The Grid
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS 3D: Dream Drop Distance (2012)
Origin: Tron: Legacy (2010)
Side: Sora
Sora was excited to be back in a familiar world, but that excitement was cut short when the Black Guards tried to arrest him. Sora escaped but was ambushed by Rinzler, who mysteriously vanished without a fight.
Flynn, Sam, and Quorra watched all this unfold; intrigued, Quorra approached Sora. As it turned out, Rinzler was really Sora's friend Tron, whose memory had been manipulated. Sora wanted to set Tron's memory straight, so Quorra agreed to take him to CLU, who might still possess Tron's original source code.
While searching for the source code on the Throneship, Sora and Quorra were attacked by Rinzler. Quorra was overwhelmed, but before Sora could intervene, the Throneshop hatch closed and she was left behind.
The grey-haired youth appeared alongside Xemnas, who posed a difficult question: how could Sora be sure his memories and feelings were his to begin with? Then the grey-haired youth implied that this "dream world" was not a dream at all... Both vanished after saying their piece.
Sora was taken to the stadium, where he came face-to-face with CLU and Rinzler. CLU offered to restore Tron's memory in exchange for the Keyblade, but Sora had to refuse, leading to a battle with Rinzler. Sora did not want to fight his friend, but when Quorra arrived, safe and sound, and told him to use the Keyblade, eh realised he might still be able to bring Tron to his sense.
With Rinzler's defeat, Sora became distracted. Seeing his chance, CLU hurled his disc - but Rinzler pushed Sora out of harm's way right in the nick of time. The disc caused Rinzler's footing to derez, and while he tried to grab for Sora's hand, he plunged into the abyss.
Realising some part of his friend inside Rinzler had reached for his hand, Sora struck upon the answer to Xemnas's question. We know we are real because our hearts lead us back to the truth. He unlocked the Sleeping Keyhole.
Side: Riku
Upon arrival, Riku found himself in the spotlight - or rather, searchlights. Realising he may have more nemeses to deal with than just the Nightmares, he decided to let himself be caught to find out more. In the process, he met Sam.
But they were soon separated, and Riku was forced into a Light Cycle battle. He seized a chance to escape and reunited with Sam. Sam needed to get out of this world, and when he mentioned a "Portal," Riku decided to go along.
They split up briefly so Sam could investigate a lead, but something went wrong, and he returned with company: Quorra, who had malfunctioned, and his father Flynn. They all continued to the Portal.
On the Solar Sailor that would take them there, Flynn repaired Quorra. She was the last of a life-form called an ISO. The emergence of the ISOs had caused CLU to seize control of the Grid, trapping Flynn inside so he could never return home to the real world.
Suddenly the Solar Sailor’s course was altered, and the group found themselves landing on the Rectifier, CLU's warship.
When they disembarked, Rinzler was on patrol. Knowing they would not be able to just slip by, Quorra intentionally let herself be caught so the others could escape.
Riku and Sam saved Quorra and recovered Flynn's missing disc. After catching up with Flynn, they all headed for the Portal.
CLU was waiting. He summoned a giant Nightmare and attacked.
As Riku finished off the Nightmare, CLU confronted Flynn: what was wrong with creating the perfect system? But Flynn explained that true perfection was unknowable - a fact that was lost on CLU because Flynn himself had not known at the time of CLU's creation.
CLU seized Flynn's disc, but it was the wrong one; he had been tricked. Flynn's disc was in Quorra's hands, and now Sam was using it to open the portal. It was time to say good-bye to his father for good. He raised the disc aloft, and he and Quorra vanished into the light just as Flynn and CLU fused and ceased to exist.
Riku reflected on the Portal and the gates he himself had used to cross between worlds, realising more trials were ahead. He unlocked the Sleeping Keyholes.
