"Never once thought I'd fight a dragon," Sora mused as he sat against the wall of one of the many corridors within Hollow Bastion. Donald was using his magic to tend to the Keyblade wielder's burns and other injuries. None of the trio had expected Riku to suddenly appear, stab Maleficent with a strangely keychain-less Keyblade, and disappear as she transformed into a large, black, fire-breathing dragon.
"But ya did great, Sora," Goofy praised as Donald moved on to heal him.
"Thanks," he nodded. "But… What was that Keyblade Riku had? Where did he get it?"
"Dunno," Donald said curtly as he finished tending to them. "Okay. Let's go!" Sora nodded again and got to his feet, and they continued through the castle, fighting off the Heartless that appeared until they came to some sort of chapel.
"That's odd," Sora mumbled. "What would the Heartless need a place like this?"
"Maybe this wasn't originally a home to the Heartless," Donald pointed out. "Maybe it's what's left."
"Maybe…" Sora crossed his arms and bowed his head in thought. "I wonder what it was like before they showed up. Who lived here? What happened to them?"
"I'm sure they're out there somewhere," Goofy assured him. "After all, you're still goin' even after you lost your world. They're pro'bly fightin' in their own ways." Sora smiled.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks, Goofy." Goofy grinned again as they continued on through a doorway to the side of the chapel.
Some time later, they came to a large chamber with a strange glow coming from the side opposite the chamber. A chill ran down Sora's spine and he slowed down, unsure what they were about to happen upon.
"Careful, guys," Goofy warned. "This place don't feel right." Donald nodded.
"Then we're probably close," Sora pointed out. "Let's go." He ran forward, down one flight of stairs and up another until he came to a third set wrapping around some sort of landing. He hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time, until he reached the top. To one side was what he quickly realized was the world's Keyhole, surrounded in several glowing lights and colors. To the other side…
"Kairi!" He cried out and ran over to her as she lay unmoving on the ground. Donald and Goofy attempted to follow, but were cut off by the sudden appearance of a barrier. Sora propped her up in his arms and shook her gently. "Come on, Kairi, wake up!" No response.
"She cannot awaken," a voice informed him, and he turned around to find Riku standing in front of the Keyhole holding the strange Keyblade he had stabbed Maleficent with earlier. "She has lost her heart." Sora's ears processed that his friend's voice sounded strange, as if someone else was talking over him.
"…Riku?" he called out, but Riku only smirked.
"No, boy. It is I: Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness."
"Ansem?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all repeated within heartbeats of each other.
"What have you done to Riku?!" Sora demanded.
"I have merely shown him his place," Riku- or rather, Ansem- replied. "Now, then. This Keyhole remains incomplete without the seventh princess's heart."
"Kairi's… a princess?" Sora wondered as he shifted his gaze from him to her. "Where's her heart? What have you done to her?!" He stood up and summoned his Keyblade in a fit of anger.
"I've done nothing," Ansem told him. "The princess's heart has been within yours this entire time." As if summoned, a sharp pain shot through Sora's chest and he grasped at it, falling to his knees as his Keyblade disappeared.
"Kairi… Kairi's inside me?" he asked weakly.
"Indeed," Ansem confirmed as he approached him. "And now, I shall set it free." He readied his Keyblade. "Complete the Keyhole, Princess. Lead me into everlasting darkness!" Sora bowed his head, unsure of what he could possibly do.
But, then, he heard a voice- Kairi's voice- call his name.
Riku's- or Ansem's- Keyblade collided with the Kingdom Key as Sora summoned it, blocking the attack.
"Forget it," he growled. "There's no way you're getting Kairi's heart!"
"Hm…" Ansem shook his- Riku's- head. "Fool. Out of my way."
"Careful, Sora!" Goofy cautioned from the sidelines as Ansem stepped back and both he and Sora prepared to fight. The latter shook himself and focused his attention on his opponent, gripping the Kingdom Key tight in his hands, and Ansem opened the battle with a blast of dark fire.
"Whoa!" Sora dodged around and struck, gaining several hits before Ansem jumped back.
"Foolish boy," he taunted and leapt into the air, stabbing down with his Keyblade. Though the immediate strike missed Sora, the shock of it knocked him back, and Ansem was on him almost immediately. The Keyblades clashed together as Sora blocked the blow and countered it, forcing Ansem back. Ansem took a defensive stance, and Sora was unable to avert his follow-up attack. Ansem countered his blow and knocked him back again.
"Ow…" Sora groaned and cast a spell of Curaga on himself, and he shook his head as he readied his Keyblade. Ansem drew in his power and Sora felt the air around him crackling with darkness. He swallowed his growing fear and prepared to dodge whatever his opponent threw at him, but what he got was not what he expected. Ansem moved to the center of what had become their arena and nearly engulfed it in dark flames. Sora jumped up to avoid the brief pyre, but the heat knocked his breath away and the flames clawed greedily at him, singing his clothes and burning his skin. He bit back the pain and retaliated with several more strikes of his Keyblade.
Finally, after a long, grueling battle, Ansem backed off and stared at Sora.
"My skills have failed me," he admitted. "I am unused to this child's body." He gazed up at the Keyhole. "He is not powerful enough- not like this."
