It took them several hours for the Gummi ship to arrive to their next destination, during of which they had to endure another special gates with hundreds of Heartless. They made it out of there intact, well their ship intact anyways, and were now nearing the atmosphere of another world. They all saw through the monitor what it looks like.
"I can definitely see a castle." Asuna pointed out.
"Seem's like that's the focal point we must go to." Kirito added.
"I've read a little bit about that place." Yui told them, sitting on Kirito's shoulder, "Apparently, a prince once was there, but now he and his servants are all cursed."
"Hmm, sounds like we should be cautious." Sora stated, walking the group to the transporter.
"Yeah. Between the Heartless, the Nobodies, and this curse on the castle, we can't be too careful." Kirito told the team.
"Ah, we'll be fine." Donald assured them as he was the last to get on. Yui set up the teleportation device and flew over to them just as the machine lit up, sending them down to the surface.
When they appeared, they found themselves at the large front door into the castle. From the outside, it was dark and eerie, as if it was abandoned a long time ago. Donald and Goofy opened the door and headed in without even knocking. Sora, Kirito and Asuna followed shortly behind. When they entered, they found themselves in a large entrance hall. It too looked dark and eerie, although there were signs that it was at least kept clean. At the end, there were flights of stairs that led to another set of double doors, and side stairs on either side that curved up to the second floor.
Sora closed the door behind him as Kirito and Asuna joined Donald and Goofy. The gang looked around at the place, interested and nervous. "Hey, what is this place?" Sora asked, walking towards them.
"It's huge!" Donald gasped.
"Yeah, huge and dark." Asuna added.
"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy asked.
"I wonder if anyone really lives in a place like this?" Kirito asked. He got his answer quite quickly after he asked.
Suddenly, a loud, beastly roar came out of nowhere, filling the room and scaring the quintet. "What was that?!" Asuna asked nervously, pulling her Keyblade out.
"A Heartless?" suggested Kirito, also pulling his Oblivion out and staring around.
"Hey, does anybody else recognize that?" Goofy asked Sora and Donald.
The two stopped looking around and heard the roar again. Finally, Sora remembered as he gasped, "Hey! That's the Beast!"
"Yeah!" Donald agreed.
"The Beast?" Kirito and Asuna asked.
"Yep, the Beast helped up back when we fought the Heartless before." Goofy explained.
"Seriously?" Asuna asked.
"What kind of guy is he?" Kirito asked.
"Maybe we should check up on him and introduce you to him." Goofy suggested.
They all were about to do so when Sora noticed a shadow cross the floor. A Heartless Shadow. "Look!" he shouted, pointing at it as it crawled away into a nearby room.
"C'mon!" Donald cried, and the gang took off after the Heartless. As soon as they got to the room, Donald popped his head in and looked around. "Where did it go?" he asked. Then the rest of the gang entered the room. It was a parlor of some sorts, with a nice fireplace that was still burning. Someone was here recently. On one table, there was a plate with a glass cover, and in it stood, or rather floated, a beautiful, glowing red rose. Donald was attracted to the rose, and started waddle towards it, Asuna following behind.
"It's so pretty." she stated as she got a closer look.
Donald was about to reach up and grab it when suddenly the Shadow appeared in front of him, causing Donald to recoil in fright. "Found it!" he squawked. Asuna pulled her Oathkeeper, ready to take it down. However, it wasn't the only one that appeared. Countless others started to surround the five, backing them in the middle of the horde. Each pulled out there weapon, ready for combat.
As soon as it started, Kirito didn't waste anytime, and went into Valor Form. He then charged in and started way-laying the Shadows. All of the others also joined in, but they weren't nearly as destructive as Kirito. "He gonna explode with all that fighting!" Sora exclaimed as he had a brief look at Kirito sending several Heartless into the air. However, all that fighting didn't seem enough. Every time one vanished, another one always kept appearing. They kept going and going, not even sure if it would end.
After ten minutes of this, all of them grouped up together right next to the table where the rose was at. More Shadows appeared in front of them, and Kirito just went to his normal form, and was breathing heavily from all the fighting. "Damn, there's no end to them!" he panted, seeing them come closer.
"Aw c'mon, enough already." Sora moaned.
"We need some assistance right about now." Asuna stated, "I just hope your friend, Beast, can hear the fighting."
"Somebody help us!" Donald shouted desperately.
Someone did hear them, cause the doors suddenly flew wide open, and Kirito and Asuna couldn't help but gasp. It was as if a man had a characteristic of every animal out there, and combined them into one body. He was big, hairy, and a total monster. He had horns, he had claws, he sharp teeth, and he had a worn purple tail and blue pants on, with a slit for his tail to pop out. Did I mention he was standing upright?
While Sora, Donald and Goofy were happy to see him, Asuna and Kirito were quite frightened of him. They have seen a lot of monsters in SAO, but this was different because it was real. They fully understood why he was called the Beast now. He walked in and down the steps into the room. Heartless tried to attack him, but he took them out each with one swipe of his claws, acting like an animal as he did it. He's so strong!" Asuna and Kirito thought.
He looked around to see if there were any others, then walked over to the five. "Just in time!" Sora waved to him. Beast didn't respond to him, but instead shoved him to one side. Donald and Goofy were totally shocked by this behavior, and were also pushed aside by Beast.
"Hey!" Kirito barked, getting in front of his path and getting into a fighter's stance, "What're you doing that for?!"
"No! Kirito!" Sora cried, raising his head to him. Kirito looked at Sora for a brief moment, then the Beast swung his claw, sending him flying into Asuna and the two toppled over.
He walked over to the table where the rose in the glass lid was at, and picked it up so gently. He nuzzled it like it was his newborn child, and carried it off out of the parlor, and didn't even take a glance at the five friends on the floor as he walked out the door, and out of sight. Sora, Donald and Goofy all got up and watched him leave. Asuna threw Kirito off of her as she sat up, telling him, "You shouldn't have just rushed in like that!"
"Sorry, but look what he did to Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" Kirito asked, "You don't think I would've just stood there and let him get away with that?"
"I guess not." she admitted, "But in all seriousness, what was that all about?"
"Gee, do ya think he maybe forgot who we are?" Goofy asked.
"With this many Heartless around, something must be up." Sora concluded.
"Why'd he have to do that?" Donald asked, rubbing his face from the place the Beast shoved him.
"As far as first impressions go, he certainly didn't give the right one for us." Kirito told Sora, "I mean, just from that, he was pretty much acting like any normal monster."
Sora whipped his head to him angrily. "Beast is not a monster!" he retorted, "He's our friend!"
"Then why didn't he recognize you when he shoved us all aside?" Kirito argued, looking out the door, "Whatever kindness you see in him, he sure didn't display it now."
"Which is why I say that something must be wrong with him." Sora stated, "He's a kind person on the inside. Trust me."
