Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II
Chapter 11: Beast's Castle part II
"We have to go out and look for her." Sora stated silently while standing in front of Kairi with her arms crossed.
The auburn-haired teen nodded slowly in agreement, yet tilted her head down thoughtfully. "I think so too, but how are we supposed to find her? And how do we know she left on her own? It's possible she was kidnapped." she said, her shrugging both shoulders as she lifted her gaze to look at Sora once more.
"Well, we felt her light inside this room...so there should definitely be some residual energy we can follow." the other teen explained, to which she then shook her head afterward.
"But no...she definitely left of her own free will. There is a very strong connection between Belle's and Beast's hearts, so if she had been taken...he definitely would have felt it and rushed off to save her. Just like last time." the brown-haired girl explained as she glanced toward the large beast on the bed.
"The reason why he's stayed here is because he watched her leave willingly. And since I'm sure he would feel it if she was taken to another world, she's still somewhere in this one." Sora continued, to which she tapped her chin a few times.
"Alright...but why did she leave to begin with?" Kairi questioned softly, making the room go silent as they all thought about this.
However, Sora slowly seemed to smile softly as if figuring it out, to which her friend tilted her head in inquiry. Yet the brown-haired teen merely waved a hand while speaking in a whisper; "For the same reason I had to." was as she answered.
Kairi blinked a few times in response, yet slowly smiled back and nodded her head. "To protect us."
"Exactly. It would seem that Belle left because she thought she was protecting Beast." Sora added as she also gave a nod.
"But from what?" the auburn-haired girl asked, her obviously wanting to know what's been happening inside the castle up to this point.
"Well, considering the fact that there are a lot of Heartless here...it's possible she understands that they are attracted to her heart. Therefore, leaving the castle might lure them away from this place and subsequently; Beast." the other teen responded, yet it seemed more like she was giving an excuse rather than an actual answer.
This made Kairi raise a brow in question for a few moments as it sounded like her friend was trying to keep a secret. "Uh-huh...so what's the real reason you think she left?"
Sora blinked at this for a brief second, yet let out a silent sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "The Organization had come to this world multiple times, so I have no doubt that one of its members could have manipulated her into leaving. Whether it's because they want Beast's Heartless and Nobody, or some other reason...I couldn't tell you. But I do think that the Organization is definitely involved in all of this." she said silently while looking to the side as if to make sure no one was listening.
"Therefore, I'll stay here to keep whomever the Organization sent, away from Beast. You two go and look for Belle, all you have to do is follow the trail of light she left behind." the teen stated firmly with a glance between Kairi and Zola.
However, the former just huffed in response and shook her head quickly. "Absolutely not. We're not going to just leave you here to fight the Organization alone." she claimed, to which Zola let out a soft roar in approval of these words.
"But one of us has to find Belle, and I'm not going to leave you on your own...no matter what." Sora argued in a firm, yet worried tone.
"Then you can go get Belle, Zola and I will stay here. We can at least handle one of the Organization's members." Kairi claimed, to which her friend took a breath to make a counter.
"And no...I'm not changing my mind about that. Besides, I don't have much experience in sensing the presence or 'residual energy' of others. So you'd have a better chance at finding Belle than me anyway." she continued quickly, all while raising a hand up to prevent her friend from trying to convince her of otherwise.
After this, Sora remained silent for a moment as she realized that she had lost, to which she merely nodded slowly. "Alright..fine. But if there is any sign of trouble, I want you to get out of here...okay?" she half asked, half pleaded.
Kairi gave a small smile in response as she nodded slowly; "Deal."
The brown-haired girl returned this gesture, her sending a glance toward the window as if wondering just how far the Princess of Heart had gone. "Okay..." she began as her gaze turned back toward Kairi and Zola.
"...I'll be right back." the girl continued, to which the two nodded briefly and signaled Sora to head out of the room.
Upon doing so, she closed the doors behind her and let out a silent breath of relief. The teen having gotten her friend to do what she wanted from the start, in order to keep her out of danger. 'While the castle is dangerous and littered with Heartless and likely Nobodies as well...the Organization is very likely not here anymore. The only place they would need to be, is wherever the biggest threat to their plan is located.' she thought while rushing down the hallway.
'And if they put so much effort into getting Belle away, she is their biggest threat. Though the fact that they have been keeping her alive must mean there is something more going on than just turning Beast into a Heartless. I'm sure that getting rid of her completely would make it easier to make Beast sink fully in darkness. So for whatever reason...they can't hurt her. But whether it's because their power don't work, or something more...I need to use that to my advantage.' Sora continued as she reached the end of the stairs and headed toward the large doors.
"But first...I need to find her." she whispered aloud before immediately rushing off as fast as possible through the doors.
The girl reaching the edge of the forest within seconds of crossing the bridge, to which she continued along the only dirt path for a few minutes. Her momentum never stopping, even when a pack of wolves noticed her approach and tried to attack her. Their jaws clamping down on nothing but air as the teen zoomed by, her already being out of sight before they had even opened their mouths. Though, Sora quickly came to a stop when the path split in two different directions like a 'y'.
This made her blink a few times as it seemed like the road she was on was in fact the branching path to the main one. However, it brought up the question of which direction had Belle gone after leaving. 'There was only one road the whole way here, so I didn't bother trying to sense Belle's light. But now that I'm thinking about it, if she left even yesterday...the natural light of the world will probably dilute hers. It was only so strong in the castle because that place is surrounded in darkness, as well as some sort of magic.' the girl thought to herself while closing her eyes.
