DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!

A/N: I AM BACK - AND I AM EXCITED!

Why? Simple! I brought Chapter 25 WITH ME! HIP-HIP-HOORAY! YES!

So, I wanted to tell you I am sorry for not posting as frequently this year as I was last year... and the last few years before, too. I have had a LOT going on lately. It does not help having major homework projects at least once a week. To make things worse, I just could not seem to sit down and write This Story. Imagine how long it took just to get this done!

That aside, I want to state how I have seen "Zootopia (2016)", and I REALLY enjoyed it! I actually have been considering including it into this KH Story Series! How about THAT?! Would any of you like to see "ZOOTOPIA (2016)" appear in my "Kingdom Hearts" stories? Please let me know!

In addition, I have added a new poll. It is in regards to this KH Story Series. Please check it out!

Plus, some of you seem to really like my KH Stories, yet your lack of reviews does not really show this. Another possible reason why I was not writing very much might be due to the dramatic decrease in the number of views on this story. "Kingdom Hearts - World Unto Dreams" still seems to be getting views all the time, even though it is finished!

That all aside, I shall allow you to go ahead and read This Chapter! PLEASE READ/REVIEW TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! THE MORE READERS/REVIEWERS, THE BETTER!

CHAPTER 25
The Cursed Castle

The corridor was gigantic and full of extensive shadows. A statue or two was located alongside the hall at regular intervals. Many of the works of art were lying in shambles and the entire area was covered in dust. Despite the sun shining in through the glass windows amidst the tattered curtains, the trio of Beagle Boys were casually strolling down the hallway. They were so discouraged, they failed to really notice how dark and eerie the castle they had ventured off to was on the inside.

They silently sighed. Having failed to assist the now-late Judge Claude Frollo in taking over La Ville de Sonner Les Cloches, the Beagle Boys were afraid to return to Maleficent and face her wrath. For all they knew, the sorceress wouldn't be the least bit kind to them.

If only they could've beaten Sora, Donald, Goofy, and that idiotic pilot — Launchpad McQuack. If only they could have….

"What're we gonna do now?" one of the tall Beagle Boys asked. "We can't go back and see Maleficent."

"No kidding!" the other tall one agreed. "She'll strike us with everythings' she's got!"

"If only we had a golden opportunity to redeem ourselves," the short one sighed. "Maybe she wouldn't take it so hard."

"But what could we do?" the first one questioned.

The other two shrugged in response. Out of the blue, a loud piece of instrumental music flooded the corridor. Spinning around, the Beagle Boys were astounded. Taking into consideration the music was being played a short distance down the hallway, they marched off to investigate. As the villains drew closer, the music steadily grew louder. Before long, they found themselves stepping through a set of double-doors and into an enormous room.

The three were amazed. The room had such a high ceiling, they couldn't see anything but shadows on it. With the notable large windows with glass panes to their left and a few candle-stands set up close to the far end of the room, the Beagle Boys were able to spot a giant pipe organ bolted onto the opposite wall. The sounds of a gloomy-type song could be heard echoing from the numerous pipes.

"Wow!" the first tall Beagle Boy exclaimed. "That is the biggest piano I've ever seen!"

"Wonder what song it's playin'," the second tall one added.

"Look!" The short one pointed to the keyboard on the organ. The keys were moving up and down like someone was touching them. The only difference was there was nobody at the keyboard. "The keys are movin' by themselves!"

"It could be one of them 'play-itself' pianos," the first Beagle Boy suggested with a nervous gulp.

"Or it's a ghost playin' it," the second stated.

The short one gulped with fear. "Let's get outta here!"

When the three turned to leave, a deep voice boomed from across the room, causing them to freeze in their tracks. "Oh? What have we here? Three hooded individuals. Hmm… I don't recall the master welcoming any 'guests' lately."

The Beagle Boys whirled around. Their eyes darted this way and that. Still, there wasn't a single figure standing in the room. Their eyes started to fill with discomfort. For all they knew, there was a ghost lurking about and possibly playing the organ, too.

"Who… who's there?" the second tall Beagle Boy called out anxiously.

The other tall one glanced around the room. "There's nobody here."

The music started to pick up speed when the voice spoke again. "Ah! But I am here! All you have to do is look up!"

Although fearing they were about to face a ghost, the Beagle Boys gazed up towards the ceiling. In the middle of the pipes at the peak of the organ was the shape of someone's face, which the three villains thought resembled a mask. When the upper part of the pipes with the mask peered down from above, the Beagle Boys began shivering with terror present on their faces. The mask gave a smile and spoke in the same deep voice as before. "I am Maestro Forte — Court Composer."

The Beagle Boys remained quivering. "Do not fear," Forte soothed. "I mean you no harm."

"You," one of the tall Beagle Boys sputtered nervously. "You can talk?!"

"But you're a piano!" the second tall one shouted.

"Yeah!" the short one approved. "Everyone knows pianos can't talk!"

Forte's smile faded and he slammed his keys down hard. The whole room started to shake like a violent tremor was hitting it with a loud blast of music. The Beagle Boys nearly bounced around with the quake while two panes of glass in the windows gave some tiny cracks.

"Relax," Forte calmly said once the musical blast had ended. "It's merely an opéra — to bring the house down."

"How can you talk?" the first Beagle Boy inquired.

Forte gave a dark grin in return. "I used to be human, you know. Until the master met the Enchantress and the castle was put under the spell."

"'Spell'?" the first Beagle Boy asked.

"'Enchantress'?" the second one wondered aloud.

"Sounds pretty gloomy," the short one remarked.

"I won't bore you with the details," Forte rapidly added. He looked back down to the three Beagle Boys far below. "Now then, I thought I heard something about a 'golden opportunity' in the midst of my crescendo?"

