Chapter 8 Reverse/Rebirth

SORA STEPPED INTO THE WORLD WITHIN RIKU—PERHAPS it was best to call this place a datascape of Jiminy’s journal, for which Riku served as the vessel. It was dark, with wires of light occasionally racing across the gloom.

“It’s so…empty,” Sora whispered uneasily, looking at his feet. Suddenly, a shock ran through him, as if something very heavy had been dropped onto his shoulders.

“Aaah!” Sora cried as a ball of light shot out of him. The burden on his shoulders remained. His knees felt like they were about to give out under him.

“Wh-what’s going on? I feel k-kinda funny.”

It was like the energy had been sucked right out of him. What just happened?

“Sora! You okay?” Riku came running up.

“Riku! What about you? Are you all right?”

Sora was still worried for his friend, though his legs were so wobbly he could barely stand.

Riku gave him a small nod in reply. “You shouldn’t be here. I can fight the bugs off a little longer…but they’re spreading. Pretty soon they’ll take over all my data.”

The bugs were starting to win. What would happen once their control was complete?

“You feel weak, right? It’s because the bugs have stolen your data. You won’t last long in here. Take this and escape while you can.” Riku held out a strange glowing shard.

“What is it?”

Sora peered at the item in Riku’s hand. Inside the dull light, he saw several glimmers of something that had a stronger glow. He had no idea what it was, though.

“Data I found on my other partition. It doesn’t belong in Jiminy’s journal. Somebody added it after the fact.”

Sora took the fragment and held it overhead to give it a closer look, but he couldn’t discern anything special. What could be hidden in this extra data?

“The same person that hid the journal’s contents inside you?”

“I’m not sure. It’s up to you now to find out,” said Riku. “Thanks to you, all the bugs outside of me are gone. If you can just solve the mystery of this extra data, then the journal will be completely restored. That should open the way back for Mickey and the others.”

Riku’s saying to leave him here? No, I can’t do that. “But what about you?!” Sora exclaimed.

“I’ll dive into the darkness and take these bugs with me. They’ll never see the light again,” Riku stated resolutely before Sora could continue. He smiled softly.

But…I don’t want to just leave him behind. Sora lowered his gaze.

“Go, Sora. While I’m still in control. The bugs are getting stronger, but there’s still just enough time.”

“Well, then…I guess that settles it.” Why does he always do this? Sora gave him a long look.

“Right.” Riku nodded quietly. “So you better—”

“If there’s just enough time to escape, then there’s just enough time to stop the bugs. We can beat this, Riku!” With a grin, Sora presented the solution he’d found.

“What? You’re not listening!” Riku flinched.

“Heh-heh! Come on, Riku. You didn’t really think I’d just give up and leave?” As Sora laughed, Riku let out a big sigh.

“Sora, I… Ugh, why do I bother? Once you get an idea in your head, that’s it.”

Riku smiled, too.

Yep, I’m as stubborn as they come. “Well, at least you learned to stop trying! That’s progress!”

“All right. Well, the bugs have stolen your powers, so the first thing you’ve gotta do is get them back.”

Riku held up his hand, palm-out, and a door appeared leading to some unknown destination. The other side looked full of blinding light, perhaps because the place where they were now was so dark.

“That light over there leads deeper into my data. Inside is a world from my memories…”

“Your memories?”

“Yeah, that’s right. The memories of the data version of me. And some of the bugs that stole your data. Get the data back, get your powers back. It’s simple. Then you can worry about me. Be careful.”

“Okay. Be right back!” Sora nodded and stepped toward the light.

“Good luck in there. And thanks.”

“Any time!” Still smiling, Sora stepped through the beaming doorway without a moment’s hesitation.

Before him were the Destiny Islands. Sora yelped at the state they were in. “Yeesh. What a mess!”

His home was covered in blocks, and the once refreshing breeze from the ocean was unpleasant. It felt like each step was draining his strength. If he didn’t get his powers back, even just walking forward would be difficult.

Sora swung his Keyblade at the block in front of him. It disappeared like normal, but this time he also felt a sliver of his strength return. So getting rid of the blocks would restore him.

“Okay, I can do this!”

Sora tore through all the blocks around him. His body still felt like lead, but he could tell that his strength was finding its way home bit by bit. After cleaning the beach, he ran over the bridge to the little island. Once the bugs there were gone, he would be done.

