Chapter 8 – Hollow Bastion Part 1
The trio began remembering the previous time they set foot on Hollow Bastion. Last time, they had met the members of the Hollow Bastion Heartless Elimination Squad: Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent. Plus, they had beaten Sephiroth, the Darkness in Cloud's heart, but he could not be destroyed except by Cloud himself. Instead, the man had vanished and gone away, hopefully for good.
As they walked through town, they had no sign of Heartless, but knew it would only be a matter of time. Going through town, they bought themselves some Potions, Elixers, and other helpful items. Afterward, they cleared a corner when they were approached by two panting dogs. One was a mutt and the other was a purebred Cocker Spaniel. The trio petted them when an old friend came around the corner.
"La- hey!" yelled the friend.
"Leon!" yelled the trio.
"Hey, you guys, how have you been?"
"Good. Yourself?" said Alex.
"Fine. Been having lots of issues here, but now that you're here, It's gonna get better."
"Why you say that?" asked Ken.
"I'll tell you later. Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Sort of." said Sarah. "Life easy here in Hollow Bastion?"
"Decent. Been taking care of these two for a few weeks. Lady! Tramp! Get over here."
The two dogs got down and went back over to Leon and sat down.
"Sorry about that." laughed Leon. "I found these two when their World was swallowed by the Darkness. I been taking care of them ever since."
"That's was nice of you, you softie!" laughed Sarah.
"Easy doll. I'm not that soft."
"How many times do I have to tell you not the call me doll!"
"So, what brings you three here?"
"We are looking for the King. We were told me might be here."
"Well, you're in luck. The King is doing his rounds."
"The King is really here?!" shouted Alex.
"Yeah, he is. Come on, we'll go to my place where the rest of the team is waiting."
When they got to Leon's Place, they entered the small house and were bombarded by cheers. There was Cid, the old man, Yuffie, the black haired Ninja, Aerith, the sett Healer, Tifa, the black haired tough girl, and Cloud, the quiet warrior. Once Tramp and Lady were inside, Leon closed the door as the two dogs went to a corner and slept.
"Where's Vincent?" asked Ken.
"He's off doing his own thing." said Cid. "How you kids been?"
"Good. Been taking down Heartless and exploring new and different Worlds." said Sarah.
"So, did you ever find Ansem the Wise?" Yuffie asked.
"No," said Alex as he shook his head. "We did find an evil guy named Yevon though."
"And he was defeated without much trouble." added Ken.
"So, what brings you by?" asked Aerith.
"Just exploring Worlds. Any Heartless trouble here?" asked Sarah.
"Ever since you closed the Keyhole, fewer and fewer Heartless have been appearing." said Leon. "Still, we still have our shares of problems."
"Sephiroth?" wondered Alex.
"Actually, no." said Yuffie. "We haven't seen him since you three were here last. No... but we do have a problem at the Castle."
"What would that be?"
"Some big guy is making more and more Heartless cause trouble. I know this because I was doing recon at the Castle yesterday."
"Who is he?" asked Ken.
"Well, he's kinda fat, looks like a dog, and spoke about... three wiseguys."
"Sounds like Pete!"
"Did someone saw Pete?" asked a voice.
They turned and saw the familiar shortness, tail, and big ears of King Mickey, ruler of Disney Castle. His Wishmaker Keyblade vanished as he closed the door.
"Your Majesty!" shouted the trio.
"Hi guys!" said the King cheerfully. "I guess you got my message from Merlin?"
"We sure did!" said Sarah. "Where have you been?"
"Well, before coming here, I was consulting with Merlin about the stability of the Worlds. And I been trying to find clues to the location of Ansem's Heartless."
"We met him, your Highness." said Alex.
"You did?! Where?!" shouted the King, frantically.
"The last World we were in." said Sarah. "We were following this girl and he suddenly appeared before us."
"What did he say to you?"
"Well, he said that we are foolish in our quest. Then he spoke of three previous Keyblade wielders from our World. Do you know anything about that, your Majesty?" asked Alex.
"Three Keyblade Wielders from your World? I... don' know anything about that." King Mickey lied.
"And he also said something about Darkness growing inside Alex's heart." addressed Ken.
"Oh? Yes, I knew something was different about him. I just didn't know what."
"Can you do anything about it?" asked Alex, who was clutching his heart.
"I'm afraid I can't. Alex, you are the only one who can destroy that Darkness or it will overtake you, turning you into something you're not."
"King Mickey, how do I do that?"
"That is only something you can figure out for yourself, I'ma fraid." he looked at Alex will sorrow. He then turned to Leon. "Leon, what did you say about the Castle?"
"Some big guy is summoning loads of Heartless and trying to corrupt the town. Ken said it might be someone named Pete."
"Not him!" yelled King Mickey.
"You know him?" asked Tifa.
"Pete was always causing trouble at Disney Castle. I exiled him a long time ago, but now he wants revenge and is making a comeback. What I don't understand though, is where he got the power to control Heartless."
"Your Majesty?" began Sarah. "When we were at your Castle, Pete was attacking the townsfolk with them."
"He what?!"
"Don't worry, we stopped him. And he said he was working with Ansem, so maybe he got the power from him."
"Maybe... can't be sure. Come on you guys!" said the King as he shined his Keyblade. "Let's go teach Pete that you never mess with my friends!"
"Right!" the trio said, also shining their Keyblades.
