Episode 67: Hollow Bastion Part 1
A week has passed since Sora and Kairi had their battles with Ash and Leaf. Sora and Kairi continued training for the Pokémon League. It wasn't long until the Heartless have launched their attack on the couple. They started their attack a few days ago, actually.
The Heartless attacking them are dressed as pirates; their costumes don't quite succeed in covering the traditional Heartless dark skin and toothy jaw. Bare-chested on their bellies and wearing black turtleneck shirts that are stitched into their chests, covering their upper torsos, save for the Heartless Emblem in between, the Heartless are clad in brown and tan-patched pants and matching shoes, a red sash, bright yellow wristbands, and skull-shaped shoulder armor. They wear bright red bandannas on their heads that cover their eyes; in place of one eye is a black eyepatch with a white cross on it, while in place of the other is an angular black spiral. They are what they look like, Pirates.
Another brand of Heartless attacks in the air. This kind of Heartless dresses very much in a pirate-like fashion, wearing a blue-and-white striped head scarf, a light blue neck wrap, skull-shaped shoulder pads, golden bracelets, bright blue baggy pants tied with a yellow sash, a brown knee-pad on its left leg, and long, narrow black shoes with brown straps. On close inspection, appears to be a cousin of the Soldier-type Heartless, featuring the same yellow eyes, shadowed face, and jagged blue jaw. It also boasts a trim blue-skinned torso, fit for battle, and bright purple wings. These are Air Pirates.
The couple slashed through the Heartless, making them dissolve into pure darkness. Among them is a bizarre Heartless with spindly legs resembling scissor jacks, arms that appear and sound like they're made of paper, and a head that is made of several segments balanced of top of each other. Each of these segments sports its own face—though all of the faces have the same glowing yellow eyes and jagged mouths—and they alternate in color from red to black. Its arms are black and it often juggles clubs with zig-zagging, purple and lavender stripes on them. It wears black armor with large, red shoulder pads, a black codpiece, and has a very thin and small red body. The upper halves of its legs are red, while their lower halves are black. Its feet are black, flat, and curl at the tips. Much of its upper body and head sport gold highlights. This Heartless is known as the Trickmaster.
"We gotta take that Heartless down!" Sora exclaimed.
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu said.
"We'll have to work together to bring it down!" Kairi said.
"Eevee, vee!" Angel said.
The couple readied their Keyblades as the Trickmaster came right at them, swinging its clubs at them. It was hard for them to take a hit at the Heartless, but they eventually got it dazed for a moment, but it got back up a second later, and came swinging at them with a vengeance. Flames emits on the clubs, and swings them, sending out fireballs.
"Sora!" Kairi shouted.
"Kairi!" Sora shouted in return.
The couple jumped and slashed their Keyblades at the Trickmaster's torso, bringing it down. It fell on its back, and a heart goes flying up in the air, and then vanishes. They fell in their backs, dismissing their Keyblades.
"This is the second Heartless attack today," Kairi said.
"We only had three yesterday, and two the day before. I have a feeling there's no end to this," Sora said.
"As long as we have these Keyblades, we have no choice but to fight them off," Kairi said.
"Yeah, but it's worth it to protect you," Sora said. Kairi blushed.
"I'm protecting you, too, Sora," Kairi said. She gave her boyfriend a kiss on the lips.
Unknown to them, a group of mysterious figures are watching them closely. Ten in counting.
"Those two children have taken down that Heartless. Who would have thought it?" One of the figures said. He sounds very cruel and controlling.
"Such power is from the Keyblades. Their strengths are not their own," another figure spoke in a dark voice.
"Perhaps we could turn them into Heartless?" Another figure suggested, indicating that it's a woman.
"Ooh, that could be fun. We can control them as Heartless, and sic them on the population!" Another figure spoke in a psychotic manner, and then he laughed.
"We could do that, but I suspect that their hearts are too strong for that," another figure said.
"I agree. We cannot act too rashly," another figure said.
"I agree. There's a chance they could turn on us," another figure said.
"And turn into Heartless ourselves?" Another figure asked.
"That could be a danger," another figure spoke. The tenth figure stood up and revealed himself to Mateus himself.
"I agree. If we show any signs of weakness or arrogance, the Heartless shall certainly turn against us, becoming victims to not only the Heartless, but of our own foolishness. To make certain, the children have been a great deal of nuisance to Team Rocket." One of the figures steps forward, revealing himself.