The Beagle Boys exchanged glances with each other. Even though they had just met the pipe organ and weren't sure if what he was saying about once being a human and placed under a spell was truthful, the villains knew they probably could trust him with resolving their problem. For all they knew, this could be the chance to redeem their place on Maleficent's Council.

"It's like this," the first tall Beagle Boy started. "We's in a lot of trouble right now."

"We've had too many slip-ups lately," the second added. "But we can't go back and face Maleficent."

"She'll strike us like she did Pete!" the short one stated firmly.

Forte seemed pleased. "Well now," he said, giving a sinister-looking smile. "I may not know of this 'Maleficent', but I would just hate to see the three of you get 'struck' for making mistakes. Although I've never made any…. "

"You'll help us?!" the three Beagle Boys exclaimed in surprise.

"Why, certainly," Forte acknowledged. "You see… I have some 'plans' of my own, and I need someone to carry them out for me. You three would do just nicely…. "

The Beagle Boys gave evil smiles in response. If Forte could assist them, they would do anything to help him out. It didn't matter how challenging or simple the task was — they would do it.

The view from Herbie's windows was full of clear space and spectacular shining stars. An occasional clump of dust or gas or something else entirely would slide past the Gummi Ship and soon disappear into the colorful emptiness beyond.

Sora did not notice. Rather, his mind was keeping him for noticing. Here he was, currently caught up in a card game with Donald, Goofy, and Amemi. Not long after leaving the last world, everyone had tried to relax, only it was no use. That was when Amemi had reached into purse and pulled out the card game's deck. "How about a game of 'UNO'?" she had asked.

Within mere minutes, Sora had found himself in the game with three blue cards, two green ones, and a wild card… plus a reversal. He saw Donald had two cards left, Goofy had three cards, and Amemi was holding five cards. Sora found himself grinning secretly. He had the feeling he could guess what was about to happen on the next turn, which happened to be Donald's.

Donald put down a reddish five on top of a greenish five. When he saw Goofy pluck a card from his own hand, Sora gave a sneaky grin, especially when he saw Donald had only one card in his hand. "Uno!" Sora called.

Everyone stopped and stared at him. Sora pointed to Donald with his free hand. Donald's eyes filled with puzzlement. "A-Hyuck!" Goofy nodded when he understood. "Ya gotta draw two more cards, Donald!"

Donald stared in shock. "What?! That's not fair! I didn't get a chance to say 'Uno'!"

"Goofy's right," Amemi said. She reached into one of the pockets in her jacket and pulled out a cellular phone. After a few long seconds, she held up the device to Donald's face. "See? It's in the official rules. You must draw two cards or you'll be kicked out of the game."

The duck magician clenched his teeth together. He clutched his cards so tightly, it seemed he was about to bend or tear them apart. He muttered a soft list of illegible garble, and he scooped up two more cards from the deck as he did so.

Sora had to shake his head. He glanced towards the front of the vehicle. There was Launchpad, slouched in his seat, eating a handful of Peanut Skittles while watching a show on the monitor beside him. It was a program Sora didn't recognize, other than the fact it was being broadcast over "METFLEX"; he knew that name, mainly since it was an online site for watching movies and shows alike. Whatever show Launchpad was watching, Sora could tell it had something to do with three girls, mermaids, and an island. He shook his head, knowing this meant Herbie was doing all the flying and the pilot had nothing better to do.

Now it was Goofy's turn. The knight placed a greenish five card on top. Amemi shook her head and simply threw a greenish four card down. Sora responded by putting a greenish "SKIP" card down. "Hey!" Donald stated. "What's the big idea?!"

Sora shrugged. Donald glowered at him, especially after Goofy and Amemi each put down a card (Goofy called out an "UNO" of his own) and Sora put down his wild card; it turned out to also be a Draw 4. Donald's face started to turn red as he stubbornly picked up four more cards. Sora had to smile, knowing the duck mage's behavior was something he'd grown used to seeing quite frequently. He was not sure why, only that he had missed seeing stuff like this over the past few months — if not for much, much, much, much longer.

"I change the color to… Blue," the spikey-headed youth announced.

Goofy gazed at the card in his hand. Before he could do anything — draw a card or put down the card he held — the interior of the ship suddenly jerked around violently. The cards flew all over the place. Donald's cards flew into the air, alongside Sora's and Amemi's. Goofy clung to his last card like it was the pot of gold from the end of a Lucky Charm's rainbow.

Wondering what was going on, Sora whirled his eyes to the front. To his astonishment, thick, dark clouds could be seen. Launchpad was trying to grab the controls, even though he had just tossed his last handful of candy into the air and it had fallen all over the dashboard. "What's happening?" Amemi shouted in a state of shock and worry.

One look at the view as the clouds grew thinner, and Sora's mind flew back to when he had seen a similar view. Back when Launchpad had sent Herbie into a downward diagonal at the top of a waterfall. From there, the Gummi Ship had fallen over the edge and splashed into the river below. Gummi blocks and bent wings… Sora instantly knew what was happening.

Herbie was nose-diving.

"I've lost control!" Launchpad declared. He hastily put the goggles on his flight cap over his eyes. This was a sight Sora had never seen below, let alone expected. "Let's prepare for another McQuack crash-landing!"

The clouds dispersed. Sora watched as a white landscape in the middle of a vast forest during the day speedily came into view. For a moment, he thought the trees below seemed a little familiar. In fact, he caught a glimpse of something else… something tall, dark, and gloomy-like. What was it?

Two arms wrapped around his shoulders. Sora glanced back. His sister was grabbing onto him for dear life. He knew why. If there was one thing Amemi hated more than missing out on a fun adventure, it was roller coasters. He recalled how she'd panicked when their Mom had taken them both to "Seashore Land" on a nearby large island; Amemi had been trapped inside a roller coaster car for three straight rides after her seatbelt got stuck and the handlebar refused to rise.

