Roxas, Xion, and Namine descend to Hollow Bastion yet again, arriving just outside the marketplace. They continue to walk when they see a group of heartless soldiers running up the stairs. Roxas and Xion draw their keyblades, but the soldiers suddenly disappear.
"Did something bad happen?" asks Namine.
"There's only one way to find. Let's go." Says Roxas drawing his keyblade.
As the three run through the shopping district they make their way past the item shop, when suddenly a group of nobodies appears, before Xion and Roxas can take care of them, however, a large blade slashes through all of them at once. The three see a tall man with blonde spiky hair, he almost resembles a taller Roxas. None of them recognize him.
"You should be careful where you run. These things can appear out of nowhere." Says the man.
"Sorry, we'll be more careful," Says Namine
"By the way. . . Have we met before?" asks the man, still as serious as ever
"I don't think so. But you may have met our friend Sora." Says Xion. The man nods his head.
"That I have. I'm Cloud Strife."
"I'm Roxas, These are my friends Xion and Namine" Says Roxas. The two wave at Cloud, who nods in acknowledgment. Cloud turns and walks off
"Hey, where are you going?" Asks Namine.
"I'm looking for someone. . . I have a score to settle." Says Cloud, before continuing to walk off.
"He looks like he's been through a lot more than us." Says Namine
"Yeah, I hope things go well for him," Xion adds on. The three continue their way to Merlin's house, dealing with any heartless that get in their way.
"Is it just me, or are the heartless stronger than when we were last here?" Asks Roxas.
"It's definitely not just you, Something bad is going on, I can feel it." Says Xion. The three enter Merlin's house to see Cid smashing away at the terminal, while Yuffie watches over his shoulder. Yuffie and Cid turn to face them
"Hey, kiddos- you're just in time. Got some good news for ya," Cid says. "So get yourselves over to Leon's."
"What kind of news is it?" Asks Roxas
"We found Ansem's computer!" Yuffie says with excitement. Xion's face lights up at the sound of that
"Yep. Should be able to get all kinds of info on the Heartless and Organization Thirteen. Maybe even information you two wouldn't already know." Says Cid.
"And maybe even where Axel is. . ." Says Roxas.
"You'll have to see for yourself. Head to the Castle. You'll find the computer inside." Says Cid. Roxas, Xion, and Namine nod and make their way to the castle this world is named after. Hollow Bastion. The three are walking through the bailey when they hear an unfamiliar voice from behind them.
"Excuse me, are you with the restoration committee?" The three turn around to see three fairy-like people floating in the air, they're very small. The three nod.
"What's Leon's gang up to?" Asks the middle fairy.
"They've got stuff to do over by the castle postern." Says Roxas. The
"Scoop!" the left fairy says with excitement. Roxas, Xion, and Namine look confused.
"Let's report." Says the serious fairy in black.
"To who?" Asks Namine.
"To our leader, Malefi-" the left fairy gets cut off as the one in black quickly covers her mouth.
"Don't mind her, I assure you, we come in peace." says the fairy in black, unconvincingly. Before the three disappear in a flash of light.
"Well, that doesn't sound good." Says Namine.
"we'll have to be more careful. It seems we have more enemies than we realize." Says Xion. the three turn and run to the castle postern. When they arrive, they look around, but no one is there.
"Leon!? Hello!?" Roxas yells,
"Over here," Aerith says, walking up a ramp to meet with the three.
"You guys found Ansem's computer?" Asks Xion.
"Uh-huh. The king is very interested in it." Says Aerith.
"The king?" Roxas asks
"King Mickey. He's with Leon." Aerith says. "Take that entrance over there," Aerith says, pointing to a doorway connected to a lower platform. The three find their way in a long series of corridors under Hollow Bastion's main castle. The three traverse the maze-like corridors to the best of their abilities and take out any stray heartless they find. Eventually, they find a differently looking hallway, with a door at the end. The three enter and find what looks like a study area, with many books and chemical flasks littered throughout the room. The room itself looks very much abandoned though. Cobwebs are seen in every nook and cranny, shattered glass covers the floor. But one thing catches Xion and Roxas's eyes the most. A painting hangs from the wall. On it is a fellow with a white lab coat and purple tie.
"Is that-?" Roxas asks, but he already knows who that is. The hair looks different and he looks much younger in the painting. But it's clear who the painting is of.
