Reviving Hollow Bastion

Yuffie set the supplies down as she saw Cid sitting against the wall with a cup of tea, watching the sunset. "C'mon, we've still got a lot more work to do." Cid Highwind turned to her as she sat next to him.

"Don't be givin' me that, I've done more work than all y'all." They both gave a little laugh. It was also true. Cid probably did more than any of them, especially since they couldn't find Cloud. Something caught Cid's eye, Yuffie looking out to see what it was. Two ships flew towards the castle.

"Leon's back!" She tripped over the supplies as she ran to greet them on the ground level. Cid helped her up, and they continued.

Yuffie and Cid met up with everyone else in the postern as Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Leon arrived. Yuffie practically jumped Sora. "You're back!" Sora squirmed, trying to escape the crushing grip.

"Yeah." he responded as he was released. Sora met up with Cid, who gave him a slap on the back.

"Good to see ya in one piece." Sora nodded as he recovered from the recent brutalities. A tall woman in black came up as Sora got balance back.

"Name's Tifa. Nice to meet you." She extended a hand and Sora cringed. Finally, he reached out to shake it. Tifa pulled her hand back and punched him in the arm. "That's for flinching."

"Why the brutality!" Sora cried out. Aerith gave him a soft hug, which felt good compared to recent injuries.

"It's so good to see you're safe." Leon walked into the group, interrupting.

"It's good to see each other, but we have to finish business first."

"Oh yeah, the Keyhole." Sora said some good-byes and went with Leon to the portal to the heart of Hollow Bastion. When they stepped through the double doors, a man in a long red jacket was waiting in front of the stairs. Sora approached him. "Name's Sora."

"Vincent." He nodded as Leon walked by and the three of them continued to the portal at the top. When Sora reached the top, the scene from around a year ago unfolded in his mind. Kairi lay in the center of the platform, as Riku introduced himself as Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. Chills ran down his spine as he saw the battle and the release of the princess' hearts in his head.

"Sora." Sora snapped out of it, Leon squatting down to eye level. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Sora waved it off, focusing on what they were doing now. Vincent began fiddling with nearby machines while explaining the problems with the portal.

"There have been fluctuations in the portal itself, resulting in lightning strikes from the tower outside. No one's been injured yet, but we can't take that risk. The last time this happened…" There was silence. Everyone knew what happened.

"We lost Hollow Bastion." Leon finished. Sora looked at the warping portal, watching the small bolts of electricity that shot at the walls.

"Okay, so we just seal the Keyhole again, right?"

"It won't be that simple." Leon turned to the portal. "The heart's under attack. We'll also have to deal with whatever the Heartless brought with them." He turned back to Vincent, who finished messing with the terminal. The portal began solidifying more as the fluctuations started to disappear.

"We should be able to go in now." Vincent pulled out a gun, loading a number of bullets into it. "If we're going to do anything, this is the time."

"Then we're going in." Leon led them into the maelstrom.