Aurora Kara belongs to E.X.S.O.S.
After what seems to be hours of speeding to them, they arrived back at Agrabah. The Carpet collapsed on the ground as soon as they were at the front gates while the Genie parked the car. Anne quickly got off. "What's wrong with it?"
Genie changed into a doctor's outfit and looked over Carpet.
"Hm... It appears the patient is suffering from exhaustion." he remarked in a formal tone.
Sora knelt down to the carpet. "You get some rest, Carpet. You've earned it."
Carpet seemed to give a thumbs up using one of the tassels. "I'm gonna go see if everything's okay from above! See ya!" Genie flew up into the air.
The group then quickly entered Agrabah. Surprisingly, there were no Heartless or Nobodies about...
Dylan's eyes widened, then he sighed. "Whew... Looks like Agrabah's okay..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"Keep an eye out, guys." Riku warned. "Just because you can't see them doesn't mean that they're not there."
Quickly, they ran throughout the streets of Agrabah. Sora looked left and right for any signs of the Heartless or the Nobodies. However, there were none... People seemed to be going about their business. It was like they had absolutely nothing to worry about.
"There's not any of 'em here..." Jason said with a shrug. Riku shook his head. "We need to keep looking." he insisted as he kept running.
Still, there wasn't a trace of any of the creatures at all. It was almost eerie...
Soon, the top of the palace was in sight. Seeing the towers, Sora picked up the pace and ran faster, running past several civilians, some who let out shouts of annoyance as he did. Donald, Goofy, and the others had to weave their way past them in order to keep up with the spiky haired teen. Zafir was able to slip through easier than most of them due to having to escape from merchants for stealing food most of his life.
By the time they caught up with Sora, they found he was just about to reach the palace gates. He screeched to a halt and placed his hands on his knees, panting as he tried to catch his breath. Aladdin, who had been standing at the front gates with Jasmine, rose an eyebrow when he noticed him. "Sora? Back so soon? What's wrong?"
"Has... has there been any Heartless... o-or Nobodies here...?" Sora panted as he looked up at his friend, standing up straight.
Jasmine blinked, but shook her head. "No... there hasn't been any here at all. Why?"
Sora stood up as the others went to his side. "We... We were at the Sirrush ruins and... we fought some Heartless there... and when we were leaving, Nobodies appeared!" he explained. Aladdin's eyes widened. "Are you serious?!" he asked. "Yeah. They're back... and that's bad news..." Sora nodded grimly. If the Nobodies were back as well, then this meant that the Organization, that Xehanort had another trick up his sleeve. He was after the seven pure lights...
The red and black clad teen looked at Aladdin. "Aladdin, Agrabah needs to be on high alert now that the Nobodies are back."
Aladdin nodded. "You got it."
Sora then sighed. "And... And you and the guards need to watch out for Jasmine. Organization XIII might come for her."
Aladdin and Jasmine's eyes widened with horror. "Why?" Chase asked. Riku spoke in a hushed tone so only they could hear. "Remember what we told you about back at Merlin's? About the Princesses of Heart...? She's one of them."
"WHAT?!" Chase exclaimed. Riku quickly covered his mouth. "Quiet!"
Chase tried to talk the second his mouth was free, so Donald shoved an apple in his mouth. "Shut up!"
"Mmph!" Chase gagged a bit from it. Dylan looked at Donald. "Was that really necessary?" he asked while trying to help his brother get the apple out of his mouth.
"I think so." Jason said before Donald shoved a melon slice into his mouth. Jason gagged as he struggled to get it out. "What was that for?!" Anne asked.
"Payback for earlier!" Donald replied. Clair went to help her cousin get the slice out of his mouth so he could breathe.
Anne gave Donald a look. "What? I had to shut Chase up!" he defended his actions.
"And Jason?"
Donald just crossed his arms. "That was for calling me Big Mouth!" he said as Jason finally got the large melon slice out of his mouth. By this time, Chase got the apple out of his mouth and was eating it. Sora shook his head before looking back at Aladdin.
"We'll keep an eye on things here." Aladdin told him.
"Keep an eye on Jasmine, too." Sora nodded.
Aladdin nodded. "I will. I'm not letting anything hurt her." he declared. "I still have my sword, ya know."
