Hello, everyone! Lilith here.
I apologize if this chapter is shorter than the last, and that I didn't put a lot of details into certain places, but I didn't see a point in writing a big paragraph over a Heartless that can be easily beatable.
All the same, I hope you'll still find this a good chapter. Without further ado, enjoy!
To guest reviewer Gry20: You hoped for a reunion between Luna and the two princesses she met. It may not be a long affair to write home about, but I hope you'll love it all the same. :)
I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts except my OCs.
Read, leave me a review, but flames are unacceptable.
Chapter 19: Saving Hollow Bastion
When they returned to Hollow Bastion, they found that the Heartless activity seemed to be at a standstill between uncontrollably rampant and barely minimal. Not only that, but they found the Beast as well as Calca keeping the Heartless at bay until they arrived at the entrance. Oddly, Brina was not around to aid her partner; where could she be stationed at, if not helping her master or her fellow automaton?
"Calca, where's Brina?" Luna asked the doll.
Calca turned and pointed towards the castle, indicating that his partner is inside; perhaps she is safeguarding the princesses still inside the halls to her best efforts.
Sora noticed that their ally was not with his princess. "Where's Belle?"
"Still in the castle," Beast replied.
"Against her will?" Goofy wondered, given the situation.
The Beast shook his head. "No, I think she stayed for a reason. The other princesses are inside as well."
Donald got curious. "I wonder why?"
"Probably because of those blasted Heartless still leaking out of that damn keyhole," Medea bluntly answered.
"Let's go ask them," Sora suggested, ready to head inside.
"We should. They might have more awareness as to what's going on," Luna agreed.
"Then you'll need my strength," Beast warned them, "and Calca's magic. We'll go with you."
Where Luna's concerned, the Beast was not joking around in that department; considering how dangerous the castle has gotten, even with Sora's keyblade in tow, the monsters would still be a threat without extra hands on board at this point.
In fact, just getting through the corridors leading back to where the seven princesses are waiting for them was no cakewalk in itself; Heartless roamed around and swarmed in larger numbers than ever, and they had to stay on their toes on a constant basis in order to reach the chamber where the keyhole is and finish the job. But thanks in part to the Beast's brute strength and Calca's black magic providing additional supplements to the tougher legions trying to impede them; it was possible to proceed a little further with each step through the desolate hallways of the abandoned castle.
But after all the trouble it took them, they finally reached the chamber that Maleficent had originally used to take the fight against them and found five of the seven princesses gathered together; added bonus, Brina was with them, keeping an eye out for any Heartless attempting to creep in until she spotted Calca coming with additional allies to finish cleaning up the mess in the castle. Needless to say, she was quite happy to see her partner again.
"I guess Brina was protecting the princesses while Calca's away," Donald guessed.
"That explains why all the ladies are gathered nearby her," Medea commented, "I wouldn't be surprised if her white magic kept the Heartless from intruding on them under her watch."
Luna didn't have any words to spill when she examined the princesses, and could identify the two she had met personally all those years ago, and the third whom she had barely heard of when she ventured around the worlds. She felt like choking up at the nostalgia, but now was not the time to reminisce about the bygone days of her childish years: they have to close the keyhole. She'll worry about it once things have settled down.
"Hey, Luna, did you know a few of the princesses?" Sora asked her, making sure she's okay.
She nodded slowly. "I did…way back when. I would like to stay and talk, but…I'm afraid it'll have to wait, at least until we've sealed the keyhole."
"Don't worry. We'll let you have a moment when we're done, if you'd like," Goofy offered.
"Then we'd better find out what's the situation and clean up the mess, like right now," Medea pressed them.
Luck was on their side, of course, thanks in part to two of the kidnapped maidens – Alice and Jasmine, from their encounters before their kidnapping – recognizing them before the witch took them away.
"Sora and Luna! How curious to see you both again under these troubling circumstances," Alice admitted in surprise.
"Yeah, considering how we all got into this," Sora agreed, though he failed to see how curious their circumstances are.
"Sora, Luna, please hurry! Darkness is pouring from the Keyhole," Jasmine urged them with worry tinging in her tone.