He is a tall shirtless man dressed in magnificent clothing including a huge dark cape and his skin is darkly gray. He also wore red gloves.
"They will be a great menace to us if we leave them be," the gray skinned man said.
"Agreed. We will have to deal with them," Mateus said as a masked figure walks in. "One of our agents will deal with him." The agent summoned a Keyblade. The Keyblade of heart has a simple design of red and black, akin to the Kingdom Key, with its teeth forming the outline of a heart. It has a rather dark design. It lacks a Keychain that each Keyblade possessed. "You know what to do." The masked figure said nothing, but he bowed his head. A portal opened and he walks through it.
Back in Pallet Town, Sora and Kairi are dealing with some Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies, Yellow Operas, and Green Requiems coming at them. There were also another kind of Heartless that greatly resembles them. Each one of them has a smooth, conical, white body with a Heartless emblem emblazoned on its chest. The top of its body flares outward and forms a jagged "collar" below the Heartless's spherical, pitch black head. It also wears a conical, reddish-brown hat with a jagged brim, silver rings decorating it, and a thin, curled tip. The hat stays off its head, clearly different from some of its other variations. Like many Heartless, the it has glowing yellow eyes. Its seemingly useless feet sport three small, thin toes. This Heartless is known as a Silver Rock.
"Here they come!" Kairi said.
"I got your back, Kairi!" Sora said, batting at a Silver Rock. Another Silver Rock came at them, but Kairi bats it away from her boyfriend.
"I also got your back, Sora!" Kairi said.
Pikachu and Angel fought back against the Heartless. The Yellow Operas absorbed Pikachu's electricity. Angel fired Swift at them, destroying them. They finished off the remaining Heartless.
"Good work, guys. We sure cleared those Heartless out," Sora said. "We make a great team."
"We sure do," Kairi agreed. "Things sure have gotten easier since I got my Keyblade."
"Yeah. Things were getting stressful since I was doing all the heavy lifting," Sora said. "Not that I minded."
"I know. You were pretty brave fighting all those awful Heartless," Kairi said.
"Yeah, so were you. You were really graceful," Sora said. The couple look at each other very lovingly.
"Well, isn't this a romantic sight?" A voice spoke. They saw the masked figure walking out of the portal as it closes. They saw the Keyblade in his hand.
"Who are you?" Sora asked.
"The last person you're ever gonna see," the masked figure said. They saw a Keyblade in his hand.
"Is that-?" Sora asked.
"Yes, a Keyblade," the masked figure said, holding it. "Who wants to go first?" Sora and Kairi held their Keyblades in their hands and they clashed their Keyblades. The masked figure took a swing at them. They blocked his assault.
"What do you want?" Sora asked.
"My own business," the masked figure said. He swung at Sora and he blocked it. They kept clashing their Keyblades. Sora manages to overpower him, and he pushes him down. The masked figure got back up and came swinging at him. Kairi aimed her Keyblade at him when he got back up and heads for Sora.
"Fire!" Kairi called out. Kairi fired a ball of fire at the masked figure and he is struck hard. He turned to Kairi and aimed his Keyblade at her.
"Dark Fire!" The masked figure shouted, shooting a black fireball at her. Kairi performs a barrier spell, blocking the dark fire. He jumped forward and he swung his Keyblade again. She blocked it. They held on.
Over to Team Rocket they witnessed the couple fighting the masked figure.
"Who is that fighting the twerps?" James asked.
"Like I know. That mask is a fashion disaster," Jessie said.
"Not to mention, he's getting the floor mopped with him since he's up against the two of them," Meowth said. He gets an idea. "Hey, I got an idea! We can swipe Pikachu while they're distracted!"
"Ooh, that's a capital idea, Meowth," Jessie said.
"Now, we head down and do just the job," James said.
"Yeah!" Team Rocket all cheered.
The trio continued their fight as Team Rocket gets a net ready to snatch Pikachu with. A portal opens as the masked figure enters through it. Sora and Kairi enters inside. Pikachu and Angel ran right after them. Team Rocket gasped after they went inside.
"What the hell?!" James exclaimed.
"They went right through that!" Meowth said.
"We press on after them!" Jessie said, running inside.
"Oh, I'm not going to like this," James said.
"Why do we have to do this?" Meowth asked. He and James followed her inside the portal.
