"Ready to go?" Aqua asked once all the clothes were folded and packed in their two backpacks.

"Been ready," Vanitas replied, picking lint off his skirt. "Guess I should probably change before we go, though. Lea and Isa took it pretty well, but I don't want anyone else seeing me in this stupid suit."

Aqua laughed. "I bet the look on Lea's face was priceless."

"It was pretty funny." Vanitas grinned and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Be right back."

The Castle's layout was confusing, but it recognized his connection to Aqua to an extent—it didn't purposefully lead him into oblivion, anyway. Still, it took a few minutes for the twisting hallway to branch off into an empty room he could change in.

He breathed a little easier once he was out of his dark suit and back in his fairy-made clothes. Stupid as the plaid print looked, he was grateful to have the new outfit. Proving he was a decent person was difficult enough with his golden eyes, without explaining why he had clothes made of literal darkness. Besides, the suit got kind of stuffy in the warmer Realm of Light.

He scratched at his neck as he wandered back towards the laundry room… or at least, he thought he was wandering in that direction. Had he gotten turned around somehow? He swore there weren't so many branches splitting off this hallway before…

He cursed as he came to a four-way intersection. He definitely hadn't been here before. Grumbling, he summoned four Floods—Drizzles, he corrected, barely remembering to channel his positivity. They came out smaller than Vanitas would've liked, but he'd take what he could get.

"Find Aqua," he ordered before nudging them off down each of the four hallways, including the one he'd come from. There was no way to tell if he'd gotten turned around back there, or if the Castle had just decided to move on him. Maybe it didn't trust him as much as he'd thought.

Much as he itched to go searching for the right direction himself, it would be smarter to wait for the Floods to return. He paced the white marble, gritting his teeth at the deafening squeak of his new shoes against the silence. Stupid Castle Oblivion with its stupid squeaky floors, and stupid white walls, and stupid hallways that were almost as confusing as the Realm of Darkness—

He nearly tripped over one of the Drizzles that scampered back in front of him. Stupid white creatures blending in with the floor. The blue crescents of its eyes were the only part he could see clearly.

"You found her?" he asked, crouching down to the white Flood's level.

It twitched its head and waved its arms at the left hallway. Vanitas was pretty sure that wasn't the path he'd come from, but it was impossible to tell after having paced in circles for the past several minutes.

The Inversed made another vague gesture. Hadn't Aqua said the first Drizzle had been able to talk? He'd have to figure out how that'd happened. His creations would be a lot more helpful if they could actually respond to his questions. Then again, he didn't want them getting an attitude on him.

Sighing, he followed the Drizzle down the nondescript white hallway. After several twists and turns, Vanitas was sure the Inversed was lost, but then it darted under a locked door—or tried to. Some kind of magical barrier flung it back.

"Nice try." Vanitas smirked and rubbed the creature's head. It made a low rumbling noise, almost like purring. Maybe they were learning how to make noise after all.

Then he inspected the door. The keyblade wielder's mark was engraved there—the same mark that decorated his Wayfinder, the same mark that Aqua, Ventus, and Terra had once worn. He hadn't seen it anywhere else in the Castle. No other doors in the Castle had been locked to him, either. What was this place?

His heart pounded faster in his chest, and his keyblade sprung to hand involuntarily. Something was in there—no, someone was in there.

"Ventus…?" He hadn't felt his other half earlier, but standing here—he was sure.

Ventus was behind that door.

He clutched at the fabric over his chest. Why wouldn't his heart slow down? Ventus was there, sure, but this heart belonged to him, why was he… why did it feel like…

Dizziness swept over him. The door wavered like a rippling illusion. He stabbed his keyblade point-down to steady himself, but the marble floor was too hard—his blade skidded, throwing him off-balance. He landed hard on one knee and hissed.

"Ventus… what are you doing in there?" He squeezed his eyes shut. "This is my heart… you idiot. You can't… have it back now."

