The Gummi Ship ride to Castle Oblivion wasn't the tense, quiet affair Vanitas expected. No, Sora was way too bubbly to allow that. Even though Vanitas just wanted to be left alone to keep his Unversed in check, the other boy insisted on asking him all sorts of questions.

"What was Ventus like?"

Stupid, his knee-jerk reaction almost slipped out.

"Fine, I guess." When he wasn't anywhere near me.

Sora's eyebrows quirked, as if he wasn't sure how to react to that. Still, that stupid grin stayed plasted to his face.

Vanitas scowled. "Why are you smiling like that, anyway? It's creeping me out."

"This ship runs on happy faces, a-hyuck!" Goofy called from the copilot's seat.

"That means the more you smile, the faster we get there," Donald pointed out as he swerved around an asteroid.

Vanitas grimaced and clenched a fist over his stomach—Gummi Ships really weren't meant to make turns like that. He'd rather take his keyblade glider any day. Besides, his glider didn't run on smiles.

"Come on, Vanitas! I know you've got a great smile," Sora encouraged. Which had the opposite effect.

"He does." Aqua smirked as she crossed her arms over the back of his chair.

"Yeah, well, so do you," he threw back. "And I don't hear anyone telling you to smile."

She just chuckled and kissed him on top of his head.

The Gummi Ship may have sped up a little after that. Maybe.

XXX

Even smiles couldn't hold off Vanitas's and Aqua's anxieties forever, though. It settled over them like a familiar blanket as they drew closer to Castle Oblivion, as the ship landed on the dark gray outcropping, as they stepped out and stood before Aqua's distorted home.

Vanitas stepped close to squeeze her hand. "Are you ready?"

She nodded decisively. "Of course."

Behind them, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were staring up at the castle with even more trepidation.

"Ventus is here?" Sora frowned.

"Yes. Have you been here before?" Aqua turned and asked.

"No, I… don't think so." He crossed his arms before whispering, "But it does feel familiar…"

"Probably just has to do with your connection to us, somehow." Vanitas shrugged. "Come on, no point in wasting time."

Aqua opened the doors with Stormfall and led them in. She and Vanitas had talked about returning the Castle to its original state before they woke Ventus, but Aqua had decided against it in the end. She wanted to wait until Terra was back, and besides, Riku and Mickey might still be using the Castle to dig up what they could about Xehanort.

Aqua guided them through twists and turns and up and down staircases—why did they have to go up just to go back down? It didn't make any sense—before they finally arrived at Ventus's chamber. Vanitas's heart pounded. What if whatever happened last time he was here happened again? But so far the strange dizziness hadn't returned.

Maybe he was ready this time.

"This is it," Aqua whispered at the door.

"Great!" Sora beamed. "So, we just go in there and…"

"Wake him up," Vanitas finished.

Aqua nodded, her face tight with determination.

With another beam from her keyblade, the door swung open.

Again, he was momentarily blinded by the light pouring from the room. His eyes adjusted slowly as they entered and formed a half-circle around Ventus's chair. Part of him felt annoyed at that—Donald and Goofy didn't need to be here. They didn't have any connection to his brother.

Then again, Vanitas didn't exactly have a right to be here, either. So he kept his mouth shut.

"We're here, Ven," Aqua whispered, kneeling in front of Ven's comatose form. "We're here to wake you up."

"This is… Ventus?" Sora looked confused. "But he looks just like…"

"Roxas," Donald interjected.

"He sure does." Goofy scratched the side of his head. "Just like Sora looks like Vanitas."

"Roxas. That's Lea's friend, right?" Aqua looked up, then frowned when Sora nodded. "But this is definitely Ven."

"Yeah. Guess this Roxas guy is another ripoff," Vanitas tried to joke. He didn't really care who Roxas was—he just wanted Aqua to have her friend back.

"Come on, you've done enough staring." Vanitas finally grabbed Sora's wrist and tugged him to stand before Ventus.

