Vanitas rose to his hands and knees, spitting dirt out of his mouth.

"Stupid light portals…" A dark corridor would have been way less likely to drop him out above the ground. "Stupid Dark Wind, not letting me use them anymore... "

Stupid Lea, for making him have to run in the first place. He felt a few stings of pain as his Unversed were destroyed, though thankfully the sensation was dulled by the distance between worlds. Which brought up the question… which world had he sent himself to?

He stood, brushed the moss and dirt off his blue-and-gray pants, and looked around. Trees towered overhead, their branches tangling together to block out the sun. Only a few patches of dappled light made it to the mossy ground.

"Dwarf Woodlands," he remembered. This had been one of his favorite worlds—he supposed it still was. Not too many people. Plenty of dark forests. Cozy and ominous at the same time. No wonder his random portal had decided to throw him here.

He sat down on a fallen tree trunk and rested his head in his hands, taking a couple of deep breaths to ensure no other Unversed would burst out of him. Though, if there was any place to let them out, it was here. No one would have to know…

"No," he told himself, digging his fingernails into his scalp. He might think he was alone here, but who knew if any of those other keyblade wielders were lurking around? Riku, Kairi, Sora… and if any of them got a whiff of his Unversed, they'd think the same thing Lea did. That he was just another vessel of Xehanort, still ruled by the darkness.

"It doesn't matter what they think," he told himself, but his voice lacked conviction.

It did matter what they thought if they decided he was a threat. If they tried to kill him. How well did he really know any of them? They'd been with Aqua for over a month, while he'd only been back for a couple of weeks, if that.

What if they turned her against him? What if that's why she was off with Kairi right now?

"Don't be stupid. Aqua's smarter than that." That was something he could believe.

He pulled his Wayfinder out of his pocket—a new one Aqua had made for him within the first few days of his return. In spite of his previous insistence that it should be just like his old one, had agreed to one more similar to her own. Delicate silver metalwork kept each piece of ruby glass in place. He knew that her magic had worked again, because he felt safer just holding it. No more Unversed would come out right now.

But the question was, what was he going to do now? Just avoid Lea forever? The man would talk, and even if he didn't, plenty of people in the ice cream shop had seen him summon the Unversed. Could he just avoid everyone forever? Go back to his life before the Realm of Darkness?

Go back to being miserable, he thought with a snort. No, he wasn't going to let Lea or anyone else force him back into that life.

"I need to find Aqua." He rubbed the Wayfinder with his thumb, and it glowed at the mention of its creator. "She'd tell them all I'm not a Nort."

But he'd promised her he could take care of himself for a day or two. He couldn't bother her right in the middle of her mission. He put the Wayfinder back in his pocket.

Suddenly another idea came to him—Lea had mentioned something about rumors. What if he tracked down the source of those rumors himself? If he could figure out who was making up lies about him, maybe he could prove himself innocent.

"Not that I should have to prove anything," he muttered, but felt the irony as he said it.

Of course he had to prove himself. These people had no reason to trust him, just like he didn't have much reason to trust them… except that they had helped Aqua before.

Maybe she'd been onto something, asking him to make friends with them. If they got to know him, they'd know that he wasn't a Nort.

"I guess… it's still not too late to try. The others better not be as stupid as Lea…"

XXX

Aqua and Kairi rounded a corner, dashing into a dead-end hallway. She had expected to see someone from the new Organization XIII, or Maleficent, or some other threat. Instead, standing near the wall were an old wizard and a frowning redhead.

"Oh, my. Terribly sorry about this racket. My teleportation spells are usually quite accurate." Merlin waved his long wand, and the shards of glass scattered around his feet reformed into an elegant blue vase.

"Merlin?" Aqua asked. "What are you doing here? And—"

"Lea!" Kairi shouted. "I told you, I didn't need you to come babysit me!"

Now who does that sound like? Aqua thought, hiding a laugh. Lea winced, but Merlin cut him off before he could say anything.

"Ah, Aqua! Exactly the person we wanted to see. Lea here had something important to tell you."

"Me?" Aqua asked. "What's going on?" She wanted to ask how they even knew where she was, but that could wait.

