Kairi was the first to summon her Keyblade and assume a battle stance (or as best of a stance as she could considering she was floating in white void). Whether this was the real Nomura or not, she didn't want to be caught any more exposed than she already was. Taking her cue, Sora and Riku summoned their weapons as well.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sora exclaimed.

"I'm with Sora on this one!" Kairi added, not letting her gaze waver. "Are you telling us that you were the one behind all of this? You?"

The man dressed in the black casual business suit only smiled. "I'm not the one responsible."

Naminé sniffed disbelievingly. "You really expect us to believe that?"

"Let me guess, your role in this is going to be a big exposition dump." If Roxas had fists, they would be shaking with frustration. "I swear, if you tell us that this whole journey was just a dream..."

Although there was tension in the void, it wasn't from fear of being erased from existence. It was the feeling of anxiousness that if this man was really their creator, he could easily prolong their journey even further than it already had. An overwhelming god-like aura permeated from his body, but after the numerous "final boss" battles they had to endure, power alone wasn't enough to convince anyone of his true identity.

"There's no need for your Keyblades here." Nomura waved his hands downward trying to calm the Keyblade wielders. Unlike the others who were floating, he seemed to be standing firmly on some invisible floor that they were unable to set foot upon. "You've finally reached the end of this journey, so you can relax."

"I don't believe he's lying." Naminé sounded confident enough for everyone to lower their weapons a smidge. "Whether he's Nomura or not, I don't sense any hostility coming from him."

"He hasn't attacked us yet," Roxas agreed. "The least we can do is hear him out." The trio looked at each other for a few seconds before nodding in silent agreement and returning their Keyblades back into the light.

"Fine, but could you please give us some clothes?!" The Princess of Heart shuddered as goosebumps formed across the surface of her nude skin. "Me being naked is one thing, but I think guys look better when there's at least some parts of the body left to the imagination."

"That's entirely up to you," the creator calmly replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kairi rubbed her hands rapidly over the length of her arms. "Where exactly are we anyway?"

Riku gazed around at the white emptiness of the void. "I know it's not the realm of darkness, light or in-between."

Nomura chuckled. "This, my protagonists, is the realm beyond the fourth wall."

"The fourth..." Kairi shook her head in disbelief. "That's the stupidest thing I've heard since Roxas' last words to Xion."

As soon as the words left her lips, a faint cloud of thought popped into existence above her head displaying the scene of Xion dissolving in Roxas' arms. "Who else will I have ice cream with?"

Kairi blinked. "W...What is that supposed to be?"

"In my defense, I said something completely different in the Japanese version," Roxas said. Then he did a double-take. "Wait a minute. How in the world did you know about that?"

"Since you are no longer within your universe, the confines of reality don't apply to you. Until your return, you have access to all of the knowledge of everything that has happened within the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise."

Nomura swept his arms out in a dramatic flourish, signaling numerous thought bubbles to pop up all around the group. Every single cutscene that had ever been recorded and uploaded were now playing, filling the white void with random soundtracks and voices from their past. Time seemed to have no meaning as the Keyblade wielders were able to absorb hours of footage in the matter of seconds like a giant memory dump into their metaphorical hard drives.

"Wow..." Sora gave Kairi a pitying look as he finished reviewing her scenes from Kingdom Hearts 2. "You really were screwed from significant character development. I can see why you have haters."

Jealousy sparked slightly in Kairi's eyes as she saw Sora's younger self flirt with Alice and Naminé. "Really, Sora? I'm out of your sight for one night and you go ahead and start hitting on other girls?"

"Well, technically that second time was my fault," Naminé corrected her.

Kairi was about to retort when she saw her past self sitting comatose with Riku watching over her. "Is that what I really looked like when my heart was taken?" The girl's face scrunched up at the image. "I'm surprised my body wasn't drooling."

"Believe me, I was thankful that you still had the instinct to hold your bladder the entire time," Riku replied. He frowned at a thought cloud displaying Sora on his knees when he was finally found in his "Ansem, Seeker of Darkness" form.

"I looked everywhere for you!"

Riku sighed and gave Nomura a weary look. "I'm starting to wonder if you created those cutscenes just for fanshipping material."

Roxas was silent as scenes of his existence unfolded in front of Sora's eyes, from being found in front of the Twilight Town mansion to his remerging with his other half. To Sora, seeing the events that took place in the year that he was asleep made him feel both sadness for what he missed and guilt for what Roxas gave up for him.

"Roxas, I know it's late, but I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Sora. I know in your heart that you wish that Naminé and I could exist in our own separate bodies apart from you and Kairi. But we're kinda content with the whole switching places now."

"Besides, now that we know it's possible, it'll probably be a matter of time before we can finally find a way to create new bodies for us just like the data Organization did with Kairi," Naminé added.