Of course, there were other things the sandy-haired girl did not approve of, yet Sora was too busy holding onto the seat in front of him to think of any more. He saw Donald holding onto his hat as he strapped himself into the window seat on the opposite side. Goofy was kneeling down on the floor, clutching what appeared to be a small fishing pole. Sora was not sure how the tall knight had ended up with that! Then again, he recalled how Goofy had shown him a certain fishing move. How did it go, again?

Herbie was righted at the last moment. The Gummi Ship came down in a large patch of white stuff. As it blew alongside the vehicle during the impact, Sora realized it was snow. After a second or five, Herbie landed gently in the snowbank; he gave a pleased beeping, indicating he was in one piece.

With a sigh of relief, Sora released his grip on the seat in front of him. Amemi let go and slid to the side to get out from behind him. Goofy returned to his seat, while Donald undid his buckles and straps. When the duck mage saw Goofy's card facing his way, he scowled. "Phooey!" he snarled. "I was cheated!"

It did not take Sora more than two minutes to know what this meant. Goofy's card had been a blue one. Simple as that. He had to shake his head. Donald was nothing more than a sore loser. He started to wonder if this happened often whenever the anthropomorphic duck magician played games with anyone. This made him wonder how Daisy reacted to his bad temper.

Goofy started to pick up the fallen cards. Donald quickly joined him. Amemi gave a deep, deep, deep sigh of relief. Her right hand was placed over the left side of her chest as she caught her breath. "At least… we're down in a single piece," she remarked. "That landing was… a little too bumpy for me."

Sora took a moment to notice his sister was showing a small smile. He could only shake his head. Before he could think about what this sight reminded him of, a blast of cold air filled the inside of the spaceship. Sora shivered for a moment. Amemi curled up in her seat; she was quivering as she rubbed her arms. Donald and Goofy peered out the window at the snow around them.

Sora looked around. "Huh? Where's Launchpad?"

"Hey, guys!" Launchpad's voice called from outside. "This place's creepier than on Halloween!"

Sora and Amemi exchanged looks of question. Sora could tell his little sister was just as perplexed as he was. He led the way out of the vehicle. Amemi was seconds behind. Seeing they were the only ones inside Herbie, Donald and Goofy put down the cards they had picked up and followed the two siblings out of the Gummi Ship.

Upon stepping out into the snow, Sora found himself shivering a little. To his surprise, the sky was filled with dark clouds that were so thick, the sunlight couldn't get through. He glanced at his cellular phone; he could tell (despite the cracked screen) it was almost mid-morning. The scenery around him reminded the brown-haired young man of his first encounter with the dazzling, sparkling lights from Christmas Town.

Spotting Launchpad less than five feet away, Sora walked up to him. "What is it?" he asked.

Launchpad pointed into the distance directly before the site of the crashed Herbie. "It looks like one of those castles from the fairy tales!" he commented. "And this is really happening… right? Or is this all in my head?"

Sora whirled his focus to where the pilot was pointing. He saw Amemi, Donald, and Goofy were out in the snow, doing the same. To the spikey, brown-haired Keyblade wielder's surprise, a tall, enormous castle was located directly before their eyes. It was a dark shade of blue with darkish brown roofs. A number of the rooftops were peaked. There were lots of windows, chimneys, and even a few gargoyle statues grouped together on some of the roofs. A thin layer of mist shrouded the building. Most of the roofs were covered by drifts of fallen snow, and there was snow covering the ground all around the outside. In the distance, more forests and some faraway mountains could be seen.

Sora stared at it. "I… know… this… place…. "

He knew they had ended up at The Beast's Castle.

One look at the building and Amemi was a little shaky. The architecture of the structure reminded her of a certain horror movie she'd once seen many years ago. Based on what she could recall, the movie had been about a mad scientist who created a monster inside a haunted castle. Ironically, this building seemed to resemble that same castle from the movie. This made her gulp with lots of anxiety. "A castle," she muttered. "It feels a little… spooky. What world are we in, Sora?"

When she heard no response, the sandy-headed teenager turned around. She saw Launchpad looking at the castle in confusion. However, Goofy, Donald, and Sora were gazing at the building like they recognized it. Sora was staring at it with a look Amemi knew meant he did know what it was. "This is the castle!" he called out.

Donald and Goofy nodded. Amemi looked a little more puzzled. "Huh?" she said. "What are you talking about? Have you been here before?"

Donald and Goofy nodded again. With his famous, giant grin inscribed on his face, Sora raced through the snow to the castle's entrance. When he hurried on by, Amemi was caught in a blast of wind and spun around. She then realized they had crash-landed in an open space surrounded by a stone wall. A courtyard, she comprehended.

Wondering what her brother had taken into account, Amemi hurried after him. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were just mere seconds behind them. It didn't take too long to reach the castle's entrance doors, which were located at the top of a short, snow-covered flight of stairs. Goofy slipped on a bit of ice and landed onto the top step. Launchpad helped the knight to his feet.

Amemi stepped up to her brother. She could see a look of excitement in his eyes when he turned to look at her. Her eyes started to flood with concern. She knew this look anywhere. It meant Sora's naïve side was starting to take charge.

"Sora," she started to say. "Shouldn't we be careful?"

Sora turned to the large, wooden doors and casually pushed them open with a loud banging noise; the doors had slammed against the inside walls. Amemi sighed, knowing what she'd just said had gone unnoticed. She knew even WordGirl would never rush into a place like this so hurriedly. If only her brother would be a little more cautious — especially after all the trouble his speedy reactions had caused in the last few worlds.

Sora stepped into the castle. Amemi was directly behind him, followed by Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. In a loud, proud voice, Sora called out, "Hey, everyone! We're back!"

To Amemi's amazement, the entrance led straight into a massive hall with columns located on either side on a main path. The middle was marked by a long, dull-colored carpet. It led up a short flight of steps to a large, wooden doorway. From there, a tall, wooden doorway could be seen. The staircase split off to the sides, one leading up to the right and the other off to the left. In the sides of the main hall, a pair of doorways could be seen on either side.