"Wh-what do you want me to do?" The other boy asked.

Vanitas shrugged.

"You're the hero everyone's crazy about. What do you normally do?"

"You'd better not say stab yourself!" Donald shook a finger at Sora.

Oh. Right.

"I'm not expecting that," Vanitas clarified at the same time Aqua looked up with a grimace. "Look, just… can't his heart feel him? He's right there."

He pointed at Ventus's unconscious body—his heartless body. It was a miracle he'd never turned into one of the monsters. Did he not have enough darkness for that?

Whatever, that didn't matter. What mattered was Sora getting Ventus's heart back into him.

Sora closed his eyes, chewed his lip, and…

"Nothing." He sighed heavily. "I can't feel anything."

"Nothing?" Vanitas snapped, grabbing the front of Sora's jacket. "My brother is right there! I know his heart's in you, even I can feel that! How can you feel—"

"Van!" Aqua gripped his shoulder so tightly, he could feel her fingernails dig into his collarbone. "Leave him alone. He's trying his best."

Even as she defended Sora, though, there were tears in the corners of her eyes. Ventus was her friend. She had more right to be devastated than anyone.

"I… sorry," he said quietly, releasing his grip on Sora's jacket.

Behind him, Donald and Goofy lowered their weapons. Vanitas hadn't realized they'd been about to attack.

"No. I'm sorry." Sora rubbed the back of his glove over his eyes. "Yen Sid was right… I still need the power of waking. I—I'm useless without it."

Goofy reached out, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Aww, Sora…"

"You're not useless." It was the kindest Vanitas had heard Donald's weird voice. "We'll figure it out. We always do."

"Not always," Sora responded darkly.

A shudder ran down Vanitas's spine—that voice sounded too much like his own.

"You just got here," Aqua said. To anyone else she might sound confident, but Vanitas could hear the faint tremor in her words. "There might be a spell, or—or something. We don't have to give up yet."

She was grasping at straws. But they should've expected this. Sora didn't know how to wake Ventus up—he never had. They'd been stupid to think he could come in and magically fix their problems.

Vanitas knelt down by his brother while the others came up with and discarded useless plans. He could hear Aqua's voice grow more and more strained. He should stand up, comfort her—but nothing he could say would help.

"I promised her I'd help save you," he whispered.

Then on a whim—and for the first time since they'd been separated—he took his other half's hand.

There were no sparks. No feelings of magic, of power transferring from him into the empty husk of his brother. But maybe… maybe someone else would.

"Sora," he said, cutting off the tense conversation behind him.

"Yeah?" Sora's voice rose with hope. He knelt down when Vanitas waved him over.

"Just try." He held up Ventus's limp hand. "...Please."

Sora swallowed. "Of course."

The others were silent while Sora knelt and accepted Ventus's hand. Vanitas wasn't sure what he expected—something, nothing, anything—

A spark. Where their three hands touched, the moment before Sora's fingers twined with Ventus's, there had been a spark. Vanitas felt it travel from his hand down his arm before pulsing near his heart. It felt almost like an Inversed—a bright emotion that returned to him after being separated for too long.

"Did you feel that?" he asked Sora.

"Yeah." He blinked down at where his hand was now clasping Ventus's. "But I don't feel it now. Was that it?"

"What? He's still sleeping, that can't be it."

"Okay, then just—give me a second." Sora squeezed his eyes shut. But just like last time, nothing changed. Donald and Goofy slumped behind him.

"Don't give up yet," Aqua pleaded, kneeling and placing her hand over Sora's and Ven's. "There's always a way. We're too close to give up now."

Vanitas nodded. "You did something. We just need to… I don't know, do it again."

"But I didn't do anything. Unless… maybe we both did?" Sora looked into Vanitas's eyes. "I felt something when we were both holding Ventus's hand. What if we do that again?"

"It won't hurt to try," Aqua said, flashing a weak smile at him, then Vanitas. "Maybe he needs all of us. To believe in him."

