A message in a bottle, he thought to himself. Someone didn't know where he was and wanted to get in contact with him.

He tossed the bottle up into the air, timing it so that he would unsheathe his blade and cleave through it right as it passed his field of vision. The note inside was barely touched, but the bottle itself was chopped very cleanly in half. The glass shattered against the cold rock bed beneath Sora's feet, the first sound this particular cave had heard since he found it.

It had been about a year since the last time Sora had been close to anyone or anything besides the Keyblade. For a while, it seemed like that would be the only thing he could get close to. After all, in his mind and his words, "Nobody would put up with my lifestyle, much less anything else about me." The blade was a lot quicker now, at least, he reassured himself, and a lot sharper. He had taken refuge in a forest on some godforsaken world he had never heard of before, having to sleep with one eye open so he could fend off goblins when they came through his camp four to five times a night to try to steal his food. But it was better to be living in this small cave, even if it was sticking out of that forest like a sore thumb... Especially considering it was the only solid part of his home world that he could find.

He had to restrain himself from going back to kill so many people he used to call his friends. Nobody was at fault, after all, at least, nobody who was willing to take the blame for it. But if people had shed more light on the situation earlier, like they should have, maybe he could have fixed the problems. Now an intergalactic war was being waged between light and darkness. The Council of Light, which was responsible for the blade he was holding right now, started to attack the darkness in full force without fully realizing what kind of repercussion that would have on the balance in the various worlds Sora and his friends still remained on.

To him, Destiny Islands was their stepping stone, and those who tore it apart were his enemies. But that couldn't have mattered much in light of everything that had happened.

His Moonlight Sonata key had the sharpest edge he had ever seen, to the point that Sephiroth's Masamune didn't even slice through things as cleanly. The blade held a beautiful, silvery reflective surface in the sunlight, with only its edge showing the frosty white hamon that it had received when Sora learned how to summon it. This blade was the only one he had ever summoned without the use of a keychain. The blade itself actually consisted of two straight in-line blades that met at the handle and at the tip, with the teeth of the key taking a crescent shape and sharply curving down toward the front to meet the other blade. The front had a straight shape except at the tip, where it met the back blade, and eased into a slight curve to create a sharp hook where the two blades met. The blade itself was very long, almost as tall as Sora was, and the hand guard resembled the Heartless symbol, with blades along its edge. Due to oxidation, it held a very light blue tinge, but he didn't care. It was a solid symbolization of nothing short of his own heart – tormented, yet still incredibly strong.

To put it quite simply, there was no doubt in his mind that this thing would have cut clean through both the bottle and the paper inside with no problem. Someone had enchanted this paper so that nothing could be done to it until it was read.

Sora picked it up with his left hand, aiming his key at the firewood next to him and casting Fire on it. It was the first time he'd used the spell since leaving Donald and Goofy behind at Mickey's Castle, while he would have to go out and save the rest of the world. The note itself was in a fine cursive, its letters simply rolling into one another.

His eyes glowed with an ungodly anger as he looked carefully at the page, the urge to throw it in the fire building very suddenly.

"Sora, we need to talk. Something terrible is happening, and I need your help."

While Sora was in no mood to speak to the King, his mood toward the matter certainly changed when he saw the campfire he had just lit disappear from view as it fell off the edge of the world.

"Shit!" he exclaimed out loud, making a mad dash for his stolen Kingdom Gummi ship. The world around him was collapsing, and it looked like he wasn't alone – the stars were blinking out one by one.

As he strapped in to the pilot's seat on the small red and yellow vehicle, the ignition drowning out the sounds of thousands of goblins screaming and running for cover, a single, solitary thought crossed his mind:

"All that work, and those fucking goblins STILL ate my food."

Sora made his way to Mickey's Castle, where he was promptly confronted and arrested for stealing a Gummi ship, breaking out of prison, and unauthorized use of a Keyblade on private property. All of these charges, of course, Sora completely understood, but felt he didn't deserve, because his actions led to the safekeeping of seven different worlds in the recent past.

"Sora, what has gotten into you these days?" the King asked, staring at him through the steel bars. "I turn my back for one second, and you go crazy! Everyone in the castle is afraid that if I talk to ya, we'll end up killin' each other!"

"Can you blame them?" he replied. "It's not like it's my fault all of this started happening. You went and brown-nosed into my business."

"It's not like that at all, Sora. And that's what I called ya here to tell ya." Mickey had a rare sad face. "Things fall apart quickly around here, ya know."

"Talking about Minnie?" he asked. It was no big secret that Minnie had been taken by the darkness just a few days prior to his arrival. Sora was in no mood to be civil – he never struck this low before, not even with Xehanort.

"That's not what I called ya here for, either, pal." Mickey seemed ready to cry at any given moment from this comment.

"Well then tell me and let me go." He began very angrily, but his voice trailed off into melancholy as he reiterated his initial point. "You and I both know I don't deserve to be here…"

"Golly. When ya put it that way, ya make me sound like the bad guy."