"This place is enormous," Amemi remarked. "Have you really been here before?"

She noticed Sora was looking around as though awaiting an answer to his previous query. No reply was given. Now Amemi was wondering if this was just an empty castle.

"This place is spooky!" Launchpad indicated. He pointed up at the high ceiling. "I see a hole in the wall up there! Did a burglar rob this room of its colors?"

Amemi ignored the pilot's statement and question and crossed her arms. She was now wondering why her older brother would be so thrilled to be exploring a dark, uninviting castle in the middle of a dense forest. Then again, such adventurous notions tended to have Sora's name written all over them. After all, he was the leader of this fine group!

Out of nowhere, a swarm of monsters that were as black as night itself appeared from the shadows of the room. Among them were several odd-looking bats, and a handful of large body-like beings. One look at them and Amemi's eyes lit up. "Heartless!" she heard Donald and Goofy yelp.

Before Amemi could count to one, Sora's Keyblade was in hand. He rushed into the horde of enemies and was slashing, bashing, and slicing his way through the Heartless. Donald was sending magical spells every which way before the sandy-haired girl could reach two. Goofy was spinning around like a top and smashing several of the hostile creatures aside by the time Amemi counted to three. When she (silently) reached four, Launchpad had already taken out his gas-gun and was busy shooting Heartless out of the way.

Within a matter of five to ten seconds, all of the Heartless had been annihilated. Amemi found her head spinning. The whole battle had happened so rapidly, she hadn't had the chance to react and join along. She touched her jacket pocket and felt her slingshot. How come she hadn't reacted as speedily as her brother, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad had? She was now wondering if it had something to do with the others having more experience with dealing with the Heartless. For that matter, it almost seemed like Sora had anticipated the Heartless showing up inside the castle.

As she watched Sora and the others put their weapons away, Amemi thought she heard something. Either it was her sudden dizziness, her vivid imagination, or something else entirely… yet, she was still convinced she had heard something. Whatever it was, that was the new question she had going through her mind.

She stepped over to the others. "Did you hear something?" she asked them all.

Sora shrugged. "You got me, Amy. Goofy? Did you hear anything?"

Goofy stuck his left finger into his left ear. After a few moments of twisting his hand, he pulled it out and held his hand close to his ear. "Nope," he replied. "I don't hear nothin' 'cept them little bells."

When Sora and Amemi both inquired Donald, the duck shrugged in turn. Launchpad held up his hands to both of his ears. He strained to listen around. "I can't hear anything. This place is dead silent… but not literally. This isn't a cemetery."

This made Amemi fold her arms and roll her eyes. Last she checked, Launchpad wasn't the smartest pilot around. Then again, he was the only pilot she'd ever met personally. True, she'd seen those skywriting planes back home — mostly around sunset. Then, there were the seaplanes for rent at the nearby theme park, "PAUPU LAND", located on one of the other smaller islands. Still, Amemi had never flown in any of those planes. In fact, the first time she'd flown was a few years ago, back when she had….

"Shh!" Sora put a finger to his lips. Everyone went completely silent. This caused Amemi to lose her train of thought.

That was when they heard it. Soft voices. Looking around, Amemi wondered where they'd come from. "Hey, guys!" she heard Sora say.

Amemi swung her eyes toward her brother. The spikey-headed youth was looking down at the floor. Donald and Goofy were doing the same. Launchpad was trying to look down, only from behind Donald and Goofy. Curious to know what had grabbed the others' attention, the sandy-haired teenager stepped to Sora's side and kept her eyes on the floor. She paused suddenly, spotting a few items on the floor.

One of them was a reddish-brown clock with a few pieces that were a golden color; the clock hands seemed to form a mustache. Another was a golden candelabra sporting a long nose, wrinkled forehead, brown eyebrows, heavy-lidded brown eyes. There was also a china-like teapot with blue eyes, magenta lips, long eyelashes, lavender eye-shadow, pink cheeks, and a prominent round chin. There was a matching teacup beside the teapot, although there was a small chip in it.

"It's nice to you again," the clock said to Sora and the others.

Sora smiled. The candelabra glanced over the group. "Well, well," it declared. "Who are your new friends?"

Sora gestured to Launchpad. "This is Launchpad," he introduced. He then gestured to Amemi. "This is my sister, Amemi."

Amemi stared in surprise. "You… you're all alive?" she was barely able to say the words. She knelt down to get a closer look. The very concept of seeing household items trying to move around like they were people was completely mind-boggling for the young woman. "H-how is this possible?"

Sora took notice of his sister's hesitation. "She's still getting used to seeing new places," he explained.

The clock hobbled over to Amemi. She continued to stare at the living object. "I am Cogsworth," the clock very politely introduced. "The head of the household."

As Cogsworth extended what seemed to be an arm to the young woman, the candelabra rushed over and landed in between the two. Cogsworth rolled his eyes. "This is Lumiére."

Lumiére took an astounded Amemi's right hand. "What an honor it is to meet a lady such as yourself," Lumiére said before he kissed her hand.

Amemi speedily pulled her hand away. For some reason, Lumiére's attitude towards her reminded her of a certain character from a show she'd seen on television years ago. The character was clearly supposed to be a "ladies' man"; she remembered his dark jacket, blue pants, and constant use of the term "Hey!" She had hated that character so much. Just seeing Lumiére imitate him made her feel very, very, very, very uncomfortable.

The nearly-fourteen-year-old girl rose to her feet. Her discomfort must have been showing on her face. While Cogsworth and Lumiére switched their focus to Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad, the teapot and chipped cup came hopping over to the young woman. "Don't worry, dear," the teapot said. "Lumiére is a kind fellow."

Amemi had to give a sigh of relief. It sounded like the teapot was a kind, gentle individual. "Thank you," she smiled.

