Hello, everyone! Lilith here!

Here we are: Hollow Bastion. I'm making the first visit a two-parter, mostly to conserve on how damn long this would take to get through.

With that out of the way - I am still reaching out to anyone who can help me provide a little timeline of Chain of Memories so that I can chart out how to approach the next part of the series. If anyone can chronicle the rundown as to the pacing between Sora and Riku's adventure through he castle, then I'd love to hear it, thanks.

TheFoolishDreamer: I am glad you're happy to hear from me again. And I am very pleased that you like Shantotto being involved in my fic.

GradGirl2010: Nice to hear from you after my unintentional hiatus. I approve the idea of making it a single story, but I have other plans as to who's going with whom. I hate to be a killjoy, but I'm gonna have Luna stick with Sora. But I do intend to have someone else help Riku through his hell in the basement...

So, without further ado, enjoy!

I own nothing of KIngdom Hearts except my OCs.

Read, leave me a review, but don't flame me.

Chapter 16: Hollow Bastion, part 1

Thanks to the modifications made by Cid, the gummi ship was able to navigate through the rougher portions of the roads until they finally reached a world that was not like anything they've ever seen in their life. Though, the same couldn't be said for Luna and Medea since they have a few memories of a place that was once so beautiful, but now…

It was hard enough just to find a spot of ground to land on without falling into the massive abyss stretching across the area. There were numerous rocky platforms floating over an otherwise bottomless abyss with the large waterfalls doing nothing to cover the fact that one wrong move could mean no return for the potential victims, a few bearing very few traces of tiles, broken and indiscernible as to their origin. From a distance, it was possible to make a run-down, partially crumbling castle with several towers stretching out from the center, several pipes and mechanical cranes barging out of the walls in various places; from afar, it was hard to tell whether or not there was steam protruding from the holes of the castle and the pipes, hopefully nothing too hazardous. However, the symbol of the Heartless can easily be spotted like a sore thumb, a clear sign that the creatures were undoubtedly spawning from that location the most.

Sora couldn't help looking over there with curiosity. "I know this place…"

"Hmm, that's strange," Goofy admitted.

"How so?" Medea asked, emerging from Luna's shadow to inspect the land.

"I wonder why…I feel this warmth inside, right here," Sora wondered, putting his hand to his chest.

"Aw, you're just hungry," Donald said.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Sora insisted.

"I doubt it," Medea deadpanned, "considering how we already ate before we even landed in this creepy place."

Luna couldn't help focusing on the castle straight ahead. "That castle…I think I've been there before. But…I don't remember when I've been in there. But I remember how it was once so beautiful. What happened to it…?"

A faint roaring echoed off from a distance, making everyone jump a bit from being startled at the sudden sound. It also caused their guest travelers, Calca and Brina, to continually jump anxiously and point towards the direction of the animalistic noise far up ahead.

Luna turned to them and asked, "Do you recognize that sound?"

Calca turned and nodded his head 'yes' while still pointing out ahead, and Brina proceeded to twirl excitedly like she and her partner had been longing to find what they've sought after being separated for too long.

"Then that means it must be one of their owners, like Larsa described," Sora suggested. "If that's the case, we're on the right track."

"Then we should let Calca and Brina lead the way," Luna agreed, "They seem to know the voice better than we do, and it could mean one of their owners is here, in this world."

Trekking across the stone platforms was no easy task, of course, especially since some of them were capable of moving like faulty elevators; but thanks to the dolls leading the way up there – as well as a little assistance from Brina's white magic, they were able to close in on the entrance path to the castle leagues ahead of them – only to find that Riku is there, and not far down is a great, hulking beast of unknown animalistic origins…and the situation was rather tense, from the looks of it.

"No vessel, no help from the Heartless…" Riku directed this curiosity towards the creature. "So tell me, how'd you get here?"

The Beast growled a bit before he answered, "I simply believed. Nothing more to it. When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again, no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her. So, here I am. She must be here. I will have her back!"

After hearing this, the dolls began bouncing worriedly as Sora and Luna noticed that Riku gave a small smirk to the Beast, not caring about what the intruder had to say about it.

"Take her if you can," Riku goaded him mockingly.

