DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N:
SORALEGO278: HEY THERE! HI THERE! HO THERE! YOU'RE AS WELCOME AS CAN BE! D-I-S-N-E-Y W-O-R-L-D!
So, you want to know the reason why I sang that to open This Chapter? I AM AT DISNEY WORLD THIS WEEK!
MICKEY MOUSE: Congratulations! You've just witnessed my favorite song!
SORALEGO278: Being down here, I was able to request Mickey Mouse make a VERY SPECIAL appearance for This Chapter. That is why he is here with me - today!
MICKEY MOUSE: Hiya, everybody! Welcome to Chapter 26 of "Kingdom Hearts - Season OF Light"!
SORALEGO278: Thank You So Very Much, Mickey Mouse! To start off, I wanted to give a few minutes of silence for the late Scottish actor, Alan Young. He was not only the one who played the character, Wilbur Post, on the Classic TV Series, "Mister Ed", he was also the voice of Hiram Flaversham in Disney's "The Great Mouse Detective (1986)".
Yet, I personally will always remember him as the voice of Donald Duck's uncle, Scrooge McDuck. After all, Scrooge was also born in Scotland. His only appearance with a voice-over in the KH Series was in "Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep" back in 2010.
The sudden appearance of the newsflash I saw about this shocked me. Back in 2009, I looked up the actor for Scrooge for the first time. I was keeping track of Alan Young and his work with Disney ever since then. Now, he's gone. It... it's kind of a mixed feeling...
MICKEY MOUSE: Ya mean... Donald's uncle's actor is gone now?!
SORALEGO278: Yes, Mickey. I know I will miss him. I do not believe anyone could ever replicate Alan Young's outstanding performance as that beloved animated character - not even if Disney decides to go through with making a/the reboot of "DuckTales". Please Rest. In. Peace, Alan Young. (Wednesday, November 19TH, 1919 TO Thursday, May 19TH, 2016) Your Legacy shall live on. -GIVES SEVERAL MINUTES OF SILENCE-
MICKEY MOUSE: It's so sad. I wonder how Donald is taking this?
SORALEGO278: ...I have no idea. Either way, I want to dedicate a later chapter of This Story to Alan Young. I might actually have 2 or even 3 Chapters where I can do that. I shall have to determine which one will serve best.
MICKEY MOUSE: Welp, that's all up to you! I'll let you handle that!
SORALEGO278: For those of you who have not noticed, I have posted a new story online; "Once Upon A Time ~The Darkest Age~". It currently has ZERO Reviews! Like I stated in that story's latest chapter (Chapter 3), the story will NOT continue unless at least 7 [(SEVEN)] Review(s) have been posted anywhere in those first few Chapters!
For anyone who REALLY LIKES "Once Upon A Time", please check it out! And provide some review(s) if you can!
MICKEY MOUSE: Really? I haven't read that story. I'll be sure to tell Minnie and Daisy all about it! They seem to like "Once Upon A Time"!
SORALEGO278: Glad to hear it! Since this is the Second Chapter for the world of THE BEAST'S CASTLE, here is a piece of TRIVIA for you!
DID YOU KNOW? The actor who voiced the character Forté in the movie this world's story is based on was Tim Curry. He is best known for playing the roles of various villains. In addition to "Beauty And The Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)", he also played the villain in Disney's "The Three Musketeers (1993)", Disney's "Muppet Treasure Island (1996)", and I have also seen him play the villain in the Non-Disney movie, "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)". I saw him play a positive character in the movie, "Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey (2012)".
MICKEY MOUSE: Well... I've never heard of him!
SORALEGO278: Maybe not, yet Mickey... I wanted to ask you (again), where's your Keyblade? ****
MICKEY MOUSE (Stares in question): Huh? Gosh... that's a good question!
SORALEGO278: True enough. For everyone else out there, if you have not seen the POLL on my Profile Page, PLEASE CHECK IT OUT! There is a 97% Chance it will affect something(s) in regard(s) to the rest of "Kingdom Hearts - Season OF Light"! In fact, one of the choices might appear in the next Disney-based world in This Story!
MICKEY MOUSE: I'll be sure to check it out!
SORALEGO278: So, without further ado, IT IS TIME FOR CHAPTER 26 TO COMMENCE! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW - ALIKE!
MICKEY MOUSE: Yup! I'll see ya all at the end of the chapter!
CHAPTER 26
"As Long As There's Christmas… "
The castle did not seem as spooky now, but the shadow-filled hallways still made Amemi feel a tad anxious. As she followed her brother down the corridors, she had the feeling there was something especially peculiar about this fortified home.
Her mind was going over all the things she had seen after arriving. First, all the castle's servants were items. Secondly, the castle's master was a beast, which happened to be his name (as far as Sora had informed her, that is). Now, she was pondering over the portrait in the torn room. It had been an illustration of a young man of some sort. He had been human.
She wondered why the Beast had possessed such a portrait. The only human she had seen in this place was Belle. Her thoughts turned into memories as she recalled how shocked she had been when Sora had introduced her to the Beast. The last thing she had foreseen was her brother being friends with someone as monster-looking as the castle's master. She had gulped and held her breath when Sora had urged her to shake hands with the Beast.
That was where things had seemed to change before her eyes. When she had stared directly into the Beast's eyes, she had seen someone who was hesitant and terrified as she had been. This had helped her stop trembling — a little. When the Beast had inquired why Sora was there, the latter had explained how the Heartless were up to no good once more. To Amemi's surprise, the Beast had seemed eager to help eradicate the enemies from the castle's premises. It had been Amemi who had suggested checking in with Donald and the others downstairs.
That was what the sandy-haired teenager and her older brother were now doing at this very second. The Beast had remained in his room. Amemi had glanced back and seen the castle's master looking over his glowing, red rose. She was still curious about what made that particular rose so precious. After all, he did keep underneath a glass cover.
Amemi and Sora were now rushing down the West Hall. As they passed through the enormous corridor, Amemi took notice of the many suits of shiny armor lined on either side of the hall. It almost felt like the helmets were turning to see them as the two proceeded along. Amemi shook it out of her mind.
Still… she had the strange sensation this castle was under some type of enchantment. She had seen several bizarre and unnatural things happen during her adventures with her brother. Could it be possible? She did not know, and she was sure her brother did know. All she had to do now was make him tell her.
The two reached the humungous, gloomy entrance hall. They swept their eyes around the room. The area was deserted. Aside from a few claw marks on the walls and columns below, there was not a trace of the Heartless. Then again, there was no trace of Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, or the servants. Not even Belle was in sight.
"Where'd everyone go?" Sora asked. His voice started to echo about the empty room.
Amemi shrugged. Before she could say anything in reply, a strange smell caught her attention. She swung her gaze to the seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder. "Do you smell something… strange?"
Sora sniffed the air himself. "Yeah," he admitted. "Smells like the smoke from a bonfire on the beach."
The two froze in an instant. Smoke?! That could mean only one thing.
They raced down the stairs to the first floor. They traced the scent of smoke to a specific doorway. To Amemi, Sora looked both curious and worried. Apparently, this was one of the rooms he had never been through before.
Sora pushed the doors open. The two stepped inside what happened to be a kitchen. A red tiled floor spread out before them. A handful of countertops were located a few feet apart and spread out across the room. Brooms were busy sweeping and mops were washing down the tiled floor.
At one countertop, the two siblings found Cogsworth pulling double-duty. He was helping Mrs. Potts and Lumiére inspect a line of china dishes that were washing themselves. At the same time, he was giving orders to a nearby Goofy and Launchpad. The knight and pilot were gathered beside a stove with a thin pillar of smoke coming out.
"What happened?" Sora questioned.
"We had a little ack-see-dent," Goofy replied.
Amemi tilted her head a tad. She looked to her brother for an explanation. "What did he say?" she inquired.
"He means they had an accident," Sora clarified.
Amemi gave a nod of acknowledgement. She turned to the two and folded her arms. "What did you do?"
That was when Donald came storming into the room. His webbed feet stomped loudly on the tiled floor. He pointed his right index finger at Launchpad and Goofy as though he was the lawyer, Benjamin Matlock, accusing the current witness of lying. "They almost caused a fire in here!" he snapped.