"Xemnas. . ." Says Xion. The three stare at the painting and don't even notice the girl who enters the room.
"Hey, you three." Roxas, Xion, and Namine snap back to reality and turn around to see a girl with long brown hair. She looks around the room, but she doesn't see who she's looking for.
"I'm looking for somebody. He looks kind of like you" she says, pointing at Roxas "his hair is much spikier though. Have you seen him?"
"You mean Cloud?" asks Roxas. She nods her head.
"We saw him at the marketplace, though that was a while ago." Says Xion.
"Alright. I'm gonna look around for a second." says the girl. She walks around the edges of the room, pushing at random spots against the wall. She looks through bookshelves and under the desk. She finally turns her attention to an empty wall, the only one without any decorations or furnishing. She kicks it hard, and the room practically shakes from the impact of her foot hitting the wall. But nothing happens
"Sorry to bother you." Said the girl. She proceeds to turn around and walk out of the room, before closing the door behind her.
"So, I see you've made it.' Says a familiar voice. The three turn to see Leon suddenly standing in the spot the girl had just kicked.
"Hey, Leon!" Roxas says, waving at him. Namine looks around the room
"Didn't Aerith say King Mickey was here?" Asks Namine.
"You'll see him soon enough," says Leon. turning around and putting his hand against the wall. A part of it lights up as he does so. Suddenly, the whole wall disappears, revealing another hallway. "Ansem's computer room is this way," Leon says, motioning the three to follow him. Which they do. They enter a room, on the right is some sort of machine, while on the left is a computer terminal against a glass window. Roxas makes his way to the computer, while Xion and Namine follow. Leon however doesn't, preferring to stay near the doorway. Roxas begins typing away at the terminal
"Where. . . Is. . .Axel . . ." Roxas types, slamming his fingers into the keyboard without a care for the old equipment.
"Roxas be careful! You could break it!" Says Xion. Roxas steps back and lets Xion take a look at the computer. As soon as she strokes, a key, however, an alarm is heard, along with a voice.
"Attention user, this is a warning. Further misuse of this terminal will result in immediate defensive action."
"Who's there?" Namine asks.
"I am the Master Control Program. I oversee this system."
"Where are you?" Asks Roxas. He looks around, and takes a step back, accidentally bumping into the terminal, he loses his balance and puts his arm against it to regain his balance, accidentally putting his hand on the keyboard. Triggering another alarm
"Roxas!" Leon, Xion, and Namine shout. But it's too late.
"Decision gate reached. You are now under arrest." the machine at the other end of the room springs to life.
"Run!" Shouts Leon, grabbing Namine by the arm and pulling her towards the doorway. Roxas and Xion Attempt to join them when a laser shoots out from the machine. The two freeze as the laser hits their bodies. They slowly disintegrate piece by piece.
"Roxas! Xion!" Namine shouts. But the two disappear, without a trace.
Xion opens her eyes and looks around, the tall black buildings and heart-shaped moon indicate that she's back at The World That Never Was. Yet again he finds herself in front of Memory's Skyscraper. Xion looks up at the screen on the building. Memories from her short life flash by. She and Roxas on their first mission together, Axel, Roxas, and herself eating ice cream at the clock tower together, even her more recent memories appear, being carried in Beast's Castle. Showing her identity to Mulan, it all flashes on the screen. Suddenly, a strange image appears. It's of herself, looking up at Memory's Skyscraper. It's her in real-time but from a different angle. Xion turns to face the area where the memory would supposedly have been made and sees a hooded figure emerge from the darkness. Suddenly, even more, hooded figures emerge. They all surround her.
"Replica. . ."
"Expendable. . ."
"Replaceable. . ."
"Puppet. . ." The hooded ones continue to hurl insults at Xion.
"Shut Up!" Yells Xion. "I may be a replica, I may have been created as a puppet, but that's not true anymore!" Xion Shouts. "I am my own person now! I know my value. I know there's someone out there who thinks I'm special!" Says Xion, her will refusing to cave in.
"Is that so. . .?" Says the voices, speaking like a million whispers. The figures remove their hoods. All of them, resemble Xion, with the exception of their hair, which is a silver color, and their eyes, which are glow a bright yellow. They materialize their keyblades and attack in unison. Xion casts a reflective barrier. It knocks a few back but it only lasts so long. The collective Xions break through her barrier, shattering it into millions of pieces, before attacking her. She tries her best to stop the onslaught of attacks, but she's hit from every direction and it's not long until she's on her knees.
