The next few weeks spent at the mansion went by like a blur. Nights were short and dreamless, and the mornings were busy with monitoring Nobody and Heartless activity. Today was just about the same as yesterday. Rather than the usual patrolling through the woods and sitting with DiZ in the courtyard, he gave me the task of keeping an eye on Namine's work with Sora. I was a little nervous going down into the mansion's basement. It was so dark and creepy, and I was sure I'd end up getting lost in the underground corridors. But it meant getting to see how Sora, Donald, and Goofy were doing. The trip downstairs was worth it.

Taking the quick way through the foyer, I found myself in DiZ's secret computer room. Seeing the advanced computers all along the walls were so daunting. Somehow, he managed to use them all for something. I had little knowledge with such technology, except with basic computers from school. Those ones were relatively simple to use. This stuff, there was nothing basic or simple about it. I got a headache just looking at the numbers flashing on the monitors.

I sighed and sped up my pace going through another door in the basement corridor. Through the large chamber beyond it, I arrived at the pod room. The walls and floor were pure white, including the row of pods lined up on the left side of the narrow hall. Two of those small pods contained Donald and Goofy. I stopped by them first. King Mickey told me that the three of them were found together at Castle Oblivion. Their memories were being repaired, too, but the process for these two was not all that complicated compared to Sora.

"Don't worry, you'll be out of there real soon," I whispered, resting my hand on the outer shell of Donald's pod. Neither of them would have heard me, but it gave me comfort talking to them. Whether they were asleep or not. At the end of the hall, I input a password into the security system for the next door to get into the chamber holding Sora's pod. My eyes were squinting because of how bright it was. The heels of my boots clicked along until I stopped beside the blonde-haired girl watching over Sora. "Namine."

The girl jumped slightly and turned around to see me. She wore a nervous frown but smiled when she realized it was just me. "There's not much to say right now," Namine spoke up. I could detect the sadness in her voice. "I feel so defeated. It... It was because of me that he lost his memories. I should be able to put them back. I'm very sorry, Kara."

She apologized profusely, but I wasn't the most worried. Sora had always been a complicated person. It wasn't that he intentionally made himself to be that way, but life in general seemed to make it like that. He used to be so simple before the darkness came along. I almost miss those days. Why, if I could go back in time, I'd like to pay a visit to the past just to change that horrible piece of history. Wouldn't we all be happier that way? Maybe. Or maybe things would never really change.

I inhaled a deep breath and admired the crystalline pod. Barely, my eyes caught glimpse of Sora floating inside. His head was bowed, shoulders relaxed. He seemed comfortable sleeping in there. It made me a little bit jealous. In the back of my mind, I hoped that he wouldn't be in there for too much longer. There was so much we needed to do- to catch up on. The promise that we made needed to be kept, which could only count if he was awake to see his side through. At least he was safe in there.

"I'm sure that it'll be done very soon," I said quietly. Folding my arms across my chest, I turned my head to Namine and nodded. "You're working as fast as you can, I know. So don't apologize. Didn't you say that there was some kind of a disturbance keeping you from finishing any sooner?"

"R-Right..." she nodded her head. "Something outside this world."

"Outside this world?" I tilted my head to the side out of confusion. What she said didn't make any sense. By that, did she mean that there was some kind of force jamming her powers over Sora's memories? Or, was it something that had to do with Organization XIII? "I don't understand."

"I'm afraid that I don't have an immediate answer," Namine explained. She clasped her hands under her chin and stared at the white flooring. "Is it his other half that's responsible? Or, is there someone else? If only I knew what to do. But, I'm needed here and can't go outside."

"Yeah, that is a problem," I said, rubbing the nape of my neck.

"Oh, Kara, have you gotten your powers back yet?" Namine asked, but I shook my head.

My own situation wasn't making any progress either, and it was becoming really problematic. I had an idea of what I could do, but the issue was getting to the point where I could actually do something. Or... something like that. It sounded a lot better when I thought about it the first time. Now I had to explain it to Namine. She might have an answer to my struggle, I hoped. She brought it up and asked me what I intend to do about my dilemma. But, there wasn't much information about my plans that I could give her.

"At first, I thought I could get my powers back if I dreamed," I admitted, closing my eyes. Saying it out loud made me feel embarrassed. It sounded so silly now that I heard it for myself. Namine didn't laugh, but she nodded in understanding. I paused for a moment and remembered the first time I held the Keyblade in my hands. "Back then, when my home was being attacked by the Heartless. It suddenly came to me when I was about to fall to the darkness. I want to make that happen again. Er, without the being thrown into a dangerous situation part."

"A dream..." Namine's voice trailed off. "A place where you can interact with your own heart. The king called it something. I believe that he referred to it as the Dive to the Heart. That is where you want to go?"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. "Have any idea on how to get there?"

Namine thought about it for a moment, closing her eyes and humming a brief tune. When she opened her eyes again, she invited me to ask my own heart. "It would know the answer to that", were her words. It sounded like a long shot, but I considered it. Placing a hand over my heart, I wondered if it really could take me to that place. I needed to find out; I had to take the chance to inquire with my own heart. Yes, it had to know.

Later that night, Riku returned to the mansion for a break from searching the worlds. We didn't talk all that much with each other. It wasn't that we didn't have time to spend together. He was exhausted and wanted to rest, and I was on a mission to have a dream. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to talk. I returned to my bedroom after having a bite to eat. Too tired to change into my pajamas, I plopped onto the bed and closed my eyes. Ask my heart. Ask my heart, it knows the answer...