Chapter 7

The two humans and the fairy slowly but surely made their way towards the East Wing. They had to make sure they wouldn't run into the Beast, so they stayed away from the main halls. It helped that Orion was continuously scanning the area to retrieve a forming map that was transparent right in front of Vanitas. It was a good thing that only he could see the map and not get them lost. Xion was relying on him to lead them.

The roundabout way they took to get to the East Wing was a scenic one. They saw that much of the castle was in good condition. For a vast building full of enchanted objects, they kept it rather clean. It must have been hard work to be able to manage crowded halls (the blocks didn't help at all). They would need to work over time to clean up everything.

It was also during this time Vanitas got to assess more of Xion's fighting abilities. He noticed that she was a capable fighter who, more often than not, relied on magic to fight. He didn't see her pull out any weapon to do physical damage. However, she fought like someone who would do so at close range. Magic users tended to stay at the back of the battle like Caelum. He only headed straight into the fight when he was forced to. Xion would rush head first into the middle of the fray until she remembered she had no weapon. Vanitas had to go out to distract the Heartless to give her time to escape.

After this happened several times, Vanitas had enough.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked after they had taken out a group of them in a decorative hallway. They were not far from their destination with it being two hallways down the right. He wasn't sure what they were looking for, but Orion told them they were close.

"Keep doing what?" Xion panted as she tried to catch her breath. Her hand was on her forearm cradling an injury she received when a Heartless that posed as a stone gargoyle statue ambushed them. It had completely caught them off guard. She had used her arm to block the swinging axe that came for her rather than dash away like Vanitas had.

"You keep rushing into battle looking like an idiot. You do realize you have no weapon but your magic to protect you, right?"

"I know. I'm sorry. I know I don't have a weapon, but it's like a part of me remembers that I fight with one that I don't have anymore."

"We might have to find you one if that's the case."

"How do you plan to do that? We have encountered no shops for you to simply buy from," said Orion, sardonically. He was still upset with him despite how he was willingly scanning the area.

"Maybe we'll find something for you on the way," he said, ignoring the fairy. He grabbed her arm to examine the wound, lifting the sleeve to reveal the red line on her bare skin. Then, he took out a Potion out of his inventory to heal her. The harsh slash ebbed away to leave the arm unmarred. Like what he could see from her lower face, her skin was pale in a way the sun had never touched it. It made sense since she was covered in head to toe. "I think a sword or something light would be good for you to have. You don't look like the type to use big, bulky weapons."

"Do you think?" Xion wondered.

"Definitely. Your arms are all skin and bones. There's not much muscle at all." He squeezed her arms that were stick thin. If she did have some muscle on her, it was impossible to tell.

"We can't all be muscles. And what about you? Your arms are as thin as mine!" She took back her arm, then poked a finger at his bicep.

"Yeah, but I've got a weapon. You don't."

"I know." Her whole body language shifted to where she hunched in on herself. "I'm sorry for getting in your way. You've had to come help me every time."

"Don't worry about it." Vanitas walked off to get back on track. He could multitask. Xion hurried to catch up to him. "I'm used to saving other people anyway. It happens all the time with my friends."

"…Friends?"

"I've got three of them I'm really close to. Their names are Arty, Caelum, and Max. I've traveled with the last two, so I'm used to saving their asses in fights."

"Why did you travel in the first place? Where did you go?"

"Just places." Vanitas cut off that subject as fast as he could. He didn't trust Xion enough to tell her about his journey.

He didn't have to carry on the conversation about it when they entered a new section of the castle. The map that he had open showed that they were officially in the East Wing. There were no defining markers that this was the new wing, however. Just like the rest of the castle, the blocks were stacked and cluttered. It was to the point Vanitas had to destroy them all to get rid of the claustrophobia threatening to engulf his reasoning. Xion also helped with her magic once she saw what he was doing.

"I don't understand why these boxes are everywhere," she said, following him through a high archway. "I don't think these are normal, are they? At least not from what I remember."

"No, you're right. These aren't normal," said Vanitas. They came upon a set of double doors. He opened them without hesitation. "Back in Twilight Town, I was surprised to see these boxes overran the place. Once I defeated the Heartless we saw there, I think everything went back to normal since it was the source."

"So, if we fight a Heartless here, these boxes will disappear and everything will go back to normal?"

"I think so."

"Good. I think the people in this castle have enough problems to deal with."

Vanitas paused, glancing over his shoulder to quirk his eyebrow at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Uh, the enchanted objects and the master of this castle?" She threw out her arms as if the gesture could encompass the grand scale of the place. "They walk and talk like actual people. I overheard them ask you for this favor because they weren't allowed to do it themselves. I don't how how they're all moving objects, but I can tell they have a lot of problems besides these Heartless and the boxes."

