Chapter 6: Uninvited Guests

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney, Square Enix, Kingdom Hearts, or anything within this Fiction

Key:

Talking

Emotional Talking

(Sora and Everyone elses Thinking)

[Ventus Thinking]

[Vanitas Thinking]

(Xion Thinking)

{Roxas Thinking}

Armored/Heartless/Nobody Talking

Armored/Emotional/Heartless/Nobody Talking

(Armored/Heartless/Nobody Thinking)

Chapter 6: Uninvited Guests

(Location: The World that Never Was - Unknown Location)

(Play: Sacred Moon - Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix)

It was the next day in the World that Never Was as the Leader of the Organization teleported to a secret area far from the 'Castle that Never Was' after his reflection of what had happened yesterday. He stood in the middle of his little project that he had been working on for a long time now. He was in a large room of sorts, white in color and blue accents here and there with what looked like a giant marble seat at the end of the room in the middle of the wall. The seat itself had a giant Nobody symbol, with more spikes accompanying it all around it.

At the left side of the large chair, was a tall mannequin with what looked like blue armor on it being propped up. It was branded with a single Nobody emblem centered on the torso, Nobody emblem-esque thorns protruding from its greaves, and Nobody emblem-esque thorns wrapping around its boots. Its crown and shoulder pad are gold, while the rest of the armor is colored in light shades of blue and silver. It has two silver belts on its waist and white feathers on its right shoulder in place of a spiked pauldron. The faceplate is beak-like in structure and it also has clawed gauntlets. Right next to it was another article of clothing that was propped up as well. But unlike the Armor, this was a unique Organization cloak that was of his design. Unlike the rest of the cloaks, this was white in color with various 'Nobody' sigils all over in black coloring.(1)

The Leader had only stared at the armor as he walked to it for a bit, before laying a hand in the Nobody symbol in the center of its chest. Looking at the armor, he no longer had to contemplate on its mysterious origin.

"It is only fitting that a 'Nobody' such as I would be able to locate this Armor many years ago...and will soon be used for a much better purpose." He said out loud as he looked at the Armor in calculative wonder.(2)

He turned around from the armor and began walking back to the center of the room. Looking up, there was an open roof allowing him to see the stars in the sky. And the yellow object of his desire.

Kingdom Hearts...

His very own creation...

"Soon...Soon you shall be completed..." He said as he looks at the Heart shaped moon in the sky, gesturing to it with his arms wide, "And then we shall fulfill our purpose together!" He said as he continued to look on at 'Kingdom Hearts' as the room he was standing on was revealed to any and all who saw it. For what he was standing on...

Was the cockpit to a Giant Mechanical Dragon.(3)

(End Song)

(Location: Beast's Castle - Parlor)

After going inside the castle, Sora and the gang had looked all around the interior of the Entrance hall and was amazed at the beautiful structure that they saw. Then they were met with something very familiar, loud animalistic roars. They had come to the conclusion that this castle might belong to Beast. But when they saw some Heartless make their way to the door at the right side, they were already at edge. Going to it, Donald duck stuck his head inside the room and saw an ordinary room, with a fire place and shelves with books and expensive plates for show. But no Heartless.

"Heyyy, where did it go?" Donald said but something else caught his eye. A glowing Rose in a small glass casing. With that, the three when inside the Parlor, Sora and Goofy checking for Heartless, and Donald to grab the really shiny Rose. He was so close too.

Just a few inches a way...

Closer...

Clos-HOLY MOTHER OF DISNEY! A HEARTLESS!

"Found it!" Donald quacked out, backing away in fright as Sora had walked forward and saw Shadow Heartless appear all around him and the gang. Sora summoned a different Key-blade that might help in this situation. Being red in color, it was stylized into a small Dragon breathing fire outward to create the blade half of the Key-blade. It was the Hidden Dragon.

(Play: Dance of the Daring - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

[Information: Defeat the Heartless!]

More heartless were appearing to surround them, making Sora, Donald and Goofy go back to back to back with each other. Sora had a plan with the surrounding Heartless making a circle around them.

"Guys...I got an idea." whispered Sora as the Shadow Heartless got closer. "When I say now, jump out of the circle and attack from outside ok?" He said as he channeled magic into his Key-blade. They nodded in confirmation, just as the Heartless got too close.

"NOW!" Shouted Sora as he twirled the Hidden Dragon, now cloaked in fire as Donald and Goofy had jumped high and away from the surrounding Heartless, landing out of the circle. And then the beat down began.

"HA! HIYA! FIRE!" Sora constantly used his Fire magic to make it rotate around him as the Heartless were burned. Donald and Goofy hit a few Heartless that were not in the circle with their weapons into the inferno that was Sora.

Many were disappearing left and right as Sora spammed his Fire magic until he got tired. Donald used his Lightning magic to shock more Heartless in their place, while Goofy swung his shield at them to destroy them. There was a large gap left from all that was left of the Heartless, prompting Donald and Goofy to run next to Sora who was swinging his Key-blade back and forth to take care of some stray Heartless. Goofy rammed a Shadow away and Donald lit one on fire, destroying it. Sora, Donald and Goofy now were side to side as they backed away from the last remaining Heartless, unknowingly getting closer to the Rose encased in the small glass.

(End Song)

"Man, give me a break..." Sora said as he saw even more Shadows come forth as if they didn't lose any to begin with. Slouching, Sora spoke aloud, "Aw, c'mon, enough already!" he exasperatedly replied to himself.

"Somebody Help Us!" Donald quacked out loud as he was tired of being surrounded.

BAM

The sound of the parlor doors opening loudly caught the attention of Sora, Donald and Goofy along with the rest of the Heartless. The Doors slammed against the walls, as if it was almost ripped from its hinges, by a very large, furry Beast that was over eight feet tall. Donning a royal purple cape with a shredded green pants, with small horns on its head, the Beast walked forward to the rest of the Heartless, with a scowl permanently glued to his face. The majority of the Shadow Heartless crept away, leaving some behind.

"Rrrr...GrrAAAHH!" Beast roared and growled as he swiped away at some of the remaining Heartless with his arms, making them disappear, leaving him alone with the three others, and his 'prize'.

"Hehe, just in time!" Sora said as he raised his right hand up to greet the approaching Beast. But the Beast wasn't even remotely paying attention to him as he smacked Sora away really hard.

"Gah!"

CRASH-SHATTER

"AGH!" Sora was flung at a glass bureau filled with priceless ornaments, and smashed into it back first, breaking the glass before he fell on the floor holding his head. Donald and Goofy were shocked at what happened that they weren't able to move out of the way from Beast doing the same thing to them, only with them just hitting the floor further away.

(Play: Hesitation - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

All that really mattered to Beast was the glowing Rose that was in the glass casing, so grabbing it like if it were a life line Beast walked out the Parlor with the Rose in hand without even looking at the Gang that was on the floor.