"Better keep it on hand." Riku advised him. "If you see anybody in a black hooded coat, be ready. These guys absolutely cannot get to Jasmine."
"The guards will be put on high alert." Jasmine said. "It should be your best guards. There's no telling what Organization XIII could try." Sora warned the princess.
Jasmine nodded. "Understood."
It was then Genie flew down. "No sign of any of those critters!" he announced loudly. "Thank goodness." Clair sighed with relief.
"Genie, will you help keep Jasmine safe if anything goes sideways here?" Aladdin asked his friend.
Genie changed his appearance and looked like a knight in shining armor. "I shall help protect the fair lady!" he said, using a thick accent as he lifted the helmet's visor up a bit. Anne couldn't help but smile at that. Clair giggled a bit at the Genie's antics. Abu chittered as he rested on Aladdin's shoulder.
Aladdin looked at the monkey. "You wanna help too, Abu?" he questioned his monkey friend. Abu nodded vigorously. "Well... You could help keep a lookout for any danger! How does that sound, buddy?"
Abu nodded again, chittering. Iago flew over to Aladdin. "Hey, Aladdin! What about me?! What can I do, huh?"
"Well, if you sight any danger, you could come and warn us." Aladdin suggested. "You got it, Al." Iago nodded.
Zafir looked at his new friends. "Is this Organization really that dangerous...?"
This earned a nod from Riku. Zafir gulped, feeling a bit nervous now. "You'll need to keep a fly on things." Goofy told him.
"An eye!" Donald corrected him.
Goofy nodded. "Right. Eye."
Sora cracked a smile at that. "Oh! Sora! I almost forgot!" the Genie exclaimed. "I found something while cruisin' over town and I thought you might like it!"
The spiky haired teen blinked in surprise. "Really?" he inquired.
"Yep! Take a look at this!" He showed him a floating, golden orb. Sora's eyes widened. "Whoa..." he awed at the glowing orb. "What is that?" Anne questioned with confusion. "It's a little somethin' that can help ya in future fights!" Genie answered with a grin. "I may have added a little something extra to it."
Sora reached out to it and touched the orb. When he made contact with it, it seemed to grow brighter as it appeared to go into Sora before the glow dimmed down and the orb had vanished. "Whoa..." Dylan commented with surprise. "Shiny." Chase joked, finishing the apple he was eating.
"What was that...?" Goofy asked curiously. Sora made a note to himself to try out whatever he was given later. "Thanks, Genie." he thanked his friend with a nod. "No problem, Sora! Now, you go out there and kick some bad guy butt!" Genie grinned, then he changed his appearance once again, this time looking like a cowboy, donning a cowboy hat atop his head with a lasso in his hand. "We'll round up any varmints in these here parts while you take care of their posse." he said, using a thick southern accent.
"You got it!" Sora nodded, giving a thumbs up.
Zafir, feeling a bit out of place, spoke up. "Is... is there any way I could help with this?" he questioned. "I know some people who could help keep an eye out for anything out of place."
Clair nodded at that. "That'd be very helpful."
Jason actually nodded in agreement at that. "Zafir, whatever you do, don't go spreading the word about Jasmine and..." Riku trailed off, then whispering the next part. "The Princess of Heart."
Zafir nodded, understanding that this was a serious matter. "I won't tell them everything. I swear." he promised. Kairi reached into her pouch and pulled out a potion. "Here. If you get hurt, this should help you." She handed the bottle of the green liquid to him. Zafir eyed it curiously, but accepted the gift. "Thank you, Kairi." he nodded in thanks. He then looked at Jason and held his hand out. "No hard feelings for earlier?"
Jason shook his hand. "Nah." he muttered so only Zafir could hear.
"You be safe." Sora told him, before informing them, "We'll be back soon."
"Good luck out there." Aladdin nodded, wishing the best of luck for his friend.
With that, Sora and the group turned around and left the palace gates. Zafir watched as his new friends walked away. He actually felt a bit sad to see them go. They were some of the few people who actually were kind to him, even after an attempted theft. He hoped that maybe later, he could repay that kindness to them.
As they walked towards the entrance to leave, Clair remarked, "This is an amazing place. All the people, all the buildings..."
"If you don't count all that sand." Chase joked.
