Kingdom Hearts: An Ed, Edd n Eddy Story

by PRIVATE Corp

When a twist of fate made Double D the wielder of the Keyblade, worlds collide in a way that will decide the fate of the Ed boys... and the other worlds'. Join the Eds as they explore the Cartoon Network universe in search of the Pure Hearted, keyholes, and the missing children of the cul-de-sac while facing off against Heartless and new villains. Second story in the EEnE Project.

21. Act III, Ch 21: Hollow Bastion, part 1

OK everyone, this is the moment we have been waiting for… it's time that we go back to normal Kingdom Hearts and present a world that is a staple in just about every revision of the game… Hollow Bastion! Well, it may not be, but still the world is a commonplace within the whole series and really is a bit of an icon as well.

But let's forget about that. For the next three chapters, this world is going to be the main focus, along with me trying to write up over 60, if not 80, pages for just this world alone! That's right, I am going to be writing over EIGHTY pages for just one world in the span of three, and I don't think anyone has done that for Hollow Bastion or for any of the normal worlds. But even if I get close to 90, these chapters aren't going to be as long as my Icicles-R-Us chapter back in Deadlocked, with my personal best of 44 pages! … I really need to think things over.

So what can we suspect from all of this… like I said, not the same world and a whole boatload of action, especially with a former friend… And also I would like for you to meet one of my strongest characters to come…

Legal Stuff: I DO NOT own Ed, Edd n Eddy, anything within Kingdom Hearts, or anything else. The Eds belongs and are copyrighted by the great Danny Antonucci and his team at AKA Studios, the Kingdom Hearts series belong to Square Enix, and anything else belongs to their retrospective creators. I do, however, own any original content mention in this story.

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Chapter Twenty-One – The Grand Halls of Hollow Bastion

OOO

The vast darkness surrounds the confused Double D once again, with the absolute black covering every inch everywhere the boy can see. There is nothing underneath the boy: no stain-glass portrait and no sea of water to hold the Ed afloat. He is left to wander around alone in this chilling darkness, with not a single soul to help him out of this world or to fight against. The smart Ed takes a few steps into the darkness, hearing the hollow echoes of his footsteps bouncing off unknown walls as the boy starts his exploration of this vast darkness.

With no leads to help guide him through this blank world, Double D is only keeping a straight line as he continues to walk on. After a few more steps, the boy comes to a stop and notices the cloaked figure from his past visions up and ahead of him, so he rushes up to the person to speak to whoever it is. Once nearby, the cloaked figure holds up a hand to halt the smart Ed and got him to stop only a few feet away. Double D can feel a very strong, ominous presence emitting from under the cloak, so he draws out his Keyblade so that he can fight the cloaked figure.

"Do you really believe that you can challenge me to a fight?" the cloaked figure questioned. "Boy, you simply don't comprehend that you require more strength and stamina if you ever want to keep up with me."

Who are you? How come I am getting a strong sense of evil coming from you?

"It is not I you are seeking, but rather your answer lies in the shadows behind you."

The Ed follows the order of the cloaked figure and turns around to see what is behind him, only to find a man completely hidden in the blackness, save for his fingers, head and hair. Double D can feel the uncompressed ominous pressure emitting from this person, strong enough to make him stick to his stomach, and he grabs a hold of his Keyblade to prepare to strike. When he tries to attack, the man stand perfectly still as the boy is knocked back by the shadows surrounding the man. The Ed got back up onto his feet and casts Thunder at the man, but not even his magic is not enough to move the man at all.

Who… what are you?

"My name is of no importance to you boy, neither is any of my countless aliases. My true identity lies within the shadows and shall remain hidden among the darkness, for no more mere mortal like you should know my true appearance. And if must ask, my mission shall be unclear to you and from all of your closest friend. I am only here on a personal score to settle… and you are one on my long list."

If that's true, then who are you working for?

"I work for no soul lowering than I. I do not succumb myself to allow the lack of servitude to the weak-minded that will only stab you in the back claim the very goal that most definitely belongs to me!"

There is something within that line of statement that got the smart Ed thinking over. The talk of servants turning on this man and claiming a certain item that should belong to this man is getting the Ed to scratch his head about. Double D remembers about how Jib is connected to a master and he is looking for Kingdom Hearts as he thinks, and the same could go for Zip-fly, Prankster and Blitzer, but the Destroyer of Light really stands out in his mind. That one statement from the man is creating a weak, but a possible, connection between the man and Jib, so Double D wants to pursue more into the matter.

Just who are you anyway, and what is your connection to Jib the Destroyer?

There is a sharp, painful blow dealt to the mysterious man, grasping onto his chest as he stares at the Ed boy with a cold, evil stare. Now with his defenses lowered, this gives Double D the perfect opportunity to not only get the information he most definitely seeks, but to see if he can land a hit. He prepares his Keyblade just in case he can find an opening and he starts asking questions about Jib, Kingdom Hearts and all that has been going on, with only a vast majority of those questions appearing to be doing damage to the mysterious man, but with only one sole exception…

Just tell me what your identity is! Is it too hard to answer that question!

"I… I will never reveal… my true appearance to such a lowlife as you human!"

Then if you can't tell me about your identity, then what exactly are you? I know that you're powerful enough to created Jib, and your reactions are enough to support that.

"Yes… I am. You can probably say that I am what you call a wizard… but perhaps that is only for those who are good. You can say that I am a warlock…"

A… warlock?

"Yes and a very powerful one at best. I have powers beyond what mankind can even dream of, strong enough to defeat ten hyper-crazed ghost reapers, and I am willing enough to cause several apocalypses thrice over. If my creation Jib were to continue to serve at my side and complete his mission like he was told, all of that power lying within Kingdom Hearts will be mine and I will be the supreme ruler of the universe!"

Now to the smart Ed, he now knows that this mysterious man is very angry at his creation for betraying him, and there are holes in his defense. Double D rushes up to the man to finally deal some sort of damage, but he did not take into account that the man notices him coming and prevents the Ed from attack. The man raises his shadows up and blows the Ed back several feet, only to then for the boy to recover and charges right back at the man, but this is proving more of a challenge to Double D than he previously thought.

"Can you not see it now boy? You are easily no match against my own powers! My abilities surpassed the ghost reapers by ten folds, but once I claim the infinite power lurking at the center of existence, not even several hundred gods will stand against my being!"

Double D now starts to realize that he is dealing with a threat that is much stronger than Jib. If this man really is the creator of the Destroyer of Light and has this tremendous power to cause apocalypses three times over, then fighting him alone, or even with his friends, is not going to be enough to stop this mysterious man. Still, the Ed needs to prove himself that he is not going to lose this fight, proving how much stronger he has become through this journey, even if it means fighting an enemy several leagues ahead of his own.

Gripping onto his Keyblade, the smart Ed charges up to the man and tries once again to break through his defenses and land any sort of damage onto the man. The mysterious man got the shadows around him back up and blocks every single one of Double D's attack, preventing the boy from getting any closer to the man. Double D notices that this man is not moving a single inch of his body, meaning this man is truly powerful enough to not move his arms to direct where the shadows should strike. One strike knocks Double D back and he prepares to strike once again, just as the mysterious man prepares for his decisive blow.

That is until a catastrophic attack dealt by Double D's behalf sent not only him, but the mysterious man, in opposite directions and both looking each other in anger. The Ed looks dumbfound down at his Keyblade, wondering how in the world could that one point of contact caused a devastating attack, until he remembers the other times the attack landed. The smart Ed realizes that his Keyblade possessed a hidden Limit Break and he has grateful to finally take notice of this very unique ability. The boy takes a look at the man to find that there is no sign of physical damage, but his health says otherwise as the attack was enough to take a chunk out of his health.

The only problem is that this particular chunk is only a very small fraction to compare to the mysterious man's massive, multiple-layered health.

Double D is now completely horrified by the appearance and the strength of this mysterious man. Here before the Ed is a man of god-like caliber, strong enough to create another man of his own appearance to go about and destroy worlds, use only shadows around him while standing in one spot and not even blinking, and has taken a severe attack that could potentially kill another person but is rather a small sting to this man. That alone is enough to make Double D to lose all feeling in his body, dropping the Keyblade from his hand, and plopping onto his knees as his mind begins to process worrisome thoughts.

He's… it's too much for me… There's nothing that I can do. There's not a single chance that I can win this fight. He's just too powerful for me…

"Now you are starting to comprehend my power. You have now seen that you are too weak to stand up against my might. You are just like the countless others that fell before me. I have yet to find a worthy adversary in years, and now here I am in the mind of a strong boy and he is cowering at my feet. Your strength is this test has fail you, telling you that you are not worthy of living anymore. Try all you want, but not knowing your opponent will get yourself kill, even if that opponent is me!"

But… why me? Why have you chosen me over all of the countless others in the universe?

"As I said earlier, you are on my long list of people I am seeking, and your friends are among the many names on that list as well. The three of you, along with the worlds you have visited, are proving to be rather an obstacle in my mission for infinite power. I cannot allow any of you to interfere with my plans, so the only option that I have is to eliminate you right here, right now. Prepare to die, Edd boy…"

The shadows surrounding the man begin to flare up and start to take shape, with a few transforming into katana blades. With the man keeping his cold stare locked-on the fallen Ed, he silently orders his shadows to attack the boy at his weaken state. With the sharp blades drawing near, Double D begins to recall all of his memories that he spent with his friends, going back to when he first met the other Eds, all the way to the moment of the explosion in Ooo. The shadow katanas raise their blades up and prepare to swing down, but both the mysterious man and Double D did not suspect to find the other two Eds in the darkness.