Angered at that remark, the Beast roared furiously and charged towards Riku with the intent of attacking him for his insolence. However, he was able to summon a peculiar weapon that looked like a bat wing, and avoided the creature's lunge like it was not a problem to him; then, with just one swing of his sword, the Beast was struck down, forced to do naught but fall to his knees from weakness after the blow given to him.

Not liking where it was going, Sora and Luna rushed out to the front to stop him while Calca and Brina turned towards their master to hurry to his aid before things got worse.

"Stop!" Sora cried out.

"Don't kill him!" Luna pleaded, "Leave him alone!"

Riku turned toward them. "So, you finally made it. About time. I've been waiting for you two." He turned to Sora, the bitterness slipping out. "We've always been rivals, haven't we? You've always pushed me as I've always pushed you."

"Riku…" Sora was confused.

"What do you mean by that?" Luna questioned.

"But it all ends here. There can't be two Keyblade masters," Riku continued on.

"What are you talking about?" Sora demanded to know.

Riku extended his hand out. "Let the Keyblade…choose its true master."

Then, without a word of warning, the keyblade in Sora's hands suddenly jerked intensely in his hand like a magnet was pulling against it. Both teens were shocked to see this, but Luna could only watch helplessly as Sora struggled to keep hold of it until it abruptly disappeared from his hands and magically reappeared into Riku's hands. Everyone, including Donald and Goofy, and even Medea were utterly horrified to witness what had happened before their eyes.

"What the hell is this?!" the guardian demanded, confounded at the sight.

Riku looked on at the keyblade in his grasp. "Maleficent was right. You don't have what it takes to save Kairi, or to protect Luna for that matter. It's up to me. Only the Keyblade master can open the secret door…and change the world."

Luna was at a loss for words at that moment; she had trouble comprehending what she was seeing. How could Riku do something like that? Was there something about the keyblade that she missed any knowledge of years ago? If that is so, then why was this happening to her right now? Sora should be capable of using it, so why did Riku usurp it so easily?

Sora was in a similar position to her on that. "But that's impossible. How did this happen? I'm the one who fought my way here with the keyblade, with Luna's help along the way!"

Riku scoffed at him. "You were just the delivery boy. Sorry, your part's over now." He pulled out a toy sword and threw it at Sora's feet. "Here, go play hero with this."

If the mockery Sora was experiencing at his old friend-turned-enemy's hand and Luna's inability to know how to handle the problem wasn't bad enough, it only got worse when Donald started to walk away from them with his eye on the blade.

"Goofy, let's go. We have to remember the mission," he said.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the vicinity, Medea started to feel her seething anger rapidly start to boil over at the perceived betrayal…

Goofy, however, began to hesitate. "Oh! Well, I know the king told us to follow the key and all…" But he faltered when he turned toward the trembling Luna. "But…Donald…We can't leave her alone. We'd make Luna cry if we abandon her…"

Riku noticed Goofy's hesitation on leaving Luna behind – as well as Donald's shock at his friend's unwillingness to abandon a familiar face – and opted to use this to his advantage; perhaps this time, she might be convinced to come along with him. Besides, what could Sora do for her now?

"You don't need to rely on him anymore, Luna," Riku said to her as he started to approach. "You've made it this far, I'll give you that, all for Kairi's sake. Now you know Sora's holding you back, don't you? Let me take care of you from now on. We can still save Kairi, together. You're her last chance to help restore her heart." He extended a hand out to her. "C'mon, Luna. You want to help, right? We can find what you've lost, if that'll convince you enough."

Despite the temptation of going along with Riku – especially since she knows that Goofy doesn't want to lose his friendship with her – and saving Kairi, Luna found her paralyzed both physically and mentally. She wanted to save Kairi, and she wanted to help find King Mickey since he's the only one who can add in answers to the gap in her memory. But…still, something in Riku's words just didn't sit right with her. How could she possibly abandon Sora, who has been through so much with her and had done everything in his power to support her throughout their adventures? How could she leave behind someone who promised to take care of her until they found their friends?

