Chapter Eleven:
Sadists

A/n: This chapter is going to start off in the Gummi Ship because I didn't feel like doing a whole lot more in Destiny Islands. Heh. x3 I wound up not leaving for SC, by the by, but... I was a little lazy in updating. Sorry. xD The new world mentioned, "Snow White's House" is a name that's been given to Snow White's world, for the time being. It's probably not the official name, but it's what kh wiki is calling it, so I'm going with it. Enjoy.

Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

'If you could see that I'm the one who understands you,

Been here all along, so why can't you see?

You belong with me.'

-"You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift


"Ugh, I feel like the size of a whale," groaned Darcie as she sat on the bench at the back of the cockpit with Katalin.

Shawn, who was sitting on the other side of Katalin, remarked, "Well, you didn't have to eat so much."

Darcie scowled. "I didn't want to be rude."

"Sure," replied Shawn with an arrogant grin. Darcie lunged over Katalin to attack Shawn, and he did the same. Katalin tried and failed to break them apart, so Riku did the job for her by pulling Shawn up by the collar of his shirt.

"Shawn, you work the artillery. I feel like sitting back and relaxing," decided Riku, giving Shawn not a minute to respond before pushing him in the direction of the chair. "I still don't think he should come with us, Sora."

Sora, who was settling himself in the pilot's seat, grinned. "We can't let him go with Katalin and Darcie. Putting Darcie and Shawn in the same group is a really bad idea, and, besides..."

"We want to go with Kairi," declared Darcie. "Sorry, Riku. We're a little more used to her than we are you."

Katalin nodded. "She's the third musketeer for our group."

Riku groaned. "So we have to pay for that?" Katalin, Kairi, and Darcie nodded.

"Where are we going?" Kairi asked Sora.

Sora glanced at the screen of the worlds that had been ejected out of the ceiling. "Riku, Shawn, and I are going to Beast's Castle to check on Belle. You three can go to..." His eyes scanned the screen of the worlds. "Well, that's new. Snow White's House. I'm guessing you can find Snow White there, so I think you three should find her, make sure she's okay, and seal the world."

There was no argument from any of the girls as the Gummi Ship started up and headed in the direction of the new world. Luckily for them, it was relatively close to Beast's Castle. "We'll come find you guys when we're finished up with the Castle; I don't think it'll take long," remarked Riku as the ship hovered over Snow White's world.

Kairi and Darcie stepped into the center of the cockpit, but Katalin was halted by Shawn reaching back and grabbing her wrist. "Kat, be careful." The look in his brown eyes was intense. Since when had Shawn, happy-go-danger Shawn ever stopped to worry about someone's safety? Maybe, after their talk the previous night, things would be different between them. Red crept onto her cheeks and all she could manage was a nod.

When she joined the other two, their bodies were engulfed in a lime green light. In the time it took for them to blink, they found themselves in the center of a forest, in close proximity to a modest-sized cottage. "How fortunate for us that we automatically landed by Snow White's House," murmured Darcie. "This world really needs a better name." Kairi nodded her agreement as she took up the lead of the group. Katalin and Darcie exchanged a glance, but shrugged it off. Being so close with Sora likely meant that Kairi would pick up some of his traits. Besides, Kairi knew more about Snow White, being a Princess of Heart and all, so they had no problem with her taking charge.

They passed through a wooden gate and headed to the door of the cottage. Kairi boldly knocked on the door and awaited for, she guessed, Snow White to answer it. When the door swung open, it was not the beautiful Snow White who answered. In fact, it was a rather short man with a large pink nose wearing a red tunic and brown hat. He scowled up at them (because his head barely came to their waists) and folded his arms. "What are you three women doing here?" he demanded.

Kairi frowned down at him. The sparks flying between them seemed almost explosive, and Katalin was quite sure that if looks could kill, then Kairi and the man would drop dead. "Does Snow White live here?" asked Kairi although her tone made it obvious that she really wanted to say something else.

Again, the man scowled. "Who's askin'?"