The grey-haired Xions grab her keyblade and destroy it right in front of her eyes, before turning to face something behind them, and moving out of the way to create a path for it. In front of Xion is someone in strange silver and gold armor, and a dome-like helmet.
"You are nothing. . ." It says, the voice sounding like that of whispers, similar to the Xions. It summons a kingdom key and stabs at Xion, piercing through her chest, Xion slowly closes her eyes as the world around her fades to darkness, her nonexistence slipping away. . .
Xion's eyes open once again, this time, however, she is in a very different world. She gets up to find herself in a strange world. The ground is a dark green, the edges of the platform she's on are outlined in a red color. She looks over and not too far away sees Roxas, on the ground. Surrounded by strange heartless
"Roxas!" Yells Xion. She pulls herself off of the ground and stands, but before she can run to his aid. A man makes his presence known
"Halt." Says the man. The tall man has a body made of metal, with red streaks of light forming a pattern on it. His skin is a strange gray color.
"Who're you!?" asks Xion.
"I am Commander Sark. You both are under arrest for misuse of the terminal"
"Why would we listen to you?" Says Xion drawing her keyblade. "You're clearly with the heartless."
"Hmph. Very well, if you will not go willingly, I'll have to convince you." Says Sark, he signals at the heartless surrounding Roxas, who shocks him with an incredible amount of electric magic. Roxas's eyes open wide as he begins to writhe in pain, screaming the entire time.
"Roxas!" Xion cries. She takes a step closer to her friend but is cut off by more heartless.
"Make your choice. Come willingly, or face annihilation." Says Sark. Xion looks over at Roxas, who continues to scream in intense agony. She dematerializes her keyblade and puts her hands behind her head. Signaling her surrender. Sark smirks and gives the heartless the signal to stop. Once the shocking ceases, so do Roxas's cries. He again just lies on the floor, unconscious. The two are escorted and locked in a strange cell. The two are left alone as Sark and the heartless leave. Xion holds Roxas in her arms, he's alive, but injured. She looks out the cell window and sees the rest of the world is just strange.
"What world is this?" Asks Xion, seemingly to herself, but a voice is heard in the room.
"You're inside a mainframe computer system." Xion turns to see another man in the cell, whom she hadn't noticed previously, too preoccupied with the slumbering Roxas. The man has a body similar to that of Sark, though with a blue pattern of light instead of red.
"Inside a computer?" Xion asks. The man nods.
"This system is a copy of one created by a corporation called ENCOM. The original program was destroyed. But this copy was acquired by another User."
"You mean Ansem?" The man again nods,
"Ansem took this copy and modified it, customized it, renaming the system to Hollow Bastion OS." the man says. "He used the system for Town maintenance, and to advance his private research." The man explains. He gets up and introduces himself. "I'm Tron. I'm a security program. Or I was. Now I'm a prisoner. Same as you two."
"I'm Xion. And this is Roxas." Xion says, looking at her slumbering friend. Tron looks at the two and notices how different their armor is compared to his.
"You're configuration. . . two must be Users."
"Armor?" Xion looks at herself and Roxas and finally realizes how different their appearance is. Their skin and hair are a blue-grey color. Their eyes glow brightly, and most importantly, their clothes have been swapped out, replaced with strange-looking armor.
"You two need to leave, quickly. Who knows what the MCP will do to you?" Says Tron.
"MCP? You mean the Master Control Program?" Asks Xion.
"Yes. It controls the whole system. If you idle here, you both will be de-rezzed."
"How do we get out?" Asks Xion. Tron points to the terminal behind him.
"You used to be able to use this terminal to leave, but the MCP cut the power to it a long time ago."
"Then . . . we'll just need to turn it back on!" Says Xion with sudden vigor.
"Yes. But the problem is we're stuck in this cell. We're not going anywhere unless we unlock the energy fields."
"Unlock you say?" Xion says as she smirks. She puts her hand out and summons her keyblade.
"What's that?" Asks Tron.
"You'll see," Xion says. She steps in front of the cell door. She points the keyblade at the keyhole and from her keyblade shoots out a small beam of light. The door flashes, and then fades away.