Luna's ability to speak was choked by her inability to respond properly. "But I… How could…? I can't just…"

But before anyone could speak to her, Medea suddenly moved in front of Luna, her fists clenched painfully tight. It was pretty clear that she could no longer contain the explosive fury over the twist of fate and the backstabbing acts of the allies they've had throughout their journey up until this point. But none of them were prepared for her wrath to bombard them…

"Just who in the hell do you think you are, bossing Luna around and treating your friend like dirt under your shoes?! I don't know what sick perversions that witch was able to prick inside your thick skull, but you are NOT proving yourself to be a trustworthy person if you got involved with a monster who only aims for power!" Medea snapped loudly and harshly. "Luna worked her ass off trying to stop you from making stupid mistakes, and this is how you repay her! You try to harass her and bully her into abandoning someone who actually tried to help her through the crap thrown their way! That is not how a real friend treats those they care about, and certainly not you!" She then turned to Donald and pointed an accusing finger at him. "AND YOU! I always knew that you were such a selfish duck! You, who have been so obsessed over finding your damn king that you will willingly and deliberately ignore the ideas given to you, and refuse to allow Sora and Luna their one chance to save a friend before it got any worse! Do you have ANY idea what kind of crap Luna's been through that made her the girl she is now? DO YOU?! You wouldn't have known because you didn't give a damn about her at all! If you are so hell-bent on finding your bloody king, then go ahead! Throw yourself into a volcano to find him for all I care, because YOU ARE NO FRIEND OF MINE!"

Angry that another chance had been lost to him, Riku turned in a huff and walked away to the castle, not wasting any time to turn back. Shocked and upset by the outburst, Donald turned away and hurried off to follow Riku; nobody noticed that he was actually hurt by the harsh words unleashed by Medea's unrestrained rage. Goofy hesitated only for a moment when he saw Luna collapse to the ground, weeping in lamentation over the loss and betrayal of those she hoped would be able to help her and Sora, before slowly and reluctantly following behind Donald towards the castle.

But unbeknownst to them, though, not long after they've gone, Medea's outrage rapidly shifted into horror and shame for the words she had spilled out and the damage she caused with it. Unable to handle the pain weighing on her heart, she immediately retreated into her master's shadow, not wanting to humiliate herself before everyone.

Sora, too, would've been unable to move on if he hadn't noticed the Beast slowly moving forward towards the castle with Calca and Brina following behind him, frantically trying to convince him to stop pushing himself. When he did collapse, he quickly moved in to help in any way he can.

"Hey, don't move. You're hurt," Sora ordered sternly. "You're making the dolls worry."

The Beast turned to him. "Why…Why did you come here? I came…to fight for Belle. And though I am on my own, I will fight. I won't leave without her. That's why I'm here."

Calca turned to Sora, as though he were questioning whether Sora and Luna would still be willing to help them even after what had happened. Sora looked at Calca's desperate look in his eyes, then to Brina as she used her healing magic to mend the Beast's wounds to the best of her ability.

He could see how determined the dolls are on finding their beloved owners, knowing the dangers that lay ahead of them. Interestingly, their determination and the Beast's strong will to find his princess inspired him to get back up and keep pushing forward to his goals.

Now he just needed to help another get back up…

Sora turned to Luna, and gently touched her shoulder, causing her to look up at him with a confused look on her face. He could tell she wanted to know what they're going to do now that they're on their own, with only the dolls and the Beast nearby.

"Let's keep going, Luna. We've come this far," he said to her, "We're not gonna give up now. We came here to find someone important to us."

She rubbed the tears from her cheeks. "Will we be able to get Riku back? And Kairi, too?"

Sora smiled confidently. "We will, Luna. I promised we would, didn't I?"

Luna nodded as she took Sora's hand and stood up alongside him. Seeing him doing his best to keep going after the hellish event gave her enough strength to want to keep fighting her way through as well.

"But Sora, how will you be able to fight back?" she asked in concern, "I'm the only person who has a remote chance to repel the Heartless with my Shadow Hands. You're only able to use magic at this point."

"Don't worry about it. I'll just hang back while you take the fight directly," Sora reassured her. "I can heal you, at the very least."

Luna knew that he was right about that; even though he doesn't have the keyblade to aid him against the Heartless, he's not that completely defenseless. After all, he might as well make use of what Shantotto and Merlin was able to teach him back in Traverse Town. And with the Beast and the dolls by their side, the three can make up for what they lack at this point.

"So, Calca and Brina survived as well?"