"A fellow Princess of Heart," growled Kairi. "My name is Kairi. I met Snow White a few years ago. Tell me whether or not she's here, shortie, before things get ugly."

The man's face turned red. Katalin and Darcie could have told her that insulting the man's height would get her no where, but they were quite sure she already knew that. One thing they had learned about Kairi, aside from the fact that she had the tendency to act as a leader in Sora and Riku's absence, was that she had quite the temper. Usually, it took a lot for her to get set off, but they guessed that she wasn't in the best of moods, as of late. "Who're you callin' shortie, red?" demanded the man.

"I don't know if a magnifying glass could even help me see you," replied Kairi with a small grin.

His ears turned red. "Who are you callin' so short that he can't be seen with a magnifyin' glass?!" (A/n: Totally stole that from Edward Elric of FMA. If you know who I'm talking about, then take a virtual cookie.)

Katalin opened her mouth and made to stop the madness, but another man quickly appeared beside the first. "Grumpy, be polite to our guests!" ordered the man. He was the same height as Grumpy only with a much shorter beard. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled pleasantly at the girls. This man was wearing a brown hat and a red tunic with short sleeves. "It's always nice to meet friends of Snow White's."

"She doesn't have any other friends," pointed out Grumpy.

The bespectacled man stifled Grumpy with a withering glare, which informed the girls that he must not have used the expression often. "My name is Doc, and this is Grumpy. Please, come in. Snow White should be back any minute."

As Kairi followed Doc inside of the house, she thought she heard Darcie say something about Grumpy being her favorite person in the world thus far. Katalin retorted with something that sounded a lot like, "Well, that's because the two of you are so much alike." She cried out in pain, and the conversation continued on no longer. The large room where Doc led them was filled with different instruments (an organ, drums, you name it and it was there) and even more short men. A particularly shy one was off to the side, nervously playing with the light bluish-green hat in his hand. Next to him was a sleeping man donned in a faded brown tunic with his green cap covering his eyes.

A astoundingly friendly man ran up to them, wearing a cheery expression. Like Doc, he had a short beard. Unlike Doc, he was rather round. He was wearing a red tunic with long brown-orange sleeves. "Friends of Snow White's? It's so nice to meet you!" He grasped each of their hands and shook them vigorously. "I'm Happy!"

"You sure are," murmured Darcie under her breath. "Why do you all assume we're friends of Snow White's?"

"Because, no one that looks like you three can be a-a-a... Aaaachoo!" a man wearing a long sleeved brown tunic and orange hat began before breaking off with a large sneeze that knocked him down. Kairi, Katalin, and Darcie immediately wore alarmed expressions, but Happy waved them off.

"Don't worry. He does that all the time!"

Grumpy was suddenly beside them again. With a suspicious glance at Kairi, he asked, "How do we know that you're friends of Snow White?"

Kairi glared right back at him. "Doesn't the fact that I mentioned being a Princess of Heart mean anything to you?"

"Well, you could be with those black bugs that keep comin' round," murmured Grumpy. Before they could ask him about the bugs, a giggle shook them from their conversation.

Joining them was a girl wearing a long, beautiful blue and yellow dress with a tall white collar. A red ribbon was tied around her head, making a sharp contrast with her beautiful, wavy black hair. "Snow White," breathed Kairi, obviously relieved at seeing a familiar face.

"Kairi, it's so nice to see you again," remarked Snow White with a large smile. Kairi was relatively surprised the Princess remembered her name. She had only met the other princesses for a short amount of time in Hollow Bastion. The tone of Snow White's voice sounded naturally musical. Her cheeks had a beautiful, healthy tinge of red to them. "Oh. And you are...?"

"Friends of Kairi and the cause," answered Darcie. "I'm Darcie, and that's Katalin." She gestured to herself and her best friend in response. Snow White tilted her head to the side, obviously confused. Darcie was sure that she couldn't have been much older than fourteen or fifteen. (A/n: I... can't believe she was only fourteen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.)

