Hollow Bastion
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)
A long and difficult journey finally brings Sora, Donald and Goofy to Maleficent's headquarters, the ruins of a formerly majestic castle known as Hollow Bastion. It is here where Sora reunites with Riku, who by this point of time have become completely antagonistic and has a stunning revelation: Sora was never the true Keyblade Wielder; He was simply a messenger boy for Riku, the true Chosen One. To add insult to the injury, Donald and Goofy, on orders to follow the Keyblade Wielder, decide to abandon Sora than risk defying the King's orders.
Though broken and betrayed with only his childhood wooden sword as his means of defense, Sora gains strength from another intruder, the Beast. Possessing no dark powers and no vessel to bring him here, the Beast has found his way to Hollow Bastion through sheer force of will in pursuit of his beloved Belle, who is being held hostage by Maleficent, and he will not leave without her even though he is severely injured by Riku. Deciding that he will not come this far only to fail now, Sora and the Beast team up to navigate the castle's labyrinth passageways, eventually reaching the Entrance Hall.
Lured away by an illusion of Belle being transformed into a Heartless, the Beast leaves Sora alone to face Riku, whose descent into evil is such that he is clad in a suit made of darkness. Though his former best friend is armed with the Keyblade and dark powers, Sora makes his stand: Though the darkness can harm his body, it can't touch his heart, because it has grown stronger due to the connections Sora has forged with the people he has met on his journey. Unwilling to stand aside and let Riku destroy their friend, Donald and Goofy choose their friendship with Sora over their loyalty to their King, and the strength Sora gains from his friends wins him back the Keyblade.
Shell-shocked, Riku escapes in need of an answer as to why Sora, for once, is stronger than him. He is approached by the shadowy figure Sora met the day before the destruction of Destiny Islands, who reveals that the only way for Riku to become stronger is to open his heart to darkness, and to show no fear once the darkness is assimilated into every fiber of his being. A desperate Riku quickly does so, unknowingly allowing his body to become a host for the shadowy figure, thereby granting him a physical presence in the world.
In the castle's upper chambers, Maleficent beholds as the hearts of the six captured Princesses of Heart reveal the Hollow Bastion Keyhole, however, the pathway to Kingdom Hearts remains incomplete due to the absence of the seventh Princess. Meanwhile, the now possessed Riku crafts an artificial Keyblade from the six pure hearts. Overconfident in her abilities, Maleficent takes matters into her own hands by personally confronting Sora, Donald, Goofy and the Beast. Though well versed in the dark arts, Maleficent is greatly weakened by her battle with the team. In a moment of weakness, she is caught by surprised when the now possessed Riku seemingly betrays her: He plunges the artificial Keyblade into the sorceress's heart, causing her to be consumed by darkness and transforming her into a fearsome dragon. After a grueling battle, dragon Maleficent finally falls to the teamwork of Sora and his friends, and all that is left of her is a stain on the ground. Possessed Riku claims that Maleficent was a puppet after all: Though she has spent years warning her allies not to lose themselves in the darkness, she failed to notice the darkness eating away at her own heart, leaving her vulnerable to be manipulated by the Heartless. "A fitting end for such a fool", he claims.
Sora finally reaches Kairi in the prison of the Princesses of Hearts, but she has merely been reduced to a comatose shell. It is here before the Hollow Bastion Keyhole does Possessed Riku reveals the truth: Riku has become possessed by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, once the great sage of this world, but who has discarded his body and sanity for the temptations of power and knowledge. Furthermore, Kairi's heart resides within Sora, taking refuge in his heart during the destruction of Destiny Islands. The only way for Kairi to wake up is for Sora to take his own life using the artificial Keyblade, which would complete the Keyhole and allow it to be sealed. Without a second thought, Sora sacrifices himself and becomes a Heartless.
Kairi awakens, heart fully restored, to see Sora dissolving into nothingness. With her purpose served, Ansem seeks to end her life, but Riku begins an internal struggle for dominance over his body. Riku puts up a fight long enough for Kairi, Donald and Goofy to escape the overwhelming darkness pouring out from the completed Keyhole as more and more powerful species of Heartless are unleashed upon the Realm of Light. In the Entrance Hall however, Kairi is drawn to a Heartless, whom she senses to be Sora. Making her stand to defend Sora's Heartless from the legions of darkness, Kairi's pure light and her ties to her best friend's heart restores Sora to human form. Sora and the team flee for Traverse Town, while the Beast is determined to hold back the Heartless while he awaits Belle's awakening.
As the universe becomes ravaged by the Heartless, Sora and his friends return to Hollow Bastion to seal the Keyhole, a feat made possibly only because the Princesses of Heart have pooled their power together to hold back the darkness. Once the Keyhole is sealed, the Princesses sense a great power rising in the horizon, and it is this great power Sora has to face if he ever were to return home safely with Riku and Kairi. Leon's group has also made their way to Hollow Bastion, which was once their childhood home. However, they come bearing sad news. Once Sora defeats Ansem, all the worlds will be restored, but impassable walls will isolate each world once more. Sora would never be able to meet any of his new-found friends again. Leon and Aerith however assuage Sora's worry with an advice: "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other. No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again." It is with this mantra Sora heads off towards his final journey, certain that they will always be with each other in spirit.
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