back the flower she held there. She was about to ask why when he stepped closer and tucked the fragile thing in her hair.

She laughed, reaching up to position it behind her ear so it wouldn't fall out. "I'm not sure why you'd put it there, Drizzle. It'll just blend in with my hair."

He didn't answer, of course. He just hugged her and then flounced off down the street. With another laugh, she chased after him.

"Get back here, silly!"

They were in a less populated section of town; she was free to push her stride to its limits to catch up to the rogue Inversed. She held a hand to her ear to keep the flower from blowing away.

Suddenly Drizzle stopped, spun—and she plowed right into his hug. Of course that was all he was up to. The crazy creature would never really run from her. As usual, his squishy hug comforted her in a way she could never fully understand.

"You silly thing. What would I do without you?"

His self-satisfied purr seemed to say, Something stupid, probably. Or maybe that was just her memories of Van talking.

After extracting herself from his tight hug, they continued on, breathing in the late autumn air and enjoying the golden afternoon.