“And that’s that!”

The Destiny Islands were now bug-free. Okay, what next?

As Sora stood there wondering, Riku appeared.

“Riku?”

“I can access this world now that you’ve weakened the bugs. It’s our island…” Riku took in the view of the sea.

“Yeah… Hey, remember when you gave me the Keyhole?”

Though it felt like ages ago, it had happened only recently.

“You needed a chance to prove yourself with the Keyblade—and learn how things work in the datascape.” Riku turned to Sora.

“Yeah, the riddles were a nice touch. Did you know I was gonna have to fight that thing inside?”

“Sink or swim. Sorry. The clock was ticking. Inside the journal, the Heartless had already shattered the walls between worlds, and now the wall between the datascape and the real world was under attack from the bugs. I used that to my advantage and called Mickey and the others here to help.”

Riku lowered his gaze for just a moment.

“Some kind of…mysterious message, right?” Sora replied lightly. “Not much progress there.”

He started to think. He’d debugged all kinds of worlds, but there were still plenty of mysteries left.

“I shouldn’t have dragged everybody into this without asking.” Riku seemed to deeply regret his actions.

“Well, no big deal, as long as we get them home,” Sora reassured him with a smile and a shrug. “So whaddaya say? Back to work?”

“Right. Come with me,” Riku replied, and then they blinked away.

Sora’s next point of arrival was Traverse Town. Just as with the Destiny Islands, the streets were blanketed in blocks. Sora destroyed them one after the other, and he could feel more of his strength returning with each one gone. He hurried through the town until all had been eliminated.

And like on the islands, Riku appeared before Sora when he was done.

“Looks like you’ve taken care of the bugs here, too.”

“Riku!”

“Thanks, Sora. Last time I was here, it was to keep the triplets safe,” Riku commented, reminiscing.

“Huey, Dewey, and Louie?” Sora remembered those three rambunctious brothers very well.

“Right. They had the pieces of the Keyhole, which made them targets. Somebody had to look out for them.”

I didn’t know anything about that. Sora pursed his lips unhappily. “Riku, why didn’t you just tell me what was going on?”

“You still needed to toughen up a little on your own. You had a difficult job ahead, and if you couldn’t do it…” Riku lowered his gaze. “Well, I guess I would’ve been on my own.”

Sora let out a heavy sigh. Some things never change. “Riku, you always try to take everything on by yourself,” he said, and Riku looked up. “But I like getting dragged into your messes. Donald and Goofy said the same thing to me.”

“Maybe so, but—”

“Forget this ‘on my own’ talk already.”

I know Riku didn’t have anyone to help him deal with all this complicated stuff back then, but he’s not alone anymore. That’s why it makes me sad to hear him talk about doing everything by himself. I mean, it kinda starts to feel like I’m the only one who thinks we’re friends.

“Sorry… You’re right.”

“And stop saying you’re sorry. We’ve got better things to do! You ready?”

Sora laughed, but Riku’s expression was still glum as they headed for the next world.

Wonderland, too, was infested with blocks. Once again, Riku arrived once they were all gone.

“Sora… Really, I’m sor—”

“Nope! Don’t say it!”

Even after all this, Riku was still downcast.

“Can you blame me? I shouldn’t have let the bugs in like this. Every time it’s me against some outside force, I give in and—” Riku gazed at the palm of his hand.

I get that you’re worried, but this isn’t like you, Riku. “Riku, would you can it for a second?” Sora said. “How many worlds have we been to now? A whole bunch, right?”

“Yeah…” Riku closed his palm into a fist.

“Well, not long ago, the answer would have been ‘one.’ But now, you and me have been all kinds of places. Instead of dreaming about what’s out there, we only have to remember it. We’ve got the whole universe inside of us.”

Sora thought back on the worlds they had visited on their journeys. There are all kinds of worlds out there, and plenty of them we’ve never seen.

“Just let that sink in for a second.”

“…Pretty incredible.”

Riku nodded, and Sora continued.

“All those worlds inside you, and you know what? You’re still Riku. Doesn’t matter how many ‘outside forces’ you have to face—because everything you touch makes you stronger. Always has.”

“Th-thanks.” Riku finally raised his head and looked at Sora.

“Heh-heh, you like that? Sounded wise beyond my years, right?”

Sora chuckled, a little bashfully, and Riku finally smiled along with him. “A little flowery, but you made your point, half-pint.”