"Lets just hope that Maleficent's lessons on sensing darkness applies similarly to the light." she uttered silently, to which her mind started concentrating on what the witch taught her.
'If I stretch my senses out a bit on both paths, it should give me a better idea of which way to go.' Sora finished, a pulse of invisible energy rippling outward as the darkness in the teen's vision almost seemed to light up with the surrounding area.
This slowly fading the further along it went, yet a very thin trail of light could be seen heading toward the left path. "Gotcha." she whispered before turning in this direction, opening her eyes and rushed down the road.
'Huh...that was actually kinda cool, it was like I was using echolocation or something.' were her thoughts while going on her way.
Though, it was only a few minutes before a town came into her view, to which she came to a sudden halt. Of which caused a cloud of dirt and dust to briefly surround her, this being kicked up from the sheer speed she had been traveling. As Sora gazed at the scattered candle light across the village, she took on a small smirk as Belle's light could be felt quite strongly throughout the area. "This is definitely where she is." the teen whispered before making her way into the town.
Upon doing so, she noticed many of the town's people simply going about their nightly work as she passed. However, the teen never noticed that the moment she walked by, everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her in shock and surprise. Sora being the first new person in the village for years at this point, it being mostly self-sustaining and didn't usually get many visitors. But as the girl walked on, she looked around for a brief moment while narrowing her gaze.
'I might have found the right place, but since her light is everywhere...I can't tell where it's originating from.' she thought to herself while glancing from side to side.
As she did, her hair fell over both shoulders, which lead for the teen to flip it behind her with a quick movement with a hand. Immediately after she did this, Sora heard a few people gasping, to which she shifted her gaze around quickly with blinking eyes. Though everyone seemed to just be doing their normal activities, the girl couldn't shake the feeling that they were still staring at her when she wasn't looking. But she merely ignored this as she continued on her way, yet quickly sighed heavily when she couldn't find any solid trail for the light filling the town.
"Guess I'll have to ask around." Sora uttered out silently, to which she turned to the side as a baker seemed to be preparing tomorrow's batch of bread.
However, before she could even ask him a question, a deep baritone voice was heard behind her. "Why hello there."
Once the girl turned around, she saw a tall man with an extremely athletic build, a cleft chin, and a handsome appearance. His hair was long, yet slicked-back and tied into a ponytail. He possessed icy blue eyes that gazed over Sora as if she were some sort of prey. The man's clothing consisted of yellow hunting gloves, a red tunic and black tights with similarly colored boots.
"I couldn't help but notice that you seemed a bit...lost." he continued while inching his face a bit too close to Sora's.
"Yeah...a bit." the teen commented silently, her side-stepping away from the man.
"I'm looking for a particular person in this town." she added as the man turned himself to face her once more.
"Oh really? Well...I know everyone in town, so perhaps I could help you." the man said with a tone that suggested he wanted something in return.
"Uh-huh..." Sora hummed out with a very brief glance at him; "...I'm pretty sure I could ask anyone for the information I need."
"Perhaps...but then you wouldn't have the privilege of having me tell you." was the answer she received, making the teen roll her eyes in response.
"Right...and you are?" she questioned without even looking at him, or more like she just didn't want to.
"Me?" the man began as he finally stepped away and even seemed to strike a pose that enhanced his muscular build; "I am Gaston~! The most popular and influential man in town."
After his claims, Sora glanced to him once more with a raised brow as if not impressed in the slightest. "How...interesting." she muttered in a tone that showed her annoyance.
However, Gaston didn't seem to notice this, or he simply didn't care as he leaned toward her once more. "Indeed, if you need to find someone...I'm the man to turn to." he declared proudly.
"All I ask in return, is a chance to take you out to see the town." the man stated in a tone that basically told everyone around them to not get in his way.
This only making him sound even less impressive to the teen, her groaning silently as the surrounding people moved away from them. 'I guess he's not completely lying about being influential, but I'd rather not have to deal with someone like...'this'.' she thought quickly with a heavy sigh.
'Although...' Sora continued, a small smirk developing on her features while glancing to the man once more; '...it doesn't seem that he has much in terms of brains.' she mused before turning to Gaston fully.
"Very well then." she began in a confident tone, her crossing both arms across her chest.
"I'm looking for a woman named; 'Belle'. And if you help me find her, I'll consider your offer." Sora claimed as she sounded truthful in her words, yet was actually holding back the urge to gag from saying these words.
Gaston went silent for a brief moment, yet he quickly smirked and nodded his head. "So, you're a friend of Belle's, eh?" he started as his expression turned to a wide and charming smile.
"How fitting that two beautiful women should know one another. It seems even more fitting for the most handsome man around to spend some time with you both." Gaston continued with a laugh at the end.
"Perhaps you could convince her to join us in our walk around town!" the raven-haired man finished, to which Sora had to turn away for a few seconds.
'Oh man...I almost threw up there. This guy is so disgusting, I really wanna to punch him as hard as possible.' she thought to herself before quickly turning around and walking up beside Gaston.
"Just lead the way." Sora uttered, it taking everything she had to not sound like she was about to be sick.
I hope people are still enjoying this series, I've been getting less and less feedback, so I don't really know. I guess I'll keep going so long as one person still likes it, but anyway...I hope everyone like this chapter. Until next time.