"For a girl with no memories, you're pretty observant." He hadn't expected for her to catch that. She only caught his conversation with the head servants. He had to learn about the curse when they told him. She was full of surprises, and Vanitas wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"Oh, thanks!" By her voice alone, he imagined she was smiling or blushing. He wished she didn't have her hood up. He wanted to see her reactions for himself. That initial expression they made to his jabs were always the best part.

When she got comfortable with him maybe she'd show her face.

"I don't think that should be taken as a compliment," Orion said, his ever-present pessimist. It was nice to have someone else be openly suspicious with him. He was beginning to miss Caelum.

"Observations aside," Vanitas continued as if he hadn't heard Orion, "you're right about the boxes. These are annoying enough without some curse in play. We should find that Heartless behind all this as fast as we can."

"But, first, we do the clock and candle's favor, right?"

"Yeah. We should be getting close to where her room should be." According to the map, they were right next to the hallway where Belle's apartments should be. He took a right through another archway framed by two gargoyle statues. Vanitas eyed them, hoping they wouldn't spring to life and attack. The archway opened to a set of double doors, which were almost impossible to spot given how they blended into the shadows.

Through the doors was a drastically different corridor. Unlike the rest of the castle, there were lit candles placed strategically on end tables, the ceiling high windows allowing the moonlight to shine through. Flower vases filled to the brim with roses perfumed the air with the pleasant scent. Vanitas couldn't help but stop to appreciate them. Yet again, he was amazed Arty thought far ahead to include scent into her program.

Orion came out of his hood, hovering at the top of the stairway. He flew in a circle to the left.

"I detect two NPCs this way," he said. "I believe one of them is the woman you are searching for."

"He's saying Belle's close," Vanitas informed Xion, then faced Orion again. "I'm guessing the other NPC is her lady-in-waiting?"

"Yes, but it is strange."

"What is?"

"The NPC, Madame Armoire, I suppose, is exhibiting a strange number pattern in her coding. What in the worlds is that?"

Orion took off before Vanitas could ask any further questions. Seeing his fairy companion acting strange, he followed suit and prompted Xion to as well. They followed the AI around the corner where there was nothing much to say of it save for the doors leading to what Vanitas thought were bedrooms. At the far end on the right was a cream colored wardrobe. That must have been who they were looking for since Orion was fluttering around it as if possessed.

"What's wrong with him?" Xion asked.

"Are you okay?" Vanitas wanted to pluck the little thing out of the air to get him to calm down.

"User." Orion came to a halt, landing on top of the furniture. "There's something wrong with this NPC. The clock and candelabrum said this wardrobe was like, yes?" He nodded. "Then, we have a problem. She is not responding."

Vanitas was unsure what Orion meant by that. Then, he examined the wardrobe closely. It was a finely crafted piece of furniture a few meters taller than him and several kilograms heavier. Its doors were a mint color to match the cream color scheme it had going on. In spite of that, it never looked more than a piece of furniture. Poking it, it did not respond like the other enchanted objects. He went so far as to try to move it but it refused to budge.

"Is something wrong here?" Xion stood back, watching him attempt to move the wardrobe.

"Orion says this is the wardrobe we're supposed to talk to." Vanitas stopped, examining the object again.

"Talk? But, it's not saying anything."

"Hence why there is something wrong here." Orion fell silent. His light dimmed. Vanitas wondered what he was doing when an obnoxious beeping noise rang. Orion lit up again. "She's being affected by a glitch."

"A-There's one here?"

"One what?" Xion tried asking once more. Frustration began to filter through her words at not understanding the conversation.

"There's something here that's stopping the wardrobe from talking. If we can find it, she'll be free."

"Really? Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Spurned on by her words, Orion took off again. He flew back down the corridor where they came from. The two were quick to catch up to him since he had stopped at the stair's lower landing. He made his way to the tiny nook next to the small staircase. When Vanitas drew close to it the steady beeping picked up its rhythm. Vanitas pointed his Keyblade at it. The close contact made the tiny nook crack until bits of computer code appeared. Xion gasped behind him.

"Whoa! What did you just do?"

"The problem should be hiding in here. Xion," said Vanitas as he readied himself to enter. "You stay here and see if you can find a way into Belle's room. The door isn't the only way inside."

"You're leaving me behind? But I want to come with you!"

"I don't even know if it's possible for you to come with me."

"If you don't know, we should at least try."

"I'm not risking it!" Vanitas shouted, silencing her argument. She flinched. It made him regret it. "Look, Xion, there are some places that you can't follow me to. This thing is one of them."