"Im… Impossible! There is no concealable way for you to be in here!"

Eddy! Ed! What are you two doing in here?

"Well, well, well, look who decided to wake up!" said the small Ed sarcastically. "We're came in here to save your sorry behind!"

"We found you freaking out and decided to dive into your dream," replied Ed.

Guys… thanks for saving me.

"Now's not the time to be saying thanks. We just need to lose this bozo and find a way out of this joint," gritted Eddy, struggling against the powerful shadows.

Double D's mind snaps back into reality and he got back onto his feet, grabbing onto his Keyblade as an idea pops into his head about how to save his friends. He leans in and tells the others about what he is going to do and the smart Ed leans back to prepare his Keyblade for his Limit Break. Eddy and Ed continue to hold up their defense against the shadow as the mysterious adds more shadows onto the boys to make them work to hold everything together. Once they are at their limit, the Eds break away and allow the flood of shadows to rush in and charge at Double D, who then takes his Keyblade and smashes through the shadows to inflict damage to the man.

"Whoa," whistled Ed. "How did you do that?"

That would be the power of the Limit Break, Ed. One that is strong enough to inflict a counterattack powerful enough to leave heavy damage in its wake. But only if there is a strong attack hitting my Keyblade.

"Great, now can we please get out of here?" asked Eddy. "All of this darkness is really creeping me out."

"Sadly, you three are not going anywhere as long as I still stand. I have finally retrieved all three of you boys for my personal satisfaction, and now I am not going to allow this opportunity to slip right by me for you to leave this realm!"

"OK freak, just who do you think you are and what are you going to do with us?" barked the small Ed.

"… The Man in Shadows…" muttered Ed in a dark voice.

The Man in Shadows?

"So… one of you knows of this form's alias? You boys must be very familiar with this particular form of mine. Since you now figure out who I am, it is now my duty to put you out of commission and be done with you three for good."

"Hey! There's no way that you're getting rid of us!" stated Eddy, now angry by this statement. "You're going have to get through me if you want to get the rest of us!"

"You boys simply do not understand that you cannot win this situation. I am proving myself to be a stronger adversary than the ones you three have fought before and will to come. I have made your friend realize that he is not dealing with some measly toss-aside mook or your run-of-the-mill boss. I am the real power behind all of what is happening. I am the one that will rule over everything. I am the one that will destroy every threat that stands in my path. I will become the one that will be the conqueror of the universe!"

No… you're not.

"What! How dare you disapprove such a statement! Do you not recall who you are dealing with here!"

Yes. You're just a part of my imagination that is only here to make me get stronger and so far you are doing your job. Now that your job is done, my friends and I are taking our leave and to say fare…

The man now called the Man in Shadows tenses up and unleashes a deafening roar of anger as the shadows surrounding him flare up intensely. The Man in Shadows cocks his head down and glares at the Eds with a flaming evil stare as his arms lower to his sides and the area around him begins to show some visibility. The Eds rush up to attack the man but they could not reach him thanks to the shadows protecting their master. Double D got a Light spell going to open a path, but even his strongest spell is not enough to put a dent to the powerful, furious shadows.

"Now all three of you can see that none of your feeble attacks cannot pass through my shadows and deal any harm to me! You may think that I am nothing but a mere illusion, if I were to take my shadows and impale all three of you on the spot, then will you believe that I am an illusion or not?"

If you do, then all I ask is for one thing: I just want you… out… of… my… HEAD!

The force of Double D's shout is powerful enough to cause a burst of light to emit from the Ed and allows the Eds to escape from the Awakening. The pure white light consumes every inch of the blackness, prompting Eddy and Ed to cover their eyes and the Man in Shadows to feel the same ill as Double D felt when he first met this man. With the light continuing on into the darkness, the mysterious man lets out a shriek in pain as the Ed boys leave the mind of Double D and return back to the real world. Once the light calms down, the Man in Shadows is left alone in the darkness, floating in the darkness as he left to talk to only himself.

"Mark my words Ed boys… the time you spent here will not be your last, and this appearance of the Man in Shadows shall not be your last as well…"

OOO

Upon waking up from the Awakening, the Eds find themselves down on the floor of their ship, their heads and hearts racing from the experience they saw before their eyes, and their eyes are readjusting to normal sight after seeing nothing but black and white. In the middle of the boys is the tired wizard hat belonging to Ed, letting out long hard breaths as the tall Ed begins to panic and mourn for his exhausted hat. Double D slowly got himself back onto his head and heads over to the controls, taking over command once again as he notices a world and a lost children blip flashing on the radar.

"Oh Hat, please don't die on me!" sobbed Ed, rocking his deflated hat back and forth. "Who is going to keep my head warm when you pass from this world?"

"Ed, your hat is still alive," Eddy explained in a deadpan tone. "If you keep shaking him like that, you'll eventually kill him."

"But what will I do if my hat is really dying? How will I go on without knowing that there is nothing on my head and also to make snarky comments?"

The small Ed lets out a heavy sigh in response, seeing there is no hope in stopping Ed, and he decides on joining Double D at the controls. The medium Ed has his hands on his head, rubbing his temple with the heels as he tries to recover from the strange and nightmarish vision. That mysterious man appearing in his head, the man as an all-powerful warlock that is responsible for creating the Destroyer of Light, plus proving to be indestructible to all of their attacks, and then his friends aiding him to stop this man from killing the Ed. What does this man have to do with all of what's going on? Why did he appear now and challenge the Eds right in his mind?

"Double D…" The smart Ed picks his head up to find the small Ed talking to him. "You're still thinking about what just happened back there?"

"Yes" is the replied from Double D. "I just can't shake this feeling that the man we saw in my Awakening… I know of him from somewhere."

"You know that man? How do you know him and where did you see him?"

"I… I don't know. It is just occurring to me now and…" Double D takes a break from his sentence and remembers a small detail from his Awakening. "Say, how did you and Ed enter my Awakening in the first place?"

"Ed's hat was the one that put us in your dream," the greedy Ed explained, pointing over to the deflated hat. "He said that the spell he was using was a one-shot deal and it was a good thing we got in there on time."

"Of course. So you finally persuaded Normadomus into allowing you to wake me up, right?"

"Well he said that we can go into your dream but he said not to interfere with whatever is going on, unless we want to cause serious harm to you…"

"And that is when that man tried to kill me…" The smart Ed takes a small break to look over at the still grieving Ed, now resting his hat across his arms as if he is holding a dead body. "It appears that Normadomus used a tremendous amount of his magic to get you two into my Awakening."

"Hey, there was something wrong with you when you were sleeping, so we needed to find out what was going on inside of your head."

"That's perfectly fine Eddy. It definitely shows that you two do care for my safety and are willing to put yourselves into harm's way to help out a friend in need. You two did all that you could to protect me from that man when I was down, and you helped me out of my fears of this Man in Shadows. I can hardly say that even though you two are sometimes a hassle and get into a lot of trouble with others, I believe I've picked the right friends in accompanying so far on this journey of ours."

"Heh, well it's a good thing we are all in this together this far in the game," the small Ed smirked. "We'll find a way to beat Jib, get ourselves stronger and then we'll go take down that Man in Shadows!"

"I'm certain that we're not going to be meeting the Man in Shadows for anytime soon, at least I hope," said Double D, "but Jib is rather a guarantee for us. If we are going to get answers to everything that has been happening, Jib is our safe bet to go to for these answers."

"So does that mean Jib is going to be helping us?" asked Ed, now getting over his grieving when he heard about his imaginary friend.

"But even that I am not very certain of. Remember Jib is working against us and has more power than the four of us combines. The odd of us winning against Jib are slims, but getting answers we have a slightly better chance on since he might be willing enough to cooperate with us instead of his former master."

"But how are we going to find Jib when we haven't seen him anywhere on this journey besides a painting of him," Eddy pointed out.

"Yes, but I got a strange feeling that we will be seeing the Destroyer of Light once we arrive at our destination," said Double D, pointing out into space.

Coming into the Eds' view is the latest world in the boys' journey and a very unique world. There is a castle-looking building taking up a vast majority of the world, leaving only a ghost town hiding underneath. The boys can feel a strong, ominous vibe coming from the world, especially from one of the towers of the castle, and for a brief moment they can see the same symbol X.A.N.A. uses on the creatures in Lyoko and for personal use. This world, to the Ed boys, is the very world that they have been hearing about for a long time and they are now traveling to it.

"There it is boys… Hollow Bastion," proclaimed Normadomus, regaining feeling in his body and jumping up onto the console. "At long last, we have finally reached the very world everyone has been talking about. My, the place surely looks different from when I was here."

"Things do have the tendency to change over time," explained Double D, gripping onto the controls. "So now that we are finally here, our goal is to find Marie and Mark, free the Pure Hearted and defeat both Father and Zip-fly so that they can't get access to Kingdom Hearts. Now we just need to come up with a plan to help us achieve that goal."

