Chapter 12: Hollow Bastion, part 3

InuYasha stood in front of the Keyhole portal, which was still overflowing with Darkness.

"What is this?!" he asked. "Is this world going to be engulfed like our world was…?"

Then, InuYasha was just able to make out the body of Galaxia disappearing into the portal.

"InuYasha!"

The dog-boy whirled around, only to have Kagome engulf him in a hug.

"Kagome…!" said InuYasha.

"The Darkness is raging deep inside!" said Kagome. The other five Heroes of Heart were behind her. "We've held it out for this long, but we can't hold it forever! We need to seal the Keyhole!"

"But…" said InuYasha. "The Keybearer is no longer…"

"No longer what?"

Everyone turned, only to see Abby, Ed, Double D, and Mick enter the room.

"I'm right here!" said Abby, who was at the front of the little group. "And I'm the only one who can stop this!"

"Abby!" said Mac. He and Kiyo ran up to the psychic girl.

"Hurry up and close that thing!" said Kiyo. "There's no telling how much longer this world can take this kind of pressure!"

However, before Abby could react, something emerged from the portal. Something big.

"Look!" said Mac. "It's a giant Heartless!"

"Uh oh!" said Ed. He, Double D, and Abby were poised to fight, when…

"SAILOR PLANET ATTACK!"

Then, a giant beam from behind everyone slammed into the Heartless. And just like that, it was gone.

Everyone looked behind them. Standing there was Sailor Moon, the Inner Senshi, Sailor Chibi-Moon, and Tuxedo Kamen.

"Abby, seal the Keyhole!" Sailor Moon called out.

"Oh!" said Abby. She turned around and aimed the Keyblade at the giant Keyhole. This time, the usual beam shot out of the Keyblade, straight at the Keyhole, which closed with a click.

"You did it, Abby!" said Sailor Moon, running up to the psychic girl and hugging her.

Abby grinned. "Well, I certainly didn't do it alone," she said. "But…how did you guys get here?"

"Back on Traverse Town, Sailor Mercury made a ship in her spare time," said Sailor Chibi-Moon. "We used it to get here."

"This…is where we lived before the Heartless attacked," said Sailor Moon. "Long ago, when this world was attacked by Darkness, it was thought by everyone that the philosopher Galaxia died to protect everyone from the battle of the Heartless."

Tuxedo Kamen, who was holding a stack of papers, stepped forward. "But in actuality, Galaxia was the one who created the Heartless," he said. "We found the remaining parts of Galaxia's reports. We didn't realize her true identity because we only had part of it before." He handed the papers to Abby. "During her research of the Heartless, Galaxia ended up losing her heart and her body to Darkness."

"That's why she took Galleria's body," said Abby. "Where's Galaxia now?"

"The Abyss of Darkness lies beyond the worlds," said Sailor Mars.

"And that Darkness is enough to overpower the worlds," said Sailor Mercury.

"Enough to completely swallow them all up!" said Sailor Venus.

"Anyway, that's probably where Galaxia is," said Sailor Jupiter.

"All right!" said Abby. She turned to Double D and Ed. "I'm gonna go beat Galaxia and all the Heartless at once! Then everything will return to the way it's supposed to be!"

"Yay for us!" said Ed.

But when Abby turned back to the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen, they all looked sad.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked.

"Somebody tell her," said Sailor Mars.

"Aw, do we have to?!" said Sailor Venus. "It's too sad!"

"Once the worlds are restored, they'll all be separated again," said Tuxedo Kamen. "And everyone will return to where they came from."

"Wait…" said Abby. "So…we'll never be able to see each other again?"

"Even the Gummi Ship might not do the trick," said Sailor Moon. "But…even if we never see each other again, we'll never forget each other."

"That's right," said Sailor Chibi-Moon. "Our hearts will always be connected!"

Abby paused. Then she smiled. "Yeah, you're right," she said. "Then…I guess we're going. Goodbye, everyone…"

Suddenly, Mick walked up to Abby. "Good luck," he said, patting the psychic girl on the shoulder.

But Abby was confused. "Mick…what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" asked Mick.

"You're not going to insist that you come with us?" Abby asked.

"Why would I do that?" asked Mick. "This isn't my battle." He gave one of his warm-hearted smiles. "Besides, just 'cause I won't be with you, it doesn't mean I can't help. Besides…all we had to do was think of you, and you came back, right?"

Abby paused again, suddenly lost in thought. "Well…now that you mention it…" she said. "When I became a Heartless, I was completely engulfed in Darkness. And as I fell, I began to forget. Who I was, who my friends were…I almost became succumbed to it. But then…" Abby looked up. "I heard voices. Yours, Gallerias, all my new friends'…you guys brought me back." She turned to Ed and Double D. "You all did."

"There, you see?" asked Mick. "It's like you've been saying: as long as we think of each other, our hearts will always be connected." Then, he placed something in Abby's hand.

Abby looked at the object. It was five petal-shaped seashells woven together in the shape of a star. On one of the shells was a drawing of Mick's face.

"See?" Mick asked. "It's a lucky charm I made. Be sure to find Galleria, so you can both bring it back to me!" His smile then became soft. "Abby, we knew it was you even after you became a Heartless. Just remember: no matter where you go, we'll always be with you. All of us."

Abby was surprised by what Mick said. But then, she gave a wide smile, too.

"Okay," she said. "I'll bring back Galleria and save everyone! I promise!"

A/N: Well, five hours and one cramped hand later…the Hollow Bastion chapter is complete! Only one last world to go! Until then, happy reading! ;)-AMX