A/N: LA DI DA! School is over and summer is here! LALALALALALALAAAA! Anyhoo, this chapter is what I have been waiting for my entire time of writing this story! The most epic part of the game…EVER! DUH DUHN! THE 1000 Heartless battle! Oh, what perils shall our heroes and heroine face in this epically, dramatic, action filled chapter! Who shall we see? What shall become of Demyx? And what of Hope's friendship with Sora and Co.? What will they do when they learn the truth about her? Will Saix try to kidnap Hope? Or will Xemnas? And what about Sephiroth? What will happen? AND AXEL! WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

Hope: Why are you asking us? You write the story, and we just do what you give us in the scripts. You're the one who should know what's gonna happen…

HEY!

Axel: Er, she does make a point…You write it out and we just read it.

You want me to erase you from the script?

Axel: O-O U-uh, no ma'am…

Good. So, anyhoo, this chapter is going to be awesome (as long as I don't screw it up) and stuff! The 1000 heartless battle is always epic and I love it, especially the music, which you should totally go listen to when you get down to that part of the chapter (look up Showdown at Hollow Bastion on YouTube!). Also…this chapter is important because we get to see part of the power that Kingdom Hearts gave Hope put to use(Maybe in this chapter, or the next, depending on how long I'm making this chappie). Hopefully, yall will approve of it :D So…yeah….Do what you guys normally do, which is read and review! Please enjoy :D! Also, please note that today marks the one year anniversary for Beginnings of Hope! LET'S CELEBRATE!

"What do you think we should do?" Leon asked, glancing over at Hope. All of them had gathered into a small group, that group being Leon, Cloud, Yuffie, Cid, the little blue alien like creature, Stitch, and Aerith, who was only there to heal anyone when she was needed to do so, and Hope, who everyone was looking at as the leader.

Said person let out a quiet sigh. "We do what we have to do. And that's getting rid of those things and protecting the town and the people in it. You will do only the following: Get rid of the Heartless and Nobodies, and protect the town and the people within it. If you come across and Organization member or any other bad guy…do not pursue them. Leave it to me, the King, Sora, Donald, and Goofy."

Cloud grunted slightly, Hope's gaze falling onto him. She had specifically given this order for Cloud's sake. Sephiroth was here, and the last thing that they needed was for him to abandon them in order to fight Sephiroth. Besides, she had set sights on him first, meaning she would get to fight him first.

Well, more like interrogate him.

"Split into groups. Yuffie, Aerith, you two are group one. Head into the valley pass. Leon, Cloud, you two are group two. Head up to the cliff pathway that leads to the crystal fissure. Cid, I want you to head back to the town and try to gather a team of people that have some sort of fighting experience and help guard the town. Stitch, you can shoot all the heartless you want wherever you want. Just clear us a pathway, understood? Let's go!"

"Right!" Everyone shouted, taking off to their designated places while Hope stayed behind for a second. Just as she was about to head off on her own, someone grabbing her wrist stopped her, causing her to whip around and her eyes to widen.

"Demyx!"

"Hope, long time, no see!"

She was speechless at his smile he gave her, "What…what are you doing here?"

He sent her a sad smile. "Ah, you wouldn't like it if I told you."

"And I would be just as angry if you didn't tell me, Demyx."

He sighed, scratching the back of his head, "I'm supposed to liberate Sora's 'true disposition'."

Her eyes widened again, "Y-you mean…they sent you to try and get Roxas back? Demyx, you CAN'T fight Sora! If you do, Demyx, then you'll die! You just can't do that!"

He laughed lightly, "What other choice is there? According to Xigbar, I'm the only one who 'qualifies' for the job. I heard about your little scrape in with him. Heard that you kicked his butt! Nice!"

"Demyx-"

"Also, I talked to Axel."

She stiffened at the mention of the pyro Nobody's name. "Axel?…When did you…hear from him?"

"About 10 minutes ago. He's here too, ya know."

"He is! Where?"

"Er, that I don't know now. He could probably be anywhere. He told me to tell you that he'd see ya soon though. Well, better get going! Don't want to keep Sora waiting!"

He began to walk away, Hope calling him. "Demyx."

He stopped, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Hm?"

Her back was facing him, giving him a view of the angel wing pattern on the back of her duster. She was crying softly, her voice still staying strong as she did though. "You still have your good luck charm I made you, right?"

He grinned, pulling it out from his coat where he kept it hidden around his neck. "Right here!"

She smiled. "Good. Then…it should help you and keep you safe. Don't die and fade away, ok?"

"Of course I won't die and fade away, Hope! See ya soon!"

"Yeah…see you soon…Hopefully."