"I guess it's gotten worse after we left," Luna speculated, "Despite your pure hearts, you can only do so much."
Alice had to agree on it. "It's all we can do just to hold back the darkness."
"I don't know how long we can manage even that," another princess, Snow White, agreed.
Sora nodded. "Alright, we're on our way."
But then Medea had another thought on her mind. "Makes me wonder where the hell that Ansem creep disappeared to after we'd left."
"We'll worry about that later, after we've sealed the keyhole," Donald didn't want to dawdle for another minute.
Any other concerns had to wait because there's still the Heartless to deal with, that was something Sora and Luna had to agree on; anything regarding Ansem could also be questioned later, since they have yet to understand what his deal is with threatening the safety of the worlds all those years. Maybe the answers can be found after Hollow Bastion is saved from being swallowed by the darkness.
Not wasting any more time, the party made their way back to the chamber where the Keyhole is still overflowing with the impending darkness. But just reaching the keyhole itself was no easy task because the Heartless were more prominent in numbers, trying to prevent them from finishing the job.
"This is it, Luna. Let's get this keyhole locked up for good this time!" Sora said as he readied his keyblade.
"I sense something sinister inside," Luna noted nervously, "Something…enormous. We'd better be careful."
"If Luna says something big is in there, then that's means something worse is trying to get loose," Medea agreed as she readied her claws.
"Right!" Donald had to agree with her.
Charging straight into the insignia, the party found themselves facing a gigantic, beastly Heartless that looked like a cross between an elephant and a bull, except more monstrous and intimidating than most Heartless they've seen so far.
"No wonder Luna got worried! That bugger's practically a behemoth compared to the other pests we've had to deal with!" Medea exclaimed.
"We've beaten other giants," Sora reminded her logically, "so we should be able to handle another giant monster."
Interestingly, Sora was partially correct about his assumptions, considering how they fought against other giant Heartless in some of the worlds and – one way or another – have found a reasonable solution to overcome those titanic beings that endangered whoever got caught in the middle of the crossfire (if there were any residents that did experience that). But with the case of this new monster, they still had to be very careful about confronting it head on.
Sora and Medea rushed ahead to confront the behemoth directly as the main aggressors while Donald and Luna hung back and bombarded the creature with every magic spell they could throw at it as Goofy stayed near their vicinity just to be sure that neither of them would be hit by the brunt of the enormous tusks swinging around the area.
Within a decent amount of time, they were able to successfully defeat the behemoth with little trouble, allowing them to finish the job without any further interference.
"Well, that bugger was cakewalk compared to the hijacker," Medea commented sarcastically.
"Now let's go and seal that big keyhole!" Goofy said.
"Sora, Luna, you did it."
Luna and Sora, recognizing the voice, turned and hurried out to find Leon and the others had arrived at Hollow Bastion.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sora asked in confusion.
Yuffie chuckled a bit at such a silly question. "We came in Cid's ship."
"This is our childhood home," Aerith explained. "We wanted to see it again."
Leon looked around at the state of the chamber. "It's in worse shape than I feared. It used to be peaceful…"
"Oh, we would certainly know better than you, little cub," Shantotto huffed haughtily, "Or am I to assume you forgot that I am one of the more knowledgeable residents of this place, bub?"
"All due respect, Professor, the other citizens didn't reside in the castle as we once did," Larsa reminded her cautiously.
"Don't worry. If we defeat Ansem, all should be restored," Aerith reassured everyone. She turned to Sora and Luna. "Including your island."
That gave Sora some hope. "Really?"
"That would be a relief," Luna agreed.
"But, it also means goodbye," Yuffie added sadly.
"I don't like where this is going…" Medea admitted.
"Indeed. Once the worlds are restored, they'll be separate again," Seymour replied, shaking his head in displeasure.
"And everyone will go back to where they came from," Zidane added.
It was clear Sora didn't like the idea. "Then we'll visit you guys with the gummi ship."
Leon shook his head. "It's not so simple."
"Before all this, you didn't know about the other worlds, right?" Yuffie pointed out.