Thump thump thumpthumpthump—

After one last rush, it finally slowed. Maybe Ventus had been listening after all. Or maybe Vanitas had hallucinated the whole thing, his mind trying to provide an excuse for the sheer panic he'd felt on realizing his other half really was here.

Panic. That's definitely what that had been. But he hadn't let out an Unversed… had he?

The small Drizzle was gone. Maybe he had let an Unversed out, or else the Inversed had neutralized it somehow. Could they do that? Last time there had been any Inversed and Unversed in the same area, they'd violently destroyed each other. Was he getting more whole? The schism between light and dark finally narrowing?

Those were just fleeting thoughts, distractions from the real matter at hand. Ventus.

Behind the door was his other half—him. The one Vanitas had worked for long to rejoin… the one he'd broken in the process…

"He's been here for so long… how could he forgive me for that?" he whispered to the empty room.

Saving Ventus—it was going to be harder than he'd realized. Maybe not physically. If they brought Sora here, Vanitas was sure there'd be a way to get Ventus's heart back into his body. But was Vanitas really ready to face him? To face everything he'd done, everything he'd been? To be his own shadow again?

It won't be like that, he was sure Aqua would have told him. But right now he wasn't ready to believe it.

Emotions boiled in his chest, wanting to evaporate out and distill into Unversed. He held them back by practice and sheer willpower, the way he usually could when they didn't take him by surprise. But maybe… it wouldn't hurt to let them out here, this once. Where they couldn't hurt anyone.

He released the breath he'd been holding, and released a trio of Unversed with it. Surprisingly, each of the three was a different type: one Tank Toppler, one Archraven, one Scrapper. That was unusual, but it was also unusual for him to feel so many different emotions at once. Staring down the fidgeting monsters, it made sense.

Tank Toppler. Rage, boiling inside until it couldn't help but explode. He'd always felt anger at Ventus—anger for stealing his face, his name, any chance he had at being loved. Since befriending Aqua, he'd learned that wasn't true, but he couldn't completely erase the remnants of those painful years. Not yet.

Archraven. Jealousy, glaring down from a height of feigned superiority. Vanitas had never been the better half. He'd boasted to himself, so many times he almost believed it. But he could never hold off the longing for what Ventus had.

And the Scrapper. One thing that Vanitas had taken longer to realize—loneliness. He shouldn't feel lonely. He had Aqua. She was more than he could ever hope for. Still, a part of him that had lain dormant was drawn to his original other half.

He chuckled, and the sound echoed in the narrow hall.

"I can't escape you, can I?"

A tear slid down his cheek—just one. Then he sniffed, wiped it on the back of his hand, and stood. With three strikes of his keyblade, the Unversed dissolved and streamed back into him like acidic vapor.

"There's only one thing to do, then."

He pointed Void Gear at the door. Ventus must have decided to let him in, because the beam of light streaming from his blade sent the door slowly swinging open. Before he could think twice, he stepped inside.

White. If Castle Oblivion could get any whiter, this was it. The light pulsing from the chains on the walls and floor blinded him, as if trying to repel his darkness. He was a stain, a shadow, he shouldn't have come here—

But all those thoughts melted away when he saw Ventus. He'd expected the Unversed to come back in full force—hatred, disdain, jealousy, contempt. But looking at his other half's sleeping face, the way he was slouched within the throne…

"You're gonna have a real crick in your neck when you wake up," he said with a grin. "How'd you fall asleep like that, brother?"

He gasped had that tumbled out? Ventus wasn't—Ventus was him. They were one, they were supposed to be two halves, not… brothers. But wasn't that what Vanitas had always wanted? To be whole, without relying on Ventus? Even if he was never fully able to escape him…

"Brothers," Vanitas tasted the word again. Looked at Ventus, who, if Vanitas squinted, almost looked like he was smiling. "You think that would work out for us?"

