Sora opened his eyes with a yawn, rubbing the sleep out of them as he took in the world. There was a familiar fountain in front of him with two dogs looking deep into each other's eyes, Lady and The Tramp, that's what the locals of Traverse Town called it. But what was he doing in Traverse Town of all places?

It seemed everything about the exam had changed, from his clothes to his partners, which he was now missing.

"Kairi! Rikkuuu! You here?" He called. Last he remembered, he and Riku were swimming after Kairi when a giant keyhole opened up beneath them. It was their plan to enter the sleeping worlds that way, but they'd lost each other. Sora thought he was holding on tight to Riku and they'd almost had Kairi before everything went dark. "Guys? Where are you?"

"How'd you get here? I don't see any portal…"

Sora looked up to see a boy sitting on the decorative arch above the fountain. The kid smirked when they met eyes. "Huh? Who are you?"

"My name's Joshua." The boy answered, hopping down. He held out a hand to shake. "Wanna be friends?"

"Uh, sure…" Sora mumbled, a bit surprised at the suddenness of the request. He gingerly shook his head before pausing. "Hey, wait a minute, that's way too soon, even for me…"

"Really?" Joshua asked, the smile not leaving his face. "Can't I just want a new friend to confide in, travel with… help me out?"

"That's it, you need my help with something!" Sora cried, pointing at him in accusation.

"Caught me." Joshua smiled, putting his hands up in surrender. He started a casual stroll that Sora found himself joining. "Well, don't you need my help too? You're probably wondering where your friends are, aren't you?"

"Kairi, Riku, you know where they are?!"

"That's right. And if you want to know how they're doing, I'll need to get the key to my portal."

"Portal?"

"Mhm. A portal can act as gateways. I usually only use them to pop around town but ever since the world's been split up, I need them to cross between those too." Joshua explained as if it was the easiest thing in the world to understand.

"This world's split up…?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Yeah, into three different ones. Seeing that I can't find them here, they must be in the other two, separated as well. Don't know how that happened."

"Me neither." Sora muttered, thinking hard. Yen Sid said they'd all be together, he wouldn't have let Riku come along otherwise. Was there some kind of mistake made entering the exam?

"That being said, I still need to find the key to my portal, a boy named Beat."

"I'll help you find him, especially if it means I get to see Riku and Kairi again!"

Suddenly, he was surrounded by strange creatures.

These must be the Dream Eaters that Yen Sid told us about! Sora thought, summoning his keyblade. "Joshua, go take cover, I got this!"

"I'm sure you do." Joshua nodded, crossing his arms.

"Why aren't you-?" Sora was thrown back in his distraction, causing him to hit the ground hard. He glanced up to see his supposed new friend just standing there, the Dream Eaters were completely ignoring the boy as they tried to hurt Sora. Was Joshua with them? Was this some kind of trap?

He blasted a few Nightmares away only to find they kept coming. Just as he was about to get rid of them too, they were smashed by something big, round, and blue. "Huh?"

The creature deflated back to it usual size before giving a yip and running to Sora.

"Hehe, hey! That tickles!" The boy laughed as she licked his face.

The Spirit was a pudgy balloon-like dog or maybe it was a cat, Sora wasn't too sure. It had a single horn on its head that she somehow knew how to navigate so it wouldn't harm her new friend.

"Now who's this little one?" Joshua asked, walking up.

Sora couldn't help but worry about him. The Nightmares didn't attack Joshua at all, was he with them? Was he just pretending to be his friend like Hades had?

But all his doubts were squashed when the Spirit gave a bark and bounced over to get a pet. Such a good girl like her would know how to spot good people. "I think I'll call her… Yakumo!"

"That means sunny cloud, doesn't it? Pretty fitting a cloud and the sky have to stick together all." Joshua nodded his approval.

Yakumo barked, tail wagging in excitement at her new name.

"Hey, Joshua, why did the Dream Eaters gang up on me and leave you alone?" Sora asked curiously, stroking Yaku's back.

"Probably because you're a dreamer and I'm not." Joshua shrugged halfheartedly. "All mortal creatures are dreamers, that's just how it works."

Sora frowned slightly, thinking of his own dream. …Wait, if Joshua isn't a dreamer and dreamers are mortal creatures then doesn't that mean…?

Joshua seemed to know what he was thinking and only gave a mysterious smile back. Whatever he was, it wasn't human.

"Joshua, you said you could use your portal thingy to jump between the split worlds… Could a person like me use it or is that just something unique to, er, you."

"Well, I thought I was the only one but it seems like someone else can use them, or at least can pass through the versions in some other way." Joshua explained. "I'm pretty sure he's the reason you three were split up."

"He? Who's he?"