"Not to mention it has some pretty interesting people here." Dylan added. "Like Aladdin and that Genie guy."
"Genie is anything but ordinary, believe me. We've never had a friend like him, before." Sora commented with a smile as they stepped out of the gates.
"Sora? What if the Organization comes for Jasmine?" Goofy asked.
"Then we'll be there to stop them." Sora declared while they walked into the desert, leaving Agrabah.
Nash glanced left and right as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. This was all very strange to him. There was not a sign of anybody he knew anywhere. It was almost like he had landed on some other world...
He suddenly got a bad feeling as he froze in place, hearing a twig snap nearby. He could hear footsteps up ahead, as well. Thinking quickly, he dove behind a bush and crouched down into the leaves to hide himself.
As he hid, he was shocked to see a hooded figure just like from before approaching another in the same black coat.
"Report." the first hooded figure said with a sinister tone in his voice.
"We are still searching for good vessels. So far, nothing has turned up." the other man in the coat replied. "The Heartless have been moving onto the worlds."
"Do you have anything else to report?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. That boy that willingly gave into the darkness? He's been spotted."
Nash did everything he could to stay still as he listened. Who were they talking about...?
"Oh?" the first figure mused. "Number III has reported last sighting him in Halloween Town. He was described as having a gleam in his eye, as well as blonde hair and a smirk that seemed to be on his face at certain times."
Nash had to bite his tongue to keep himself from making any noise. That had to be Josh they were talking about! But what was this Halloween Town? It sounded like something from a TV film.
"He could prove to be useful to us. Send some Dusks to collect him." the first hooded man ordered. "Of course. He may not cooperate at first, though." the other man nodded. "But I'm sure he'll come around, soon. Perhaps Xemnas shall even collect him before they do."
Nash had to get away. He had to find a way to this Halloween Town. When the two hooded men walked away, Nash quietly made his way out of the area and started looking for another way to go. However, as he was about halfway away from the area, several creatures appeared. His eyes widened. These were the same ones that attacked the high school!
He took a step back in shock as they eyed him like a special type of dessert with their yellow eyes. Without thinking, Nash grabbed a stick and held it with both hands. "S-Stay back!" he warned them. One lunged at him, though. The teenager yelled with surprise before whacking it, knocking it to the side. Seeing more were coming, he turned tail and ran away. Nash panicked while he ran as fast as he could. The black, yellow eyed creatures chased after him relentlessly.
As he ran, a dark portal suddenly appeared on the path in front of him, much to his surprise. Before he could stop himself, he ended up tripping and falling right into the portal. Almost immediately, it closed up, leaving no trace of him in the area.
Meanwhile, in the world of Halloween Town, Josh Harrington was walking down a dark, cobblestone road. His outfit had changed to a sort of costume. He seemed to resemble a monstrous version of a vampire. He had long fangs, red glowing eyes, sharp claws, and his normal outfit seemed to be tattered in some places. "What is this place?" he muttered to himself.
The area was dark and almost creepy, but it didn't creep him out. The trees had no leaves on them as they stretched up to the dark sky. He actually kind of liked it here.
He let a smirk appear on his face. It actually interested him more than his home... he felt the same interest he did when those things appeared at his school. He felt like staying here as he stuck close to the shadows. This place felt like a horror film... he loved it. This darkness... so... enlightening.
Josh felt more powerful. Invincible even. And no one could know what he was up to. He felt much more powerful than he did back at his stupid school.
He looked at his hand and clenched it. He smirked. "I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this... if only I could test it."
Josh's hand became surrounded by darkness. He then punched a tombstone. It created a domino effect and knocked several down, each landing on the ground with a thud. He smirked to himself at the results. "Timber." he remarked. If he could knock them down with just that, he wondered what else he could do...
"You have potential."
Josh rose an eyebrow and turned around. "Who said that?" he frowned.
"I did."
Josh noticed a man in a black, hooded coat standing several feet away from him. "And who are you? Give me a good reason why I shouldn't tear you apart."
"You do not fully understand your new powers. I can help you understand. Control them. Use them."
"Oh really? What's your name?" Josh demanded the mysterious man, scowling. The man just lowered his hood, revealing long, silver hair that went past his shoulders, golden eyes, and tanned skin. "You can call me... Xemnas."