The first to recover was Donald who immediately ran to Sora, who cradled his neck in his hand after crashing into the bureau. Donald had to carefully walk to Sora as there was scattered glass everywhere, but got to him none the less and got Sora to sit up slowly. Goofy got up second but was slightly rattled from hitting his head. his eyes rolling around his head comically before he got up slowly from the ground.

"Sora here. You'll be ok..." Donald said as he gave Sora a potion, healing him from the damage that he sustained from Beast. Sora had groaned a bit, his back and neck hurting, but was now ok thanks to the potion. "Thanks Donald, man...he hits hard..." Sora said as he rubbed the back of his head. Donald agreed while rubbing his beak. Donald helped up Sora as they looked at where Beast left and walked to the door, and Goofy had walked up to them, a little worried about the two.

"Sora, Donald, you ok?" Goofy said in worry as he too rubbed his head.

"We're good don't worry about us...what about you?" Sora said to Goofy as he smiled in a reassuring way.

"Aww you don't need to worry 'bout me, I'll be ok." Goofy said as he looked at the door Beast left out of. "Gee, do ya think he maybe forgot who we are?" Goofy asked out loud.

"With this many Heartless around, something must be up." Sora said as he looked around a bit. Nothing out of the ordinary so far...

"Ohh, why did he have to go and do that?" Donald said as he rubbed his face, still slightly in pain but he could handle it. He was the first to go out the door, followed by Goofy and Sora, with Sora lingering back a bit.

Sora had looked back at the destroyed bureau while rubbing his neck with his right hand. (Yeesh, he could've just told me to move...instead of doing that...) He said in a bit of anger while unconsciously channeling a bit of Darkness in his left hand. He calmed down though as he walked out the parlor and into the Main Hallway. He saw Donald look up at the right staircase with his arms crossed, with a look on his face.

(End Song)

(Play: Waltz of the Damned - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

"Donald what is it?" Sora asked as the Duck looked at Sora then back at the staircase.

"I don't know, but..." Donald pointed at the stairs on the right, "I just know I saw a lady at the top of those stairs..." Donald had finished saying, with all three looking up at the stairs.

"Well," Goofy started. "If the Beast is here in the Castle, that lady musta been Belle, right?" Goofy had speculated to them.

"Yeah maybe so." Sora said in agreement. "Belle might even know what happened to the Beast too..." Sora ended as he crossed his arms.

"Well c'mon and let's go find her!" Goofy said enthusiastically, with Sora and Donald nodding together. So, running up the stairs, and by passing some Heartless who were too slow to follow, Sora and the Gang had made it to the hallway.

They stopped until they were halfway to the end of the hallway, to the last door, until Sora shushed the gang and started to tip toe to the final door. They were directly in front of the door until they heard a muffled voice on the other side.

(End Song)

"Oh, what am I going to do?"

The voice was noticeably feminine and laced with worry, but Sora was still skeptical. So Sora motioned to Donald about the door, where he nodded and moved back a few feet.

(What is he doing?) Sora thought in confusion, until it hit him like a sack of bricks.

"No Donald wai-" But it was too late as Donald got a running start at the door to brake it open, but the door was unexpectedly opened, causing Donald to fall forward in front of a shocked but very happy woman.

"Heyyy! Who opened the door?" Donald said slightly miffed as Sora and Goofy looked on from the doorway. When he looked up, he was surprised to see-

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here!" The woman said while reaching down and grabbing the duck, then hugging him happily. "Oh Donald!" She said, as Donald was flailing about, muttering things like 'let me down' and 'let go of me' as the woman looked at the door and saw two more familiar faces. "Sora! Goofy! she said to them.

Grinning a bit at the familiar woman, Sora looked over on who the woman was. It has been quite some time since they last saw Belle. She wore a blue and white dress with her long brown hair tied together in the back of her head to show off her blue eyes.

"Put me down! Put me Down!" Donald said frantically. Belle let go of her hug, all the while Donald had comically spun his eyes around as if he was dizzy.

"Hehehe..." Sora laughed a bit at the small reunion but then he thought about what had happened with Xion. (Xion...I hope she's ok...) Sora thought, but decided that he needs to find out what happened with Beast first. And Belle may know for sure.

(Location: Station of Awakening - Ventus Station)

(Play: Dive into the Heart -Destati- Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

Meanwhile, Ventus had been looking around wherever he could access within Soras' Heart to find Xion. All there was were nothing but the glass floor that showed off the pictures. He never really looked at them all that much, seeing as though that they would be the same in some fashion. He had looked over at the Dark Station a.k.a Vanitas' Station, and realized that after the whole thing with whoever he was fighting with and Xion diving after said person, made it clear that Xion would avoid Vanitas as much as possible.

So here he was, standing at the edge of his Station of Awakening, looking down at the dark abyss below, scanning for any trace of Xion to come up and return. He was getting antsy on whether or not she was ok after diving after the other person with the Organization coat on. Making up his mind, Ventus quickly touched the armor on his left shoulder, and in a flash of light he was cover from head to toe with his Key-blade Armor. Its color ranged from a teal color with gold and red accents with his helmet having large spiked 'ears' with a black visor for him to see through. He then summons the Wayward Wind Key-blade, twirls it a bit before throwing it up in the air where it transformed into a large Glider(4), with the glider resembling the Key-blade, with thrusters at the bottom and its teeth as the wings.

Hopping on the Key-blade Glider Ventus shot downward into the abyss, keeping close to the pillar that was the Station of Awakening in hopes of finding Xion. Unknown to Ven, Vanitas had saw the whole thing.

(End Song)

(Location: Station of Awakening - Vanitas Station)

(Play: Xehanort theme - Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep)

While only camouflaged with the darkness in his Station with only his shadowed covered head sticking out and his yellow eyes looking on, Vanitas saw Ven fly down to look for the elusive girl that went after Roxas after injuring him.

"Heh..." Vanitas scoffed a bit, before looking at the path to Roxas' Station. Slowly, but steadily reforming back into his body again with the help of the shadows, fixing any damage he had to look unmarred and unscathed. The helmet was no longer cracked as well.

"I don't have that much power now, but it should be enough to keep me stable like last time..." Vanitas murmured to himself as he grasped his chest slightly with his hand. He walked towards the path but stops short and looks at the incomplete path that had only a few stepping tiles to Sora's station. Feeling a bit of darkness surge into his Station, he sees the tiles extend even more, drawing closer to Sora's Station(5). Smirking, Vanitas thinks to himself. [The more Sora feels the Darkness inside of him, the easier it will be to make direct contact with his heart...] He chuckles to himself at that as he continues onward to the path that connects to Roxas Station to pay him a little visit. If he's right that girl must have saved him after he knocked him off the edge of his Station. He decides that he'll take his walk slow, maybe make an ominous appearance. He was very good at keeping quiet and covering his tracks unlike Ven.

(End Song)

(With Ventus)

He's been circling for about five minutes trying to find even a glimpse of Xion with no success. And since he saw no sign of her, he was getting extremely worried for her safety.