"Huh, I completely forgot about what's-his-name," mumbled Eddy, referring to a name Double D mentioned. "So far, we haven't seen his face around the universe except back at home when he was possessed. Double D, we shouldn't be worrying about that guy. He can clearly take care of himself like he did when we were fighting that one competition, remember. Besides, we just need to rescue the Pure Hearted and we're done with this all of this."

"But don't you see that Mark is our friend," whined Ed.

"A friend who was possessed and tried to kill us!" ripped Eddy. "No matter how you looked at it, he was trying to gut with his sword of his and now he has gone to the dark side to do whatever is going on in his mind."

"I hear the dark side has cookies," Ed muttered randomly.

"Eddy, that's not all true about Mark," Double D replied. "I believe Mark is on the side of good all this time and is helping us out in every way. If he really is doing all of what he is now part of his secret plan, it may be benefitting us in some way and it might come into fruition sooner or later."

"But if he does something that either betrays us or gets one of us killed, I'm not going to hesitate to beat him up for doing so," the small Ed stated, sounding serious.

At that moment, the Gummi ship rocks violently and all of the sirens are tripped from the sudden impact. Double D takes a look at the radar and notices the enemy ship right behind them, which then switches over to a blue blip representing a missing cul-de-sac child. Eddy and Ed are already heading for their terminals, leaving Double D and Normadomus to know who their opponent is in this fight. Once inside of their terminals, the boys got their screens up and find the black Gummi ship named the Silent Striker lurking behind the Midnight Hummer.

"Heh, it's been a long time since we last fought this guy," said Eddy, cracking his knuckles as he prepares his turrets. "It's finally time that we end this fight once and for all!"

"Hold your horses Eddy," blurted the medium Ed. "I just so happen to have a plan that will help us defeat this adversary and it involves leading him into Hollow Bastion and beating him within the world."

"Oh yeah, since his ship won't be hiding in the darkness, leaving him open to shoot at in the bright sky! Double D, I'm never getting tired of your ideas!"

"Zippity-a-do-da!" shouted Ed, firing off one Gravity round and hitting the black Gummi ship dead on.

"Way to go Ed!" the small Ed stated excitedly, grabbing onto his controls and starts firing away with his turrets.

The two Gummi ships begin their trades of fire, with Fire bullets filling up the vast blackness of space, Blizzard shells barreling and barely hitting the Eds and Gravity shells completely missing the black ship. Double D pushes down on the throttle to get the Midnight Hummer into Hollow Bastion's atmosphere, luring the Silent Striker in as the black ship picks its speed up as well. The plan is going smoothly as the Eds can finally see the black Gummi ship clearly, meaning they have a better chance of taking the ship down. However, the pilot is a skilled fighter and he can outmaneuver all of the Eds' attacks.

An abandoned town is right below of the two ships, with the building going into a wide variety of commercial and residential establishments, all of them void of people and dotting the land below. Metallic Heartless, Shadows and Darkballs scan every inch of the town for any remaining forms of life, seeking for those beating hearts to fill their ravenous appetite. Roaring above the Heartless, the two dueling Gummi ships continue on in their dogfight to see which one of them is going to hit the ground in defeat. The Midnight Hummer unleashes a barrage of Fire and Gravity rounds at the Silent Striker, but the black Gummi ship skillfully dodges each and every with loops, rolls and dives.

The Silent Striker takes its Fire and Blizzard barrels and locks them onto the Eds, follow by unloading and unleashing everything the pilot has on him. Double D uses his piloting skills to dodge the Blizzard rounds, Eddy uses his cannons to shoot out the incoming Fire rounds, and Ed uses his Gravity round to act as a counterattack on the missed rounds or at the Gummi ship. Both Gummi ships are at a stalemate thanks to both ships being equal in piloting and weaponry, and the Silent Striker decides upon to cut down on its speed and descend down to the ground.

"Oh yeah, we got him on the run guys!" stated Eddy excitedly, now knowing they have won this match.

"Uh Eddy, I don't think we did any sort of damage that requires him to retreat from this fight," Double D noted.

"Maybe he just needs to refuel."

"Whatever the case is, we have reached our next destination," the smart Ed replied. "Get yourselves ready gentlemen, because we got ourselves a fight ahead."

The Midnight Hummer slows down and begins to descend closer to the ground. Once the ship touches the earth, the bay door opens once again and the Eds stroll out to check around their settings to see what the talk is about Hollow Bastion. As far as the eye can see, the ground is strangely purple and barren of any life, with no plants or animals covering the dusty earth, and the Eds can see the ghost town faintly resting over the horizon. This is the world that is called Hollow Bastion and the Eds can get an understanding why the people call this world so.

"Well Ed, I guess we were wrong about this place after all," said Eddy, remembering a line he once said some time ago.

"I told you this place existed," replied the tall Ed, proud of being right, and he eyes around his setting to search for any activity. "… Uh, where did Double D run off to?"

The greedy Ed perks himself up and gives a few good sweeps around the area to see what the tall Ed is talking about. From what he is seeing at every angle, there is a lack of a certain smart Ed boy in his sight, telling the small boy that he went missing. The two Eds break up and start to check around the area of the Midnight Hummer to go look for their missing friend, to make sure that he did not get himself killed or eaten by the Heartless. Then comes a small cry emitting from a crack and the Eds rush over to the crack in the ground to find a set of stairs leading down into a crevice.

Ed immediately takes the lead heads down the stairs, only to then trip on the sixth stair, as Eddy watches from above as his friend tumbles down the stair. Walking carefully, the small Ed follows the path that his friend has taken, and the time to get to the bottom did not take him long, as he finds the fallen Ed with his bottom in the air and clearly not hurt from the fall. At the bottom of the stairs, the two Eds can see Double D among some other people at his side, and the two boys rush over to find these new people are the same that they met back in Traverse Town.

"Well now, isn't this quite a surprise," said Eddy. "What exactly brings you guys all of the way out here?"

The smart Ed mutters "déjà vu" under his breath as the four children at his side known as Lyoko Warriors turn to face the two newcomers. "Hello there," said Jérémie. "Do you two recall that Aelita never came out of the Virtualization Chambers after you? Well when we got word about how the last Pure Hearted was heading to Hollow Bastion, Dexter and TOM got us a Gummi ship prepared for us and we flew out here to help find Aelita and also the Pure Hearted."

"We know that you three have been busy looking for the Pure Hearted, so we'll be nice enough to carry the Pure Hearted back to their worlds when you free them," added Yumi, wearing an all black attire.

"Of course there is the fact that we still have to deal with X.A.N.A. and the Heartless while we're here," replied Ulrich, who is wearing a green khaki attire.

"So once we fix the X.A.N.A. problem, we'll catch up to you wherever you are in the factory and join you to free the others," added Odd, looking very similar to his Lyoko form.

"OK, so all we need to do is to go on in, beat up any Heartless that we see, make a clear path for you guys, and head on up to wherever the Pure Hearted are and free them," Eddy explained in one go. "That sounds easy enough, if we know what kind of Heartless we're dealing with."

"True, but there is also the fact that Father may be here as well," Double D pointed out. "We haven't seen the Absolution outside in space so we don't know if he's here, but there is that possibility. Plus, we don't know how powerful he is, let alone if he going to be alone."

"Well, there is that Nobody we have been hearing about, along with some of the strongest Heartless roaming these hallways and X.A.N.A. controlling every inch of the building," said Jérémie, looking everything over on his laptop, "so it's going to be a hard climb up to the where you're going to be heading."

"Well, the Heartless have appear to be getting stronger throughout this journey as we get further out into the universe," said the smart Ed, "but how exactly is a computer program going to affect inside of this place?"

"You guys haven't been to Hollow Bastion before, have you?" asked Odd, with Ed raising his arm up straight high and Double D giving a "not sure" gesture. "Well then, it's time that we show you the true Hollow Bastion."

The four Lyoko Warriors lead the Eds forward and the three boys are in awe when they notice the massive building before them. The structure is in the shape of a castle, with all of its building material is made out of solid metal. The outer design is in the works of steampunk, with brass making up the walls, copper piping bellowing out hot steam, and even a few gears cranking away on the walls. The whole building appears to be a living, breathing machine with everything going on, despite being resting on a floating rock high above the children. With waterfalls raining down from the castle, the Eds stare wide-eyed as the Lyoko Warriors close in to get a better look.

"Well, there it is gentlemen," started Jérémie, "Hollow Bastion."

"Well it's safe to say that this is far greater than what I have been picturing in my mind," Double D mumbled.

"Somewhere out there, a boy is enjoying every second of this scene," Eddy muttered.

"I remember there was something else hanging out in front besides that," pondering Ed. "How long was that symbol hanging there anyway?"

The Lyoko Warriors take a good look at what Ed is talking about and they notice in horror as the building they once called home is taken over by a computer program, with the symbol of X.A.N.A. made out of solid brass is covering up the Heartless symbol that was once part of this castle. None of the children can remember seeing this symbol on the castle before, but they know that X.A.N.A. has taken full control of Hollow Bastion and is ready to take anyone bold enough to wonder through the halls of this former factory.

"I swear I hadn't seen that symbol here before," continued Ed, scratching his head as he tries to remember his last time here on this world.