When the Beast asked that question, Luna couldn't help turning to him in confusion. Though, she did have the feeling that, after they had arrived at Hollow Bastion, he must've been surprised to find the dolls alive and well (if one could call it that). Perhaps he thought he was the only one who escaped the destruction of his world besides this Belle he mentioned?

"It would be apparently so, considering how they searched Traverse Town for you," Luna replied, "They did say they have two owners they were separated from. One was a lovely lady, and the other was…well…a friend of mine had trouble describing what you were like."

The Beast let out a bitter chuckle. "I should've known. I thought they were lost, too."

The journey to infiltrate the castle was no easy task in it of itself; besides the more ruthless Heartless that sometimes wouldn't let up, the insides of the castle were no cakewalk to navigate either. But thankfully, Sora was smart enough to know to stay in the back and used his magic with great efficiency against some of them with Calca providing the extra firepower with his array of spells at his call and Brina used her healing and defensive magic to ensure the party's survival; the Beast and Luna, on the other hand, made up the brawn of the team since Luna has the physical offense with her Shadow Hands and the Beast was a powerhouse with his claws and his brute strength when it came to the tougher Heartless that came their way.

But there was something else only Sora noticed that even Luna was not aware of…

"Hey, Luna. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Medea," Sora noticed when he looked around the area. "Where is she?"

Luna looked to her shadow. "Medea…? Are you okay?"

Medea peeked her head out slightly. "Huh…? Uh…yeah, I… Um, actually…I need some time to…think, if you don't mind."

She was rather perplexed to hear her guardian hesitate in talking, but she accepted her choice. "If you need a moment, Medea, you can wait. We'll be alright for a little while."

"Yeah…sure," she replied weakly before she vanished.

It was rather strange for Luna to hear her guardian faltering in her speech, more so because she didn't see her after the heated confrontation with Riku and the events that followed. Did she miss something? Maybe something was bothering her, and she wasn't paying enough attention to notice this?

.

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.

.

After a lot of trouble navigating through the waterways and breaching through the gates, the party reached a huge hallway with two staircases leading to a single door looming topside and a couple doors to either side; a chandelier shimmered above them in the midst of the dismal, gloomy room surrounding them.

As they stepped inside, Luna and Sora couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very off about the location. They couldn't put their finger to it, but the vibe was there, warning them of danger somewhere within the room.

"Be on your guard," the Beast warned, "They're close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?"

Both of them nodded tensely in agreement as the dolls cautiously crouched beside them, ready for anything. But for a moment, though, they could've sworn that they heard something coming their direction, forcing them to turn around to see who is there…

"Belle!"

At the Beast's word, they spotted a woman in a yellow dress standing there, causing the dolls to react in surprise at the sight. But then things quickly turned south when the woman fizzled into a dark aura and changed into that of a Heartless. Enraged at the deceit, the Beast bellowed in fury and lunged forward towards the fiend that dared to impersonate the only person he wanted to find most. Calca and Brina frantically tried to stop him and chase after him, but to no avail when the doors automatically slammed shut right in front of them, unable to give pursuit.

"No…! After how far they've come…" Luna gasped in horror.

"Quit while you can."

Sora and Luna turned around to find Riku in the hall with them, Donald and Goofy nearby him, helpless to the encounter.

"No. Not without Kairi," Sora refused.

"The darkness will destroy you," Riku insisted bitterly.

Sora shook his head. "You're wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!"

"Indeed, that is true. It only shows how much you don't know," Luna agreed, "I've seen what happens when others fell victim to its corruption, and the consequences that followed. You're about to fall into the same trap!"

He didn't seem convinced in the slightest. "Really…Well, we'll just see about that!"

With no warning in advance, Riku fired off a shadowy ball of fire right at Sora and Luna, about to strike them. Sora moved to try and keep Luna out of harm's way, but then – quite unexpectedly – the sound of metal clashing against fire caught their ears, and found that Goofy used his shield to protect them from the blast.

"Sora and Luna ain't gonna go nowhere!" he protested.

"You'd betray your king?" Riku questioned.

"Not on your life! But I'm not gonna betray Sora and Luna either, 'cause they've become two of my best buddies after all we've been through together," Goofy insisted. "See ya later, Donald. Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?"

Donald, shocked at being left behind, wouldn't have that. "Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together." In an instant, he ran over to their side. "Well, you know…all for one and one for all."