“H-hey! I’ll remember that when I’m taller than you!” Sora shot back. That was low!

Riku burst into laughter, as if he couldn’t hold it in anymore, and Sora joined in.

“Ha-ha! I look forward to that.” Riku’s laughter subsided, and he looked at Sora again. “And Sora?”

“Yeah?”

Riku seemed to want to say something, but then he gave a small shake of his head. “…Never mind. I’ll tell you when all this is over.”

“Sure, okay—when I see you on the other side. This next one is the last, right?”

“Yeah.”

Riku nodded, and the pair disappeared from Wonderland.

The final place Sora arrived was the interior of the cave in Agrabah. Not only was it packed to the gills with blocks, but Sora also had to work through the bevy of traps in the cavern, all the way from the depths to the exit. Quite a bit of his power was back now, and Sora dashed through the cave barely breaking a sweat. He still wasn’t fully restored, but he was light-years better than he’d been while squashing the bugs on the Destiny Islands.

Outside the cave, he destroyed all the blocks in front of the great tiger’s head, too.

“Riku!”

Sora ran up to his friend as he arrived like always.

“Remember this place?” Riku said, ever so slightly wistful.

“Yeah. This is where Maleficent ambushed me. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have been a goner.”

What would have happened to me then if Riku and Mickey hadn’t been there?

“Mickey and I knew Pete had another trick up his sleeve.”

Maleficent destroyed my Keyblade back then. “Well, it was a good one. I lost my Keyblade,” Sora said softly, then grinned. “But see, that just proves things are gonna work out!”

“Um, how?” Riku asked.

“No matter what you lose, you can always get it back. And that means you can get yourself back!” Sora declared confidently.

Riku shook his head a bit and smiled in amazement. “Heh. Sometimes I envy how simple your world is.”

“Is…that a compliment?” Sora asked in mild protest.

“I envy whatever makes you think it could be.”

“Gee, thanks,” Sora remarked as Riku snickered.

“Ha-ha-ha. Race ya back”

“H-hey, wait up!”

Riku vanished first with a laugh, with Sora hurriedly following his lead.

When Sora and Riku returned to the dim realm, a shining entrance lay before them.

“Okay. Enough of the hurt as been undone for you to access the innermost reaches of my data.”

Riku pointed out the new doorway.

“In there is the source of all the other sources of bugs. Be careful—we don’t know what it is, where it came from, or why it’s really here.”

“No… But we know that taking it out will clear up the last of the datascape’s problems. Right?”

Sora glared at the door a little.

“Right. Everything should go back to the way it was,” said Riku, facing the entrance with similar determination.

Sora turned to his friend. “Thanks for all this, Riku. I feel like going through your memories has made me stronger.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Sure I do! You’ve guided me the whole way.”

Actually, come to think of it, Riku was there when I woke up for the first time. I should thank him for that, too.

“You were even there when I first woke up, when I first got the Keyblade.”

But Riku seemed confused. “Huh? No, the first time I saw you was on our island.”

“What? But I’m sure I saw you there… In your black coat? Huh. That’s weird.”

Sora was sure that he had encountered someone in a black coat there, too. If it was someone else wearing the same thing, then who would it have been?

“Well, stay focused,” Riku said. “Are you ready for this fight? I can’t go in with you.”

Sora looked up at him.

“About all I can tell you is not to hold back, no matter what you see in there.”

There was something Riku wasn’t telling him—maybe he knew what was waiting beyond the door.

“Huh? Okay… Wish me luck.” Sora took a step toward the doorway.

Behind him, Riku repeated his advice. “Just remember what I said.”

“Don’t hold back, no matter what I see. I got it,” Sora replied, then entered the door.

“Just…be careful, Sora,” Riku said softly.

On the other side of the glowing entryway was the chapel of Hollow Bastion, along with…

“Riku?!” Sora shouted. “But how—?”

Riku was wearing the black-and-purple suit he’d had while under Pete’s control.

“No… You’re not him.”

Sora quickly realized that the one before him was both Riku and not Riku—a bug that had siphoned his power to take his form.

“That explains the warnings,” Sora whispered, then readied his Keyblade. He wasn’t afraid of a fake Riku. It was just a bug. Sora lunged forward and closed the distance.

Though it had been standing there apparently in a daze, the bug blocked Sora’s attack. It then jumped back to fire off a series of shining white fireballs.