"So, it appears that X.A.N.A. has taken over the entire castle," said Double D. "If I were a computer program such as that, I wouldn't mind being able to have open access to such a beautiful building such as this."

"I wouldn't worry about that," said Jérémie, checking his laptop. "According to this, X.A.N.A. rigged the entire building with traps and altered Heartless."

"Altered Heartless?" echoed Odd, sounding a bit worried. "You're saying is that the Heartless are modified?"

"That's another way of putting it," the smart Ed simplified. "We actually did fought against something like that in Jump City, but those Heartless were fused together and everything was one giant mind screw."

"So we're going up against even stronger Heartless and possible death traps inside?" said Yumi, sounding not very confident about their latest situation.

"Plus there is that chance Father is here as well," Normadomus pointed out. "If this X.A.N.A. wasn't a problem for all of us, Father will be the only threat to worry about."

"And the numerous amounts of Heartless roaming around the halls and also that Nobody," said Ulrich. "If they're anything is the same like pre-X.A.N.A, this shouldn't be too hard for us."

"Yeah, for you guys," grumbled the small Ed.

"Our only option now is for us to scout ahead and try to shut things down," said Jérémie. "Once we gain access through X.A.N.A.'s defenses, you should have access to the main lab in the upper levels, where Father might be at."

"And how exactly are we going to get up there?" asked Eddy.

"There are some elevators that should help you to get up to the lab," Yumi replied. "Of course, the Heartless are a lot more abundant here and will strike without warning, so have your weapons out at all times."

"Finally, an elevator ride that's exciting!" the greedy Ed stated excitedly.

"Uh Eddy, we could be ambush on one of those elevators," Double D pointed out.

"Yeah, so? How many elevators have you been on that has at least an ounce of excitement?"

"Ooh, ooh, allow me to answer!" shouted Ed, before flashing a hand sign. "Zero!"

"Exactly, Double D."

The smart Ed can only sigh in response. He knows that he is dealing with the same old Eddy he has been friends with from the cul-de-sac. Rather so, this is now their moment to get the Pure Hearted and put a stop to Father's plans, so the children got to work making their way up to Hollow Bastion. There are elevator-like rocks floating around and the children step on each one of them, taking these rocks across the crevice as they inch closer to the entrance of the castle.

Once they got onto a floating rock with a bridge reaching towards the castle, there is another rock that holds an arch, and on the other side are five fallen children. The group rushes over to check up on the children to see if they are alright, and Double D begins to feel ill as he collapses onto his knees and falls down onto the ground. Ed picks his friend and checks his vitals, feeling that the smart Ed is still alive, but his eyes are filling up with static as a shadow looms over the group and the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

"Well, well, isn't this a surprise to be seeing all of you here," said the voice of Mask, sitting up on the arch. "And here we have the Ed boys, with one of you already out of commission."

"Hey, what did you do to Double D?" barked Eddy.

"Oh, I didn't do anything to the poor boy. He has been hit with a vision, but of what I'm not sure of. I heard from Zip-fly that he was hit the hardest from that explosion in Ooo, so that might be a side-effect to that explosion."

"Who are you and what did you do to these kids?" asked Jérémie.

"The five kids before you are from a sector on this world," Mask explained, taking his katana and placing the blunt edge on his shoulder. "They are part of a universal group call the Kids Next Door, and I heard that these five are some of the best out there. However, I had my orders from Father to prevent these five from interfering with his plans, so I took actions and beaten them here. Don't worry; they aren't dead. At least I hope not."

"You're a monster!" growled Eddy. "I thought you were a friend when you helped us and not killing children?"

"It was never my intention of killing anyone younger than me and I do oppose such an obligation, but I was ordered to prevent them from getting inside of Hollow Bastion, so I used only my hands and feet to deal with the intruder. And like I said, they aren't dead; I'm just trying to prevent them from getting inside."

"Then how about you like if I do this?" The small Ed takes his shield and tosses it up to the masked teen, but the boy unfolds his arm and blocks the incoming attack with his sword, causing the shield to drop to the ground. Mask jumps from his perch and lands on the other end of the rock, his coat breezing in the wind and silent as his approach, as the teen keeps his back on the children.

"Tell me Eddy, how much hatred are you feeling towards me?" he asked. "Do you feel like doing the deed and kill me on the spot, or do you feel the need to just punch me to let your anger go? Either way, you will never fill satisfy after all that has occurred."

"You… you had betrayed all of us," the small Ed stated. "Not only had you tried to kill us back home, but here you are with not only Double D down but also kids you don't know at your feet! Is there anything you won't step down to?"

"Eddy, Eddy, Eddy, didn't I say they aren't dead or is that the adrenaline talking for you?" Mask questioned. "I am only trying to save the girl that I hold dear to me from the man that I work with, to then give him what he desires most as I try to foil his plans before his eyes. My plan does not involve you and I am ordered to prevent the lot of you from entering Hollow Bastion. Now then, I must require one more thing and then I will take my leave."

The masked teen walks over the fallen boy of the local children as he drops down on his knees, touches Double D on the head and causes the Keyblade to come out into his hand. Mask grabs Joker's Wild and holds it within his hand to get a good feeling of it, before the Keyblade reverts to its normal state as Kingdom Key. Now that the teen has the Keyblade Father has been seeking, he turns towards the entrance and begin walking towards the door, only to have the Keyblade to disappear from his hand and enter Double D's.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," the teen said. "It seems the Keyblade doesn't want to choose me for its master. No matter, it appears I can't take Double D with me due to you, so I must take my leave. If you are brave enough to venture through these walls, try to keep up with me. Oh, and I do warn you of the Neoshadows."

Mask instantly disappears from the group's view, leaving Double D to wake up from his ill state and Eddy growling under his breath. The smart Ed asks what just happened to them while he was out and Ed asks Double D about what he saw in his vision, and everyone starts hearing groans coming from the children that have fallen before the masked teen. The five children got back up onto their feet, moaning and groaning about the pain, and they turn around to find the group that was helping them, only for the local children to quickly switch over to battle position, pulling out weapons made out of household materials.

"All right teenagers, hands where we can see them," a bald boy wearing a red shirt, khaki shorts, brown shoes and sunglasses ordered.

"Whoa, hold on there!" stated Odd. "We were just trying to help you out!"

"Yeah right, just tell that to that one cruddy teen that knocked us out," an Australian-accented kid with a bowled blonde cut, an orange hoodie, blue jeans and normal running shoes replied, aiming a make-shift rifle at the group.

"Unless you want to end up down at the bottom, I suggest you walk back and take a rock back down," a pudgy boy in an aviator hat and goggles, light-blue shirt and brown pants ordered.

"Will you five just hold on for a second," said Yumi. "We do have rights to go inside of this place and we know who you five are."

"Oh yeah, and what makes you so special?" a black girl with a blue shirt covering most of her body, white shoes, some accessories, and a red hat covering her eyes asked.

"Aelita has been kidnapped by Father and he is holding her inside of the factory," explained Jérémie, hoping this is their ticket in. "If we don't get inside of Hollow Bastion, who knows what Father is going to do?"

"Wait, are you talking about that one pink-haired girl that I occasionally hang out with?" a Japanese-looking girl wearing a long-sleeved girl that is also covering most of her body and black shoes.

"Hold on team," said the bald kid, ordering the others to lower their weapons. "Are you four the Lyoko Warriors?"

"Yes it us," replied Ulrich. "How could you forget who we are since we hang out here all the time?"

"Well, that masked kid really knocked us hard in the back of the head," the pudgy boy answered, "so our minds aren't really back to normal after waking up."

"There's also those three we haven't seen around here before," said the Australian. "They look like teenagers and I say we blast them."

"Not so fast Numbuh Four," the bald kid ordered. "Don't you see what he is holding in his hand there? That key-shaped weapon of his?"

"Isn't that a Keyblade we keep hearing about in school?" the black girl asked, scratching her head. "I thought those things were things of legends."

"They are unless you are chosen by one of those things," said the pudgy boy. "If that Keyblade has chosen him, then that means he is a hero from another world!"

"Oh cool, a real hero wielding a Keyblade!" the Japanese girl squealed, her eyes sparkling as she stares at Double D, making him feel unease.

"Well, I would like to apologize for me and for my team," said the bald kid, bowing before the rescue group. "To the new kids, I am Numbuh One of Sector V. The boy to my right is Numbuh Two…"

"How's it going," the pudgy boy replied, giving a friendly wave.

"And on his right is Numbuh Three…"

"Can you please tell me on how you got the Keyblade?" the girl asked, fangirling over Double D for bearing the very weapon.

"And to my left is Numbuh Four…" The Australian gives a firm nod to the group, "and finally Numbuh Five…"

"Please to meet you," the black girl responded, tipping her hat slightly. "So what brings you all the way up here, besides joining the Lyoko Warriors in rescuing Aelita?"

"Well it involves rescuing other people as well called the Pure Hearted," explained Double D. "These fine people are going to help us out by going ahead and shut the whole place down of X.A.N.A. so we don't get squished by his traps he laid out for us."

"That does seems to be a problem for you," said the bald boy named Numbuh One. "If it's anything to pay you back, we'll go ahead and take care of any Heartless that may get in your way, so that way your climb isn't that hard as it is already."

"Finally, a true break we have been searching for!" stated Eddy. "Not only are we not going to worry about being killed by a building, but also the less amount of Heartless we get to face!"

