After a long struggle, Sora manages to defeat Ansem, but as he falls to his knees, Sora immediately fears for Riku’s body and runs toward him—but he disappears from view, leaving the dark Keyblade behind. Donald and Goofy implore Sora to hurry and seal the Keyhole, but his Keyblade does not respond…the Keyhole, unfortunately, still is not complete without Kairi’s power. Sora considers for a long moment, then picks up the dark Keyblade…as Donald and Goofy yell in protest, he turns it and plunges the heart unlocker deep into his chest. It stays there for a moment, but then releases and dissolves into six lights: the hearts of the six Princesses, which is the material that comprised the dark Keyblade. They float through the Grand Hall and return to their rightful owners, who awaken as soon as they regain their lost hearts. As Sora falls, another heart escapes from him, and floats down to Kairi’s lifeless body, reviving her. She stands up, disoriented, but yells and runs to Sora as he falls—but he disappears in a flash of blinding light, his heart drifting away and vanishing.
Donald, Goofy, and Kairi stare at the ceiling, unwilling to believe that Sora is actually gone forever, but they don’t have time to wonder long—Ansem, free of Riku’s body and in his full adult form, finally shows his face. Seeing that the Keyhole is finally complete, he tells Kairi she is no longer necessary and aims to finish her off—but a sudden light appears in front of him, holding him back. Riku, in his normal, untainted teenage form, spreads his arms and holds Ansem back, telling Kairi to run. She escapes the Grand Hall with Donald and Goofy, but with the knowledge that both her best friends appear to be lost forever, she runs with a heavy heart.
Once downstairs in the entrance hall, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy are suddenly ambushed by small Shadow Heartless, the smallest and most common creatures of darkness, but dangerous when in large numbers. One particular Heartless appears extremely persistent—it tails Donald wherever he goes, not attacking, only following, until Donald finally gets fed up and smacks the Heartless a few times with his staff, telling it to get lost. However, Kairi uncertainly asks, “Sora? Is that you?” The heartless responds in the slightest, but another wave of Shadows attack the group. Kairi and the Heartless are surrounded by the shadows, and as they all leap at once to attack, she turns to grab the Heartless tightly in her arms to protect it…and suddenly, she is in Sora’s arms, and he whispers “Thank you” as Donald and Goofy rejoice that Sora is finally back. The Beast suddenly reappears, ordering the group to leave immediately, as the Heartless were overrunning the place.