"Gawrsh! We was only tryin' ta bake some of them yummy Christmas cookies," Goofy explained.
Launchpad held up a tray of scorched, circular ashes. "And they would've had lots of M&Ms in them…. "
Amemi gave a sigh. She caught a glimpse of Sora shaking his head through her peripheral vision.
"And they burned a whole batch earlier," Cogsworth added. He sounded like someone presenting new evidence to the police at a crime scene. "They might've ruined the oven."
Sora placed his hands into the air as though trying to distance himself from the situation. "Guys, give it a break," he complained. "We have more important things to deal with."
"Yes," Amemi approved. She gestured all around the room. "I want to know why no one here is getting ready for Christmas."
That was when Belle and Chip came into the room; Chip was standing firmly in Belle's right hand. "Sora!" the tiny teacup declared. "Do you think the Master will like his gift?"
Sora shrugged. "I dunno."
"Do you know anything?" Amemi teased.
Sora frowned at his sister. "Hey!"
The two smiled and started to laugh. Even Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad burst out laughing. It ended up spreading to Lumiére. Then Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Belle. Once he realized everyone else was laughing, Cogsworth grinned and started to laugh in turn.
Chip stopped laughing long enough to ask, "So, does this mean we're gonna have a Christmas?"
"Absolutely not!" Cogsworth stated in a strong, firm voice. He scowled so much, everyone forced themselves to stop laughing.
"Why not?" Donald inquired.
"Out of the question," Cogsworth stated. He threw his hands to the sides as though pushing something on either side. "Not a chance. Dream on. Not any possibility. Forget it!"
"Come on," Sora urged. Cogsworth remained stubborn. He did not even acknowledge Sora. This made the young man sigh.
Lumiére shook his head. "Get with the spirit!" he said, trying to embrace the clock. "Unwind."
Cogsworth broke free from the candelabra. He lost his balance and tumbled onto the floor at Launchpad's feet. The duck-pilot was so startled, he dropped the tray of ruined cookies. The contents fell and smashed against the back of Cogsworth's head.
"Heh, heh… sorry about that," Launchpad anxiously chuckled.
Amemi folded her hands together. She made her eyes look as desperate as she could. "Please?"
"Come on, love, have a heart," Mrs. Potts encouraged.
"Yeah," Goofy approved.
Cogsworth looked like he was trapped in a boxing corner. Nonetheless, he sounded as stubborn as before. "No, no, and let me think… no! This is where I put my foot down."
"But… why?!" Sora asked.
Cogsworth did not face the brown, spikey-headed youth. "The Master has forbidden it!"
This brought out a series of shocked gasps from Sora and his teammates. Amemi was nearly speechless. Christmas was not allowed?! What kind of a place was this?! Forbidding such a major holiday was like forcing everyone to behave and act the same. It just was not done. Amemi just could not understand why anyone would want to like that!
Belle shook her head. "Forbid Christmas? No one can forbid Christmas."
"He doesn't wish to be reminded of his past, and Christmas is a most painful reminder of it," Cogsworth stated. "I, for one, do not wish to torture him."
A curious Goofy looked down at the clock. "Uh… what happened?"
There was no answer from the clock. This made Amemi feel as curious as a certain, little monkey she had heard about. What kind of terrible event could have taken place on Christmas to make the Beast mark it as a prohibited holiday?
Belle set Chip down onto the counter beside Mrs. Potts. She crossed her arms. "I, for one, think that a little Christmas cheer would do him some good."
"Yeah," Sora shouted in agreement. He looked over the others. Once he was sure he had their undivided attention, he continued. "How 'bout it? What happened back then was then."
"It would definitely brighten the mood," Amemi indicated. "This place is already spooky enough."
Lumiére smiled. "The girls are right. It is up to us to do something."
Cogsworth shook his head. He scowled at Lumiére. "It's not our place to get involved. No, no, no, no! We just can't mind our own business, can we? We just have to stick our weight where it doesn't belong."
Amemi rolled her eyes. Based on what she had just witnessed, it appeared Cogsworth and Lumiére were two individuals who could never get along well, let alone agree on anything. They were complete opposites. Just like Sora and Riku.
"Pish paush," Mrs. Potts shook her head and frowned at Cogsworth. "I think it's a wonderful idea."
"But the master doesn't want it," Cogsworth stated. "His castle… his rules."
Sora opened his mouth to speak. "That's a terrible excuse," Amemi stated before he could. "It's not fair to everyone."
"She's right!" a group of crystal-clear wine glasses complained from the countertop. "It's not fair!"
Cogsworth snorted at the glasses. "Don't whine, glasses."
"Sorry."
Mrs. Potts gave a very deep, deep sigh. "Look at us, squabbling and bickering, breaks my heart to see it, it does. And we used to be at our very best at Christmas."
Now Donald had that same curious look the sandy-headed girl had had earlier. "Did you open lots of presents?"
"Sort of," Cogsworth muttered, his arms crossed.
"We used to prepare a feast for the whole castle," Lumiére recollected. "Ah, you could have some stuffed turkey…. "
"Cranberry sauce," Mrs. Potts added. "Short-bread cookies!"
"Mince pies…. "
"Pecan toast, gravy…. "
"And Christmas pudding!"
"Yummy!" Goofy declared. He rubbed his stomach as his long tongue licked his lips. Amemi could tell he was thinking about all the different kinds of foods the two servants had been talking about.
After the mention of the word "pudding", Cogsworth uncrossed his arms. He looked delighted. "Pu-pu-pudding? With custard?"
Lumiére frowned at the clock. "What do you think we are? Barbarians? Of course with custard! And… and all those things you like!"
Now Launchpad was also licking his lips. Only Donald looked annoyed at the sight. He smacked his right hand against his forehead. Amemi had to shake her head. She saw Sora doing the same, only he was trying not to laugh.
Cogsworth sighed. It appeared his defensive wall had been knocked down by the mentioning of "pudding". "Oh… um… oh, all right."
This brought out cheers from the others. Amemi had to smile. The sight of seeing all the castle's servants filled with excitement made her feel good. Actually, just seeing others full of joy gave her joy. It was a win-win. Everyone would be happy.
"Keep it down," Cogsworth tried to hush everyone. "If the Master finds out about this, he will be furious."
Sora nodded. He put an index finger up to his already closed mouth. Amemi gave a nod. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all shushed each other; Donald did it the loudest. They all knew the Beast would only try to disrupt and, possibly, destroy everything they would have put together.
At least… that was how Amemi comprehended it.
Launchpad glanced at his digital watch. "Well, according to my twenty-four hour clock, it's… midnight."
Amemi checked her cellular phone. She shook her head. "No, it's almost noon."
Cogsworth leapt in alarm. "Good heavens! We don't have much time! It's Christmas Eve!"
"I'll see to the dinner," Mrs. Potts announced. She hopped over to the cupboards and started giving orders.
Lumiére hobbled away. "I'll get some mistletoe."
Amemi looked around the rather dark kitchen. "We need to brighten this castle. Where are the curtains?"
"We don't need curtains," Lumiére said as he reversed direction and hobbled over to the sandy-haired girl. "I know someone who will help."
"Who is that?" Sora asked as he picked up the candelabra.
Lumiére pointed to the door. "She's right this way!"
Sora shrugged and headed for the door leading back to the entrance hall. Amemi was seconds behind. Donald was next, followed by Goofy and Launchpad. Belle speedily joined them, Chip in hand.
Cogsworth nearly panicked when he saw them leave. "Now, now, wait for me. I'm in charge here. I'm in charge!"
He looked around the now-deserted kitchen. With a gasp, he hurried for the doorway. "Wait for me!"
"Got it!" the tallest Beagle Boy declared. He held the red ball in his hand with pride.
"No fair!" the shortest one snapped. He pointed out a small, silver jack that had been left on the floor. "You cheated!"
The two started to argue with each other. This made the third Beagle Boy lower his comic book and groan. Since they had been waiting for a little while, the three had finally decided to keep themselves busy. The other two had started playing a game of jacks while the third one was trying to read a colorful comic book.