A portal opens and they continued the fight. Pikachu and Angel enters through with Team Rocket followed. They stopped and looked around. The portal closes behind them. They arrived in a deserted city. No life was present at all. All of the flowers were dead. The masked figure jumped and flipped. Sora and Kairi turned around as he laughed at them.
"I'll admit, you're quite skillful, I'll give you that. But you think you're a match for me?" The masked figure asked.
"I know we are, dude! We managed to push you in a corner!" Sora said.
"But which corner did you push me in?" The masked figure asked.
"Wha?" Sora asked. He and Kairi looked around.
"Sora, he's right. Where are we?" Kairi asked.
"Welcome to Hollow Bastion," the masked figure said.
"Hollow Bastion?" Sora asked. "We're not in Pallet Town anymore?"
"No. And you wouldn't have heard of this place since from your world," the masked figure said.
"What is that suppose to mean?" Sora asked.
"I'll have to spell it out for you. You're in a completely different world. Like what you see? No? Too bad. This is a dead world, thanks to the Heartless," the masked figure said.
"The Heartless did this?" Kairi asked.
"Vee?" Angel asked.
"Yes. This is what will happen to your world as well," the masked figure said. He laughed evilly. "And this will be the last place you shall ever see."
Team Rocket were listening to him, and they didn't like what he just said.
"Could he be right? I knew the Heartless were pains in the ass, but I never thought they could be able to do this kind of damage," James said.
"No, this isn't right," Jessie said.
"Those monsters," Meowth said.
"But why are they doing this?" Kairi asked.
"The Heartless are like wild beasts. They attack anything that moves," the masked figure said.
"Pika," Pikachu said with dread.
Just then, a new kind of Heartless have arrived. Each one of them has a spherical body that is pitch black and streaked with dark blue. Its glowing, yellow eyes are rather small. The inside of its mouth is blue, and the mouth itself is a jagged, toothy opening. It has three thick, black and blue tentacles with frayed, pink tips sprouting out of its body, two on its top and one on its underside. This Heartless is known as a Darkball.
Another kind of Heartless has a more humanoid body structure than a normal Shadow, but shares the same pitch black skin and spherical, glowing yellow eyes. Its crooked antennae are quite long and fall back behind the Heartless. It seems to be rather muscular, and its hands are very large, each one sporting five clawed fingers. Its feet, like those of a normal Shadow, are long and lack digits, but its feet more resemble boots. Its body is also lined by several faint, blue veins of color. This kind of Heartless is the Neoshadow.
Each one has a small torso and thin upper arms, but very wide, three-fingered forearms and hands. Its upper body and arms are covered by a high-collared, purple coat with a Heartless emblem on the chest and thin, white lining at its bottom. It sports a violet, wide-brimmed, conical hat with a thin, curled tip that resembles a stereotypical witch hat. This kind of Heartless is known as the Wizard.
Another kind of Heartless joins with a shield coming down. resembling a knight clad in purple and blue armor with white trim and yellow buttons; they also have the tell-tale Heartless zig-zag jawline, with a purple head and a silver jaw. The arms and torso are also proportioned much larger than the head and legs; the arm not holding the Defender's main weapon actually rests ape-like on the ground. In battle, the portion of the Heartless that tends to be seen most is the massive and fearsome shield. The barrier portion of the shield is a simple blue and light blue pattern with gold trim, but far more prominent is the very large and very dangerous blue-black dog head, complete with sharp fangs and spiked collar. The dog also has three glowing yellow eyes arranged in a triangle formation. This kind of Heartless is known as the Defender.
Another kind of Heartless is a large, draconian creature with predominantly dark red skin, save for its belly, which is tan, and its wings, which are salmon-colored, though its wingtips are dark red. Its body is rather thin, while its three-toed feet are quite large, each sporting black talons. Its wings seem rather thin when compared to its body, and its wingtips appear tattered, with several small holes in them. There is a tall, slightly curved spike on each of its shoulders. Its tail is fairly short, particularly in comparison to similar Heartless, and its head is "V"-shaped and flat. It has beady yellow eyes on either side of its head, and its Heartless emblem is on its chest. This Heartless is a Wyvern.
The masked figure points his finger and the Heartless all launched their assault at them.
"Here they come!" Sora said, holding his Keyblade. Kairi held it as well.
"Arbok! Poison Sting!" Jessie ordered. Arbok fired Poison Sting at the attacking Heartless. Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel turned to see Team Rocket with their Pokémon out. "You should take a hike, because those are our do-gooders!"
"The only ones who are supposed to mess with them, is us!" James added.