"I do trust you, Sora. Really, I do." Kirito assured him, giving a serious glare, "But we don't know the Beast you know. For all we know, this could be his true nature." Sora was shocked at Kirito's words, and gritted his teeth. Both boys frowned at each other, Donald and Goofy looking worried that they would start fighting.
"Stop it, Papa!" Yui squeaked, flying in front of Kirito, "We mustn't fight like this. Why don't you trust Sora on this part."
"Please, Yui. Stay out of this." Kirito told her, "I don't want you intruding on this one." Yui looked worryingly at her papa's angered expression, and Sora looked just as ticked off.
"Enough, the both of you!" Asuna cut in, pushing the two of them away from one another, "Listen, Sora, from what we saw, Kirito makes a sound argument. We don't know the Beast before now, so we don't know him as well."
"But..." Sora started to say, but Asuna continued, "However, if you are right in believing that he is kind, then you are right to say that something is wrong with him right now. And as for you, Kirito..." She turned to her boyfriend with a glare, "I don't know where this hostility is coming from, but you can't take this out on Sora. Yes, we can be cautious, but at the same time, Sora had not given us any proof to doubt what he says is false." She twisted her neck to the both of them as she finished, "Both of you need to cool off for a second, and get along, okay?"
The two looked at each other, glowering at one another, then they nodded in unison. "Good." Asuna finished as her flames died out, "Now let's go find him again." Sora led the way out, Kirito made sure he was behind the crowd so as not to get near Sora.
"Hey, Goofy," Asuna drew the animated dog's attention, "You think we'll be able to prove that Beast is a kind person?"
"Yep," he answered, "Beast may look scary, but he is kind feller. We'll prove it to ya'!"
"I hope so." She responded, turning to Kirito, who was glaring at the back of Sora's head, "The last thing we need is a dispute amongst ourselves."
The group stepped out of the parlor and back out into the entrance hall. Sora then noticed Donald staring up the stairs. "What is it, Donald?" he asked. The grouped all stared at him.
"I just know I saw a lady at the top of those stairs." Donald answered. The group looked up the right-hand stairs. No one was there.
"Are you sure it wasn't a figment of your imagination?" Kirito asked. Sora to him with a glare, disliking how he was now distrusting to Donald, too.
"Well..." Goofy started, "If the Beast is here in the castle, that lady musta been Belle, right?"
"Yeah, maybe so." Sora agreed.
"Who's Belle?" Asuna asked.
"Beast's girlfriend." Goofy answered simply.
"That Beast has a girlfriend?" Kirito asked sarcastically, "Man this world just keeps getting better and better!" He was trying to imagine a female version of the Beast, wondering what she is like.
"Kirito, stop it." Asuna cut him off, elbowing him in the gut.
"Belle might know what's happened to the Beast, too." Sora suggested, trying to ignore Kirito's words.
"C'mon! Let's go find her!" Goofy declared, and the five of them ran up the staircase to the East Wing corridor, fighting bat-like Heartless called 'Hook Bats' along the way.
"Kirito, what is wrong with you?" Asuna asked when they had a time to themselves during their wander through the castle, "You were never this hostile before."
"I'm just trying to remain cautious." Kirito answered, "Sora is a good guy, but he seems way too trusting. Not only that, but this journey has put us in a completely new environment. What if something bad happened to any of us because we let our guard down?"
Yui popped out of Kirito's pocket as she and Asuna looked to Kirito sympathetically. They understood his reasoning, and understood that he was trying to be the more mature male figure compared to Sora. The Beast was definitely a person that, upon first impression, was clearly aggressive and not looking for friendship. Even so, Kirito was acting like he was distrusting to Sora. The two girls were unsure of how to solve this problem at this moment.
They went down to the end of the hallway, where a separate set of doors was at. Sora started to walk to the door quietly, and turned to the others and made a signal to be quiet. Then all but Kirito started to tiptoe to the door, trying to listen in. Just then they heard a female voice moan, "Oh, what am I going to do?"
Sora went to one side of the door while the others were at the other end, and made an indication that one of them should open the door. Donald chose to do it, but it wasn't how Sora wanted it. He walked a few paces away, and turned to the door. "Okay," he muttered, and he was preparing to barge into the door.
"Donald, wait!" cried Sora, but it was too late. Donald went full long into the door. It opened up easily for him, and he fell into the room face first. The others peered into the room as Donald looked up.
"Hey! Who opened the door?" he asked angrily. Then he saw a woman in front of him, and Kirito, looking it, saw her and opened his mouth. She was a beautiful woman, with long brown hair that was tied back with a blue bow, which matched her dress. The rest of her attire were a white shirt, apron and black shoes.
She was at first startled at Donald's abrupt appearance, but then she was pleased. "Oh, I'm so happy you are here." she said, reaching down and picking up Donald into a hug, "Donald!" The other four stood at the doorway as Donald struggled in Belle's arms. "Sora! Goofy!" Belle said, noticing two of them.
"Hiya." Sora greeted as he and Goofy waved their hands. Kirito and Asuna looked in from behind, the idea of Beast's girlfriend disappeared from Kirito's mind.
"Put me down! Put me down!" squawked Donald, and Belle put the duck down, who's eyes were spinning.
The group entered as Donald gained focus again. Belle looked at the two people she didn't know. "You must be Belle, right?" Asuna asked, "My name is Asuna, and this Kirito. Were friends of Sora."
"In that case, it's very nice to meet the two of you." she said, looking more as Kirito's surprised expression. Asuna turned, saw the look he had, and elbowed him again, setting him straight.
"Oh, I-I'm really sorry." the black swordsman stammered, "It's just that, well..."
"You didn't think Beast's girlfriend would be so beautiful?" Asuna finished, looking shamefully at him, while a slight jealousy rose from him finding another girl other than her beautiful. Kirito, on the other hand, repressed the urge to say 'be a human'.
Asuna looked back at Belle, and bowed deeply. "I'm really sorry about Kirito's attitude," she said apologetically, "We just met the Beast, and he wasn't very pleasant to us, so he's a bit skeptical."
Belle waved her hands in front of her in reassurance as she responded, "It's all right. He isn't really in the best of moods these days."
"Where's the Beast?" Donald asked.
"Oh, he must be in the west wing." she answered, looking a little sad, "We don't talk like we used to."
"Did something happen?" Sora asked her.
"Yes. Isn't that why you're here?"
The five of them looked at one another before Goofy answered, "Not exactly. But we can still help!"
"Since we're here and all." Sora added. Asuna sharply looked at Kirito and gave him a look that made him nod in agreement.
"The Beast won't talk to you?" Donald asked.
Belle shook her head. "He's been acting strange lately." she explained to them, "The only ones who might know why are locked up in the dungeon. I want to help them, but..."
"The Heartless?" Kirito guessed. Belle nodded.
"Wait a second." Sora said abruptly, "Who locked who up?"
"The Beast locked up his servants." Belle answered.
"But why?" Donald and Asuna asked in unison.
"That's what I don't know." Belle responded.
Sora pondered for a second, then he asked, "Where's this dungeon?"