“Urgh!”

Despite Sora’s attempts to deflect each of the flaming orbs that assailed him, one of them hit him dead-on and sent him flying.

Sora did have most of his power back, but he still wasn’t at 100 percent. The powerful attack hit him hard, and it took all his strength to withstand it. He wasn’t ready to lose just yet, though. Sora got up and immediately cast a spell that created the opening he needed to land a flurry of blows on the bug.

As his enemy fell still and disappeared, Sora could feel all his strength returning to him. That means all the bugs must be gone!

Sora struck a macho pose—and then realized he was back in that dark space.

“You did it! Nice work, Sora.” Riku met Sora with a smile.

“Thanks!” Sora held up his hand, and Riku gave him a high five.

“The bug tried to use my power for itself, didn’t it?”

“Yeah… How’d you know?” Sora asked in return.

Riku’s expression darkened slightly. “Just one of those gut feelings. I thought it might try to exploit the darkness inside me.” Riku paused briefly, then smiled with a hint of sadness. “Maybe…I’ve been a little jealous. You’re always surrounded by friends who trust you and are there to support you—”

But Sora wasn’t having it. “Okay, stop right there. First of all, I trust you. Second of all, my friends are your friends, too. Just ask ’em!”

Riku! Sora! Are you two all right in there?

They immediately heard Mickey’s voice.

Squish some bugs for me, would ya?

There was Donald.

A-hyuck! Just holler if ya need some help!

And finally Goofy. All three of them were Sora and Riku’s dear friends.

“Heh-heh. Okay, you win.” Riku nodded, then lowered his head and smiled.

“C’mon. They’re all waiting for us!” Sora declared. But then an ominous tremor rocked the area. The lights coursing through the air flickered intensely, and the world shook.

“Um, Riku…?”

“No!” Riku’s head whipped back and forth. “Sora, you’ve got to escape, right now! Someone’s trying to close the road back to the outside world!”

The tremors were getting so bad it was hard to even stand.

“Hurry, or you’ll be trapped in here!” Riku held out his hand, and a black portal appeared. “Go now!” he said, then grabbed Sora by the arm and pulled him over to it.

“O-o-okay, I’m going!”

“Thanks again,” Riku told him as he headed into the gate. “I’ll see you on the other side!”

“That’s a promise!”

Sora turned back and waved, then dashed into the door. This black space was a strange realm. There were blocks moving around that got in his way, but Sora wouldn’t make any progress at all if he didn’t use the animated obstacles.

He made his way forward, clambering over blocks and defeating Heartless all the while, until he reached someone standing in his path.

“Maleficent!”

“You should have stayed outside, boy. There, the worst fate to befall you would have been eternal slumber.”

“You did that?! Yeesh. When are you gonna quit?” Sora retorted, holding his Keyblade up for a fight.

“Oh, I’ve only just begun. Such a shame you understand so little of the darkness. The world desires its embrace!” The evil fairy lifted her staff slightly.

“Yeah, right.”

“There is nothing in darkness,” Maleficent reverently intoned. “No sadness, no cause for hurt… In darkness, one cannot see one’s mistakes or the dreams that failed to be.”

“And they’ll never know happiness, either, or what it is to have fun! You can’t force the darkness on a world that never asked for it. That’s just giving yourself what you want!”

That sounds absolutely awful. What’s so great about a world where you can’t see any of the fun in it?

“And what is wrong with that? After all, the Mistress of All Evil has the right…and the power to see it done!”

Maleficent made a large circle with her staff, and a strange green flame rose up around her.

“If you won’t listen to reason, I’ll have to stop you by force,” Sora declared. Not to be outdone, he made a mighty swing of his Keyblade.

“At last, we agree. I shall put a stop to your meddling here and now!”

Maleficent’s brilliant aura of emerald light flared up, and she transformed into a gigantic black dragon that belched green fire toward Sora.

“…Aggh!”

Sora deftly rolled across the ground, away from the blaze and underneath her enormous body, and thrust his Keyblade up from below. Dragon Maleficent roared and stomped across the floor. However, Sora leaped onto her back, sprinted up her long neck, and swung his Keyblade down on her head.

“Graaah!”

His adversary fell still with a terrible screech.