He looked at the current page. The story was about a mouse wizard named "Mickey" entering a magical tournament with his allied wizards, "Donald" and "Goofy". Their team in the tournament was called "The Wizards of Mickey". A small, green dragon named "Fafnir" was constantly tagging along with "Donald". For some reason, the story seemed rather familiar….
"You three!" an unmistakable voice shouted from across the enormous room. The Beagle Boys all froze and looked up. There was the face of the large pipe-organ across the chamber. They gulped, remembering who this was.
Forté — this castle's court composer.
"I need you to do a little 'spying' for me," Forté told them. "It appears someone new is in the castle, and I need to know whatever it is they are up to."
The Beagle Boys gulped, unsure what to say. Just one look at the talking piano made them extremely anxious. Now he wanted them to do something that might be dangerous?
"Uh," the first Beagle Boy gulped. "I don't know…. "
"We need time to… think things through," the second Beagle Boy added.
"Yeah," the third Beagle Boy grinned. "Better safe than sorry… right?"
He glanced at the other two Beagle Boys. They nodded in agreement. This was not the reaction Forté wanted. He tried to lean to the right towards the window. "Oh… well, I suppose I will just pick myself up and…. "
He stopped midsentence. "Oh, what's this? Oh heavens!" He glowered at the Beagle Boys. "I'm bolted to the wall!"
The Beagle Boys huddled together, quivering in fright. When Forté saw this, he snorted his disapproval at them. "And you want a second chance to redeem yourselves…. How pathetic, really. It's no wonder why you failed."
Forté swept his eyes around the room. "Fife!"
At once, a small reddish-brown piccolo popped its head out. It gave a slightly-nervous salute. "Maestro Forté!"
"Fife," Forté grinned. "I believe you have what it takes. If you do as I ask, I have a little something for you."
A series of green musical notes came flowing across the room. The sight made the Beagle Boys think of a ghost, smoke, or maybe a combination of the two. The notes landed upon a locked chest. It unlocked, revealing a sheet of music specifically composed for a piccolo.
Fife wanted to cheer with glee. "Oh! I'd do anything for a solo!"
"Yes, I know," an unamused Forté muttered. The chest locked shut. "Now then, in the midst of my masterpiece, I believe I sensed something 'different' about the castle."
His eyes landed on the small piccolo. "Perhaps, there is someone new in this world. Would mind having a little look-see?"
Fife agreed. "Yes, Maestro!" He paused. "Do you think it could be Belle?"
His eyes lit up. "Hey, maybe if she falls in love with the Master, the spell will be broken and we'll be human again."
The very mention of "human again" was plenty to make Forté slam on his keys. He silenced them after a few seconds. It had been enough to make the Beagle Boys and Fife jump.
"Trust me, Fife," Forté declared. "Humanity is entirely over-rated. Before the enchantment, there was no need for my particular brand of genius. But now, the Master needs my melodies to feed his tormented soul. I am his confident and his best friend… and I won't let some peasant girl or her friends ruin it for me!"
Fife gave a deep, audible gulp. He nodded and hopped away and out the door.
Sora was trying to keep himself steady. The stone steps in the tower were not in the best shape. Some of them were so old, they were wearing down. He believed it was called "erosion". Still, the steps were not easy to walk over.
The tower was dark and a little musty. An occasional cobweb came into view around the next turn. Fortunately, all of them were abandoned. Sora knew his sister would have hated to walk straight into a spider's web. A scream would have echoed about the tower. It might have drawn the Beast's attention, ruining all hope of trying to prepare for the Christmas party.
Thank goodness Amemi was behind him. Next in line were Donald, Goofy, and last was Launchpad. Belle was directly ahead with Chip in her hand. Lumiére was still in his right hand. To illuminate the way, Sora held the candelabra up high.
"…One thousand one… one thousand two… one thousand three," Chip counted the steps. He sighed. "…Are we there yet?"
Belle sighed. "Not yet."
Amemi took a deep breath. "There sure are lots of stairs here. Are you sure they don't lead to nowhere?"
"Yep," Chip said from Belle's hand. "…One thousand seven… one thousand eight… one thousand nine…. "
The group reached a wooden door at the top of the stairs. Sora noticed Goofy was panting like a dog. His tongue was hanging out his mouth and he was hunched down low. This sight made the spikey-haired young man shake his head.
Belle pushed the door open and stepped inside. Sora led his teammates after her. To their surprise, the tower's attic was a darker room. Only a single window provided any light. A number of cardboard boxes were piled together on the floor, mainly along the curved walls of the circular room.
Amemi slid her right hand across the cardboard box closest to her. A thin layer of dust filled her palm when she looked at it. "It's very musty in here," she commented, giving a slight cough.
Donald took a sweep of the attic. "Yeah," he agreed, folding his arms.
"Kinda dusty," Goofy indicated.
Launchpad took a sniff and unleashed a sneeze. A small cloud of dust picked up for a few seconds before it faded. "I may not be allergic to pepper, but dust makes me sneeze."
This comment made Sora shake his head, again. The duck-pilot had seemed to be someone who would give little, unneeded information at times. This apparently was one such time.
"Hello?" Belle called as she walked around the space. "Hello?"
Sora turned his eyes to Lumiére. "Who're we looking for?"
Lumiére did not answer the seventeen-year-old Keyblader. Instead, he held his right candle to his mouth and said, "Do not be afraid mis ami. It is I, Lumiére, who has come to pay you a little visit."
"Lumiére?" a voice said. Before Sora and the others could react, a Christmas angel poked its head out from a nearby trunk hidden amongst the boxes. She had rosy cheeks and short, blue eyes, and short, golden hair. She had a sparkling, blue dress with a matching halo. Her wings were small, yet they gave some light. She climbed out of the trunk alongside several colorful ornaments.
Lumiére grinned from where he was being held by Sora. "Angelique…. "
The candelabra hopped out of Sora's grip and hobbled over to the waiting angel. The latter opened her arms wide with a large smile. "Ah, Lumiére, finally!" she said. "I thought we were to be locked away in this dusty attic forever."
Lumiére took her into his arms. "Ah, Angelique, mon amour. Your eyes are still so lovely after all these years…. "
Angelique broke free. "Lumiére, please, you'll tarnish the halo."
Sora shook his head. He had seen this scene played a little too many times on television. One of the show where it happened the most was the one about a car mechanic who loved dating girls. He knew his sister hated that show. He never cared for anything in it. Having seen enough, Sora cleared his throat. "Lumiére?"
Lumiére sighed and gestured his flaming arms at Belle, Sora, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. "Oh yes, this is Belle, and Sora, Donald, Goofy, and two others I can't remember the names of."
"The name's 'Launchpad McQuack'!" Launchpad proclaimed. "If it's got wings, I can crash it!"
"My name's Amemi," Amemi introduced. "Sora's my brother."
Sora waved as he looked down at the angel. "Hiya!"
Belle smiled. "Pleased to meet you."
Lumiére gestured at his friend. "And this is Angelique. She is the castle decorator."
Goofy looked perplexed. "The castle 'demonstrator'?"
"The 'decorator'!" Donald corrected with frustration in his voice. These mispronunciations were starting to get to him, again.
"What does a decorator do?" Launchpad inquired. He looked completely lost.
Sora shook his head. "I think they design things."
"They make and setup the designs for things," Amemi explained. Launchpad nodded in acknowledgement.
"You mean was the castle decorator," Angelique stated. "I am not responsible for this baroque atrocity. When I was in charge, the castle was full of light and beauty…. "
Sora started to yawn. He was not in the mood to hear someone go on and on about the way things used to be. He had been to this castle a few times before. He knew all about the spell, the Enchantress, and the role everyone played in it.
He was well aware the castle had once been a bright, cheerful place before the spell came along. He could almost picture a shiny, white castle with reddish rooftops. A place where the sun's light shone through every window all day. A peaceful building where the heartless were absent.
He still wondered how long it would be until he could see it happen — the spell being broken. Or, at least, he could see the results after the spell was broken.