"Sigh...where could she be?" Ven said aloud as he looked through the visor of his helmet around the bottom, but got irritated. Rubbing his head, Ven looked up and was about to let out noise of frustration, but stopped as he looked in a bit of awe as he noticed a path from Vanitas' Station, going far into the other bright Station...

"Wait a sec! I know now." Ven said as he started to remember from less than a day ago.

*FLASHBACK*

"That wasn't good...at all..." Ven said as he looked at Xion with worry as she was looking up within Sora's heart.

"I know...I don't like it either...but it's something that Sora has to deal with after all..." Xion said as she had remembered their conversation about Sora's powers. Ven though, didn't like it at all.

"Grr...why did it have to be this one though- huh?" Ven had said frustrated at the concept of Sora making any contact with Him, until he saw something in the distance very far away from the Darkened Station.

Out in to the Dark corners of Sora's heart, something was moving, thing is...

He didn't know what it was.

*FLASHBACK END*(6)

"That's it...that mean that guy she saved must have came from over there. I might get some clue as at what's going on." Ven said as he decided to make a detour to the Other Station and fly over to it.

(Location: Station of Awakening - Roxas Station)

(Play: Roxas - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

Xion had Roxas' head on her lap still as he slept away from the last encounter with Vanitas. With what he went through, especially after that grueling battle, she didn't have the heart to wake him so she could give him a hug. She also felt a little selfish, doing this and making Sora and Ven worry over her. Despite that she was justified in doing so...she should have explained who this was that made her jump off the station to save him. But all these emotions that she was experiencing at the moment made her do things that were irrational that she went on instinct.

She has been feeling a lot lately...

"I really missed you Roxas..." Xion said in a low voice as she smiled a small smile to him. "I wish we could reconnect again..." She smiles sadly to him. "But, I wont be able to until I prove to myself that I could fully be accepted by you again...I hope you can forgive me for what I put you through..." Xion said as she had shed a tear for him.

"Hehehe, I guess this is what it's like to have a heart huh?" Xion chuckled to herself as she rubbed Roxas' head some more before finally, and reluctantly setting his head down. She put his Hood back up to hopefully keep him comfortable as she stands up fully to leave and go back to where Ven is. He must be worried about her...

"..mm..."

Xion had heard the slight groan coming from Roxas as he unconsciously moved his right hand on his chest. The same spot where he was hurt from the sneak attack from Vanitas.

WHOOSH

"Xion!" A voice said that accompanied the wind for above for a brief moment, causing Xion to turn and look up at an armored figure hopping off a giant glider while landing near her, the glider disappearing.

FLASH

"Xion! You're ok!" Ven revealed himself to her as he had a relieved look on his face. Xion had nodded her head to him, but also had a look of regret for making him worry. Ven walked up to her while also looking around this particular station, that's when he spotted the cloaked teenager with his hood up, concealing his face.

Seeing Ven look at Roxas, she turned back and looked at him as well, regret in her eyes as she tries to look away from Ven.

(End Song)

(Play: Musique pour la Tristesse de Xion - Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix)

"Hey, who is he? Is he the guy from before?" Ven asked as he stood next to Xion, who was hiding her face away from Ven. He sees her look down at his question in silence, which got Ven worried.

"Hey...are you ok?" Ven said cautiously at Xion as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"...I'm sorry I made you worry." Xion said quietly as she looked up slightly from staring at Roxas. "I-I know I should have said something ahead of time, but when I finally saw him..." Xion had grabbed the left side of her chest. "...I froze. I was so happy to finally see him, but I was sad as well. Knowing that I caused him his greatest pain." Xion said as her eyes became misty from the unshed tears that where surfacing. She looked over at Ven to continue. "But when I saw that he was hurt, something inside just snapped...I acted without thinking, and I made you and Sora worry." She said as she looked down and away from Ven's worried face.

"Hey don't worry about it..." Ven said as he went in front of her as he grabbed her shoulders gently with both hands. "You were only looking out for a friend right?" At this, Xion nodded. "Well I would have done the same thing too. In fact I have as well." Ven said as he gestured to himself with his right hand, while trying to reassure Xion. "You don't have to worry about it, ok?" Ven said to her, hoping that she doesn't beat herself up over it. Seeing her nod, he then asks a question.

Well he would have. But he was interrupted by the sound of clapping...

(End Song)

(Play: Organization XIII - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

"Aww, isn't that special..." said Vanitas as he clapped from his side of the Station walkway. The Shadows wisp around him as he chuckled at Ventus and Xion. Ventus instinctively got in front of Xion, while summoning the Wayward Wind Key-blade with a scowl on his face. "Heh, I would have thought you would be happy to see me...Ventus." Vanitas said as he gestures to himself while saying his name with obvious venom in his voice, making Ventus growl low to himself.

"What do you want?" Ven said a little loud to Vanitas, which made him put his index finger to his face covered helmet and mockingly shushed him.

"Shhh...You wouldn't want to wake the 'baby' now would you?" Vanitas said to him while lazily pointing at Roxas. Xion bristled at the comment towards Roxas. Before she was mad at him. Now she was down right furious. She summons the Kingdom key, and would have rushed at him hadn't Ventus held her back behind him with his right hand that held his Key-blade.

"Xion, please calm down." "You know, its pretty funny now that I think about it..." Vanitas said immediately after Ven's comment to Xion. Vanitas had his right hand rubbing his helmet covered chin, mocking that he was thinking hard about something. "I mean look at you...standing there acting all angry..." He said to them as he shakes his head at them in disappointment. "...Tch, knowing very well I'm trying to rile you up, hehehe, I guess Ventus gullibility rubbed off on you huh?" Vanitas said to them condescendingly as he crossed his arms at them while not moving from the spot he was standing on.

Ven was about to say a comment to Vanitas, until he saw something that made him quickly look down and back up to Vanitas. Standing up straight, he recalled the Wayward Wind, which surprised Xion at his action. "Wait what are you doing? He might attack us-" Xion said quickly. "-He won't." Ven said cutting off Xion as he walked towards Vanitas, who chuckled a bit at his supposed bravery.

"As a matter a fact, you can't...isn't that right?" Ventus said in full confidence as he stood right in front of Vanitas, and all the while Vanitas was chuckling more and more at Ven.

"Hehehehe, I guess you're not that stupid after all huh?" Vanitas said as he uncrossed his arms, then to prove Ventus right, he hooked a punch forward and was stopped by an unseen barrier. Vanitas then looked at Roxas' prone figure laying on the floor. "Tch, I guess the kids got spunk, denying me from coming here...I guess he figured I try something, but all I was gonna do was drop in and look at my handy work." Vanitas said then he looked at Xion. "So...how did I do?" He said, making Xion scowl at him more.

"What are you doing here?" Xion said as she got in front of Roxas, despite knowing that Vanitas can't enter.

"What? I can't visit an old friend?" Vanitas said, with his arms up a bit as he looks at Ventus.

"I'm not a friend of yours..." Ven said as he held both arms at his side, balling his hands into a fist as he talked to the Masked teen.