“You can’t have this world!” Sora cried. With a mighty leap, he again brought his Keyblade down onto the dragon’s head, this time with every ounce of strength he had. Wreathed in green flame, the dragon transformed back into Maleficent.

“All worlds are mine, boy! One day you shall see…” With those parting words, Maleficent staggered off and spirited herself away, through a large door that had materialized behind her.

It was finally over. Beyond the door was Hollow Bastion—specifically, the great hall where Sora had reclaimed his Keyblade and gone to save Riku.

“Sora! He’s back, fellas!” Goofy gave Sora a tackle-hug.

“’Bout time! Goofy was worried.” Donald latched on from the other side.

“Hey, cut it out, guys!”

Smiling, Mickey walked up to Sora before his two friends could squeeze the air out of him. “Welcome back, Sora. I sure am glad you’re not hurt. Well, good news: you did it! The last of the bugs has been wiped from the datascape. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Always happy to help. Hey! Where’s Riku? Is he okay?!” Sora exclaimed, removing himself from his friends’ tight grip. There’s no point if Riku didn’t make it back.

Riku quietly stepped into view. “Fine. Sorry to put you through all that.”

“There you are!”

Riku offered a hand to Sora and helped him up. “Looks like we managed to keep that promise. I wish we had the time to sit around and chat, but Mickey and the others need to hurry. This way, guys. As promised, here’s your road home to the real world.” He pointed, and a large door appeared.

“Then this is it…time to say good-bye to the datascape,” Mickey said soberly.

“Truth be told, I’m sad to go. It sure was something to explore the inside of my journal!” Jiminy reflected from atop Mickey’s shoulder.

“Well, you can come back anytime!” Sora called out from behind Mickey and the rest as they stood before the door.

“Yep! Hey, next time, let’s bring the whole gang!”

“That sounds like fun!”

Goofy and Donald seemed happy.

“Actually…,” Riku said quietly, “there’s something important I haven’t told you. Now that… Well, it’s just…” He seemed to be having trouble finishing the thought.

“What’s the matter, Riku?”

“You know what? I shouldn’t keep you any longer. I can tell you after you’ve made it through,” Riku replied with a shake of his head.

Actually, Riku had something he needed to say earlier, too. I wonder what he wants us to know?

“Well…all right. Thanks for all your help! You two take care now.” Mickey said his farewells, giving Sora and Riku each a nod.

“We’ll see you soon!”

“See ya!”

Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy followed Mickey through the door. Once they were on the other side, the door vanished in a burst of light.

“Yahoo! They’re back!”

“Welcome home, everybody!”

Chip and Dale were hopping atop the big desk.

“Chip and Dale are here…”

“And that means…”

Donald and Goofy embraced.

“We made it! Our real castle in the real world!” Jiminy exclaimed, hopping just as excitedly.

Looks like it worked. Can you all hear me?

Everyone looked up at the voice from the monitor.

“Clear as a bell, Riku! Boy, what would we do without you guys?” Mickey replied to the screen.

Yeah, about that… Me and Sora here can’t help you guys anymore.

Riku’s voice was very quiet.

“Huh? Whaddaya mean?” Donald waddled quickly up to the monitor.

With the bugs gone, the journal will revert to its original state. That much isn’t news, right?

“Right. It should return to the way it was when I wrote it.” Jiminy elaborated on Riku’s explanation.

Well, that’s the thing… Sora and I will also be reset. We won’t remember any of this. After all, there’s no mention in the journal of the fight to repair the bugs.

“Wait… You mean you’ll forget about all this time we were together? Even the stuff we’re talking about right now?” Donald exclaimed sadly.

We’re data. That’s the way it goes.

After Riku laid out the facts, Goofy sat down dejectedly. “But that’s not fair!”

Mickey, still there?

The next voice they heard was Sora’s.

Riku explained this to me ahead of time. We should be celebrating! This is how our world is supposed to be.

“Yeah, but still.” Donald glumly bowed his head.

“You went through so much to help us! Taking all that away isn’t right!” Jiminy sadly removed his top hat and held it against his chest.

You’re a good friend, Jiminy. Don’t worry. You won’t get rid of us that easily. We might lose some memories, but we’ve still got you guys. And whatever part of us doesn’t stay in the journal will always stay inside you, right? The worlds may be gone, but never the memories. You can hang onto them for us. Just keep us in your hearts, and we’ll be there when you need us most.

Jiminy sniffled.