"Sora certainly didn't. But I did, to an extent, years ago," Luna replied, speaking more from experience.
"Right. Because every world was isolated," Aerith agreed with her, "Impassable walls divided them."
"The Heartless destroyed those walls," Yuffie added, "But if the worlds return, so will the walls."
"Which means gummi ships will be useless," Leon finished the confession.
Sora was very disappointed. "Then that means we'll…?"
"Damn. What a way to make things sappy," Medea sighed. "You'd think we've had enough killjoys for one day."
But then, Leon put a hand on Sora and Luna's heads in reassurance. "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other."
Aerith smiled softly. "No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again."
"Besides, I couldn't forget you two even if I wanted to," Yuffie confessed.
Sora raised a brow at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I think she meant that she can't bring herself to forget the times we had when we met them," Luna clarified.
But then their friends interrupted the mood with their problem still up and running.
"Sora!"
"Hurry! Come and close the Keyhole!" Goofy called out from the platform.
"Oh, yeah, we forgot about that," Medea deadpanned.
Luna turned to Sora. "You do what you have to, Sora. Once you're done, I'll check the place, just like before."
Sora nodded in agreement, and hurried ahead to finish the job once and for all. Hurrying to where the Keyhole still resided, he raised his keyblade and, with a flash of light, used its power and locked the Keyhole, this time successfully preventing the darkness from overflowing out of the castle. Luna used her power to check within the area, and was pleased to find that the dark presence was no longer suffocating inside the walls of the castle.
"That should do it," Luna said as she finished examinations. "That can give us a moment to catch our breath before we head out again."
"But before we do that, we still have a few other things to attend to," Donald reminded them.
"Oh, yeah, we need to know where Ansem went," Sora agreed, remembering there was something left out. "And also…" He turned to Luna. "I think you deserve a chance to catch with some people you knew. We can wait for you until you're ready."
At first, Luna had no idea what he was talking about…until she realized that Sora had some level of awareness that she knew a few of the princesses that were taken to Hollow Bastion. Perhaps he wanted her to have a chance to reunite with them before they left to search for Ansem. Then again, Sora and the others might want to acquire more information as to where the villain had disappeared to after the Keyhole was unlocked; any information they can get would help them prepare for their confrontation against him, wherever he might be regrouping himself.
"Okay…Thank you, Sora," Luna said as she wiped a tear away. "I'll be seeing you guys later, then."
"No sweat, boys. I'll just stay with her until you call," Medea assured them nonchalantly.
In the library, Sora and the boys found Aerith examining the bookshelves with Seymour and Larsa while Gabranth stayed nearby to keep an eye out; most likely they were searching for more information on the Ansem character in the hopes of finding answers on the reason for the Heartless invasion in the first place. Just as he was about to ask what they found, Seymour noticed him coming and turned to face him.
"Ah, Sora, you came at a good time," he said calmly, "I was hoping we could ask if you had found any of Ansem's reports while you were travelling."
That helped the boy remember the reports he collected. "Oh, yeah, we did find some of them. We even had them translated by Cid while we were crossing the roads. Why do you ask?"
"We found several more reports written by Ansem," Aerith replied as she handed him the rest of the reports to examine. "Maleficent must have collected them so she could learn how to control the Heartless."
"I wouldn't be surprised if the witch figured out how to do so," Larsa confessed, "considering how much trouble she caused after this world was invaded by the Heartless nine years ago."
"Then how does Ansem fit in all this?" Donald wondered.
"Well, Ansem disappeared when this world fell to darkness," Aerith remembered, as painful as it was to think about it. "It was believed he died defending people from the Heartless. But Ansem was the one who brought them here."
Oh, was Sora horrified to hear this. "Ansem was the reason the Heartless caused this much destruction?! Then, if that's the case, he might be the reason Luna was mentally sick years ago. Am I right?"
Strangely, while Aerith had no idea how to answer Sora's wild theory, Seymour and Larsa fell abruptly silent with barely hidden unease crossing their faces; Gabranth merely turned away, not too keen on giving an answer to the questions the boy might have.
