Following his erasure and recompletion as a human, Dilan, like Even did not awaken right away. Even after waking, he remained in bed, unable to recover as quickly as the others. Perhaps the damage to their hearts was exceptionally grave. There was much they needed to atone for, after all.

As soon as his condition stabilized, Dilan walked outside the gates and conducted his patrol, just as he did when he was a guard.

When he gazed at the flowers, he recalled the red rose he tried to take away as a Nobody. That rose was a symbol of love, but also a curse.

In those days, I believed such ideas as 'the power of love' were despicable.

Once Roxas asked him about love.

"Our work here is done, Roxas. The beast's weakness is clear."

"It is?"

"To hold something dear is to let it hold you. His heart is in thrall to it, don't you see? And that, Roxas, is ample weakness."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Nor should you. You have no heart to love with."

He was standing before that rose. The flower was the reason the Beast was cursed. Sometimes he wondered if, similarly, it was the reason he disappeared back then.

His thoughts about Kingdom Hearts became an obsession and eventually led to his annihilation. In other words, they were like a curse. And excess emotional attachment itself was both love and a curse. Or at least, that was what he thought back then.

He placed his rough hand on the fragrant flowers. By all rights, all that hand knew was how to grip a lance. The flowers simply bloomed there. They remained as they were, rather than being placed under a glass dome or the like.

Why hadn't we been able to choose to remain as we were? No matter how much I lament what has transpired, there's nothing I can do to change it.

The sun was setting over a hillock deep within a forest in this special world. Beautiful flowers bloomed as far as the eye could see, reminding him of his former home. Here, Lea was training as a Keyblade wielder. He was sitting by himself on top of a rock when he heard someone approaching from behind. He turned around, expecting to see Merlin. But it wasn't Merlin he saw.

It was—

"K-Kairi...!? Wh-what are you—" he stammered.

"It looks like I'm going to be your partner now."

He just stared at her, at a loss. "Listen..." He was searching for the right words, whatever those were. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm really, really sorry. For everything." He lowered his head as he offered the most heartfelt apology he could muster.

"If it's Kairi you're worried about, don't. We're taking very good care of her."

"Let me see her."

"Is she that important to you?"

"More than anything."

Lea had been the one who kidnapped her back then. Horrible things had happened to her and Sora, all because of him. At least, that's how Lea saw it.

"Is there anything you couldn't bear to lose?"

"Anything I couldn't bear to lose? What's that about?"

"Well, I met someone today who had something like that. This thing was so important to him he couldn't bear to lose it...and Xaldin said that was his weakness."

Back then, he planned to turn Sora into a Heartless. All he needed to do was target his weakness—the one person that was most important to him. He knew that based on his own human memories. How could he possibly face Kairi after doing such a terrible thing? He could barely even look her in the eye.

She sat down next to him. "When I was locked up in that cage, you came back for me."

It was true that after Saïx kidnapped her, Axel came back to the organization's castle. He and Saïx fought in front of her cell and Axel was mortally wounded.

"Why?" Her tone was not accusatory. Just curious.

"Because... Well... Because my heart told me to, I guess?" He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

That sheepish answer seemed to satisfy Kairi, who smiled a bit. Seeing him like this, it was hard to believe she was ever afraid of him. "You know, I guess I can't really be too mad at you." This time she sounded a bit teasing. "It was all thanks to you that I can even wield a Keyblade."

Lea looked away. "...I-it is?"

"Mm-hm. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have even left the islands."

Lea jolted a bit upon hearing that. Of course. He realized she was referring to his kidnapping attempt on Destiny Island. "I'm really, really sorry about that," he stammered awkwardly.

"It's okay. You don't have to keep apologizing," she gently scolded. "Really."

"Right. Sorry," he said with a shrug. Several awkward moments of silence passed. "Though, I didn't really do anything. You jumped into the darkness all on your own."

"Yeah." She giggled a tiny bit. "I just...wanted to see Sora. It was the same when I summoned my Keyblade. He was in trouble, and I just wanted to save him."

"We've got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about. Feels like we're already friends, you know?"

"Well, I guess that's something else we have in common." Lea sounded quiet, almost as if he were making the remark to himself.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

He sat silently and stared at his open palm, waiting just a few seconds before responding. "There's someone I want to save."

"Who is that?"