"You can call me 'Mrs. Potts', dear," the teapot said. She nudged the teacup. "This is Chip."

Amemi bent lower to see the teacup. Chip leaped into the air, so the sandy-haired young woman had to catch him. Chip squinted to take a close look at her. "You and Sora sure are different-looking," he commented.

Amemi had to roll her eyes. Of course she looked different than her brother! Sora was a brown-haired seventeen-year-old boy. She was a sandy-headed girl close to age fourteen. In less than three months, she would be fifteen. She decided to shove all this unnecessary contemplation to one side. 'That was an awkward question', she thought to herself.

"It's good to see all of you," Sora's voice perked up. Amemi switched her focus to her brother. He was grinning at Cogsworth and Lumiére. "How's things?"

"Splendid," Cogsworth stated in reply.

"Have you come to see the Master and Belle?" Lumiére inquired.

Sora gave an instant nod. "Yeah," he answered.

Amemi looked confused. "Who's 'Belle'?"

Everyone turned their attention to the sandy-haired girl. Amemi shrugged. "What?" she asked. She did not like being the center of attention without knowing why.

Sora turned to the servants. "Would you excuse us for a minute?"

Cogsworth, Lumiére, Mrs. Potts, and Chip all nodded. Sora rose to his feet and gestured for Amemi to follow. The teenage girl did so. When they reached the wall on the left side of the hall, Sora stopped and turned back. Amemi did the same. They could see Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad talking with the servants about something or other.

"Amy," Sora began. "You shouldn't ask so many questions."

Amemi was startled. "Why not?"

"You might disrupt the 'World Order'."

"The what?"

Sora gave a deep sigh. Judging from her brother's facial expression, Amemi concluded he had completely forgotten to tell her something very important.

"Here's the thing," Sora said at last. "We can't tell anyone there's other worlds out there. It could cause complete chaos and confusion."

"You mean, we can't meddle in other worlds' affairs?" Amemi questioned.

Sora placed his hands behind his head. "Something like that," he admitted. "But everyone here already knows about other worlds. Donald, Goofy, and I helped Be—someone else who lives here save Belle from Maleficent a long time ago."

"Why?"

"Belle is a 'Princess of Heart', so Maleficent had kidnapped her."

"Just like Kairi," Amemi recalled how Kairi how explained what a "Princess of Heart" is during the time Sora had seemingly disappeared altogether. She had learned Kairi was actually the daughter of a world's leader and had no Darkness in her heart. Having a heart of pure Light sounded like a special trait. Amemi just wished she was a princess, too.

Her mind started to wander from there. For some reason, only the two of them had a memory of a certain fourteen-year-old boy who had used to live on the island with them. Even her mom had had a slight recollection. They were the only ones who had held any memory of Sora's existence. She still was not sure why.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. We met the castle's master while saving Kairi from Maleficent."

Amemi nearly leapt back into the wall. "You know this castle's master?! I never expected that! You weren't kidding, Sora. You've really been all over the place."

Sora grinned. "And there's a lot more places left to see," he added. "I do wonder what's going on in Tinker Bell's world…. "

Amemi was perplexed. What was her brother talking about now? She remembered how Goofy had asked Thistle about someone named "Tinker Bell", which had caused the villainous fairy to shout in anger. Now she was wondering… who was "Tinker Bell"? She wondered if she would ever find out.

"In that case," Amemi finally said. "Who is the castle's master?"

Sora unfolded his arms. "You'll know him when you see him."

At that moment, the sound of barking filled the air. Sora and Amemi swung their eyes towards the others. A red footstool with brown legs, and golden lace (on the bottom) was hopping over from Donald; the duck magician was lying flat on the floor before a shaking-head Goofy and startled Launchpad. When the footstool jumped onto Amemi, the creature knocked her onto the ground.

"Hey!" the sandy-haired girl cried out. The footstool wagged its golden feathery tail and tried to lick her with its matching golden feather. It did not take long for her to realize it was supposed to be a dog. Her eyes widened in a hurry. "Sora!"

Sora had to pull the footstool off of Amemi. She rose to her feet and dusted her skirt and jacket off. The footstool was trying to lick the young man's face. Sora had to shut his eyes to keep the dusty feathery end from getting dust in his eyes.

"He sure is a good-licker," Sora commented.

"Maybe it's a she?" Amemi pinpointed.

"Sultan!" a kind voice called from above. Sora and Amemi turned their attention to a young woman hurrying down the stairs. When Amemi saw the woman sported fair skin with rosy cheeks, pink lips, long brown hair, hazel eyes, and was wearing a blue bow and dress, a white shirt, a white apron, and black shoes, she assumed this must be the individual Sora and the others had been referring to earlier.

The young woman rushed over to Sora and helped the footstool off him. The footstool was still barking, though it was not as loud as before. "Sorry, Sora," she said with a smile.

"Hi, Belle!" Sora said. He waved.

Belle smiled at him. She noticed Amemi staring at her. "Who's this?" she asked.

"I'm his sister," Amemi speedily responded. "My name's Amemi."

Belle smiled. Amemi could sense a strong Light coming from within her. She had felt this before — with Kairi. She automatically knew what it meant. She smiled in return. "Nice to meet you, Belle," the sandy-haired teenager curtseyed.

It was then Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Cogsworth, Lumiére, Mrs. Potts, and Chip all came over. Donald and Goofy were pleased to see Belle, again. Launchpad conducted his usual greeting until Donald cut him off mid-sentence; the latter chuckled afterwards.

Belle turned to Sora. "What brings you all here?"

Sora hesitated (a little) in his reply. "It's kinda a long story, but it looks like the Heartless are up to good, again. I think Maleficent's involved."

Cogsworth gasped and hid behind Lumiére at the mention of the sorceress's name. Lumiére simply stared. Chip hid behind a frightened Mrs. Potts. Sultan (the footstool) leapt out of Belle's arms and raced behind the nearest column. He peeked out from behind it a moment later.

