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Aqua knew the fight was nearly over when she heard the boy let out a genuinely pained yelp. After that, it was only a matter of time before another well-placed hit from Aqua sent him sprawling to the ground with another strangled grunt.
His Keyblade disappeared as Aqua grimly walked closer, and he curled in on himself, spewing out a stream of near-unintelligible curses and insults.
Near the end of their battle (which had been as vicious as all of their battles previously, of course), Vanitas’ mask had vanished, leaving behind a tangled mess of black hair and glowing yellow eyes.
Even though Ventus had told her about Vanitas’ appearance, she was still almost flabbergasted at the boy’s resemblance to Sora. Only instead of the quirky grin that never failed to light up the room, Vanitas’ face was permanently drawn downward into a furious snarl, his eyes (so different from Sora’s bright blue) narrowed with undisguised hatred for the woman standing before him.
“It’s finished, Vanitas,” Aqua said, placing the end of her Keyblade at the boy’s neck.
The boy let out a hiss of discomfort at the contact, leveling her with an even fiercer glare. Unfortunately for him, his dangerous leer was somewhat ruined by the ripple of pain that passed through his face as he turned his body slightly to lay on his back, clutching his side with one hand.
“Then why don't you shut up and finish me then, huh?” Vanitas snarled. “Why do you people always waste time talking about nothing?”
Aqua, despite her dislike for the boy, nearly felt herself wince along with him when he let out an almost choked groan as his body spasmed, his back arching as a wave of pain passed through him.
“And you wonder why darkness always wins,” he added, panting slightly, yet still glaring defiantly up at her. “You make me sick. Get it over with. Or are you too proud of being the light your precious master wanted-” He broke off with another, more agonized yell as Aqua, furious beyond words, pressed the heel of her boot against his wound.
“You really are a creature of darkness,” she growled.
Vanitas let out a snide scoff, somehow still managing to sound condescending despite everything. “Tell me something I don't know.”
His body spasmed again, and it appeared that this time he was so exhausted he couldn't even make an audible noise in response, letting out a breathy huff. “Just do it.”
Despite the boy’s incessant horridness, Aqua couldn’t help but feel a sting of pity for him.
So thus, despite her better judgment, knowing she'd probably regret it later, she brought up a simple Cura spell - not Curaga, she trusted him far too little - and let it take effect, finally lifting her Keyblade from his neck.
His eyes narrowed, if possible, even further, and he scrambled backwards, up into a sitting position, though another wince prevented him from going further.
“I’m not scared of the darkness, or of you. I’m not my Master, Vanitas,” she said, dismissing her Keyblade - though still prepared to summon it back at a moment’s notice. “And I’m certainly not yours.”
“Xehanort is not my master,” Vanitas hissed angrily. “Not anymore.”
“He brought you back, didn’t he?” When Vanitas didn't immediately respond, she continued, “Ven defeated you all those years ago, at a huge sacrifice to himself. But here you are.” Her own eyes narrowed as she finished her thought with, “We know about his plan, Vanitas.”
“Exactly,” Vanitas snarled. “He brought me back for his plan. I wanted no part of that.”
“Then why do you insist on going against us?” she asked, letting a small hint of exasperation enter her voice at the question.
“Why do you think?” he asked, letting out a small huff. “I want no part of your plan, either.”
“Why not?” Aqua asked. “If you truly hate Xehanort like you say, don't you want to see him defeated?”
“Okay,” said Vanitas with a dark laugh, “First of all, I never said I hated Xehanort. I said I didn't want to be a part of his plan. There's a big difference there, idiot.”
She rolled her eyes at the insult, but otherwise didn't react.
“Second,” he continued, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in a poor imitation of both Ven and Sora, “as much as I would love to see that old nutcase given everything he deserves and more-” his eyes flashed with fresh anger as he spoke, and he moved his hands back to his lap as he clenched his fists, “-I don't want to be a part of it.”
“What did he do to you, Vanitas?” she asked with a distinct note of horror in her voice. “I know what he did to Ven, but what happened to you ?”
He scoffed again, and made to stand up, wincing hard again as he did so, but this time he managed to stay standing.
“Why didn’t you just kill me?” he asked bluntly, stretching out his sword arm with an audible pop as the joint cracked. “All I'm gonna do is get in your way again, which you know. You’re not a total moron. Not to mention the fact that my entire being goes against everything you and your Master stood for.”
“Because I don’t kill people,” she responded just as bluntly, and she didn't miss the shock that crossed his face in the split second before he composed it back to cruel indifference. “Not even people who may deserve it.” She shook her head as he rolled his eyes. “You may be a creature of darkness, Vanitas, but you're not irredeemable.”