Lea walked up to her, not quite meeting her eyes. That look made her stomach sink already.

"Lea, tell me what's going on," she demanded more forcefully.

Even Merlin looked uncomfortable now, tapping his wand in a quick rhythm against his palm.

"Look, I didn't want to be the one to tell you this," Lea started.

"Well you're going to tell me." She employed the tone she used to take with Terra and Ven, when they would team up together to hide something from her. Lea caved a little quicker than those two would.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." He sighed. "Your boyfriend just attacked me."

Aqua stared, understanding the words but not believing them.

"Van… just what?"

Lea crossed his arms. "You heard me."

Aqua wasn't sure she did. Sure, Van could be temperamental sometimes, but just attacking people for fun? He didn't do that. ...Well, not anymore, at least.

"What did you do to him?" Aqua asked, trying to keep her voice calm. "Where is he now?"

"I didn't do anything!" Lea said, then grimaced. "Well, maybe I said yellow eyes usually mean you're a Nort. But I didn't say he was a Nort."

"Axel," Kairi said in exasperation, "you can't just jump to conclusions about people like that. Vanitas hasn't hurt any of us."

"Hey, I said I didn't! He was the one who attacked me!"

"There must be some kind of mistake," Aqua said, trying not to blame Lea while she didn't have all the facts. "But you didn't answer my other question: where is he now?"

Lea ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know. He made some kind of portal and disappeared. Not before leaving behind a bunch of monsters, though."

"You think he used a dark corridor?" Kairi asked.

"No, he wouldn't." Aqua shook her head. "He's as afraid of the Dark Wind as I am. I taught him how to make portals of light, like I use with my glider. He could be anywhere…"

She turned her back on the others, thinking. Why would Van attack Lea rather than just having a conversation? Why would Lea imply Van could be a Nort in the first place? She thought the man would be more understanding, considering his own dark past. But maybe that also made him less trusting.

Merlin cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for both of you, my dears. If you need some magic to bring Vanitas or Sora to their senses, I would be happy to help, but I'm afraid otherwise I am of no use at the moment."

"Sora?" Kairi's eyes widened. "What's happened to Sora?"

"Hmm? Oh, well I thought you knew! I'd heard—well—oh, there is no place for an old wizard to meddle in the affairs of the young. Lea, we'd best be off."

"Merlin," Kairi insisted.

"You'd better not get between her and her boyfriend," Lea told the old wizard. "Besides, I'd like to hear what you know too."

"He's not my—oh, nevermind." Kairi sighed. Merlin adjusted his glasses nervously.

"Yes, well, that's what I heard. That Sora was… well, with someone else. But, perhaps I heard incorrectly. I shouldn't have worried you, my dear."

"With someone else?" Kairi's brow furrowed. "Sora's always off on adventures with other people."

Aqua saw what Merlin meant, even if Kairi didn't. But unfortunately, she didn't have time to deal with Kairi's love life right now. She needed to know what happened to Van.

"Lea, Merlin, stay with Kairi and the other Princesses. I'm going after Van."

"Wha—I thought this was a girls only job!" Lea protested. Aqua gave him a sharp glare.

"Well, you should have thought about that before you crashed it."

She tapped her shoulder pauldrons to engage her armor, and it surrounded her in a flash. She was about to summon her keyblade to form her glider too when another thought occurred to her.

Where was Drizzle?

XXX

Vanitas stared over the edge of the floating island, where clouds swirled and reflected sunset colors. Almost like his homeworld, back when he was Ven. But unlike that world, this one always felt off to him. Probably because of Yen Sid's magic. That magic had made it impossible to leave many Unversed here, back in the day. He wondered if it would keep him from accidentally summoning any now.

He took a deep breath and walked towards the front doors, pushing them open before he could change his mind. Hopefully Riku would be here. If not, maybe Yen Sid could tell Vanitas where he was. Not that he wanted to talk to the old sorcerer. His piercing stare reminded Vanitas far too much of Xehanort's.

He ascended the spiral stairs, wishing more than ever that he could use dark corridors. The portals of light didn't work over short distances. Aqua had explained it was because they traveled through space in the same realm rather than cutting through the Realm of Darkness, or something like that. Vanitas didn't understand the details. All he knew was that it meant he had to climb these million stairs manually, with worries about Lea and Aqua and even Xehanort weighing him down.