Vanitas didn't know about that, but he wasn't about to break Aqua's last hope. And the hand-touching idea itself had merit.

He took a deep breath and cupped his hands around the three already joined together—

And then his sight went dark.

XXX

"You came back."

Vanitas couldn't see Ventus's smile, but he could feel it.

"Of course I did." Vanitas smiled back, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It was so… so light here. "You're my other half. We can finally be whole again."

"Whole? No, that's not... I'm me. Nobody else…"

Ventus's voice was slipping away already. His light, too. Why, why now, Vanitas was so so close—

"Wait, stay with me!" Vanitas shouted.

"I can't, remember?" But his voice was a little clearer again.

"Yes, you can! You're—you're supposed to stay!" Vanitas's throat felt thick.

Ventus's heart was here, with him, he was going to be whole, finally, finally—

"You're already whole," Ventus said, as if he could hear his thoughts.

Maybe he could. They were one, weren't they? Their thoughts were the same.

So why was Ventus still fighting him?

"What do you mean? I'm not…"

Was he?

He was… forgetting something. Something really important…

"You are," Ventus insisted. "You remember. Your light… your heart… it belongs to you now."

"I…"

"You have to let me go, Vanitas. Your connection helped pull me from Sora. My heart—it's hanging in the balance now. If you keep me here, I'll never wake up."

"You'll… Wake up…?"

But why was he… he wasn't sleeping. They'd been fighting, and they were going to forge the X-Blade, and—

"Vanitas." His other half's voice came more forcefully. "You have to remember. There's people counting on you."

People counting on him? Stupid. No one would trust someone like him.

"No—your memories are glitching, mixing with how I remember you! And your memories are becoming mine—Vanitas, you have to wake up! You have to wake me up! Now!"

The light struggled away, slipped through his fingers, just like the X-Blade had—

Ventus was leaving him leaving him AGAIN no NO he couldn't go back he COULDN'T WOULDN'T BE BROKEN AGAIN—

"Remember, Vanitas! Aqua needs you!"

Aqua? Stupid, stupid, she hated him, she—

No.

She… she didn't hate him. Something… happened. She…

"Goodnight, Van. I love you."

What? How did—when did—?

"Love you too, Aqua."

He… had he really said that? It felt…

Right...?

XXX

"Van!" Aqua shook him, cast Curaga over him, shook him again. Nothing happened. Nothing.

What if they'd woken Ven, only to lose Van in the process? But Ven wasn't awake, either. If she lost both of them…

Tears streamed down her face. Normally she hated crying in front of others, but it was just… too much. Holding onto hope, having it ripped from her fingers again, having him ripped from her fingers again—she hated the way it stirred the darkness in her. All of her practice and meditation kept it from overflowing the way it would have a month ago, but she still felt its icy claws digging into her heart. Telling her that she'd been stupid, careless, to let the two boys connect again. What had happened last time? They'd merged into one and forged an infinitely powerful weapon. She didn't know what was happening now, but if it was anything like that…

"It's going to be okay, Aqua. I can still feel them."

Sora's hand was on her arm. When had it gotten there? He was no longer touching Ven or Van, who were still clasping hands despite both being unconscious. That… was a good sign, she guessed. Better than being limp, lifeless, dead.

"You… you can?" she asked, throat tight.

He nodded. "I felt a power go out of me—I think it was Ventus's heart. It seemed like it went into Vanitas."

Her blood ran cold as she stared at her two friends—both people she loved so much, in different ways.

"That… no. He… he wouldn't. He couldn't."

"Couldn't what?" Donald risked asking.

Aqua shook her head.

"It's—nothing. It doesn't matter."

Vanitas wouldn't keep Ven's heart. He'd wanted to wake Ven too. He knew how much her friend meant to her. But what if he didn't have a choice? What if Ven's heart had escaped Sora only to get trapped in Vanitas? But that didn't even make sense. If it could leave Sora, why couldn't it enter Ven's body again? Unless his heart had been separated too long, and his body could no longer accept it—

"Please, Ven, Van," she whispered.