"Actually…I don't think we've heard from Luna what she remembers," Seymour confessed hesitantly, "She might not have an idea whether she knows him prior to her memory gap."
"What good will it do the boy now?" Gabranth suddenly spoke curtly. "That man is still a problem that needs to be dealt with, and if nothing is done, Hollow Bastion will no doubt be attacked again in full force."
"That is an unfortunate truth;" Larsa agreed reluctantly, "You and Luna should prioritize the pursuit of Ansem first, and put a stop to his schemes against the worlds."
"Yup, we still got a job to do," Goofy agreed, "and we still haven't found the king yet. And Sora and Luna want to find Riku, too."
Sora made to agree with Goofy, but was interrupted when he felt a tug on his pants and looked down to notice that Calca was trying to get his attention. The boyish doll started to eagerly tug at the hem, leading him and pointing towards the upstairs where Sora noticed that the Beast and Belle were having a heartwarming reunion with Brina watching happily from the sidelines. Apparently, Calca wanted him to have a word with them before they left anywhere, especially after how much help they put in to reunite both dolls with their owners since their official meeting in Traverse Town.
"Do you want us to talk to your owners?" Sora asked. Calca gave an excited nod, confirming what he thought. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then."
With an enthusiastic Calca leading along, Sora had to follow him up the stairs with Donald and Goofy following close behind him. Their arrival caught Brina's attention as she gently tugged at the skirt of her princess's dress and gestured her owners to Sora.
Now that he got to meet Belle personally, Sora could tell how much the dolls treasure her as one of their trusted owners besides the Beast. When Larsa explained their situation before leaving for Hollow Bastion, he had no idea what to expect after hearing about their request to help them search for their master and princess; but now that he got to see both of them together, he could see why they were willing to join the fight if it helped them find what they were looking for all this time.
"Hello there. You must be Sora," Belle said politely. "Calca and Brina told me about you and your friends. I'm grateful that you were willing to help them find us."
"It's no problem," Sora replied casually, "It was Luna's decision that we take them with us to this place. They really wanted help, and she couldn't say no to their pleas. They were worried about you and Beast after they ended up in Traverse Town."
Calca and Brina made cutesy, innocent gestures like they were implying something along the lines of 'Oh, it's a long story' to their owners.
"It makes me wonder how they escaped being lost to the darkness," Donald admitted, thinking back on first meeting them.
"Maybe it's like what we heard about the Beast," Goofy guessed, "Even though they lost their world, they didn't lose their hearts. But they found themselves in Traverse Town like other refugees, unlike their owners."
It's a bit of a stretch, but that would explain how the dolls got separated from the Beast after their home world was destroyed by the Heartless. But at least it helped them assist the two in finding Beast and Belle, and it brought them back together again.
"Where is your friend?" Beast asked, upon noticing Luna's not with them.
"She's with the princesses at the moment," Sora answered, "We just thought we'd give her a moment alone. Though, we might have to get going pretty soon and locate Ansem."
"That's right. We need to know where he went after the Keyhole was unlocked," Donald added.
Belle shook her head. "He's gone. When the keyhole appeared, darkness came out of it. It swallowed Ansem, and he disappeared."
That explained it. Given his obsession over such a dangerous force, it shouldn't be too surprising to know that he would allow himself to be swallowed by the force that he seemed to relish so much. Perhaps when he disappeared, he moved to another location, where the darkness would've been greater in power, and uses that in order to spread his own sinister influence.
With that knowledge, this gave Sora all the more reason why he had to head out and defeat him once and for all; Luna is counting on him to help find Riku and their friends need to reunite with their lost king. Kairi wants all of them to come back together, back to the islands together and return to their family and friends back on the islands. Ansem ruined their lives, so it's only fair that he should get the beat-down that he deserves.
"In that case, we'd better get going," Sora said, "Luna's gonna need to be in the know, and we'll need a plan before we go after him. That and we'll have to be ready for a potentially unrelenting enemy who won't let up on us."
At the same time, not long after Sora and the boys had left to gather more information on Ansem and his whereabouts after the unlocking of the Keyhole, Luna was left there with Medea to keep an eye on her as she came face-to-face with the princesses she met in the past.