A few doors branched off of the main spiral. Vanitas hardly noticed them as he passed—until he heard voices filtering out from under one. Without a second thought, he pressed his ear up against it.

"Oh, it's no use. He still won't eat a thing."

"Do you think it's too late?"

"Now dears, we can't give up that easily! Lea is counting on us."

"Well it isn't our fault he won't wake up. Our magic couldn't do that for Aurora, so what makes him think it would work now?"

The voices dissolved into squabbling, but by now Vanitas could recognize them as the three fairies. Good thing he'd kept on the plaid clothes. But what were they doing in there that was so important to Lea?

If I can't find the source of the rumors yet, at least I might have something to fight back with, he thought as he kept listening.

"I'll have none of this! We'll try again tomorrow, and the next day if we have to. Come now, let's report to Yen Sid."

"Oh, alright…"

Vanitas pressed himself against the wall, hoping the door would hide him when it opened. The door didn't open, though. Instead three orbs of light slipped out from under it, then quickly floated up the stairs.

"Now that would be a nice power…" he mumbled.

Quietly he turned the knob and pulled open the door. Once he slipped inside, he saw an unfamiliar blue-haired man lying on top of a simple wooden bed. At first Vanitas thought he was asleep, but then he noticed the man was staring up at the ceiling with unblinking eyes. Unblinking gold eyes.

"Saix," Vanitas whispered. The member of Organization XIII that Aqua had helped rescue. The one she'd said was Lea's friend. "Why would he be friends with a Nort, but not trust me…?"

Whatever the reason, Saix obviously wasn't a threat now. Other than the shallow rise and fall of his chest, he seemed completely immobile. Vanitas waved his hand back and forth over the man's eyes, just to be sure. Not a twitch.

"What are you, some kind of zombie?" Vanitas said. "...They haven't helped you at all, have they."

He sat on the edge of the bed, still searching Saix for any signs of life, of light. So many keyblade wielders passing through here, and none of them had been able to get Xehanort out of him?

"You don't even smell that much like darkness. Maybe I could…" Vanitas placed a hand over the man's chest, letting light pool around it like he was making an Inversed.

Saix hissed. The sudden noise startled Vanitas, but he kept his hand in place. The rest of the man's facial expression hadn't changed. His eyes were as dull as before.

"Don't like the light, do you?" Vanitas kept it flowing. If Xehanort didn't like it, then obviously he was doing something right.

A force pushed back. His light dimmed—he didn't have the same kind of power as the last time he'd attempted something like this. It had taken two Wayfinders in addition to his own strength to exorcise the Dark Wind from Aqua. What made him think he could remove Xehanort's influence on his own?

But… if he could do this, it would prove to Lea and everyone else that he wasn't a Nort.

So he tried again, gripping his red Wayfinder this time. It didn't have any light stored within it, but it gave him courage anyway. Then he summoned his positivity: faith, determination, hope for a world without Xehanort.

The light seemed to slide off of Saix's dark coat, like oil fleeing water. But Vanitas kept trying, refusing to let go of his hope. Liquid light kept flowing, flowing…

It's not going to be enough, he realized. Not if it wouldn't sink in. He needed something else, more than just a desire to get rid of Xehanort.

A friend. If Saix wakes up, could he be my friend?

It was a surprising thought—surprising that Vanitas actually cared. But if Saix did wake up, he would know what it was like to be used by Xehanort. He wouldn't judge Vanitas for his eyes. Would he?

Only one way to find out. He rolled his shoulders and went back to work.

"Come on…" His light tried to pool again, only to slide off. "Work with me, Saix… you don't want that old geezer in your heart…"

It didn't seem to be making a difference. Then, inexplicably, the light began to sink in. Not just sink—it was as if it were being pulled into Saix's chest.

The man roared. Was that a bad sign? Was Xehanort being driven out, or was he waking up?

