Chapter 2 Destiny Islands

That’s where the whole story began…as did the glitches. And for good reason—because nothing ever happens by chance in our stories. Everything is connected. This is where someone else set off on a journey, too, long ago. Does this world feel small to you, Sora? Or does it feel large? Who will be the one to unravel the secrets of this world—of the Destiny Islands?

Sora took off running toward a girl in a yellow dress, his friend Selphie, who stood by the edge of the water. She was surrounded by the blocks Mickey had asked him to investigate.

“Sora, where have you been?!” Selphie called out to Sora in her usual cheery way. “Would you look at the island? We’re up to our ears in blocks!” she complained.

Sora came to a halt. Selphie was just as surprised by the unusual circumstances as he was. Maybe she knew something?

Sora folded his arms and asked her. “Who put ’em here?”

“Nobody! They keep popping up out of thin air!”

So she didn’t have any idea, either. This was her first time with these blocks, too.

“We’ll be buried alive at this rate. That’s if Tidus and Wakka aren’t ‘six blocks under’ already.”

Now that she mentioned it, Sora didn’t see any of the other faces he usually saw on the island. Meaning he should ask…

“Why? Where’d they go?”

“Down to the beach to investigate.”

“Well, that’s not far. I’ll go see what’s up.”

Sora hurried down along the sandy shore. Except for the blocks, the island was the same as it always was, with the sound of the waves, the sand crunching pleasantly underfoot, and the great blue sea.

Wakka called out to Sora as he approached. “Hey! Sora! Things are gettin’ hairy here, ya? You okay, brudda?” Wakka was a bit older than Sora and the rest of the island regulars, and someone they knew they could always look to for help.

“It’s been an interesting day. Where did these blocks come from, Wakka?”

“They just kinda showed up. Before ya know it, they’re everywhere. Ya get rid of ’em, and they come right back.”

Wakka was apparently in the dark, too, unsurprisingly. He had never seen anything like this before, either.

“I’ll go check it out!” Sora declared.

Wakka shrugged uneasily. “You sure?”

“Yeah, wait here,” Sora replied with a confident thump on his chest. Mickey had offered to help out, and plus, he had the weird key. Everything would be fine. He turned to rush off down the beach.

“Hey, Sora! While you’re at it, do me a favor and check up on Tidus for me?” Wakka shouted.

“Where is he?”

“We split up to investigate. He can’t have gone too far, but you know him—he’s probably in over his head.”

“No worries, I’ll bail him out.”

“Thanks, brudda!”

Sora had jumped into the task headfirst, but he actually didn’t know what the best course of action was. He might as well get started by smashing the blocks while he looked for Tidus—but there were way too many. According to Selphie and Wakka, they would keep coming, too, yet he had to do something.

Sora reflected as he destroyed the blocks scattered around the beach.

It would be impossible to play tag here even if he wanted to; all the obstacles would make it dangerous to run very fast.

“Huh?”

Sora stopped in his tracks as he noticed something.

The pier leading out to the smaller island was missing.

Maybe this was another “glitch,” thanks to those blocks. Sora could also see a silhouette that looked like Tidus’s out on the islet.

“I guess I’ll try heading over there anyway…”

The bridge used to lead from the little seaside shack.

Breaking the blocks in his way with his Keyblade, Sora arrived at the little hut—and when he did, someone wearing a black coat walked by.

This guy…!

It was the one Sora had encountered in that strange place before he returned to the Destiny Islands. He tried to hurry after him, but he was already gone.

“Huh?”

Sora walked around a little in search of him, but no luck.

Suddenly, the world went dim. No—it was like the world was flickering before his eyes. What is happening…?

Suddenly, he heard Mickey’s voice.

Sora, I’m picking up some kind of signal. Wait, I’m analyzing it and… Yep, no question. There’s some kind of invisible door near your position.

Sora drew up short and fell into thought at Mickey’s words. “Invisible door? Is that another glitch?”

It just might be. Sora, follow that signal and look around. I think we’re finally onto something!

“Got it! I’ll look for the door and find that guy,” Sora replied, then began his search. Something was off near the entrance to the shack. He’d more or less found what he was looking for, and as soon as he started peering more closely, the air seemed to tear apart to create a hole.

“Whoa! What is that?”

It was too dark for Sora to tell what was inside, but he thought he could see the same red pattern as on those blocks.

Sora, this world is made of data, so everything operates through a program. If you can beat the bugs in the program running this world, everything should return to normal.

The words coming out of Mickey’s mouth left Sora completely confused as he fell into thought.

What’s “day-ta”? And “programs”? And “bugs”?

Well, I bet it means there’s some bad guys through that hole, and they’re messing with whatever keeps this world going.

“I need to go in here and defeat something inside, right?”

I’m counting on you, Sora!

With a nod at Mickey’s words, Sora entered the fissure.

Before him was a bizarre space built of square shapes. There were also several of those familiar blocks piled up. They fit right into this otherworldly space, and it was undoubtedly clear that this was the source of the problem.