Josh just stared at the man and narrowed his eyes. "Xemnas?" he repeated.
"That is right. And I can show you the true power of darkness. With our guidance, you can crush anyone who stands in your way. Who ever stood in your way." Xemnas told the teenager.
Josh took a moment to think about it. If anyone who had challenged him before had survived, maybe... he could show them why he was better than them. "Once I learn all I want to know, I'm gone." he told the man.
Xemnas nodded. "Agreed."
Josh slowly walked towards him. Xemnas smirked as he did. "You've made the right choice, boy."
"My name is Josh." the teenager retorted.
"Very well... Josh."
Xemnas then held his hand out to the side, opening up a portal of darkness. He stepped into it with Josh following him. As the portal closed behind them, Josh let a smirk creep up on his face. He couldn't wait to test out this new power...
"... anything yet?" Sora asked.
"Nope... no sign of anything..." Donald replied as he squinted his eyes while piloting the Gummi Ship.
Sora sighed and slumped in his seat. As Donald flew the ship, he couldn't help but wonder about the thing Genie had given him earlier. What did it mean by it helping him out in battle? Just what was it, anyway?
Jason tapped his fingers on the dashboard out of boredom. Anne, once again, had her headphones on with her arms crossed. She didn't want to get involved with arguments that Jason or Donald might cause. Clair was looking through her books again.
Riku was looking out the window. He kept thinking over all they knew. The Heartless AND Nobodies were back now... and the Organization was back as well...
The silver haired teen looked at the newest members. This was going to be tough. They were all newbies that were sucked into this. Not to mention one of them was not that... cooperative.
What were they going to do with Jason? He doesn't listen to anyone...
Lea let out a sigh as he folded his arms behind his head, striking up a conversation with Chase. "So, Chase, you like that speed of yours?"
Chase smiled and nodded in reply. "Yeah, I do. Why?"
"You know that wind can help increase fire, right?" Lea asked him.
"Yeah... Why?" Chase questioned. "It can help a lot in battle! Your speed can create winds, plus with my fireballs, they'll be sure to take down Heartless that are vulnerable to fire quickly!" Lea said. "Don't get all pyro right now, Lea." Sora told the red haired man jokingly.
"Are we there, yet?" Jason asked.
"No." Donald retorted. Jason grumbled to himself at that. Dylan was tapping his foot as he sat in his seat. Anne still had her headphones on as she looked out the window at the vast space. In her opinion, listening to music was much better than listening to Donald and Jason go at it like they did earlier. And it didn't argue back. Just another good thing about music.
As she listened to her music, Riku glanced over at her. She was gonna have to listen to some of their conversations. They might be important. If she didn't take the headphones off more often, she'd miss out on some important information.
Clair was looking at some of the spells in the books she had been given. She wondered which one would be the most useful in a battle. She just hoped that they'd help, if she was able to learn how to use them. She also wondered what the other worlds out there were like. She glanced up from her books and looked out the window, noticing something up ahead. "Hey, what's that?" she asked. Anne, noticing everyone's attention was directed at something, took her headphones off curiously and headed over to the window to get a better look.
They could see that it was a world that had a castle, a rose floating inside a glass jar, and a type of forest surrounding it. "Hey, isn't that Beast's Castle...?" Sora asked curiously.
"It is!" Goofy smiled, perking up at the sight.
Riku remembered the Beast, and how their encounter at Hollow Bastion went. He just hoped the Beast wouldn't get angry seeing him...
"You think Belle and Beast are doing okay?" Sora wondered. "Let's find out." Donald said.
Anne had a curious look. Why would someone be called 'Beast'?
Donald then piloted the Gummi Ship towards the world and Anne scrambled back to her seat as it dove downward. Looking out the windows, Dylan could see a darkened sky. "Hey, why is it so dark here?" he questioned.
It's usually pretty dark whenever we come here." Sora explained. "It's almost like it's always night time here."
The Gummi Ship then landed on a stone path that lead to a large set of wooden gates. Once they had landed, the platform had opened up, leading outside. One by one, they all emptied out of the colorful spaceship. Clair stared at the massive castle that poked out above the tall gates. "Whoa..." she gasped with awe. It was... amazing! She never saw a building like that before.