Belle crossed her arms. "What terrible timing."

"Yeah," Donald agreed.

"Especially with Christmas on the way," Goofy added.

"I might not get any shopping down in time," Launchpad spoke up. "Mister McDee and His Majesty always have me waiting until the last minute."

Donald whirled to face the pilot. "That's because of your Christmas shopping disaster five years ago."

"Yeah," Goofy added. "Ya really made a mess outta the shoppin' mall. A-Hyuck!"

"Aw gee," Launchpad grumbled to himself. "I wouldn't have slipped if someone hadn't knocked over a slippery floor sign."

The knight and pilot were focused on Donald. The duck gave a shy snicker. His cheeks started to turn a slight shade of red. This sight made both Sora and Amemi shake their heads.

Chip poked his head out from behind Mrs. Potts. "What's 'Christmas'?" he asked.

Donald's eyes widened in a hurry. "You don't know what Christmas is?!"

Belle smiled at the teacup. "Oh Chip, you must know about Christmas."

"Yup," Goofy approved. "All them sockings over thuh fireplace."

"That's 'Stockings'," Donald corrected.

Goofy gave a nod. "A-Hyuck!"

"Don't forget the tree," Sora added. He remembered how his mom had fallen over trying to set up the tree this year. The same thing had happened the year before, and the year before that, and the year before that, and so on and so forth for as long as he could remember.

"I like the tinsel," Amemi admitted. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag of shiny material that resembled thin strips of ice.

"What 'bout all those presents we left at Sora's house?" Launchpad blurted.

"'Presents'?" an excited Chip exclaimed. "Do I get one?"

"Yes," Amemi stated. "Everyone gets a present at Christmastime," she gazed at her older brother. "Except when someone no longer believes in Santa Clause…. "

"Hey!" Sora barked. "It wasn't my fault! Riku's the one who said Santa isn't real!"

"And who was so gullible he'd believe anything Riku told him?" Amemi indicated.

This led to a series of laughs from Donald and Goofy. Sora's hand flew to his head. He gave an extremely deep sigh.

Amemi looked around the room. "This place could use some brightening up," she remarked. "Why haven't you put up any Christmas decorations?"

Cogsworth, Lumiére, and Mrs. Potts all froze, unsure how to respond. "Well," Lumiére finally said. "There have been lots of Heartless getting into the castle each day…. "

"…And we don't have enough manpower to remove them all," Cogsworth finished.

"With things so rowdy, it's a wonder anyone gets anything done," Mrs. Potts added.

Amemi was far from convinced. She had only seen a small horde of Heartless — that was just after arriving. What a bad excuse! This world was in a rather calm state compared to the last few worlds. The forests of Jamestowne had been full of Heartless. The streets around the cathedral of Notré Dame had been swamped with them. The city of Middleton had been flooded with some strange-looking Heartless at times.

She was now starting to wonder if anyone in this castle celebrated Christmas at all. The fact no one else had told Chip what Christmas is had startled her in an instant.

"You mean, even the Master gets a present?" Chip asked.

"Yes," Belle approved. "Even the Master."

"What are you going to get him?"

Belle sighed. "I don't really know him well enough to know what he would want."

"What would you want?"

"Well, what I love most in the world are my books. My stories."

"I like reading, too," Amemi admitted. She liked the fictional accounts of characters going about their daily lives. It was no wonder why she loved "WordGirl" so much. The two of them both loved reading. That was when it dawned on her. "Why don't you give him a story?"

Belle stood up straight. "You're right, Amemi. A story."

As swiftly as she had come down the stairs, Belle went through a nearby doorway. With Chip in hand, Amemi followed her. Sora was next in line. Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Cogsworth, Lumiére, and Mrs. Potts remained in the hall.

The corridor was rather bright and clear compared to the entrance hall. There were large windows lined along the wall on the right. Snow was gathered on the windowsills. An occasional painting or two were positioned neatly along the wall opposite the windows. The sunlight shining through gave large shadows of the window-frames against the wall.

"Where does this hallway lead?" she asked.

Sora shrugged. "I dunno. I've never been down this way."

He really had never seen all of this place just yet. Outside of the castle's parlor, ballroom, entrance hall, Belle's room, the dungeon, the Beast's room, the West Wing, the East Wing, the West Hall, the Undercroft, the castle's grounds, and the entrance bridge, Sora had not seen the rest of the building. In fact, he had always wondered what was located beyond the three other doorways in the front hall. Now he was seeing what was in one of them.

At the end of the hallway, Belle stepped through a doorway. Sora pushed the door open a little further. When he saw what was on the other side, his eyes grew large and his mouth opened in marvel. "Whoa!"

"What is it?" Amemi inquired from behind. She pushed open the door beside her brother. When she saw what was inside the room, her eyes and mouth became the same as her brother. The only difference was she was smiling. "Wow!"

The room was about half the size of the entrance hall. The walls were lined with bookshelves containing various colors of books. Long windows with greenish curtains were situated on the walls at regular intervals. A golden fireplace was along one wall, and a series of writing tables were located on one side of the room.

Sora stepped inside and stared in awe at a large globe on the right side of the room. "This is cool! Don't you think so, Amy?"

There was only a happy laugh in return. Sora spun his head back. There was Amemi, spinning slowly about in the middle of the room. Her arms were open wide and she was smiling brightly. "This is remarkable!" she declared. "There are more books here than at the libraries back home added together!"

When he saw his sister so filled with joy, Sora had to smile himself. If there was one thing he enjoyed seeing more than happy endings, it was seeing his friends (and family) very pleased. He knew it meant their hearts were full of Light. That was a good thing — especially with Xehanort's Darkness still out there… somewhere.