"And why can't I?"

"It's…complicated." How was he supposed to explain that her entire world and being were fake? "I know that you want to come with me, but you can't. Just wait here until I get back, okay?"

Vanitas lifted his Keyblade to the open gateway. Xion started to protest, but he was already being digitized. Just as before, his vision blurred to return to normal in his new location.

He was back in the digital space. Unlike before, where he had first appeared in a dominantly blue space, the room was red. The layout was different as well, the platforms set at varying levels. It appeared that each glitch would have a different variety of levels. Vanitas didn't mind. If he had to go hunting for glitches, he didn't want things to get repetitive.

Small miracles, he thought as he got to work. He knew that while this was supposed to be a serious venture into cyberspace he didn't want to hate the small colors and patterns each time he did this. He didn't want to forever damn the existence of red and blue. They were decent enough colors.

Vanitas tried not to focus much on his environment as he hunted down the bugs. The glitch itself consisted of two levels, each containing three interconnected rooms. He discovered there was another level only when he had eliminated the first two bugs on the first level, then was forced to go to the second floor to destroy a third-a big bellied Heartless that had a speed a normal one of its type would not contain. Because of its size and the increase in speed, it made it nothing but a nuisance. He had to work to take it down. Several times, his health meter dipped into the red zone. It was all pretty annoying.

He was glad that the only good thing that came out of this was the experience he gained and the new spell, Thunder, he received as an award for getting rid of the glitch.

Once he defeated the bugs, Vanitas was transported back into the castle.

When his feet touched the silky red rug he sighed. He was happy to be back here for all its dank darkness within the castle. Defeating those bugs had done nothing but serve to be an obstacle he had to conquer. Conquer them, he did! And all he had to show for it were better stats and a new spell. He could have done without the snark from Orion, though.

"Once again, you have proven to be adequate at your job. Well done," said Orion, emerging from his hood now that the danger had passed.

"What do you mean 'adequate?' I did the best I could in the situation," Vanitas shot back. "Besides, you weren't the one doing all of the fighting.

"That is why I said adequate. If you did do your best and were at your full potential, then I will praise you appropriately."

"It's never enough with you, did you know that?" Vanitas felt the familiar phrase he often made around Caelum. The more that Orion criticized him, the more thought that Arty might have made her program much like Caelum as well. If he were truly like that in Arty's eyes, he didn't know how his friends stood him. He couldn't stand himself.

"Of course not. You are only human. Your sporadic decisions hinders your ability to perform efficiently in combat. Computer programs will always perform their tasks without fail." Orion turned in a full circle. "Speaking of computer programs, where is Xion? I thought she would have finished her task by now."

Vanitas frowned, scanning the hallway. Given how angry Xion was about being left behind, she would have been waiting to interrogate him about what he did inside the glitch. Or maybe not. He still wasn't sure what to expect from the mysterious girl.

"Xion?" he called, hoping the girl would respond. When no one answered he made his way up the stairs back to the hallway. Orion landed in his hood so he didn't have to walk. His footsteps were loud as he ran to where Madame Armoire was glitched out. When he got closer he spotted the black lump lying in front of her. "Xion!"

He ran to her and fell to his knees at her side. In his frenzied mind he examined the hooded girl carefully for any injuries. He found none. He took the chance to wake her up. He shook her shoulder roughly to rouse her as he called her name. His efforts weren't wasted when she began to stir.

"Van…? Is that you?" she slurred to garble her words. She sat up slowly and her hand touched her head. "Why am I on the floor? How did I get here?"

"I was about to ask you that. I came back after fixing the Armoire problem to find you on the floor. Did you finish what I asked you to do?"

"You finished it already? But, you just went into the hole now, didn't you?"

"No, that was awhile ago. I've been gone for almost half an hour," Vanitas replied, eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Are-Are you sure? Does that mean I blacked out after you left?"

"It looks like it." He stood and held out a hand for her to take. Xion took it. Back on her feet, she smoothed out the back of her coat like most of the girls Vanitas had dated did with their skirts. "Are you feeling okay? It's not normal for you to black out like that."

"I'm not sure. I feel fine right now." She patted herself down to prove her point. She paused as her hand pressed against her chest. "Van, do you think my black out has to do with why my memories are gone?"

"Who knows? If it happens again, we'll think more about it. For now, let's focus on Belle."

"I will begin to make notes of her oddities," said Orion, climbing down from his head. "This behavior is not normal in this environment. When we meet with Lady Arty I will be sure to discuss this matter with her."

He nodded at the same time as Xion. While he wanted to believe that the girl was innocent in all of this, he still was cautious. Dressed as an Organization member, he had been trained to be on edge whenever he saw it. When he reunited with his friends he would ask for their counsel.