“Oh, Sora…”

Donald and Goofy called out his name at almost the same time.

Well, we should sign off here. Good-bye. Give the “us” out there our best!

Just as Sora was saying farewell, the glitch alarm sounded from the analyzer.

“Wh-what’s that?!” Donald’s head swiveled around anxiously.

The monitor instantly went black, and a cryptic message appeared on the screen.

DATA RECOVERY… 100%

DATA ASSEMBLY COMPLETE

“What does this mean?” Mickey grimly read the words on the monitor.

GLITCH FOUND IN DARKNESS.

AWAKENING DARK GLITCH.

DELETE DATASCAPE YES/NO?

YES

Back in the great hall of Hollow Bastion, Sora and Riku found themselves in the middle of a horrific quake. All around them they could hear a shrill noise, as if the entire world was screaming under the strain.

“Do you feel that? It’s a bug! No it’s…it’s controlling the bugs. Making them go crazy!”

Bugs?! But I thought we got rid of all those!

They could hear Goofy’s voice overhead. Hadn’t they done away with all the bugs? Or did this mean that some were left?

“I don’t know! Maybe we missed some?” Riku sounded tense.

What are we gonna do?

Donald sounded panicked.

“It said it was going to delete the datascape. We can’t let something this big get loose. Lock the journal data! Hurry!” Riku directed Mickey back in the real world.

But…if we do, we’ll lose you and Sora, and what was in the journal!

Before Mickey was finished talking, Jiminy yelped, too.

Ah! Oh, dear, I just remembered! Maleficent and Pete are still inside! They’ll be deleted, too!

I forgot all about those two. They should definitely still be in here. And if the journal was locked, they’d be lost along with all the data.

Evil or not, we can’t let that happen!

At Mickey’s words, Riku bit his lip. “Then locking the data isn’t an option?” He groaned. “The real world is at stake!”

Next to him, Sora stared directly ahead. At this rate, it was all going to be for nothing. I have no choice but to go.

“Hang tight, guys! Just give me a little time!”

“Wait, Sora! Where are you going? Sora!” Riku grabbed Sora by the arm as he started to run off. “The datascape won’t hold together much longer! Sora, stop!”

Sora had no intention of doing that.

“Sora, are you crazy?” Riku urged, still with a firm grip on his friend’s arm.

“We can’t just leave them! You heard Mickey. I’m going to find them!”

“Find them where?! Do you have any idea where they are?”

“Somewhere!” Sora snapped.

Riku took hold of Sora by both shoulders and gazed into his eyes in an effort to get through to him. Sora stared right back.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Riku asked softly. “We’re not just talking about losing some memories here. We could get erased. This whole world could get erased!”

“Sure I’m afraid. Weren’t you?”

“Hmm?”

Sora slowly removed Riku’s hands. “You’ve been in my shoes. You’ve gone up against the impossible alone. Because you knew that was less scary than just sitting around and waiting for the end.” What’s scary is doing nothing. Not trying. Going into the void without a fight. “I don’t know if we can win—but I know I’ve gotta try. There’s no telling what will happen next. But now is the time to get out there and do something!”

“—There really is no stopping you once you get something in your head.” Riku gave him the barest hint of a smile.

“Same goes for you! Let me take care of this!”

LONG HAVE THE FALLEN WANDERED.

NOW THEY SHALL SERVE THE WILL OF DARKNESS.

It was that strange voice again. Sora didn’t know whom it belonged to, but he had the feeling he’d heard it somewhere before. In that same moment, a glowing door appeared before him.

“It’s in your hands now, Sora.”

With Riku’s voice at his back, Sora ran into the portal.

Within lay a strange path that seemed to stretch on forever. Sora hurried down the road, taking down any swarms of Heartless that tried to cut him off.

He could see a light farther ahead. It got brighter and brighter, and when it was almost too bright for him to look at, he found himself standing in a bizarre realm.

“Uhh, Maleficent? We don’t seem to be makin’ much progress here…”

“Hmph! Any less of an opponent would be an insult.”

Pete and Maleficent were fending off a giant Heartless with attack after attack, but there wasn’t any indication that their efforts were having an effect. This one bore a strong resemblance to the enormous Darkside Sora had fought on the Destiny Islands way back in the beginning.

Maybe it didn’t vanish back then because the darkness swallowed us both together.

Sora ran in front of Pete and Maleficent.