That shocked the boy, as evidenced by the fact that he stared at her for a good couple of seconds before he crossed his arms belligerently. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“No matter what that monster ingrained in you since your creation,” Aqua sighed, “you still came from Ven.”
She was surprised that this time, the boy’s eyes didn't manage to roll right out of his skull.
“Of course, how could I forget the precious Ventus?” he asked snidely.
“Jealousy doesn't become you, Vanitas,” Aqua said dryly, making the boy sputter furiously. She plowed right on, ignoring his retorts.
“Vanitas, we all know where you came from. We all know what you are.”
“A ‘creature of darkness’,” said Vanitas bitterly. “You’ve mentioned.”
“But I’ve learned from my master’s mistakes,” she continued, leveling him with a glare of her own. “He didn’t realize how important both sides of the coin were. He didn’t realize darkness wasn’t something to fear, but something to have control of.”
Miraculously, for once, Vanitas was silent. He seemed to be mulling over what she was saying, perhaps wondering her point. Either way, she was glad for his cooperation, however minimal. It was something he didn't give often.
“I realize now,” she went on, “that light and darkness can't be without each other. Darkness can never be destroyed. But darkness also can't take over everything.” She took a step forward, gesturing to the world around them. “Without light, there is no darkness. They need to coexist, to counter each other - to balance each other out. That’s where Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort went wrong.”
His face pulled into a frown, different from his usual, as his eyes flicked downward, contemplating.
“And that's how I know you're redeemable, Vanitas. Darkness doesn't make a person bad - I’ve seen the exact opposite, with Riku, with Terra!” She let out a small laugh. “What Xehanort made you, Vanitas, doesn't have to define you! Nor does Ven! You can be your own person. You can be…” She trailed off and looked at him, really looked at him. The boy actually looked torn. At the moment, besides the hair and complexion change, he truly did resemble Sora. “You can help us end this,” she finished. “You can change your destiny.”
His eyes flicked back up to her face, and the hostility returned. “Destiny can't be changed, idiot. That’s why it's called destiny. I feel like you of all people would know that.”
“Give me a reason why you won't help us,” she snapped, beginning to lose patience. “Good God, Vanitas, if I can say you’re redeemable after all you’ve done to me and my family, what do you think the others are going to do?”
“Not a chance,” he cackled. “There is no way I am giving any of you goody-two-shoes anything to hold over me.”
“We wouldn't hold it over you, Vanitas!” she cried, raising her arms in frustration. “We want to help you!”
“Not to be cliché,” he scoffed, and she bristled hearing the faux-saccharine tone of his voice, “but I do not need your help.”
“Then why haven't you left yet?” Aqua asked.
Vanitas blinked at the non sequitur. “What?”
“You’ve been healed enough to leave for awhile now, Vanitas, but you're still standing here arguing with me. Why?”
He scowled, but stayed silent.
“Vanitas-”
“He told me that the χ-blade was the only thing that could save me.”
Aqua froze, her mouth still open from where he interrupted her statement. “What?”
His face was once again downturned, making it impossible to judge his expression. “Xehanort. He made it seem like the χ-blade was the only way I could be my own person.”
He turned his face back up to her and a shiver of something like fear made its way up her spine at his expression, devoid of all smugness and dark humor for the first time, an expression of pure hatred. But for once she felt that it wasn't aimed at her.
“I want him dead as much as all of you do,” he hissed. “But I don't trust myself enough to know that I’d make it out of that fight and still be me .”
Aqua’s brows furrowed. “Vanitas…”
“There. There's your reason,” he said. “Now leave me alone. I want no part in this.”
“Vanitas, there's still a chance-”
“Don't even think about it,” he sneered, picking up on the distinct note of pity in her voice. Evidently he didn't much care for pity. “I don’t care what you all do. Just leave me out of it.”
Aqua stood silently, shocked beyond words. When she didn't say anything more, he raised his hand and summoned a portal of darkness.
“I’m leaving. Don't even try to follow me. If you do, I'll kill you or die trying.”
“…Think about what I said, Vanitas. Please.”
Vanitas scoffed and turned to the portal. “Shut up, Aqua. Go back to your family ,” he spat over his shoulder. “Wouldn't want them to worry, now would we.”
“Vanitas…”
It may have been something in the tone of her voice, but Vanitas actually turned back around to face her, the dark corridor still open behind him.
“Is there anyone who…” she paused, tilting her head slightly, unable to prevent the concern racing through her, “...who cares about you? Really, truly cares? About you as a person?”
Vanitas was silent, his eyes narrowed as he glared darkly at the ground.
“Is there… anyone that you can call… a friend?”
Vanitas’ eyes flashed up to meet Aqua’s, and she was startled to see the genuine flash of hurt that passed through them before he looked back down, huffed angrily, turned back to the portal, and disappeared without another word.