Amemi started skipping along the shelves. "Here's 'Treasure Island'," she announced. "And 'Alice In Wonderland', 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', 'The Ugly Duckling'…. "

She stopped and cupped her hands together with glee. She pulled a reddish-brown book off the shelf and skipped over to a nearby lush, green chair. She plopped down in it and opened the book.

Wondering what she was reading, Sora marched over until he could see the book's title. The cover was a little faded and it had the drawing of a boy on it. "Peter And Wendy", it read. Sora had to shake his head. Even though he had never actually read that book, he had heard it was a good story.

Then again, he did not enjoy reading books in the first place. It just was not his thing.

With his sister preoccupied by the book she was reading, Sora marched over to a nearby writing table. He found Belle busy with what appeared to be a talking quill pen, a stack of paper, and a book. When he drew closer, Sora realized all three of them were living creatures. He assumed they were also among the castle's servants.

One of them was a blue, hard-cover dictionary with a red bookmark sticking out from the top, small, half-moon-shaped glasses, and orange pages. Another was a slender, beige quill with a long, black neck, and a pen-tip head. The third was a stack of papers with a red ribbon tying them together.

As Sora drew closer, he noticed the quill was writing down something on a piece of paper beside the stack of papers. The dictionary was speaking aloud as the quill wrote. He was not sure what the book was saying.

"Belle," Sora said as he approached.

Belle turned to look at the brown-haired Keyblade wielder. The quill, stack of papers, and dictionary all stared in surprise. "Don't be afraid," Belle reassured the three on the table. "He's a friend."

"I'm Sora," Sora introduced. He gestured to the green chair where his sister was reading. "That's my sister, Amy."

The quill grinned with a hint of anxiety. "I-It's n-nice to m-meet you," he said in a rather high-pitched voice. To Sora, he sounded like the turtle who had mocked Donald Duck in the dreams of The Country of The Musketeers. "I-I'm Le Plume."

"You can call me 'Crane'," the stack of papers said with a relieved smile.

"Webster's the name," the dictionary stated. "We are pleased, delighted, satisfied, and thrilled to make your acquaintance, young man."

Sora had to grin. Webster sounded a lot like Amemi's favorite superheroine. He also used large words, most of which the seventeen-year-old was completely unfamiliar with. Then again, it almost seemed as though all those words Webster had said meant the same thing… did they? He wasn't sure.

"What are you guys doing?" Sora inquired.

"We're helping Belle make a book," Crane explained.

"A storybook," Le Plume specified.

"It will be a pleasant, sensational, novel piece of literature," Webster concluded.

Sora crossed his arms. His face must have read "What does that mean?" since Webster added, "It will be a real page-turner."

Sora now gave a nod of comprehension. He turned to Belle. "What's it about?"

Belle smiled. "It's a surprise."

Sora sighed. He'd always had a difficult time waiting for surprises. His desire to know everything going on around him did not help in the least little bit.

Belle turned back to the book the three servants were helping write. "When I get to know him, we'll find more things to say," she said softly. "One day I will reach him, there has to be a way."

When the words entered his ears, Sora paused. Was this Belle's heart speaking? He wondered about that….

"Everyone needs someone," Belle went on. "He must need someone, too. When I get to know him better, here's what I will do. I'll read him stories from picture books all filled with wonder. Magic worlds where the impossible becomes the everyday. We'll find a mountain top and some moonbeams to sit under. I'll lead because I know the way."

Sora felt the presence of a strong Light filling his senses. He wondered if his thoughts about the young woman's heart speaking were accurate.

"So much to discover, I do it all the time," Belle continued. "I could live inside bright pages, where the words all rhyme. We will the slay dragons, that still follow him around. And he'll smile, yes, he'll smile, as his dreams leave the ground. Stories, and stories 'bout mermaids, kings, and sunken treasure. Magic worlds where the impossible becomes the everyday. I know a tiny place, just a dot, too small to measure. I'll take him there, I know the way."

The Light filled Sora's mind. He watched as Belle wrapped up the finished book in some forest-green wrapping paper. "Stories 'bout heroes who overcame their deepest sorrow. They'll put hope into his heart again. He'll cherish every day. He'll find a better world and the strength to face tomorrow. I'm sure that when he know the way, he'll want to stay."

Belle finished by tying the wrapped book in a pinkish-red ribbon. Sora smiled, knowing her heart had been singing out. He knew what this meant. Belle was hoping for things to change for the best. It was a song of hope.

'The Light within the Darkness…. ' Sora thought to himself.

Belle picked up the wrapped present and turned to Sora. "Would you please take this to him?"

Sora gave a nod. "Of course!"

He glanced over to Amemi. "Amy, I'm gonna go see the castle's master. Want to come along?"

Amemi closed her book and was on her feet in no time. "Yes!" she declared. "I still want to meet the rest of your friends in this world, Sora."

Sora stepped towards the exit. "Then, come on!"

The two raced each other out the door. Belle, Le Plume, Crane, and Webster all smiled and grinned at the sight.

It had not taken very long for Sora and Amemi to return to the entrance hall (and find it empty), head upstairs to the left, march down the West Hall, clobber a small group of Heartless on the way, and head up a short flight of stairs to a darkened corridor leading to the left.

Amemi kept her eyes peeled for trouble. The hallway looked completely inviting. In fact, the whole passage was filled with nothing but shadows and statues of gargoyles. Fierce-looking gargoyles, to be more specific. As the two headed down the corridor, she gulped with anxiety.

This was nothing like she had expected. True, the castle's entrance hall had felt gloomy upon arrival, the castle's servants were all tangible items, and there were a few Heartless here and there in the building's halls… yet, this single corridor seemed to give the place a whole new identity.

Amemi shivered and frequently rubbed her arms. It almost felt like she was stepping through a haunted house rather than a castle. She hated haunted houses! Ghosts… vampires… goblins… zombies… they all made her feel scared.

For all she knew, this part of the castle could be haunted, too.