Meanwhile, Kairi was staring intently at the scene when Sora asked Saix to take him to her.

"Is she that important to you?"

"Yeah, more than anything!"

"Show me how important." Kairi's heart felt like it quadrupled in size as Sora got down on his knees and touched his face to the ground, begging to be reunited with her. She placed her hand over her chest by the sincerity of the moment, before remembering that she was still naked.

She reluctantly tore herself away from the cutscene archive which immediately zapped out of existence and looked back at Nomura again. "A-anyway, what did you mean that clothing is up to us?"

"See for yourself." The redhead tilted her head questionably and looked back down. To her astonishment, her outfit had reappeared without her noticing.

"What? But how?" She glanced over at Sora and Riku, who were just as surprised to find themselves dressed as well.

"In this realm, anything you can dream will come to life."

"That sounds almost suspiciously like we're dead or something," Naminé observed.

"I assure you that you're not dead."

"Anything you can dream, huh..." Roxas murmured.

Sora's face lit up suddenly. "Ooh! There's this one place that I've always wanted to go to!" He closed his eyes and his face scrunched up in concentration. Riku and Kairi saw their surroundings fade in from blank white into tangible shapes. Brightly colored buildings and contraptions glittered into existence around the group with red-bricked paths shimmering into existence underneath their feet. To their surprise, they were standing in the middle of a circular clearing, surrounded by brightly colored buildings with Princess Aurora's castle looming proudly over them. Random food carts and trinket booths were staffed by numerous Moogles that busily zipped around the area. Standing in the center of this activity was a bronze statue of the King and a dapper-looking man holding hands.

"Wait a minute..." Kairi gave the boys a quizzical stare. "Is this where I think it is?"

Riku shrugged and turned toward Sora, who let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, we've never been to Disneyland before and I figured this would be a good time as any." His eyes widened excitedly. "Ooh! I've always wanted to try Splash Mountain!" Before Sora could make a run for it, Kairi yanked him by the back of his collar.

The Princess of Heart couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Out of all the places you could come up with..." Not content with their current surroundings, Kairi closed her eyes and concentrated on changing the world around them. She was met with disappointment and confusion when their surroundings remained unchanged. "Hey! What gives?"

"You all share the same ability to create using dream logic," Nomura explained. "However, Sora's experience in dreaming allows him to create bigger and more complex objects than you or Riku."

Kairi's shoulders slumped. "You mean we can't do anything about it because Sora has narcolepsy?"

"It does make sense in a way. He does tend to sleep at the most inopportune times," Naminé teased.

"Hey!" Sora crossed his arms in a huff. "I'm standing right here!"

Kairi thought for a moment. "Could we create bodies for Roxas and Naminé?"

"You could. But keep in mind that they must merge back before leaving this realm. Otherwise, they will cease to exist."

Kairi nodded and closed her eyes once again. This time, both her and Sora's body lit up with a warm, dazzling glow. After a few seconds, the ghostly forms of Roxas and Naminé stepped out of their counterparts. The Nobodies looked down at their bodies as they solidified into corporeal apparitions once more.

Roxas stared at his fingers and wiggled them as if to make sure that they were working correctly. He almost lost his balance when Naminé threw herself at him, wrapping her slender arms around his torso and squeezed as hard as she could.

"I've wanted to do this for a while," Naminé purred softly in his ear, causing the blonde boy to blush. Nomura smiled and continued as if nothing else had happened.

"You may have noticed over the past few months that everyone you've ever known has been making nostalgic references that relate to them whether it be movies, films or other game franchises." Nomura placed his hands behind his back and slowly paced away from the group as he spoke. "The main reason is because the spiritual energy of this realm has been leaking through cracks in the fourth wall and into your universe. That is why you knew the existence of me and your roles as video game characters."

Roxas finally broke his embrace with Naminé, but kept one of his arms wrapped around her waist. "Even if what you say is true, how did this happen in the first place?"

Nomura turned back toward the group and jerked his head toward the bushy-haired brunette. "You should ask Sora."

"WHAT?!"

All eyes fixed upon Sora, who looked just as shocked as everyone else. "How would I know?"

"The Codebreaker. May I ask where you got it?" Nomura asked.

Sora grinned confidently. "Easy! I got it from..." The smile faded from his lips as he was struck dumbfounded. "Huh. I honestly don't know. All I remember is that it was in my pocket sometime after we returned to the islands."

"So what you're telling us is that this whole mess was because someone corrupted the save file of our universe?" Naminé asked.

Nomura nodded. "It was like a virus, injected into your reality, altering past events in very subtle ways, but just enough to cause a butterfly/domino effect that's resulted in the current situation. The power it held resonated within Sora's very core, affecting everything and everyone that has ever come in contact with him."

"That seems plausible," Kairi said, stroking her chin. "I always had this odd feeling that everything that was going on wasn't supposed to be happening. Almost as if we were experiencing some alternate timeline or something."