"We'll scout on ahead and get to work clearing any Heartless in our way," said Numbuh One, with the other operatives already taking the lead. "We'll meet up with you eventually, perhaps in the main labs, so be careful on any rogue Heartless or Father if you see him."

With his warning, Numbuh One takes off and joins his team as they head down the path leading towards the main entrance of Hollow Bastion. There are some small flare ups of Heartless where Sector V is but the kids took care of the Heartless as they got the doors open and enter the building. Jérémie and the other Lyoko Warriors begin to make their way towards the castle, but head in a different direction, as the computer boy explains that the Control Room and the Scanner Room is down below the castle.

"Oh, and I don't want to forget about this," said Double D, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the communicator he received back in Jump City. "Can you guys give us a call on this in case we need to get word on what's going on your end?"

Jérémie takes the communicator and he gives the device a few looks over to see if there is something he can do to tweak it. Upon finding what he is looking for, the boy quickly tweaks the Ed's device and hands the communicator back over in prime condition. "I've imputed my cell phone number and also a link from my computer if I need to contact you," he explained. "I'll give you a call when we deactivate the tower here and put X.A.N.A. to rest."

The smart Ed gives a firm nod to Jérémie as the boy takes off to catch up with his friend and take an elevator down to get to the scanners deep below the castle. The Ed pockets the communicator and his friends join him at his side as the three Eds take one good look of the exterior as they can now start their journey through the halls of Hollow Bastion. As they cross the bridge from the rock they are on over to the castle, a Heartless inside of a metallic body, two rods at its side and a ring floating around its bottom spots the boys from afar and lets out a ringing sound, stopping the Eds in their tracks as Heartless appear right before them.

"Ed, get that Heartless up there!" ordered Double D, pointing up to the metallic Heartless.

Ed twirls his staff and fires a long fireball right at the Heartless, knocking it down from the sky and burning it up despite its hard exterior. Several Heartless emerge in front of the Eds and Normadomus lets out a groan when two Heartless take shape. There is one Heartless that is a Large Body in gold and silver armor, two Heartless in full armor suits and wielding a sword bigger than them, a couple of Soldiers, one Darkball, and two large blue Heartless carrying very large shields with a demonic dog's face on them and each have a very thick arm.

"Great, first we have that Surveillance Robot ratting on us and now we got to deal with Defenders?" Normadomus complained. "Whoever made this kind of Heartless needs to be staked and lit on fire for creating such a pain in our exterior."

"Wow… just, wow," said the greedy Ed flatly.

"What? I dislike this kind of Heartless. Those shields of theirs are not only impossible to get rid of, but they make it hard to get around them. They're Large Bodies with a smarter brain."

"But what about that Large Body in the armor?" asked Double D.

"Oh that Large Armor… yeah all you need to do is aim for their head with whatever, but it's at best we knock it over if you want to deal the best damage."

"Then I got myself an idea," said Eddy, taking his shield and yo-yo out to prepare for that plan.

One of the Defenders takes its shield and prepares it to use a Fire spell from the shield's mouth. The Eds dodge the incoming fireball as Eddy dives behind the Heartless and prepares his yo-yo for his plan. The Darkball eyes the Ed and launches itself right at the boy, only to receive the cutting edge of the small Ed's shield. The other two Eds are busy distracting the other Heartless from Eddy with magic spells and the occasional Distraction to advert their attention away from the small Ed. The Heartless are strong and smart, but the Eds are doing their best to keep the Heartless busy from Eddy.

Once Eddy is done with his preparation, he takes the string of his yo-yo and pulls back far enough as he can pull. The other Defender turns around to find out what the small Ed is trying to do and it takes its shield to bite down on the string, but Eddy launches from his yo-yo. Taking his shield, he got to spinning himself around as a drill and he slams into the Large Armor, causing the large Heartless to trip and land on top of a Defender and other smaller Heartless. Now down on its bell, Double D charges in and uses his Keyblade to beat the Large Armor in the head, before delivering the final blow and causing the Heartless to disappear.

The only Heartless remaining is the other Defender and it calls for backup as two wizard-like Heartless emerges from thin air and prepare their staffs for battle. The Wizards casts a Blizzard and a Thunder spell, both spells missing the Eds, and Ed branches away from the others to focus on the Defender as Eddy and Double D take on the Wizards. The tall Ed charges up for a Thundara attack and unleash his powerful spell, but one Wizard swoops in and intercepts the attack, absorbing the damage and adding the power to its health. The small Ed wraps his yo-yo around the Wizard and draws the Heartless in, bringing the magic Heartless in to be cut by the Ed's shield.

Now down to two, Double D begins to think over a strategy into how they can beat these Heartless. He just learned that the Wizard cannot be harm by any magic spell, and the Defender has senses that will cover every part, even if there are two Eds covering the front and back. So deciding upon on one plan, he and Eddy prepare their weapons as Ed tries again at using Thundara to bring the Defender down. Both the small and smart Ed defeat the Wizard in one blow, and Ed unleashes his devastating lightning attack at the Defender, blowing the Heartless away from its shield and both beings disappear into thin air.

Finally clear of Heartless, the Eds look towards the two towering doors that make up the entrance. Since they know all they have been seeking for waits inside, the boys take off running for the entrance to begin the long and tedious climb up to Father and the Pure Hearted. Watching up from above, a Surveillance Robot keeps its eye peel on the Eds as the Heartless transfer all that its seeing to a room deep inside the castle. Within this room, Father is watching from every angle of Hollow Bastion, keeping his eyes on not only the Eds, but the Lyoko Warriors and Sector V.

"Well now, it appears that we have quite a party going on below," said Father. "It's just too bad that I didn't organize this little shindig. Zip-fly…"

"Yes Father?" the Nobody answered.

"Get Mask and have the two of you dispose our guests," the shadow man replied. "I don't want to have interruptions for the opening of the Door."

"Yes… Father."

OOO

While the outside of Hollow Bastion is a spectacle in of itself, the inside is another story. The castle shows its true nature of being another world inside of just this building, and this is just the foyer. With a large opening, several pipes serving as columns, chandelier made out copper plating and a stone layout, the first room is a feast for the eyes. Along with the beauty comes some decorations of plants and suits of armor line the walls, and paintings containing different people hang up for people to wonder their creations.

"Man, if this Father wasn't a bad guy, this place would be a sweet place to stay in," said Eddy.

"Indeed Eddy," replied Double D. "He surely keeps this place clean from dust with only Heartless and what he has remaining."

"Uh, are we done sightseeing?" asked Normadomus. "Don't we have a mission here, or are we going to be attacked by wandering Heartless?"

The three Eds snap back to normal as they remember what they came here for. The boys begin to wonder what they are going to do since they have nothing that will point them in the direction of their target, until they feel the doors behind them slam shut. The Ed boys look behind and watch the locks on the door seal themselves, noticing that the main gear bears X.A.N.A's mark and the computer program is now preventing not only the Eds from escaping, but Sector V as well. Just as the boys begin to start climbing, a familiar foe appears on the railing of the second floor.

"So, it looks like the castle has sealed us inside," said Mask, having his sword drawn and ready for combat. "It's such a shame really, since Father really wanted to tame X.A.N.A. and use it to help with unlocking the Door."

"Door?" echoed Eddy. "What, you mean this door?"

"No, the Door to Darkness. This is the very door that is guarding the path to the Realm of Darkness, where Kingdom Hearts lies. Father is hoping of using the Pure Hearted we have collected to unveil and unlock this door so we can pass through and enter the Realm of Darkness."

"That nonsense!" stated Ed's hat. "There haven't been any attempts by mankind of ever getting into the Realm of Darkness! Father doesn't know what he is trying to do!"

"Really? Well Father is using old blueprints designed by a former owner of this castle and has worked hard to create the portal. But sadly it has yet to work because he was missing the Pure Hearted and the Keyblade."

"But why is he working on this now when he knows he doesn't have my Keyblade?" stated Double D.

"He just wants to see if the machine will work," the masked teen replied. "If it works, then all he needs is the Keyblade to open the door and unlock the path. If it doesn't, then…"

"He's endangering lives here!" stated the hat. "Are you and Father willing to put people's lives on the line all for some fantasy that can never be achieved?"

"It's a risk that I'm not taking, but Father is. I don't like this as much as you, but I want this to go smoothly so I can get my love back."

The small Ed decides not to listen to any more of what Mask has to say and he chunks his shield at the teen, only for the teen to block the attack with his sword. Ed casts Fire at the masked teen, causing the teen to jump up from the railing and land on the same floor as the Eds. The three boys got themselves ready for the inevitable fight with their former friend as the teen masterfully swings his weapon around his body, missing cutting himself by inches as the room shakes from whatever X.A.N.A. is planning.

"Finally, after waiting for so long," said Mask, raising his katana up, "it's time that we decide who is the strongest among the four of us. It's either going to be the three of you, or lonely me."

Eddy's anger empowers him as he charges at Mask and takes the first blow, using the sharp edge of his shield to aid him, as Mask jumps back and watches a panel from the floor rises up and guts Eddy in the stomach. The small Ed is knocked back as the teen jumps onto the panel and watches Double D close in to help out in this fight. The two sword-wielders collide and the two begin dueling with their blades, each equally match as Eddy recovers from his fall and watches his friend take on Mask. There is no telling who is winning between Double D and Mask but the two warriors break up as armor busts aim in their directions and fire lasers from the visor.

