They sat outside the exit for what felt like hours. Sora tried to rub the goose-bumps off his bare arms, but he still felt cold. Donald sat staring into space. He hadn't said a word to Sora since they left Goofy behind. He had already tried to get back in. Donald had blasted the door with a barrage from his cane and every obscenity he could think of, but it held fast. He slumped to the ground in defeat, and that was where he remained.

It was playing over and over again in Sora's mind like a broken record. The door, the hall, the darkness and the Shadows, the red glint on the edge of the shovel. Without meaning to, he found himself thinking back to the battle at Hollow Bastion. Kneeling by Goofy's body, willing him to wake up. The numb shock as he was forced to follow his friends and leave Goofy behind. The joy when Goofy came back, alive and well, a little dazed but no worse for the wear. He could hear his own relieved laughter ringing in his ears.

That wasn't so long ago, but it felt a lifetime away. Even in the heat of battle, there was an innocence to that time, like a battle of toys between children. Good always triumphed over evil, and no one was really hurt. Shadows merely disappeared into light, Nobodies faded away, and no wound was impossible to cure with magic. The friendship and protection of Donald and Goofy were just a couple of the many comforts and constants he had found, and he never had a reason to imagine things would change.

Everything was different now. All the things he valued and thought were true meant nothing in the face of so much blood and rust and dirt. There were no magic cures, no special protections, no friendly faces. Just monsters and decay and death, and the creeping pain of all his deepest fears and worst memories amplified tenfold. He felt older, heavier under the burdening weight of all he had never wanted to see or couldn't understand. Through all the muck and the confusion, only one thing was certain. No matter how long they sat waiting outside the door, Goofy wouldn't be joining them again.

Sora pushed himself to his feet, looking around. To his right, an open gate lead to another area of the park. He could see the shadowy forms of more rides and attractions, and the glow of lanterns and light bulbs.

Sora turned back to Donald. He tapped Donald lightly on the shoulder. Donald flinched as if he had been struck. Slowly, he looked up at Sora.

"Come on, Donald... we can't stay here forever," Sora said gently.

Sora was prepared for some sort of sarcastic reply or sharp remark from Donald. Instead, Donald just looked away and got to his feet. Sora walked towards the open gate, Donald trailing at his feet like a lost puppy. He wasn't prepared for this sort of stunned quiet, and he found himself feeling just as lost and hurt as Donald looked.

--

The next area was crowded by a large, circular ride. Cars shaped like rockets hung from poles attached to a canopy, centered over a rotating center pole. The metal rockets were filled with gaping holes, and hung silently just above the ground, swaying slightly in the breeze. The ride didn't look operational, but it must have been used sometime recently. A small control booth sat right next to the ride. Someone had brushed the dust away from the controls. More curious than that, a chain was wrapped around the center pole. Sora traced the chain to the handle of a gate, which had been practically ripped open when the ride was running.

Donald eyed the chain warily. "Do you think it was James?" Donald suggested.

Sora thought back to the burnt-down hotel, and the figure in the window. He shook his head. "No way!"

With nowhere else to go, they stepped through the gate. "But who else is here?" Donald wondered aloud.

Besides James and Akiri -- and, of course, the man in the black cloak -- they had not met another soul. He was struck with the realization that he had forgotten something -- the phantom he had been chasing all this time in the fog. "Maybe it was Riku!"

Donald slumped in exasperation. "Sora..." he began.

"I know, I know, you don't believe me," Sora interrupted dismissively. "The King won't tell us what happened to him, right? What if he got lost here, too?"

Donald sighed. "It just doesn't make sense! Why would he come here? Why is he running away from us? And why haven't I seen him?" Donald stomped his foot in frustration.

Sora's confidence wavered. He stopped next to another circular ride. Several cars shaped like tea cups were placed inside a ring. Colorful light bulbs had been strung around the area, glowing faintly. Why is he running away? Sora thought. Doesn't he want to see me?

Donald stood in front of Sora, hands on his hips. For a moment he just stared at Sora, watching him think. "Why do you want to find Riku, anyway?" Donald asked.

Sora's head jerked up in surprise. "Not you, too!" Sora groaned, turning away. He stepped onto the ride platform, trying to put some distance in-between him and Donald.

Donald followed after him. "Riku was a bad guy! Don't you remember everything he did to us? To you?"

Sora dodged around a tea cup. "That wasn't his fault! It was Ansem! Besides, he saved us at Kingdom Hearts, didn't he?"

"What if he never got out of Kingdom Hearts?" Donald countered. "What if he's a Heartless now? Or a Nobody?"

Sora clutched the rim of the tea cup, shaking his head. "No way! Not Riku! If Mickey could get out, so could he!"

"But--"

"I have to find him no matter what!" Sora interjected, barreling on without listening. "He's my friend!"