After having encountered the Fairy Godmother back in Traverse Town during their travels, it was a lot more emotional for her to see the two princesses – Cinderella and Snow White – again after ten years; it was hard to imagine how long it's been since she last saw them. After all, she was very young and naïve when she last met them and it was her first time exploring the boundaries of her first adoptive home without the watch of an adult. But regardless, she couldn't help but let all those childish sentiments loose into the open as she ran over to the first princess she met and held her tightly like a safety line. Cinderella was the first to reciprocate her embrace, holding her like a nurturing mother would do.
"I'm sorry…Snow White, Cinderella, it's been too long," Luna apologized in tears, "I never thought I'd see you both again. Not after…what I've heard happened after Sora and I arrived in Traverse Town, separated from our childhood friends."
"I could say the same thing to you, Luna," Cinderella agreed with a sweet smile. "The first time we met, you were only a small child who I thought got lost at the castle. And here you are now, much changed since we last met."
"I thought I recognized you, too," Snow White agreed as she gently approached her. "I thought you were a lost child as well, and that felt like a long time ago. Look how much you've grown. How did you grow so much over the years?"
What could she say in this situation? Luna had no idea how to explain to them what she went through after she had crossed paths with them (and that was before she gained her Shadow Guardian), less so because she still has a fragmented gap between going back with Aqua to find Terra and arriving on Destiny Islands with no memories to explain how she got there in the first place. She would've loved to explain everything to them, but she wouldn't exactly know where to begin. How can she confess her trouble if she can't remember what was the cause early on in her life?
"I…I don't know what to tell you. Some of my memories are a mess," Luna replied nervously, "All I know is that I got to the islands for some reason, and I've lived with Sora, Kairi, and Riku since then for nine years. I probably would've remained broken forever if I didn't have them to help me recover."
That got Cinderella worried. "Broken? What happened?"
"Luna ended up mentally ill," Medea bluntly answered for her. "But she can't give details since she still hasn't recovered all her in-between memories yet."
As brutally honest as Medea was about her position, Luna knew that she was telling the truth because someone has to be in the know about what she's been through. Though, it was still unnerving for the princesses to know that the child they met several years ago experienced a mental breakdown at so young an age.
Snow White was shocked to hear about this. "Oh…how terrible. And you were so young! What did you do to deserve it?"
It was nearly impossible for Luna to answer, but Snow White was correct on her question. She didn't deserve such a harsh decline, since it left her without those she once called her family and friends under the worst of circumstances…if only she could clearly remember the last moments of her past before her mental breakdown.
"I wish I could tell you, but…I don't know how," Luna admitted shamefully.
"Yeah…it's complicated, to say the least," Medea interjected knowingly. "And I'm not gonna be able to help explain about it, since even my knowledge is limited."
That was true, since Medea was out of commission for years, and Luna had no knowledge as to what caused it in the first place. But thankfully, the princesses were willing to accept what could be given and acknowledge that the past is the past.
"Well, regardless, what matters is that you're here and you're well," Snow White reassured her. "And I can tell you made more friends the past ten years. That's a good thing, I'd say."
"Yes, I did. Kairi is my big sister now, and Sora has been a good friend to me," Luna agreed with a small smile. "Riku has been a dear friend, too…" She noticed herself faltering at mentioning Riku's name, due to the lingering fear plaguing her mind. "But…I don't know where he is now, or if he's even alive. I'm worried about him…I hope he's not completely gone, after what Ansem had done to ruin him."
Medea noticed this, and cringed in uncertainty. "Oh, yeah…after what that jackass had done to royally screw him over, I dread to think of what he's going through now. I regret to say that I partially made things a crap-ton worse, and it's already biting me in my ass."
It's easily noticeable that her guardian's guilt is still lingering after the ordeals of their first venture through Hollow Bastion. Luna couldn't entirely blame Medea for her mistakes, even though she had unintentionally exploded on Donald and Riku for their treatment of others and what she at first perceived as a betrayal. Though she's reconciled with Donald, she had yet to make amends with Riku, and it won't be possible so long as Ansem is still causing trouble.