She didn't dare separate the two boys' hands, but she did grip Van's free one. Laced their fingers together, squeezed it so lightly her knuckles went white. She could feel his pulse faintly through his palm, reassuring her.

"It's going to be okay," she repeated Sora's words, like a mantra to keep her darkness and fear pushed down.

She'd been abandoned in this Castle once before, her mind was too ready to remind her. But it wouldn't happen again. It wouldn't. She'd find a way to dive into Van and Ven's own hearts if she had to, the way Riku had for her. She'd do anything to bring her boys home.

But she didn't have to.

Ven's chest rose with a sharp breath. Van's eyes fluttered open.

"They're okay!" Goofy smiled, hugging Sora and Donald tight.

Aqua's breath caught in her throat. Ven was—Van was—they were both here. Alive. Whole.

She thought that would be enough to stop her crying, but all that emotion had to go somewhere, and she couldn't release Inversed like Van.

"Nnnn… why is my hand numb…?" Van mumbled, disentangling his fingers from Ven's and rubbing his eyes.

She pulled him into a hug, holding him so tight he probably couldn't breathe. She should let him go a little, he was fine, he was fine, but still she clung to him and pressed a relieved kiss to his lips.

"You did it, Van. Light, you did it!"

Then she turned her attention to Ven, who'd been a little slower to wake—but, apparently, not slow enough. He was blinking at her with the disoriented expression of someone who hadn't used his eyes in twelve years.

"Uhhh… am I still sleeping?" Ven frowned and pinched himself.

Aqua released Van and pulled Ven off the throne and into her arms.

"No, Ven. You're awake. You're home."

"Huh. That's weird. 'Cause I could've sworn I saw you kiss—" A jolt seemed to run through him. He sprung to his feet. "Sora!"

"Huh?" Sora said, but Ven wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Vanitas.

"Come on, don't tell me you don't recognize me." Van gave a crooked grin. "Though, maybe that's a good thing…"

"Wait." Ven shook his head, screwed his eyes shut. "Vanitas!"

"Yeah, that's—" Van started to say, but Ven cut him off by summoning his keyblade—

Only to promptly fall back to his knees and drop it.

"You can't get up that fast!" Donald chided him. "You've been sitting down for—what was it?"

"Twelve years," Goofy said.

"This is going to be fun," Van muttered.

Aqua's heart fell. She'd been so excited to see Ven conscious, she'd forgotten how she planned to explain everything to him. And then she'd kissed Van in her relief…

But Ven was awake. She could handle whatever came next.

She took both his hands and smiled.

"Take it easy, Ven. It's a long story, but you're safe now. I promise."

Everyone was silent for a moment while Ven searched the faces surrounding him. It had to be overwhelming, seeing so many strangers—one of which was a former enemy, and another that looked like that enemy's twin—looming over him.

"Ven," he echoed his name, as if tasting it. "Weird. I guess I must have been asleep for that long. I almost forgot my own name."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Ven. I wish I could've woken you sooner. I tried so hard—every day, I worked to make my way back to you, but I was stuck in the Realm of Darkness and—and I—"

Van put a hand on her shoulder when her voice cracked.

"Aqua did the best she could," he said. "She thought about you all the time, trust me. It was pretty annoying."

Aqua smiled a bit, nearly halting out a laugh at his funny way of trying to comfort her. He hadn't even tried to defend his presence there, or complain at the fact that Ven had tried to attack him after he'd literally saved his life.

Ven stared at Van with such confusion, Aqua could practically see his brain stop working.

"You… what are you doing here? Why did you… and Aqua…"

"Come on, don't tell me you don't remember. It was like ten seconds ago." Van grinned. "You were the one who reminded me when we almost got stuck together."