"And anybody has a problem with that can take it up with us!" Meowth added.
"Team Rocket?" Kairi asked.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sora asked.
"It's actually a funny story," James said.
"We were trying to steal Pikachu from you as usual, but we ended up here the same way as you did," Jessie said.
"So, we ended up here along with you," Meowth said. Sora sighed.
"Once again, they demonstrated that they're complete morons," Sora said in his thoughts, doing a face palm.
"So, you three are with Team Rocket? An organization of pathetic fools," the masked figure said. Jessie growled, taking it as an insult.
"Just who do you think you are, disrespecting Team Rocket like that?" Jessie asked angrily.
"You have to be fools to blindly follow a leader whose motivation is greed. And all that greed will only feed the darkness that is in your very hearts. Many of your comrades have succumbed to that very darkness, turning into Heartless themselves," the masked figure said. He laughed. "Your hearts are way too weak to be a match for the Heartless."
"Listen here, you! I don't care how great your darkness is! Team Rocket is number one on the scale of evil, so you and your Heartless can shove your self-righteous ego up where the sun don't shine!" Jessie said.
"I can see I am merely wasting my breath. Then, I'll have to eliminate you as well," the masked figure said, readying his Keyblade. "Prepare to die." He lunged forward with the hoard of Heartless. Sora lunges forward and clashed his Keyblade with his own. Team Rocket's Pokémon were putting up a decent fight, but these Heartless were proving to be too much for them. Pikachu and Angel manages to save them from them.
"I'm gonna have to send out-" Sora tried to reach for a Pokéball when he realized he doesn't have any of his other Pokémon with him. "That's right! I left all of mine back in Professor Oak's lab to rest up!"
"So did I," Kairi said, taking out a Wizard. A Wyvern begins to swoop down at Sora. "Watch out!" Sora turned around to see the Heartless coming at him. Pikachu saves him with an Iron Tail in the back, destroying it.
"Okay, we're getting crowded here," Sora said, holding his Keyblade forward. "Gather!" Energy is formed in the air, and it pulls in all of the Heartless. "Hurry, Kairi! My Magnet spell won't hold them for long!"
"Right!" Kairi agreed. Sora and Kairi slashed through the Heartless, and destroys them completely. Sora turned the masked figure and points his Keyblade forward.
"You'll have to do a whole lot better than this! If you wanna defeat us that badly, just face us yourself, don't hide behind your flunkies," Sora said.
"I was hoping they would tire you out just before I finish you off myself. I have truly underestimated you. A mistake I will not make again," the masked figure said. He came running at them and they clashed their Keyblades. He was putting up much more of a fight than he did earlier. Kairi was wondering if he was toying with them earlier. Team Rocket followed them as did the Pokémon couple. Their fight led them to the castle gates. He vanishes, upon reaching it. He laughed again.
"Hey! Get back here! We're not finished with you!" Sora yelled out.
"And I'm not finished with you," the masked figure said with his voice echoing all around. "You'll have to enter the castle if you want to find me. But I have to warn you, there are Heartless inside, so be on high alert." The castle gates opened.
"We have to go in there?" Meowth asked.
"You will have no choice but to enter. I'll be waiting for you deep inside. I'll meet you in the castle's chapel in the High Tower," the masked figure said.
"He's expecting us to follow him inside of there?" James asked. "He has to be crazy if he thinks we're gonna follow him in there."
"Especially that the whole joint is crawling with all those Heartless," Meowth said.
"That guy might know something about how to be rid of them for good," Sora said. Everyone all looked at him. "As far as I can tell, the Heartless will only be a problem for everyone if we don't find a way to get rid of them."
"I'm not even sure if we can, Sora," Kairi said.
"We have to try," Sora said. He looks right at the castle. "So, we're heading inside that castle."
"Hold on! We're going with you," Jessie said. "Someone has to protect our asset." Jessie snickered. Sora just looked at her with a deadpan expression.
"You're just tagging along just so you can take Pikachu. And if I may add, even if you do succeed in snatching Pikachu from us, which you won't, you have no way of going back to your Team Rocket buddies because you're in the same boat as us," Sora pointed out.
"You know, he's right, Jess. We have no idea how we're gonna make it back to the boss," Meowth said.
"We left our balloon behind, so we can't fly out of here. And we don't know our way around this place," James said.
"If only I could think these things through," Jessie said, hanging her head in defeat.