Both Double D and Mask dive down in time as the lasers collide, quickly canceling out as both warriors got back on their feet and continue on dueling. Mask leads the smart Ed to the center of the foyer, where they are both open for any attack, and Ed takes his staff to knock the teen in the back of the head. When the masked teen turn around, a Wizard appears from above and casts Thunder down on the fighters, hitting only Mask as the teen shakes off his attack and Eddy destroying the Heartless.

Now feeling some danger in the room they are in, Mask takes off down the hallway on the first floor, prompting the Eds to give chase to him. They burst down the hallway after the traitor, only to walk into some of X.A.N.A's traps. With the four of them struggling to get around closing walls, opening floors, spikes and hot steam, the boys did their best to prevent getting any sort of damage. The run feels like an eternity but the four did eventually escape the trap-laden hallway into another large room of beauty and their exit shutting right behind them.

Mask twirls his katana around one time before locking the blade onto Ed's staff, who then starts to block every one of his attacks. Normadomus unzips his mouth and blasts an Aeroga at the teen, knocking him away from the Ed as the boy prepares to use his magic. However the floor begins to rumble and the setting begins to descend as the fighters check to find themselves on an elevator. Mask takes his katana and swings it at a distracted Ed, but his hat warns him of the incoming attack and blocks with his staff.

Shadows emerge from the floor and begin their assault on all four of the boys, not even taking into considering that Mask is working for Father. The Eds and Mask decide on destroying the attacking Heartless to get them out of the way, all while using a few of them to take each other out. Along with the Shadows are Soldiers, Large Armors, Defenders and the knight-like Heartless called Armored Knight, each one of them skillful enough to dodge most of the boys' attack and distract them from their real goal. But the Heartless have yet to prove themselves smart against X.A.N.A's tricks, which uses hidden pendulums and lifting panels to destroy the Heartless.

The elevator comes to a stop and several moving platforms are going all over the high room. Mask jumps onto one and leaves the Eds behind, and Eddy decides on using his yo-yo on flying Surveillance Robots and uses them to fling him over to where the traitor is. Ed and Double D take the moving platforms across like Mask but they can see that Eddy has caught up with their opponent and is about to throw his shield down… just as Mask steps out of the way and allows the small Ed to land on an unstable platform, making him go all of the way back to the first floor. The angry Ed flings his yo-yo and surprisingly grabs onto Mask's arm, which he then swings himself through the air and land on the platform the teen is on.

The small Ed takes his yo-yo and unwraps it from Mask's arm, reeling the toy all around the platform as the teen sneaks in to deliver his counterattack. Eddy prepares his shield and stops the katana before the blade can do any harm. The two begin to trade blows despite Eddy's weapon of choice, and the small Ed got a few hits in with his fists. Mask then forms a fist of his own and jabs Eddy into the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and the teen sweeps the Ed across the platforms to land farther away from the katana-wielding masked teen.

Just as Mask got himself settle, he felt the heat of an incoming Fire heading right for his back and he dodges the fireball by inches, watching part of his clothes singed as the fireball travels on to hit the far end of the room. Double D and Ed close in on their target and the smart Ed locks his Keyblade with the katana once again, getting both sword wielders the chance to duel once again. Ed is waiting for a perfect moment to strike, when an armored Heartless with wings silently flies up and knocks the boy on the back of the head.

More Heartless appear around the Eds and Mask, with new types appearing on this stage, as the floor beneath Double D, Ed and Mask. The three are sent falling down to the ground fall below, leaving Eddy up on the moving platforms and figuring out what to do. He takes his shield and dives down towards the others, spinning like a drill, and a few flying Heartless decide to give chase after the boys. Double D and Mask continue to brawl against each other s Ed and Eddy deal with the surrounding Heartless to prevent the dueling swordsmen from getting any more damage than needed.

There is strangely a large hole in the ground to which the boys fell down into and they continue to fall as they leave the room and head to the next. Hot steam bellows out of pipes to singe the boys, along with pipes breaking off, leaving the Eds and Mask to weave through these traps once again. The fall seem to be taking its time, as Double D begins to calculate about how long it will take for the Eds to reach the bottom of the rock the castle is sitting on and head towards the ground far below.

However and strangely, the end leads to outside of the castle and the four boys are flying out from the hallway and out into the open. Mask lands with grace, skidding across the tiled floor as he watches the Eds fly off towards the edge of the castle. Eddy takes his yo-yo and flings it towards Ed, using his weight to swing the boys back down to earth, as Double D grabs onto Eddy and joins the ride. All three Ed crash into the metal wall of the castle, grateful that they are not going to go falling to their doom, and they can hear the sounds of footsteps coming up from right behind.

Mask takes a swing at the Eds with his katana, missing the boys as they dodge out of the way. The blade makes contact with a pipe and slices it open, unleashing hot steam as the teen backs away from the hazard. The masked teen spins his weapon and swings around to strike the nearest Ed, Double D, and the two continue to fight as Eddy steps in to do some damage. Ed and Normadomus also step in to use their magic, alternating from White and Black Magic as their spells miss their intention target.

One Surveillance Robot rounds the castle and spies the battle taking place, sending out a signal for Heartless to approach the Eds. However, only one solitary Heartless swoops by and dives down into the fight with his talons reaching to grab a body. The boys stop their fighting to find a large flying Heartless close to the appearance of the Dustflier the Eds saw earlier, but the coloring is different shades of red for this Heartless. The creature lands onto a rail and turns around to look down at the fighters like a predator watches its prey.

The boys prepare their weapons, waiting for this Heartless to strike, and they can feel the strong presence emitting from this particular Heartless. Gusting wind to lift itself up, the Heartless takes off and bombs down at the boys, diving in head first to get at its prey. Eddy steps in front and blocks the flying creature with his shield, halting the Heartless to a stop as Double D and Mark take their weapons and start striking at the Heartless. Tiles pop up from the floor and two robotic claws emerge in the opening, and these claws latch onto the two swordsmen to stop them in their tracks.

The Heartless, which Normadomus points out to be a Wyvern, uses all of its strength to knock the small Ed down and it continues its flight as the Heartless reaches its peak and turns around to stare down at the fight. Eddy got back up on his feet and prepares his shield to throw, but he notices a circular shadow getting bigger at his feet. Ed's hat pushes the greedy Ed out of the way with a Gravity to prevent the boy from getting hurt by a fallen cannonball. Eddy looks up and around the castle's walls to seek out where the fire came from, only to spy several cannon-like Heartless up on the edge of the castle, aiming their barrels down at the battlefield.

Now finding their surroundings getting dangerous, Mask spots a path he can take and he flees before he can get hurt. The greedy Ed once again starts his chase after the traitor to get at him, follow by his friends so that they can keep up with him. The path the boys are taking is constructed with copper pipes and a few gears cranking on the sides. Some of the pipes rumble and leak out steam, while the gears are spinning faster as the boys got close to each one. Then there are the cannon Heartless each taking their turns raining cannonballs down on the Eds and Mask in hopes of doing some sort of damage.

Now officially tired of what is been going on, Mask reaches solid ground and prepares his katana ready to kill. He watches the Eds get onto the same ground, as well as the chasing Wyvern that wants to get at their hearts. Quickly telling the Eds about how to deal with the cannon Heartless and the Wyvern, the masked teen got to work dealing with the cannons as the Ed boys focus their attention on the flying Heartless. Now deciding on a temporary truce, the fighters break off to go fight their respective Heartless as the Wyvern gets itself ready for the fight.

With its torn wings ready to fly, the Wyvern soars up and performs a flip as the added speed aids the creature down to the field. Talons are ready to claw at the Eds and its beak ready to tear at anything that comes near, and the Eds wait patiently for the exact moment to strike. The Wyvern reaches its target but Eddy blocks the Heartless with his shield, skidding across the battlefield as his friends did their best to stop this Heartless. The Wyvern lifts its head up and knocks Eddy back with its talons, follow by sweeping Double D and Ed with its tail as the Heartless tries to gain the better advantage of this fight.

Mask is also having a hard time with the cannon Heartless hanging from far up on the castle's walls. With a large amount firing at once, the teen is having a hard time dodging their attacks while trying to find a way to knock their attacks back. His only option at the moment is to use his sword as a bat and knock the fire back, but each round that is fired are explosives and the teen is getting beaten up faster than expected. Mask takes a look over towards the Eds to find that they are having a hard time with the Wyvern, as the Heartless is clearly proving itself to be stronger than the Eds, but the boys are doing some damage to the Heartless than what Mask is doing.

"That is enough Mask," boomed the voice of Father.

The fighting comes to a stop as the Eds and Mask look around to find where the source of the voice came from. "You have done well to loosen these boys up," the shadow man continued, "so I'll be taking them off your hands. I do not require your services anymore for today…"

"I see," the masked teen muttered, sheathing his sword. He looks towards the boys in question, appearing to be concern for the three, but the mask he wears conceals his true feelings towards the Eds. The teen lets out a sigh and turns his back towards the Eds, allowing the wind to blow his coattails. "Just a warning to you three," he started, "Father is not going to be easy. Beware his fires."