"Ah, but cherie, that is why we have come," Lumiére told Angelique. "We are planning the greatest Christmas celebration ever!"
"Yeah!" Donald approved.
"It's gonna be great!" Sora grinned as he casually placed his hands behind his head.
All the ornaments cheered in turn. "Yay!"
Sora had the feeling everything would turn out well after all. It did not matter if the Beast was sure he could keep Christmas listed as a forbidden holiday. A major holiday like this one also could serve as a symbol of hope! That was exactly what everyone in the castle needed the most — hope.
Angelique started frowning darker and darker. "No! Stop!" she hollered.
Everyone froze in an instant. This was the last thing they had anticipated from the Christmas angel. Then again, maybe this had something to do with Lumiére's approach? The candelabra did appear to have a tricky time dealing with girls. He reminded Sora of that young man in the leather jacket from that one television show. He just wished he could remember what the show was called. What was it?
Lumiére looked shocked. "What is it, cherie?"
Angelique scowled at him. "Why do you raise my hopes?" she paused and gestured to all the ornaments gathered around her. "I mean, their hopes — only to have them dashed? Well, no more."
The ornaments all turned away. To Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Amemi, they all looked very disappointed. Clearly, they had been stored away in this attic ever since the spell had been placed on the castle. All they wanted was to have something to do. Instead, their leader — the castle's decorator — wanted to have nothing to do with the Holiday Season.
"It's Christmastime," Goofy said.
"Yeah," Donald agreed (this made Sora and Amemi exchange looks of astonishment).
"With or without you," Sora added. "We're gonna have a celebration. There may be cake and ice cream."
He grinned at the thought of all the desserts they would be having after Christmas dinner. Hopefully the cake would be chocolate… with vanilla ice cream. He longed to have some more of it. Of course, if his sister requested Neapolitan — that was Amemi's favorite flavor — he would just have to grin and bear it.
"Ha, Christmas!" Angelique shouted. She turned away from the group. "I refuse to hope for it anymore. I will not be disappointed again!"
"We will never get this place ready by tomorrow without you," Amemi said.
Angelique seemed to snort at the sandy-haired girl. She threw one of her arms into Amemi's direction and let it fall like she was saying "Whatever!". "But of course you can not," she declared. "Christmas takes planning and organization. No! No! I won't do it! It won't change anything!"
Belle shook her head and smiled. "I believe it will."
Sora crossed his arms and started to contemplate. Knowing how Belle was a "Princess Of Heart" (just like Kairi), he had the feeling her heart of pure Light was trying to shine out. By helping her restore Christmas to the castle, would he be helping her Light shine out for the world to see? Christmas was the time of year when the Light was at its strongest.
If he and Belle succeeded, this world's Light might end up being the strongest it had been in years. That would be an excellent thing.
He turned to Belle. "Any ideas? How can we convince Angelique to help us?"
Belle only smiled at the spikey, brown-headed Keyblader. Sora knew this meant she already had something in mind. The young woman kept her eyes on the ornaments and Angelique. "There is more to this time of year than sleigh bells and holly, mistletoe and snow," she told them. "Those things come and go much deeper than snow, stronger than the strongest love we'll know… we'll ever know…. "
The ornaments all looked curious. One of them tried to hobble closer to Belle, only to have an unimpressed Angelique give them such a scowl, they retreated back.
Belle strolled up to the window. She calmly pushed it open, allowing a cold gust of snowy wind to blow through the attic. Angelique squinted before looking up at the window.
As he felt the wind swirl around him, Sora did not shiver. Rather, he felt the presence of something warm and very comforting. It reminded him of the sensation he had gotten whenever the colorful wind back in Jamestowne had blown. He wondered… was this the same?
Was he feeling the world's Light through this cold wind?
Belle started for the door. The ornaments followed her as she led them down the stairs. Sora followed suit, so Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were not far behind. Goofy grabbed Lumiére and Launchpad seized a startled Angelique.
"What are you doing?" Angelique complained as the pilot followed the others downstairs. "Stop, stop. Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!"
Her pleas went ignored. As the group hurried through the castle corridors (being careful to check if the Beast was anywhere in sight, which he wasn't), Belle continued to sing aloud. "As long as there's Christmas, I truly believe that Hope is the greatest of the gifts we'll receive. As long as there's Christmas, we'll all be just fine. A star shines upon us, lighting your way and mine."
It did not take long for the group to reach the castle's ballroom. They found Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and the other transformed servants busy setting up various Christmas decorations.
Cogsworth was also singing out loud. "Just as long as there's Christmas, there will be Christmas pud!"
He chuckled. "We are due for a party! Where on earth do we start?"
Chip was smiling with excitement at the snow outside. "We will build us a snowman that will reach up to the sky!"
When Angelique saw a handful of ornaments decorating a makeshift tree, she scoffed at the display. "Uh, this is ridiculous, everyone knows that the lights go on first."
Some of the ornaments grabbed her from Launchpad's closed fist and lifted her to the top of the makeshift tree. "I don't want to go all the way up there on the top!" she yelled.
When he saw Angelique scowling with her arms crossed from the top of the makeshift tree, Sora had to shake his head and smile. She looked just as annoyed as he used to whenever Riku beat him at the various races they had had over the years.
He closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his head. He started to rock back and forth as he thought about the last major race he and Riku had conducted. They had raced all the way to the star-shaped tree in the cove and back to where Kairi was judging the competition. It had all started because Riku had wanted to name the raft "Highwind" after his favorite videogame, and Sora had chosen the name "Excalibur" after the story of the legendary king he had come to enjoy when he was younger. Sora had suggested the winner would name the raft and be the vessel's captain. It was Riku had said, "The winner gets to share a Paupu with Kairi."
This had shocked Sora for the time being. Although he had won the race using a shortcut he had found (a recently-added zip-line), Riku had shaken his head. "Lighten up, man," the silver-haired youth had said. "It's just a name, after all!"
Boy! That had really gotten under his skin! Sora had wanted to punch his friend in the face. If Kairi had not been standing less than five feet away, he might have done just that. This memory still remained in his mind to this day mainly because Sora knew he could laugh about it now. Just like his Mom had told him time and time again — one day, you will look back at those times when you struggled and laugh about the whole thing(s).
He did feel very silly knowing why he had gotten so upset with Riku. Especially since Riku now seemed to have a special girl friend of his own. Wait… was it Violet? Or that Niccole girl? Sora was still not sure. It almost appeared Riku was somewhere in the middle between the Angel of Dreams and the golden-haired young lady. He decided that was something he did not have to worry about. It was Riku's problem, not his.
Sora came back into focus in time to see the servants excitedly scurrying about the makeshift tree. Lumiére had hopped out of Goofy's hand and was helping out. Belle smiling at the stack of what the brown-headed seventeen-year-old Keyblader now realized was golden serving trays.
"As long as there's Christmas I truly believe that Hope is the greatest of the gifts we'll receive," the servants were chanting.
"There'll always be Christmas," Belle called out. "So there always will be a time when the world is filled with peace and love!"
Chip leapt for joy. "We're going to have the greatest Christmas ever!"
Belle had to smile. "Oh, I hope so, Chip."
Sora gave a nod of agreement. He really hoped so.
An enormous crash seized everyone's attention. The makeshift tree had fallen over and all of the ornaments were scurrying away with excitement. Lumiére and Mrs. Potts were trying to gather them back to the mess. "You, on the left, you on the right, follow me," the candelabra called. "There is decorating to be done!"
Sora nodded and slapped the right of his chest with his fist. "We'll help!"
Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all nodded in turn. Amemi gave a wave and smiled to indicate her approval.
Cogsworth gave a nod at the group. "Yes, yes, but keep in mind — the master mustn't find out!"
Sora and his teammates all gave nods of acknowledgement. They placed fingers to their mouths and nodded again. Cogsworth gave another nod. He hobbled away, muttering to himself. "Too much nodding, not enough talk…. "
No one took notice of the tiny piccolo peeking into the room from the entrance doorway. The instrument gave a sneaky grin and chuckled softly to itself. "Ohhhhhh yes!" it whispered.