"...My...best friend," he said softly, squinting under the sunset's brilliance.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Mickey, Ienzo, and Even all made the long trek down the spiral staircase at the heart of the castle.

As he walked, Sora thought back to his time in the Sleeping Worlds, and filled the two apprentices in.

"Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a specific reason—round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind. Translation—they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort."

"Did you guys have any idea what Xemnas was planning?"

"No. We cast off our hearts by choice, make no mistake, but we didn't know that Xemnas—or rather, Xehanort—was deceiving us," Ienzo explained softly.

"I suppose I am not entirely surprised," said Even. "What Xehanort always wanted was empty vessels. My research with humanlike. And Subject X..."

"Subject...X?" Sora echoed.

Goofy then came to a sudden realization. "X... Oh, you mean like χ-blade!"

Riku nodded. "Yeah. That must be it."

As they got to the bottom of the long staircase, another door opened, revealing a large white marble hallway, reminiscent of the interior of Castle Oblivion. It was dotted with individual rooms on each side.

As the group followed Even into the hallway, Goofy began to get a bad feeling. "Gawrsh. It sure is creepy down here."

Donald couldn't have agreed more. "Yeah, you said it."

Sora had a look around. "What is this place? Are these...prison cells?" Each cell's window was barred, and the door was sealed with dark chains and an electronic lock. It was extremely unsettling.

"The 'Chamber of Repose'. If you recall, that's where we spent our time researching the darkness that resides within people's hearts. It's a graveyard that was sealed by order of Ansem the Wise."

"This is...the Chamber of Repose."

"Repose...?" Riku wondered aloud. "Like sleep?"

Even's blood ran cold and he took a deep breath. He hadn't been down here since Ansem the Wise sealed it off all those years ago, and he never intended to. "In truth, it is more like...a graveyard."

Noticing his unease, Ienzo put a hand on his shoulder.

Donald and Goofy jumped up simultaneously. "G-g-graveyard? Whaddaya mean?"

"Aww, phooey! I'm not scared!"

Even continued explaining, his tone solemn. "After Xehanort's pilot experiments, the test subjects' experienced mental collapse. Every last one of them. They were neither asleep nor unconscious. Eyes open, but completely vacant."

Riku clenched his fist, having a pretty good idea how they must've looked.

"All attempts to treat them failed. The 'defective' specimens were locked up here, beneath the castle, in these very cells. Before long, they contained nothing but Heartless."

Everyone gasped in horror. Then, Even recounted a particular experiment, staring at the cell Subject X was kept in. "This particular boy, Subject X, remained still and lifeless, just like a doll. He was the first to join after us founding members and became Xemnas's right hand man. After that, the other victim of that hideous experiment, joined the organization, as well. Number VII Saïx and number VIII Axel."

"WHAT!?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all recoiled in unison.

Mickey could barely believe it, either. "Then, you mean—? Oh, Lea..."

Sora put a hand to his heart. The pain he felt was raw and sharp. Lea...

Even remembered how Axel had been the one to destroy him, back in Castle Oblivion. "Yes, I'm afraid so. He was one of our many victims. When we were recompleted, I...wished to apologize to him. But when I learned that his friend was missing, I could not bring myself to face him. I could not even find the strength to get out of bed."

Ienzo had never seen such an emotional side of Even before.

"In the past, I met Subject X," explained Mickey. "Ansem the Wise and I both tried to help him by taking him to Twilight Town."

Master Ansem never abandoned us, thought Ienzo. He was just trying to help that boy.

"Unfortunately, Subject X disappeared without a trace. I took Ansem the Wise back to Radiant Garden, then he disappeared, too."

"I never wanted to be involved in human experimentation ever again," said Even. "But...even the Replica Program turned out to be a failure. The Replicas were not quite as empty as Xemnas had planned. Even a doll is capable of feeling, no different than you or me. We have committed such sins. But you, Sora, may finally be able to set things right. I know Master Ansem thought so, too."

Sora was beginning to feel the weight of everyone's expectations. "So, um, what is it you wanted to show us down here?"

Ienzo stepped forward and opened the door. "Here. This room."

Inside the vacated room was a large white throne.

"Xemnas used to lock himself in here constantly and talk to someone," explained Ienzo, as he walked to the back of the room. "No doubt to whoever these belonged to."

Sora noticed something lying on the floor next to Ienzo. "Is that—?"