Pushing all oddities aside for now, the two faced the enchanted wardrobe. Upon closer examination, Vanitas was happy to note that she was no longer frozen. Instead, she was slumbering away, her eyes closed and lightly snoring. He decided to be the one to end it. He used a finger to poke at her door on her chest.

"Excuse me? Hello? Wakey-wakey!" He continued to poke at her, slowly raising his voice. His poking became more aggressive until it felt like he was about to poke a hole through it. He was about to punch a hole through it instead when the snoring halted.

The wardrobe yawned, slow and long, as she roused herself from a deep sleep. Vanitas stopped poking her and took a step back as she shook herself.

"My goodness, what a way to wake up," the wardrobe, Madame Armoire, commented. She opened her eyes, which was located above the chest doors where the decorations would normally be carved. They blinked slowly as she took him and Xion in. "Young man, were you the one who was so rudely poking me?"

"Why do you think I'm the one who did it? Don't you think she's the one who might have done it?" Vanitas was offended that she automatically called him out on it. Why did everyone accuse him first whenever something went wrong? Was it the gold eyes?

"Vanitas!" Xion gasped, affronted.

"I'm serious here! There are two of us here and she accuses me?"

"That's because you're the one who did do it!"

"Sorry to interrupt your lover's spat," Madame Armoire interrupted, ignoring the way they both yelled, "We're not lovers!" and simply not caring, "but why did you wake me up? And how did you get here without alerting the guards?"

"The head servant, Cogsworth, sent me," Vanitas replied as he fought down a blush. "He and Lumiere wanted me to come check up on Belle. I'm also supposed to help her out of her unfair house arrest."

"Really? Cogsworth sent you?" They nodded. She let loose a long relieved smile. "Oh, thank heavens! I thought no one would come to help Belle. We know that the Master means well. Out of us all, he is the one who cares for her the most. But, to keep a free spirited girl like Belle locked up like this is cruel."

"That's why we're here to help," said Xion, bouncing on her heels in her enthusiasm. "Now can you please let us through?"

"Yes, of course!" The wardrobe moved out of the way as she shuffled to the side. She settled in a spot right next to the door. "If you'll excuse me, I'll catch up on some more shut eye. With all of these Heartless in the castle we all have to patrol. My shift is due to start soon."

"Sure! Sorry for disturbing you. Sweet dreams!"

The wardrobe gave Xion a sleepy smile. Then, her eyes slide closed and she went right back to sleep. Vanitas grabbed the door handle and was unsurprised to find it locked. He summoned his Keyblade to deal with that. With the door open he threw it wide and stepped in alongside Xion.

The room they entered was every bit as remarkable as the rest of the castle. It was a large place that could have been a living room. The king sized four poster bed was parallel to the fireplace that radiated a warm blaze to chase away any chill. There were a few feminine touches to the room such as the various flowers in vases in bloom. Vanitas was amused to find a book lying on every flat surface. It looked like someone was a book worm.

The book worm herself was pacing by the floor length window next to her bed. Her hand was raised to her mouth, her thumbnail caught between her teeth. At their entrance she stopped. Vanitas' breath stopped. Wow, she was beautiful. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled away from her face into a low tail, the blue ribbon matching her dress. She was tall and slim, her curves barely noticeable in her sky blue cotton dress. Just her appearance alone made him swoon.

It was no wonder that her name meant 'beauty.'

"Hello, are you Belle?" Xion asked. She came up beside him when he had been rooted to the spot by her appearance.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" Belle wondered, eying them without abandon. "How did you two get past Madame Armoire?"

"She let us through when we told her Cogsworth sent us." Vanitas mentally shook himself. God, he needed to get his act together.

"He did?"

"Yeah. He and the other servants were worried about you. They think that helping you will also help me get rid of all the blocks in this place and whatever's the problem in this place."

Belle gasped.

"You know how to get rid of these blocks? Can you tell me how?"

"Why do you want to know?" asked Xion. "I'm also wondering why you were locked up in the first place. Everyone else here was cursed as an object, but you're human."

She hesitated, studying them for any signs they appeared to be delinquents. In Vanitas' mind, dressed as they were, they must have looked like troublemakers. He wouldn't have trusted them at all. Belle must have been kinder than him because she nodded.

"I want to know why because I think I know what the problem is," she informed them. She sat on the edge of her bed to settle in for a long story. "It has to do with why I was put under house arrest. When these blocks appeared and those Heartless showed up the Beast seemed to be worried about something. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he refused to tell me. Then, he had me locked in my room under the pretense he was 'protecting me.'"