"Guess you're stuck with us, you two," Goofy agreed with a chuckle.

Sora almost felt like crying happiness there. "Thanks a lot…Donald, Goofy."

"I almost feared that…I'd be alone again," Luna agreed, trying not to cry.

"How will you fight without a weapon?" Riku interrogated, killing the mood.

Sora shook his head. "I know now I don't need the keyblade. I've got a better weapon: my heart."

Luna could hear him scoff in disbelief. "Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?"

"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience," Sora replied earnestly, "and it's found a home with all the friends I made. I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then and if they don't forget about me…then our hearts will be as one." He moved into a battle stance. "I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!"

At that moment, a miracle happened: when Riku least expected it, the keyblade magically disappeared from his hand, and it reformed back into Sora's hands. That was proof on whose heart is much stronger form that point on. From behind them, the dolls cheered in excitement over the turning tides; even Luna knew that this meant Sora has grown so much throughout their adventures.

Knowing that a fight is about to commence, she readied her Shadow Hands and stood alongside Sora, now more determined than ever to stop her friend's downfall more than ever; but not without making one last attempt to avert another mistake…

"Riku! This is your last chance!" Luna warned, "Stop fighting against us, or learn the consequences of ignoring us the hard way…"

"After all you've been through, and everything I told you?" Riku was not amused about it. "You still insist on warning me? I thought you'd know better, Luna, but I guess you still have a lot to learn."

Sora turned to the dolls standing behind them. "Calca, Brina, you'd better stay back. We'll handle Riku on our own. He might hurt you if you guys intervene."

Calca and Brina nodded in agreement, and hurried away to hide behind one of the columns for safety.

Needless to say, fighting Riku was no walk in the park for them, even though they've got Donald and Goofy back on the team with them. Neither Sora nor Luna had any clue how much combat he got into after being separated from them for so long, but it's clear to them that he is not pulling any punches on them; no, he is not holding back this time around.

"When did Riku get so strong like that?" Donald asked in frustration.

Sora shook his head. "I don't know. He's normally not this rough. But we've gotta do something before he does anything worse!"

Even Luna noticed how much tougher he's gotten because she sometimes struggled to keep him from getting too close to strike, especially when Sora's not close by to back her up. It made her wonder if he's gotten more savvy to how her Shadow Hands operate than she first thought, or if Maleficent gave him pointers as to how her power works from previous experience.

"Stop it, Riku! You don't know what you're doing!" Luna demanded, trying to push his attack away from her.

"What would you know?" Riku retorted. "You've never even tried to do anything drastic when backed into a corner. What gives you the right to judge me?"

Just when it looked like Luna was about to be left open for punishment, Sora tackled his old friend and forced him to regroup before switching targets.

"Knock it off! We never even knew what happened to her all those years ago, so why are you judging her?" Sora called him out.

With Sora diverting Riku's attention on him, Luna felt she was left with no other option but to exact her punishment on him for not listening to her in the first place. She didn't want to be cruel to him, but after everything she's seen, she felt she had no choice. With a wave of her hands, a swirling vortex formed below her feet and a swarm of Shadow Hands emerged around her, ready to move at any given moment.

"You made me do this…" Luna hissed, anger and regret oozing from her voice. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't stop!"

At the flick of her wrist, the Shadow Hands swiftly thrusted towards Riku's position, snatching him off his feet with no warning. He did put more effort into escaping their grasp, but Luna's continuous flicking of her hands caused more of them to come together and merge into one giant hand; and then, with one powerful swing, the giant hand threw him against the wall, knocking him hard enough to leave a dent deep enough to leave cracks where he had crashed back-first.

However, despite their victory over Riku, their teamed efforts were not able to knock any senses back into him. Instead of spitting more retorts or taking a cheap shot, though, he instead ran away from them, frustrated at his defeat, and disappeared to parts unknown. Luna turned to Sora, uncertain as to why he would not relent after everything that happened; but the most he could do right now was give her an uncertain shrug.

Not long after Riku left, the Beast returned to the hall – probably having just recently noticed what transpired upon his return.

"So, your heart won this battle," he said.

Calca and Brina, seeing that the fight is over, ran over to their master in relief. It was actually amusing to see the two dolls both fussing over their owner happily as well as scolding him for recklessly running off on them at the worst opportunity; but really, it was just their way of showing concern.