"Really? I thought that you would have jumped at the chance to make some new ones?" Vanitas said as he tilted his head at him. "I mean look at you, you are down two of them-" He was cut off by Ven, failing to hit him with his Key-blade as it bounced off the barrier keeping Vanitas away from the Station.

"Don't you dare...mention them in front of me, you don't have a right..." Ven said low in anger as he was slightly breathing heavy. He calmed down immediately and walked away from Vanitas.

"Fine. Leave. But tell me, where was this rage when the Master had asked of you...you know if you had only listened to the Old man none of this would have happened." Vanitas said to him as Ven had his back turned to him as he was beside Xion.

"I don't need that kind of power. I do well with my friends supporting me. You should know that first hand when I beat you last time." Ven said to him as he looked back at Vanitas.

"Heh, that maybe true, but look at where that got you..." Vanitas said as he tried to get Ventus riled up again, but to no avail. Looking at Roxas' prone body that was slightly shivering while clutching his chest, Vanitas felt a small surge within his body that made him chuckle silently to himself.(7) Shaking his head, he said "Well, I guess I saw all that I can see. Maybe next time we meet will be different." Vanitas said as he turned and walked away to his station. Ven and Xion watched carefully as he walked a bit before he suddenly stopped and turned halfway to see them again. Then he opened a Corridor of Darkness, while saying one last remark.

"By the way...You never told me you had a twin Ventus, hehehe..." Vanitas said as he walked away and entering the portal, leaving a wide eyed Xion and slightly confused Ventus.

"What did he mean by that?" Ven said to himself in suspicion as he was looking at where Vanitas disappeared to.

Xion on the other hand was nearly cursing Vanitas' name at what he had said. She really didn't want to divulge anything that had to do with Roxas, despite being within a few feet of him, but for Vanitas to throw out that comment made her realize that he might try to cement a wedge between her and the rest of her friends by keeping a secret from them. But it wasn't her place to talk about someone else. But, she could at least let Ventus know who he is...

(End Song)

(Play: Dive into the Heart -Destati- Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

"Well, it doesn't matter what he says, but now what are we going to do with him gone?" Xion said as she asked Ventus quietly, as to not intentionally wake Roxas up from his much needed slumber.

"I don't know, I don't feel comfortable leaving this guy alone with Vanitas lurking around here." Ventus said to Xion as he looked at the hooded teen on the ground. "Who is he by the way, I know you are friends, but you don't seem comfortable talking about it...' Ventus said to Xion, who slightly flinched at his question.

"He's...he's one of my friends from the Organization. Someone I trust..." Xion said quietly to Ventus before continuing, "...but I doubt the same could be said for me, not after what had happened. I'm sorry Ven but I think its best to not talk about it..." Xion said as she moved slightly away from him and toward the edge of Roxas' station.

Looking at Xion, Ven had a made a face of understanding. He himself was still wary of mentioning his Old Master for the bad memories that it brought him. He could at least guess at why Xion was uncomfortable with talking about it, what he remembered from her mentioning in passing, her friends not being apart of the Organization anymore.

They most likely had a falling out...But how was he here?

Walking up to Xion, he asks her. "Hey, you can take your time telling me and Sora about it ok?" He says as he lays a hand on her shoulder, making her turn to him with a small frown on her face. "But I have to ask, how is it that he is here within Sora's Heart? Is he connected to Sora like Vanitas and I are?" He finished asking as he sees her small smile ruefully at how close he was at figuring it out.

"A lot more than you know Ven, a lot more...We should go, but I don't want to leave him here..." Xion said as both of them looked over at Roxas again. They would have debated on it more if the sound of cutting wind caught there attention. They looked up and saw two Key-Blades twirling down from above, then embedding themselves near the base of Roxas' feet crisscrossing together.

The Oath-Keeper, and Oblivion...

"I think something tells me that he'll be protected for now Xion, we should go." Ven said as he looked at her, until she hesitantly nodded at Ven. Both Ventus and Xion donned their respective Armors, Xion having her wing-thrusters to fly and Ventus with his Key-Blade glider, flew back to their Station of Awakening.

(End Song)

(Location: Beast's Castle - West Wing)

(Play: Dance of the Daring - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

"This whole castle sucks!" Sora said out loud as he swung at another Statue-come-to-life(8) as more Heartless appeared in the castle. "Rah! Fire!" Sora attacked again after the Gargoyle Heartless was too stunned to do anything. It was sent back as Goofy had the bright idea to ride his shield and run over the Heartless, making it crumble to dust. That was the thing that was getting on his nerves for the past while. Other than Belle, who so graciously helped with whatever info she could give, having to stave off many other objects that came to life literally minutes after had gotten annoying. But what else can go wrong right?

Wrong! They had to fight a Possessed Door(9) of all things that were keeping the rest of the occupants in the castle as hostages. After beating the door with his Key-blade, they were slightly shocked at what was inside. Turns out it was a Clock named Cogsworth, a Candlestick named Lumiere, and a Teapot and cup named Mrs. Potts and Chip respectively. They had along with Beast, who is a prince on top of that, been cursed by an Enchantress to punish Beast for his cold heartedness.

It was one thing to deal with talking Wardrobes, Clocks, Candlesticks and Teapots that were friendly. It was a Whole other thing when most of the objects within Beasts Castle get possessed by Heartless and start relentlessly attacking them non stop!

"I got it!" Donald shocked a couple of Heartless and a Large body Heartless before Sora and Goofy had sprinted toward them and destroyed the stunned monsters. Sora got behind the stunned Large body and took a big swing at it, effectively destroying it.

(End Song)

Breathing a bit heavy after running and fighting a bit, Sora had wonder if Cogsworth was ok during all this. Goofy was hiding him on his person and was glad that he could defend the small clock with all this fighting going on.

"My word! I'll say, hopefully we can talk to the master and get everything straightened out." Cogsworth said as he walked to the door leading into Beasts room.

"Yea, maybe if talk to Beast, we could find out what was wrong with him from before." Sora said as he regained his breath and started to walk towards the end of the hall to Beasts room.

(Sora!) [Sora!] Two sets of voices rang in Sora's thoughts, perking him up a bit.

(Hey! You guys are ok!) Sora happily thought as he got closer to the door.

[Yea, say? Who lives in this castle anyway?] Ven said in a little curiosity after only knowing that they entered the castle when he left to find Xion.

(Yea? The castle looks familiar...) Xion said as she tried to remember where she had seen this castle.

(Oh, this place is where Beast lives but its crawling with Heartless and other things.) Sora said in a bit of annoyance at the 'other things' that he mentioned.

(Wait? You mean this is Beast's Castle?) Xion questioned as she remembered her time coming to the castle with Roxas.

[You know who lives here?] Ven asks Xion, and would have talked a bit more but Sora interrupted them.

(Wait, hold that thought ok.) Sora says as he hears something on the other side of the door. He goes to the Donald and Goofy, Cogsworth being behind the latter, and quietly shushes them while leaning closer to the door, all the while holding the door knob.