"You can get to the undercroft from the west hall." Belle directed them, "The dungeon is down there."
"West hall. Got it." Sora repeated.
"Be careful!" Belle warned, and Sora gave her a thumbs up.
They were all leaving when Kirito stopped in his tracks. He then turned to Belle, and asked what he was thinking when he first saw her. "Just asking, but is Beast really a nice guy?" he asked bluntly, "I know he's not one to look at, but still, he hasn't shown any form of kindness to us. I'm not even certain if I can trust him at this point."
The others stared back at Kirito, surprised from what came out of his mouth. Belle looked at Kirito for a while, then smiled. "I understand your concerns about the Beast, Kirito." she said considerately, "The first time I met him, I was thinking the same way. It's true that he wasn't the nicest person to be around, but he learned to be kind through time, and is trying to be so. That's why I think something is wrong with him, and that you guys should find out why."
Kirito had to think about Belle's words. "I don't know." he answered softly, "I mean, I want to believe you guys, but..." He stopped mid-sentence, not able to continue what he had to say.
Belle walked over and place Kirito's hands in hers. "It's ok," she comforted him, "Once you find out what's wrong with the Beast, you'll understand." Kirito looked at Belle's eyes, and saw the truthfulness in her words. He nodded, and turned to the others. Letting go of Belle's hands, he walked past the group, stopping to look at Sora for a second, before continuing forward. The gang looked at one another, then followed him, leaving Belle to watch them leave.
As soon as they left the east wing and started going down the staircase, Kirito stopped and looked up at Sora. "Sora, I'm still cautious about the Beast." he started, "I can't make a sound judgement on whether he is good or not. But based on your words and Belle's, I'll make the assumption that something is wrong with him. So let's start by saving his servants, okay?"
Donald, Goofy and Asuna looked nervously at Sora, who paused for a second, then he answered with a smile, "Trust me, you'll learn to like the Beast. He's not a bad person."
"That remains to be seen." Kirito answered blankly, and he continued down the steps. Some Hook Bats got in front of him, but he whipped out his Keyblade and sliced them up effortlessly before continuing.
Yui flew out of Kirito's pocket and flew over to Asuna's side. "You sure things will be ok?" she asked her mama. Asuna nodded to her with a smile, but inside, she was praying that Kirito's worries would dissipate soon.
Kirito led the gang up the left-hand stairs, taking down Heartless without even trying, and went through the doors to the west wing. The hallways on this side were much bigger, brighter and grander. There were knights on each side of the hall. It was obvious someone was taking good care of this place.
The five of them walked down the corridor and rounded the corner in the wing. They saw a flight of stairs but there were large, heavily armored knights blocking the path at the top. There was also, what looked like, a wardrobe on the opposite side end of the room from the stairs.
"There should be a way into the undercroft around here..." Sora guessed, looking around.
"Hey, let's try that door?" Asuna asked, walking toward the only door along the hallway. She walked up to the wardrobe blocking the door and looked at it. It looked heavy, and it was made of wood by the looks of it, and well decorated. "Somebody help me move this." Asuna asked the group. Kirito acknowledged, and he started to move the wardrobe to one side until the door was revealed.
"There it is!" Sora declared.
Kirito was about to open the door when suddenly, the wardrobe turned to him, and a face was on it! It had eyes, a nose, a mouth, even rosy cheeks. It was a women's face, and it was staring down at the group. "Do you mind?!" she asked him, causing Kirito to stagger back in surprise. She then hopped back into her spot, blocking the door again and fall asleep.
For a while, the group froze, surprised by what just happened. "Did...did that wardrobe...just talk?" Asuna asked slowly.
"It turned to us...and it had a face." Kirito described, slightly shocked at this.
"What in the world is this thing?!" the cried in unison, their voices shouting in unison.
Sora, Donald and Goofy shushed them. "You might get the Heartless to come after us." Donald told them.
"Or wake this wardrobe up." Goofy added.
"Wardrobes aren't even suppose to wake up!" Kirito retorted in a whisper, "They're suppose to be inanimate objects, for crying out loud!"
"Well, this is more proof that we are in a different dimension." Asuna said exasperatedly, rubbing her head.
"Don't remind me," Kirito sighed.
"Well, whatever it is, we have to move it so we can enter the undercroft." Sora said, going to one side of the wardrobe.
"Ok, but be careful, Sora." Goofy told him, "We mustn't wake it up." This would be a conversation Kirito and Asuna would have if they were in a weird fever dream of some sort, but not in real life. Sora started to move the wardrobe slowly but surely. A couple times it stirred, but Sora stopped moving it at those times until it fell asleep again. The group watched with baited breath as he moved it.
Sora had just got it out of the way when Donald looked like he was about to sneeze. Goofy panicked, and snapped Donald's beak shut. Sora, Kirito and Asuna sighed in relief, then Goofy made a loud sneeze. Typical! Kirito thought to himself. This woke up the wardrobe, and she yawned as she looked at the five of them.
"And I was just starting to get comfortable..." she moaned, "May I help you?"
"Huh? What?" Sora questioned, quite transfixed at the wardrobe, too, then he remembered, "Oh, right, Belle needs us to go to the dungeon."
"Goodness!" the dresser gasped, "You're here to help my friends? Well, why didn't you say so?"
"Well..." Kirito started, "Usually, we don't need to ask wardrobes to move because they aren't even alive."
The wardrobe chuckled at their dumbfounded looks. "I'm sorry I startled you." she said to them, "Oh, I used to be human, you know, until the enchantress cast her spell."
She use to be human? Kirito thought, and an enchantress? Could this be the curse Yui said?
"I was turned into a wardrobe when the prince was turned into a beast." she explained to them. The five heroes were stunned at this bit of news.
"The prince is the Beast?!" Donald repeated.
"The Beast is a prince?!" Asuna asked, shocked.
"That's right." the wardrobe replied, "Although his behavior was from princely at the time."
Probably still is. Kirito thought to himself.
"What's this about a...spell?" Sora asked.
The wardrobe leaned in as she said, "Well, it was a cold winter's night..." The others leaned in, anxious to hear this story. "...And that's enough for now." she finished, leaning back up, "You can hear the rest when you've rescued the others. It'll give you something to look forward to." This cause the others to fall forward comically as the tension broke. "Hurry, now." the wardrobe told them, "The dungeon is damp and chilly. Certainly no place for a clock."
"A clock?" Goofy repeated.
"You'll find out soon enough." assured the wardrobe.
The five turned to each other. While they did want to save the servants, they also wanted to hear this story, too. "All right. Let's get going." Sora declared, and the other four nodded.
They entered the door into the undercroft. It was, as the wardrobe said, dark and dank. An assortment of objects looked like they were thrown on either side of the room. There were stairs that led to a floor above them with two suits of armor standing up. In front of the five were a couple of gargoyles, and a strange stone door with sculptures of two demonic like figures, who's bodies were connected to the oversized keyhole.