"If he was protecting me, you don't sound too happy about it," said Vanitas, leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Of course I'm no! I want to be able to help when there's trouble around. The Beast is always saving me and protecting me. The only time I was able to do anything to help him was hold back the darkness in Hollow Bastion. Even then, he still had to come to my rescue."

"Hollow…Bastion? You've been there?"

"You know that place?" Belle wondered, taken back.

"Yeah, I've been there. If you've been there to hold back the darkness…" He trailed off. The story of last year was brought to mind. Arty told him about what happened a week before since she felt, to get closure over the incident, she needed to tell him the full story. She explained that for the Keyhole to work Maleficent needed seven pure lights. The only lights that were pure were the seven Princesses of Heart. He had met two of them already, Kairi and Cinderella. If Belle was there as well… "Sorry if I'm prying, but are you a Princess of Heart?"

"Princess of what?" Xion blurted out over Belle's gasp.

"She's got a pure heart," was all Vanitas could say on the matter. He didn't want to go into the logic behind the darkness and the seven pure hearts needed to open Kingdom Hearts, which was the heart of all worlds.

"How do you know that?" Belle didn't sound particularly suspicious, yet he could sense the curiosity filled with nothing but innocence.

"A friend of mine was involved in the incident. You know a girl named Arty?"

"I don't think I do. When I woke up in the Great Hall I was with five other girls. None of them were named Arty. Maybe the Beast has met her?"

"I guess?" He would have been assured if it weren't for the fact something felt off about her statement. There was the possibility she hadn't met Arty. She hadn't returned to Hollow Bastion until well after everything had settled down. Why was it he was bothered by what she said? "Anyway, continue your story. What did the Beast mean by protecting you?"

"He believes that whatever has caused these Heartless to appear might come after me because I'm a Princess of Heart." She paused, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say more. In the end she didn't.

"What's wrong? You look like you have something else to say," said Xion in his stead.

"I'm not sure if I should be mentioning this, but…I also heard the servants gossiping and something the Beast told Cogsworth. When I first arrived here I snuck into the West Wing even though I was forbidden to go there. In one of the rooms I found a rose inside a glass case. The Beast wasn't exactly…happy with that." She shuddered, a flash of fear on her face for a lightning second before it disappeared. "I had nearly forgotten about the rose until I heard Cogsworth mention it. He said he was worried something was wrong with it."

"A rose…Why didn't they say anything to me about that?" Vanitas grumbled.

"Why would they be worried about a single rose?" Xion wondered, bringing up a hand to her chin, or where it was supposed to be.

"I don't know. What I do know is that it's important to the Beast and the servants." Belle abruptly stood. A fierce confidence set her hazel eyes alight. "That's why I have to do something about this."

"You do?" Vanitas and Xion echoed.

"What are you planning to do? They locked you up to protect you." Vanitas was tempted to add, What could a Princess of Heart like you do? Then, he remembered how Cinderella had helped him fight one of his Unversed in the past and thought better of it.

"If they mentioned the rose being in danger, I want to help protect it. I-I know I can't do much on my own. So, I was hoping you would help me protect it? If the problem with the blocks extends to the rose, you could also see if there's something you do."

"No way," Vanitas denied without hesitation. "I'm not doing it."

"Why not?" asked Xion as Belle shrank back in his rejection.

"Isn't it bad enough I have you to look after? I'm not looking after a second defenseless girl. Plus, she's a Princess of Heart! My friends will kill me if I let something happen to her."

"I'm not defenseless!" Belle exclaimed, her fire back in place. "Please, all I ask is that you escort me to the West Wing so I can see for myself the rose is safe. After that, you can take me back here and continue your way through the castle."

"See? That's all you have to do," said Xion.

"Why are you agreeing to this?" Vanitas shot her a squinted look.

"Why not? She doesn't mean any harm. All she wants to do is check up on a rose. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"There's a lot wrong there! In case you've forgotten we can't be seen by the castle's master at all. If he finds out we're here, he'll kick us out and we'll never get to fix the block problem here. If she's with us, it'll be that much harder to sneak around."

Xion's resolve crumbled as her shoulders hunched.

"Well, I suppose you're right, but…She's been locked up here when all she wants to do is help her friends. I can't leave knowing there's someone in need. You didn't with me."

"That's entirely different!"

"How is it different? She needs our help! Why won't you help her when you helped me?"

"I-That's-" Vanitas' tongue refused to spit out the true answer. It was different because she was helpless. Other than Vanitas, she had no one else to rely on. Belle had dozens of servants worried about her well being and were willing to break their master's orders to ensure it. Xion had no one but him to rely on. There were a multitude of reasons why. He couldn't say any of them.