"Do you regret it?" Kairi looked thoughtful at Roxas' question.

"On the one hand, it wasn't exactly fun to get beaten up and humiliated." Then she smiled. "However, now that I think about it, it was nice being the one in the spotlight for once."

"You said it, sis," Naminé agreed.

"When the Codebreaker was destroyed, it released residual energy that not only erased all of the combatants in the Keyblade Graveyard, but was absorbed by Data Xemnas. This resulted in returning to his Xehanort form as well as summoning the King and Kentauros forms. His defeat released that energy, transforming into the gateway that led you here."

"Erased?!" Sora's face hardened as he realized that his friends' plight was because of his carelessness.

Sensing Sora's guilt, Kairi gave him a comforting hug from behind. "It's okay, Sora. You didn't know that would happen."

But something was bothering Riku. "Wait. Xemnas became Xehanort, right? That would mean he returned to possessing a body that wasn't his. When he released his heart, shouldn't the body he discarded be returned to its original owner?"

"That body...was nothing more than a shell," came the reply.

"You mean he was a Nobody pretending to be Xehanort?" Riku pressed.

Nomura looked a bit pensive before answering. "Yes and no. The Garden of Assemblage was originally created to house data on the Organization. Their experiences and memories were recorded in real time until their...defeat. However, that was all they were: data replicas of the original Organization."

"That would explain why my doppelganger didn't recognize Naminé," Roxas mused. "After all, I didn't meet her until the last week of my existence."

"I remember one of the Secret Ansem Reports said something about life needing a body, soul and heart," Sora said. "Their data probably acted as an artificial soul while they needed Kairi to create brand-new bodies and hearts."

Tired of standing, Naminé led Roxas to the bronze statue of Mickey and sat down on its pedestal. "Considering how many people were created out of you, I'm surprised you weren't the one they kidnapped instead."

Kairi suddenly remembered something that bothered her as well. "Why did they believe they were trapped in the computer? Considering that their individual memories ended as soon as their Nobodies were destroyed, shouldn't they have realized that they were computer programs?"

"Hey, it's not as simple as you might think," Roxas interjected. "I was clueless about the data Twilight Town until the Dusks started hacking the system."

"Or maybe I'm just that good at what I do," Naminé teased. "I'm like a brain hacker."

"Age of the geek, baby," Kairi added. When the boys gave her a blank look, her face reddened slightly. "Never mind."

"They didn't realize they were programs because their data remained locked in stasis until they were activated," Nomura explained. "This was probably around the time that you received the bottled letter from King Mickey. As soon as that letter was delivered, their consciousnesses were awakened, allowing them to remotely summon and control Heartless and Nobodies from within Radiant Garden's mainframe."

"If what you're saying is true, that would explain why Xehanort's body disappeared as soon as he released his heart." Riku's face looked grim. "He wasn't sacrificing someone else's body, it was his own."

Kairi's eyes suddenly flashed with anger. "If the Organization XIII we fought wasn't real, are you telling us that we went through all of that for nothing?!"

Nomura shook his head. "You didn't fight in vain. I wanted to make sure you were prepared."

The redhead didn't like where this was going. "Prepared for what?"

"Since you know the entire Kingdom Hearts timeline up to this point, you know that Xehanort, the REAL Xehanort isn't defeated. Ever since you defeated both his Nobody and Heartless with the Keyblade, he will make his return." He gave the group a sweeping gaze. "And when he does, it'll be up to the five of you to defeat him once and for all."

"So this whole incident was a test?" Naminé asked.

"More like a tutorial. The threat to your entire universe is bigger than any of you could possibly imagine."

"Try us," Roxas challenged.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you any spoilers. Let's just say that Sora, Riku and Kairi are at the heart of the matter." As he noticed their faces fell, he smiled. "Don't worry, you'll figure everything out soon enough."

"Even Sora?" Naminé teased.

"Hey!"

Kairi figured now was the best time to ask the lingering question on everyone's mind. "Do we still have to get married?" Nomura stroked his chin thoughtfully as if thinking about it. After a few moments, he shrugged.

"That's entirely up to you. Data Xemnas wasn't lying when he said Ansem the Wise's decree was a forgery. You don't HAVE to get married. Personally, I would rather you wait until you were older."

"So what happens now?" Sora looked downtrodden. "Even if we return to our universe, our friends are all gone."

"Don't worry. They're not dead." That caught everyone by surprise.

"Really?!" Sora's heart immediately filled with hope. "How did that happen?"

Nomura chuckled. "I'm your creator, remember? I have their backup data."

"And Radiant Garden?" Kairi added. "There's no point in them returning if they have no place to go back to."

