He gazed at the star filled sky and sighed, remembering home and wondering if he'd ever make it back. Every star that twinkled above him was a world, each with its own story. One star in particular, though, burned brightest in his eyes. That star had her. He had promised her he'd come back, yet he found himself at a crossroad, unable to choose which way to go. "Twilight Town…" he whispered under his breath, hoping the night wouldn't hear his plea to go back home, for if it did, he feared it would try to stop his quest.

Sighing again, he sat down and closed his eyes, tired from that day's journey. He didn't know what had made him so paranoid. Maybe it was being away for so long. Maybe it was getting separated from his friends. Maybe it was that cloaked figure whom he had seen a few weeks before. Maybe it was the voice he had heard from ages ago telling him to have no fear. Or maybe it was the dark cloud that settled over his heart telling him trouble was about to stir, and he'd be the one to have to stop it again.

The young hero let himself fall back into the soft grass and looked down the three roads he had to choose from. One looked pleasing and happy, one looked dark and frightening, and one looked like just another road. He didn't know which way to go, and neither did his heart. His heart. He had relied on it for so long that he had forgotten he had a brain, too. Sitting up, the boy analyzed the roads and smiled, finally coming to a long awaited decision. "I'll take the road that looks normal, not the ones that are trying to allure me or scare me away! Ha!" He jumped to his feet and ran a hand through his brown spiky hair. "If nothing else, I can always come back, I guess!"

With this new direction to travel, the young hero dashed away down the chosen road, eager to see his beloved home and his dear friend again. Unnoticed to him, however, stars were beginning to fall in the sky.

A girl waited for some time on the beach, looking over the lapping waves of the ocean. It had been such a long time since she had seen him. She smiled to herself as she remembered the carefree days of building rafts and playing with her competitive friends. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck her heart as she remembered these friends. She knew one of them was coming back someday. He had promised her. However, the other was gone. She hadn't seen him since the day her island was destroyed. He hadn't promised her he'd come back. Hugging her knees tightly to her chest, she let out a deep sigh to help relieve the pain building up inside of her. "No, he didn't promise me…" she whispered to herself, hoping the waves wouldn't hear her so that they might keep the blue haired boy from coming back.

Laying back in the warm, white sand, she sighed heavily and thought to herself, "When did I become so paranoid? Was it when I knew Riku might never come back? Or maybe when Sora let go of my hand?" She gasped and jumped to her feet, feeling as though someone were copying her, or vice versa. Holding her hand over her pounding heart, she whispered, "Sora, are you feeling the same way I am? Oh, Sora…" It was then that she noticed a falling star. And then another. Soon, the sky was filled with them, just like the night she lost her friend.

He looked over his ledge and watched the black creatures stir about, waiting to devour another heart. "Too bad," he thought. "You're locked in, just like me. I hope you starve to death!" He sharpened his wooden blade a little more and raised it above his head, studying it. "Eh… It's still heavier on the right side…" Bringing the blade down to rest against his knee again, he could just barely hear a squeaky voice going on about keyblades. The blue-haired boy gritted his teeth and held his wildling knife tightly in his hand. If it was anything he hated, it was that mouse going on and on about the keyblades and how they were all different and how they could do this that and the other. "At least I'm not alone, though…" he whispered, smiling. "I'd hate to be stuck here with the Heartless alone…"

It was then the king mouse ran under the boy's ledge and jumped upon it, startling him. "Riku, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Riku exclaimed, getting his breath back.

"Ready to leave!"

"Leave? We can't leave! The Heartless will escape!"

The mouse turned to the large doors, Kingdom Hearts, and looked on with sadness as they began to open, letting thousands of hearts run out in a panicky manner. Riku sat in disbelief, watching the dark creatures trample each other to escape. "It's…opening… Does that mean…?"

"Yes, Riku…" King Mickey answered. "The barrier has fallen again."

The spiky haired kid woke up to a loud, unpleasant sound and harsh winds blowing on his face. Raising his arm to protect his eyes, he looked around him and saw a gumi ship landing near by. "The gumi ship? That must mean Donald and Goofy are here!" He dashed over to the old ship and patted it softly. "I've missed this thing."

The kid was startled when a loud, scratchy voice called, "SORA!!! YOU GET ON HERE NOW!"

"Donald!" Sora shouted, a smile stretching across his face. "Thought I'd lost you back there! I'm glad your back!"

"Stop your yapping and get on the ship! Something's happened to the barrier!"

"What? Don't tell me it fell down!"

"Okay, I won't tell you…" Goofy's voice said.

"Goofy! You're there too!"

"GET ON THE SHIP!" Donald bellowed.

Sora nodded and boarded quickly, preparing himself for the horrible news. "This must've been what the feeling was about… Why do I always have to be right about these things?"

Kairi held her hand over her heart as a cold chill ran down her spine. Something was dreadfully wrong, and she knew it. She could feel in her heart that Sora knew as well. "Oh, Sora, what's going to happen? I don't know what to do…" She headed off to the dock to get in her boat and row back to Twilight Town, her home. It wasn't safe here on the island anymore. Last time she came while stars were falling, she was whisked away into another world, her home world. Though she was glad she finally learned about her past, she didn't like the idea of leaving her new home again.