Not when Xion's whole stance was defiant and Belle's hazel eyes glanced imploringly at him.

"I'm going to regret this," he groaned. "Fine! Fine. We'll help. Just turn off the puppy dog eyes already. It's pathetic to look at."

Both females cheered in their success. All Vanitas could feel was resignation. How could he be so easily convinced like this? He thought Arty was the only one who could do that. He had to be getting soft.

"Great! Then, let's get going," Xion said, far too chipper.

"Thank you, Vanitas." Vanitas removed his hands from his face to see Belle blind him with a grateful smile. It was that along that made him know how he could be so easily convinced.

It was so difficult to say no to a Princess of Heart.

xxx

Contrary to Xion and Belle's belief that they would be fine, they were not.

Vanitas had a perpetual glare he couldn't quite get rid of as he climbed a stairway.

"I said I was sorry," Xion apologized. She and Belle trailed behind him at a safe distance away from his explosion zone.

"I don't want to hear it."

"But I'm really-"

"Xion, if you don't be quiet, I swear I'm going to do something I'll regret," Vanitas seethed.

He knew the second Belle said she wanted them to escort her he would be the only one handling the consequences. Both of the females thought they could handle themselves fine in a fight. That was nothing but a lie.

Like Vanitas thought, when faced with Heartless, they did have issues fighting. Xion, at first, did try to look after Belle. Despite how Belle tried her best to stay out of the fights Heartless went after her without fail. It was as if they knew she was a Princess of Heart, whose light was too pure to ignore. It was because of this, Xion did try her best to protect her. However, her magic was not a reliable weapon of choice. While Caelum could handle himself, he had a long staff to do physical damage. Xion had nothing when the Heartless got too close for her to use magic. She ended up using her own body sometimes to shield Belle, resulting in more injuries.

Vanitas had to come to their rescue every single time-all dower mood and a bomb on the verge of exploding. His fuse was on the verge of detonation.

"I told you this would happen," he muttered, violently stomping down the hall. He couldn't muster any concern for stealth. "You don't have any way to protect yourself and I'm the one paying for it. Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?"

"You did agree with them, though," said Orion, dully.

"Because I had no choice!"

"You should come up with a better excuse than that. That is the second time you have said that, and I still fail to see how that works."

"Orion, don't make me break you. I have a lot of experience breaking electronics," Vanitas snarled. If he had to hear one more snarky remark, he was going to kill someone.

The program, thankfully, kept his trap shut.

They continued on through the castle in silence. The girls didn't want to anger him any further and walked ahead of him so they wouldn't be near when he finally exploded. Seeing their effort to give him some space, Vanitas tried his best to calm down. He was getting stressed, he knew, from everything that was happening. On top of protecting Belle and Xion he was worried about his friends and their safety. He hated not knowing if they were doing alright or if they were safe in the library. All he wanted to do was get to them as quickly as possible, yet, as he told Orion, he needed to interact with the people in the worlds. Only they could help him get to where he needed to be as quickly as he could.

He sincerely hoped that none of them were in danger. He couldn't bear it if Arty, Caelum, or Max got hurt where he couldn't reach them. After the events of their last journey, he had become protective of them in a way he never imagined. Come hell or high water, he would do anything to protect those three.

The silence did not last for long. Soon enough, they had arrived in what was the West Wing on Vanitas' map. Belle turned a corner where the entrance was located only to come to a halt.

"What in the world...?"

Hearing Belle's gasp, Vanitas and Xion shared a surprised glance. Then, they ran through the archway to see for themselves what could have made Belle react in such a way.

They weren't disappointed.

Once through the archway, Vanitas was quick to spot what was wrong. The West Wing itself was nothing like the set of apartments Belle lived in. It was an Entrance Hall itself-a place that boasted the riches and finesse one could expect before entering the royal suite. It was well-lit for a part of the castle that didn't have any windows. A velvety carpet muffled his footsteps as he ran through. On either side of him, between stylized columns, were suits of steel armor brandishing lances on either side of him. There were six of them in total.

Belle stood a few feet away from him, frozen to the spot as she regarded the odd sight before her. In the next section were dozens of the same steel armor aligned in rows and packed so close together they were like something a child would do with toy soldiers. It didn't seem possible to sneak through them.

Xion came up beside him and came to an abrupt stop as well.

"Well…This is the second weirdest thing I've seen yet," she said in a distant, light tone.

"Were these suits of armor always here?" Vanitas asked Belle as he slowly came up to examine the closest suit.

"No, of course not! There should be only a few guards stationed here," she said, visibly disturbed. "I-I don't understand. Cogsworth wouldn't have so many guards stationed here without a good reason."

