Since Axel's heart was the closest to her, Kairi figured she should try to find him first.

Fairly quickly, she discovered that she could propel herself forward in this space by simply thinking about it. After a minute or two of experimenting with movement, she found herself able to easily drift in her training partner's direction in no time.

His heart looked like a single pinprick of light in the void; in fact, everyone's did. The further away they were, the smaller their light, but Kairi could still see all eight of them scattered around.

And even if she hadn't been able to see them, she could feel her way. Each one of them was a distinct feeling, a distinct presence. Being a Princess of Heart came with some perks.

It only took her another minute or two to reach Axel at this pace. She had seen that he was the nearest from her starting point, but she had underestimated how near.

As she got closer to him, she saw his form begin to materialize - his chest first, and then the rest of him shimmered into existence in an outwards circle from there, his explosion of a hairdo slowly spiderwebbing into its normal shape.

Axel seemed distracted. He didn't even look like he had noticed that he had faded in yet; maybe it was only Kairi who had seen.

He was looking around, his head and eyes darting from place to place, trying to find something to look at.

It didn't take him long to spot Kairi after that. She supposed she had faded into his line of sight, like he had for her.

His face lit up in a grin, and he held his arms out. "Kairi!"

She grinned back and floated up to him. "Hi, Axel!"

Axel pulled Kairi into a bear hug, and she beamed when he ruffled her hair.

He pulled back, holding her at arm's length. "Have you got any idea where the hell we are?"

"That's a great question." Kairi tilted her head. "The afterlife, I think. Or an afterlife, at least."

"The afterlife?" Axel scratched the back of his head. "Wow. We lost, huh? Tough break." His voice had a joke-y tone, but she could tell that her statement had sent a jolt of anxiety down his spine.

She shook her head. "No, it's alright. It's not over yet."

"Oh, yeah?"

"I think I can get us out of here. I felt the others come here, too, but it's because Sora saved you. All your hearts ended up here once he got them back."

He made an impressed noise and put his hands on his hips, taking another look around. "I sure HOPE you can get us out of here. This place reminds me way too much of a dark corridor."

"Tell me about it."

"Well?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Lead the way, princess."

"Umm..." She put a finger to her chin, examining their surroundings in the same way he had.

"Don't tell me you don't know the way out."

"Give me a second!" She huffed. She would have stomped her foot in mock frustration if there had been a floor to stomp on. "You're the first one I've saved, you know. Ungrateful."

He chuckled as she pondered for a second more.

Then, Kairi got a feeling. She got a compulsion to lead Axel in a certain direction, and she knew it was the way out.

There was no way to be one hundred percent certain it was the way out, but she felt it in the pit of her stomach. And following her gut had worked so far.

She grabbed her friend's arm and pointed in the direction she had a premonition about. "That way."

"You sure?"

"Who's the Princess here?"

"Whatever you say."

He seemed to follow her easily as she began to float along, so she made no effort to instruct him on how to move.

It was surreal; she could tell she was moving forward, but it was impossible to tell by sight alone. Everything (other than herself, her companion, and the hearts in the distance) was pitch black with no dimensions.

They reached the exit before they had time to make much conversation - well, it wasn't an exit, per se, but it was the closest point to the living world that Kairi knew she could exist in without returning there.

And she couldn't do that, not yet. She still had lots of work to do.

Axel looked at her when they stopped, a question on his lips. Kairi held her hands up. "This is it. You've gotta fly on, I think."

"What do you mean by 'this is it'?" He frowned. "It sounds too final. I don't like it."

"It's fine, silly. This is just the place where you leave. If I go any farther, I'll end up going back to my body before I've had a chance to help everyone else. And I'm the only one who can."

His mouth was still downturned, but he sighed. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Positive," she lied.

"Okay." He pulled her into another hug. "Be safe, kiddo. Don't get lost in here."

"I'll be just fine. I've got a compass." As they separated, she pointed to her heart.

Axel shook his head. "Reckless. No sense at all."

"See you later, Axel!" She wiggled her fingers goodbye.

As he drifted away, he called out behind him. "Hey, Kairi?"

"What's up?"

"I..."

He stopped in his tracks, and the volume of his voice lowered a bit, but his words still carried. "I've done some thinking, and I think... I think it might be Lea again."

"Oh!" She shrugged. "Okay! See you later, then, Lea!"

His eyes crinkled when he smiled at his old name.