Snow White set the picnic basket that she was holding on the floor. "I have a feeling that you three are here for more than a visit. It has to do with the black bugs, the Heartless, doesn't it?"

"Heartless?" groaned Kairi. "Go figure. Well, Snow White..." She trailed off as she tried to choose words that wouldn't frighten the other girl. "Maleficent was revived with the help of Organization XIII, her pet raven, and a few fairies about a year or so ago. Since Organization XIII has been destroyed, she's been, we think, searching for Princesses of Heart, including four new ones. But Organization XIII has also been revived and they and the man who revived them, Dempsey, is on the lookout for all the princesses. We could be wrong, but we're pretty sure we're right." For the first time since they had met Kairi, the determination was not in her violet eyes and had been replaced by fear.

In fact, Katalin recognized it as the look she had seen in Kairi's eyes when they first met, when the Katalin had regained consciousness in the Des Plaines river.

XxxxxX

When Sora, Riku, and Shawn touched down in the courtyard of Beast's Castle, it was significantly brighter than Sora recalled. In fact, the morning sun was lighting the sky with an orange light and the trees had buds on them. The minute they entered the Entrance Hall, however, Sora quickly found himself face to face with the point of a sword. "What business do you have in my castle?" growled the sword's wielder in a voice familiar to Sora. The man's bright red hair was more orange than red and, although it looked like it was normally well-kept, it seemed to be all over the place. The feral look in his blue eyes was one Sora recalled perfectly.

As both men realized who the other was, Sora straightened up and smiled as the man pulled the sword away from his face and sheathed it in the scabbard at his hip. The smile slipped off his face as soon as it came, and Sora said, "Beast, is something--"

"That's Prince Adam," corrected the other man gently, although the feral look had not yet left his eyes. His eyes settled on Riku. "You are--" His tone was a snarl.

Riku was wearing a bitter smile on his lips. "The one from Hollow Bastion. The one who attacked Sora. The one who was going to use your body as a vessel?" he asked with the slightest hint of arrogance in his voice. "You're absolutely right."

Prince Adam did not respond, simply exhaled out of his nose while glancing wildly from Sora to Riku like some sort of trapped animal. "Is he...?"

"A friend," answered Sora. "He only helped Maleficent because he was trying to save our other friend, Kairi. Everything he did was to help her; he didn't want to help Maleficent. He's my best friend."

Riku shook his head and put his hand on Sora's shoulder briefly. "I don't need you to defend me, Sora." His voice lost the hard, arrogant edge, leaving only tiredness in it.

"So, what's going on here, exactly? My guess is that you don't normally greet guests with your sword," remarked Shawn, if only to lighten up the mood and remind Sora and Riku why they were there.

Prince Adam stared at Shawn for half a second before looking back at Sora. "Heartless have been appearing all over the castle. Nobodies, too."

"Nobodies?!" shouted Sora, Riku, and Shawn. They exchanged a quick glance. If Nobodies were appearing, it was because Dempsey and the Organization were making their move. "We have to do something. Where's Belle?" asked Sora.

"In her room," answered Adam. "I thought she would be safer there." Sora, Riku, and Shawn were already starting for the staircase leading to the East Wing, where Belle's room lay.

"I would think that the safest place for Belle would be beside the prince," stated Shawn as they headed up another flight of stairs and pushed open the heavy doors to the East Wing. Another pair of footsteps behind told them that Adam had joined them.

Riku glanced at Shawn as they stepped into the hall and were immediately assaulted by Shadows, Morning Stars, and Hook Bats. "And also the most dangerous."

"Isn't that the way most things work?" replied Shawn as he chased after a Hook Bat that had separated from the rest of the group and headed down the hall. As Shawn passed a Gargoyle statue, its twin burst from the wall and attacked him with its battle axe. "Well, that was unexpected." He had unconsciously put a hand to his heart to calm its frantic beating.

Sora turned toward Adam after destroying a few Shadows. "How long has this been going on?"

Without looking at him, Adam responded, "A few days."