It then hurried away, closing the door behind.
"'Christmas'?!" the Beast roared so loudly, it echoed about the room. Thanks to the high ceiling, it seemed to rattle everything. The lampstands, the windows, even the fireplace seemed to rock a little. "She's planning Christmas?!"
"Yes," Forté replied from across the room. Even in the dim light, he could still make out the Beagle Boys cowering in the far corner where the castle's master could not see them. The moment the Beast had set foot in the room, the trio had decided to hide from what they had declared was "a terrible monster". He ignored them and kept his eyes pinned to the Beast. "Awful, isn't it?"
The Beast gave a discouraged sigh and plopped down in a lavish chair before the roaring blaze in the fireplace. "Perhaps she doesn't know how I feel about Christmas…. "
"But she does know," Forté indicated. This seemed to make the Beast jump in complete shock. The composer then added, "She just doesn't care… like I do. She's actually trying to bring Christmas back to the castle… and you know much we despise Christmas."
The Beast scowled and looked at the flames. It seemed he had a terrible recollection going through his head at that particular minute. "The day my life ended…. "
Forté grinned. This was precisely what he had in mind. He started to play his favorite, solemn melody. "But we have come so far since then. We have… risen above the tragedy."
The Beast snorted. He gritted his teeth so tightly, it looked like one of them might crunch apart. "I hate Christmas."
"The music… helps?"
"Your music is the only thing that helps me forget."
Forté grinned all the more, even if it was just making his mask-like face appear darker. "Don't worry, old friend. I'm here for you, just as I have been, just as I always will be."
This seemed to help the Beast calm down. Following a loud sigh (it was more like a grunt), the castle's master turned into the direction of Forté. "Where is she?"
"I believe she's gone to the boiler room," Forté responded. "Or so a little birdie told me."
Fife poked his head out from behind the pipe organ. Although the Beast could not see him, he still gave a nervous chuckle. "He-he. Tweet, tweet, tweet."
The Beast about-faced and marched to the exit doorway. His footsteps seemed to echo all around. Forté retained his grin until he caught a glimpse of the Beagle Boys and Fife. The trio of hooded criminals and the piccolo were gathered in the same corner, scowling at each other. Fife spun around and snorted into the air.
This sight made Forté sigh deeply. "It's such a shame," he grumbled to nobody in particular. "Good help's so hard to find nowadays…. "
The boiler room was a rather dark, uninviting place. At least, that was the way Sora perceived it. The only light came from the enormous, red machine at the far end of the room. The walls were made of concrete stone. There was lots of hustle and bustle. Containers of wood were marching back and forth through the open doorway. The wood was dropped off at an axe block, where an axe was chopping it in half. The pieces of chopped wood were then delivered into the fiery furnace.
As Sora stepped inside with Belle and Amemi, a voice shouted, "Hey, hey, hey! Get out of the way! We're working here!"
The three spun around and hastily stepped to the side as a wheelbarrow of wood driven by an angry oil can rushed past. "Oh, excuse me," Belle said.
Sora shook his head. To him, everyone in the room was probably overworked and very, very grouchy. Kind of like Donald. He saw the axe giving out strict orders, which also reminded him of the duck mage.
"All right you guys," the Axe commanded. "Now get back to work. The castle doesn't heat itself you know! Oy!"
Amemi shook her head. She glanced at Sora. "Since when do castles have internal heating?" she inquired in a whisper.
Sora shrugged. His sister did seem to have a valid point. After all, castles supposedly were cramped, dark fortresses. The only times people tended to live in them was during the winter or when the town(s) was/were under siege… whatever that meant. He honestly did not understand how this particular castle had its own, unique heating system. Then again, maybe it was because the building was enchanted?
The Axe took notice of the group standing in the doorway. When he turned to them, he said, "So, what can I do you for?"
"We're looking for a log," Belle explained. Sora and Amemi both nodded. Of course, they were after a special type of log. Sora knew all about it… sort of…. It was just another boring Christmas tradition as far as he was concerned.
"All right. Logs we got," the Axe declared. He hopped into a pile of wood beside the chopping block. "We've got hard word, soft wood… we got it all — birch, maple, pine, oak, oy!"
The Axe stood up from the pile. He seemed to be in a daze. "Concrete, my head! Don't worry, it'll pass."
He shook his head (which seemed to pretty much be his entire body) and gazed at the group. "So make up your mind already!"
'He's sounds rude!' Sora thought to himself. He noticed Amemi seemed to be thinking the same thing. She was standing there with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
Belle approached a nearby wood pile. "Is it all right if we just browse?" she questioned.
The Axe seemed to shrug. "Suit yourself. Take your time. Me, I got work to do."
Sora and Amemi strolled up to the same wood pile and started looking through the various types of logs in it. Many of them seemed to be dead, dry wood. Some of them contained abandoned cobwebs. Amemi found one with a sticky web and had to shake it off her hand; she had a disgusted look written all over her face. To sight made Sora secretly grin.
Through the corner of his eye, the brown, spikey-haired youth saw Donald stepping into the room. He was wiping some of the sweat off his forehead as though the room's temperature was irritating his feather. "Phew!" he gasped for air.
The tool-like workers threw in another pair of log pieces into the furnace. All of a sudden, the boiler started to shake and expand like it was overloaded. Everyone stopped and stood back to watch what was happening. When Donald saw the boiler, he gulped and tugged at his collar before rushing behind a pile of wood. Sora could tell the duck assumed the boiler was about to explode.
Explode?! Sora saw Amemi was staring at the boiler in alarm. The machine did look like it was going to blow apart at any second! Sora was about to grab his sister and duck down with her when a whistle went off and a large amount of steam escaped the boiler. The machine started to cool off. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, even Amemi did.
Sora started to laugh when he saw a worried Donald sticking his head out to see what was going on. Sora covered his mouth. Donald scowled at the seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder. "I knew I heard something!" he stated.
Through his peripheral vision, Sora saw Amemi secretly laughing at Donald, too.
"Hey, what am I paying you for?" the Axe yelled at the other workers. "Being boring? Do that on your own time."
"Yes!" Belle said with excitement. Sora and Amemi watched as she pulled out a solid log with its bark still attached. Donald strolled up and folded his arms when he saw what Belle was holding.
"It's a log," the duck indicated. He sneezed when Belle blew the dust off the piece of wood and it ended up in his nose. This made Sora and Amemi laugh louder. Donald was about to snap at them when a loud series of footsteps came from the hallway outside the door. "A Heartless?"
"Maybe," Sora said. "Let's get the jum—!"
Before Sora could finish his sentence, the Beast barged into the room. Belle swiftly hid the log behind her back and gave an innocent smile. Sora, Amemi, and Donald all grinned.
The Beast swept his eyes across the group. When he saw the group's innocent looks, he raised an eyebrow. "What are you hiding?" he demanded to know.
No one spoke. Donald started to whistle the sailor's song he had learned in while in the navy. Sora knew how it went and started humming along. Amemi started to move her hands to the beat like she was conducting an orchestra.
The Beast now looked puzzled, yet still very suspicious. Since Belle was the only one not taking part in the music, he raced around her and swiped the log from behind her back. He looked completely baffled and bewildered. Why was Belle hiding a log from him?
"It's a Yule log," Belle said.
The Beast looked totally lost. "Huh?"
"A Yule log."
"A holiday tradition," Amemi explained. "You choose a log. Everyone touches it and makes their wish for Christmas."
The Beast snorted. "Wishes are stupid," he stated.
"No, they aren't!" Amemi shouted before Sora could stop her. "You need to believe to make them come true!"
The Beast stomped towards the door. "You made a Christmas wish last year," he told Belle. He spun around and spoke in such a loud voice, it echoed like it was a roar. "Is this what you wished for?!"
Belle closed her eyes. Sora thought he could see a tear sliding down her cheek. "No," she replied. She reopened her eyes and frowned at the Beast. "But I'll keep on wishing."
"We all will," Amemi agreed. "And we'll start with bringing Christmas to this gloomy castle!"
"There will be no Christmas," the Beast stated.
"But," Sora started to say. "What about—?"