"Some man in a black hood, claimed he was part of some group-"

"Organization XIII?!"

"Oh yeah, that's it." Joshua snapped. He turned to see Sora near white as a sheet. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

No way, the Organization can't be here, Kairi and I defeated every member, including Xemnas! Sora thought to himself. They found a way to come back?!

He suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness at this revelation, seemingly out of nowhere. He stumbled forward before collapsing onto a worried Yakumo who'd moved so she could be a pillow.

Even as his consciousness faded, all he could think about was them, the previous victims of the Organization and his loved ones. Kairi… Riku… Please be safe…

"It is time I told you just what Xehanort is after…" Yen Sid announced to the three wielders. "First, you must know how this universe began. Originally, the worlds were together as one, no barriers or locked pathways lay between them."

No barriers or pathways Kairi thought to herself. Wouldn't that be nice, if we could just visit our friends whenever we wanted.

"This all-encompassing world was the setting of what keyblade wielders now call the Age of Fairytales. Back then, the people were bathed in light which they believed to be a gift from the unseen power known as Kingdom Hearts. It has the power to reset the world in its entirety, such a power had to be locked and guarded by its key, the X-Blade…"

The land was connected and bathed in light… Riku couldn't help but wonder if he'd heard this story before. It was all so fuzzy, thinking of it made his head hurt.

"In time, shadows descended upon the land, eager to take the light for themselves. The people of light created mystical weapons modeled after the X-Blade. They were called keyblades. A great war between darkness and light occurred, all fighting for Kingdom Hearts and the X-Blade, we call it the Keyblade War."

Sora couldn't help but remember the badlands Kairi had told him about. They were littered with keyblades… Was that where it all went down?

"In the end, the land was swallowed by darkness, Kingdom Hearts vanished. Thankfully, the darkness couldn't reach the light left in the hearts of children. They used this light to rebuild the world into many smaller worlds, all shining as stars in the sky. This is the world we live in today."

"And the X-Blade?" Kairi found herself asking. She had to ask, even though she already had a good idea what the answer was. "Was it…?"

"The X-Blade was badly damaged, and it was split into twenty pieces, thirteen of darkness and seven of light. If I am correct, Xehanort plans to reforge this powerful key to unlock Kingdom Hearts and use its power for his own desires…"

Sora slowly awoke as the dream, no, the memory, faded from his vision. Right. Yen Sid had told them much before the exam, including Xehanort's intentions.

He heard a snuffle and looked back to see Yakumo had fallen asleep too. He smiled before giving it a scratch on the back. She immediately rolled over to show her belly which he rubbed. "Thanks for sticking around. You're a good girl."

"Excuse me…" He looked up to see a young girl wearing an orange shirt and beanie hat with skull motifs. "Are you Sora?"

"Uh, yes, how'd you know that?" Sora asked in suprise.

"Joshua told me about you, said you were friends."

"Oh, yeah! We've been getting to know each other, right…?" Sora turned to see Joshua was gone. "Eh, can't blame him for leaving when I fell asleep on him..."

Rhyme giggled slightly. "Well, Joshua said once you were done with your nap you could help me find Beat. I'm his sister, Rhyme, and I've been looking for him too."

"Oh, great! We're sure to find him together! ..Oh, and uh, maybe afterwards, you guys can help me find my friends?"

"Sure!"

"Big brother!"

Rhyme and Sora searched for Beat in the next few districts, only coming across Nightmares on the way. Yaku happily disposed of them while the two checked the shops and hotel. It seemed Beat was nowhere to be found.

Rhyme walked out of the home in the third district, quite disheartened at the results of her search. She pet Yakumo as a distraction from her thoughts.

Suddenly though, she spotted an unfamiliar figure waiting in the next district. "Is that… some new kind of Reaper? He was one in the past, maybe they'd have an idea where my brother is…"

"He's not here either. Any luck on your guys' end, Rhyme?" Sora walked out to find Rhyme nowhere in sight. "Rhyme?"

He suddenly heard a frantic yelping and Yakumo came scrambling into the district.

"Whoa, girl, what's the matter?" He bent down and hurriedly soothed her. "Where's Rhyme?"

It barked urgently before running off in pursuit of their friend.

"Rhyme!"

"Sora!" Rhyme gasped. She attempted to run to him but the Organization member held her tightly by the arm.

Sora summoned his keyblade at once. "Let her go!"

"So you're here in the dreams too, I thought as much…" A young man's voice responded in a slight growl. He glanced down to Rhyme. "You could've made it much easier to find your brother if you just told me the truth: you did meet someone new."

"No way! Sora's my friend, I'd never rat him out like that!" Rhyme cried.