"Remarkable. . ." Tron says in awe. "It seems you are quite unique compared to other users." Says Tron. "I'll go with you to the canyon. You'll need someone who can interface with the energy core."
"Thanks, Tron. " Says Xion. She turns and walks to the end of the cell and picks up Roxas, carrying him in her arms.
"You're bringing Roxas with?" Asks Tron. Xion nods.
"I can't leave him behind. If Sark found him, he'd certainly. . ." Xion says, trailing off. Not wanting to acknowledge that possibility. Tron nods, showing he understands, and they leave the cell. They step onto a lift and are carried to the canyon. While on the lift, Roxas awakens.
"Xion. . .?" Says Roxas
"Roxas!" Xion says with excitement. She lets go of Roxas and sets him on the ground, before giving him a tight hug. Roxas is taken aback by this but responds to the gesture, and hugging Xion back. Once the two let go of each other. Roxas finally gets a look at the world inside the computer.
"Where are we? And who're you?" Asks Roxas, looking at Tron. Xion giggles and introduces Roxas to Tron, as well as explaining the gist of what's going on.
"So we just have to turn on that terminal?" Asks Roxas. Xion nods in response "Alright. I'll help in every way I can." Says Roxas. The lift stops as the three enter the canyon. And enter a large cylindrical room, at the center of which is a unique terminal. Tron interacts with it and the terminal shakes, before falling down a hole in the floor. It stops once the top is level with the floor, and a light pattern appears on the floor.
"Mission accomplished?" Asked Roxas.
"Yes. Now . . . will you two do something for me?" Asks Tron. Roxas and Xion nod. To which Tron is taken aback "Don't you want to hear what I want first?" he asks.
"I mean, you helped us. It's only right we return the favor." Says Xion.
"You two really are users. Your actions are totally illogical." Says Tron. Roxas and Xion look at each other in confusion before he speaks again. "Let's hurry back to the pit cell. We don't have much time." Xion nods and directs Roxas to the pit cell. Upon arriving at the cell, Tron interacts with the terminal. Preparing to send them back to the research lab.
"So, what did you want us to do?" Asks Roxas.
"Find my User. He'll give you the password to access the DTD." Says Tron.
"DTD?" Asks Roxas.
"DTD is the name my User gave to the dataspace. Copies of all the original system programs are stored there, along with anything that's sensitive or restricted." Tron explains. "A number of my functions were appropriated when I last took on the MCP. That's why I need the password," says Tron. "If I can get inside the DTD, I can access my original backup program and restore all my functions," Tron says. "Then, I'll be able to put this system back the way it was. Before the MCP gained control and changed everything." Tron explains. Suddenly the terminal begins acting strange, and Tron turns his attention back to it. "Looks like the MCP is on to us. I'll keep this terminal up and running. You better exit the system, now!" Tron exclaims. He moves to the side. Roxas and Xion walk up to the terminal and disappear in a flash of light.
"C'mon, can't you get them back!?" Namine asks worryingly
"I'm trying!" Leons says, irritated. He keeps inputting commands into the terminal, but nothing is working. "Can't you look through their memories to see what's going on?" Asks Leon.
"I tried, but everything is strange, it's like all their memories are foggy. I can't tell what's going on." Says Namine. Suddenly the two hear a strange noise behind them, and turn around, to see a beam of light shoot out from the machine. The two look on as Roxas and Xion reappear in the world. Roxas and Xion look around and look at each other
"He did it! We're back!" Says Roxas.
"You're okay!" Namine runs to the two and gives them a hug. "I couldn't see a thing in your memories. I thought you two. . ." Namine chokes up and the two comfort her. Once Namine calms down, Leon asks Roxas and Xion a question.
"Where were you two?" Asks Leon.
"Well. . ." Xion says, trying to put everything into words.
"There's a world inside the computer." Says Roxas bluntly. Roxas and Xion explain to Leon and Namine what happened inside the world.
"So, Ansem's research data is off-limits unless we know the password," says Leon.
"Yeah, that's right." Says Roxas.
"But Sora's already defeated Ansem. . ." Says Leon.
"Hmm. . . But that Ansem was only a heartless." Says Namine. "And we know he has a nobody.
"He does?" asks Leon.
"Yeah, though you're not gonna like who it is." Says Roxas.
"Who?"
"Number one of Organization Thirteen, and the leader. Xemnas." Says Xion.
"Oh . . ." Leon says, disappointingly.