"Wait till ya see it up close." Goofy smiled as Sora opened up the wooden gates, revealing the large courtyard. Anne's jaw dropped as she looked around.
"Holy..." she breathed in shock. It was quite beautiful, despite the dark sky. There were several statues in the area. The ground had details of the design in the center of the place. And this was just the courtyard?!
Jason glanced around the area. He looked at the grotesque gargoyles in the courtyard. "Creepy place." he remarked. Dylan actually nodded in agreement. "It looks pretty gloomy here..."
"Almost like a Halloween castle." Chase joked. Dylan shook his head. "Really?"
Sora took a step forward as he looked around. They approached the front doors. However, a couple Heartless had suddenly appeared in dark wisps.
Clair leapt back and summoned her Keyblade. "They're here, too?!" Sora summoned Kingdom Key and leapt forward. Did Belle and Beast know the Heartless were here...?
Anne summoned Way of the Ninja and threw it at a nearby Shadow. It sliced right through it, making it vanish into darkness. Riku charged forward, slicing through another Shadow Heartless and destroying it while Anne's Keyblade returned to her hand. Clair remembered a spell she had learned, so she looked at a Soldier and shot an Aero spell at it, sending it flying and spinning around in the air. As it lowered, Jason slashed at it with his Keyblade, Born Fighter, and destroyed it.
"Good teamwork." Clair remarked. Jason just charged forward and attacked another Heartless.
An Air Soldier swooped down at Dylan, but he dove down and fired a Thunder spell at it, electrocuting it, giving Kairi an opportunity to attack it. She destroyed it and released the heart.
Lea got his own Keyblade ready. "Chase!"
"Oh yeah!" Chase whooped as he sped forward in a green and blue blur. Lea then used his fire attacks, which hit the a Soldier and Chase sped around the Soldier. The wind increased the flames and destroyed the Heartless, freeing the heart. "Yeah!" Lea smirked. "That's what I'm talking about!"
He and Chase high fived each other as Goofy and Donald helped their friends. "YAAA-HAA-HAA-HOOEY!" Goofy let out his signature cry as he slammed his shield down on a Heartless, flattening it. Donald fired a Blizzard spell, freezing one in place, allowing Anne to slash at it and defeat it.
Sora backed his friends up. "Take this!" He attacked the last Heartless in the area, a Large Body. He launched himself off a gargoyle statue and landed behind the big Heartless, hacking away at its back. The Heartless vanished, the crystalline heart floating up into the air.
The spiky haired boy dismissed his Keyblade. "Come on, guys. We better see how they're doing." he told his friends as he headed over to the front doors. Riku lagged a few feet behind Sora while the others followed.
Sora glanced up at the castle before pushing one of the doors open. Chase looked at the immense doors. "Big doors."
"Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious." Dylan deadpanned as they followed Sora inside. Once seeing the cavernous halls, Chase couldn't resist calling out, "Hello!", just to hear the echoes.
"Quiet!" Jason elbowed him. Chase grunted and held his stomach. "Ow!"
Jason then grabbed a nearby candelabra. "Come on. Let's just figure out where these people are."
"What people?" A voice asked.
Jason looked around, still holding the candelabra. "Who said that?"
"Over here." Jason turned again, but no one was there. "Uh, Jason?" Anne pointed, her eyes wide with shock.
Jason felt a tapping on his hand. He lowered his hand to see... there was a face in the candelabra! "Bonjour."
He yelled in surprise and dropped it. Clair gasped and jumped back. "A talking candelabra?!"
The walking candelabra just sat up and dusted himself off. "Oui, mademoiselle." he said with a polite tone as he bowed. Chase just fainted, so Dylan had to smack him a bit to snap him out of it.
"Lumiere?" Sora asked with surprise. Lumiere's eyes brightened up seeing the teen. "Sora! Welcome back!"
"Lumiere! Where are you?" A clock then came running up. Dylan's jaw dropped in his shock, he actually dropped Chase, who had come to. "Ow!" Chase groaned.
"Cogsworth?" Donald asked.
The walking clock's eyes widened upon seeing Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the others. "You're back!"
Jason grabbed Cogsworth. "Is this thing animatronic?"
"Put me down! At once." Jason just shook Cogsworth, earning a laugh from Lumiere. Cogsworth slapped Jason's hand. "Put me down now!"
