Chapter Two:

The Rundown

When the world faded back into focus, Sora was on the familiar Gummi Ship, even in the same seat he'd always had. He looked around and quickly spied Riku and Kairi flopped on the floor.

"Ah! You guys alright?"

"Yeah, fine," Riku groaned sitting up slowly and rubbing his head. "Man, that beaming was a bit of a rush."

"Had to make it quick, sorry," Donald quacked. "We had to get you away from the Endless before they did any real damage."

Then Sora really realized where he was, and who he was with. His face lit up, and he tackle-hugged the duck.

"Donald! It's so good to see you!"

Donald, meanwhile, quacked and howled, trying to manage the controls and shove the boy off at the same time.

"I'm trying to fly here!"

Mercifully, Sora detached himself from the avian magician and launched himself instead at Goofy.

"Goofy!"

"Sora!"

"Is...Is King Mickey here?" Riku cut in.

Just then, the small top-hat wearing Jiminy Cricket hopped onto the dashboard, letting out a small cough.

"Now, now," he said. "Before you all get too excited, there's some news you three need to hear."

Riku looked to him, as if for answers, and Jiminy sighed.

"The King is at home, defending the castle from any attacks, I'm afraid," he said solemnly. But when he saw the brief fear on Riku's face, he waved his hands quickly. "Not that the castle is in any real danger, of course! It's just...more Heartless have been popping up lately. Many more. And those other monsters you fought on the islands, too."

"What…were they?" Sora asked, remembering the strange-ness of the monsters and the way they had instantly reformed.

"Those are the Endless," the cricket began, opening his journal. "They are a completely new kind of entity, the likes of which we've never seen before. They exist purely as energy – the freed mind and heart of a person who has had their body torn away. Most of them are unstable, much like the Nobodies, slowly dissolving at the core. To sustain themselves, they must find energy."

"Energy?"

"Specifically the energy of Hearts," Jiminy sighed. "Those that you saw on the beach were the weakest kind of Endless, the Flux, who constantly change because they cannot sustain their form. And there were also their complete opposite in power; Neo-Organization XIII."

"A...Another Organization?" Sora cried.

"Yes," Jiminy said, nodding. "And this one may be even stronger, for they cannot be defeated easily. The only way to slay an Endless is to break the Endless Seal upon it. Only that will fully dispel their energy. The Neo-XIII, however, are especially troublesome because they have hidden their Seals.

"But the Endless aren't all you have to worry about," Jiminy sadly added. "Maleficent and Pete have taken the World That Never Was and are building a greater number of Heartless from the darkness. The only thing that can stop the mass spreading of darkness and Endless is to defeat Maleficent and the Organization.

"The King, once he has made Disney Castle safe again, will be going to fight Maleficent head-on. So it is up to you, Sora, Riku, Kairi, to fight the Endless, before they can enact their greatest plan."

"Plan? What's their plan?" Kairi asked, cutting straight to the important matter.

"They intend to shed the Hearts of the worlds, and make all the multiverse Endless."

There was a pause, and Sora piped up again. "Why's that so bad?"

"Why's it so bad?" Donald squawked from his seat.

"Well, Hearts have a lot of energy, y'know?" Goofy began at his usual slow pace. "So when you free the Heart, the energy is released unless there's somethin' to contain it."

"A shell," Riku murmured, nodding.

"The Endless can maintain a Shell with the energy from their heart and the concentration they draw from their Soul, while the darkness does the same for the Heartless," Jiminy explained. "However, the Worlds are neither dark, nor do they have souls. Just Hearts and a Shell. When the Endless peel their shell away..." he trailed off, a shadow going across his face.

"Boom," Riku finished for him, equally dark. "The Heart goes off."

"Exactly," Jiminy said, nodding solemnly. "The Organization either doesn't know or doesn't care. They might be trying a way to stabilize the energy of the worlds, or absorb it on their own, but so far, they haven't been successful."

"What do you mean? They've already de-Shelled a world?" Sora asked urgently.

"They have. And it had all the power of a supernova. We were lucky to warp out of there just in time to only take minor damage."

"So, let's go track them down, take them out before they can do it again!" Sora said immediately, eyes lighting up with that old hunger for adventure.

"There's a problem," Jiminy said, and Sora's face quickly fell. "While the gateways you opened between worlds on your last journey remained open, there are numerous other worlds sealed shut. The Endless are based on one of these sealed worlds, it would seem, so you'll have to open new gates. Along the way, you'll likely come across Endless and possibly even the Organization. Or, at least, clues."

"Well, do we have a first stop?" Kairi cut in. This was her first real multiverse journey, and while it was a daunting prospect, she also felt an eagerness for the adventure ahead to begin.

"As a matter o' fact, we do!" Goofy laughed, throwing in an "ahyuk!" at the end which made Sora feel just perfectly at home.

"Where?" he asked, eyes brightening immediately.

"Radiant Garden."