She stepped past a mirror, only to step back. The mirror was broken. Shards of glass laid strewn on the floor. The crunch she heard suddenly indicated she had stepped on one. With a nervous gulp Amemi looked around.

"Amy! Come on!"

That was when she spotted Sora waving her over from a faded-blue doorway at the end of the corridor. The handles on the door resembled a lion's snarling face. "I'm coming!" she called back in return.

Less than three seconds later, the two were standing side-by-side before the door. "What took so long?" Sora asked.

"This place is spooky," Amemi replied. She was still shivering with anxiety.

Sora shook his head and smiled. "This place is nothing like Halloween Town. You'd been screaming there."

"Hey!" Amemi frowned.

Sora shook his head a second time. He pulled open the doorway. "Come on! This is his room."

Sora strode into the room without any problems. Amemi shook her head. She still could not understand why her brother was so fearless. Nothing seemed to scare him — not anymore.

She walked through the doorway after him. One look at what was on the other side, and she froze. The entire room was filled with ruined furniture. Torn curtains… smashed dresses… banged up vases… even toppled cabinets lay strewn about.

As she wandered through, the sandy-headed girl's mind switched about as to what could have caused all this destruction. A Heartless? It seemed to be too large of a mess for one Heartless. Maybe… three Heartless? It looked more like two hundred had been in there. With their sharp claws….

Amemi grabbed the table she had just bumped into. She hastily righted it. With a sigh of relief, she looked around for Sora. She could not see much in the poorly-lit room. "Sora?" she called in a soft voice. It came out more like a squeak.

That was when it caught her eye. Amemi spun around. There was a damaged portrait of someone. She paused for a moment and took a closer look. The portrait appeared to be of a young man sporting long, brown hair, and bluish eyes. They were dressed in a light-blue uniform with golden lining. Amemi squinted her eyes to see it. Due to the tears in the canvas, it was difficult to make out the whole painting. Not to mention, the frame was bent badly on the right side and the whole thing was titled at an angle.

She raised her arm and grabbed a piece of the torn canvas. She was starting to raise it back into place when bright glow from nearby snatched her attention. She swung her body around and stared at a small, stone table near the far wall. A glass window-door was situated beyond it, leading out to a balcony with a stone railing (of course it would).

'What is that?' Amemi found herself being drawn towards the glow, which she now realized was a pinkish color. She stepped closer and closer.

When she reached the table, the sandy-haired girl found out that the glow was coming from a floating rose kept inside a glass lid. There was a bluish mirror beside it. She noticed the present also sitting on the table, indicating Sora had already delivered it.

Amemi's eyes were totally on the rose. Why was it floating? Curiosity filled her mind as quickly as it would for Curious George. She carefully placed her hands onto the lid and lifted it off. She placed it onto the floor beside the table. Her eyes remained glued to the rose….

She reached out her hand to touch the hovering plant. Just as she was about to do so, a swiftly-moving silhouette rushed by her eyesight. She stepped back a little when a giant creature appeared before her. To Amemi's shock and alarm, it was a gigantic, top-heavy animal-looking creature with thick, brown fur, dark-brown bull-like horns, sharp fangs and claws, huge, paws, and a long, bushy tail. The creature also possessed blue eyes. In addition, it also was wearing a torn, purple cape and dark-blue pants.

Amemi found herself jumping back a few feet with the creature grabbed the glass lid and slammed it back onto the rose. The creature glared at the sandy-headed teenager. Amemi screamed in panic. "Sora, help!" she yelled. "It's a monster!"

In one enormous leap, Sora landed between the two. His Keyblade was in hand and he was scowling. Amemi felt her fear rush through her body as she saw her brother facing the ferocious-looking creature.

One look at the creature, and Sora paused in surprise. This was not a monster — not to him, at least. He stood up all the way and smiled. With a wave, Sora declared, "Hey, Beast! Long time, no see!"

In that split second, Amemi felt her heart skip a beat. She could not believe her eyes, let alone her ears.

A/N: SHEESH! WHAT A SUDDEN ENDING!

So, I suppose you want to know what happens next, am I correct? Well, that shall have to wait until after Chapter 26 is completed. Please Stay Tuned!

I am sure you can most-likely tell what Disney movie this world is based on. Disney's "Beauty And The Beast (1991)" was the original inspiration for THE BEAST'S CASTLE.
Yet, for This Story, the story's source actually comes from Disney's "Beauty And The Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)". Why not? This Story DOES take place during the Holiday Season!

Now then, I wanted to point out a few things.
(1.) We finally saw what became of the Beagle Boys! How about THAT?
(2.) Yes, yes, I had Sora and the others playing a game of UNO! I had that in the back of mind from the time I started laying out this entire story.
(3.) Le Plume, Crane, and Webster are actually from "Belle's Magical World (1998)".
(4.) Yes, Amemi was shown reading "Peter And Wendy". I read that book not too long ago myself. It was good, yet I still prefer the Disney Version of "Peter Pan".
(5.) I was going for a dark, dramatic scene with Amemi's initial reaction to the Beast's Room and the Beast himself. I ended up mirroring the scene where Belle first walked into that same room.
(6.) Stay Tuned For Chapter 26!
(7.) Please Check Out The POLL On My Profile Page!

So Then, I'll See You Next Time!
In other words, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!

REMEMBER THIS - 240 REVIEWS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE SEQUEL! IF THIS HAPPENS, I WILL INCLUDE A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THE SEQUEL ITSELF! HOWEVER, THAT/THOSE GOAL(S) MUST BE MET BY THE TIME THE-SECOND-TO-LAST-CHAPTER IS POSTED! THAT WAY, I WILL HAVE TIME TO ANNOUNCE WHETHER OR NOT EITHER GOAL WAS MET! THIS STORY IS SCHEDULED TO HAVE AT LEAST 70 CHAPTERS!

This Is SoraLego278 Saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Plus, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!"