The Ed boys can feel themselves being teleported away, since they are very familiar with this feeling before, and the boys disappear from the field to leave Mask alone with the Heartless. The Wyvern lands a few feet away from the teen and the boy looks up to find the cannon Heartless preparing to fire down on the teen. The Heartless wait in anticipation, watching their prey to make his move, as Mask keeps his hand near his katana in case he needs to draw his weapon. The Wyvern lifts up and charges towards Mask, prompting him to fight once again, and he takes off to continue fighting the Heartless.

Somewhere in the middle and high up in the castle, the Ed boys materialize inside of a spacious room decorated to an office appearance. The lights are dimmed, with only candles flickering on the walls as the boys wonder why they are teleported here in the first place. They then can hear the sound of clapping coming from the opposite end of the room, and a large office chair spins around to reveal the shadow man in charge of it all: Father.

"Well, well, well, it looks like the moment has finally arrived," said Father, getting up from his chair. "My, you three have grown since arriving in Traverse Town so many months ago. It seems like you three were just scared little boys but now here you are as men trying to stop me from pursuing any further into getting Kingdom Hearts."

"OK, why on earth are you acting so fatherly on us," Eddy asked, a little disturbed by this fact.

"Oh that? Well I am called Father for a reason. You really don't think that I can't behave like a father to all of the children in the universe?"

"Well, that is something that I like to see," muttered Double D.

"But I digress on that. The reason I brought you three up here in my personal study is so that I can personally dispose of you," said Father. "As you know, you came all of this way to free the Pure Hearted from their prisons and bring them back to their worlds, all while stopping me from getting the Door to Darkness open and going to find Kingdom Hearts. Well, that is going to change here…"

"What? Is it that we're going to kick your sorry behind and we get the Pure Hearted?" asked the greedy Ed.

"No!" barked Father, his hands flaring up. "I am going to burn you three, claim the Keyblade and open that portal!"

"I'll have you know that I know Water and I'm not afraid to use it!" stated Ed, aiming the tip of his staff at the shadow man.

"Uh, since when was the last time that we ever heard of that spell on this journey?" his hat whispered.

There is a roar coming from Father as he throws a fireball at the tall Ed, making the boy dodge the attack before he gets burn. "We're not playing any more games here," the man stated. "This here is the real deal and if you're going to behave like children, I'm not going to hold back on my disciplining! I also made sure to get a firewall going for this room so X.A.N.A. won't interfere with this fight, meaning there is no one that is going to save you three now."

"Seriously, who writes some of these lines?" the small Ed grumbled.

"I'm impressed how Father could create a firewall strong enough to block XANA out of this room," said Double D.

"The man has a history saying he created a machine that transformed five children into perfect little kids, permanently brainwashing them," said Normadomus. "If he is capable of doing that, then perhaps stopping a computer program capable of controlling an entire castle and make a gateway to the Realm of Darkness is not out of his league. He is truly a threat looking out for."

Father charges up the fire in his hands to get them bigger and he then proceeds to throw the fireballs, tossing them at the Eds to get the fight started. The three boys dodge out of the way to prevent getting burn by the fire, and they notice the furniture being dropped down into the floor, as Father does not want to burn his furniture and also to draw the Eds out into the open. Ed wants to use his own Fire spell on the shadow man, but he could counter that attack or absorb the flames, so he goes for his Shadara in hopes of blinding the man.

While being distracted by the shadow attack, Eddy got close to Father and prepares his shield to cut. Father notices the small Ed closing in and the man flares his entire body up, causing the Ed to back off from the intense heat and to block a stream of fire aiming right at him. Jumping towards the side, Eddy notices his shield is on fire and he takes advantage of that by tossing it at Father, who only then catches the shield with his hands. Eddy is in awe by how he can stop the shield as the shadow man absorbs the flames onto his suit and tosses the shield back at the Ed.

Double D is next up to attack, and he prepares his Keyblade to use his frozen Blizzard spell. Creating a large crystal of ice before the shadow, the smart Ed waits for his spell to build up in pressure that will inflict damage to Father, but the man takes his fiery hands and starts melting the ice. Father uses all of his fire to melt the Blizzard spell down, but he does not suspect the building pressure inside, which is then release and knocking the man towards closest wall. The flames covering the power suit slowly begin to die, which now gives the Eds the chance to close in and deal some damage.

However Father peels off of the wall and flares up once again, covering himself in flames as he gathers more fire to fight. The man prepares several fireballs in his hands and tosses a whole slew at the Eds, leaving a small margin of error for the boys to dodge. Double D closes in to use his Keyblade on Father in hopes of preventing him from using any more fire attacks, but the heat is intense so he cuts his time short. Father raises an arm to allow a fire wall to block the three Eds, and Money Maker comes swinging around to knock Father down, bringing the wall of fire down.

Finally getting a hit in, Eddy grabs his boomeranging shield and watches Ed charge up a Thundara to rain down onto Father. The shadow man creates a shield to block the incoming lightning attack, all while keeping his eyes on the Eds to see what their next move is. Ed twirls his staff in a fancy way and lets another Shadara go flying, which hits Father and causes him to lower his flames and leave the man vulnerable. Double D charges in and prepares his Keyblade for another attack, but the shadow man grabs onto the shaft of the weapon and throws Double D across the room.

Ed catches his flying friend and places him back down on his feet, leaving Eddy free to attack Father. The man of fire creates some flames and launches a fiery stream at the small Ed, pushing him away from the recovering man. Eddy is using his shield to protect him from the hot stream once again, his fingers getting hot from carrying a heating piece of metal, and the Ed really wants to throw his fiery shield without having Father absorbing the flames back into his suit and using them to repeat the cycle.

Double D and Ed come charging up with their weapons ready to strike, with Ed's hat blasting Blizzaga from his mouth to freeze Father. Father's movement is slowing down slightly, but the flames kept him warm to prevent freezing all of his movements. This slowed moment allows Double D to make contact with his Keyblade and finally deliver an attack to Father, knocking him back as Ed casts Thundara and shocks the shadow man. Eddy takes his shield and throws it at Father, getting a second hit in for the Ed as they watch Father stagger from their attacks.

The shadow raises his arms across his chest and unleashes a shockwave of power, rocketing past the Eds and scooting the boys across the floor. Fire dances wildly around Father's body as fiery wings begin to form out of his back. Father begins to float up into the air and the flames continue to dance as the shadow man powers up for future attacks. Now mad, Father creates larger fireballs in his hands and throws them down on the Eds, causing puddles of fire to remain where the fireballs hit. The boys swiftly dodge each of Father's attack, only to notice that they are losing less to move.

Normadomus spins around on Ed's head and blows a long stream of Blizzaga to chill the fires surrounding the Eds. Eddy prepares his shield and tosses it right at Father, but the man dodges to allow the shield to hit the wall behind him. The fiery shadow flaps his wings and sends down a heat wave to heat the boys up, before diving down on the Eds. Fire rain down on the boys in quick succession, making the three dodge falling fireballs as Father circles around and repeats the process again.

"Geez Louise, this guy is nuts," grunted Eddy. "Is there anything we can use against this mad man?"

"Well my Blizzaga is doing something," Normadomus replied, "but only to a certain extent. With that much fire he's producing, he's going to turn my attack into mist."

"Wait, that just gave me an idea," said the smart Ed, getting his weapon ready.

Quickly referencing his plan to the others, the Ed boys dodge an incoming stream of fire coming from Father. Ed's hat opens his mouth wide to allow the range of his attack to make sure his ice breath will hit the flaming shadow man, and the two Thunder-carrying Eds charge up their electrical attacks. Father gathers a large amount of flames and shoots the stream down at the Eds, and Normadomus unleashes his Blizzaga once again, halting the flames in mid-flight and starts a trade-of-power between the two elemental powers. The shadow man is proving to be the stronger one of the two wizards, but the hat is giving everything he has got to prevent the boys from frying.

Just as Double D predicted and Normadomus stated, there is some mist forming from the intense heat of the fire and the melting ice. However, there is very little mist to use but there is some that will help the Eds. Taking their fully charged Thunder attacks, Ed and Double D unleash their spells at the point of impact to add their lightning to the mix. With the moisture in the air, the electricity jumps around before bounding right for Father and zapping him to his fullest. The Eds cheer as they land yet another successful attack, but their celebration is cut short when a large fire wall forms just inches near the boys.

All three Eds jump back in fear as the wall dies down into smaller flames and Father is still flying in the air, only now he is appearing angrier than before. Two flaming rings appear around the man's hands and he launches more attacks at the Eds, creating fiery columns to get his revenge on the boys. With the columns appearing at random and at a fast rate, the boys are having a hard time reacting to when and where Father is going to attack, proving that this man wants to put the Ed boys out of their misery.

"This is insane!" stated Double D. "If Father keeps this situation up, we're going to be turned into roasted Ed in minutes!"

"I rather be flambéed!" cried Ed.

"Well you're the smart one Double D," growled Eddy, "so think of something!"

The medium Ed begins to think over a plan that will help them turn the favors onto them, as the Eds continue to dodge Father's fiery attacks. At that point, Father decides to skip throwing fireballs from his hands and steps his attack up from spitting fire from his mouth, expanding his body to support his attack. A heavy stream of fire bellows out from the shadow man's stomach pours down onto the panicking Eds, anxiously trying to flee from the battle, when Double D remembers that he has summoning charms on him and he takes out the one with the blue orb in the red gem.