"NO!" the Beast's roar was much louder. So loud, Sora had to cover his ears for the first time since he had met the castle's master back in Hollow Bastion. "I am the master here!"
Amemi pointed her right index finger accusingly at the Beast. "You are so selfish! I've seen people on television act mean and cruel, but you… you've gone above and beyond!"
Sora covered his face with his hands. Now his little sister had gotten deeply involved with something that was not her problem. She had instead made it her problem. If only she had known the castle's Master as long as he had. The Beast was not as heartless as she claimed. He was fearless. He might have given up his own life just to save Belle from Maleficent. That had given Sora enough courage to be willing to face Riku and save Kairi — even after Donald and Goofy had left him.
If only his sister could see the strong, caring person the Beast was inside. If only she could….
The Beast gave an extremely deep sigh. "You cannot possibly understand. You have no idea what it's like to lose everything, to be trapped in your own castle, to be a… a…. "
Belle looked straight at the Beast. "A prisoner?" she asked.
The Beast grunted in return. Belle looked away for a moment. "The only one holding up prisoner here is you," she said, turning back. "Well, I'm not giving up."
"And neither will we," Sora said. He had finally decided it was time to step in. Even if Amemi had already gotten involved a little too much, he was not about to watch the Beast treat Belle like she was a slave… well, that probably was the wrong choice of words. What else could he say that would mean the same thing? Detainee? Captive? Hostage? Recidivist? Wait… was that a real word? He had no clue where it had come from.
Belle stormed out of the room without making much noise. Sora and Amemi were not too far behind. Donald stepped out from behind another wood pile and hurried to keep up. "What was that all about?" the duck magician asked.
Sora shook his head. "Please, don't ask."
He glanced back to see the shocked and dismayed Beast slowly marching up to the furnace.
The castle seemed rather quiet and gloomier than before. As they walked down the halls, Amemi thought she saw a gargoyle statue or two watching her every move. The enormous, shadow-filled corridors made feel rather anxious. The sounds of her footsteps echoing a little down the hallway ahead could be heard. The argument with the Beast was still replaying in her mind.
She had been shocked when Sora had stood by and let the Beast shove Belle around with his commands. She had felt it was necessary to leap in and insist it was wrong. This had resulted in quite the spat between the two. Yet, it seemed that had only made things worse. Now, it appeared Christmas would be cancelled in this world. She felt a little guilty.
As she followed Sora and Donald down the giant, West Hall, Amemi thought she saw some of the suits of armor they passed turning to face her. When she looked back, the armor was motionless and looking straight ahead. She paused in question.
First, the castle's gloomy state had gotten her attention. Second, the castle's servants were all household items. Third, the castle's Master was a beast. Fourth, it felt like she was being watched as they proceeded down the hallways. It almost felt like this place was something straight out of a lost fairy tale. What did these add up to? No… it was not ten.
There was something peculiar about this castle and everything and everyone inside it. She gazed at Sora. He had been here before. Maybe… he knew what was going on? Why this place was so strange? She had to ask.
"Sora," Amemi said. "Why does this castle feel so… peculiar?"
Sora and Donald paused in their tracks. They turned around to face the sandy-headed girl. Sora gave a shy grin and started to scratch the side of her face with his finger. "Well… That's just the way it is. Some worlds seem strange because they're different than back home on the islands."
"Yeah," Donald speedily agreed, giving a large grin of his own. "Other worlds, other strange things."
The two spun back around and continued down the hallway. Amemi folded her arms. She was still unconvinced. Her brother and Donald were hiding something. She needed to know what it was. It definitely had something to do with this castle….
The group headed down the stairs leading into the castle's huge Entrance Hall. They stopped at the landing and proceeded through a set of doors. On the other side, Amemi was instantly taken in by the enormous, circular ballroom. Her mouth fell open and her eyes grew wide.
It had a C-shaped second floor with golden columns to hold it up. The floor seemed to be crafted from marble or slate with a design that appeared to be based on a carpet. The other end consisted of tall windows curving around. The lack of curtains allowed plenty of sunlight to stream in. The ceiling resembled a rotunda, similar in design to the inside of the dome for the mayor's office back home on the Destiny Islands. A painting depicting cherubim dancing in the clouds was situated directly in the center of the rotunda. A massive, golden chandelier was hanging from the middle of the ceiling. The whole room was quite a grand one.
"Wow!" Amemi marveled. Her voice seemed to echo off the walls. Sora grabbed her arm and dragged her further in.
In the middle of the ballroom, Cogsworth was overseeing Lumiére, Angelique, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and several others as they worked on setting up decorations. Each time the other servants did something, Angelique tried to tell them it was all wrong. No one seemed to notice.
Sora came strolling up to the group. He had a disappointed look on his face. "Hey, guys," he said. Everyone turned to face him. "We've got some bad news."
"The Beast doesn't like Christmas," Donald stated.
"You mean, he has forbidden it," Amemi corrected. This made Donald start to quiver in annoyance.
The servants all sighed. All of them, except Angelique. The angel folded her arms and gave a quick nod. "See? I knew it was impossible!" she pointed out. "I knew this was a hopeless folly!"
Cogsworth sighed before rapidly regaining his composure. "Well now, we'll just have to start cleaning up all these forbidden decorations."
"But I'm not going back into that attic," Angelique stated in a stubborn voice.
Sora gave a deep sigh. Amemi did the same. She had been so looking forward to seeing Christmas brighten up this castle. It now appeared this entire fortress would be a dark, gloomy building for years to come. Then again, maybe next year the Beast will have changed his mind? Christmas could return? Who knows? Maybe… as long as Belle kept on believing.
Believing. That was it. She was not going to stop believing at any time soon. This castle needed her. Everyone inside needed Christmas. And she was going to ensure they still had Christmas, even if the Beast had declared it an illegal holiday. After all, nobody could prevent Christmas. That story about the Grinch who tried to stop it… the story of the rich, old man who despised it… even the tale of the young man and his friends who restored Christmas to a castle and everyone inside. This would be no different.
After taking a deep breath, Amemi stepped forward so everyone could see her. "Look, I know this might seem like a bad idea, but we should still have Christmas. It doesn't matter if the Beast says it's against the rules. What's the worst he can do? Lock us up? My brother has the Keyblade — he'll let us out!"
Sora was startled to hear those words leave his sister's mouth.
"I'm not willing to see everyone here suffer because someone else is suffering," Amemi continued. "We should still have Christmas whether the Beast is with us or not."
"Yeah!" Donald approved, raising his magical wand in the air like a soldier shouting in agreement.
"That was very well said, my dear," Mrs. Potts said.
"Yes! We should still celebrate!" Lumiére declared.
"Yes, yes," Cogsworth added. "But we're falling behind schedule. We'd batter quicken the pace."
"There's only one problem," a voice said. Jiminy hopped out of Sora's pocket and looked around the room. "Where are Goofy and Launchpad? Christmas won't be the same without them."
"Not to worry," Mrs. Potts said. "They said they were heading for the kitchen to make some more Christmas cookies."
"What?!" Donald hollered in alarm. "They'll burn the castle down!"
"Yes, yes!" Cogsworth shouted in turn. "Hurry! We have to stop them!"
Once Jiminy had leaped back into Sora's pocket, Sora, Amemi, Donald, and Cogsworth all raced for the doorway. The doors barged open. The group froze. "Look!" Donald yelled.
A thick, dark column of smoke was filling the Entrance Hall. Sora used his eyes to trace it to its source — a cracked-open doorway downstairs. "Hurry!" Sora shouted.
They charged down the stairs. At once, a few Shadow Heartless rose from the floor. In an instant, Sora summoned his Keyblade and sliced the creatures out of existence. He led the others straight to the doorway and pushed the doors open with all his might. "Goofy! Launchpad!" Sora called.
The group started to cough from all the smoke. Sora and Amemi had to duck down low. Donald and Cogsworth were below the smoke's level, so there was not much of a problem there. The real problem was what they saw when they crept through the doorway. There were Goofy and Launchpad. The two were rushing cups of water from the castle's indoor pump straight to an oven. Red, orange, and yellow flames were practically jumping from the oven's open door.