"This must be it." Sora stated.
"Then that must be the door to the dungeons." Kirito pointed out, staring at the door in front of him.
"There's something weird about that door." Asuna thought out loud as Donald waddled up to the door. Donald was pressing his ear to the door, listening for anyone inside.
Suddenly, the two demonic sculptures' eyes flashed. Donald looked around, feeling something was off, then the sculptures started to glow dark purple, and they came to life. Those things were Heartless. Their inner hands blocked the keyhole, and stared down at Donald as he backed up. "Uh-oh!" he cried, running away as the Heartless slammed their fists down at the spot Donald was at. He rushed back to the others who had their weapon's raised.
"What is that?!" exclaimed Asuna.
Yui took a good look at it. "Got it," she answered, "It's called a Thresholder. It's a very strong Heartless."
"Well, if it's a Heartless, it deserves a thrashing!" Sora declared, seeing the Heartless's heads look at one another, and pound their fists before staring at the intruders.
Suddenly the gargoyles also came to life, only they were able to hop around with their pedestals. They charged at the group just as the Thresholder elongated his arms, and nearly slammed them into the ground, had they not leapt from either side, Sora, Kirito and Donald to one side, Asuna and Goofy on the other. They each started by attacking the gargoyles, and with a series of strikes, they took the two gargoyles out. Just as they beaten them, Hook bats appeared and dived towards them.
"Well take care of the bats!" Asuna told Sora and Kirito, "you guys focus on the door!" They nodded, and the group split up. Sora and Kirito started striking the Thresholder without mercy. It smacked the two guys away from him in response, but they recovered in mid-flight, and charged once more.
"Use magic!" Sora shouted to Kirito, and the duo started shooting Blizzard attacks at the Heartless. It was working well on it as it started to daze a bit, loosening their grip on the keyhole.
"I got this!" Sora cried, rushing to the door, and raising his Keyblade at it. A light shot out of his Keyblade, and struck the Keyhole. The Thresholder turned into a sculpture, and a ball of black energy came out and it had eyes and mouth.
"That's a Possessor!" Yui cried, flying out of Kirito's pocket.
"Now! Strike it down, Kirito!" Sora called to him, who didn't waste time. He started doing a barrage of attacks onto the Heartless, who was faltering from his repetitive strikes.
He was about to take it out when one of the Hook Bats came flying in, with Donald in tow, and knocked Kirito to one side, allowing the Possessor to dive back into the sculpture, and the Thresholder came to life again.
"Donald!" Sora and Kirito cried to him.
"Sorry!" Donald said apologetically. Kirito threw Donald away from him, and charged at the door once more, Sora going at it as well.
Thresholder then began charging up a large energy orb in between it's hands, and sent it split into a barrage of energy orbs as he sent them raining down onto the two boys. Sora and Kirito did their best sidestepping the attack, and Sora immediately went into Valor Form, and started to strike the Heartless powerfully with his Keyblades. It charged up its' energy orb again, causing Sora to double back, but Kirito leapt up, and delivered as many Blizzard attacks as he could onto it, causing it to falter in it's attack, and the energy orb dissolved. It was dazed again.
"Sora!" Kirito cried, who immediately released the Possessor out again, and the two charged at it and with Kirito slashing it on one side and Sora double-slashing it on the other, it was defeated. Asuna, Donald and Goofy all defeated the last Heartless and turned to see them finish the job.
"Way to go, guys!" she cheered over Donald and Goofy's screams of joy. Sora came out of his Valor form and the two boys looked at each other, and eagerly smiled. Suddenly, the sculpture of the Thresholder disappeared into a black smoke as the Possessor staggered in the air and disappeared. The group looked towards the door, to see now a different set of doors, wooden now, and with the same large keyhole.
"You think the dungeon's past this door?" Donald asked.
"Through that trouble, I hope so." Kirito answered as the gang placed their weapon's away.
"C'mon, we gotta set those servants free!" Goofy declared.
"He's right." Sora agreed, "Let's go." Yui dove onto Asuna's shoulder as Sora opened the door, and the group entered.
It was pretty much a stone dungeon, a bit chillier than the undercroft, but just as dark. It contained some hay on each far corner, and a few chairs and boxes. On top of them were an old wooden clock, a lit candelabra, a teapot and a teacup with a chip in it. However, there was nobody else there other than them.
"There's nobody here." Sora stated.
"You mean there's nobody to rescue?" Donald asked.
Sora, Kirito and Asuna sighed, but suddenly, a french male voice said, "Did someone say 'rescue'?" The voice startled the group, and they looked around, wondering where it came from.
"Shh," hushed another voice, "Keep quiet. It might be THEM."
"Oh, they look like a nice bunch to me." said a female voice.
"Hehe," giggled a child voice, "look, they even have a small person on their shoulder." Yui nervously looked around, realizing she was noticeable.
"We are nice." Goofy called out, "We're your friends."
"Yeah," agreed Sora, "Belle sent us to find you."
At these words, the clock, candelabra, teapot and cup all started to move. They, like the wardrobe, were alive as well. They hopped, or the clock walked, over to the group, who were amazed at more inanimate objects come to life. "And I thought the wardrobe was crazy enough!" Asuna exclaimed, staring at the candelabra who came closer to her.
"Bonjour, mademoiselle." the candelabra greeted, waving a candlestick as he bowed to her. She nervously waved back.
Yui flew down to the hopping teacup and looked around it. "Wow, you are just my height." the cup stated.
"Your right, we are around the same height." Yui giggled, standing next to the cup, and measuring each other.
The others bent down to look at them, Donald especially interested at the clock. "I'm Sora." Sora introduced, waving a hand to each of his friends. "This is Donald, Goofy, Kirito, Asuna, and Yui."
Just as he finished, Donald made a dive and grabbed the clock. "D-don't touch!" the clock cried as he was picked up off the ground, waving his hands. "I-I am self-winding, sir!" Goofy and Asuna looked at the clock as Donald started shaking it.
"Nice to meet you, Yui." said the cup, "I'm Chip."
"And you can call me Mrs. Potts." the teapot added. "It's nice to meet the both of you." Yui greeted, making a curtsy.
"We're glad you're okay." Sora stated, bending to the candelabra.
"Yeah, I'm just wondering if we are." Kirito asked amusingly, rubbing his eyes to make sure that what they were seeing was real. The candelabra hopped back to the chair and turned to them.
"It is we who are overjoyed to see you!" he responded.
"Did somebody put a spell on you guys, too?" Asuna asked as Donald tickled the feet and pulled the arms of the clock.
"Yes, that's right!" the clock responded, "You've heard! It was the enchantress."
"It seems so long ago..." the candelabra sighed as it folded its' arms.
"It was a cold winter's night..." Mrs. Potts started as Sora placed Chip next to her on the crate, "An old beggar woman came to the castle, and asked for shelter."