Sora quickly defended himself. "Sorry. I'm just…"

"Still upset over Kairi."

It seemed the mouse was awfully well-informed, and knew exactly where to strike in order to get Sora's attention. Just after Sora left Destiny Islands to embark on a mission – to save two fellow wielders of the Keyblade – the entire world collapsed. Kairi and Riku were nowhere to be found, and everything Sora held sacred was once again taken from him. The only difference between then and now was the ability to understand what had happened.

Sora shook his fist in anger, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "You know, it would be easier if I didn't have people reminding me of it."

"Sora, calm down," Mickey said. "Donald and Goofy are still worried sick about ya! And…"

"Are they still looking to apologize for selling me out? Give them this message from me: I wouldn't have done it to them, and I have no reason to forgive them."

"I know ya don't, pal… I also know you have no reason to forgive me." At this point, the tears Mickey could have shed disappeared. He buried his face in his hands for a moment, rubbed the restlessness from his eyes the best he could, and pulled up a seat.

He was right. Sora had been under the impression that his work was done, that what he was doing now was purely for the good of the universe. Riku and Kairi were still alive, somewhere, at least according to all the sources he'd known. But it was still the King's fault for not telling Sora everything he knew. Mickey had been a member of the Council of Light for many years, and it was his decision to hide the underlying issues between light and darkness from everyone else that eventually led to an all-out war. Had he known, Sora's little journey would have been finished a long time ago, without the destruction of so many worlds and the deaths of so many friends. Of course, the King was only doing what he thought was right at the time, Sora reminded himself repeatedly, but it was still no excuse.

"But, as evidenced by the fact that I'm here, I'm ready to believe I can." His eyes held a certain character to them, a subtle hint of sincerity peaking in his voice. "I forgive you… at least for now."

Mickey seemed instantly relieved. "Golly… Thanks. Sora, you know, I been thinkin'…"

"Something's still not right with the universe."

"Yep. It seems to me that the Heartless are still not too happy with the idea of being beaten. What I found… well, you're not gonna like it."

"What did you find?" Sora said, nervously gripping his Keyblade and flicking it in and out of its holster. Kairi made it for him while he was on break. It allowed for a faster draw than summoning, and also ensured that he'd be able to use it regardless.

Mickey's face held a grimace the likes of which Sora had never seen before. "Welp… it seems like we got most everything right. The Heartless need to be destroyed in every world, and they need to not be discovered by the people who tried to use 'em in their quest to take over the worlds. What I believe happened is that the Heartless shouldn't have even been discovered."

Sora drew his blade and slammed it into the ground. "You're saying that I'm the one who caused all this?" His anger had reached a fever pitch.

"Not exactly, pal. But what I do believe has happened here is something you're not gonna like. A paradoxical element, from what I gather." Mickey drew closer to the bars.

"Paradoxical element? What do you mean?" Sora asked, pulling his blade from the ground.

"Well, think about it, Sora. Wasn't there always somethin' that just didn't feel right about the entire situation?"

"I guess so, but what does all this have to do with our island?" Sora asked impatiently.

"Welp… I don't think Riku stickin' around after ya sealed the Nobodies away was such a good idea."

"I already knew this was where you were headed." Sora snickered.

"But I got a much more important question in mind," Mickey retorted. "Why is it that none o' these worlds sealed up after ya sealed the Keyholes? There were still thousands of the Heartless swimmin' around out there! Sometimes literally!"

"So what are you saying?" Sora questioned impatiently.

"I'm sayin'… Maybe the whole reason all this happened is 'cause you weren't supposed to be seen around those parts." Mickey took out a notebook. "Here – Ansem the Wise gave me this before he died. Thought ya might find it useful."

The bookmark was stuck in a page, denoted with a large red "Caution" sign on it. Sora opened up to the page and looked at the diagram.

"Now, ya see, right there, he's talkin' about how light and darkness are only supposed to meet at the End of the World, become a spirit, and join the worlds through a barrier only spirits can cross. There, they find a creature about to be given life, and create a heart inside of it… Sounded real shaky to me, but… it can't be overlooked."

"So what are you saying?" Sora asked.

"I'm sayin' that if nobody else is supposed to cross through that barrier – Heartless, Nobodies, and so on – then we got some serious trouble on our hands. And if anything – or anyone – sneaks through, unless they don't change anything that wasn't meant to be changed in that world, the barrier will never return."

"So is that what this diagram is supposed to represent?" Sora asked as he pointed to the time chamber.

"Yep. Basically, what he's tryin' ta say is that we got trouble on our hands if those world barriers never come back." Mickey threw a coat into the cell, then took his out and put it on. "It'll be much easier with one o' these to get around. You need to go back in time and sort this mess out."

"Back in time! What? How the hell am I gonna do that?" Sora said, flustered, as he took his Keyblade's scabbard and strapped it to the outside of the coat.

"According to the diagram, you can just go to the End of the World, and use the memory portals. But unfortunately…"

Sora didn't guess it, but rather said it aloud. "I'm going alone."