"Please don't be Xehanort, please don't be Xehanort, please don't be Xehanort…"

He kept the light coming—at this point, he wasn't sure he could've stopped if he'd tried. Saix was drawing it in… consuming it? Vanitas didn't know, but he was feeling emptier and emptier…

And then something snapped. Not inside Vanitas, but inside Saix. Vanitas still felt the whiplash of it. Like his light had broken through some kind of barrier.

"Ughhh…" Vanitas slid off the bed, slumping against it on the stone floor.

Had it been worth it? He'd been completely drained, sucked dry of light. He didn't think he could make even the tiniest Flood Inversed right now.

"Nngh…" Saix groaned. Vanitas's first instinct was to hide under the bed, but he figured he should see if his plan had worked. Cautiously, he peeked up over the mattress.

The blue-haired man was attempting to sit up, though he was doing a rather bad job of it. His arms gave out each time he tried to push himself up.

"Don't waste your energy," Vanitas said.

The man's surprise was nearly enough to jolt him upright, but he plopped back on his pillow immediately afterward.

"Where… where am I?" He asked, then brushed his fingertips against his lips. "I… I can speak again…"

"You're in the Mysterious Tower," Vanitas replied, feeling some of his energy return to him. It had worked! Wait til Lea found out about that! "I just got Xehanort out of your heart, by the way. You're welcome."

"Nnn… no," Saix said distantly. "You gave me… an opening. To hold him off. He is…" He winced, "still here…"

Of course. Saix's eyes were still gold. Vanitas should have known that.

He scowled. "Well how do we get him out for good?"

Saix shook his head. "I don't know. It may not… be possible."

It was only then that Saix took a good look at him—and flinched as if he was seeing a ghost.

"You. Xehanort claimed you too?"

"I'm not a—!" For once, Vanitas bit back the Unversed in time. The negativity boiled inside him, but didn't bubble over. He took a sharp breath. "I'm not a Xehanort. My eyes have always been like this."

Saix scowled. "That is a pitiful excuse for a lie, Sora. I may have been controlled, but my memory was not wiped."

"How many times do I have to tell you people, I'm not Sora!" Vanitas shouted.

This time, a Bruiser half-formed from his outburst. He was only able to stop it from fully materializing because of its size. The bigger Unversed always took a few seconds longer to form.

Saix's glare hardened, looking almost as terrifying as the old Xehanort himself. Stupid, stupid! Why did Vanitas think he could make a friend on his own? And with a Nort!

Vanitas summoned his keyblade, ready to flee for the second time today, when Saix's eyes glazed over.

"No," he whispered. "No, no, no…" He let out a low groan, looking nauseous.

"...What?" Vanitas tentatively asked, though he kept his keyblade ready.

"He's coming. He's coming. If Sora is still alive in you at all… put an end to me."

Vanitas had no idea what Saix was talking about, but those last words still shook him.

"I'm asking you, as a friend... Just...put an end to me." Ventus's last words to his friends. Vanitas had felt them when they merged. He remembered scoffing at them at the time.

"Look, I'm not killing anyone anymore. Except Xehanort," he clarified. Saix looked up in confusion.

"But you—"

"I'm not Xehanort, either!" Vanitas snapped. Obviously, since I tried to get Xehanort out of you… whatever. The man's mind was probably still rattled from being possessed. "Is he the one you were talking about?" He realized suddenly. "Is Xehanort coming here?"

Saix nodded somberly. Vanitas cursed.

"Then we need to get you out of here. If you're not going to try to kill me."

Vanitas opened a portal with his keyblade. He didn't really want to go anywhere with this crazy man, but Lea would kill him if he let his friend go full-Nort again.

Saix paused to consider, which honestly, it didn't sound like they had time for. Especially when three orbs of light came floating up from under the door.

"Okay, thinking time's over." Vanitas tossed his keyblade out the open window, hoping it had enough room to fly back in glider form. It did, but it scraped the window's stone edges on its way in.

"Vanitas?" The green-dressed fairy transformed from one of the orbs, taking her human-sized shape. "What are you doing?"

"He's stealing Saix!" the blue-dressed one cried as she appeared.

"What? No—!" Vanitas bit his tongue.

Whatever, he didn't have time to explain, not if Xehanort was on his way. With the dark corridors, he could be here any moment.