With that last thought in mind, Hope took off, heading to the battle.

"Fire!" I cried out as I sent a flame ball at a group of heartless, the fire destroying them while I slashed at some more that were coming up from behind me, leaping up into the air and flipping behind them, doing a leg sweep and sending them flying. I missed one though, the thing coming at me from the side. It disappeared though as someone slashed right through it, surprising me slightly before I smirked.

"Well, Leon! I didn't know you were brave enough to help out little ol' me!"

He smirked. "Someone's gotta make sure you don't get yourself hurt, right?"

"I resent that statement."

"Hn."

A barrier was put up, leaving us back to back, weapons in hand. "Well, look's like we're trapped."

"Don't worry, you've handled stuff like this before, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Besides, I'm helping you out, so just say you owe me a favor."

"Okay, I guess that could work."

With that said, we both lunged and began to slash away.

"Here it goes! HYAAAH!"

I zapped a group of heartless with some thunder before jumping up onto Leon's Gunblade, allowing him to swing me into the air so I could use Firaga Fission on the remaining heartless that were left. It took just several minutes to rid of them all with Leon, and as soon as they were gone, the barrier fell down, opening the next pathway. I gripped my sword tightly before looking over at Leon, who looked like he hadn't broken a sweat. He sent me a small smirk.

"It's been awhile since I've seen you in action like that."

"The last time was when we were in Traverse Town when we had that really big Heartless invasion, right? That was nothing compared to what we're up against now."

"It'll be okay. As long as we help each other out, we should be able to stop all of this, right?"

I blinked for a moment before sending him a smile and a nod. "Yeah…you're right. Hey, Squall…" He sent me a small glare but it didn't bother me. Squall was the name his mother gave him, so of course I'm going to call him by his real name. "Whatever happens…don't die, okay?"

"Hn. Wouldn't dream of it."

"And also…if you see Sora, tell him I'm up ahead waiting for him."

"I will. Be careful, Hope! I don't need you to go dying on us after we just got you back!" He called after me as I began to run ahead.

"Noted!" I shouted as I continued on ahead, fighting my way through. A large number of Heartless began following me, and in the end, I was trapped, barriers popping up and blocking both exits.

"Hope!" Someone called, that person jumping out of nowhere and landing in front of me, the shockwave from their landing knocking several Heartless away. Cloud pulled his large sword out from the ground and got into a stance, glancing at me over his shoulder. I nodded my head before we began to rid of the heartless that were surrounding us together. I could tell that Cloud was getting exhausted, so I casted cure on him.

"Heal!"

In no time, he was back slashing Heartless apart in seconds. "HA! HA! HUUUAAAH!"

I leaped up into the air as my sword began to glow. "Here goes nothing! Blade Charge!" I did a nose dive, spinning around rapidly as I was falling towards the ground. A large whirlwind was created as I did so, knocking away several Heartless and killing some as well. I landed on both feet, my sword now glowing brightly with a pale purple glow, extended to several feet now. "HYAHH! HAH! Take that!" Finally at my limits, I lifted my sword above my head and grunted. "Light shall prevail!" I spun my blade around rapidly, creating an even bigger whirlwind before slamming it against the ground, making a shockwave and getting rid of more heartless. Cloud slammed his sword into the ground one more time, finally ridding of the final few Heartless that had surrounded us. The barrier fell down, and we turned to each other.

"Thanks, Cloud. I dunno what I would've done if you hadn't of come along."

He nodded, "Mmm. You just keep going and leave the rest of this mess to us."

"Right. Oh, and Cloud."

"Yeah?"

"If you see Sephiroth…Don't go after him. I found him first, so I get to have my shot at him first."

"I can't guarantee that I'll do that, but okay."

"Hm. If you see Sora, tell him I'm waiting for him up ahead."

"Right. Be careful, Hope."

"I will." I promised, taking off inside the Crystal Fissure and sitting down on the ground and waiting patiently.

To my surprise, the King and Donald were the first to arrive, and I noticed they had sad looks on their faces. That's when I realized something-

Goofy wasn't here.

Before I could ask why they were wearing such faces and where the heck Goofy was, Sora came running in, bending over and putting his hands against his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" Mickey asked.

Sora stood up, the same look the King and Donald were wearing appearing on his own face, "Yeah, I'm fine, but…"

"Ohh, Goofy…" Donald said sadly, and I frowned. What happened to Goofy?

"You mean…" They all looked at me and I closed my eyes, lowering my head so the tears wouldn't fall from my eyes. "Oh…Poor Goofy."

"Hey, fellas!"