"I've had enough of strength. There's only one thing I want-"

"What? To love, and be loved in return? Who could ever 'Love' a Beast?"

"GRRWAAAAARR!"

This prompted Sora to quickly open the door and entered with his friends in tow, all brandishing there weapons, Sora decided to bring out the Kingdom Key this time, and saw a rather tall person wearing an Organization cloak with their arms behind them. They also saw Beast, hunched over while breathing a bit heavily.

"See? She has accomplices..." He said ominously as the cloaked figure glides back to Beasts side and slowly stretches out his left hand on front of him to create a barrier behind Beast and himself. He then disappears in a Corridor of Darkness.

(Oh no...) Xion said low, but was heard by Ven and Sora.

[You recognize him right?] Ven said to her as Sora cautiously walked up to Beast with his friends behind him.

"Hey? Uh, Prince?" Sora said he got a little closer to Beast but stopped as he saw him shaking. "Uh Oh..." Sora murmured to himself.

"GrrrRROOOOAARRRR!" Beast lets out an angry roar, making Sora and the others back away an fright.

"Oh Dear! Master!" Cogsworth exclaimed in worry for the Prince.

(Sora look out!) Xion said as Sora and the gang scattered from Beast lunging at them with a swipe of his large claws. Getting behind him, Sora and the others fall into their stances, with Cogsworth getting behind Goofy for protection.

(Play: Tension Rising - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

"GRRAAAAAHH!" Beast lets out an angry roar as he spun around and glared at the group before him, letting out his claws as he readied himself to fight.

[Information: Help Beast come to his senses!]

"Please Master, control yourself!" Cogsworth said as he tried to placate the Beast, which seemed to work a bit. Sora, Donald and Goofy still had their weapons ready in defense, slowly backing away but as Beast saw this, he snarled at them causing them to scatter as he swiped at them. Sora backs away from another swipe of Beasts claws and hesitated on attacking. Donald sent a weak jolt of electricity to stun the Beast, which served to anger him greatly as he tried to attack Donald. Donald was able to avoid hits as he shuffled back and forth until Sora and Goofy jumped in and made Beast back away with a snarl.

[He almost hurt your friends...] A voice that sounded much like his own said in his mind, and he agreed with it, with an angry look on his face.(10)

"That's it. Prince or not, I'm knocking some sense into you!" Sora said as he rushed forward with his Key-Blade and clashed with Beasts claws.

"Please don't hurt him!" Cogsworth said in worry and fright. Donald charged after Sora to help him, and Goofy got in front of COgsworth as he made his way towards Beast.

"RAAAHHH!" Beast roared again as he slashed at Sora again, only for the Key-Blade wielder to dodge and hit him with his Kingdom Key. "Back off!" Sora shouted as he made Beast stumble back from the hits from his Key-Blade. Donald sent another jolt of lightning at Beast but he seemed a little unaffected until he was rammed from his side by Goofy, making him back away more.

"Good job guys." Sora said as he stood with Goofy and Donald, readying themselves again. Goofy nodded at him as he prepared to defend again from Beasts attacks.

"Let's go!" Sora rushed again with Donald and Goofy behind him, as he attacked Beast, with Beast swiping to counter his strikes. Goofy would use his shield to block strikes aimed at Sora when he would be unable to block from the relentless attacks, and Donald would use more lightning magic to stun Beast long enough to slow his attacks down. Sora jumped now to attack while spinning around Beasts wild attacks.

"Hah! Rah!" Sora yelled out as he landed a particularly hard hitting strike at Beasts forehead making him Roar loud in pain as he held his head.

[Sora, you need to calm him down!] Ven said to him.

(Now's your chance!) Xion said as well.

[Information: Help Cogsworth gather energy with enough successive Charges!]

(I got it!) Sora said determinedly as he then charged a lot of light energy into his Key-Blade, then transferred that power to Cogsworth. Then he spun the Key-Blade and pointed at Beast.

"Please Master, please! Compose yourself!" Cogsworth implored to the Beast.

"Light!" Sora shouted as he blasted Beast with the Light magic, unlocking Beasts mind from the rage he was exuding as Cogsworth was talking to Beast, finally calming him down.

(End Song)

"Ughh, Cogsworth...what happened?" Beast said as he was on his knees as he was exhausted from the all the rage he felt. He slowly got up to look down at Cogsworth, as he tried to explain what was going on, and failing to do so with his stuttering.

(Well at least he's calm now...) Sora thought to Xion and Ven as they too agreed about that.

[Yea, now we could figure out who Beast was talking to before. It was definitely an Organization Member.] Ven said to sora and Xion, who also though was possible as well.

(Yea, I was able to catch a bit of what he said. He sounded familiar. He had his hood up, but I know it was a member as well.) Xion said, convinced that it was. Sora nodded at this as he got back into reality, just as he heard that Beast acknowledged that he put his staff in the dungeon. So now he decided to ask the question.

"Who was that guy you were talking to? The one in the Black coat?" Sora questioned Beast, as he looked down thinking. Until it came to him in a short gasp. Looking up he revealed his name.

"Xaldin...that's his name." Beast said as he started to clenched his hands in anger.

(Oh no...he's high up on the Organization being number III!) Xion said in worry.

[That's not good...] Ven stated low to Sora and Xion, also worried.

"He came from the darkness..." Beast continued as he started to snarl a little. "He...used my anger to control me!" He started to hunch forward now. "He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain- and turned it into Rage!" But, then he caught himself. He started to stare into his hands, as if he was ashamed of himself. "There was nothing I could do...I could no longer see the truth." Beast said sadly. But then Goofy decided to lift his spirits.

"Well, I'll be. that must be why you threw all of your friends down there into the dungeon. You wanted to make sure that you didn't want to hurt 'em, right?" Goofy said to Beast, assured that he had done so to defend his friends from himself.

"Was that it? Was it to protect them?" Beast said to himself, a little doubtful of himself of even doing that.

"Sure, we know your good inside." Goofy said in absolute confidence in the Beast. Donald and Sora had also nodded in agreement with Goofy's statement.

(He has really bad confidence issues because of the curse...) Sora thought as Goofy tried consoling Beast.

[Curse?] Ven said to Sora in confusion. To which Sora said that he'll explain later. Just in time too cause he sort of spaced out when Cogsworth was also trying to explain how good Beast is, but when he mentioned Belle...

"Belle!" Beast gasped out, but then he started to sulk now at the realization. "I've mistreated her...I've mistreated her and been so selfish." Beast said sadly about what he had to have done to her.

"But she didn't mention anything like that at all..." Sora said to Beast, where the latter hunched more Beating himself up more.

"She'd never tell anyone of my cruelty...She's too good." Beast said, a hint of something in his voice as he said the last sentence.

"You see, I'm afraid he judges himself far too Harshly." Cogsworth said loudly as he covers his mouth away from Beast, not even attempting to lower his voice.

[You can say that again...] Ven muttered to himself.

(I agree.) Xion said as she nodded her head a little.

"Well why don't you just talk to her?" Sora said to him, hoping that at least talking would set things straight.