Vanitas roughly shoved Saix off the bed and onto the glider, which looked similar to Ventus's—a flat design made to ride standing up, with two wings shaped like the teeth of his keyblade. Plenty of surface area for Saix to hold onto. Now, if only Vanitas could fit himself on there—

"Quick, stop him!" the third fairy called. The three of them stood between him and the portal.

"Everyone has to be difficult," Vanitas muttered, grabbing onto the side of his glider. "For the record, I'm actually sorry about this."

Then he commanded his glider to fly forward, crashing past the fairies and into the portal.

XXX

"Drizzle!" Aqua called, though she had no idea if the small Inversed would respond. He wasn't exactly the same one she'd named before. What if he wanted his own unique name? That was the latest in a line of far-fetched theories as to why she hadn't found the Flood in her near-hour of searching.

Kairi placed a hand on her arm. "We'll have to go back to the meeting soon, Aqua."

"But…" Aqua sighed. Kairi was right. She had promised to protect the Princesses, and she couldn't shove that responsibility off on Lea, even if she just wanted to find Drizzle and go look for Van.

"I'm sure Vanitas is fine," Kairi said gently, seeming to read her thoughts. Of course, Kairi might have heard how she reacted the last time she lost Drizzle. It was hard not to remember now.

"I know," she said, more to reassure herself. "I just wish I understood what happened with him."

"Lea isn't exactly tactful," Kairi said. "Maybe he thought he was helping somehow."

"I can't imagine how."

"Well… I don't know. But he didn't give up on Saix, even after he was under Xehanort's control. And even after he kidnapped me," she added a little huffily, then shook her head. "There must have been a reason."

Aqua hadn't had time to press Lea further, since they had split up to look for Drizzle. Maybe the redhead had found him already. It was a slim hope, but one she held to as she and Kairi navigated the castle halls back to the dining room.

Which, when they arrived, they found completely empty. Even Minnie was missing.

"Shouldn't the other Princesses be back by now?" Kairi asked, brow furrowed.

"They should…"

That was when Aqua noticed Minnie's notes. The papers that had once been neatly stacked were now scattered across the far end of the table and on the ground. And come to think of it, there were no servants in sight, either…

"Come on," Aqua whispered to Kairi, her heart rate quickening. Surely nothing had happened, but still… if something had happened, while she'd been too focused on her own problems…

Less time thinking, more time running.

The whole castle seemed empty, now that she was looking for signs of life. Her footsteps echoed loudly, even when she kept to the carpeted strips at the center of the halls.

Suddenly Kairi stiffened, then stopped in her tracks.

"The Ballroom. I feel something coming from there."

Aqua nodded, trusting Kairi's senses as a Princess of Heart. They went looking for the nearest stairwell to take them down a floor, but stopped short when they came across someone on the way. Standing in front of the stairs, one leg still raised in mid-step, was a maidservant carrying a silver tray of food. That wouldn't have been out of the ordinary, except for the fact that she was completely motionless.

"That's a Stop spell," Aqua said, keeping her distance and scanning their surroundings. "It would take a strong mage to pull off something like that for long."

She didn't say what they were both thinking: this time, the Princesses were in danger for real, and there was no way of knowing if they were already too late. But late or not, they were going to find out what had happened.

Kairi moved to slip past the frozen servant, but Aqua shook her head.

"We'd better not enter the ballroom from the front. I think I know a different way."

She led Kairi back through the halls, taking a narrow branching corridor that eventually led to a small antechamber.

"We're definitely close," Kairi whispered. Aqua could see a curtain on the far wall that would open up to the balcony.

"Are you ready?" she asked, and Kairi nodded, summoning Destiny's Embrace. Aqua summoned Stormfall, then crept through the curtain.

She gasped when she looked down. The remaining six Princesses were all present—and each was trapped within a cage formed by bars of blue light. How had this happened? Where was Minnie? Where were Lea and Merlin?

As her eyes scanned the ballroom, she saw no sign of them—but she did see someone else sneaking out from behind a pillar. Despite his attempted stealth, his spiky black hair was impossible to miss.

"Is that—?" Kairi asked, and Aqua nodded somberly.

Van, I'm sure there's an explanation for this… but it had better be a good one.