My eyes shot open and I looked towards the entrance of the Crystal Fissure. I thought my eyes were deceiving me for a moment, but when I saw Goofy jumping up and down and waving at us with a smile on his face, I knew it was real. We all jumped in surprise.

"Goofy!" We all shouted in unison.

He began to run to us, stopping to rub his head as he stopped in front of all of us. "Ya know, that really hurt!" He stated, frowning for a moment until Mickey launched himself at him for a hug.

"Aw, Goofy!"

"Gawrsh, Yer Majesty, I get bumped on the head all the time."

Sora and I began to laugh at his words, both of us stopping to watch Donald as he stomped over to Goofy, a not-so-happy look on his face. He stopped in front of Goofy and stared at him for a minute before he waved his staff around and whacked him right on the knee, earning a pained shout from Goofy as he held his now injured knee, hopping around on one foot.

"That hurt, too."

"Don't you ever do that again!"

Sora and I watched as the three friends talked amongst themselves for a minute before we both turned to stare out at the exit, Villains Vale in clear view from where we stood. Just beyond that exit out was the Great Maw, it's history bored into my mind from all the lessons I had when I was younger and all the books I had read in the castle library. Long ago, there was a war that took place, and the result of it was the Great Maw. It was a scar that had marked our home world, and never would it fade away. It served as a reminder.

And now, here we were, getting ready to fight in another war.

"Hey, Hope?"

"Hm?"

"Is this you when you were younger?" He asked, pulling a picture out from his pocket and holding it out to me. I turned to him and look at the photo, taking it from him and staring at it, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

It was picture of me when I was quite small, probably around 4 or 5, sitting on my dad's shoulders while my mother and grandpa stood with us. I nodded my head to confirm his question. "Yeah…That's me." I pocketed the picture as I saw he was about to ask something else, silencing him. "Listen…I'll answer all the questions you have after this battle, okay, Sora? I promise I will."

He nodded in understanding, "Okay, Hope."

I smiled. "Just focus on getting ready for what's next. Make sure you're completely prepared for this. Who knows what we'll be up against."

After about five minutes of prepping up, everyone was ready. I turned to them all and nodded, all of us following The King as he led the way out.

The five ran through the pass, making it out into the very center of the Great Maw, skidding to a stop as they took in the scene before them.

"Huh?" Mickey exclaimed, glancing around.

"Oh my…" Hope mumbled.

"What's with them?" Sora asked.

Standing in front of them were at least a thousand or more Armored Knight Heatless and Surveillance Robots, none of them moving at all.

'This…is another war…' Hope thought to herself with a frown.

Goofy pointed up at the top of the cliff. "Hey!"

A dark portal opened and a hooded figure stepped out, pulling back the hood. Hope contained the gasp and hid the fear that coursed through her entire being as she saw the silver hair, gold eyes staring down at them.

"It's the guy who's NOT Ansem!" Donald exclaimed.

"You mean it's his Nobody!" Goofy said, Xemnas turning fully face them.

"The leader of Organization XIII…" Sora trailed.

The king stared up at him thoughtfully for a minute before a look of realization appeared on his face. "Wait a minute. Now I know!"

Flashback~5 years prior~

"Wise Ansem. I'm here to seek your advice."

Said man smiled at the Mouse King, Hope taking a bite from her bar of sea-salt ice cream as she stood next to him. "I'm glad we have the opportunity to speak like this, my friend. I'm intrigued by your hypothesis…and I'm finding it difficult to stave off the urge to test it. Still, I'm concerned about the stability of the worlds."

Mickey nodded in agreement. "Yep, that's what worries me too."

"The doors that appeared. The place the Heartless seek. I fear my research may have brought this upon us…" Ansem said regretfully, resting his head in his hand, a knock on the door causing everyone to look at it.

"Enter!" Hope called, the door opening to reveal a white haired man in a lab coat, the man bowing respectfully before speaking.

"Master Ansem. Regarding the experiment I presented the other day…With your permission, I'd like to proceed-"

"I forbid it!" Ansem shouted, shooting up from his seat and slamming his hands down onto his desk, causing Hope to jump. Never had she seen her grandfather so…upset about an idea presented to him. "Forget this talk of doors, and the heart of all worlds. That place must not be defiled!"

"But, Master Ansem! I've been thinking…"

Ansem and Hope both shook their heads, Hope only shaking her head as means to get Xehanort not to argue and get himself in trouble, Ansem's being that the conversation was over. "Xehanort…Those thoughts are best forgotten."

He made a sound of frustration, but his face remained calm as he respectfully bowed, moving backwards and closing the door behind him.