"B-but-" Beast hesitated.

"No excuses! C'mon, we'll go with you." Sora said, prompting Beast to nod his head, making him smile as they made their way out to the west wing hallway, and off to see Belle.

(Timeskip: Several Minutes Later)

(Location: Beasts Castle - East Wing Hallway)

(Play: Waltz of the Damned - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

[Whoa! I never thought that Beast and the others were cursed cause of that.] Ven said, surprised that an Enchantress had done so to Beast after hearing it from Sora.

It took a while to explain it too, since Sora, Beast and the others had to take down wave after wave of Heartless from the West Wing of the castle to the East Wing. Beast, true to his nature, fought like a wild animal as he roared and slashed at the Heartless that would invade his home. Nothing would stand in his way in getting to Belle.

Thank Disney that he is on their side now...

(Yea, it's so cruel...) Xion said disapproving of the method to change the Prince into a Beast, and then hurting the others within the castle that were affiliated with him. She had at least an understanding on why he transformed into this Beast now, since the last time she was there as part of the Organization, she was a bit, 'preoccupied' at the time.(11)

(I know right. Now hold on a second, hopefully Belle can talk some sense into Beast.) Sora thought to Ven and Xion, who mentally nodded to him as they entered Belle's room.

Only to find the Wardrobe there in the middle of the room.

"Oh! Master!" The Wardrobe addressed Beast who entered the room last.

"Everybody's safe now." Donald assured the Wardrobe, who was relieved at the news, saying "Thank you" to them.

"Where's Belle?" Beast getting straight to the point as he questioned the Wardrobe.

"Why, she left in a hurry. Something about going after this 'Man in Black'-" "-WHAT!" Beast interrupted the Wardrobe with a roar, with everyone else surprised at what they had heard. "Why doesn't she do as she's told?" Beast said as he growled to himself and towards her at the danger Bell just put herself into.

The Wardrobe turned around facing away from Beast, all the while shaking her head. "Temper, temper! Her spirit is what makes Belle so special."

"We better go find her then!" Sora said as he and the others quickly open the door and sprint out to the East Wing hallway. Luckily for them, the statues didn't come to life and attack them this time.

(Why would Belle do that? She could get hurt!) Xion said to both as she was worried for the young lady.

(I don't know, but we have to make sure she's alright!) Sora thought in urgency to Xion.

(End Song)

They were able to make it to main Hallway, until they heard Belle's voice.

"I'm warning you! You'll be sorry!"

She was talking to him!

"Belle! Where are you?" Beast said out loud as he and the others looked around, trying to find Belle. There was silence for a bout two seconds until...

"Beast! Help! I'm in the ballroom!"

A wave of fear swept over Beast as he ran towards the door to the Ballroom with Sora, Donald and Goofy beside him. And that's when he saw it.

Belle was running! Running towards the balcony!

"Belle!" Beast shouted as Sora and the others got inside the ballroom.

"I'm alright!" She said as she opened the door to the balcony. She closed it just in time as a new Heartless floated down from above.

It was in the shape of a Massive Possessor, but the key difference was that it was covered in chains and had tipped orange spikes. The 'Possessor' twitched as it faced the gang, until it suddenly swooped down and melded into the floor. It then spread the darkness into the Ballroom floor, making everyone look around in a bit of fear, with Donald Duck jumping off the ground into Goofy's arms.

[It's corrupting the floor of the Ballroom!] Ven exclaimed out to Sora in worry.

(It's a Shadow Stalker be very careful!) Xion warned Sora as he backed away slightly.

The, now named, Shadow Stalker then appeared above ground again, and with an unearthly wail, the walls and finally the ceiling were finally consumed by the darkness until even the chandelier no longer had its gold luster anymore.

(Play: Dance to the Death - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

[No Information]

"Lets go!" Sora shouted as he and the rest of the gang charged at the Shadow Stalker. It Floated back and became one with the glass doors behind it, making Sora and the others stop a bit. The image of a cackling Possessor was on the glass before it shot out waves of lightning at the group.

"Crap! Scatter!" Sora shouted as he and Beast jumped away to the left and Donald and Goofy jumped to the right, with the lightning dissipating. The Shadow Stalker then popped out of the window, then floated up to the center of the ballroom before merging with the chandelier. The Chandelier turned an eerie dark blue before smashing down to the floor, making Sora and the others run towards it to attack the Heartless. The Heartless then made the candle lights on the chandelier throw out two sets of fire beams at the group as it rotated. Donald got behind Goofy, who blocked the fire as he was getting closer to Sora and Beast. Sora and Beast started to slash at the Chandelier, with Beast on the ground clawing at it for damage, and Sora jumping high to attack the top.

"Hah! Rah! Release!(12)" Sora said as he slashed at it before shooting at the Heartless with the Key-Blades' release ability, knocking the Shadow Stalker out of the Chandelier and returning it to normal. Goofy threw his shield at the Possessor like a boomerang, knocking it towards Beast.

"GrrRRRRAAAAH!" Beast with a roar, swiped and clawed at the Possessor, before he slashed upward into the air. Donald Duck then used his Lightning three times, the last one making the Possessor slam into the floor. The heartless then melded into the floor.

"Where did it go?" Donald asked in confusion, with Beast growling as he looked around.

"Keep your eye-WAHH!" Sora said before screaming as he was swallowed into the ground, making everyone look at the last place he was before a mouth opened up and spat Sora up into the air, causing some damage. Beast caught Sora as he fell and put him back on his feet. Shaking his head, Sora gave a warning to the group, "Guys be careful, this thing can use what ever it touches even the floor!" He said as he notices the Shadow Stalker go to one of the pillars in the ballroom, making all the pillars come to life as spikes.

"Lets get it out of there!" Sora shouted as he ran at the one pillar that had the Possessors face on it while dodging spike drops from the others pillars that were near it. Goofy blocked his left while Donald stunned a right spiked pillar as Sora and Beast attacked the face of the Possessed pillar. Beast roared once more as he viciously swiped at the Possessor and Sora slashed at it with his Kingdom Key, before switching it with Star Seeker as he performed an air combo. With a shout of Release once more, Sora banished the shadow Stalker from the pillar, making it float around outside again.

Beast wasted no time as he jumped on the Heartless, making it fall all the while clawing it before it crashed to the floor. Donald used his lightning to keep it in place as Sora and Goofy charged at the Heartless. Sora goes high for an air combo with more slashes as Goofy hits low with the edge of his shield. Sora then made one final slash downward making the Shadow Stalker flinch wildly from the pain.

(End Song)

"Uh, is that supposed to do that?" Sora said out loud to Xion, Ventus, Donald, Goofy and Beats as he saw the Shadow Stalker twitch more, then massive shadows seeped out of its mouth, making an orb of pure darkness surround the Shadow Stalker.

[That's not good...] Ven said to Sora as they witnessed the orb shudder a bit, before it rose slightly off the ground before breaking away revealing the Heartless' new, and more powerful form, scaring the wits out of Donald and Goofy.