Jason set him down. "Okay, not animatronic!"
Cogsworth muttered as he picked up up a couple gears that fell out, putting them back in place. "It is wonderful to see you again, Sora." Lumiere smiled up at him. "And I see you have new friends!"
Sora then noticed something was off. "Wait, you're not human again?"
Lumiere shook his head. "Sadly, no. The master and Belle still have a ways to go."
"Belle? How is she?" Kairi asked.
"She's doing well!"
"Who is Belle?" Clair asked. "She's one of the Princesses of Heart we told you about earlier." Riku told her quietly.
Clair's eyes widened. Chase sat up, stumbling a bit. "You really need to get an interior decorator in here." Chase said. "This place is way too spooky."
"It isn't our fault." Cogsworth shrugged. "Everyone has been turned into a household appliance due to a curse, so we can't do much right now."
"A curse?" Clair asked, crouching down to him.
"Yes. Years ago, the master had turned away an old beggar woman, who, in reality, was a beautiful enchantress. She cursed him because he had no love in his heart, and she turned everyone else in the castle into what we are now. However, she left a rose and said that if the master had fallen in love before the last petal on the rose fell, the spell would be broken. And it appears that that day might come soon." Cogsworth explained.
"You see, Belle and the master seen to be falling in love." Lumiere added.
"Where are they?" Sora asked.
"They're somewhere in the castle."
"We need to tell them something." Kairi told the candelabra.
"Maybe another time?" Cogsworth asked. "Why?" Anne asked. "What's happening tonight?"
"They're having dinner right now, and the servants have taken quite some time to prepare it, and it would be wise not to disturb them right now. Perhaps later?" the walking clock suggested. Anne shrugged in reply.
"In the meantime, would you like us to give you a tour of the castle? I'm sure your new friends would love to have a look around." Lumiere told Sora.
Sora shrugged. "Sure." he replied. He didn't want to be rude to his friends here. It wouldn't be nice to intrude on their dinner. "Splendid!" Lumiere cheered as he turned around and hopped away with the group following him. They approached the huge staircase as Cogsworth and Lumiere hopped up the steps. Riku glanced around. He had only been here once or twice, but it was only outside, and he kept himself blindfolded. He never saw the interior of the castle before. Needless to say, he was rather impressed.
"It's pretty fancy..." Chase remarked.
Clair was admiring some of the suits of armor. Chase was, as well. "Hm, are they for decoration?" the teenage boy asked their 'tour guides'.
"Certainly." Cogsworth replied. As Clair and Chase turned away, they had no idea the helmets of the suits of armor were slowly looking at them. However, Anne thought something was watching them, so she turned her head and the helmets quickly returned to their original positon.
She rose an eyebrow, but shrugged and resumed walking. The teenager then noticed some stairs that led to the west. "Hey, where do those lead?"
"The West Wing. The master prefers that no one enters that area." Cogsworth told her. Anne shrugged as they headed up a set of stairs to the east. Jason then paused, seeing a silhouette of someone running in the distance. "Who's there?!" he called.
The figure froze for a moment. Sora got ready. "We're not afraid of you!"
In response, the figure pointed something at them. "Stay back!" the figure warned. They could tell by the voice that it was a female. Jason was surprised. "I know that voice... Aurora?"
Clair's eyes widened in shock. "Aurora?!"
"... Jason? Clair?" the girl asked with surprise as she stepped out from the shadows. She had long, black hair. She wore a long sleeved white shirt underneath a blue sweater, a black skirt, and black leggings. She also looked Asian. "You survived, too?"
Clair nodded. "Yes..." she barely managed to say. She couldn't believe it. Someone else from her world had survived!
"Who is this? You know her?" Anne asked Jason.
"Aurora Kara. She moved from Moruga to Nekotan and went to our school back on our world. Real high and mighty." Jason replied.
The girl, Aurora glared at him. "Nice to see you too, dumb knucklehead." she retorted.
Riku's eyes widened seeing... a Keyblade in Aurora's hand! It had a strong resemblance to a sword with the head of an open-mouthed dragon forming the teeth. The handle was gold with silver dragon wings forming the handle. The keychain token was a star.
"A Keyblade?!" he asked in shock. The group's eyes widened seeing it. "You have one, too?!" Clair gasped. Aurora blinked. "What do you mean?"
