"We really didn't mean to startle you," Namine said. "Welcome to Radiant Garden. What brings you here?"

"Ah..." Summer blinked and glanced at Rose. "We... were sent by Mickey?" It came out as a question.

"Oh!" Kari blinked. "King Mickey sent you? You must be new then, from another world."

Summer nodded a bit.

"Yeah," she said. "This is all really new."

Namine studied the two newcomers for a moment.

"The king wants you to fill in for Sora, doesn't he?" she said.

"Sora?" Rose blinked, looking very startled. "Who's Sora?"

Kairi sighed. "I think we'd better go sit somewhere and go over some things," she said. "Like what the King didn't tell you."

"That sounds ominous," Summer murmured.

"Come with us," Namine said, gesturing to the girls to follow. "We'll explain."

Rose hesitated for a moment before she nodded and followed Namine and Kairi back up to the castle, which was still undergoing repairs but was much closer to how it used to be. She looked around, fascinated.

Summer looked around as well as they were led inside.

"Alright," Kairi said once she'd found a suitable spot for them to sit and talk. "Where do I start with all of this...?"

"Sora was a keybearer," Namine said. "Like the two of you. But he's been missing, and nobody has any idea where, or why."

"Missing?" Rose's eyebrows jumped. "Okay. So maybe that's why Mickey wanted the two of us now?"

"I can't say why he sent two of you," Kairi said. "That's as good a guess as any I could make."

"But there is something going wrong across the worlds," Namine said. "And two keyblades are probably better than one for handling it."

"Okay, wait a second," Summer said, holding up a hand. "How did you even know about that? We didn't say anything about having keyblades."

"Oh," Namine said. She hesitated for a moment. "I'm a nobody. I don't have a heart. But I'm pretty good at sensing them in others."

"Huh. Okay." Rose eyed her for a moment. "What is a nobody, exactly?"

Kairi looked at her for a moment, briefly despairing. "How much did the King tell you?" she asked carefully.

"Assume nothing and start from the beginning," Summer said. Namine winced a little at that.

"Okay," she said. "Well. A nobody is created when a person's heart is taken. The nobody is the body and soul left behind when the heart is gone."

"Wait, what?" Rose blinked. "It's possible to have a heart taken away?"

Kairi sighed. Oh these two were so, so new.

"Yes," Namine said, nodding. "And when it happens, a keyblade is the only way to set it right."

"Okay," Rose said. "So, a nobody is the body and soul, and a heartless is the heart? Wait, why is the heartless the actual heart? That is literally the opposite of what it should be."

"It's a little complicated," Namine admitted. "They're called heartless because they're hearts corrupted by darkness, only able to feel the darkest things a heart can feel. No compassion or anything like that. And nobodies are call that because a person without a heart... is nobody."

"That's... mildly terrifying, not gonna lie," Summer murmured.

"Just a bit," Rose agreed.

Kairi shrugged a little. "That's what you're helping defend against," she told them. "Heartless, and nobodies."

"Okay," Summer said. "Okay. Then..." She paused, trailing off as she gathered her thoughts. "We came here because Mickey left us a note saying to come here. Then what?"

"He probably sent you here to get trained and to have things explained," Kairi guessed. "Since it seems like he didn't have much time to tell you a lot."

"Not really," Summer agreed. "Mostly just 'here's a keyblade, good luck.'"

Namine couldn't help but laugh a little at that.

"Yes, well, luckily there are people here who can help you," she said.

"Good thing," Rose said with a bit of a grin.

"We can get Leon to help with your keyblades," Lauri said thoughtfully.

"First, you should get settled," Namine said. "Since I'm sure you'll both be here for at least a little while."

"That sounds both nice and vaguely ominous," Rose joked with a grin.

"Well, surely it will take longer than a single day to learn to wield a keyblade in combat," Namine pointed out with a small smile.

"You're right," Rose agreed. "I'm still adjusting. It's been a strange morning."

"I'm sure," Namine said. She smiled. "Come with me, I'm sure I can find you a place to stay."

"Alright, cool," Summer said, nodding a bit.