"But the master of the castle, that is of course, the Prince..." the clock started, but then he noticed Donald opening his inside and playing with his pendulum, and slammed his case shut as he snapped, "Stop that! Put me down this instant." Donald place the clock onto the table, who brushed himself, then cleared his throat before continuing, "The master turned her away. All because of her, ahem, meager appearance."
"That was rude." Asuna stated, folding her arms.
"Oui." agreed the candelabra, "He was a spoiled prince, so selfish and, how shall I say this, cruel."
"Lumiere!" protested the clock, but at least they now know the candelabra's name.
"The old woman warned our master not to be deceived by appearances," Mrs. Potts continued, "Still, he would not take her in."
"Then the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress." the clock followed through.
"She turned the Prince into a beast," Mrs. Potts continued, "a shape she thought fitting for his cold heart."
"And to further punish him, everyone in the castle was enchanted, too." the clock finished.
The five thought about what they were told. "Wow, that's quite a story." Sora stated.
"Now that we have that story, things seem a little more clear." Asuna added, Kirito still looking a bit confused, but understood how they came to be.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Goofy asked them.
"Let's get the enchantress!" Donald declared.
"Oh no, dear." Mrs. Potts retorted.
"We already know what needs to be done," Lumiere answered, "But with the master out of sorts..."
"He sure is acting weird." Sora stated, Goofy and Donald nodded in agreement. Kirito and Asuna looked at each other. Yet another group of people thinking the Beast was a kind person.
"It's almost as if he's forgotten how to trust others." Mrs. Potts assumed.
"You don't suppose he's been turned into a Heartless, do you?" the clock asked.
"Heartless?!" echoed the five shockingly.
"If they're a part of this, then it's a good thing we're here." said Sora.
"Let's go find the Beast!" Donald declared.
"Sounds like the best way to figure this out." Kirito answered.
"I am a Mental Health Counseling Program." Yui added, "I can probably see if there's a way to settle him down."
"Maybe," Asuna murmured, "but don't get carried away, Yui, or you could get hurt."
"Okay, mama!" Yui chimed.
"Splendid!" pipped up the clock.
Lumiere hopped off the chair and towards the door. "Follow me, messieurs." he told them, "I know a shortcut." He opened the door slightly so he could get through.
As the others went through, Asuna asked the clock, "By the way, I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, pardon me." he responded, "You may address me as Cogsworth, madame." He then walked out the door, with everyone else following him.
They went up the stairs in the undercroft, and Cogsworth walked up to the two suits of armor. "Allow our guests to pass." he asked them. Suddenly, the two suits of armor suddenly moved to one side each, revealing a door which opened for them. Kirito wondered how much of the castle was alive. They all entered the door. And found themselves in a secret passageway. However, there was no exit to what they saw.
"All right, how do we get out of here?" Sora asked.
"I'm afraid we won't be marching out that easily." Lumiere answered.
"Should've known." Kirito moaned.
"You see, the door leading to the other side is concealed by a sort of contraption." Lumiere explained.
"What kind of contraption?" Sora asked.
"Observe." Cogsworth answered, and the group turned to see the clock hop up onto a spinning lever, and it lowered under his weight. Suddenly, something came down from the ceiling. It looked like a hanging lantern, but it was burning pitch black flames.
"The lantern came down!" Donald stated.
"Indeed it did." Lumiere answered, "If we could but light all the lanterns in this passage the secret door would open..."
"But, as you can see," Mrs. Potts continued, "the lanterns are already burning-with an enchanted flame."
"These are enchanted flames?" Asuna asked, looking closely at it, "I thought the Heartless might have lit these." "You must put out this enchanted flame before I am able to light the lanterns properly." Lumiere explained.
"Can't ya just throw some water on 'em?" Goofy suggested.
"I'm afraid that's not enough." Mrs. Potts answered, "But if you use the power of light..."
Sora thought for a little bit before saying, "How about I try using the Keyblade?" Sora whipped out his Keyblade, and he, Mrs. Potts, and Lumiere combined their efforts, and the flames started to burn normally.
"Bravo!" Lumiere cheered. "Only three lanterns left!"
Mrs. Potts counted, "If we work together, we'll have that door open in no time!"
"Piece of cake!" Sora said eagerly.
"Again, it is not quite so simple, mon ami." Lumiere said abruptly.
"What else do we need to worry about?" Kirito asked.
"Certainly you cannot expect Cogsworth to hang from the handle forever?" Lumiere asked, the group turning to the hanging clock. Cogsworth grumbled at Lumiere's words. "If he gets tired and falls off, all of the unlit lanterns will rise to the ceiling again."
"Then I guess we should make it through this fast." Kirito stated, walking right next to Sora, "I assume that Lumiere and Mrs. Potts aren't too quick on their 'feet'. So I think maybe Asuna and I can carry the two whiles you lead us to the lanterns."
"Ooh! Ooh!" cried Yui, "I can help Cogsworth with holding the handle down."
"Good idea." smiled Kirito, grabbing Lumiere by the stem as Asuna wrapped her arms around Mrs. Potts, "Let's make sure we get this done as soon as possible."
"Right!" they all cried.
Yui went right next to Cogsworth, and sat down on the handle. Chip watched as Sora led the others around the secret passage, lighting up the lanterns as they went. The only roadblocks they had to deal with were some crates, but it enough to stop them from jumping over. They got this done quite quickly with their team effort.
The gang all got together at the end of the passageway.
"Are we all set?" Sora asked. "Oui." Lumiere answered, "The secret door should open now."
Goofy looked around the room. "But I don't see any secret door." he stated.
"No need to worry." reassured Cogsworth. The gang turned to one of the walls, and saw a block sticking out. "Just push that block over there," Cogsworth explained, "the one that's sticking out."
"Got it." Kirito answered, and he walked over and pushed it in. Suddenly, part of the wall slid down next to Kirito, revealing the secret door.
He walked back to the others as Lumiere said, "Now, I must check on the castle. I fear my absence has been too long."
"I best be off, too, dears." Mrs. Potts added.
"Wish we could play a little more, Yui." Chip said longingly to the pixie.
"Don't worry," she answered, "When this is done, we can play a little."
"Watch out for Heartless!" Sora warned them.
The three objects hopped away, leaving Cogsworth with the group. "The master's room is at the very end of the west wing." he explained to the group, I shall go on ahead and wait for you." He then walked away, leaving the five heroes in the passageway.
"Let's go gang!" Sora declared, and he led the group through the secret door.
They arrived in the west wing again, this time behind the suits of armor that blocked the stairs. They walked along the path to the end of the wing, dealing with several Heartless and possessed gargoyles, grabbing a few shards, then finally made it to a pair of doors.
They peered in and saw the back of the Beast's cape as he had his back turned at the far end of the room. The room was definitely disheveled and torn apart, like the Beast had a tantrum in there. The Beast was looking at the magical rose, which floated in its' glass cage as it stood on the table. They also saw one other person in there, who was standing to one side of the Beast. A man in a black cloak and black hood. Organization XIII the trio of Keyblade wielders thought in unison.