Before Luna could ask her Guardian anything, she turned to approaching footsteps and found that Sora returned from his errands with Donald and Goofy. It made her wonder if they found anything useful regarding Ansem.
"Sorry for interrupting, Luna. Is everything going okay?" Sora apologized.
"Yes, we're alright. It's just…well, it's a bit strange meeting them again after ten years," Luna replied sheepishly.
"What'd you find out?" Medea decided to cut to the chase.
"Well, we know that Ansem is not here anymore," Donald replied, "so we're planning on taking off and finding out where he went. If you're ready to go, then let's shove off."
Luna had a suspicion where this is going; this means the big battle is about to come their way, and once they journey into the belly of the beast, there is no turning back afterwards. As much as she wanted to stick around, or return to Kairi for that matter, she knew that she had to make a stand – this time, no hesitating on facing the enemy that brought ruin to the worlds in the first place. Ansem is making Riku suffer in his grasp, and she wants him to know the consequences of messing with her friends and loved ones.
"I guess we have no choice," Luna agreed with some reluctance. "But it would be a good idea to prepare in advance. Maybe we should train a little more before we journey into wherever Ansem is hiding himself."
Goofy knew what she meant by that. "She's got a point there."
"Yeah, I sure as hell don't wanna get impaled like the last time," Medea agreed with a growl.
That gave Sora an idea. "I think I know just the place to do that…"
While the others were distracted with their plans, Luna turned to the princesses one last time, knowing that they are being forced to part ways again after years of not seeing each other. She knew that their lives and the worlds are at stake, but at the same time it hurt that she wasn't able to be around them much longer with the crisis still lingering on every living thing scattered all over the place. But she was slightly consoled by the fact that once Ansem is out of the picture, it means that the princesses will be safe from evil for a while – and she doesn't want a single one of them to be endangered a second time.
Cinderella and Snow White apparently knew that the now older Luna has to shoulder a greater responsibility than she used to years prior, but they showed no regrets on speaking with her again, brief though it certainly was.
"Will you be alright?" Luna asked them, concerned for their feelings. "Once we defeat Ansem, it'll be harder to see you."
Cinderella shook her head with a gentle smile. "Don't worry about us, Luna. You and Sora have already done so much to save us. We'll be alright."
"Perhaps under better circumstances, we might be able to see each other again someday," Snow White agreed cheerfully. "I know some friends who would've wanted to see you as you are now."
As comforting as it was to hear them assure her that they'll be okay without her, Luna still couldn't help feeling terrible for leaving so soon. But when used her window of opportunity to reach out and embrace the two kind-hearted princesses one more time, it felt heartwarming knowing that she has more reasons than ever to stand strong – and that this time around, she's not going through the terrors of the darkness alone, not without a friend by her side when she needs help most.
"Luna, you ready?" Sora called to her.
She released the princesses and turned back with a growing conviction. "I'm ready now, Sora. I just had to give my farewell, that's all."
With no Heartless to give them further problems in the castle, it made returning to the gummi ship much easier for them in order to make final preparations for what might be their last journey across the worlds together. However, while Donald and Goofy were checking things over regarding the ship, Sora and Luna got themselves a surprise when Shantotto and Cid arrived to see them off personally – but not without being given words of final warnings from them of the danger they'll be facing soon enough.
"The castle barely earned a rescue, and already you're intending to hurl yourselves out of the frying pan?" Shantotto interrogated, "I understand you want to give that fiend his punishment's due, but if I had the power I would put you all under a ban. Still, I'm certain this next battle you'll face is one that must be won. I can tell you right now, though, it won't be fun."
"We know that. But we have to do this," Sora insisted, "We have to get Riku back. We promised Kairi we would do that."
"I appreciate the concerns, but I don't want to lose another person precious to me," Luna added.
"Yeah, we know that. Just do us all a favor, and live through it, ya got it?" Cid commanded sternly to them.
"No way we're gonna lose!" Sora answered while Luna replied, "We won't let him win, that we promise."