Hyperaware of the squeak of his shoes, Vanitas carefully stepped closer. Not that he should worry. He couldn't wake Ventus. Not from this.

"I guess it's a little late, but… thanks for what you did for me. For us," he said, impulsively crouching on the tip of the throne's tall, arching armrest. "You saved me when my Unversed and Inversed were attacking each other. When I was attacking myself. You came there, in my heart. And your Wayfinder was a key to bringing us out of the darkness. You remember any of that?"

He looked down, though he didn't really expect Ventus to respond. And of course, he didn't.

"Heh. I know you're not here, not really. But I hope you can hear me, wherever your heart is. Don't expect me to say this twice."

He coughed to clear the tension from his throat. Even so, the words came out rough and low.

"I'm sorry, Ventus." A couple tears dripped down onto his bent knees, turning the gray of his shorts to black. "I didn't think I'd be able to say that. But you didn't deserve what Xehanort… and what I did to you. You're not an idiot. And you're not just my other half. You're you… brother."

He smiled and sniffed. No Unversed this time. Good. It would be a little embarrassing if they appeared and started attacking the comatose boy.

"We'll get your heart back soon. I don't think Aqua will be able to rest until we do." He smirked. "You're pretty lucky to have such a great friend. I guess I'm the real lucky one though, since she's my girlfriend." His smirk broke into a full-out grin. "Can't wait to tell you that once you can actually talk back to me."

"Vanitas," a voice chided from behind him.

For one irrational moment he thought it was Ventus talking back after all, but it was just Aqua. He grinned at her, secretly grateful that she hadn't come in moments earlier.

"What? You are my girlfriend."

Her brows drew together as she approached them and knelt by the oversized throne.

"That'll be a long story to explain to him," she said, stroking Ventus's hair.

"He's tough. He'll handle it," Vanitas said with bravado he didn't feel.

He felt better after talking to Ventus out loud, but actually explaining his relationship with Aqua to his face? Maybe he wouldn't lead in with that, as tempting as it was.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, I suppose,"she said. "So… how did you find this place, anyway?"

"Huh… I don't really know. One of my Drizzles was supposed to bring me to you after I got lost, but I ended up here instead." He frowned thoughtfully. "I wonder if Ventus wanted me to find him. Or else my Inversed are just idiots."

"No, I think you might be right. Ven… I think he will forgive you." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "You've come so far, Van."

"Heh. Maybe so, but don't be surprised if I still slip up and call him an idiot every once in a while."

"As long as you expect him to throw it back at you." Aqua stood with a fond look at her comatose friend. "He might look innocent now, but don't let his face fool you."

"I know." Vanitas smiled down at his other half—his brother. "That used to be my face too."

"I always forget that," Aqua said hesitantly. "Is it… difficult, seeing your face on someone else?"

She'd never asked so directly before. He stumbled to find an answer to the unexpected question.

"Well… at first, yeah. I felt like I should've been the one to keep our face, since I had more of our memories. But now? This is who I am, Aqua." He gestured to himself, hopping down from the armrest. "Gold eyes. Black hair. Wicked good looks."

He winked, sending a blush across her face.

"Don't let it go to your head," she replied, shoving him playfully.

"Too late." He smirked. "Don't worry though. I know you'll always have me beat in that field."

Her blush deepened as she pulled him in for a kiss—only to pause and glance at where Ventus was sleeping. Vanitas laughed.

"Hey, maybe we'd gross him out enough that he'd wake up."

"Nice try." She settled for a quick peck on his lips. "Come on. It's been a long day, and we both need to rest before we get going."

"To find a place to live or to find Sora?" Vanitas asked.

"We can keep our eyes out for both."

That was as good a plan as any. Then again, any plan where he got to stay with Aqua was sure to be a good one.

Vanitas cast his eyes back at Ventus as they left the chamber.

"Enjoy the rest of your nap, brother. We'll be back soon."