"There's still Riku we have to worry about. Not to mention, Maleficent is in this castle," Sora said, "We have to keep going if we want to stop her."

"You're right about that. Though…" Luna agreed, but worried about what's to come. "It makes me afraid. We're losing him, and I don't want to think of…"

"Don't worry, Luna. We're not going to let that happen on our account," Sora promised her, "If we have to, we'll just beat some sense into him again until he finally understands."

That simmered her fears down slightly. "If you say so…"

"Then let's go! We gotta stop Maleficent!" Donald announced.

"Uh, hold up a second, Donald. I don't see Medea with us," Goofy interrupted. "Don't you think we oughta let her know we're sticking with Sora and Luna from now on?"

That was when it hit Donald like a brick; he remembered how he instigated leaving Sora and Luna because of Riku possessing the keyblade and how he wanted to keep his focus on the mission. Just recalling Medea's harsh words made his stomach sink when he realized how much damage he had done before her outburst. He thought it would be best to try and talk to her, and attempt to reconcile with an apology for his mistakes. If she could, at the very least, pretend to listen to him, then he wouldn't mind it if her anger would cool down if that feeling is still lingering on her.

Shyly, Donald approached Luna's shadow and asked, "Medea?"

Slowly, Medea's head peeped out enough to show her eyes, half-glowering and half-willing to listen.

The duck sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, Medea. You were right. I was being such a selfish duck. I was so focused on finding the king and following the 'key' that he talked about in his message, I nearly completely forgot about what was going on around me here and now. Even after I was told about what happened to Luna and how she came to be with Sora, I still didn't fully understand how much she needed support after losing two of her closest friends, and I squandered it!" He paused. "If you're still angry with me after all I did, I'm not gonna force you to tell me. I just want you to know that I made a big mistake, and I regretted it after you – rather harshly, I tell you – yelled at me about it. Can you ever forgive me?"

No response came out at first. But then, Medea came out of her shadow halfway, a feeling of being moved and shocked crossing her face after hearing such an emotional confession. Apparently, she didn't expect Donald of all things to have the courage to come forward and actually ask her to accept his apology after admitting what he did wrong.

"You serious about that?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I mean it!" Donald insisted. "I shouldn't have done that."

It was a lot for the Shadow Guardian to take in, but she was actually impressed. "Well, at least you were honest. You caught me off-guard with it." She paused a moment. "That said, maybe I'd better come clean myself: I was a hell of an idiot myself. Right from the very moment our paths crossed, I was not too trusting of you or Goofy when you explained your reasons for joining us in the first place. I got used to being around Goofy, especially since he put more heart into helping Sora and Luna, and he understood what dilemma they were in. But you – I had a lot of problems with you, to the point where I just wanted to kill you sometimes. No joke. But when you decided to just follow Riku merely because he stole to damn keyblade form Sora, who had it in his possession from the very start of our journey, and adding in the fact that you were willing to backstab my master when she needed help most, I was so furious that I practically went off like a bomb! I just let my anger cloud my conscience and I lashed out in the worst way possible!" She stopped to collect herself. "I'll be frank, and confess that I regretted what I said after you guys left…"

"So…you forgive me?" the duck asked hopefully.

Medea gave him a smirk. "Let's see, now that our idiocy is mutual, I'm willing to take that apology. Besides, you confessed, I confessed, I'd say we're both square." But then she gave him a stern look. "But you gotta promise that you will never backstab us for any stupid reason ever again, got it?!"

Donald gave a salute. "You bet I won't!"

With the fracture in their friendship repaired and their disagreements resolved, they were finally ready to fight their way through the corridors of the castle so that they can confront Maleficent and stop her plans for good.

However, there was one thing that kept bothering Luna as they started to make their way in: even though the feeling was faint, she couldn't shake off the embers of a sinister aura lurking somewhere within the walls of Hollow Bastion. She was having trouble locating Riku's aura while another was flickering from afar, making her fear the worst for him. Is it possible that he already…

"What's wrong, Luna?" Medea asked her.

"Medea…something's wrong. I can't clearly trace Riku within the castle," Luna replied with unease. "Can you scout ahead, and please find him? I need to know what happened to him."

