Nobody seemed to be following him…The boy reached the Station Plaza and there, alone, stopped to catch his breath.

I didn't want this to happen…I didn't...

More of those things spawned around him and ran around aimless and nervously, as if they couldn't stay still. He didn't know what they were—but they didn't seem hostile to him. After all, hadn't they protected him from those people? Yeah, they seemed to be the only friends he had in this land of light. He tried to touch one and the creature flinched and ran away, like it was too restless to allow himself to be pet. Some friends…

He looked around him. But how was he going to find Sora if those things scared everyone away?


"Sora!"

He turned around to find some familiar faces.

"Hayner! Pence! Olette!"

"You're back! And in a good moment, too!" Pence exclaimed.

"What happened here? Seifer and his gang say a boy made the unversed appear." Donald asked.

"Unversed? That's what they're called?" Hayner asked back.

"Yeah, a boy did it, we saw that!" Pence said.

"Seifer was harassing him." Olette remarked.

"And then they appeared to cover his escape!" Pence added.

"And he wasn't wearing a black coat?" Sora inquired.

"Not at all." Hayner replied, his hands on his hips. "He didn't look like one of those bad guys. He seemed like a regular boy."

"But he's not from the town." Olette said.

"No, it's a small town, so we pretty much know everyone in here, and that boy…" Hayner said.

"Nope. Doesn't ring any bells." Pence shook his head.

Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at one another.

"He must have come from another world." Donald said.

"And if he summoned unversed, the must have come from a bad place!" Sora nodded.

"Gawrsh! Is the Organization hiring children now?" Goofy exclaimed.

"I've never seen any among them…They all seemed pretty grown up to me…" Sora muttered. "And now there's fourteen of them?"

"We gotta find that kid!" Donald exclaimed.

"Yeah." Sora and Goofy agreed.

"We saw him going that way." Olette said, pointing at the top of the slope.

"We'll search the town and tell you if we find him." Hayner said.

"Thank you, guys."

The trio followed the clue and made their way to the Station. They seemed to be going into the right direction: like a trail of crumbs, the culprit had left unversed in his escape. They ended them on their way to the Plaza. And there, they found him. He didn't seem to be willing to catch a train to flee the town.

A boy with a yellow shirt, brown hair…It had to be him.

More curious people…In spite of the weird appearance of Donald and Goofy, the one who caught the boy's attention was the most normal of the three. A tingling feeling in his intestines.

"…Are you Sora?" He asked, walking to his encounter.

"…Yeah?"

Finally! Had he had a heart, it would have bounced.

"I've been looking for you."

"And you are…?"

The child paused, looking as if he had touched a sore spot.

"…I hope you could tell me…"

"Huh?" Okay, that caught Sora off guard. What's that even mean?

"Did you call all those unversed?" Donald faced him.

"Unversed...?" The boy frowned a little, looking away. He looked back at the trio with a more determined face. "That woozle had it coming."

"That what?" Goofy asked.

"That woozle, that slinking, little monster who is sly, and mean, and picks on those who are weaker and is very rude!" The boy heatedly said.

Another unversed appeared suddenly in front of him and immediately jumped on Sora and his friends. Donald was the quickest to take action and made it disappear with a spell.

"You did it again!" He told the child.

He averted his eyes once more and retreated, not seeming happy about it.

"Do you…do it on purpose?" Sora asked.

The answer was what he was starting to suspect:

"No…I don't really like them…But they just…come."

This is weird…And there is something very weird about him…

"We know you didn't mean it." Goofy said then in a conciliatory tone.

The boy shook his head in agreement.

"Say, fellas, I don't think he's dangerous…He just seems…out of control to me…" Goofy said to his partners, taking them aside.

"Well…Yeah…I get that feeling, too…" Sora nodded. "How old is he? Eight? I don't think he's even ten yet, no way…"

He's small and the unversed are generated from negative emotions…He does seem…what's the word? …Sad…Like…something very bad has happened to this kid…He says he doesn't like them but can't prevent them from appearing…And that thing he said, about me helping him figure out who he is…Yeah, this kid needs help…I can tell…

Since he was dealing with a child who seemed to be going through a lot, he tried to be kinder.

"These are Donald and Goofy." He introduced his friends. Each of them nodded at the mention of their name. "If there is something we can do for you, we will do it."

"Thank you." How serious this boy was! Even though he showed a lot of relief, he never once smiled or attempted to. "I've heard…You've got…let's say, a way with hearts."

"I…wouldn't put it that way, but…sort of."

"And I was hoping you would help me…find mine…"

"Find your heart?" Goofy asked.

"You mean…?" Donald looked at him with surprise.