“Maleficent! Pete! You two need to get out of here!” Sora told them with his Keyblade at the ready.

“I do not take orders from you!”

“Uh…I vote we listen to this pipsqueak.”

“Silence, coward! You will do as I say!” Maleficent waved her staff angrily. The emerald fire from it hit the second incarnation of that giant Heartless—Neo Darkside—but there were no visible signs of any damage. Not flinching in the slightest, Neo Darkside raised a huge arm and slammed its fist into the ground.

“What?!”

Maleficent and Pete were gone. Had they been crushed under the blow?

“Pete! Maleficent!” Sora cried.

Neo Darkside looked down at Sora coolly. The boy wavered for a second, overcome by its intense presence. The Heartless had an overwhelmingly intimidating aura, far worse than during his first confrontation with it. This was virtually something else altogether.

RAGE… HATRED… AND NOW GLITCHES TO FEED MY DARKNESS.

Sora sensed that the voice was coming from Neo Darkside. It fed on glitches?

Wait…that’s it! You’re not the only one who evolved within the datascape!

Sora looked up as he heard Riku’s voice.

“Riku, you wanna fill me in?”

What Riku told Sora next was very hard to take in all at once.

I know where the bugs came from—all of them! It’s your shadow—your Heartless!

“My Heartless?!” Sora shouted in disbelief. I had a Heartless?!

You may not remember it, but you were turned into a Heartless once. That was written in the journal. But those records vanished along with your memories not long after your first journey. You got your memories back, but the pages of the journal—they stayed blank.

“And you think my Heartless is responsible?”

Sora didn’t understand exactly what Riku was saying. Still, he was pretty sure the gist of it was that his own Heartless was the cause of all the bugs.

It makes sense. Everything in the journal revolved around you. This whole time you’ve been evolving in the datascape—finding new strength—your Heartless has been absorbing data and doing the same.

“But we put all the data back! That weakened it, right? I can still stop it!” Sora took his Keyblade in hand and faced Neo Darkside once more.

No…I should have realized sooner. Normally defeating Heartless releases hearts, which then return to the people who lost them. Defeating Heartless here in the datascape, though—that wouldn’t have set any real hearts free. Instead, you released the Heartless’ minds.

“Their minds? Well, where did those end up?”

Sora didn’t understand as much about hearts and Heartless, or how the world worked, as Riku. What exactly is going on here? Are the hearts and minds of Heartless really that different?

Right in front of you! Your Heartless has been gathering, then devouring the dark intentions of the fallen Heartless. That’s where it gets its power: dark data! And now, just like you, it’s become something greater.

My Heartless—and now it’s something new. There’s no telling what would happen to Mickey and the others—to everyone in the entire world—if this guy ever made it out of here.

“I have to protect them. And with all the strength they’ve given me, I can!”

As if responding to his voice, Neo Darkside looked at Sora. With a snarl, it shot beams of light from its chest into the sky. The rays arced up and over, turning into a rain around Sora.

“Ugh!”

Sora tried threading through the downpour toward Neo Darkside, but this time it pounded the ground with its fist.

Sora hopped backward and swung his Keyblade down on its arm.

Neo Darkside appeared to pause for a moment, but then it thrust both arms toward the heavens and sent a wave of light from its body. Sora deflected it with his Keyblade, then charged straight into the Heartless’s chest and hammered it with a series of blows until it fell still.

“Is it over?!”

Just as he struck a victory pose, that voice sounded in his head again.

RAGE… HATRED… GLITCHES TO FEED MY DARKNESS…

AND SOON, HEARTS TO SATE MY HUNGER!

“What is it? It’s changing again?! No… It’s evolving!”

What stood before him looked exactly like him—well, almost. The profile and size were the same, but it was entirely black. This really was Sora’s Heartless.

It held its own Keyblade aloft, with three other Keyblades orbiting around it. Each of the dangerous-looking weapons was steeped in darkness.

“What the heck is this?!”

The trio of Keyblades attacked Sora repeatedly, but he managed to evade them long enough to get close and strike his Heartless. After several similar exchanges, Sora landed a series of hits that took all he could muster.

And yet those glowing eyes in the darkness seemed eerily mirthful. The creature floated into the air and summoned a slew of darkness-infused Keyblades around its body.

“What?!”