"With the Codebreaker destroyed and its residual energy dissipating, the cracks in the fourth wall have finally begun repairing themselves. When you return, all of the collateral damage from the incident will be restored to their original states."

Riku stood silent throughout all of this with his head dropped to his chest and his arms crossed in thought. He finally spoke up. "There's a catch to all of this, isn't there?"

"When you leave this place and return to your universe, the fourth wall will not be the only thing that's sealed up. This realm's energies still flow throughout your bodies, but cannot exist without a consistent connection outside of its natural source. As soon as you return, your memories of me, the Kingdom Hearts timeline and everything you've learned since the wedding will be erased. At least-"

"What?!" Kairi couldn't believe her ears. "But what about all the progress we've made over this entire journey? If everything goes back to the way it was, I'll end up not being able to use the Keyblade anymore!"

"Yeah! It's not fair that you made us go through all those tutorials and ended up going the entire dream sequence route!" Naminé snapped. "Sora already went through all of this in the beginning of the first game!"

"Not to mention, what was the whole point of dumping all this exposition onto us if you were going to make us forget anyway?" Roxas added.

"I already had my memories messed with in Chain of Memories!" Sora exclaimed. "Doing this to Kairi and Naminé makes any character development they obtained null and void!"

"Calm down! Let me finish!" Nomura cleared his throat. "What I was about to say before you interrupted was at least that's what WOULD have happened. However, as we've been talking, I've been trying to restore the timeline to its original state, but the alterations are too far embedded into your universe's code that it's virtually impossible to erase the events of everything that you've encountered from your memories."

The girls exchanged excited looks. "You mean that I'm still going to be a Keyblade-summoning Princess of Heart?" Kairi asked enthusiastically.

Nomura smiled and nodded. "Now that I think about it, all of you were eventually going to stumble upon this information in one form or another. There's no harm in letting you retain knowledge of the past as it doesn't spoil what's planned for Kingdom Hearts 3. Your memories will remain untouched. However, I can only restore everyone else's memories up to the point of before your wedding was rudely interrupted." Nomura raised his hand and pointed it at the gaping castle archway of Aurora's castle. A giant black and purplish portal erupted, taking up the entire opening. "This Corridor of Darkness will take you back to your universe. It's a one-way trip, so I suggest you take all the time that you need here."

He began stepping through the portal.

"Wait!" Nomura stopped at Kairi's outburst and looked back over his shoulder. "Are you really Nomura?"

The creator only responded with a mysterious smile and a twinkle in his eye. And with that, he was gone.

"Huh." Kairi exhaled a cleansing breath. "Nomura was actually a lot nicer than I thought."

"Yeah." Naminé giggled. "Remember how we were worried that he could easily write Sora a new girlfriend?"

Roxas and Sora looked surprised. "You two were actually worried about that?"

The boys took their fiancées' hands in theirs. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be with than you," Sora said with a shy smile.

"Same here," Roxas agreed.

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "What about Xion?"

"Don't ruin the moment."

"Technically, he already wrote Sora a new girlfriend when he replaced Kairi with Naminé," Riku said. Before the others could retort how he ruined the moment, the silver-haired teen quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, Xehanort's still out there somewhere. No matter what we do or where we go, our paths will cross again."

"I say we've gone through enough for now," Sora replied. "If anything, I think we should just enjoy what time we have left before our next big adventure."

"Nomura was right, though." Kairi's eyes narrowed into a determined gaze. "Despite everything we've had to go through, there's no excuse not to take me along this time."

"Oh! One last thing!" Everyone flinched as Nomura's disembodied head popped back in through the portal. "Could you please apologize to Cloud for me next time you see him?"

"Why?" Naminé asked. "What happened?"

"He was in my office complaining about there not being a Final Fantasy VII remake in the works. I was telling him I'd have to talk to him about it later when he gripped his sword in what I think was a passionate gesture, but security took it as an assassination attempt. They got a bit...overenthusiastic." The creator looked slightly embarrassed. "I think they ended up sending him careening into the Great Maw." Nomura gave them a final wave farewell and departed, leaving the group in awkward silence.

Naminé was the first to speak. "Well...we have this entire theme park to ourselves." She threw out her arms and twirled around for emphasis. "And it's not like we're in a rush to get back."

Sora placed a curled finger under Kairi's chin and gently guided her face up to his. "So, Kairi...where do we go from here?" Kairi knew what Sora meant. He wasn't asking what ride or attraction they should go on first. He was asking if she wanted to be by his side and take their life's journey together. Her eyes quickly flickered to Riku, who only shook his head as if saying "Leave me out of this." She glanced over at Roxas and Naminé, who went and embraced each other tightly.

The Princess of Heart wrapped her arms around her Keyblade Knight's neck and pressed her forehead against his. With a smile playing across her soft lips, she uttered words that she had been wanting to let him know for as long as she could remember.

"To infinity and beyond, Sora."