Sora, Donald, and Goofy return to Twilight Town to find clues to help them get Roxas back. They are attacked by some Nobodies, which they manage to destroy. Shortly afterwards, they see Hayner, Pence, and Olette running from a huge Demon Tide Heartless. They have a short battle with it, but it quickly flees. When Sora tells them that they're searching for Roxas, Hayner says that his name sounds familiar even though he can't remember meeting him. Donald and Goofy tell them that their alternate selves from the data version of Twilight Town created by Ansem the Wise met him, and they recognize his name due to their hearts' connection with their data selves. They show the picture they got from Riku to the three of them, which they compare to their version, which doesn't have Roxas. They suggest that Sora and friends head to the mansion in the photos first.
Before they leave to head for the mansion, Sora has Donald take a picture of him with his friends to commemorate the occasion. Goofy ends up taking the picture instead as an angry Donald waddles into the picture. Olette notices something called a "lucky emblem," a symbol of Mickey's face, on the wall. She tells them that finding these emblems can bring them good luck, so they keep their eyes peeled for them on their quest. After that, they make their way to the forest, but they spot a rat named Rémy (though they never actually learn his name; they just refer to him as "Little Chef") being attacked by Heartless along the way. After they save him, he climbs on top of Sora's head and pulls his hair to control him, making him grab some nearby fruit. After Sora figures out what he wants, Little Chef stops controlling him and lets Sora grab it himself.
After helping Little Chef, the three of them reach the mansion. Looking up into the second-floor room where Naminé once spoke to Roxas triggers a reaction within Sora. Hayner, Pence, and Olette arrive, telling them that they weren't able to find any clues. They go inside the mansion, where Pence enters the password to access Ansem the Wise's DTD, but the transporter to the virtual Twilight Town is inaccessible. Ienzo calls them, and after hearing about what they are trying to do, he tries to help Pence by setting up a network. After doing so, he explains that Ansem the Wise would have made a virtual counterpart of Roxas along with the virtual Twilight Town, which can not only help them find a way to bring him back, but they can access the data Ansem the Wise hid in the computer more quickly as well. Before hanging up, Ienzo warns Sora that Even, formerly Vexen of Organization XIII, went missing, which could mean that he's working with the true Organization. Hayner and Olette suddenly remember they have work to do, so they leave Pence to examine the data.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy leave the mansion, but they are stopped by Ansem (SoD) and Xemnas, the latter of whom states that separating Roxas from Sora would be very difficult; what's more, even if Sora managed to separate his Nobody's heart from his own, he would no longer have a body to inhabit. Sora says he can just put Roxas's heart in the virtual Twilight Town, but Ansem says that it would be absurd to try that. Goofy points out that Ansem and Xemnas are able to coexist despite originating from the same person; therefore, Roxas should be able to exist alongside Sora as well. Ansem and Xemnas tell Sora that if he truly wants to bring Roxas back, the only thing he can do is surrender to the darkness and become a Heartless again. They summon some Heartless and Nobodies before disappearing.
After defeating the enemies, Sora and friends return to town, where they encounter Scrooge McDuck. He thanks them for saving Little Chef, who is actually the head chef at a bistro he opened. Scrooge and Little Chef give the trio a dessert called a tarte aux fruits as a gift. Scrooge explains that when he tasted Little Chef's food, he decided to finance his bistro. Little Chef wants to cook more for them, but he needs ingredients, so Sora and friends go to hunt some down. After finding some ingredients, Hayner and Olette return to report to Scrooge, who hired them to put up some posters for a film festival he's hosting. Olette has Sora scan a QR code on one of the posters, which allows him to play a game on his Gummiphone. Scrooge explains that the combination of entertainment and quality food will ensure that he will make a fortune. Sora asks Hayner and Olette to wish for Roxas's return, and with that the trio heads for their next destination.
As they leave, Sora and his friends are being watched by Ansem and Xemnas. As Xigbar appears, they explain to him that they were ordered to guide Sora along. Ansem says that if Sora strays from the path that was set for him, they were ordered to destroy him. However, Xigbar says that if they destroyed him, they would lose one of their vessels, implying that they still want to turn him into a Seeker of Darkness. Xemnas says that, because of the possibility that they may not be able to make Sora into a vessel, they have other plans if that one fails, thus ensuring that they will have all the Seekers of Darkness no matter what happens.
Meanwhile, Kairi, who is training in a realm where no time passes with Lea, is writing a letter to Sora. She tells him that she's warmed up to Lea, who feels guilty for all the harm he caused them in the past. While writing, Lea approaches her. She tells him that she isn't actually going to send the letter to him, but that she just wrote it to make herself feel better. Lea pulls out some sea-salt ice cream that he got from Merlin and gives one to her. Looking at Kairi, Lea suddenly has a vision of Xion, which makes him cry, though he can't remember why he is crying. He asks her to refer to him as "Axel," a request she honors.
Elsewhere, Riku and Mickey are escorted by Dilan to the town square of Radiant Garden, where Aqua was last spotted before she fell into the Realm of Darkness. They recount what they know: shortly after Aqua's disappearance, Ansem the Wise found an amnesiac young man calling himself Xehanort in the square and took him as his apprentice. That incarnation of Xehanort later went on to betray his master. He turned himself into a Heartless, Ansem, and a Nobody, Xemnas. Though both of them were defeated, Young Xehanort gathered them and other incarnations of himself to form the true Organization XIII. The missing piece of the puzzle is Terra. Aqua said that she saved him, but he was nowhere to be found; on the other hand, the Xehanort that became Ansem the Wise's apprentice was a young man, not the elderly Master Mickey knew. Mickey finally realizes that Terra must have been possessed by Master Xehanort, which is why they never found him. Previously, Master Xehanort told them that one of their friends belonged to him, and that one he was referring to was Terra. Since the present Xehanort is an old man again, and since Terra is still nowhere to be found, Mickey comes to the conclusion that Terra must be one of the other thirteen darknesses, still under Xehanort's control. With this realization, they decide that they should warn Sora and Merlin about the danger...