"It's time you dealt with Belle." the man told the Beast, "She's scheming to take everything you have." He walked away from the Beast as he continued, "This castle, your precious rose, and then-your life. Trust no one. Feed your anger! Only anger will keep you strong."
"I've had enough of strength." retorted the Beast silently, "There's only one thing I want..."
"What?" the man said abruptly, "To love, and be loved in return? Who could ever love a beast?" The Beast roared at him.
Outside the doors, Kirito heard those words, and felt shameful a bit. He was told by Sora, Belle, and even the servants that the Beast was not as bad as he was shown, but he had doubted all of them. After what he had just said, did that mean that Kirito was in the wrong?
Before he had a chance to answer, however, Sora barged into the room, the rest rushing in behind him. They readied their weapons as they saw the Organization XIII member turn to them. "See? She has accomplices." the man pointed out to the Beast, who looked down with a blank face. The man then backed away and waved his hand, producing a barrier that separated everyone from the glowing rose. He then went through a black portal and disappeared.
Everybody put their weapons away as Sora led the group to the Beast, who didn't move from where he stood. "Hey, prince." Sora addressed him.
The Beast then lifted his head and let out a loud, ferocious roar, frightening everybody. "Oh, dear! Master!" Cogsworth cried. The Beast made a lunge for them, but they jumped to either side, Sora grabbing Cogsworth. The gathered behind him, who turned to them with an angry face. Suddenly, an aura seem to come from the Beast's body, almost flame like.
"Now what's happening?!" Donald asked.
"I think that Organization XIII person brainwashed him!" Yui answered, "He was attempting to turn Beast into a Heartless, but he hasn't completely turned yet."
"That's why he's acting so strange!" Sora answered, leaping to one side as the Beast lunged at them with blind rage.
"We need to bring the Beast back to his senses." Asuna yelled out as she jumped backwards from a near slash of the Beast's claws.
Kirito made a lunge for the Beast, and slashed at him with his Keyblade, sending him recoiling backwards. "Kirito! What are you doing!" Sora shouted, shocked at this attack.
"I think we need to wear him out!" he answered, blocking his attacks with his Keyblade, then a strong slash sent him skidding to Sora's side, "If we can wear him down, maybe one of us can bring him to his senses again."
"Yeah, that might work." Sora agreed.
"I bet Cogsworth and I can do something about bringing him back to his senses!" Yui suggested, "If you gather the light powers of the Keyblade to the two of us when he is worn out, we can use that to snap him out of this state."
"I can try stopping him temporarily by shouting to him." Cogsworth suggested, "He can listen to me, then you can strike. But please, be gentle with the Master!"
"Not really an option!" Kirito retaliated as the Beast made a lunge for Goofy, who nearly blocked it with his shield. Sora, Kirito, Yui and Cogsworth went in for the attack, with everyone else following them.
The Beast was ferocious and strong, but his anger was making him lose focus in fighting, making him an easy target to hit him. However, the aura surrounding him was blocking the group to doing any damage, so they had to use Cogsworth in order to temporarily bring down the aura, allowing them to attack him.
Finally, when he was worn out, Sora, Kirito and Asuna combined the lights of their Keyblades together, and focused them onto Yui and Cogsworth. When they gathered enough, the duo used that light, and let out a bright sound wave as Cogsworth shouted, "Please, Master! Please! Control yourself!" the sound wave not only sent the Beast falling on all fours to the ground, but it also broke the aura surrounding him. He had been brought back to normal.
The Beast rubbed his head as he breathed heavily. He then looked down at Cogsworth and Yui, who were right in front of him. "Cogsworth?" he said gruffly as he stood up, "What happened?"
Cogsworth was sort of frightened to answer him, and he was mumbling a bit, however, Yui flew to his face as she answered, "Well, you were the one who put everyone down in that dungeon, and was being a big meanie!"
"I did what?" the Beast asked, realizing what she just said.
"Ah, you did!" Cogsworth agreed. The Beast looked down in shame.
"Are...you feeling ok?" Asuna asked hesitantly. The Beast turned to her and Kirito, and nodded.
"Oh, these two are friends of mine." Sora mentioned, "So is Yui there." Yui waved at the Beast, Kirito and Asuna did so as well.
"So, who was that guy you were talking to? The one in black?" Sora asked.
The question seem to take its' time reaching the Beast's ears, then he raised his head, realizing what just happened. "Xaldin!" he gasped, then he sighed deeply, "That's his name. He came from the darkness. He...used my anger to control me." He then bowed deeply once again in shame as he continued, "He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain, and turned it all into rage. There was nothing I could do. I could no longer see the truth."
Kirito heard these words, and saw his saddened face, and he realized, at long last, that Sora, Belle, Cogsworth, all of them. They were speaking the truth. He turned away from the group and looked down in shame. He was such an idiot, to think that the Beast was cruel and mean, all because of what he looked like, and what he did. He didn't trust his friends, just like how the Beast wasn't able to trust the people around him as well. In a way, he was the beast, not him. Asuna, Yui and Sora all looked at him, and saw how sad he was as well. "Kirito..." Asuna said quietly.
"Well, I'll be." Goofy exclaimed, being his optimistic self, "That must be why you threw all of your friends down there into the dungeon. You wanted to make sure that you didn't hurt em`, right?"
"Was that it?" the Beast asked himself, "Was it to protect them?"
"Sure. We know you're good inside." Goofy answered. Sora and Donald nodded.
"He's right, Master." Cogsworth agreed, "We've all seen how kind you can be."
"Well, some of us had to take some time to see that as well." Asuna pointed out, turning from Kirito to the Beast, "I admit, when we first met you, and you threw us aside, I was a bit skeptical, but seeing my friends believe in you started to make me think that there might be some good in you. Kirito, however..."
"I was the 'beast' of the group." Kirito sighed mournfully, causing everyone to turn to him, "I wasn't trusting my friend's judgement on you. I was stubborn, and so wary of everything, that I took one look at you, and how you acted when we first met, and set my assumption on who you were, then and there. I should've seen it when Belle told me about the goodness in your heart." Kirito looked up at Sora as he continued, "I'm sorry for not trusting you, Sora. Please don't be angry with me."
"Why would I?" Sora asked absentmindedly, "We know you are somewhat a difficult person to trust others. As long as you see that the Beast is a good person, that's all that matters."
Kirito snorted a bit as he accused, "I swear, you're way too..." He stopped himself from saying something like 'forgiving' or 'kind-hearted'. For Sora, that was a necessity, and an excellent trait. Instead, he finished, "...Thanks, Sora." He walked over to Sora, and the duo shook hands, causing Donald, Goofy, Asuna and Yui to smile at them.
Suddenly, from hearing Kirito's words, the Beast remembered something. "Belle!" he gasped, then he sighed once again, "I've mistreated her. I've mistreated her and been so selfish."
"She didn't say anything about that." Asuna recalled.
"She'd never tell anyone of my cruelty. She's too good." the Beast responded.