The black Keyblades descended on Sora all at once, as another—golden, this time—rose up above the Heartless’s head. The golden Keyblade carved a line through the air toward Sora.

But Sora deftly struck the golden copy to the ground with his own Keyblade, then picked it up and threw it back at his Heartless. A direct hit.

Its strength exhausted, Sora’s Heartless shrank—all the way down into a Shadow. Shadows were a weak little Heartless; he’d defeated plenty of them in the past. In fact, it was the first type of Heartless he’d beat on the Destiny Islands. Sora brought his Keyblade down on the feebly squirming creature.

“Did that do it?!”

But when Sora started to relax—his Heartless appeared again. Only now there were three of them.

The boy fought them desperately, as he had before, and eventually they fell, only for yet another trio to take their place. Sora was beginning to falter now, but he rallied his wavering heart and battled on. And just when he thought he had gotten the last of them—Neo Darkside returned.

“When is this gonna end?!”

It was enough to make him want to throw in the towel, even if his legs weren’t literally giving out under him. He had no idea how long the struggle had been going on. Sora collapsed to his knees, and he could feel consciousness slipping away.

What’s happening to me? Falling—into darkness…

“You can’t give up!”

Sora looked up at the familiar, reassuring voice. Standing there was—Mickey!

“Mickey? What are you doing here?” Sora felt new strength welling up in his exhausted body.

“Helping my friend. Didn’t I tell ya? You never have to face things alone.”

Sora slowly got to his feet. He’s right; I’m not alone. Everyone’s here with me.

“When the darkness closes in, just look inside—and you’ll always find your light!”

Mickey fired a beam from his Keyblade into the heart-shaped hollow in Neo Darkside’s torso. As the powerful light swallowed it, the great Heartless transformed before their eyes into a lone Shadow.

“C’mon! It’s time!” Sora chopped down with his Keyblade, and the Shadow was gone without a trace. “We did it!” he cheered as the world filled with light. That should be the last of the bugs.

The glow enfolded Sora and Mickey as well—and before they knew it, they were back in the great hall of Hollow Bastion. Maleficent and Pete stood off in one corner. Riku was there, too, of course.

“Pete! Maleficent! You’re all right!” Sora called.

Riku smiled at him. “I found them caught in a rift in the data,” he said with a shrug.

Maleficent scowled bitterly. “Hmph! You will hear no words of thanks from me. Our debt is settled.”

“I was fixin’ to get out of here already! So long, chumps. I’m goin’ home!” Pete began to stomp off, but you had to wonder if he really knew the way out. Maleficent followed after him.

“I’ll keep an eye on them on their way out.” Riku urged them on ahead.

“Next time, youse guys are in for it!” Pete snapped at them.

Sora and Mickey shared a glance.

“Ha-ha! Pete will never change.”

“Nope.”

Smiling, the two turned to face each other.

“The data will start returning to normal soon. The way it was before those bugs showed up,” Mickey said.

“Then I guess this time it’s good-bye for real.” Sora made a fist over his chest. “…Huh? What gives? This lump in my throat… Is it another glitch?” I feel sad, somehow. What is this…?

“No, Sora. That’s just what good-byes feel like.”

Sora’s hand remained where it was as he listened to what Mickey had to say.

“Gosh… Our time together brought back a whole flood of memories. The day I set out on my first adventure. The day I made a new friend.”

A flood of memories… What did Mickey’s memories hold?

“It made me realize that the journal isn’t just a list of events. It’s a collection of everything we felt together—it’s our hearts.”

Hearts couldn’t be turned to data…but the journal was a collection of them…?

“I promise we’ll tell Sora and Riku what happened here. That way, this journey will be one we can share with you. Those memories will always keep our hearts connected.”

That’s right! If our hearts connect and form a bond, that connection will last even if the memories are gone.

“Friends forever, Sora!”

Mickey held out his right hand to Sora.

“Friends forever, Mick—Your Majesty.”

Sora unclenched his hand and held it out to the king, and the two of them shared a firm handshake.

“Okay, I’m off.”

Mickey started walking toward the door of light.

Once Mickey had disappeared into the glow and Sora was sure Mickey was on the other side, he held out his Keyblade to the door. The familiar beam of light locked it tight.

And then…

Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Chip, and Dale greeted Mickey upon his return to Disney Castle.

“What’s that?!”

Jiminy pointed at the monitor, where they saw a message from Sora.

THANKS, GUYS!