Aqua let out a relieved breath that he hadn't come straight out and said I'm her boyfriend like she'd half-expected.

"I… that's right." Ven's eyes widened. "You were there. You gave my heart back to me."

Van shrugged. "That idiot did most of the work." He jerked a thumb at Sora, who made an undignified noise at the insult.

Ven's head swiveled between the other two boys. Back, forth, back, forth. Then he just laughed.

"You're sure I'm your other half?" he asked Van.

Van shrugged.

"Looks like it's complicated. You're back, though. That's what matters, right?"

"…Yeah." Ven nodded tentatively at first, then more firm. "Yeah. I'm back."

He looked around again, as if searching for something else.

Someone else.

Light, this was going to hurt.

"We'll explain as much as we can. Over food?" She glanced between Ven and her other companions, who nodded.

The whole ordeal had been emotionally exhausting, to say the least. She knew Van at least would think that food solved all problems, and a moment to catch her breath would be welcomed.

"I am pretty hungry." Ven smiled. "And hey, Aqua?"

"Yeah?" she asked quickly.

"I might not get what's happening, but I'm glad to see you."

Relief bubbled out in her laugh.

"Me too, Ven. Me too."

XXX

Apparently Ventus was still an idiot. He did have some memory of speaking with Vanitas inside his heart, but only after Vanitas told the whole story. And even then, he wasn't entirely sure if Ventus actually remembered, or if he was just taking his word for it.

No, he must remember. The old Ventus wouldn't take Vanitas's word for anything. And this Ventus… he wasn't the one Vanitas remembered.

It wasn't anything drastic. Vanitas didn't even know if he could explain if Aqua asked. But as they sat around one of Castle Oblivion's long kitchen tables, he watched his other half—his brother, if he'd have him—take in their stories with an unusual attentiveness.

Ventus didn't interrupt. He didn't ask a million questions. He just sat there and… absorbed.

Maybe he would've freaked out a bit more if Aqua and Vanitas had mentioned their relationship. But despite the fact that Ven had already seen them kiss, Aqua seemed hesitant to bring it up. Vanitas wasn't about to broach that without her support.

It itched at him, the lingering fear that maybe she was ashamed of him after all—but he pushed it out of his mind. There was so much else to catch Ventus up on. Better not completely break his brain yet.

"...Then we found Sora yesterday." Aqua nodded towards Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who were slurping up the last of their whatever-was-in-the-fridge stew.

"And now we're here," Vanitas finished.

"Wow. I still can't believe… you were really stuck down there for twelve years. While I was just..." He frowned down at his empty bowl. "You didn't deserve that."

"Well, it didn't exactly feel like twelve years, at least," she replied quietly.

Vanitas snorted. Maybe it hadn't felt that long, but that was only because they'd had no sense of time. Each "day" they slept and woke could've been an eternity.

"That's good, I guess…" Ventus was still avoiding her eyes.

"Spit it out," Vanitas said, pushing his empty bowl aside to lean his elbows on the table. "Something's still bothering you."

Ventus blinked, and his cheeks reddened. "You can tell?"

"I used to be you. And I'm not an idiot. So come on, what is it? You better not be feeling guilty for leaving Aqua down there by herself, because that was my fault."

The admission hardly caused him pain anymore. He'd done what he could. He'd apologized and helped bring Ventus back. Everything else was in the past, where it could stay.

"Oh it's—not that. I mean, I'm still not happy you put me in a coma, but…" he shook his head. "It's about Terra."

Aqua winced. Vanitas wasn't surprised—it was only a matter of time before this question came up. Aqua had glossed over the subject when she'd recounted her dealings with the Organization, but she couldn't keep it hidden forever.

She rested a hand on Vanitas's arm. "I think I should talk about this with Ven alone."

He swallowed and nodded.

"Of course. You probably want some time by yourself to catch up, too. Let me know when we're leaving."