"Yes, well, you brought him to me all the same. You have my thanks."

Rhyme was thrown to Sora with a yell. Yakumo caught her in its cushy body, making sure she was unharmed. She pointed at him fiercely. "Just tell us where our friends and my brother are!"

"Who are you?" Sora growled.

The man didn't answer, taking off his hood to reveal a teenager with silver hair and golden eyes.

He looks familiar, Sora thought, Kinda like Ansem…

"Whether by chance or by choice, these endless dreams will be your prison to wander forever…" The man announced, raising his hand to the sky.

Dark energy gathered to summon a giant monkey Nightmare. It ran off to another district.

Sora turned back to see the man vanishing into a dark corridor. "Hey! I'm not done with you!"

He ran at the man only to catch air.

Rhyme gingerly stepped up to Sora as Yakumo went under his arm for a pet. "Sora, are you okay…?"

"I will be once I know my friends are safe from that guy." Sora huffed in worry. He noticed her look of concern and forced a smile. "For now, we gotta take on that Nightmare, right, Yaku?"

Yakumo yapped in excitement.

"What should I do?" Rhyme asked.

"Uh… Keep searching for Beat, but steer clear of the district that Nightmare's in."

"Got it!"

Sora ran into the fifth district to see the Nightmare waiting for him.

Yakumo suddenly gave a yip.

"Huh? You wanna help?"

An enthusiastic bark answered him.

"Alright, then let's go!"

Sora expected Yakumo to offer him a ride or grow in size like she normally did to fight but instead she leaped into his arms and disappeared. "Huh?"

He felt a strange tingling through his body and felt lighter than air. He took a step and it bounced him up like he'd just jumped. He could feel Yakumo in his heart, encouraging him. The two had fused and Sora could now use his Spirit's power. "Whoa!"

Realizing the new power he had, Sora smiled before putting his full force into a jump, sending him rocketing into the sky, far above town and his enemy.

"Too high, too high!" The boy adjusted himself after scrambling for a few minutes as he fell. He saw the Nightmare below him and smiled. He summoned his keyblade, aiming for the head. "Gotcha!"

The Nightmare gave a shriek as it faded away. Yakumo made sure Sora landed safely before reappearing.

"Hey, you! Thanks for the help!" Sora laughed as she nuzzled his cheek.

"Great job, you two!" Rhyme called, running in as well.

The remains of the Nightmare rained down to form projections, two of which Sora knew well. "Kairi! Riku!"

He tried embracing them only to find himself falling through their translucent bodies. "Huh…?"

"That's not gonna work. But don't worry, you're still together in your hearts." Joshua said, appearing before him.

"Beat…" Rhyme looked up sadly.

Everyone besides the trio and Joshua suddenly disappeared.

Sora could feel Joshua was somehow talking to all of them. He could also feel Kairi and Riku, they may have been separated physically but could still feel one another.

"In their world, something happened that brought thier existence to an end." Joshua told them, gesturing to the new friends they'd made. "To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnants of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge."

Sora was confused. He didn't know what was going on, especially when it came to their existence coming to an end. Does he mean they lost their hearts…?

"It was then this world appeared to answer my call, and Beat's dreams allowed us to reach it. Here, I thought they might have a chance, that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again." The boy looked back at the trio. "Imagine my surprise when I realized dreams take bodily form in this world. It struck me, by linking their dream pieces back together, maybe I could make them exist again. Maybe I could give them another chance."

"Uh… I'm lost, this doesn't make much sense." Sora grunted.

"It doesn't? Well, maybe this'll clear it up." Joshua smiled. "By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone, that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was for someone to see them, to connect with them. And the three of you were a big part of making it happen."

So it was their bonds that allowed them to see each other and the ones they'd made with their new friends. Of course, everyone was connected in their hearts, they were never without each other.

Sora couldn't help but ask: "Joshua… who are you?"

This strange boy seemed to be able to jump between the trio's world and communicate with them simultaneously. He was seemingly omnipotent.

"Let's just say… a friend." Joshua smiled. White angel wings sprouted from his back before he flew up into the heavens, leaving them to wonder what it meant.

"See ya, Joshua…" Sora whispered, knowing he was just that, a friend. He didn't need any answer beyond that.

The keyhole appeared in front of the three. Riku made a gesture to the keyhole, reminding Sora what he had to do.

Kairi looked at him and they nodded to each other, still on the road of mastery together. They both summoned their keyblade, Sora twirling his behind while Kairi swung hers upward before unlocking the keyhole.

He looked back to his friends. Kairi said something with a familiar smirk. Sora realized a second later what she meant and hurried after Riku, trying to beat him. "Oh no you don't!"

With that, Sora entered the next world.