Hollow Bastion
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)
Hollow Bastion is definitely a world that attracts trouble and true to this statement, the first thing that Sora, Donald and Goofy come across when they land is a disagreement between a werewolf-looking creature, Beast, and his love interest, the beautiful Belle. It seems that Beast has come to retrieve Belle from the jaws of a "witch" but Belle merely tells him to leave in a cold manner, and walks away herself. Sora asks if the guy's okay, but Beast tells him that "nobody could love a beast like me" and stalks away, leaving Sora and co. to do nothing but investigate deeper. So, they enter the fort.
Unsurprisingly there is wave upon wave of Heartless in this (disturbingly spacious) trouble-attracting realm, but the gang finds a safe haven in the bastion's grand library where they come across the stoic beauty from before, Belle. After some chitchat, Sora and his friends discover that Belle was forced to go to Hollow Bastion by "that witch" - Maleficent - and she secretly desires to go home with Beast. When Belle is on the verge of revealing why she was so cruel to Beast before, there is a loud crash and she frantically tells them to hide, claiming Maleficent is coming, with which they comply. Not a second later emerges Maleficent, a tall, green woman dressed in black robes with the very horns of the devil atop her head and a long staff of dark magic in her spindly fingers; she inquires why Belle refused to go away with Beast, and Belle tells her that she won't ask for his help. The reason behind why she won't ask for his help is somewhat of a key to whatever Maleficent's plans are, and when Belle won't admit why, Maleficent takes matters into her own hands, saying if Belle won't comply, she will force Belle to beg for Beast's help, and then she teleports herself and Belle away. Now that Belle has been kidnapped (again), Sora and co. only have one choice - to save her.
Maleficent takes Belle to the foyer and orders the beauty to call out for Beast, but Belle, fearing for his safety, refuses; when Maleficent threatens Belle with pain, Sora steps in just in time to stop the evil sorceress in her tracks. Though the prospect of taking Maleficent on is a good one, it actually works out in the witch's favor as she delights in the fact that the sounds of the pain she will inflict upon Sora will bring the Beast running - but she speaks too soon; Beast drops in on the scene. Again, Belle tells him to leave but this time he refuses, announcing the happiness she brings him. But yet again, Maleficent utilizes this proclamation of love as a chance to take Beast's surprisingly beautiful heart and when she sends a blast of evil energy at him, Belle jumps in the way. Her body disappears and her heart floats away, which suits Maleficent just fine. After the witch teleports away, Sora and co. with Beast in tow go to rescue Belle... again.
They find the evil sorceress in the chapel and she tells them why she has accosted Belle's heart; it is a heart of the highest beauty which is essential for her dark magic. But it seems Maleficent isn't just satisfied with Belle; she also wants the heart of Beast, but of course Sora is there to put a stop to her parade. She turns into a gigantic, black, fearsome dragon of satanic quantities and stomps and slashes her way through the battle, setting the chapel alight with green, infernal fire, but Sora is just too experienced now and he overcomes her with ease. This valor restores Belle back to her lovely self and now that she is safe with Maleficent out of sight and mind, she is free to admit her love for Beast. After a small, private reconciliation, they restore their relationship and Sora and co. takes it as their cue to depart.
For Riku during Reverse/RebirthHollow Bastion really is the place with which he possibly has the strongest connection; and as such it is the first world to which he pays visit. He instantly recognizes the massive fort but a voice - a mystery voice - reveals that it is an illusion of Castle Oblivion, shaped by his memories of his time with Maleficent, and that he will also meet people from his memories, too, at which point the voice leaves him. Riku doesn't understand what the voice means but only hopes he comes across the voice, and then leaves to explore.
As he remembered, the Heartless are swarming within the world, but this time he is against them as opposed to on their side and he slashes them down as he goes by. He eventually finds himself back in his old bedroom bestowed upon him by Maleficent, a place that brings back memories Riku wishes nothing more than to forget. The voice taunts him about the room, saying that Riku exchanged his friends and his island for a nice room, which Riku refutes before running off to once again tackle more Heartless.
He finds the foyer of the fort deserted - and he concludes that there are only Heartless in the castle. It is something he requests the voice's help on, and the voice asks them if he wants to see them again. Riku replies with a yes but the voice only taunts him more, reminding him that he cast them aside when he dreamt of the outside world, making him pass through the door to darkness to get that experience and in turn leaving behind his home, his friends and his family for darkness. Even though Riku is intent that he cast away the darkness, too, the voice shows him the saddening reality of his choices - that the only thing Riku's heart knows how to do is cast away. And because of that, it is empty, like his old room and like his memories, which is the reason behind the bareness of the castle; and the only thing that isinside his heart is the residing darkness of his past. This is all too much for Riku to take who, true to style, runs off once more.
In the chapel, Riku finally happens across an inhabitant of Hollow Bastion, though it's the last person he'd rather be with - Maleficent. She is of course just a figment of his imagination born from the darkness of his heart but she is just as cruel as the real thing; she reminds him constantly of his loneliness, but again he denies it, convinced that he has turned over a new leaf. He is so resound in his conviction of getting rid of the darkness completely that he vows to himself - and Maleficent - that he will rid the worlds of every last dark being, even if it means himself, too, because in reality he is his own worst enemy. Maleficent just finds this pathetic and offers to end his suffering for him, which he has no say in due to the fact she bursts out into her fearsome, green fire breathing dragon form and attacks him.
Just as Sora did, Riku turns Maleficent to dragon dust easily, and escapes unharmed, true to his style and reputation. When all is said and done for Riku in Hollow Bastion, he leaves it, glad to be rid of it finally.