The words came a bit rushed, and then he was dumping his bowl in the sink, escaping out the door and into an empty hallway. Breathing faster than he should be. Of course Aqua wanted to talk to her friend alone. She had every right to do that. Why had he panicked?

Maybe… because Ventus still hadn't forgiven him yet. He'd been so quiet… just staring at Vanitas with those stupid blue eyes, like he could see right through him…

That's a good thing. I don't have anything to hide.

Except the fact that he and Aqua were dating, but that hardly counted. It wasn't Ventus's business.

Why do I care what he thinks of me, anyway? he thought as he paced back and forth in the narrow hall. I never cared before. Void, I wanted him to hate me.

He sighed. He was the one being stupid again. Of course he wanted to get along with Aqua's friends. And of course he didn't want his other half to hate him. Trying to build up a wall of anger wouldn't protect him anymore.

He had to face what he'd done, regardless of if Ventus forgave him or not.

Slowly, he brought his breathing back under control. The Unversed stopped rolling within him, itching to burst out. His heart calmed to a steady thump, thump, thump.

And then there was nothing to do but wait. And wait.

And wait…

XXX

He jolted awake when footsteps echoed down the long hallway. When had he fallen asleep? His head was resting on the stomach of a small white Protector, so he must have at least had good dreams.

Ventus's laugh reached him before he was aware of much else.

"Wow, you weren't kidding."

"I told you he's just a big softie," Aqua's voice said.

"Hey," Vanitas pouted, his voice still groggy. "I'm not soft. These abs are all steel."

He blinked sleep out of his eyes in time to watch Ventus snicker.

"Oh yeah, I totally see why you fell for him."

Now that was enough to slam him back into consciousness. The Protector dissolved, giving him a brief flash of calm that kept him from panicking. But still, what had Aqua told Ventus? Had she… but then…

"You know?" he blurted, then stared at Aqua. "You told him?"

Pink dusted her cheeks. "I thought we agreed it wasn't a secret."

"Yeah, but… nevermind." He smiled in relief. Of course she'd told Ventus. And apparently, his other half had taken it alright, judging by his relaxed stance.

"I asked," he admitted. "I wanted to know if seeing you guys kiss was just a fever dream."

Vanitas laughed. "I told Aqua that would be one way to wake you up. Just kiss in front of you until you couldn't stand it."

She punched him as Ventus made a face.

"Thanks for not doing that," he said to her.

"But you're okay? With us, and with… everything, I guess? I mean—wait, I haven't actually apologized yet—not for dating Aqua, that's the best thing that's ever happened to me, but for trying to kill you and use your heart to forge the X-Blade and working with Xehanort and—"

Ventus placed a hand on his shoulder, mercifully stopping him from the embarrassing display. This wasn't anything like the collected words he'd said while Ventus was still asleep. Too bad he had no memory of that.

"It's okay." Ventus smiled. "I mean, what you did wasn't okay… but I know I've missed a lot. And since Aqua trusts you, I'm willing to give you a second chance."

A second chance. That was all he really wanted.

"Thank you, Ventus."

He'd said that before too. It felt different—more real—now that his brother was awake.

"Call me Ven." He moved his hand from Vanitas's shoulder to hold it in front of him. "Since we're starting over, right?"

"...Right." He hesitantly smiled before shaking Ven's hand. Should he give him his nickname as well? Aqua was the only one who called him Van.

She was watching the two of them with fondness, and she flashed him a smile when he met her eyes.

"Call me Vanitas," he decided. He could always change his mind later, but for now he would keep his full name.

If Ven was disappointed by that, he didn't show it.

"I look forward to getting to know you, Vanitas."

Despite all the questions he still had—where Ven would stay, where he'd want to go, if he would still feel the same about Vanitas once he did get to know him—Vanitas felt a strange sense of calm. Nothing had gone drastically wrong yet. He still had a chance to prove he was sincere about changing.

Maybe getting to know Ven wouldn't be so bad.