"Sorry, pal. We can't help ya here."

"No. Even if you could…"

"Oh…"

Sora, Donald and Goofy had been great friends until Riku was discovered alive on Destiny Islands. By the end of everything, Riku had generated a lot of hate toward himself, partly for being so aloof and alone, and partly for nearly killing everyone. But Sora and Kairi found it in themselves to forgive him – Sora, at least, did it for an entirely different reason. He knew where Kairi's heart, her resolve, laid, and even knowing that his own best friend was the person she had fallen in love with wouldn't stop him from making her happy.

Donald and Goofy had been under orders to kill Riku. And Sora was the one who had to fight them off. His best friends had betrayed him.

"She was gonna be miserable without him. And with them to blame for his death… I just can't." Sora hesitated for a moment, running his blade across his fingers to test the sharpness again.

"I know these things can't be forgiven so easily, but ya gotta try. If anything, it's my fault." Mickey pulled his gold and silver Keyblade out and shot a silvery white beam of light into the lock on Sora's door. "Besides… You know what's right. I trust ya wholeheartedly on that front."

"Mickey…" Sora sighed deeply. "I appreciate all the faith you're putting me. Thank you. But… I don't know if I can trust myself."

Mickey pointed his key at Sora's. "That there says ya can. And ya will. Ya know, if it wasn't so gosh-darn important they didn't go with ya, I'd send 'em along. But… like I said… this has to be a stealth mission. And if it don't work, we can't say we never tried."

"So, just to be clear," Sora repeated, "my mission is to prevent the Heartless from shaking things up in any of the other worlds, and see what happens without my influence. Am I right so far?"

"Yep. Somehow I have a feeling Riku wouldn't have turned evil if Ansem hadn't been allowed to break into your world. And the Unversed probably had somethin' to do with it, but I can't figure out for the life o' me what they did."

"Well, let's recap first," Sora said. "Because there's no way in hell I'm going out there blind."

"Okay," the King replied. "First off…"

As the King explained what was going on, things started to make more sense. The Unversed were an extension of Vanitas – the first forms ever to come to manifestation as a result of the dark and light bonds within an already living person being severed – unintentionally created by Ansem the Wise. Unversed, however, were only manifested by emotion – they themselves had nothing to do with severing bonds with the heart. Xehanort had run countless experiments on them in order to recreate the circumstances behind their birth, and eventually created the Heartless. Eventually, Xehanort became a Heartless himself, his heart confiscated for its horrific crimes. However, among the Heartless were a very small select few who were willing to make things right again – bring balance to the world – and aided Sora in his quest.

And thus birthed the Nobodies – bodies created from hearts that were so strong, their bodies continued to search for them with the hope of someday returning to the way things were before their theft. Nobodies were the light and darkness without the heart – they were born of emptiness, and tried to reclaim Kingdom Hearts so that those hearts could return to them. When Sora destroyed them, they split back into their basic forms of light and darkness, to later be reunited again when the time was right.

In other words, darkness could not come into a world without its equal counterpart in light, and a heart could not be created without either. So how does a heart get created in a world? Light and darkness have to unite, balance each other, and become a whole inside of a person. This is why there are special exceptions to these rules – for instance, Kairi, who is purely of light, and Xehanort, who was able to survive without the light. But Xehanort himself was purely evil – regardless of whether or not he was pure darkness – and was seen as unfit to rule the Heartless, because there was a divide among the good and evil sides of the darkness.

The end result was that, as manifestations of evil darkness, the Heartless themselves were never meant to be, and all of Sora's effort to destroy them only served to ensure their ability to thrive. Time manipulation, as it seemed, was only possible when the Heartless were in play, because their existence is paradoxical in the first place. So it was possible (and probable, at this point) that Xehanort ended up going back in time when he created the first Heartless, taking his notes with him, and influencing Riku into joining him instead. This would explain why Sora and Riku ended up fighting in the first place.

The ability to get through this barrier was entirely paradoxical. Riku and Xehanort should never have met.

"Riku is NOT evil," Sora reassured Mickey. "Even if he is a little misled sometimes… I don't think KILLING him is the right thing to do!"

"Okay, Sora," he replied. "But ya gotta admit, there's some logic to my argument. If this is what's goin' on, ya know…"

Sora had been facing this possibility for quite some time. He did know that, after Destiny Islands collapsed for a second time, it was entirely Riku's fault - he saw the man, standing at the gate, letting the Heartless have their way. Sora, however, was much more concerned with answers than placing blame. After all, Riku had been his best friend for years – it was entirely unlike him to go ahead and allow the Heartless safe passage to the heart of the world, thereby destroying it from the inside out.

"I've got to get to the bottom of this," Sora repeated. "Mickey... I'm grateful for your help, but I'm afraid this is where I say my final goodbye."

Mickey nodded his head. "Oh, Sora?"

"Yes?"

"Don't mention this to the mechanics, but you can keep the Gummi ship."

"Thanks."