(A Dark Thorn!) Xion had gasped out in surprise.

It was easily larger than all of them combined, standing at least a solid 10 feet, with its long mane of fiery orange hair and orange horns on its head. It then roared loud, with its dark lanky body being covered in teal vein like marks as it stretched its arms wide looking more imposing and feral than before as it showed its red claws on its hands and feet.

(Play: Desire for All That is Lost - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

[No Information]

Then the Heartless hunched over as Sora and the others readied themselves against it...

But then it backed up and Vanished!

[Sora you have to be on guard! It could be anywhere!] Ven said in a bit of fright at seeing the Heartless disappear.

(Don't worry, I got it!) Sora thought as he looked down at where the Dark Thorn was, and saw the shadowed ground glow a low purple and saw a slight shimmer.(13)

"Guys! Follow my lead!" Sora shouted at he leapt at the shimmer a few feet away from him and swung his Key-blade at it, actually hitting it! He heard a roar before hearing the crunching sounds of it moving to the left, but Goofy blocked behind him as a small projectile of a Possessor Heartless came at him unsuccessfully. Sora switched the Star Seeker with the Wayward Wind to give him a speed boost, and charged at the shimmer again with Beast following behind him and started to attack again on opposite sides of each other. Every once in a while, Goofy and Donald would defend Sora and Beast from the Possessor projectiles that would go off at random to hit them, but Sora felt he needed to move away and he did. Ducking under a swipe he jumped high onto the chandelier and forcibly stomped on it to make it fall all the way down to the Ballroom floor.

"Guys! back up!" He shouted at his friends, who got the idea and moved as far back as possible, as he spun around the chain holding the chandelier, before gaining enough momentum to spin it around the Ballroom, hitting the Dark Thorn before releasing his hold on his makeshift weapon.

(Good thinking Sora!) Xion said with praise, as she witnessed Sora and Beast charge at it again with Donald and Goofy trailing behind him.

(Thanks! But we still got more to go!) Sora said to her as he attacked at the now visible Dark Thorn, who attacked back more feral than before, and was able to grab Sora and quickly throw him on the higher level of the Ballroom.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy yelled out, but had to dodge another projectile from hitting them. Beast, despite being worried for the boy, kept slashing at the Dark Thorn wildly, prompting it to charge head on to Beast and attack back with its own vicious swipes, with Beast swiftly evading the attacks.

Sora had got up from the floor on the higher platform, rubbing the back of his head as tried to fight off the pain from being thrown back first into a wall. Grabbing on to the banister of the platform, he sees Donald use lightning magic at the Dark Thorn, all the while being defended by Goofy from behind from the possessor projectiles. He even sees Beast keeping up with the Heartless as he tried to swipe at it more.

Breathing heavy, Sora had an odd feeling that he was being watched as he looked at his left and saw the Hooded Xaldin looking at Sora from the far end of the platform with his arms behind his back. Gritting his teeth, Sora unconsciously channeled more darkness into his left hand.

(..ora...calm...own..) [S...ra...] It was muffled, but ultimately drowned out.

[He should pay...] The much louder voice from before said, to which he agreed once more.

(He should...) Sora thought darkly as he channeled a bit more of the darkness, and unknowingly to him, his eyes became slightly brighter from their deep blue color.(14)

[Go ahead, embrace it...] His voice said as he looked at his left hand as if he was lost in his own world, but was brought back by multiple shouts. By Ven, Xion and by Donald and Goofy.

[Sora!] (Sora!) Ven and Xion shouted gaining his attention.

"Somebody come quick!" Goofy said as he was hurt from one of the stray projectiles.

"It turned invisible again!" Donald quacked out in frustration.

(Oh No! I gotta help them!) Sora thought clearly, as he got to his senses, unknowingly returning to normal again, and jumped off the second platform and on to the chandelier and stomped down once more to make it fall to the ground.

"Guys! Move out the way!" Sora shouted as he spun once more to gain more momentum and started to spin the chandelier again to hit the Dark Thorn.

When Sora shouted to them, Goofy, Beast and Donald had opted to hop on the chandelier with him, where they saw the Dark Thorn turn visible after being brutally hit over and over. They jumped off the chandelier and readied themselves again.

"Sorry I got hung up guys..." Sora said quickly as he threw up two potions for Goofy and Donald, as Donald used his own potions to heal Sora and Beast. They backed away once more as they saw the Dark Thorn move side to side while moving forward slightly.

(Xion, Ven. I'm sorry about what happened, but I gotta end this now!) Sora thought to them, as he channeled light magic to his heart.

Ven and Xion both nodded at each other within his heart and decided that Ven will help with his Drive form in this battle.

"Light!"

FLASH

As the light died down, Sora had revealed his Valor form to the Heartless and to Beast who was slightly confused, but otherwise uncaring since it will help with defeating the monster in front of them.

"Lets go!" Sora shouted out as he and the rest charged at the Heartless, just as the Dark Thorn had made a short dash at Sora with its claws out. Sora countered with a Sliding dash with his Kingdom Key, making the attacks collide and forcing them back some. Beast, spared no time and simply jumped high and started to relentlessly attack the Dark Thorn on all sides. Sora and Donald ran close with Goofy behind them defending from the stray possessor projectiles, and started to attack the heartless once more.

"Yah! Rah! Bring it! Donald now!" Sora shouted as he slashed quickly at the body of the Heartless that was too preoccupied at Beast, but when it was about to slash at him, Donald used his lightning magic to stun the Heartless a bit before they got out the way. Beast then shoulder tackled the Heartless a few feet away stumbling back hard.

[This is It!] (Take it down!) Ven and Xion said to Sora as he dashed forward with blinding speed, twirling his Key-blade before finally ending the Dark Thorn with a finishing blow.

"Its Over!"

SLASH

(End Song)

The Dark Thorn recoiled from the attack, slightly backing up before it hunched over in pain from the final slash that landed on it. Sora and the others waited while in their stances as they saw the Dark Thorn shake a bit, before it roared loud into the air as shadows broke from its body and making light shine through, breaking away and making the Dark Thorn disappear. With the Heartless gone, everything within the ballroom returned back to normal. Sora then dropped out of his drive form, making his red clothes black once more.

"Ha! We did it!" Sora said triumphantly with Donald and Goofy also celebrating as well. They would have continued too, if they weren't interrupted by a different voice.

"So you think." The older voice said, making everyone turn around. It was the Hooded Organizaton member Xaldin!

(Its him!) Xion exclaimed in all seriousness, but also resignation.

"I know you hear me, Traitors. Don't worry, you Both will get what is coming to you. That, I assure you." Xaldin said in his drawl monotone voice as if it were fact.

"Grrr! Xaldin!" Beast snarled as he rushed at the cloaked Nobody, with Sora and his friends not far behind.

"Farewell..." Xaldin said as he disappeared into a Corridor of Darkness, making them stop in their tracks as they saw the portal close, leaving them alone in the ballroom.