“All right, bring it on!”

Sora gripped his Keyblade and charged forward. As he did, the same monsters that had first given him the opportunity to wield the key appeared around him. What were they called? Heartless.

Sora swung his Keyblade and wiped out the Heartless exactly as he had done in the past. Were these the “bugs”…?

Once he had done away with all of the Heartless, something resembling a pillar of light rose up in the center of the room.

You should be able to return to your regular world from there.

With a nod at Mickey’s explanation, Sora stepped into the glowing pillar.

As soon as the intense light enfolded his body, Sora found himself back on the familiar beach of the Destiny Islands.

Just like before, the blocks were everywhere, and he couldn’t see that anything special had changed. The bridge was still missing, too, and he hadn’t run into that guy in the black coat.

Feeling a tad deflated, Sora took a step forward—and then the bridge flashed into place in front of him.

Mickey had said that place with all the squares was a “program,” right? So maybe he could fix the problems in the real world by getting rid of the “bugs” in that realm of “data.”

“Okay, let’s keep it up.”

Sora ran across the bridge to the islet and called out to Tidus.

“Tidus, there you are! Wakka was worried.”

Tidus turned to face Sora, wooden sword in hand.

“Man, did you see that? The missing bridge…it just popped back into existence! And these blocks… Last I checked it’s not April Fools’,” Tidus ranted, gesturing with his wooden blade.

“Too bad we don’t know what’s causing all this.”

“Heh-heh! Or do we?” Tidus crowed, rubbing his nose proudly.

“No way! You figured out where the blocks came from?”

“Well, no…” Tidus’s response to Sora’s second question sounded a bit more uncertain.

“What do you mean?”

“I found a clue.”

“Really?”

“What do you think?”

While Sora didn’t know exactly what it was, he was sure Tidus really had come across a lead. Lying wasn’t Tidus’s style, so Sora felt safe trusting his word.

“Okay, well, tell me what it is then.”

“You wanna know about the clue I found, you’ll just have to earn it.”

“All right, you’re on!” Sora said, summoning his Keyblade.

“No holding back, now.”

Tidus closed the distance between them in a flash.

Sora blocked, then landed several of his own attacks right in a row. Tidus was knocked onto his rump, but he leaped instantly back to his feet and swung his wooden sword again. Sora dodged and whacked him on the shoulder with his Keyblade from behind.

“Oof…” Tidus came to a halt. “I keep forgetting how tough you are.” He sat down wearily.

“Just don’t forget what you promised.”

“Okay, so I saw this stranger walking around the island,” Tidus said, his shoulders heaving with each breath. “Don’t ya think the timing is a little suspicious? First these blocks show up, and then some weirdo in a black coat?”

A black coat… It has to be that guy!

Sora dismissed his Keyblade and helped Tidus up. “Black coat?” he asked. “You saw that guy?!”

“Over by the waterfall. Then I looked away for one second, and he was gone,” Tidus said as he brushed the sand off his pants.

Sora turned toward the falls in question. Speaking of the waterfall, wasn’t there a small cave nearby?

“The waterfall. Got it! Thanks, Tidus.”

Sora ran back across the bridge to the island, then continued into the cave beside the waterfall.

A cool, damp draft flowed through the interior. The walls were covered with the scribbles and drawings they had all made.

Sora looked around, but he didn’t see any black coats—only a big door in the back. He must have gone through there, Sora thought, reaching toward it.

The ground suddenly trembled.

“Whoa! Wh-what’s…?”

There’s a road for the taking if you end our world’s aching.

He heard a voice from somewhere—and it wasn’t Mickey’s? Who was that?

The world continued to rumble and shake. At that moment, a brilliant light shone from Sora’s Keyblade, engulfing him.

Something similarly strange was taking place on the monitor in Disney Castle.

“Huh? What… What’s that bright light?”

“Wak! I can’t see a thing!”

The gleam from Sora’s Keyblade was so strong that Mickey and everyone else around the computer had to close their eyes against it.

The light flooding from the monitor intensified, as if it would swallow up the entire study.

“Wak?”

Opening his eyes after a moment, Donald surveyed the area. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

“Gawrsh, what happened? I’m still seein’ stars, a-hyuck!” Goofy peeked between his fingers, but the room looked the same as always.

“Huh?!” Jiminy cried. “Not again… Look at the journal! There’s a new entry!”

Another passage had been written in the journal on the monitor.

“‘There’s a road for the taking if you end our world’s aching,’” Mickey read aloud.

Behind him, Donald and Goofy looked at each other.

“What does that mean?” Donald asked.

Goofy could only wonder himself. Similarly, Mickey crossed his arms and fell into thought with a serious expression.

“The world is aching?”

What exactly did “the world” refer to? Maybe it meant the world they were seeing on the monitor now was in pain.

“Not just ‘the’ world. ‘Our’ world…” Jiminy seemed to have the same questions.