"Come on. We gotta keep going. That guy has answers, and we need them," Sora said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Angel, and Team Rocket began heading inside the castle. The gates closes behind them.
Back in Pallet Town, Riku, Naminé, and Eevee have arrived in Pallet Town. Riku figured Sora has gotten his eight Gym Badges by now, and he was preparing to battle in the Pokémon League.
"Here we are. Pallet Town," Naminé said.
"Wow. It's no Iki Town, but it's sure nice here," Riku said. He turned to his partner. "Isn't that right, Eevee?"
"Eevee," Eevee agreed. Eevee's ears then perked up. "Eevee."
"What's wrong, Eevee? What do you hear?" Riku asked.
He got his answer when it turns out to be Ash coming towards them.
"Riku. Good, because I thought you were a Heartless," Ash said.
"Obviously I'm not. We were about to start looking for Sora, but you seem to know where his house is," Riku said.
"I'm looking for him, too. I was just at his house, and neither his mom or sister knows where he is," Ash said. "I even checked with Kairi's parents, and they're just as clueless as I am."
"Maybe they got so wrapped up in training, they lost track of time," Naminé guessed.
"No. His mom asked me if I saw him, but I didn't since yesterday, so Ven, Terra, Aqua, Karen, Leaf, and I are searching for them. Sora would never miss a meal back home." Riku could tell something was wrong. He wondered if the Heartless might have something to do with it. He then felt something. He took a whiff, and it reeks of darkness.
"You are right to be worried, because something about this feels very wrong," Riku said.
"What do we do?" Naminé asked.
"Ash, think you could gather them up?" Riku asked.
"Sure," Ash said, confused.
Back in Hollow Bastion, they walked through the doors of the castle. They all entered inside. Inside the entrance hall is a fountain connected to small stairs. One the left, there appears to be another door, and another behind the fountain ahead of them.
"I thought the place was creepy outside," Meowth said.
"You can say that again. This castle isn't too bright; no shine or anything," Jessie said.
"It might get even worse if we see any Heartless," Sora said. James gulped as he shook with fear.
"I just hope we don't run into any that are bigger and scarier than all of the ones we saw; and those were scary," James said.
"So, which way do we go?" Jessie asked.
"I think we should have a look around before going forward," Kairi said.
"Solid plan. Just hope we don't run into any unfriendly company around here," Meowth said. They begin to walk towards the fountain, and climbed up the stairs. They head for the doorway, and they tried to open it. "What's wrong?"
"The door's locked," Sora said. He remembered the Keyblade's abilities, so he summoned his Kingdom Key and he held it in front of him. Team Rocket were confused by what he was doing. A beam of light comes out of the Keyblade and a locking sound is heard. Sora then opened the door. "Problem solved." They stepped in, looking around for any signs of Heartless. "The coast is clear. Come on." They walk inside, heading to a doorway. They step out, seeing that they're on a high balcony. Meowth looked down.
"That looks like that'll be a nasty fall," Meowth said. Pikachu turned around.
"Meowth, what do you think you're doing? You'll end up being left behind if you don't hurry up!" - Pikachu subtitle.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Meowth said, running up. They come across a strange lift, and some kind of device.
"Wonder we're gonna get there," Kairi said.
"I think we have to use these," James said.
"I never thought I'd say this, but he's right. We're gonna have to keep going if we're gonna reach the High Tower," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"I have a feeling I'm not gonna like this," Jessie said.
"But how do we move this thing?" Kairi asked.
"Beats me," James said, shrugging his shoulders. He leans against the machine, and it gave off a glow. Everyone then teleports in the lift. Everyone were all shocked to see they were inside it. "Wha- what the hell just happened?"
"I don't know, but we're heading in the right direction," Sora said. They saw the emblem of the Heartless in the front of the castle. They made a stop when a few Wizards appeared before them. "Crap!" Sora summoned his Keyblade and attacked. The Wizards blocked his physical attack when casting a Thunder spell. Kairi summoned her Keyblade and cartwheels out of the way. Kairi slashed at one of the Wizards with her Keyblade, and Sora does the same with the others when they were casting different spells. Team Rocket just cowered in fear until the Heartless were wiped out.
"Everyone okay?" Kairi asked.
"Well, we ain't dead," Meowth said.
The lift starts moving again. Sora and Kairi knew things were going to get even more difficult with some more Heartless waiting for them to come. They had to be ready for them to come. But who was that masked figure? More to come in the next chapter.