"And there's no guarantee he even has memories of the password." Says Namine. Roxas and Xion nod to confirm that that's likely the case.
"That means. . . This has all been one wildly goose chase," says Leon, putting his palm on his forehead
"You're chasing what now?" The four turn to see the long-haired girl standing near the doorway. "Well, well! A hidden Room!" says the girl. "Guess I'd better take another look around." She says, turning back to go revisit Ansem's study. Xion, Roxas, and Namine follow. Upon entering Ansem's study, they see that the girl has already made quite the mess. After turning over every piece of furniture, all that's left is the painting of Ansem. "Excuse me!" says the girl, picking up the painting with ease and moving it over, revealing marking all over the wall behind the painting. Roxas, Xion, and Namine are shocked that they hadn't thought of that, but then the girl punches the wall and rubble falls from the ceiling. Showing little care for the walls' writings. She shrugs and brushes off any dust from her gloves before walking away, giving the three a better view of the writings.
"Hollow Main Security. . ." Roxas reads
"Tron Door to Darkness!" Says Xion. "It's the DTD!" Leon enters the room.
"What's this?" He asks.
"It's a diagram of the data space!" says Namine. Leon approaches and takes a look at the diagram.
"Well, what did you know. Door to darkness. . . That still leaves us looking for the password though. . ." Says Leon.
"Say, fellas, did somebody mention the Door to Darkness?" Says a high-pitched voice. The four turn around to see a person in a very small black coat. He's even shorter than Roxas, Xion, and Namine. Definitely not a member of the organization. He closes the door before taking his hood off, revealing a large pair of ears. Mouse ears
"King Mickey?" Asks Roxas. The mouse nods
"You mentioned the Door to Darkness?" the mouse asks.
"Yes. we're looking for the password," says Namine.
"Hmm. Well, the real Door to Darkness can only be opened by the seven princesses of heart." explains Mickey "Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Alice, Aurora, Cinderella, and Kairi." Mickey Says.
"Of course!" Says Leon, turning to walk back into the computer room.
"What do you need it for anyway?" Asks Mickey.
"With that password, we can get access to Ansem's research data." Says Roxas.
"Oh! And then you can find out where he is!" Says Mickey. The three look on in confusion.
"But, your majesty. Sora's already defeated Ansem" says Namine
"And we already have an idea of where Xemnas is," says Xion. Mickey sighs
"Looks like I have some explaining to do." says the mouse.
"Alright, we're listening." Says Roxas, when Leon comes to get their attention.
"Hey, isn't Tron waiting for you guys?" Asks Leon. Roxas and Xion look at Leon then back at the king.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. If the heartless attack, I'll stay by everyone's side, and fight." exclaims the king. Roxas and Xion smile.
"Thanks, your majesty. We'll be back soon and join the fight if we need to." Says Xion. The two race off to the computer room and re-enter the world inside the computer. They enter the pit cell but find it empty.
"Where did Tron go?" Asks Roxas. Suddenly the terminal in the pit cell goes haywire, and the two are beamed away in a flash of light. "What the-!?"
"Where are we?" Xion asks. They look around to find themselves in a large square arena
"Welcome to the game grid." Says the familiar voice of Commander Sark.
"Game grid!?" Roxas says in frustration
"Yes. You two have been chosen to play a few games. Lose, and you will be subject to immediate de-resolution." Says Sark. "Win? Well. . ." Sark begins to laugh "no one wins." Suddenly, a large motorcycle appears in front of the two, and in the distance, strange heartless are seen approaching.
"Quick, I drive, you deal with the heartless!" Says Roxas. Roxas jumps on the motorcycle, and Xion joins him.
"Do you even know how to drive!?" Xion asks
"Nope!" Roxas answers as the two speed off. The two race around the arena, Roxas dodging walls that suddenly appear in front of them while Xion takes out the heartless.
Suddenly, a large heartless appears and shoots a massive energy shot at them, they dodge and it hits a wall in the arena, creating an opening.