"Goofy was your friend!" Donald bellowed, slamming his fist against the side of the tea cup. Sora blinked in shock, staring at Donald. "Goofy's never been anything but a friend to you! He gave up everything to protect you! And all you can think about is Riku?"

Sora gazed abashed down at his hands. "I just don't understand..." Sora muttered. "If he's okay... why won't he let me know? I thought we were... friends..."

Donald worked his jaw, thinking. "What if..." Sora looked up. "What if the reason he's running away is you?"

The ground beneath their feet suddenly jerked. Already stunned, Sora had to scramble to keep a hold on the tea cup as it started to spin. Music was drifting in with the fog, and Sora could hear the rush of water somewhere underneath them. The radio clicked on, echoing the scratchy melody.

Donald climbed into the tea cup and slammed his hands over the sides of his head. "Sora! Cover your ears!" Donald cried, trying to keep a hold on the cane with his knees.

Sora was too distracted to listen, eyes roving around for a sign of movement. It was hard to see anything; the ground was spinning, the tea cups were spinning, everything was spinning around him. He thought he saw a couple dark shadows flitting around the tea cups, but the movement was so fluid and smooth, it was impossible to tell until they were practically in front of them.

Two Nightmare Dancers were darting around the tea cups. One lunged at Sora, and he jumped around another tea cup just in time for it to go spinning away. The interweaving patterns of the cups brought them closer together and further away, and they were soon caught in a cat and mouse chase, dancing around and around the ring. Sora managed to catch one as their tea cups went swinging by, the fire axe catching it in the chest. It flung away out of sight. The other was leaping across the cups, trying to get to Donald. Sora followed. The Dancer perched above Donald. Donald fumbled for the cane -- it clattered out of grip and tumbled out of the cup. The monster lunged, seizing him by the neck.

"Hey!" Sora yelled. The monster looked up in confusion, just as Sora's axe sunk into the back of its neck. The Dancer let loose a blood-curdling scream, and slumped onto the seat. The music slowed, and the ride with it. Slowly, the tea cups screeched to a stop, and the static cut off.

Sora leaned on the oversized cup, panting. Donald pushed himself out from under the corpse, flustered. "You okay, Donald?" Sora wheezed.

Donald shook his head. "Nevermind that! Where's my cane?!" Donald leapt out of the cup, swaying a bit -- the world still seemed to be spinning around him. He searched frantically around the tea cups. He saw a glint of silver and ran over, scooping the metal cane up into his arms. Donald was about to turn away when he saw the shine of something else. He bent down and picked it up, holding it to the light. It was a full water bottle.

Sora walked over, steadying himself on the tea cups. He caught sight of the water bottle. "Great! I'm thirsty." He made a swipe for the bottle and Donald dodged out of the way.

"You can't drink this! You don't know what's in it!" Donald retorted.

Sora sagged. "Yeaaah, I guess you're right. Come on, let's get off this thing... I feel sick."

Donald pocketed the water bottle, and they scrambled for the nearest exit.

--

The next area was rather small, and consisted of two attractions. To their right was a small, colorful entrance. If the decorations weren't a dead giveaway, the sign certainly was.

"Hey! A fortune teller!" Sora gasped.

Donald stared in disbelief. "Don't tell me you believe that stuff!"

Sora blinked at Donald. "You don't? Aren't you a magician or something?"

"That's real magic, not a bunch of hocus pocus mumbo jumbo!" Donald replied defensively.

Sora was already pushing his way past the curtains. The shop inside was cramped and practically crammed with knick-knacks, barely visible under the glow of a string of lights.

"I'll just wait out here!" Donald called. Sora could hear him muttering.

Sora reached the back of the room, feeling somewhat deflated -- no one was around. A single, small table sat at the back of the room. A set of tarot cards were spilled across the table cloth. Sora picked one up out of curiosity, and instantly dropped it. It was the same as the last keycard he had received in the labyrinth -- a skeleton riding a white horse. The numerals "XIII" were clearly printed on the bottom, and on the top "DEATH" was written in bold letters.

A shine of light drew his attention back to the table. A crystal ball was perched on top of a clawed stand. The substance inside swirled like the fog outside. At first Sora thought he was just seeing things, but the longer he stared, the clearer the image became.

A cloaked figure was walking in the rain. A large, heavy hood concealed his face. He stopped, and craned his head to look up at the top of a building. At the top, another boy in a black cloak stood. His face was almost concealed by a thick black blindfold, but the hair beating in the wind and the distinctive blade he clutched were unmistakable. Sora clutched the ball in both hands. Riku!

The crystal ball burnt in his fingers, and he instinctively tried to drop it. He couldn't let go. The mist inside the ball seeped outside the confines of the glass, the images enveloping him. Suddenly Sora was the one looking up at the building. There was a Keyblade in his hand again, and he was beating back Neo Shadows, trying to get to Riku. For a moment they were fighting back to back, and then they were facing one another. They lunged at one another, blades clashing. Sora could feel his own confusion and fear mixed with someone else's intense rage and hatred. What's happening? What is this? Why am I fighting Riku?