Nodding, Sora turned his attention back to a Morning Star. If the Heartless and Nobodies had started to appear inside the castle for a few days, then why hadn't an Organization member appeared? "Beast, no Organization XIII members have been around, have they?"

"Adam," corrected the prince with a more annoyed tone. "No, I haven't seen anyone on the grounds besides my servants."

Once all of the Heartless were destroyed, Sora glanced around for Riku and found the seafoam eyes already on his own. It was doubtful that Adam knew his whole staff well, so it was entirely possible that an Organization member had been blending in and pretending to work; Adam would never know the difference. Only, Sora imagined that Adam's servants didn't have very eccentric hair; that was not true of any Organization member. "Be--Adam, this is really important. Did you notice that any of your servants had hair that was a bit different from the usual? I don't know. A different color, a different style..."

"Sora," began Adam, really sounding aggravated now, "I just got married not too long ago. The last thing I'm going to do is focus on how my servants are doing the hair."

At that bit of news, Sora perked up quite a bit. "You and Belle got married?"

A wide, proud smile was on Adam's lips as he nodded. Shawn reappeared before the three of them with his hair messy and his clothes somewhat torn. "I'm sure that we all want to know what was served at the after party and what the bride's maids were wearing, but we have more pressing matters right now. Prince, it's extremely important that you know how your servants look, in this case. Organization XIII has a history of having members with very eccentric hair, from what I've seen."

"They'll be here soon, right?" asked Riku when he noticed Adam about ready to kill Shawn for his lip. "Oh, wait. You're a... Aren't you a King if you married Belle?"

Adam nodded nonchalantly. "I suppose. I'm more used to the title of Prince, though, I suppose." (A/n: And we all know that Disney has a bias against Kings and Queens in most movies.)

Riku nodded. "Right, yeah. Anyway, don't your servants live here?" Sora and Shawn quickly realized where he was going with the thought.

"Why don't you go get them lined up in the ballroom while we go check on Belle?" suggested Sora. Adam nodded in agreement and was quickly off. They continued down the hall, which had been cleared of its Heartless by Shawn, and Sora entered the door at the end without bothering to knock, making both Riku and Shawn balk.

When they hesitantly followed Sora into the room, the woman inside seemed hardly fazed. She smiled warmly at the three of them and embraced Sora in a tight hug. "Sora, it's so good to see you again. And you have the most perfect timing, too."

Sora smiled when they parted and informed her, "We met up with Beast. He told us that the Heartless and Nobodies started to appear a few days ago. There's a lot to tell you two, including that you might have a traitor in your midst." Belle nodded, looking grave for just a moment before her brown eyes fell on Riku and Shawn. Her dark brown hair was tied with a blue ribbon that matched the color of her dress, making the true length of it a mystery. The deep red of her lips matched the healthy blush on her cheeks. From the way she dressed to the way she held herself, it was quite obvious that Belle was not as naïve as the average princess. "Sorry, Belle. This is Riku, and that's Shawn," introduced Sora with a sheepish smile.

Belle smiled and nodded, her pleasant demeanor returning as quickly as it had gone. "Princess," began Shawn.

"Just call me Belle," she replied, still smiling. She giggled quietly when a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Belle, from what Sora told me, I got the feeling that you know the servants better than Beast, right?" asked Shawn, mentally wincing when he realized the name he had used. At her nod, he continued, "Then you would know if someone didn't belong?"

Again she nodded, but she bit down on her lip nervously. "Adam hired some new people, so I can't be sure that I know everyone."

"But you would remember someone who stood out a lot, right? Like if they had hair that you don't normally see," said Sora.

Belle tucked a stray strand of brunet hair behind her ear. "Yes."

"Then, let's get to the Ballroom and see if we can pick out the person that doesn't belong," suggested Riku.

Shawn grinned and started for the door. Under his breath, he sang, "One of these things is not like the other..."

XxxxxX

Snow White remained quiet, as did the dwarf brothers, throughout Kairi, Katalin, and Darcie's explanation of what was currently going on. When they finished, Darcie asked, "You've been going outside and roaming around even though there are Heartless about?"