"You see, I'm afraid he judges himself far too harshly." Cogsworth whispered to them.
"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Sora suggested.
"If you talk to her, I'm sure she will understand." Yui stated, "My papa did something bad, and was forgiven by Sora. You and Belle are the same thing."
The Beast looked at Sora, then at Yui. "But..." he started.
"No excuses!" Asuna retorted, "Come on, we'll all go with you." Sora, Donald, Goofy and Yui all nodded in agreement, Kirito did so a few seconds behind them.
"The suits of armor in the west hall should let you pass, now." Cogsworth told them, "Please, go see Belle, and hurry!" Everyone got out of Beast's room and headed towards Belle's room. A sudden feeling of foreboding suddenly shadowed Sora, almost as if he needed to go as soon as possible. There was a reason why.
The group ran down the wing, Sora and Asuna in the lead, followed by Goofy and Donald, and Kirito and the Beast brought up the rear. Although he was given forgiveness, Kirito was still upset with himself, but he decided that he'll think about it after the Beast meets Belle. Several Heartless got in there way, and the gang were easily taking care of them. The Beast, now not so ballistic, was a much better fighter, and just as strong. He and Kirito were taking out any that came from behind.
They ran out the west wing, crossed the stairs, where they met new Heartless called Lance Soldiers, and up the stairs to the east wing. There were several Heartless that were not there before, but the teams combined effort took them out. The group then entered the room, but Belle wasn't there, instead the talking wardrobe was. Ok, just how did she get in here? Kirito thought, but decided to not think about it too much. He tried to wrap his brain around this stuff before, but had no such luck.
The wardrobe was sort of shocked to see the Beast. "Master!" she exclaimed.
"Everybody's safe now." Donald assured her.
"Wonderful! Thank you!" thanked the wardrobe.
"Where is Belle?" the Beast asked.
"Why, she left in a hurry." the wardrobe explained, "Something about going after this 'man in black'."
The gang all looked startled, but the Beast was furious. "What?!" he angrily shouted, "Why doesn't she do as she's told?"
The wardrobe turned her back to the Beast. "Temper, temper!" she scolded the Beast, "Her spirit is what makes Belle so special." Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy were hugging each other in fright of the Beast. Even Asuna held Kirito's hand tightly in fright.
"We'd better go find her!" Sora stated, who wasn't fazed by Beast's anger. He once again led the group out of the room, and down the east wing.
As soon as they went down the bottom stairs in the entrance hall, they heard Belle's muffled voice. "I'm warning you!" she said, "You'll be sorry!"
"Belle!" shouted the Beast, looking around the hall, "Where are you?!"
"Beast! Help!" she cried, her voice coming from the large door at the stairs above them, "I'm in the ballroom!" The gang rushed up the stairs once more, and into the large central door.
Beast bashed through the doors and into the bright, large and highly decorated ballroom. Belle was running towards the other side of the room and through the outside doors. They looked up and saw a large Heartless before them. It was a big ball with eyes and mouth, with tentacles and spikes, and chains wrapping all around its' body.
"Belle!" shouted the Beast.
"I'm all right!" she responded, closing the outside door just as the Heartless was about to charge at her. It then turned to the six of them, all who either pulled their weapons out or bared their claws. It let out a roar, and dived up underneath the large chandelier. It dove into the floor, and suddenly the floor, the walls, everything in the room turned eerie and dark. It came out of the floor, and roared once more.
"Yui, identify!" Kirito ordered her.
"It's called a Shadow Stalker." Yui explained, "It's a high-level, Possessor type Heartless. That's all I know!"
It flailed in front of them, its' chains clinking as he moved. Beast charged at the monster, brandishing his claws, but the Shadow Stalker smacked him to the floor. He laid there just as the monster charged at him. "Beast!" Sora and Asuna shouted, but Kirito dove in and slashed it away.
"Don't get too cocky, Heartless!" he shouted, then he turned to Beast as he asked, "You ok, Beast? Don't let him get to you!" The Beast nodded, and he got up just as the Shadow Stalker dove into the windows in the back of the ballroom. His face then showed itself through the glass, and a giant flash of energy flashed across the floor, sending Kirito and Beast flying toward the others.
It then came out of the window and soared up into the chandelier, possessing it. It nearly landed on top of the other four, but they dove out of the way, but that didn't stop the shockwave to hit them. The six of them got off the ground, and saw that it started to spin as it fired energy blasts from either side. The gang dove behind the pillars as the beams crossed their paths, then they came out and started to lay waste to the chandelier.
Just as it looked worn from the attacks, Sora released it using the Keyblade, and the Shadow Stalker came flying out as the chandelier dove up back to normal. Kirito and Beast were closest to it, and the duo started to slash and claw the Heartless to pieces. Donald and Asuna started to fire Thunder and Blizzard attacks respectively at it. Sora and Goofy were attempting to rush in closer, but the Shadow Stalker saw them coming, and it got away from Kirito and Beast by diving back into the floor. "Your not getting away!" Sora shouted as he and Goofy looked all around the floor, searching for it.
The face of the Shadow Stalker appeared all right; underneath Sora and Goofy. It devoured the two, and it looked like it was munching on them before it spit the two out, sending them flying to the ground by where the Heartless was at. Donald and Asuna were rushing to them just as it dove into one of the pillars, and it started to move all of the pillars at once, causing them to thrash about like arms as they came out of the ground.
Asuna blocked one of them as Donald got in closer and healed the two. However, another pillar whipped around and smacked Asuna to one side, causing her to collapse near the Shadow Stalker's pillar. "Asuna!" Kirito cried as it saw the pillar raise itself on top of Asuna.
Just as it came flying down, Asuna evaded to one side, avoiding the attack, and leapt to her feet. Losing all patience now, she charged at the pillar the Heartless was possessing, and started furiously slashing and stabbing at it. Just as it was worn down, Asuna did something she had never done before; she released it this time with her own Keyblade, and it was sent flying towards the other five. "Get em`, guys!" she shouted, and the five of them jumped in and pretty much knocked him out.
The group then leapt back, seeing the work they did to it, Asuna joined up with them. "Did we get it?" Donald asked, seeing it float up into the air slowly and shakily. It paused for a minute, then it started flailing around, roaring in fury.
"Don't think so." Sora responded as it saw a black orb surrounding the body, cocooning it inside.
For a while it was like that, then suddenly it burst, revealing the Heartless, now transformed. It was a massive black beast, with teal thorns wrapping around its' body. It was no longer wrapped in chains, and its' arms were free, though there were manacles on its' wrists and ankles, and there were chains on its' legs. It had large red claw, orange horns, and wild orange mane. There was also a heart-shaped hole in its' chest.
"Now what?!" exclaimed Kirito, looking up at the monster before him.
"The Heartless evolved into the Dark Thorn!" Yui cried, "It's much stronger than before!" "And looking a lot more like the Beast!" Asuna compared, looking between it and the Beast.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Sora quoted, readying his Keyblade. The six of them charged at the new Heartless, ready for round two.