"A suit of armor and...a Keyblade?" Riku finished his question for him.

Mickey stood there, stunned. "No. It can't be—!"

Goofy noticed his expression. "King Mickey?"

"Have you seen these before, Your Majesty?" asked Donald.

Sora was a bit concerned now. "Yeah, what's up?"

"These are Master Aqua's!"

"What!?" The trio shouted in unison.

However, Riku remained calm. He knelt down and took a closer look. "Mickey, are you absolutely sure?"

"Yup, I'm positive! After the battle with Master Xehanort, I found her in the Lanes Between; she was wearing this same armor. And I know this was her Keyblade!"

Ienzo folded his arms and furrowed his brow.

"The 'Chamber of Repose' is part of a pair. The 'Chamber of Waking' is the other. Another graveyard, if you want to call it that. It was constructed by someone other than Xemnas himself. And that's where he'll find it... That's where he'll find his other 'friend'."

"Hmm. Then the other 'friend' must be inside the Chamber of Waking, located in Castle Oblivion."

"Other friend?" Mickey realized what that meant. "You mean you know where he is!?"

But Ienzo shook his head. "No. And unfortunately, I don't think you're going to be able to find him. Xemnas has been looking for the Chamber of Waking ever since we all first became Nobodies."

Riku heaved a sigh. "Castle Oblivion is like an endless labyrinth. So, it's no surprise, I guess."

"That's why he was trying to get Aqua to tell him. He was communicating with her while she was in the realm of darkness." Mickey took one more look at the armor and Keyblade. "I guess she really is our only hope of finding him."

While Sora, Donald, and Goofy went to inform Yen Sid of their new information, Dilan led Riku and Mickey into the courtyard.

"This was the spot," said Dilan. "A stranger with white hair was lying unconscious here in the square—a man calling himself 'Xehanort'. And lying next to him was the suit of armor and Keyblade."

"So, this is where Aqua fell into the realm of darkness after she dove in to save Terra?" Riku asked Mickey, taking in the sights around them.

"After we last spoke, I took Ven somewhere safe, and then I went after Terra. But Terra was about to fall to darkness, so I had one choice. I stayed here in hopes of giving him a chance."

"I...didn't know."

"It must be." Mickey mused. "This is where...she sacrificed herself for him..."

Dilan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"But then, what happened to Terra? I thought you said that Aqua saved him." Riku mulled over the facts they had so far. Is this where Terra vanished…? Something didn't fit.

Mickey had noticed the problem, too, but he was starting to put the pieces together. "Yep, she did. The problem is we didn't notice. You remember the end of the Mark of Mastery exam, when Master Xehanort made his grand return? That's the Xehanort I remember. He was already a pretty old man then."

Oh, I remember. The bald old man— He was creepy.

"But how do you explain Ansem and Xemnas, his Heartless and Nobody? Isn't it strange how young they look? Why aren't they old men?"

"I thought it was because Xehanort could transcend time."

Mickey shook his head. "No. It's because Xehanort was using a different body when the split happened. That face from the portrait I mentioned—it wasn't just some stranger Ansem the Wise took under his wing. It was the young man whose body Xehanort had possessed."

Riku realized what Mickey was trying to say. "No way! That was Terra? Master Xehanort was using Terra?" He thought about it for a few seconds, then gasped.

That face from the portrait—the one constantly following him. It really WAS him!

Mickey started speaking faster as everything fell into place. "Yep. Master Xehanort told us 'another on our list' belonged to him. He was talking about Terra. Turns out, Aqua saved more than just her friend that day."

If he was right about all this, then that would explain everything—except for one unanswered question.

"Wait! Master Xehanort is an old man again now. Where did Terra's body go?"

"Hmm… It's 'cause Master Xehanort's collecting vessels! He claimed to have two of our seven lights."

Master Xehanort had indeed said as much during their encounter in the Sleeping Worlds, and one of the two he mentioned turned out to be Sora.

Meaning…

Mickey couldn't hide his shock at the conclusion. "We got Sora back, but Terra must still be on Xehanort's side."

"He's with Organization XIII?" Riku looked downcast.

Was Master Xehanort still on the hunt for his thirteen vessels? Or had he found them all already?

Riku and Mickey had finally discovered a clue to Terra's whereabouts, at least, and they shared a grim nod.