Then Goofy noticed something else. “Huh? Hey, look at the monitor!”

On the screen was Sora, and…

“This world has been connected.” In the dim cave, the man in the black coat spoke for the first time.

“Huh? Hey, I’ve been looking for you!”

“Tied to the ,” he continued, as Sora instinctively readied his Keyblade.

“What?” Sora asked back, unable to hear him clearly. But the man’s reply was the very words Sora had just heard in his head.

“There is a road for the taking, if you end our world’s aching.”

“What ‘aches’? Are you talking about the blocks?” Sora asked the man, but it didn’t seem like he was going to get the answers he wanted.

“To make this place whole, the Keyhole’s the place,” the man stated simply, then began to walk away.

“Hey, wait!” Sora started after him, but a large…something rose up in front of him.

What could it be? Was this that “Keyhole”?

Sora, do you read me?

As Sora stopped in his tracks, he could hear Mickey’s voice.

“Mickey, I’ve got something weird here. That guy in black left behind a… Well, it looks like a keyhole.”

Hmm, any ideas?

Staring intently at the object that had appeared, Sora replied, “As a matter of fact… What did he say again? ‘To make this place whole, the Keyhole’s the place.’ I think I need to find a way through.”

Hmm… Why don’t you try the Keyblade? That might do something.

“Of course! I’ll give it a shot.”

When Sora held out the Keyblade toward the keyhole as Mickey suggested, he heard a click like something unlocking, and light washed over him.

Before he knew what had happened, Sora found himself standing in a storm, battered by the wind and rain.

“Whoa! What is this place?”

It was still his home on the Destiny Islands, but the weather here had taken a severe turn for the worse.

Sora! Are you okay?

“For now, anyway. Any idea where this is?” Sora replied, but the palms of his hands were slick with sweat. These…are my islands, right? But they’ve been ripped apart…!

I’m not sure. But I’ll tell ya one thing… Whatever’s causing the glitches must be in there with you.

“And if I find the cause, I can put the island back to normal?”

Just be careful, Sora. Whatever’s in there, it’s powerful.

“Right.”

As Sora nodded in agreement, the sky split open with a gale-force blast of wind. From the depths of the black sea—an unimaginable sight for someone used to the placid waters of the islands—arose a colossal Heartless. It was a Darkside.

“You’re the one causing all this trouble!”

Steeling himself for a fight, Sora charged at the Darkside with his Keyblade in hand.

At the same time, the Darkside brought its fist down onto the ground.

Was it only Sora’s imagination, or did that fist resemble the blocks all over the island? Just what was going on here?

When Sora struck the Darkside’s fist with his Keyblade, the Heartless stopped moving.

The wind picked up again, hurling Sora into the air.

What was that? Argh, I have to find some way to beat this guy!

As the Darkside resumed its slow, lumbering movements, he noticed the ominous, heart-shaped cavity gaping in its chest.

Fighting down his fear, Sora got to his feet and faced the Darkside once more.

The fists it slammed down were turning into blocks, which in turn came to attack him. Sora dealt with each one using his Keyblade, then landed a series of blows on the inky creature creating them. After he wasn’t sure how many strikes, the Darkside let out a howl as the raging sky finally swallowed it. The Destiny Islands were being sucked up into the air, too, along with Sora himself.

He desperately clung to a piece of wood, struggling against the gale, but eventually the vortex in the sky won out. Sora let out a cry as it devoured him, too.

“Do you think Sora’s all right?” Mickey wondered uneasily as he watched the monitor.

Jiminy hurriedly began tapping at the attached keyboard with his feet. “Wait, I’m tracking him now.”

The journal appeared on the screen yet again.

“Whoa!” Jiminy cried as he saw the book.

“What is it? Donald asked, gazing up at the screen.

“A new entry in the journal!”

There are more hurts than the one you have just undone.

“More hurts than the one…we have just undone?” Goofy read aloud, confused, but then the image on the monitor changed.

“Hey, look!”

What appeared onscreen was the storm on Destiny Islands—except Sora wasn’t there.

Instead, Riku was on the islet. And before him was a mysterious man in a brown hood. As the hooded man pointed at Riku, a pitch-black darkness unfurled behind him.

Then the feed cut out.

“Gee, now that can’t be right. If the data was repaired, we should be seeing the things that were written inside my journal, right? But what we just saw—that never happened. Or, at least, I never wrote it down,” Jiminy said, his voice shaking a little. If the monitor was showing events that Jiminy didn’t remember recording, did that mean that the contents of his journal were being rewritten? Or maybe…

“You mean it’s showing us stuff you don’t know about?” Donald tilted his head in confusion, too.

“Hmm, I wonder what’s goin’ on inside the journal,” Goofy said apprehensively.

Suddenly, a green light began blinking in a corner of the monitor.

“Aha! We’ve found Sora!” Jiminy announced.

An image expanded outward from the green light, showing them a back alley in a dimly lit town.