"…you don't have a heart?" Sora finished the sentence, with great intrigue.

The boy sadly shook his head.

"Wak!"

"H-How do you know?" Sora asked.

"I just know…" The boy touched his chest.

The trio spoke in private once again.

"I don't like this one bit!" Donald declared.

"You think he's lying? I don't think he is…He seems…" Goofy discreetly glancing at the child.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. What bugs me is…he looks…pretty normal. Like any other child. Mostly. But…that means…he's a Nobody…Is he with the Organization or are there more Nobodies out there?" Sora said.

"Sure there must be. A lot of people must have been losing their hearts lately, I guess. And when someone with a strong will loses their heart…" Goofy argued.

"But we've freed all we've found!" Sora said. And he didn't like it. Were people still suffering that dreadful fate in spite of his attempts to help? Children, even?

For what Naminé said and Roxas' memories, I know being a Nobody is no fun at all. It hurts more than it may seem. You feel incomplete, out of place, alone…You are literally hollow. When you are a child, those things affect you even harder…I remember when I was a kid and I thought I lost Mom on the market, I started crying because I felt so hopeless and lost…, and it was for just a few minutes, until I found her. When you are young, you need people you can trust around you more than ever...I really don't want to know what this boy has been through…

I've got to help him!

Sora drew a smile at the boy.

"Alright, you're coming with us!" He announced. "But I'm warning you: your ship runs on happy faces! Like…"

He bowed his head.

"…this!", and he looked back at him to give him a sample of one of his silly faces.

The cold reception made Sora feel extremely awkward.

"Uhm…Yeah, this way…"

"Thank you. You are funny." The boy said, perhaps in an attempt to make him feel better.

That was clearly insincere…The trio looked at him with uneasiness but, most of all, sadness. How ugly it was to find that kind of seriousness in a child!


The King and Ienzo were probably busy with their respective tasks to call them and ask them about this. Nevertheless, they had many questions and believed Master Yen Sid was the one to give them answers.

After a travel on the Gummi ship which seemed to awaken some certain curiosity in the boy, they arrived to the magician's tower and explained the whole matter to him. He asked to be left alone with the child, and Sora, Donald and Goofy waited for almost fifteen minutes outside of his study, just looking around, walking in circles.

After an eternity, the door opened and the three fairies walked out along with the boy.

"…The best you will taste in your life." Fauna was telling him.

"And then we'll do something about those clothes you're wearing." Flora said. "I think red would suit you much better."

"No, no, no, blue. Trust me. That's just the right color for you." Merryweather was gently pushing him upstairs. "This way."

The child seemed a little overwhelmed by the three ladies surrounding him, but Sora sensed he was quite relieved to be around them and not Yen Sid. The old man could seem very, very scary, even to those who knew him. To the boy, it must have been like undergoing a hard exam by a mighty strict teacher. All one could expect from the fairies, on the other hand, was a big session of pampering.

"Come in." They heard Yen Sid from inside.

They walked in and stood in front of his desk.

"Well?" Sora asked. "What's up with that boy?"

Yen Sid had his hands joined together in a pensive posture. "There is no lie or exaggeration in his diagnosis. He has no heart."

"So he's really a Nobody…" Sora muttered.

"Indeed. And in the course of our conversation he has revealed some interesting details to me…For instance, that he has recently escaped from the realm of darkness."

"The realm of darkness?!" The group exclaimed.

"But what was he doing there?!" Donald asked.

"Years ago, many worlds sank deep into darkness, due to Xehanort's schemes…"

"Wait." Sora interrupted him, which earned him a chilling, disapproving frown from the magician, which he completely ignored. "But we restored those worlds! And the people who fell into darkness along with them!"

"Yes, you did, but it seems this one did not. His world was rescued, but he never got his heart back. And so he was doomed to keep on existing as a Nobody, and was claimed by darkness…"

"But why didn't he get his heart back?" Goofy asked.

"I am not sure. There is another implication which should be our main focus right now: somebody got him out of the realm of darkness and told him you could get it back…Has he mentioned this to you? Who did it?"

The trio shook their heads. He hadn't been very talkative.

"He confessed to me..." Yen Sid said, standing up to walk in front of his window. "He told me about a man with white hair and a black coat."

"Xehanort!" Sora, Donald and Goofy exclaimed as one.

Yen Sid nodded.

"If Xehanort got to the trouble of taking this child out of the realm of darkness, it must mean that he is no ordinary child and he's got plans for him."

"Evil plans!" Goofy remarked, even though it wasn't very necessary.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, I entrust you this boy. See what you can find out about him…, and, most of all, do not let him fall into Xehanort's hands."

The three stood firm. "Yes, Master Yen Sid!"