A/N: Alphabet drabbles, basically. I had a lot of trouble with this one and dislike how it turned out. I may rewrite it as an actual one-shot if there's enough interest. In regard to my other work; at this point, I have no plans to continue any of my other stories. Fanfic writing is a hobby that I tend to drift to and from over time, so it is unlikely that I'll be doing it regularly any time soon.

A

What it was that had woken him up, he'd never know—but he did know that he was entirely alone. Well, except for Ven, but that guy was as dead to the world as Vanitas had been. Nothing would wake him up. (Vanitas found that one out the hard way.)

B

When They first showed up, he was almost crazy enough to be grateful; goodness knew he'd been alone there long enough to lose his mind. Making fun of Ven just wasn't the same when he didn't fight back. Vanitas learned two things that first day: one, that even though he was free to wander the walls of the castle, he couldn't quite set foot on the floor anywhere but the room in which Ven slept, like there was some kind of barrier between him and the rest of the world, and two, that one-way windows weren't nearly as fun as they sounded.

C

Eventually he stopped trying to crash through the invisible wall that kept him trapped there, but even then he kept spitting out insults that they could not hear while he fumed in his unfamiliar helplessness. When that became more frustration than satisfaction, he fell silent and let them do the bullying for him.

D

They did their jobs well enough, especially that viper of a woman. It was better watching her make fun of that doddering old man than sitting alone in the quiet.

E

One day he discovered that the cast had gained a new member, although how it had happened was just as unclear to him as how he'd been awakened in the first place; it was as if she just suddenly began to exist.

F

He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun. His own malice had gone unsatisfied for so long, but with the arrival of this newcomer, his secondhand substitute flourished.

G

His enjoyment of her suffering only grew each day, but as these things often do, soon enough it became insufficient. Would it have been too much to ask for her to retaliate? Surely if it had been him, he'd have managed to get a rise out of her. (Greed was a funny thing.)

H

Every day the hate he let fester in his heart grew a little stronger until finally it wasn't enough just to watch.

I

It was only her he taunted now. Even that wasn't enough; he still craved a reaction, still ached to see that scandalized look he knew would be on her face if she could hear half the incendiary things he said.

J

The second those jokers showed up, he discovered that he still had plenty of spite to go around. That one kid looked like a cheap knock-off of him—how could Vanitas not mock him? And those other two—they were no better. They didn't even have his good looks. Why did that stupid girl want them around anyway?

K

He saw the darkness that had begun to taint her pure heart(?) even before she did. He knew before she did that what she was doing was wrong; he savored that fact, relished it, and yet his own enjoyment was imperfect because it was not him that had twisted her so.

L

What did she know of loneliness?

M

Murder thinned their ranks. Their pain availed him nothing; it was all a farce anyway.

N

She'd have been horrified to hear the way he said her name.

O

The morning he woke up with the illusion of her scent still overwhelming his senses, he almost had to remind himself that it was only a dream (and a stupid one at that).

P

Personally, Vanitas didn't see what was so special about that other girl, but maybe she was prettier in real life.

Q

If those idiot kids hadn't cleared out the castle first, Vanitas would have been glad when they quit hanging around. As it was, he almost preferred them over the silence. (She wasn't much help.)

R

It got so quiet that sometimes he wanted to ram his head against the wall. Maybe if he did, he'd finally manage to break that stupid wall down.

S

He wondered sometimes if she would mistake him for that kid, the one whose name started with an S.

T

He also wondered if she would ever find her way to the one room where he could take the floor.

U

He had no way of letting go of things, now; the Unversed were beyond his reach. Instead, he took his fury out on the wall.

V

When he couldn't stand to look at her any more, he visited Ventus, but it just wasn't the same.

W

It was her unintentional doing when the wall finally shattered.

X

She had no need for xenophobia; the fear in her eyes when he stepped out of the darkness was entirely justified.

Y

When she saw his face, he found out the answer to one of the questions he'd had entirely too much time to ponder. In hindsight, maybe he should have said yes. But all he'd been able to do was laugh, laugh like someone every bit unhinged as he really was.

Z

Looking at the few golden strands still clutched in his hand, he knew that he'd been a bit over-zealous. Perhaps with a little more restraint, he'd have been able to stay free of this prison, if only a tiny bit longer. He wasn't surprised that she'd sent him back. It didn't matter, anyway. He had all the time in the world. One way or another, he'd get out again.