"Sigh...What does he want here?" Beast asked in a calm tone, holding back his anger for now.

"He's a member of Organization XIII, ever heard of Nobodies?" Sora asked Beast as he turned around. He then went on a minute long explanation on the Organization, the nobodies that they control, and the plan that would have turned Beast into a Heartless to control his Nobody, which was explained by Goofy with his insight on the whole matter.

Then Belle made her presence known as she came back inside the ballroom from the balcony, making Her and Beast have their moment. Then Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Chip came along the ballroom and talked about how Beast must find love before the rose loses its last petal. If he were to find love and be loved in return, the spell keeping everyone the way they are will be broken. It was then that Sora had his Key-blade automatically summoned to his hand after figuring out that the Rose was the key to unlocking the path to the next world. So after unlocking it in front of all the on lookers within the Ballroom, Beast and Belle, after having their chat, had decided to ask Sora what happened.

"The Gate is open!" Donald quacked out loud to Beast.

"Do you have to go?" Belle asked, slightly sad at them leaving. Sora nodded at them with a quick 'Yeah' as Goofy said "Now no more arguin', okay?" making Beast scratch the side of his face in embarrassment.

"We'll see to it." "Take care dears." "You're welcome here anytime." Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Cogsworth said respectively.

"If you hear anything about Riku or the King, the Heartless, the Organization- anything at all- let us know!" Sora said to Belle and Beast, to which they nodded. They hoped that after today, they would get a few steps closer to stopping the Heartless and Nobodies from advancing to the other worlds like this one.

"Ok, we gotta go. Take care guys. We'll see you later!" said Sora, as he, Donald and Goofy quickly left the Ballroom, and castle all together, with Beast and the others waving goodbye to them. After they left the castle, they hopped on the Gummi Ship, where they flew off into the sky once more.

(Location: Gummi Ship - Sora's room)

(Play: A Twinkle in the Sky - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix)

(Alright, another world down.) Sora thought as he rested on the bed after flying out of Beast's castle.

[Yea, too bad we were gone for like half of that...] Ven mumbled a bit at the end.

(Sorry about that you guys...) Xion said starting to apologize, but Sora and Ven wouldn't have any of it by interrupting her saying things like 'Don't worry about it' or "Its ok' and 'We understand', making her smile at how quick they were to cheer her up.

(Guys, we have to find some way for me to not accidently use the darkness...its actually starting to worry me with how much its been popping up lately.) Sora said with worry as he looked at his left hand as he clenched it, remembering the dark shroud that enveloped his hand multiple times so far.

[Well, maybe you can keep using your drives? I have noticed that you use a lot of light magic along with one of us helping you...] Ven said as a suggestion to Sora.

(That might work, and maybe some breathing exercises to keep you calm.) Xion said to Sora, making him nod his head.

(Yea, I noticed that I've been getting more and more angry for some reason...) Sora speculated but decided to put it to bed for the time being, by going to bed.

(Don't worry about it for now guys, let's rest cause we still have more to come tomorrow.) Sora said, ready to sleep.

[Right, you'll need your strength for tomorrow.] Ven agreed as he Xion decided to not disturb him after what he had to go through throughout the day.

(Night Sora.) [Night Sora.] Xion and Ven said, making a sleepy Sora say night back.

(End Song)

They definitely need to get all the rest they can get for what will come tomorrow. Because unknown to them, in the Dark corners of Sora's heart...

Vanitas heard everything...

And even though it wasn't shown...

He had a sinister smirk on his face as he saw more of his Darkness connecting to Sora's heart.

(A/N) YES I DID IT! OMG it took me so long to even do this Again... I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and hope it doesn't take me another 5 months (AGAIN!) to do the next one. T-T (I'm SORRY) So enjoy.

Damn writers block...and college...and family issues...Anyway ONWARD:

(1) Xemnas' descriptions of his Key-Blade Armor and unique Organization Black and white Cloak.

(2) It was said that Xehanort cast aside his Armor when traveling through the realms to feel the Darkness, Xemnas must have found it somehow,(Luck or through Xehanorts memory) and will use it to operate his Ship.

(3) The Dragon that he will use at the end of the game.

(4) Ventus' description of his Key-Blade Armor and Key-Blade Glider.

(5) Vanitas' path is drawing closer to Sora's main Station of Awakening.

(6) Flash back of what had happened in the previous chapter.

(7) That will be explained in time. hehehe

(8) Gargoyle Knight/Warrior Heartless.

(9) The Thresholder Heartless.

(10) Guess who is trying to influence Sora hahaha.

(11) During Xions' time when she was at Beast's Castle, she was more worried about her not being able to use her Key-Blade around Roxas then anything else...that and she was you know, having trouble understanding emotions still.

(12) The Release command when fighting the Shadow stalker Heartless.

(13) Whenever the Dark Thorn was invisible, you could lock on to it still, but even when you did, in gameplay you could still see where it would step, leaving a light purple ripple on the floor, and since 'Lock on' isn't a thing I guess, Sora has to pay attention to his surroundings.

(14) Think of Sora's normally Dark blue eyes, slowly but surely get brighter...like Rikus Cyan blue...and maybe getting brighter like idk...Yellow? Maybe?

So how did you like that? Leave a Like, a comment, Follow, Fav, flame, all that Stuff. Any feedback is good feedback for me. and hopefully I don't Take ANOTHER 5 MONTHS...srry...

Oh BTW I'm skipping any and All interactions with Pooh...

I'm Serious...

Sincerely, TeaMDbzNaruto

(Location: Roxas Station of Awakening)

Roxas lied still in the middle of his station even after everything that had happened to him. Despite being healed by Xion, he was still unresponsive. Only a slight twitch of his fingers as if he was trying to grab something would happen.

But then he slowly raised his right arm, struggling as he did so, as his fingers twitched again.

And as all this was happening...

Vanitas was at the pathway from his own Station, with his arms crossed as he looked on at the prone teen in amusement.

"Hehehe, the Kid's got a little fight in him..." Vanitas commented as he looked on at Roxas slowly bring out something in his hand.

"I guess that's why it doesn't hurt to have a bit of a...'Back-up plan' now does it? Hehehe..." Vanitas chuckled as he stared at Roxas finally bringing out a different Key-Blade.

It looked more like a curved sword despite retaining it's Key-Blade look. It had a more Sharper edge than most while possessing a Black and White motif. It had thorns and a spikes in certain areas, as well as having a Nobody stylized chain and emblem with the handle being a checkerboard pattern. But above all else, it was swirling with Light and Dark Magic.

Two opposing sides, Light and Dark, became one in the form of a Key-Blade.

And as all this happened, Roxas finally opened his eyes...

But it wasn't full of life like when he made friends with Axel and Xion, or Anger and confusion towards Organization XIII and DiZ.

No, his eyes are dead looking. Like when he first woke up in front of the mansion in Twilight Town when he was found by Xemnas.

His Eyes are dull...

His Eyes are blank...

And Vanitas was smirking at this...

Why? Because...

Roxas' eyes, are Yellow.