End Flashback~

Showdown at Hollow Bastion Music begins XD(A/N: GO LISTEN TO IT!)~

"Now I remember!" Mickey exclaimed, "Xehanort! Ansem's apprentice!" Said person sent them a cruel looking smile as Mickey came to the realization. "The Leader of Organization XIII is Xehanort's Nobody!" The King summoned his golden Keyblade and took off, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Hope all preparing to follow him.

"Let's go!" Sora ordered. The other three nodded, and just before they could manage to take off after the King, they had to stay put, all of the Armored Knight's and Surveillance Robots ran and began to surround them, a couple of Behemoth's showing up as well. Sora summoned the Keyblade and Hope summoned Hope's Sky as they all took in the crisis that was playing before them.

Hope happened to look up at the sky, her frown deepening as she saw the Wyverns flying above them, her grip on the hilt of her sword tightening before she returned her attention back to the Heartless in front of them. They were all trapped.

"Move it!" Sora ordered impatiently.

"We can't let Xehanort get away!" Donald told them.

"Right!" Sora exclaimed, he and Hope both looking back at Donald and Goofy, the two giving them both a thumbs up before they both took off in different directions. Sora looked over at Hope, whose eyes were closed. "You ready for this?" He asked, watching as she reached a hand up to clutch the heart charm around her neck for a moment, her sword beginning to glow.

She reopened her eyes and nodded, both of them taking off towards the group of Heartless, the creatures running to them to meet them halfway. Sora and Hope stopped as they were surrounded by even more Heartless, both of them back to back. They watched them for a minute before they both lunged at them, beginning to slash away.

"HA! HA! IT'S OVER!"

Hope grabbed onto one of the Surveillance robots as it was about shoot at her and spun around with it, it's beam of energy that had been originally aimed for her hitting the other Heartless instead. Hope threw it out of the way as soon as it was done and destroyed it before moving onto another group of Heartless. "Give it up already, you stupid things!"

"Fire!"

"Thunder!"

Sora repeated what Hope had done with the Surveillance Robot earlier, spinning it around and using it against the other Heartless. "Take that!"

Hope leapt up into the air, a light glow surrounding her before she began to fly around at an incredible speed. "Ha! Ha! HUAAH! HA! Ha! YEAAAH! Rising Sun!"

Sora shot a blizzard spell at several more heartless before he began to slash at some more. Hope moved further off from him, fighting by herself. One Armored Knight thought it would be funny to attack her from behind, but it wasn't so funny when Hope did a leg sweep and knocked it up into the air, a fire spell hitting it five seconds later and destroying it. Several managed to get a few hits in on her, but she managed to move back before any serious damage was done. A screech from the sky reminded her about the Wyverns that were above, a small growl escaping her throat as she tightened her right hand into a fist, the Blaster Edge fully forming on her before she pulled it back and launched it up into the air, letting it handle the problem above while she went back to the Heartless on the ground. What happened next had been something she wasn't quite ready for or expecting, but it still happened anyway. A Wyvern flew down from the sky and grabbed her, it's claws digging into her shoulders as she struggled to get free from it.

A flaming weapon came flying from nowhere and hit the Wyvern that had her, the creature letting out a pained cry as it flew around in panic, it's grip on Hope loosening and sending her flying. As she was falling, she did several flips to land on the ground in one piece and not as a pile of mush. She held her arm out as the Blaster Edge came back, slipping back onto its holster.

"Don't think that for one second that just because you saved me from being Heartless food that you're not in trouble at all…Axel."

Axel sighed, spinning a Chakram around in his hand. "Should've known that was the first thing you were gonna say. Might as well let the Big Boss Man get rid of me then."

She laughed slightly. "If you do that, then where's the fun in my beating you to a pulp?"

"Ha-ha." Axel deadpanned.

Hope killed a Heartless as it got too close to her, Axel hitting several with his Chakrams. "I'm not quite sure whether I should be overjoyed, relieved, angry, or just plain furious with you. Which seems like a more suitable punishment, Axel: Ignoring you for the rest of my life or strangling you?"

"Can we not talk about this right now?"

"Fine, we won't. But you're not off the hook!" Hope shouted as she began to slash away again, Axel helping her.

This battle would last longer than a few minutes. Because this battle was battle against more than 1000 Heartless.

To be Continued…

A/N: Eh, it was okay. Not that great, but okay. If there are any spelling errors in there, I'm sorry, but I can't fix them at the moment because I'm in a hurry. I will go back later tomorrow and re-read and proofread because I'm going somewhere with my best friend today and I'm still in my pajamas. I have to get ready, so I'll fix this chapter later. 1000 Heartless battle is epic, and it always seemed to me there were more than 1000. So…yeah…Review and stuff…LATER TATERS! (P.S: Was this the most epic chapter of this story?)