"Alright Xion, I think I have a plan," Roxas says, turning to drive to the hole in the wall. Walls are erected to get in their way, forcing Roxas to take sharp turns. Many heartless chase after the two. Xion nearly falls off the light cycle as Roxas takes a sharp turn, but is able to stabilize herself and create a reflective barrier to reflect all incoming attacks. One of the heartless rams into them at full force, breaking through the barrier and causing them to hit the wall, Xion swipes away at the heartless with her keyblade. The hallways suddenly ends and the area they can drive in becomes much larger, however, this quickly changes as more enemies approach them and strange pillars appear out of thin air. Roxas weaves in between the pillars while Xion destroys the heartless attacking them. Finally, there's nothing in their way and they drive right into the hole in the wall. In a flash of light, the two then reappear in the pit cell. The two catch their breath before they notice their friend lying on the floor.
"Tron!" the two say, running to their ally. Tron gets up, he looks almost tired.
"I don't understand. Why are you here?" asks Tron
"We came to give you the password!" replied Roxas.
"Why didn't you just transmit the data?" asks Tron, putting his palm on his forehead.
". . . We probably should have done that huh?" Says Xion, but the two suddenly catch Tron, as he nearly collapses "Are you okay?" asks Xion.
"I'll be alright. . . once we access the DTD," says Tron. The two support Tron as they walk to the lift. Upon reaching the canyon, they deal with heartless guards, until they eventually reach the dataspace. Around them are three large screens, and a terminal at the end of the room. Tron approaches the terminal and creates an interface to interact with it. "All right, what's the password?" asks Tron. Roxas and Xion list off the names of the princesses of heart. Upon entering the password, the screens light up. "That did it!" says Tron. The celebration doesn't last long, however, as an alarm goes off.
"Now Switching DTD over from hibernation to active mode. This process will take some time. Please enjoy a game while the process is running."
"Oh, no!" Says Tron, frustrated. He beings to type away at the interface.
"Oh great, more games. Just what we needed." Says Roxas sarcastically.
"No, it's not just a game. This is the DTD's final security routine." Says Tron. Heartless spawn around them and the three draw their weapons. They'll need to give it their all if they want to make it out alive. The three take care of the heartless as fast as they can, it takes some time but the room is left with no heartless in sight. Tron returns to the terminal and interacts with it one more time, and he's suddenly filled with life again."I'm as good as new! All my functions have been restored!" Exclaimed Tron. The celebration gain doesn't last long, as red thunder rains from above. The three dodge the attack and an alarm rings.
"Finally, I have full access to the DTD. My takeover of the system is now complete." Says the voice of the MCP. "What's this? And emergency destruct function for the town? Let's see how it performs." the MCP says.
"No!" Yells Tron, putting his hand against the interface, before typing away at it. The alarm stops and the MCP's voice returns
"Program! You changed the password!" Yells the MCP
"There, that should buy us some time," says Tron.
"Tron. What's going on?" Asks Roxas.
"The MCP's loading a hostile program into the I/O tower. We've got to protect the User town. Let's head to the tower!" Roxas and Xion nod. And follow Tron as he shows them the way. The three eventually make their way to the I/O tower, making sure to take out the heartless that get in their way. Once they arrive, they see a strange beam of darkness.
"It must be total chaos outside." Says Tron
"Looks like there's trouble inside too . . ." Xion says, Xion, turning to face a strange sound approaching the I/O tower's communication room. The three run outside the communication room to see a large program descend from above.
"I'm disappointed in you, Program," Says the voice of the MCP. "Why do you insist on allying with these selfish Users?"
"Because I want to help them," Tron replies. "Something written into my code commands me to do what is right."
"Oh, really? And what command would that be?" asks the MCP. Tron shrugs
"I can't really say for sure." Says Tron.
"It's not a command Tron. Friends help each other, that's why," says Xion.
"Guys watch out!" Yells Roxas, Tron, and Xion jump back as the hostile program shoots a laser at them, which misses. Roxas and Xion Materialize their keyblades, while Tron grabs his light disc. The three dodge as the Hostile Program shoots homing projectiles at them. Roxas slashes at the Hostile Program, while Xion casts spells from a distance. Tron repeatedly throws his disc at the program from a distance, the disc always moving in a way to which it will eventually come back to Tron. The hostile program shoots a barrage of small projectiles at the three, Tron leaps over the attack and lands behind the Hostile Program, creating an opening for the three of them to attack together. Tron materializes a multitude of homing gears that grind at the Hostile program, As Roxas and Xion run at the Hostile program from opposing sides with their keyblades drawn, they slash through the program in unison, and destroy it. The Hostile program falls to the ground and Explodes, Tron, and Roxas barely Reach Xion in time for a reflective barrier to protect all of them. With the hostile program destroyed, the three rush back to the communications room. Tron hastily interfaces with the terminal.
