The World That Never Was
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS II (2006)
Now that Queen Minnie was safe, King Mickey and friends returned to Yen Sid's Tower with a guest. Lea seemed to want something from Yen Sid. With Xehanort's return drawing ever closer, the sorcerer was forced to take drastic measures, and so he agreed to Lea's request.
King Mickey and the others were now very worried about Sora and Riku, but Yen Sid insisted that the two were still out of Xehanort's reach. After discussing various possibilities, the King stumbled upon the truth: having given up his body, Xehanort was taking advantage of the period of time when a version of him had possessed Riku. He had been manipulating events all along. The King set off to rescue Sora and Riku.
Side: Sora
After unlocking the seven Sleeping Keyholes, Sora found himself in the same world where Organization XIII had once held its stronghold. None of it made any sense...
Xigbar appeared and revealed that Sora had been lured here, before plunging him into a deep sleep.
The grey-haired youth explained that it had all begun when he was approached by a man in a brown robe: Ansem. Later, when the Destiny Islands were about to be swallowed by darkness, that same Ansem possessed Riku.
Traverse Town: Sora had been here many times before. He saw King Mickey and the others run by; when Sora chased after them, he found Naminé around the corner - except it was not Naminé at all, but some other girl in a black coat. Tears formed on Sora's cheeks for reasons he could not understand. Before he could reach the girl, his vision blurred.
He spotted someone in a black coat and called out to the figure, but this time it turned out to be Roxas. Roxas took Sora's hand, and all the hurt he had suffered lanced through Sora's memory.
Next Sora saw Riku and Kairi - except they weren't Riku and Kairi; they were two strangers. They seemed kind, but called him "Ven". Sora no longer looked like himself. He reached out to take the strangers' hands - but now they were Riku and Kairi again, and they were leaving him behind. He tried to catch them, but his legs were heavy; he could barely move.
After a blinding flash, Sora found himself in his own past, when he was still little. Then the vision swooped away, as though he were being dragged out of it.
Had those all been illusions? They were dreams, explained Xigbar. He and Xemnas went on to reveal other surprised: that Nobodies could have hearts after all, and that the Organization had been established for a greater purpose. Though shaken, Sora put his faith in the Keyblade and stood strong.
The grey-haired youth pointed to the sigil on Sora's chest, which had allowed them to keep tabs on him. Sora, he explained, was destined to be the thirteenth "vessel" they needed.
Sora called Riku's name as he sank into the dark abyss.
A single ray of light chased him down, down, down... Right before the darkness enveloped him completely, an aura of light appeared and clad him in armour. Thus protected, his body reclined in the darkness's embrace.
Side: Riku
After unlocking the seven Sleeping Keyholes, Riku arrived in the game world where Organization XIII had once held its stronghold.
Riku found a spectral version of Sora trapped inside some sort of bubble. He tried to wake his friend, but a personification of Sora's nightmares, a figure in a black coat, approached from behind.
He defeated the nightmare and kept calling to Sora, but it was Ansem who responded and dragged Riku into the darkness for a final confrontation.
Ansem explained that Riku had unknowningly dove into Sora's dreams and become a Dream Eater, but he would be of no help to his friends so long as he kept the darkness inside him in check. Riku agreed - but rather than give in to Ansem and accept the darkness, Riku decided to return it to light once and for all. He drew his Keyblade.
After Ansem was defeated, Riku awoke in the real world, but his Dream Eater powers remained. With the help of some Spirits, he was able to reach Sora.
Sora was seated in one of the Organization's thirteen thrones, but the grey-haired youth knocked Riku away before he could get to his friend. The youth revealed that Organization XIII's true purpose was to transfer the heart of Xehanort into thirteen worthy "vessels." Now Sora was about to become the last of those vessels.
As if to drive this point home, twelve other figures materialised and filled the other seats. The youth revealed his identity: he was Xehanort's boyhood form. Just as he was gesturing to the highest seat of them all, King Mickey appeared and stopped time. He tried to rescue Sora, but someone lashed out at the King and knocked him away. Young Xehanort was able to move even when time was stopped! He and Riku fought.
No sooner had Riku bested the youth than time started to flow again, and Master Xehanort appeared in the highest seat. He told Riku and King Mickey about the "seven guardians of light" and "thirteen seekers of darkness" who were destined to clash and forge the χ-blade. They were too late; Master Xehanort's heart was snaking its way toward Sora, and Xemnas and Ansem were barring the way...
Just then, a blaze of fire stopped Xehanort's heart from reaching Sora. Lea had arrived right in the nick of time! The King and Riku were so shocked that they nearly forgot they were in danger, but Donald and Goofy arrived in a flash of light to save the day.
Master Xehanort had failed to claim Sora, but he assured all present that the clash between light and darkness was imminent. Then he and the other twelve members of the real Organization XIII dematerialised and returned whence they came.