"What'll we do?!" Donald panicked. He raced around like someone screaming and rushing around in circles. Mrs. Potts and Chip came bounding into the room. The teapot poured the water in her spout straight onto the flames. With Chip's help, the flames started to disappear. Sora and Amemi snatched a few cups themselves, filled them with water from the pump, and then dumped it all onto the fire.
Within three minutes, the fire had been doused. Sora gave a sigh of relief. He saw Amemi looking around in question. "Why didn't a smoke alarm go off?" she asked.
Sora had to shake his head. His sister would probably never understand that some worlds just did not have the technology back home. This was one such world.
Cogsworth marched over to the oven. He took a few seconds to inspect it before turning to scowl at Goofy and Launchpad. "You two have ruined this oven!" he scolded. "You are hereby forbidden to tinker with anything else in this kitchen!"
The knight and pilot's eyes were downcast. So were their faces. "Sorry," Goofy apologized.
"I might have put too much coal on the fire," Launchpad added. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
Cogsworth's scowl transitioned into a look of understanding. To Sora, he seemed to be feeling sorry for them. Cogsworth shook himself back into focus. "Well then, since you are sorry for what you've done, and it was an accident, I'll let you off this time with a warning."
Goofy and Launchpad simultaneously gave sighs of relief and wiped some sweat off their foreheads.
Sora looked around. "Does anyone know where Belle is?"
"She went to her room," Chip replied. "Do you want to go and see her?"
Sora gave a nod. "Yes."
He bent down lower so Chip could hop into his hand. He signaled to the others to follow. Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi all trailed the Keyblader out of the kitchen while Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts oversaw the mops and brooms cleaning up the mess.
The doorway in the East Wing was cracked open. When Sora and his team arrived with Chip, all they had to do was give it a gentle push. They stepped into the rather small room. Amemi took a moment to notice how nice and neat it was compared to the Beast's destroyed bedroom. They found Belle lying on her bed, moping. She gave a very deep sigh.
"Hiya, Belle!" Chip said with lots of enthusiasm. He hopped out of Sora's hand and landed onto the bed beside her. "You should see the ballroom. It's all decorated and pretty and there's garlands everywhere!"
"I helped put one of them up," Launchpad blurted.
Sora had to roll his eyes halfway. He knew which one the pilot had helped with. The one that was stretched a little too far, partly torn, and tilted at an angle.
"Chip," Belle sighed. "Your Master, he's forbidden Christmas."
Sora had heard enough of this nonsense. He had already witnessed Amemi standing up to the Beast over this very topic. He had watched Belle refuse to back down when the Beast had pretty much insisted his problems were worse than hers. "C'mon," he declared. "The Beast can't stop Christmas. No one can."
Launchpad shrugged in confusion. "How can holidays be cancelled? There're always on calendars."
"Christmas is not something someone can prevent from coming," Amemi said.
"Yeah!" Donald approved.
"They're right!" Chip agreed. "You said so yourself, Belle!"
Belle rose from the bed. She now looked determined. "You know Chip, Sora… he can't! We'll have Christmas with or without him."
"Hooray!" Chip yelled as he bounded into the air. "Can we get a tree now, Belle? It's the only thing we're missing."
Belle glanced at Sora and the others. Sora was relaxing; his hands were behind his head and he was swaying slightly back and forth. She smiled when they all nodded.
Belle turned back to Chip, who hopped into her hands. "All right then," she said. "Let's go get a tree."
"We'll have a chat with the Beast," Sora told her. "Maybe we can convince him Christmas is not such a bad thing."
"I'll go with you," Amemi said.
"I'll go help set up more decorations," Goofy said as he headed out the door. Launchpad was seconds behind.
"They'll make another mess," Donald stated. He hurried after the two.
Sora and Amemi turned to Belle. "We'll be back later," Sora said.
Belle nodded. "Be careful," she told them. "There are still some Heartless roaming around the castle."
Sora gave a thumbs-up in return.
It did not take too long for Sora and Amemi to reach the West Hall. The giant corridor with its scarlet carpet was hard to miss. The suits of armor lined on either side of the hall made good landmarks. The high ceiling led to complete darkness.
As Sora and his sister strode through the hallway, the sounds of something moving up ahead grabbed their attention. The two hurried to the not-too-distant corner and rounded it. Crawling all around the hallway were a group of Neoshadow Heartless. A few Shadow Heartless accompanied them.
"Heartless here?!" Amemi exclaimed. She pulled out her slingshot.
"Not again!" Sora summoned his Keyblade.
They were about to rush over and battle the monsters when a brilliant flash of Light filled the corridor. He covered his eyes from it. Amemi did the same. When it died down, the two looked ahead. To their complete shock, the Heartless were all gone.
"What happened?" Amemi inquired. She looked to her brother for answers.
Sora only shrugged. "I was thinking the same thing, Amy."
The two proceeded down the rest of the hallway to the stairs. As they marched up, Sora thought he sensed a strong Light coming from up above. He glanced up for a moment, only to see what seemed to be a faint glow near the ceiling. He shook his head and continued on his way.
Amemi felt a strong sensation of Light coming from close by. She looked up, only to see what she perceived was a glowing illusion. It appeared to be a shade of indigo….
As Amemi followed Sora through the West Wing, she felt more confident than before. Even as they passed the broken pieces of architecture, she ignored them. She now understood it was most-likely the Beast's doing. However, Sora trusted the castle's Master. If he did, so would she — even if the Beast had a terrible temper and was extremely selfish.
This time, Amemi was the first one to the door. She pulled it open, revealing the ruined furniture of the Beast's bedroom. She saw the Beast and Lumiére on the other side of the room. They were standing around the glowing rose.
Deep down, Amemi wondered if Lumiére had come to the room with the same intentions Sora and her had. Then again, probably not. Lumiére and the Beast were looking out the window. They were preoccupied about something else.
Sora and Amemi approached the two. "Hey, Beast," Sora said. "What are you doing?"
The Beast glanced at Sora and Amemi. Then he turned away from them. Curious to know what the other two were looking at, Amemi and her brother strode up to the window. Far down below, they could see Belle and Chip out in the snow with the footstool-dog, Sultan. Amemi knew exactly what they were doing.
Searching the castle grounds for a Christmas tree.
"Oh la la!" Lumiére grinned.
"Lumiére," the Beast growled a little.
"She is beautiful, now?"
The Beast stepped to his rose. "Yes, and I'm hideous."
Lumiére chuckled. "Not to mention ill-tempered," he said under his breath.
The moment Amemi saw the Beast looking at the rose, she could tell he was not a monster — not at all. Just a shy creature who was hidden behind a terrible-looking face. She understood what this meant. The Beast was not really a beast. He probably was something else entirely. She just did not know what.
She needed to ask her older brother, again.
Amemi turned to Sora. "So, what's with this rose?" she asked him as she gestured to the rose.
Sora did not listen. Well… Amemi could tell he had heard her. He was just ignoring what she had said. This made her wonder what it was he was hiding. What secrets were trapped within? What could he be wanting to hide? It did not make sense to her. Was it something bad? Did the rose mean something terrible had happened? It did not make sense… roses were meant to show beauty — not tragedy.
Sora tapped the Beast on the shoulder. "Say, Beast, have you see this yet?"
He gestured to the present Belle had had him place beside the rose. Amemi sighed, knowing her brother was just trying to keep himself from telling her something.
"What?" the Beast said when he saw the present. "What is that?"
Lumiére hopped over to the table and looked at the wrapped package. "Oh, it looks like a Christmas present," he announced.
Amemi rolled her eyes. Of course it looked like a Christmas present! It was a Christmas present!
"It is a Christmas present," Sora confirmed.
The Beast stormed out onto his balcony. Lumiére took a look at the tag attached to the gift. "Oh ho ho! It's for you, Master. It's from… a girl!"
The Beast gazed back into the room with a funny look. "Mrs. Potts?"
Amemi had heard enough. She rolled her eyes and unfolded her arms. "It's from Belle!" she stated firmly.
