There are still no signs of an entrance into Organization XIII's world; the only clue Sora and friends have to go on is the picture given to them by the robed man. They decide to return to Twilight Town and head to the mansion, which is depicted in the photo. Once there, they see Hayner, Pence, and Olette, who say that they were attacked by Nobodies. They say that they went there to find an entrance to another version of Twilight Town, because they were confused by the duplicates of the trophy and its orbs. They get attacked by some Nobodies, but Mickey shows up to help them out.
After dealing with the Nobodies, Mickey tells them that Ansem the Wise managed to get into the Organization's lair. They tell him about the photo, and Sora mentions that he thinks Riku gave it to him. He tries to ask Mickey about Riku, but he speaks cryptically without giving a definitive answer. Mickey accidentally lets it slip that he made a promise to Riku not to tell Sora about his whereabouts, much to Sora's relief.
Inside the mansion, they find the computer room. Pence tries to access it, but it requires a password. They recall that there was a bar of ice cream with the photo, so they figure it must be the password. Ansem's favorite ice cream was sea-salt, so they enter that as the password, and it grants them access to the simulated Twilight Town. Inside, Sora sees the computer that was smashed by Roxas earlier. They find a portal, presumably left by Axel when he infiltrated the simulation, and use it.
Inside the portal, they find themselves in the tunnel between Twilight Town and the Organization's world. A huge swarm of Nobodies appears, and there are too many of them for them to defeat alone. Axel shows up and starts fighting alongside them. He explains that Kairi was taken by Saïx after she escaped from his grasp. Axel tells Sora to go on, but Sora refuses to leave Axel alone. The two of them team up to fight the Nobodies, but there are so many of them that they can't win. Axel decides to sacrifice himself, putting all his energy into a single attack. The attack obliterates them, but it also destroys Axel. As he fades away, he tells Sora that he was trying to reunite with Roxas, but he changed his mind after meeting Sora. Axel opens a portal to the Organization's world before being destroyed. Sora, Donald, and Goofy head through the portal, ready for the final showdown with Organization XIII.
Meanwhile the Organization, or what's left of it, is watching the infiltration of their castle. They ponder over the death of Axel, wondering why he gave up his life. Xemnas says that Axel's encounter with Sora left an impact on the latter's heart, which could have consequences. Looking at the thirteenth chair in the meeting room, Xemnas says that the time may be approaching for Roxas to awaken within Sora...