"Wouldn't they be here to guard the rose? You did say it was important."

"That may be so, but this is a bit excessive for a simple guard position."

"User." Orion came out to fly into the air. He was shining a steady light. "I think this goes without saying, but those knights are glitched. The source of it is located just outside the West Wing."

"For real?" Vanitas groaned. "There's another glitch here? I just got rid of one!"

"Glitches can appear in abundance in a world. You were lucky to have only one in Twilight Town."

"Shit!"

Xion was quick to realize what was causing him distress. Her head swung from Orion and Vanitas. "Is this another one of those weird things that you have to handle alone?"

"Pretty much. Goddamnit! Orion, go lead me to it!" Vanitas' mood just plummeted further. He jabbed a finger at Xion. "You're in charge of looking after Belle. If anything happens, you better hold off the Heartless long enough until I get back."

She mock saluted.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"What is going on?" Belle questioned, looking lost.

"Don't worry. Vanitas is going to do something real quick to try and get rid of all these suits."

"What is he doing?"

Orion flew out the West Wing while Xion started to explain what Vanitas was planning on doing to the best of her ability. Vanitas followed after the tiny helper, the soft voices of the girls drifting further and further away until he could no longer hear them.

Vanitas went through the same procedure as he did when he proceeded through the previous glitches. He saw that it was getting easier to go through the floors the third time around for the sole reason he was used to it. There was nothing different about the glitches except for the amount of floors he had to travel up and how many bugs he needed to eliminate. As always, Orion was kind enough to tell him how many bugs were on the floor as well as the total amount he had to destroy.

With them working together it didn't take them long to clear out the glitch to fix it. By the end of it, he had gone up several levels as well to bring him up close to hitting the double digits at the solid level eight.

Exiting the glitch, Vanitas was once more in the West Wing. He glanced at the direction of the armored soldiers and was thankful to see they were nowhere to be seen. The few were around were at their stationary positions by the walls to flank whoever dared to enter. This was where he found Belle excitedly but cautiously examining the knights. Something about this made him worry.

"Belle!" he called as he jogged over to her. "Where's Xion? Why isn't she with you?"

"I don't know where she is," Belle admitted. Her lips were set in a confused downward tilt. It wasn't much of a frown and more of a pout. "When you suddenly disappeared to fix what made the soldiers stand like that Xion was gone as well. I called out for her and looked around the hall, but she was gone."

"Why would she be gone?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe she had gone to check the other parts of the castle for a solution if your method did not work."

"Why would she do that?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't have trusted her at all," Orion growled at his earlobe. "If she does not listen to your requests at all, then she had little thought of you. We shouldn't have brought her along with us."

Vanitas shook his head, mentally cursing himself. While he didn't want to believe there was the possibility of Xion ditching him or using him, he had to concede that Orion had a point. Xion could have faked her amnesia to trick him into pitying her. Then, when he slowly fed her information she decided to leave to pursue her own goals. After all, the fact that she had appeared out of nowhere in both Twilight Town and then the castle made him ignore it entirely.

God, he was idiot.

More than anything, he was embarrassed that he would be played for a fool. He knew better than this.

"Don't worry," said Belle, drawing his thoughts back to the present. She smiled with a reassurance that he couldn't feel. "I'm sure your friend is alright. She seems like she's a capable enough girl. If she runs into trouble, I'm sure she's alright."

"That's not what I was-" He began to say, but he stopped himself. Belle had already trusted Xion and thought the best of her. All he could do was think of the worst. He decided it was best if he didn't break that trust. He couldn't hurt a Princess of Heart like that. "I think you're right. We should move on, though. We can't stand around here waiting for her when we've got little time to check up on that rose."

Belle agreed that it was for the best. They were on an urgent mission after all.

Vanitas, Orion, and Belle continued on their way through the West Wing. Without the suits of armor obstructing their path, all Vanitas had to do was destroy the blocks around them to have some semblance of open space. Belle was leading the group, or so Vanitas let her believe. She power walked with a purpose, her strides coming in a staccato beat that was easy for Vanitas to follow. Her footsteps always came to a halt whenever they encountered Heartless, which were few and far between the closer they got to what he assumed was the Beast's apartment rooms.

The end of their journey came when Belle turned to a particular hall. It was here, unlike the rest of the pristine and somewhat worn castle, they found gouges on the walls as if an animal was raging, swiping them in a fit of anger. The curtains were in no better condition and were torn to shreds.

"I'm guessing we're close?" Vanitas studied the long scratches that split the wallpaper apart. Given the size of them, the Beast must have been the culprit. He could remember those same claws had been on him. If the Beast wished it, he could have torn his virtual body to ribbons.

