Sora sat down on his bed wearily. "Tired…" he mumbled, looking at the digital clock on his dresser. It was already a little past midnight. Groaning and lying back, he hit the mattress with a quiet thud, and within minutes, he was fast asleep.

What seemed like only a few minutes later, he was aware of a dull buzzing noise. Rolling over, he tried to ignore it. It's 3 AM, I'm going back to sleep, darn it, he thought to himself. But then it got louder, and louder, until it was almost deafening. Sitting up, he looked out his window and gasped.

The Destiny Islands were in chaos. The entire island looked as if it had been leveled with a wrecking ball, and the area surrounding his house was destroyed and, in some places, on fire. Jumping up, grabbing his shoes and running outside in a full sprint, he was met by an even bigger shock.

The islands were being attacked. And not by Heartless, or Nobodies, but by two—only two—figures in black cloaks.

Organization XIII, Sora thought frantically. No, that's impossible. They're dead, all of them. So then what the…?!

"Sora!!" a terrified yell snapped him away from his thoughts. Looking around anxiously, he noticed a few people running down the hill towards where the rowboats to the island were kept. One person had stopped at the very top, and stood there now, fearfully watching him.

Kairi.

"K-Kairi?!" he screamed, sprinting over as fast as he possibly could. Dodging explosions and flaming patches of foliage, he made it about halfway there when a black blur rushed past him and appeared next to Kairi. With a gloved hand, one of the two cloaked figures reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of her!!" Sora ordered, lashing out with the Keyblade. The figure backed up, bringing Kairi with it. She whimpered and looked at Sora, petrified.

Sora glowered at the figure with extreme anger and loathing. "Let…her…go."

"What do you think YOU can do about it, Keyblade Master?"

"Anything I want." he answered, striking his opponent painfully with the Keyblade. The figure glanced at its scratched shoulder and shrugged.

"If that's all, I'll be leaving now." It turned, walking away and dragging Kairi alongside it.

"Sora!!" she shrieked, sobbing. Sora swore and lunged forward again, landing a blow directly on the figure's back. The figure spun around to face him and punched with all its might, sending Sora reeling into the dirt, overcome with pain. He tasted blood in his mouth, but he struggled to get up. Running at his foe in spite of that, he was able to assault it with spells—namely Fire. After a mass of spells had been unleashed, Kairi was released from the figure's weakened grip. Running over to Sora, she hid behind him. Sora backed up until she was between him and a wall.

The figure closed in. "So you think that you can single-handedly protect your little girlfriend there?"

"I have before." Sora replied, glaring. "You try that one more time and I'll destroy you."

"Ooh, aren't I scared. A little teenager, standing up against me." The figure removed his charred hood to reveal the face of a boy, close to Sora's own age. "Not that I can talk," he said, pushing white-blonde bangs away from his dark brown eyes.

"Huh…?" Sora muttered, taken aback. "Who are you?"

"The name's Xaice. Remember that, all right pal? I'll be seeing you again soon." The boy snapped his fingers. "Xarik! We're leaving!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, the other figure hurried over. "Yes, sir." The voice was softer, gentler, but still dark. Xarik held up a hand and prepared their escape, but Xaice shook his head.

"No, no, Xarik, be polite! Pay your respects to the 'valiant' Keyblade Master!" he said sarcastically. Then he scowled and spat at Sora's feet. "Waste of my time."

"It's an honor, Keyblade Master." Xarik said bitterly. The hood was pulled back, and the face of a girl, also Sora's age, appeared. She had hair about the same length as Kairi's, only it was a light lavender color. Her eyes were a dull silver, but somehow still beautiful—even as she glared at Sora with extreme revulsion. "It truly is exceptional to meet the boy who killed my mother."

"She's not your mother, Xar." Xaice said with an annoyed tone. Sighing, he turned his attention to Sora. "Take a good look, you moron. We'll be seeing you again. Only next time…" he snickered. "Next time you'll be begging for us to spare your life."

In a purple flash, the boy disappeared. Xarik smirked at them evilly, then addressed them in a vicious tone. "I've been given orders. You are being sent away. That other boy, Riku, traitor that he is, will be waiting for you there. In time—we'll find you. And you'll pay for what you did to Organization XIII. My mother or not, I will avenge Larxene."

Send us away…Sora's eyes widened. "No. Please, don't, no…"

"This is wonderful," the girl said cruelly. "The almighty Keyblade Master, crying at my feet and pleading to be left alone. How satisfying." She raised her hand and mumbled a few words. Sora grabbed Kairi's hand as strongly as he could and quickly turned around while Xarik was still busy.

"Kairi. Hold on to my hand and don't let go for a second."

Kairi stared at him and nodded, dread appearing in her expression. Xarik finished what she was saying and leered at them one last time.

"Have fun. And don't die before we get there—that'd get my hopes down."

There was a bright flash, and everything spun. Sora held in a sob. It was happening again. He was leaving. Kairi and Riku would be with him, but they were all in danger. No matter what anyone said, it wasn't going to be all right. Still gripping Kairi's hand securely, he managed to turn sideways and put both arms around her tightly before their feet left the ground of their home, for the second time in Sora's life.