"Yes," replied Snow White, her cheeks slightly redder than before. "I recently discovered that I can use my light to destroy them, particularly the weaker ones. They don't bother any of the others when they go to the mines, though."

Kairi, Darcie, and Katalin exchanged a glance but said nothing. Maybe Snow White was in no immediate danger and the only remedy was sealing the world. Doc was the first one to speak up after a few moments of silence passed. "Speaking of, we should be heading over there. We just wanted to make sure Snow White was alright."

As the dwarfs all got up and headed to the door, Snow White rushed to the doorway and kissed all of their foreheads as they headed out. Grumpy scowled and blushed as Snow White kissed him and rushed outside after the others. Another brother, the smallest of them all, dressed in a green tunic that was too long for him and a purple hat eagerly ran over to Snow White. His small stature wasn't the only thing that set him apart from the rest; he had absolutely no hair on him whatsoever. There was no beard, and his head was completely bald. He much resembled a baby. "That's Dopey," informed Snow White as he headed after his brothers and they headed into the kitchen. "They call him that because he's very different. He doesn't even speak. But I say it's because he's clever enough to know he doesn't need to."

Darcie nodded her agreement. "Yeah, but you know what they say: it's always the quiet ones..." Katalin elbowed her, and she abruptly fell quiet.

"We're going to go look for the keyhole, Snow White. Will you be alright here, by yourself?" asked Kairi although she knew she didn't have to. The cottage was located in the middle of a forest. Besides, she assumed that Snow White normally stayed in the house while the others were away.

"Oh, yes. I'm going to make a pie with the berries I picked. After you seal the keyhole, come back and have a slice," remarked Snow White.

Kairi, Katalin, and Darcie eagerly nodded their agreement. Homemade pie was always welcomed, no matter how full one really was. "Hey, Snow White, do you have any idea where the keyhole could be? It's usually somewhere more or less important," said Kairi.

At this, Snow White looked nervous. "Well, the only important place that comes to mind is the Castle..."

"Isn't that always the truth?" murmured Kairi, shaking her head. "Well, what's wrong with the Castle? Isn't the Queen nice?" She recalled that Snow White's title was princess because of blood, not just being a Princess of Heart. "You know, I've always been curious. Why don't you live in the Castle, too?"

Snow White looked away and out the window as her happy expression disappeared. "The Queen is my stepmother. She's very vain and wants to be the fairest in this land. When her Magic Mirror told her one day that I had become the fairest in the land, she ordered her Huntsman to take me into the forest and kill me and bring back my heart in a jeweled box as proof. But, he couldn't kill me," a faint smile appeared on her lips. "He told me to run and to never return to the castle. I found this cottage and decided to stay for a quick nap since no one was home. When the dwarfs came home and found me, they weren't very angry. In fact, they kindly allowed me to stay. I've been so grateful that I've cleaned and cooked for them."

The other three girls' expressions became downcast. "That's so terrible," muttered Katalin. "But, you're happy here, right?"

The smile returned to Snow White's lips as she nodded and looked back at them. "Yes. Very. If I had to guess, then I would say that you'll find the keyhole inside the Castle somewhere. Maybe the mirror or the jeweled box. If you go north, then you will come across the Castle."

Kairi nodded. "Thank you, Snow White. When we're done, we'll come see you." She gestured for Katalin and Darcie to follow her as she headed out of the room and out of the house.

Knowing the others were thinking along the same lines, Katalin said, "That Queen obviously has a lot of darkness in her heart. It's a wonder Heartless weren't here sooner."

"But they were," pointed out Kairi. "When Snow White was captured. But that was probably more or less on account of Maleficent's actions."

As they exited the yard through the gate, Shadows began to appear immediately. "Maybe we should unseat that Queen. That way, the Heartless would disappear even sooner."

"I wish we could, but we can't," sighed Kairi. "No meddling in other world's affairs."

"But, from what Sora's told us, he's done that plenty of times," mentioned Darcie as she destroyed two Shadows.