"Yes. His room is at the end of the hall," said Belle in resolute conviction. Vanitas ignored how some syllables shook.

They came to a stop before the ornately decorated door. Claw marks surrounded the doorknob. Vanitas finally took charge and had Belle stand behind him in case something jumped out at them.

Orion made his appearance to land on top of his hand resting on the doorknob. "If you're worried about anyone being in there, then allow me to soothe your fears. Besides an unusual source of energy, there is no one within the next room."

"What did your little fairy say?" Belle asked in anticipation. When Vanitas relayed the message she sighed in quiet relief. "That's good. Then, we will not have to worry about getting caught."

He wished he could have the same relief she felt. He knew to never let his guard down and was always ready to jump to run away-an ingrained muscle memory that refused to leave him.

With some of the tension gone from them both Vanitas turned the knob and threw open the door. They hurried inside in case the Beast did decide to grace them with his presence. Scanning the room, it was just as Vanitas expected.

Like the hall, the room was in disarray. There was once a beautiful four poster bed situated near a mantelpiece only to have been utterly decimated in a fierce animal's rage. Its curtains and covers were nothing but ruined pieces of cloth that were, oddly enough, gathered in bunches. Near the collapsed feet was a single open space that looked as if a dog had settled there. Above the mantelpiece was a painting framed in what appeared to be real gold. It appeared to be of a young blond haired man, but the claw marks that raked across it made it impossible to pick out defining features. All Vanitas could make out were cerulean eyes peering back at them.

"Lovely place he's got here," said Vanitas, lifting a hand to cover his nose with his sleeve. The air was scented with an odor not unlike a barn's. It was both nostalgic and a bit overwhelming.

"When you're cursed to appear like a beast for ten years of your life it makes sense you'd be spending it like one," Belle replied, smiling weakly. It fell away as she spotted something at the back of the room. "There it is!"

She darted for a single wooden table near the French doors leading to the balcony. There was nothing on it-no tablecloth or chairs-save for a rose encased in a bell jar. Vanitas wondered how he didn't notice that in the first place. It was difficult to miss the ethereal glow that emitted from the rose in the dreary place like a lighthouse on a foggy sea. Its silky petals surrounded the floating and probably enchanted rose.

Belle reached a delicate hand out to touch it but stopped at the last second.

"What's wrong?"

"The Beast was…upset the last time I tried to touch the rose. I'd like to try to try and protect this at all costs, but…" She retracted her hand to press against her chest, cradling it. It was a touchy subject.

He could relate to what she must have felt. After he finally stopped living on the streets, he didn't know the meaning of gentle when it came to other's delicate belongings. The first time he tried to touch a glass figure of a castle that Liam owned he was yelled at by the man. Vanitas couldn't understand what he had done wrong until Arty pulled him aside and told him, in a rueful voice, that it belonged to her mother. Even though the woman had run off with his money, driving their family into bankruptcy, he had kept something that belonged to her.

He wouldn't understand the thoughts a broken hearted man had at all.

"I think he wouldn't mind this once if you touched it," Vanitas attempted to reassure her. "There's a jar around it, right? As long as you don't take the cover off, it should be fine."

His reassurances didn't seem to work quite that well, so he thought an example would help. Vanitas came up beside her to reach over for the jar with both his hands.

The Beast's roar scared whatever temptation he had to grab the rose. Vanitas drew back his arms and fought the urge to jump ten feet away from the thing. He was at least a foot from it when a swirl of code appeared in the air. It formed a Soldier Heartless. From the way it twitched more sporadically than usual, it was a glitched out one. Vanitas was too slow to summon his Keyblade as the thing lunged at the rose jar like it was a football and dashed away with it in its clutches right out the open door.

"Oh, no! The rose!" Belle exclaimed, moving into action. She startled Vanitas by running after the damn thing as if she had the speed to catch up. Vanitas didn't have the reaction time he would have liked to realize what she was doing.

"Belle, hold on!" He took a step to follow after her. He stumbled in his step when, suddenly, a tremendous roar rocked his very soul from right behind him.

"Where is my rose!"

Vanitas whirled around and felt as if all the blood had drained out of his body. The Beast had appeared beside the table. The doors to the balcony were thrown wide open, the curtains fluttering in the night. How the hell did he climb up there from a lower level? Whatever questions he had about his entrance vanished as the Beast turned his snarling face toward him. It was then Vanitas realized what kind of situation he was in.

He was inside the Beast's room.

The Beast's rose was taken.

Belle, a woman that the Beast loved, had run after it.

All three facts drew a single conclusion, and it become more certain when the Beast took a hulking step towards him.

He was fucked.