The images became a blur. Suddenly Riku was on the ground, defeated. He was shouting something at Sora, but Sora could only hear the rain beating around him. To his horror, he lashed out at Riku, and the image went black.

Suddenly he was sideways in the dirt, staring into Akiri's lifeless eyes again. Her mangled body was seeping fresh blood. No! Not this again! The image warped and suddenly it was Kairi's body, Kairi's dead eyes staring back at him. Kairi! No! He reached out for her but she was already gone, replaced with a vision of a dark corridor, Goofy's torn body lying against the floor. Deep, black gashes burned into his flesh. Sora willed himself to look away but his eyes wouldn't move, wouldn't blink. The images were flashing faster -- Donald ripped to pieces -- Riku beaten and mutilated -- faces he didn't recognize, screaming out in agony. He was standing on a mountain of corpses, friend and foe, Heartless and Nobody. They stirred to life and crawled up towards him. His mind was a tangled web of terror and bloodlust. No! This isn't me! Riku was reaching out for him, his face just a brutalized mess. This isn't happening! This isn't real! I didn't do it! I didn't do it!

There was a strong sensation of being pulled, and the images sucked away. He was staring down at the crystal ball again, looking at his own reflection. In the mist it distorted into a dark, shadowy image of himself, eyes glowing yellow. The ball dropped out of his hands, smashing into pieces on the floor. The loud shattering brought Donald running in.

Donald glanced down at the tiny shards of glass, up to Sora's violently shaking hands, up to Sora's wide, staring eyes. Donald grabbed Sora's shoulder and shook it. "Sora! What happened?"

Sora jumped away, nearly screaming, thinking he was still in the vision. When he saw it was Donald -- alive and well -- he sunk to the floor. "I... I saw... everyone... everyone was dead... everyone..." Sora whispered.

Donald leaned in. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Sora hid his face with his hands. "I wanted to kill them... I didn't want to... I killed them all..."

"Sora! Snap out of it!" Donald cried, slapping Sora upside the head.

This seemed to work; Sora refocused his gaze on Donald. "What...? Donald? What happened?"

"I heard a scream! Are you okay? There's blood on your face!"

Sora felt a sharp sting in his hands; he pulled them away and realized they were bloody from several shards of glass embedded in his palm. Alarmed, he frantically started pulling the shards out. "I saw something..." He shook his head, pulling a small roll of bandages and tape out of his pockets that he had used to bandage Goofy before. "Nevermind. It's hocus pocus, right?" He finished bandaging his palms and jumped to his feet. His shoes hit something hidden in the debris, sending it skittering across the floor. Curious, he went to pick it up. He gingerly held it up to the light. It was a large, gold locket shaped like a seashell.

Donald glanced from Sora's hands to the locket. "Are you sure you're okay?"

--

They stepped out of the Fortune House and into the only other available option -- another building. They stepped inside of a small, damp space. It was the front queue of a child's dark ride. There were no cars on the track, and the doors in and out of the room were closed and locked. The room was decorated as if underwater, with fake plants, sand and pebbles. A display separated them from the track. It was a fountain with a statue of a mermaid girl in it. The paint on the stone had long worn away, so that the girl's eyes just stared blankly into nowhere. Her hands were held to her chest, pointing up to her neck, where there was a deep indentation. The fountain was dry.

Donald inspected the doors to the inside of the ride, but they didn't budge. "Another dead end?" he sighed.

Sora stood staring at the statue, palming the locket in one bandaged hand. He held the locket up to the indent on her chest. It fit inside.

Donald looked back. "What are you doing?"

Sora gestured Donald over. "Hey, can I see that water bottle?"

Donald pulled out the bottle and held it protectively to his chest. "Not if you're going to drink it!"

Sora snatched it out of his hands. "Of course not!" He carefully poured the water into the fountain basin. The water drained out of sight, and for a moment, nothing happened. Something clicked, and the locket glowed, emitting the plinking melody of a music box. The was a loud grounding, and the door to the ride opened.

"How'd you know to do that?" Donald questioned suspiciously.

Sora glanced from the statue to Donald. "Doesn't she look like Ariel?"

Donald squinted hard at the statue. "I don't see it! Besides, what does that have to do with anything?"

Sora rolled his eyes, heading for the door. "Did you pay attention to anything in Atlantica?"

Donald followed after Sora. "No! I was too busy trying to learn all those silly songs!" he cried indignantly.

They were in a narrow passageway meant to be part of the ride. The props and decorations in the scene were ruined beyond repair by water damage. The door to the next part of the ride was blocked by debris, but a door to the side lead to a staff exit. It was unlocked.