I didn't want this to happen, you know.

I realize that. You weren't trying to do anything wrong. It wasn't your fault.

Namine, what's going to happen to me if Sora dies?

…he won't die, Roxas. Trust in him, and help him when he needs it. Have faith that his heart is still strong enough to protect himself and others around him. Give him the courage he needs.

Courage? I don't know. I can feel something different, deep down. It wasn't there before, when we connected. It's making everything worse.

That's because the situation then was different. That feeling, Roxas, is sorrow. Try and understand it. You'll be noticing it a lot now. Perhaps all the time.

Sorrow…do I know sorrow?

You do, as do I. All people know sorrow.

But Namine, we're Nobodies…we're not people. We can't feel.

Not people by design—but are we truly not people at all?

I guess…I guess not.

Remember that, Roxas. Remember that even though you lack what most people have, it doesn't, for any reason, make you any less a person than them. Nobodies are just different. That is all.

I will, Namine. Thank you.

Sora's eyes opened very slowly. For a moment, all he saw was black. Am I dead?, he thought with horror. Did I die? No…that girl, she said not to die. So how could I be dead already?, he remembered sullenly. "Huh...?" he managed to mumble. A chuckling sound came from above him.

"Miracles never end with you, do they?" Riku said with false cheer. Even half-awake, Sora could tell that his friend was faking it. Behind the laugh there was intense worry, and fear.

"Riku…?"

"Good, at least you remember who I am. That's a step in the right direction."

"Kairi…?"

"She's sleeping. You've been unconscious all night, and she tried to stay up to make sure you were okay and everything. She fell asleep on the job, see?" Riku lifted him up into a sitting position and pointed beside him.

"Riku, I can't see…"

"What? How come?"

"I don't know…" Suddenly, Sora felt pressure on the side of his head, and everything came into view, blurry at first, but slowly cleared up. "Did you just hit me?"

"You were still asleep, genius. All that talking was in your sleep. But anyway, see what I mean?" he pointed again, and this time Sora saw what he meant. Sora was in a bed, in what seemed to be a very familiar room. On the floor, next to him, was Kairi, who had fallen asleep sitting against the side of the bed. Riku had been asleep on the couch across the room, but when Sora had started talking he had gotten up and walked over. "She fell asleep sometime this morning, I guess. I woke up and you two were here, so I have no clue when you came."

"What happened?"

"Somebody attacked the island. I met two people in cloaks. Their names were—ah, what were they…?"

"Xarik and Xaice?" Sora asked, suddenly recalling the names of the boy and girl who he had faced.

"No." Riku answered calmly, but Sora gasped. "What?"

"Then there were more. I saw two, Xarik and Xaice."

"I saw two, too, but they were Rarext and Zaix."

"Saix?!" Sora murmured.

"No, Zaix. He had to tell me three times before I got it. I thought it was Saix, too." He sighed. "Here we are again. Off on another whirlwind adventure." Riku added, bitter sarcasm entering his voice. Sora's heart sank—it was true, they had been torn from everything they knew and loved, once more. Now they were who knows where, probably sitting ducks in yet another evil plot. Great.

But where were they…?

"Riku." Sora said suddenly, causing his friend to jump slightly. "Where are we?"

Riku laughed. "Where else? Traverse Town. Leon and Yuffie are next door."

"Leon and Yuffie…they're here?"

"You bet we are!" a cheerful voice drifted in from the neighboring room. The door swung open, and Yuffie hopped in, smiling for all she was worth. "Hey there, Sora!"

"Yuffie!" he said happily, grinning for the first time in nearly two days. "How's it going?"

"Just great! Squall's here too, but he's being…his reclusive self…SQUALL, c'mon in!!"

There was a long pause, and then: "It's Leon."

"Yes, yes, of course, then come in, Leon."

Leon shuffled into the room, staring at the floor. Reluctantly, he lifted his gaze and nodded towards Sora. "Good to see you."

"You too, Leon." he answered, still grinning. Leon managed a pained smile, but then quickly returned to his usual scowl, taking a seat on the now empty couch. Yuffie shook her head and bounced across the room, stopping next to Riku.

"You never introduced us to Riku, now did you Sora?" Riku smirked awkwardly.

"I…I guess not." ­That's right, he thought, they've never met Riku before. He wasn't there, all those times that I saw them.

"Well, he introduced himself, so that's okay. And Kairi…" she continued, looking down at the still-sleeping girl. "We've never met her, either." She shot an amused glance at Sora.

Leon blinked. "So she's the one you were looking for, that first time?"

Sora nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"And you ended up finding her and Riku." Leon scoffed. "I always thought that'd be how it ended."

"But it hasn't ended, Squall!!"

"LEON."

"Leon, whatever—but it hasn't, you know!"

The brown-haired swordsman stared at the wall silently. "I know it hasn't. There's still a long way to go."

"You mean the letter." Sora said quietly. Yuffie glanced down at the floor.

"Yeah, the letter. That's the next part."

"True." Leon said seriously, standing up. "The next part of his story."