"So, you'll leave him alone?" Sora inquired, though he knew the answer. Ansem merely turned back to him before disappearing in a wind of darkness, leaving behind his Keyblade. Exhaustion crashed over the Kingdom Key's wielder, and he braced himself against his Keyblade as he turned his attention back to Kairi.
"I've got to save her," he mumbled. "And I've got to complete the Keyhole…" He held his breath as he debated with himself, then trudged over to the Keyblade Riku- Ansem- had left behind.
"Sora?" Donald called out as they realized the barrier had been dispelled. Sora picked up the Keyblade and turned to look at Kairi, then to his companions as he turned the Keyblade on himself.
"Sora!" Both Donald and Goofy cried, panic evident in their features. Sora smiled weakly and thrust the tip of the Keyblade into his chest. A strange wind blew around him as two lights- their hearts- emerged and the Keyblade broke into six others.
"Sora!" Donald cried out again. Sora didn't appear to hear him as Kairi's heart floated over to her body and awakened her. She sat up and looked around, only to find Sora's body fading in an enveloping light.
"Sora?" she realized and scrambled to her feet. "Sora!" She raced over to him as he started to fall, but he disappeared once she reached him.
"Sora!" Donald pleaded. "Come back, Sora!"
But he didn't come back. He found himself choked by darkness as he continued to fall, his consciousness, wherever it was, fading away.
But Kairi was free, and that's what mattered to him… Forget Riku, forget the Keyhole, forget the Heartless… Kairi was free. The darkness could take him as long as she was safe.
And yet, somehow, the sounds of chirping birds, the wind rustling the leaves, a creaking metal gate all reached his ears. He groaned, his mind foggy as he opened his eyes to find himself staring at a twilight colored sky.
"Where… am I?" he wondered, placing his hand over his chest. Something felt off- he could be sure of that. There was darkness, then… this. "Kairi?" He looked around, but there was no sign of her, Donald, or Goofy. "Where are you?" He blinked and looked down again. He should have felt relieved, upset, worried, anything… but there was nothing. In their places, a sense of emptiness plagued him, though he was unsure what had happened.
"You're in a world called Twilight Town," a voice informed him, and he spun around to find a large, old mansion behind him. In front of it stood a man in a black coat, and when he pulled down his hood, he revealed his long blue hair, his pointed ears, his golden eyes, and the X-shaped scar on his face.
"Twilight Town?" he echoed.
"Yes," the man nodded. "A world between the realms of Light and Darkness. If what I believe is true, then you are a Nobody."
"That's not very nice," he replied.
"Perhaps," the man agreed. "But do my words anger you? Are you upset?"
"…No," he admitted. "I don't… there's nothing. I don't feel anything. …What's wrong with me?"
"You have lost your heart," the man told him. Almost at once, those last moments in Hollow Bastion came rushing back to him- Riku, Ansem, the Keyblade…
"My… heart? I lost it…" again, he placed his hand loosely over his chest. The man nodded.
"Yes. Hence, you are what we call a Nobody- with a capital 'N.' One who is made up of body and soul, but lacks a heart. I am a Nobody as well."
"You don't have a heart?"
"No, I do not. I once did, before darkness overtook my home. Now, I lead a group of Nobodies- an Organization, if you will- that research the heart and are trying to find a way to recover what we have lost. I am Saïx- the Luna Diviner." He paused. "Tell me, will you join our ranks?"
"Will that lead me to my heart?" he wondered.
"That is our intention," Saïx replied. He thought it over.
"The Organization… a group of Nobodies looking for their hearts. Well, I'm not much of a researcher or anything…"
"We also study beings called Heartless," Saïx told him. "Ones who have hearts, but simply shouldn't. Yet fighting them is-"
"Oh! Then I can help there," he volunteered and summoned his Kingdom Key. "This is a-"
"A Keyblade…" Saïx marveled. "Incredible. I'd heard rumors, legends… Yes, you would be a great asset to the Organization."
"Then I'll join you," he nodded. "Until I get my heart back. I'm-"
"We do not use our true names," Saïx interrupted him. "I suppose you could say we see it that those names only belong to our complete, whole selves. But I shall give you your name as one of us."
"Uh… Okay." Saïx gestured for him to approach, and he did so. The Luna Diviner held out his hand and a light appeared, spelling out Sora's name. The letters swirled about for several moments before rearranging themselves with an "X" in their midst.
"Very well," Saïx nodded. "Until you regain your heart, you shall be called Sarox- the Key of Destiny." Sora- rather, Sarox- nodded.
"Sarox," he repeated.
"Yes." Saïx held out his other hand, and a Dark Corridor opened. "This will take us to our home- The World That Never Was. From there, we will get you a coat and introduce you to the rest of the Organization."
"How many members are there?" Sarox wondered.
"Including you, thirteen." Saïx paused, pondering. "An Organization of thirteen Nobodies… Organization XIII. Yes, that has a nice ring to it." Sarox nodded. "Now, then. Come with me." Saïx departed through the Dark Corridor, and Sarox followed slowly.
Before he entered the Corridor, however, he summoned his Keyblade once again. Some sort of darkness enveloped its Keychain, transforming it into a black blade with bat-like wings guarding the handle where they met at a purple gem where the handle met the shaft. Sarox stared at it, and a name for this new Keyblade rang out in his head as he entered the Dark Corridor.
Oblivion.