Kingdom Hearts: The Legendary 8th Princess of Heart

Chapter 34: Sealing Hollow Bastion's Keyhole

(Harmony's) POV:

On our way out of the coliseum, my brother agreed to take Sora with him on his way back to Traverse Town. As for the rest of us, we head to Hollow Bastion. Thanks to all of the adjustments Madison made on our gummi ship, we make it back to Hollow Bastion with no problems. When we arrive, we're greeted by Beast.

"Beast, where's Belle?" I ask.

"Still in the castle," Beast answers.

"Against her will?" Goofy asks.

Beast shakes his head. "No, I think she stayed for a reason. The other princesses are inside as well."

"I wonder why?" Donald asks.

"I think I know," I say, gaining everyone's attention. "This darkness...during the time we've fought the Heartless, I've never felt this amount of darkness before. It's making me me feel sick."

"Are you alright?" Asch asks, his face showing concern.

I shake my head. "I'm fine. I think it's thanks to the others, the other princesses, that I'm able to bear it. I can sense their power within the castle. They're giving their all on using their power to keep the darkness at bay."

"You can tell all of that?" Luke asks, shocked.

"Makes sense. Remember, Harmony is one of the princesses of heart. I think when she stabbed that dark Keyblade in her chest, that must've somehow made her be connected to the other princesses," Madison says, trying to explain as best as she can. "It's a connection through their hearts."

"You think so?" Mieu asks.

"I can't say for certain. All I know is that one time, my mother told me that once the 8th princess is born, she's born with some kind of special power. But I don't what it is because it's different each time an 8th princess comes into the world," Madison explains.

"So, basically, there's no telling what Harmony's power could be?" Luke asks, making sure that he heard right.

"You got it," says Madison. "And since the 8th princess is born once every 1,000 years, there's no telling what powers the others before her had. Anyway, let's get going. I want to check out the library real quick."

"We don't have time to read a book," Asch points out.

"No, dummy. I want to look into Hollow Bastion's history, to find out if this has ever happened before. Or better yet, to make sure something like this doesn't happen ever again, as well as a possible way in defeating Ansem. I mean, how else do you think my mother got the idea to use the princesses as the key to unlocking the Keyhole, unless she got that info from the castle library?" Madison clarifies, making us understand her objective.

Understanding what Madison is getting at, we head inside. To be honest, the farther we go in, the more difficult it becomes for me to take. This has never happened before. It practically feels like I'm being strangled by darkness itself.

Thankfully, we have Beast help out along the way, as we head to the library. When we arrive, however, we see Beast's friend, Belle.

"Belle!" Beast exclaims, looking relieved to see her.

Judging from how those two are interacting with each other, they seem to be real close.

"You've come to seal the Keyhole, right? Please be careful," Belle says. "The darkness is raging deep inside but we can't hold out much longer."