To Sora and Amemi's surprise, the Beast looked excited. He walked up to the gift and picked it up. He started to pull on the ribbon when Sora and Amemi both shouted at him to stop.
"Ah, ah, Master!" Lumiére scolded in a friendly fashion. "You can't open it!"
The Beast seemed startled. "Why, why not? It's for me, isn't it?"
"It's still Christmas Eve," Amemi informed him. "You can't open that present until Christmas Day."
"Pshaw!" The Beast growled in irritation. He turned away.
"Look, Beast," Sora started to say. "We understand you hate Christmas. But, you've got to understand. Everyone needs Christmas. This is the only world I've ever seen without it. Right now, Maleficent and the Heartless are trying to destroy Christmas."
The Beast appeared to be completely caught by surprise. "We can't give up," Sora continued. "If you continue to hate Christmas, things will only get worse. You need to give Belle what she wants. She wants to bring Christmas to everyone here."
Amemi felt a smile forming across her face. "I think Belle likes you — a lot. It's just like my brother and Kairi."
"Hey!" Sora swung his eyes to the sandy-haired teenager. Amemi started to giggle. Sora threw his right arm over his face. "Come on, Amy! Give me a break!"
"Yes," Lumiére said, rolling his eyes at the two siblings. He returned his focus to the castle's Master. "When a woman gives a man a gift, she is saying 'I care for you'."
The Beast now looked worried. "But I don't have a gift for her."
"It is not too late," Lumiére encouraged.
The Beast rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I could get her a little somethin'."
"What's that?" Amemi questioned. The Beast did not answer. He simply marched away to a small doorway in the side of the room.
"I don't remember that door being there," Sora commented.
Amemi shrugged. She turned to Lumiére. "We should head back downstairs and continue getting things ready for the celebration."
"Bravo, mademoiselle!" Lumiére approved.
Amemi had to smile. Even though she did not enjoy the candelabra's "ladies man" style, she knew he meant well. Besides, here he had just been helping to encourage the Beast. She picked him up and carried him to the exit.
When Sora saw his sister heading for the doorway with Lumiére in hand, he ran after them. "Hey! Wait up!"
The hall was rather quiet. Or… it might have been if Forté had not been busy with his latest composition. The gloominess of the music made the Beagle Boys feel bored and nervous at the same time. It actually did seem to help them forget about all those threats Maleficent had made should they fail with any of their assigned tasks. Since they had failed, the music was good thing.
The three were huddled by the fireplace, listening to the music, and playing a game of jacks. Well, two of them were playing the game. The third had fallen asleep in the luxurious chair with the comic book he had been reading still in his lap. He started to snore, even as the music echoed all around.
"Forté," a deep voice shouted suddenly. "Stop the noise!"
The room fell into complete silence for a few seconds. The Beagle Boys stopped what they had been doing and swung their attention to the doorway close by. There was the Beast, marching into the room. He looked outraged. The Beagle Boys all nodded to each other. After cleaning up the jacks, ball, and comic book, they dashed back to their shadowy corner. Only their eyes could be seen from there.
Forté was beyond astounded. "Noise? Noise?! This is my masterpiece!"
The Beast whirled around and growled at the pipe organ. When he saw the anger in his Master's eyes, Forté leaned forwards like he was bowing politely. "Master…. "
The Beast nodded. He started to pace around the room. "I want you to compose a song," he instructed. "It's a present… for Belle."
"Belle?!" Forté exclaimed in alarm.
The Beast did not seem to notice Forté's distressed expression. "And make it happy!" he added before strolling to the doorway. In a few moments, he was out of sight.
"Oh," Forté moaned. "But happiness is so… depressing! What's next? Love songs?! Wedding marches?!"
The Beagle Boys crept out their hiding place. They exchanged looks of perplexity and shrugged.
Forté glowered at the far wall. "It's all that girl's fault."
"Look!" the shortest Beagle Boy declared. The three spun their attention to Forté. The enormous pipe organ was giving off what appeared to be a thickening cloud of Darkness. They gulped.
"That doesn't look good," the second-tallest Beagle Boy said.
"Since when is Darkness ever 'good'?" the tallest Beagle Boy asked.
The other two stared at him. The third slapped himself in the face. Here he had just complained about the Darkness, and yet the three of them were on the side of the Darkness — alongside Maleficent and Pete!
"Fife!" Forté shouted. "Beagle Boys!"
The Beagle Boys and the tiny piccolo rushed over to the giant pipe organ. They all saluted to him.
"Pay attention," Forté ordered. "I need you all to pace when I think."
The Beagle Boys and Fife nodded. They started to pace back and forth across the room. Each Beagle Boy took a separate route, only to cross paths and end up bumping into each other. Forté ignored them; his eyes were focused on Fife.
"The girl is evil, I tell you," Forté pondered aloud. "She holds the Master from my grasp. She fills his head with dream of love and hope and… Christmas."
Fife turned to face the pipe organ. "Well, whatcha gonna do? Ya can't stop Christmas!"
"No one can!" the tallest Beagle Boy stated.
"Your ploy is impossible!" the second-tallest Beagle Boy added in turn.
"If you can't stop Christmas from coming, what will you do?" the third (and shortest) Beagle Boy asked.
"Maybe I can't stop Christmas," Forté said, giving a sinister snicker. "But I can stop the girl."
This made the Beagle Boys all grin with dark smiles.
A/N:
SORALEGO278: AND... THERE YOU HAVE IT! ANOTHER COMPLETED CHAPTER!
MICKEY MOUSE: What happens next?
SORALEGO278: I do not believe we shall find out until Chapter 27 comes along.
MICKEY MOUSE: Oh... I got ya!
SORALEGO278: So, I HOPE you enjoyed all the Goofy and Launchpad moments in there! I had a lot of fun writing them!
MICKEY MOUSE: It reminds me of the last time Goofy made two hundred hamburgers for our Valentine's Day party! I still can't forget the look in Donald's eyes.
SORALEGO278: Also, the term "RECIDIVIST" (used in Sora's thinking at one point) IS a real word! It refers to a convicted criminal who commits the same crime twice - especially in repetition.
MICKEY MOUSE: Wow! I never knew that!
SORALEGO278: I did not know it myself - until I wrote This Chapter! Plus, Yes, the comic book one of the Beagle Boys was reading IS a Real Disney graphic novel/comic book! "The Wizards OF Mickey" is one of my personal favorite Disney book(s). That is part of the reason(s) why I included it. The other is because the Beagle Boys DO work with Peg-Leg Pete in it.
MICKEY MOUSE: I remember that story! Being a wizard's apprentice was a whole lotta fun!
SORALEGO278: I can picture that! After all, that's the way it was in the book!
MICKEY MOUSE: Yup!
SORALEGO278: True enough! -YAWNS- Sheesh! Exploring a land of Disney can REALLY take it out of you! I believe it's time to sign off.
MICKEY MOUSE: Okay. See ya real soon! I'll be back for Christmas!
SORALEGO278: See You Later, Mickey! Thank you for the autograph! Tell Pluto I said "Hello!" Also, Tell Tinker Bell I said, "Thank you once again!" **
MICKEY MOUSE: No problem and I will!
SORALEGO278: So Then -YAWNS-, I'll See You Next Time!
In other words, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY (AND MICKEY MOUSE) DEPENDS ON IT!
REMEMBER THIS - A MINIMUM OF 214 IS REQUIRED FOR THE SEQUEL! IF 240 ARE POSTED, 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!
I HOPE THE SEQUEL MAKES IT ONLINE! I HAVE SOME EXCITING THING(S) IN MIND! I HAVE JUST ONE QUESTION: CAN YOU IMAGINE SORA RACING A CHOCOBO?!
This Is SoraLego278 Saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Plus, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!"
**** Yes! I DID ask Mickey this when I got his autograph at Magic Kingdom! His reaction and response was the same!
** Yes! I also got Tinker Bell's autograph! Hopefully, I will be able to have her appear later in This Story - given her world makes an appearance!
*************** Donald has tried to be [a little] more generous lately! He threw some candy at the audience during a Magic Kingdom parade!