Gently, she picked up the oars and began to row herself into the blue enigma. The small waves lapped soothingly against the wooden boat, calming her just a touch. The salty breeze caressed her face smoothly as though to tell her everything was going to be alright. She knew, however, one small fact that didn't allow her to be calm despite this.

The ocean lies.

Sora sat back in his chair as Chip and Dale began to launch the ship. Donald paced back and forth, waving his arms about in his panicky manner, going on and on about how terrible the falling stars were. "The barrier is gone. The worlds will meld again! The heartless are loose! We'll have to fight again! The worlds' fate rests on us again!"

Sora sighed and waved his hand, his keyblade appearing in a burst of light. He set the tip of it on the ground and twirled it around out of boredom. He knew the situation was serious, but the duck just kept repeating himself. "Besides," he thought, "it's not like I haven't handled it before. I know what I'm doing." His heart, though, kept beating faster and faster. It knew he was scared and wouldn't let him forget it. This was serious. He was about to have to fight again, and he really wasn't looking forward to it. Sure, he had beaten tough opponents before, even a silver haired man who seemed impossible to defeat, but this was still serious. The barrier had fallen, and he needed to be prepared emotionally and physically for the fight to come, just in case it was much harder than the first one.

Goofy sat beside Sora and whispered, "Hyuck! Do you figure we'll have to fight that Ansem feller again?"

Sora shrugged and let go of the keyblade, watching it disappear. "I really don't know. We'll have to wait and see when the time comes."

Donald flapped his arms faster and shouted, "You're not listening! I'm trying to-"

"You're just repeating yourself," Sora interrupted. "I know what's going on. I'm not new to this."

The duck seemed taken aback for a moment. Then, he puffed himself up and folded his arms. "Well, if you know so much more than me, why don't YOU come up with a plan!" He planted himself heavily into a chair and grunted.

Sora ran a hand through his hair and said, "Well, we need to go to Twilight Town."

"No we don't!" Donald yelled. "We need to go find out what's going on, not see your girlfriend!"

His cheeks flushed as he growled back, "She's not my girlfriend! We're friends, okay?" He folded his arms and said, "And I think we should go to Twilight Town anyway!"

The mage jumped to his feet and shouted, "No! We're going to the World's End!"

"Twilight Town!"

"World's End!"

"Twilight Town!"

"World's End!"

Both the competitors turned to Goofy and asked forcefully, "Where to, Goofy?"

With his usual "Hyuck", he responded, "To Traverse Town!"

They looked at him with open mouths, wondering just how he could choose such a place to go. Chip and Dale, regardless of any protesting, started to warp to the world Goofy had chosen. Sora and Donald slouched in their seats, not wanting to admit they had lost, but knowing they had anyway.



Riku walked toward a gumi ship, following closely behind the king mouse. As they reached their vehicle, Mickey turned around and threw a long, dark coat to Riku. "Here!" he said. "Put it on!"

"Why? It's not exactly my style…"

"To make sure no one recognizes us. We're going into enemy territory, and we have to blend in."

"What are you talking about? We just came from the HEART of the enemy territory!" He smiled at his own irony.

"They're merely the army. We're going to find the commander in chief, along with the generals, and help your friends tear down the darkness from the inside."

Riku raised an eyebrow and asked, "You mean Sora?"

Mickey didn't answer, but instead boarded the ship and motioned for him to do the same. Riku sighed and climbed on, annoyed at being hustled around with little explanation of exactly what was going on.

Sora looked out the window and shouted, "We're here! Traverse Town! Wow, it's been a while! I can't wait to see Leon and the others!" The ship landed, and Sora was the first off, running as fast as he could to the big, wooden doors that led to the Third District. He burst through them and dashed to the door of the not-so-vacant house. Knocking on it, he placed his hands on his knees and attempted to catch his breath.

"Oh, I'll get it!" Aeris's muffled voice rang from inside. The door opened to a woman in a pink dress. "Sora! Oh, my! We thought you might show up soon! Come in! Where are Donald and Goofy?" He didn't have time to answer, as he was being shoved in a seat and surrounded by the other people. Cid, the man with short blond hair and a white t-shirt, Yuffie, the young ninja with short brown hair, Leon, a tall brunette man with a large, deadly sword, and Aeris, the beautiful women with a long brown braid, gazed down at him and asked questions all at once. Sora raised his arms in defeat, unable to distinguish one inquiry from the other.

Leon raised his hand and said commandingly, "One at a time, please. I'll go first. Sora, do you know about the barrier?"

"Of course! I wouldn't be here otherwise!"

Leon blushed slightly as he stepped back to let Yuffie ask her question. "Sora, do you know who's behind it yet?"

"No, I don't…"

She nodded, letting Aeris step up next. "Sora, have you heard from your friends?"

"No, I was on my way to find my home world when Donald found me…"

Cid folded his arms and asked, "Have you considered it's Ansem behind it all?"

"WHAT?" Sora exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, knocking the chair to the floor. "How is it possible? He died when he saw the light!"

The others shook their heads, and Leon said in his monotonous voice, "No, not quite. He lives, and he's behind all of this."

Sora, unable to take the shock, sat on the bed and rested his forehead in his hands. "I can't believe this…"