"I really owe you guys one," says Tron. "With all my functions up and running, I think I've got a chance of getting system control away from the MCP," Tron says. "Now I'd better get to work. It's what my user would want."
"What Ansem would want. . ." Says Xion, her voice trailing off. The two keyblade wielders look at each other, and nod. Knowing what they have to do.
"Tron, we didn't get the password from Ansem. We just sort of . . . found it. Ansem was, or is, our enemy." Says Roxas. Tron finishes typing away at the terminal, before standing to turn to the two.
"To be honest, he's my enemy too," says Tron. Roxas and Xion look back with confusion "Ansem to ENCOM's original system and customized it for his own use." Tron explained. "I was part of the original system, and Ansem modified me, too. Making him my user," says Tron. "But Ansem is also the one who brought back the MCP. The Ansem I knew wouldn't do that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Tron says apologetically. Tron looks at the terminal, and then back at Roxas and Xion. "Now go! Before the MCP starts acting up again! Says Tron." The two nod and begin to disappear in a beam of light. "I'm keeping a dedicated channel for users like you to access the DTD. I changed the password, the MCP shouldn't be able to get it for a long time," says Tron. "The password is Roxas_Xion," Trons says. Roxas and Xion smile before disappearing from the world inside the computer.
The two appear back in the computer room and see Leon waiting for them.
"We should be able to use it now," says Roxas.
"Great, what should we do first?" asks Leon.
"Let's access the DTD!" Says Xion. Leon nods and begins to type away at the terminal.
"The King and Namine are checking the situation in town. They'll be back soon, so don't worry." Says Leon. He turns around "It's asking for a password. Do you guys know it?" Asks Leon. Roxas nods.
"It's Roxas_Xion," Says Xion. Leon smiles and nods as he turns to type the password in.
"That did it. We're in." Says He turns to face them. "I need to go into the town. Need to see what that last shakeup did." Says Leon
"You're not gonna check out the data? It wasn't exactly easy to get." Says Roxas.
"I'll be right back," says Leon. "Why don't you two get started on loading the data and copying it down?" Roxas and Xion nod and Leon leaves. Roxas steps back and lets Xion get to work on the terminal.
"Hey Xion, I wanted to ask, how exactly are you so good with computers?" Asks Roxas.
"I don't really know to be honest. It's always just come naturally to me." Xion responds, entering the command to copy the data. They sit and wait for the data to be copied when Roxas has an idea.
"Why don't we see if there's any information on Axel?" Asks Roxas.
"I don't know if there will be any, but it's worth a shot." Says Xion. She types away at a search prompt. "No way!" Says Xion, Roxas looks over at the terminal, and see a file.
"Quick! Let's see what it says!" Says Roxas. Xion opens the file and reads as follows.
"Two new apprentices have been recruited, just a day before I execute my plan. One, Isa, is the smarter of the two and would make a great right-hand man in due time. The other one, Lea, isn't as bright, but he's strong and knows how to take orders. Once everything's put into action I shall call them-" Roxas and Xion gasp "Saix and Axel!" The two step back from the terminal, processing what they had just read.
"What does this all mean?" Roxas asks. Xion shakes her head.
"I- I don't know." Says Xion, looking just as confused.
"I see you two have got everything working!" The two turn to see King Mickey enter the room. "The computer should tell us the things we need to know." Roxas and Xion turn to face the king.
"Weren't you going to explain something to us? About Ansem I mean." Says Xion. Looking for anything to distract her and Roxas from what they just read.
"Oh, that's right! I never finished explaining." King Mickey says. "The Ansem you guys know, Was just a heartless, a heartless that went around telling everybody that he was Ansem." Explained the mouse.
"If he's fake, then . . . What happened to the real Ansem?" Asks Xion.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Says the king. "Once I find Ansem, I can find out who the imposter really is!" Says the king. Just as he says this, the whole area shakes with ferocity. And the three of them hear a voice in their heads
"Guys! Get outside now! We need your help!" Says the voice of Namine within their heads.
"Namine!? What's wrong!?" Asks Roxas, but communications cut off.
"Quick! We have to hurry!" Says Mickey, Turning to the door and rushing to the world outside the castle. Roxas and Xion join him.