Anne, Clair, and Jason held their hands out and called forth their own Keyblades. Aurora blinked. "You guys have them?" she asked.
Jason nodded, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "And so do these guys."
Aurora glanced at the others. "Who are they?"
"My name's Sora. This is Riku, Kairi, Lea, Donald, Goofy, Chase, Dylan, and Anne." Sora introduced, gesturing to each person. "These two guys here are Lumiere and Cogsworth. They live here in the castle."
"But... they're..."
"A talking candelabra and clock? Yeah." Jason nodded. "Long story short, they're under a curse." Clair told her. Aurora stared at them. "Yeah, curses are real." Clair told her with a nod.
She shook her head. "This is just weird. First those things attack our home, then I end up here and there are talking appliances?"
"They're people under a curse." Clair corrected.
"It's still weird."
"For once, I agree." Jason said. "And those things that attacked our world? They're called Heartless, creatures of darkness." Clair told her. Sora nodded, walking over to them. "They usually attack other worlds and they come in all shapes, sizes, and forms."
Aurora looked at them. "I think you need to tell me everything."
"Trust me, we will." Riku nodded. "You see, Heartless are created from the darkness in one's heart. Then there's the Nobodies, what's left of one who had fallen to darkness."
"Nobodies?"
Riku nodded. "We just found out that they're back as well."
"Back?" Aurora questioned.
"Donald, Goofy, Riku, and I fought Heartless and Nobodies in the past." Sora explained. "We thought we defeated them, but they're back again."
Aurora placed a hand on her hip with an eyebrow raised. "Which means the four of you didn't do a good job."
"Hey!" Donald frowned.
"Since you have a Keyblade, we can teach you how to use it." Sora told Aurora, ignoring her comment.
"I've managed." Aurora shrugged.
Clair then got an idea. "Jason refused to learn from them. He thinks anyone can learn..."
"Teach me how to use it." Aurora said almost immediately.
Jason looked at his cousin. "Hey!"
She just gave him a wink. He then realized what she was doing. He then shrugged casually, going along with it. "You don't need them. It's really simple to use a Keyblade."
"I'm going to learn from them and that's final." Aurora insisted.
"Whatever you say." Jason shrugged again. Clair's idea had worked.
Chase just had a confused look. What was that about?
He looked at Dylan for an explanation. "Don't look at me." Dylan shrugged.
Lumiere hopped over to Aurora, politely bowing. "Mademoiselle, would you care to join us?"
She rose an eyebrow. "Uh... okay..."
Cogsworth walked away. "This way, please."
They all followed the two down the hall, as well as the newest member of the group. Anne glanced up at the ceiling and noticed some of the tapestries. They looked rather fancy, yet dusty, and a few of the lower ones had some tears in them. "Fancy." she remarked.
"They're baroque." Cogsworth told her. "What, now?" Anne asked. "The tapestries. They're baroque." Cogsworth repeated as he kept walking. The teenage girl just gave him a blank look. She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Chase was messing around with some of the statues, much to the clock's annoyance. "Chase, quit messing with that!" he scolded. Chase looked back at him. "Why? It's just a statue." he shrugged.
"To you, it may be. But to us, it's part of the castle." Cogsworth told him. Chase blinked at that. "Oh... sorry."
Jason was just walking along. Anne then sneezed loudly, her sneeze echoing throughout the vast hall. "Kinda dusty in here..." she muttered.
"You'll have to forgive us for that. It's been quite some time since we've cleaned." Cogsworth apologized. "Lack of hands." Lumiere added, showing his 'hands' for emphasis. "The dusters try to keep it clean here, but the dust appears to collect faster than they can sweep."
Riku kept glancing around. He could sense that years of darkness were here, but they were being cast aside... by light. Was it because of Belle? She was a Princess of Heart...
But then again, Beast and Belle had a special connection. Maybe that was it.
He couldn't help but feel slightly nervous though. When they would go to talk to Beast and Belle, he just hoped the Beast wouldn't try to rip him to shreds.
Jason seemed to notice Riku seemed uneasy. He didn't say anything, though, but he just observed him.
Riku stared straight ahead as he kept trudging on. If the Beast recognized Riku, would he listen to reason with him?