Her guardian could tell that her master was growing worried, dreading what she feared from the beginning. She knew there are still matters with Riku that needed to be resolved, and after all the hell he put Luna through, Medea knew that she loathed losing him like she already did with her brother and her surrogate family in the past.

"Sure thing, Luna. If I find anything, I'll let ya know," she agreed cautiously.

Splitting herself from the rest of the party, Medea flew off ahead of them through a hole in the castle wall while everyone else worked to make their ascent up the towers and track down Maleficent.

From a high vantage point, Medea scoured the entire vicinity of the castle, trying to pinpoint Riku's location so as to ascertain where he might've wandered off to. She always knew that he was becoming quite a problem ever since getting involved with the witch and listening to her lies; but the unsettling aura she was sensing was nowhere near as bone-chilling as the witch, no. There was something…different about it, not to mention vaguely familiar about it…

She shook her thoughts off for a moment, deciding that she should try and find Maleficent; if she found the witch, chances are Riku is not too far behind her. Focusing her keen eyes, she was able to trace the sorceress's presence and followed it from behind the shadows until she found herself inside a chamber she had never seen in her life. From different angles, she spotted six young ladies kept behind some form of crystalline prison, seemingly asleep. Quietly and discreetly blending fully into the dark shadows of the chamber, she slowly slithered her way along the walls until she spotted an enormous Heartless emblem towering over a control panel and a small platform leading downstairs to where the women were being held prisoner. Maleficent was there, no question about it, and Riku was there, too, along with Kairi's lifeless body. But, true to Luna's fears, there was something…off about him.

"So, I see the path has emerged at last," Riku noted, his voice eerily distorted.

"Yes. The Keyhole to the darkness," Maleficent replied with wicked glee.

"Unlock it and the Heartless will overrun this world."

'No way in hell!' Medea thought angrily.

The witch scoffed at him. "What do I care? The darkness holds no power over me. Rather, I will use its power to rule all worlds."

Riku smirked. "Such confidence."

Medea got a surprise when she watched as a flash of dark energy formed into a keyblade that she had never seen before. It was a black and red color, and its structure looked rather intimidating to look at. But what she wanted to know was what that thing is used for, and for that matter, where it came from.

But then she noticed that Maleficent's mood changed from proud to frustrated when she discovered that her plans have not been completed, and only the witch herself had suspicion as to why…

"Impossible! The Princesses of Heart are all here!" she cursed, "It must be her."

Medea looked over to where the witch was directing her gaze, towards the still form of Kairi. That was when Medea remembered how she and Luna had learned that her heart was immensely pure, like the other princesses they had met all those years ago. This made her dread the notion that Maleficent has figured it out.

Riku shook his head in displeasure. "Without her heart, she will never be able to release her power."

'What the hell does that mean?' Medea wondered, 'Why would Kairi be needed for something as atrocious as this?'

But then, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard from a distance, a warning to the enemy that Sora and the others were coming closer. It was only a matter of time before they found the place where the princesses are held…unless if Maleficent had any say about that.

"The king's fools are here," the witch cursed as she turned to leave. "I will deal with them myself. Stay here, and guard the princesses."

Medea watched carefully as the witch took her leave to confront her opponents directly. That meant they will be facing her soon enough, and Sora's gonna need all the help he can get, especially from Luna because she knows the witch a bit more than he does. If that's the case, she'd better hurry up and rendezvous with everyone else and warn them ahead of time.

But just as she was starting to make her leave as quickly as possible, she suddenly noticed an uncanny blue aura glow around Riku just as he caught on that he wasn't alone in the room as he thought he was.

"I know you were listening, Guardian. Why don't you come out?" he taunted her, "Or are you planning on spilling the intel on your comrades? Either way, you'll be punished for snooping soon enough."

Not wanting to stick around and get herself killed just yet, Medea quickly retreated from the chamber and took off out of there to find her allies before they met up with Maleficent. She had to warn them about what's wrong with Riku, or else there'll be hell to pay if Luna encounters him ahead of time. Though, she can't shake off the feeling that they'll be seeing him one way or another, and that the conflicts are about to get a lot uglier once the cat's out of the bag.

"I gotta let them know we're in trouble," she huffed impatiently, "I gotta warn them about Kairi and Riku, or else our whole efforts to save the worlds is gonna get screwed over!"