From his hand, the summoning charm reaches up high to the ceiling as a cry from the charm rings out. The cry is for water and droplets, follow by streams, gush out from the charm and out at the fiery mouth of Father. The water snakes around the charm to form a bubble big enough to cover a small child, and the charm lowers itself to the ground. On the water sphere, the nine dotted square appears on the surface and a shadow of boy appears from within the water sphere as a glowing light shines on the boy.

Then the water bursts from an implosion, sending puddles of water to douse the flames surrounding the Eds and coat Father. The shadow man drops to the ground, wet and steaming from losing his fire, and the shadow from inside the water sphere lands gracefully with a water ring circling around the boy. He is a lot shorter than the Ed boys, appearing to be younger than them, but he appears to be a rather experienced fighter for a person of his stature. His entire being comprises as a monk's attire, wearing a red kimono, black pants, monk shoes, and the complexion of a Chinese warrior. The boy's head is shaved clean, but the Eds know that the nine dotted square was not on the charm for nothing, as the pattern is briefly glowing on his forehead before disappearing.

The summoned boy rises up from the pose he was doing and turns to face his summoner, cupping his hands in his sleeves as he bows before the Eds. "Greetings, strangely-dressed warriors," the boy spoke. "My name is Omi, a Xioalin Dragon Warrior, and I am thankful to be at your side for whatever battle you are participating in."

"Uh… you're welcome," Double D responded nervously, "but now is not a good time to be thanking us."

"Yeah, because that guy behind you is really ticked off right now," added the small Ed, "so if you really want to help us, you may want to use some of that water magic on him."

The boy that calls himself Omi turns around to notice Father gathering up some strength to ignite himself again, before turning back to the Eds. "I will have you know that my Xioalin training does not involve magic. I use the water around me and use it to my natural element."

"Yeah, yeah, just help us defeat this guy before we get crisped," Eddy grumbled.

The Xioalin monk spins around on his feet and got himself into a fighting pose, watching the shadow man getting his fire back up as Father creates a fire column to strike the Eds. Omi takes water from his body and splashes the column, dousing the flames to leave only mist and hot steam. Father's anger begins to build, along with his flames, and the four boys prepare to strike as well. Father takes one arm and unleashes a dragon-like fire attack from his arm, shooting the large amount of flames straight at the boys, and Omi counters that with a water dragon of his own.

With the two elementals busy trading attacks, this gives the Eds the ample opportunity to go in and deal some damage to Father. However, he is keeping his eyes on the three and raises a few fire traps to prevent the Eds from getting any closer. Omi prepares a water shield for the Eds, allowing the three to go around the fires and not get burn, and Father uses every trick that he knows to bring that shield down. After using flames of different strengths, the water shield drops into a puddle and the Eds close in to deliver their attacks.

Father briefly moves away from attacking Omi to use a powerful fire attack and Eddy steps in to use his shield to block the intense flames. During this encounter, the monk steps in and calls for water, getting enough of the liquid to douse Father's attack. The shadow man uses his other hand to attack Omi, but the boy protects himself in a water sphere, as the man fails to recognize the Keyblade coming at his head. The strong blow knocks Father back a few feet, causing his flames to die down as well, and Eddy and Ed start throwing attacks to increase damage.

"… ENOUGH!" roared Father, erupting in flames and sending a powerful heat and shockwave at the boys. "I had it up to here with you four and now I put you in your place! I'm getting that Keyblade, even if it means tearing it out of your cold, dead hands!"

"Oh man, he's officially pissed off," Eddy stated nervously. "Now what are we going to do?"

"We need to come up with an attack that will not only douse that fire but will finally put an end to this fight," said Double D very fast, "and quick!"

"How about that one Limit Break of yours?" asked Ed casually.

"Ed, that Limit Break requires Father to perform a deadly attack and there's no way that I could get close to landing a hit if he is exerting that extreme of a temperature."

"If I may make a suggestion," said Omi, also very casually, "perhaps I can create some armor out of water. That way, you should be protected from the fire user and you can get close enough to beat him with your key sword."

The smart Ed thinks over the idea in his head and sees the possibility working. There is a chance of getting his clothes wet, a chore Double D does not want to do after a battle, but he can worry about that for another time. "How long can you keep this armor up while you are performing other moves?" the Ed asked.

"Only for a brief time," the monk replied. "I can perform other moves to help you do whatever you are planning, but for how long that I am not certain of."

"It is just as long for me to get in, perform my Keyblade's Limit Break, and put an end to this fight," said Double D, raising his Keyblade and waits for a spark.

"Well can't we get this over with?" stated Eddy, blocking incoming fireballs with his shield. "I think my shield is melting from these fireballs!"

The Eds can see that Father is preparing to use a powerful fire attack that will be Double D's ticket of turning this fight around. Omi gathers enough water from out of the air and on the floor to create a suit of armor to protect Double D, and the Ed takes off towards Father to deliver his final attack. Eddy, Ed and Omi stayed behind to use their attacks to provoke Father and the shadow man got his attack stronger before unleashing it from his body and onto Double D. A spark appears on the shaft of the Keyblade, telling the Ed that this is the moment, and he swings his weapon at just the right moment of the fiery attack closing in on him.

As soon the flames engulf the Ed, the explosion happens once again and the flames ricochets right back at Father, hitting him along with a strong shockwave. The blast kicks the man all of the way into the back end of the room, smashing him into the stone wall and causing the man to burst into flames. The Eds are a bit worry for not only Double D's safety, but also if they really kill Father from that attack, but they notice the smart Ed is standing boldly from where the fire attack struck and also no signs of the shadow man on the other end. There is no certain that Father did survive that attack, but the Eds can call this a victory for them.

"All right, we beat Father!" Eddy proclaimed. "Now then we need to do is go find the Pure Hearted and get out of this place!"

"But how are we going to get out of here?" asked Ed. "I thought we're locked in here forever!"

"Ed, Father didn't lock us in here," Double D answered comfortingly. "But I don't see any doors that will lead us out of here."

"Well, it appears that my duties here are done," said Omi. "Once again I am grateful for be fighting at your sides, especially finding out about being at the side of a Keyblade master. Now then, I must return to whence I came and resume my training."

The bald boy gives a friendly bow to the Eds, and the boys return the gesture to the monk. Water begins to surround Omi as he disappears into the sphere and vanishes before the Eds' eyes. Now alone once again, the Eds notice the furniture returning to their original position, making the room look untouched by the battle, except for the burn and stained marks left by Father and Omi. There are doors appearing from the walls, meaning that there is a way to get out, but the doors bear X.A.N.A's mark on them and the Eds fail to get the doors open.

"So now what?" the greedy Ed asked.

Just after his question, the lights inside of the study switch off, leaving the boys stranded in the room without any power and light. "Great… just great," Eddy mumbled.

---

Limit Break(s) introduced:

Joker's Trump – An uber-powerful counterattack from the Keyblade that requires Joker's Wild to be the current Keyblade. Only activates whenever a very powerful, or fatal, attack is intercepted for the attack to work, which causes double the damage.

OOO

In short, it's the Reversal in the Kingdom Heart's universe.

Yeah, this is just only the beginning of the Hollow Bastion chapters and I already got two big bads out of the way. Now that Father has been sent packing and X.A.N.A. out of commission for a while (we all know he'll come back to plague everything once again), that just leaves… Mask, Zip-fly and the Destroyer of Light. Now why on earth and I'm still calling the Destroyer by that and not his real name? … Probably to save his name for later or for something else. I don't know, I can't figure out a way to save it.

Now like I said plenty of times before, this story isn't your typical Kingdom Hearts revision, as I have not only brought in several different elements to the story, I also decided upon making the level a true threat to the Eds. Why? Because not everything that I have to do needs to stick with the status quo, and plus it makes things a little more exciting. Having a castle that practically runs on steam appears to have running parts all over its walls, so why not? If X.A.N.A. can control any machines and any humans, then controlling a steampunk castle is not a problem for the program. Now if only Aperture Sciences can make a functional portal gun that is water resistance and prevent boiler explosions…

Of course along with the traps I have put in here, there are the Heartless who are experiencing some AI boosting. Now we have experienced some faulty AI in our gaming times (with some being equal to having a typical stupid cartoon character playing with your), but then there's the AI the programmers decide upon making things more challenging when we get deeper into a game. Since we have reach that point, the Heartless lose their typical mook status and step things up as making them tough adversaries that can think more for themselves. For the record, I'm only saying this because there will be some changes by the time we get to the end of this story.

You know, I completely forgotten that I was going to use Omi back in Stormalong Harbor, but it has slipped my mind and how here he is in this chapter. I made sure that I was going to use all of the summoning charms before the final fight, and now's a good time to use one of them. It made sense to use Omi's element back in Stormalong, but having him fight alongside the Eds against Father… that also makes sense in its own way.

Oh, and I'll guarantee you that we'll be seeing more of the Man in Shadows in the future. It may not be within this story, but I can assure you he will be making a comeback.

So once again I like for you to review, thank you very much. Of course the next chapter is continuing on from here, but who knows what is going to happen next?