Kairi raised her eyebrows after casting a firaga spell on the remaining Shadows. "Do you want to do half of the stuff that Sora's done?"

Darcie shook her head. "No way."

XxxxxX

When Belle, Sora, Riku, and Shawn arrived in the Ballroom, they found Adam already inside with all of the servants. A little boy with bright, orange-red hair waved vigorously at Sora. "Sora!" he called, still waving earnestly. "Sora, it's me, Chip!"

If it was possible for anyone's mouth to drop to the floor, then Sora's would have done just that. "Chip?" He shouldn't have been half as surprised as he was; after all, the Beast had undergone an amazing transformation, too. With the realization that everyone had undergone a transformation, Sora could immediately pick out the others. "Mrs. Potts," he acknowledged an older woman with hair the color of snow. "Lumiere and Cogsworth." Sora paused at two men, a tall brunet with his long hair tied back with a yellow ribbon nodded while the shorter, rounder of the two twirled his long brown mustache.

While Sora stopped to hold a conversation with his old friends, Riku and Shawn continued down the line of servants with Belle. They sized up each servant, but they couldn't find anything wrong with a single one of them. Finally, they stopped at the end of the line, at a woman with golden blond/brown hair. Her green eyes looked bored at first but quickly became earnest as Shawn and Riku stared at her. Her hair, obviously long, was held up in a heap atop her head with a pair of chopsticks. She was wearing a dark, long green dress that matched her eyes.

Riku and Shawn could find nothing wrong with her, aside from the fact that her dress was too beautiful for a servant. "Oh. She's not a servant, not really," remarked Belle, as if reading the boys' minds. "She was an orphan. She came here a few nights ago when it was raining, and we offered to take her in."

"'We'," snorted Adam. Belle threw him a quick glare before turning back toward the blonde.

"There were Heartless outside. You wouldn't have made her stay out there with them."

Shawn couldn't stop himself from staring. He wasn't sure if he had ever seen a more beautiful woman before. Riku sounded skeptical when he asked, "And does she have a name?"

"I do. If you actually bothered to speak to me and not about me like I'm not here, then maybe I would give it to you," remarked the woman with a slight glare. Belle appeared uneasy at her attitude.

Riku nodded. "Have it your way. What's your name?"

"Sadi," she answered.

"If you are quite finished with us, then I do believe we would be more than eager to return to our quarters," stated Cogsworth. "The return of Heartless and Nobodies has made us all uneasy."

Adam inclined his head. "We'll look for the keyhole so that they'll leave again. You may all go." The servants barely waited for him to finish his sentence before rushing toward the Ballroom's doors.

Sora folded his arms. "Are they everywhere?" Adam knew what he was referring to and nodded.

"Yes. They first began to appear outside of the Castle, in the village below here," he answered. "Where do you think the keyhole might be, Sora?"

Sora shook his head and looked toward Riku and Shawn for a good response. Both of them shrugged, having never been to the world before. "I would say the rose, but I'm guessing that it's gone if the curse has been lifted," murmured Sora.

"The case is still here, in my room," offered Adam. "But perhaps we should split up and look?"

The others nodded their agreement. "Riku and S--" began Sora, but he was cut off by another voice.

"Sadi," inputted the woman with a smile. They were quite surprised to see her still standing there.

Belle turned toward her. "Sadi, why don't you return to your room...?"

"Because I want to be with people who can protect me, not run and scream when danger comes," she replied. No one could argue with that.

"Shawn, you go with them. Sadi, do you know the Castle well?" wondered Sora.

She nodded and giggled. "Well enough. I think the three of us can figure it out, right?" Sadi put her arm around Shawn's waist, but when she tried to do the same to Riku, he moved away.

"I'll go with Belle and Beast," decided Sora.

"That's Adam," groaned the prince.

As Shawn and Sadi started for the Ballroom's doors, he asked, "So, Sadi, is that your full name?"

All she replied with was, "No. My full name's French."

A/n: This chapter was getting pretty long, so I decided to cut it in half. Nothing much to say other than to please review! :D