The Dark Thorn lost its' possessing powers, but it was able to turn invisible. It disappeared from eyesight, and the six of them stopped to look around. Suddenly, Asuna, Donald and Goofy were sent flying one direction, apparently slashed by the invisible Heartless, and they slammed into the walls, where they fell unconscious.
"Guys!" Sora shouted. "Asuna!" Kirito screamed, seeing his girlfriend lay there. Beast saw what happened, and lost all control as he started to slash anywhere and everywhere, attempting to hit the Dark Thorn.
Sora and Kirito stood back to back, their Keyblades raised. "How can we fight something we can't see?!" exclaimed Kirito.
Sora looked at the chandelier above them, and grinned. "Kirito, get yourself and the Beast out of the way." he warned him as he dashed to one of the pillars. He then hopped onto the pillar, and made an immense jump onto the top of the chandelier, and forced it down.
Kirito was trying to calm the Beast down when they saw it fall, and ran out of the way. "He's nuts!" Kirito shouted as he saw it land. Sora then started to twirl the chain around, causing the chandelier to start spinning around the room. It hit the Dark Thorn, forcing him to appear, then sending it flying, smacking into the walls closest to the Beast and Kirito, who didn't waste any time striking it.
Sora hopped off the chandelier just as it rose up to the ceiling again, and joined the fray. The trio were striking at it as it started to rush around on all fours. It stopped to meet them, and started to produce Possessors out of the floor. The Beast and Kirito were surrounded by them, but Sora bypassed them, and went straight for the main Heartless, striking him violently with his Keyblade.
Just as he was doing that, the Dark Thorn turned invisible and it grabbed Sora and flung him over to one of the pillars. Sora noticed where he was going, twisted around as he let go of his Keyblade. He grabbed the pillar, spun around it a few times, grabbed his Keyblade again, and slingshot himself at the place where the Dark Thorn was apparently at, striking him so hard that it sent him flying towards the window, making himself visible again.
Beast and Kirito got done with the Possessors, and charged at the Heartless as it charged at them. "Beast, let's go!" Kirito cried as his Keyblade started to glow. The Dark Thorn was about to spin into them, but the Beast protected Kirito with his cape. Then the two let out a furious roar, causing the Dark Thorn to recoil. Kirito was making a flurry of slashes while the Beast was slamming the ground, producing shockwaves that damaged the Heartless. Finally, they got up underneath it and stood back to back, and their combined howls created a burst of energy that sent Dark Thorn flying into the air.
When it was airborne, Kirito didn't waste any time, and went into Valor Form and made a high jump up to him. He was about to slash it, but the Dark Thorn grabbed the chain to the chandelier, and pulled himself away from Kirito's path. It used this moment, and slammed the chandelier to the ground, and started to spin it around like what Sora did to him.
It roared in amusement as it sent Sora and the Beast flying, but it then heard a war cry, and it looked up to see Kirito come flying down on it. "STOP HURTING MY FRIENDS!" Kirito angrily shouted, his eyes suddenly turning yellow. He used the speed of his fall to slash it down with his two Keyblades. The Heartless howled in pain, but Kirito was far from finishing him. He went into a blind rage, and started slashing and hacking it, having it step off the chandelier so it would go up again. Kirito was furious, and couldn't control himself. Finally, he did a cross slash, piercing right through it, and standing right behind the Heartless as it let out a howl of pain. It froze, standing up straight, looking above, then suddenly a burst of light appeared from its' body, and it vanished. It was over.
As the ballroom went back to normal, Kirito reverted back to normal and collapsed to his knees, breathing deeply. Everybody, including Asuna, Donald and Goofy, rushed over to him.
"That was intense!" Sora complimented him, patting his shoulder.
"Wha-what just happened?" Kirito asked, rubbing his head.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked, "You just defeated the Heartless."
"He means you went into another fighting spasm again." Asuna corrected him, grabbing underneath Kirito's arm and lifting him up.
"Oh, really?" he asked, shakily standing up straight.
"You don't remember?" the Beast asked.
"Kirito can sometimes get so intense in a battle, that he will even forget what he is doing." Asuna explained, causing the group to look back in surprise.
"Gawrsh, sound like you get pretty heated up out there." Goofy stated.
"You sure you ok?" Donald asked him.
"Yeah, I think so." Kirito responded, removing Asuna's arm so he can stand up on his own.
"Well, whatever just happened, we did it!" Sora cheered, Donald and Goofy cheering with him. Asuna giggled in amusement.
"So you think." replied a voice. The group turned to the entrance door, and saw the man in the black coat standing there.
"Xaldin!" roared the Beast as he and Sora charged at him.
"Farewell." the man said, and disappeared into a black portal again.
The group gathered behind the Beast as he stared at the spot he disappeared at. "What does he want here?" the Beast asked.
"He must be with Organization XIII." Sora guessed, making the Beast turn to him, "Ever heard of the Nobodies? When a strong-hearted person turns into a Heartless, a Nobody's created, too."
"See, the Organization has control of all the Nobodies." Asuna followed.
"That's right." Yui agreed, flying out of Kirito's pocket, "And they were gonna make you into a Heartless. That way, they could get that Nobody of yours and have control over it." Goofy and Sora nodded in agreement.
"You're all right!" Belle cried as she came out from outside.
"Belle!" the Beast said, rushing up to her, pleased to see her ok. Belle didn't look as happy to see him, though she turned to see Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Chip enter in. They gathered next to Sora, Kirito and the others as they watched the couple. "Belle," the Beast spoke, "I-I'm sorry. I...wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you." Belle shook her head and smiled at him, who responded with a toothy grin as he asked, "Forgive me."
"I know you weren't yourself." she replied, "You don't have to apologize." Then she looked seriously at him as she scolded, "But I had hoped...that you might have changed a little bit. I wish you could start trusting me." She folded her arms and looked away from the Beast, who looked down in shame.
"Oh, I am afraid time is running short." Lumiere moaned as he watched them.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked the four servants.
"Remember the rose?" Lumiere asked them.
"From the Beast's room?" Donald recalled.
"The glowing one in the glass?" Asuna described.
"Precisely." Cogsworth answered, "You see, if the master can learn to love, and earn love in return, before the last petal falls..."
"...the spell would be broken." Lumiere finished.
"Really?" Sora questioned, looking at Belle and the Beast, "You think he's gonna make it?"
"We think so." Mrs. Potts answered.
"I know so!" Asuna added.
"Yep. I think you're right." Goofy agreed.
"I hope you're right." Sora added.
Just then, Kirito walked up to Belle and the Beast, and cleared his throat to draw there attention. He looked a bit hesitant, then he started, "Listen, I...may not be the best when speaking about this...but I just want to ask that you guys don't lose the trust you guys already have with each other." He looked back at his friends as he continued, "After all, you should never lose hope in those you care for the most." The four friends smiled at him, who smiled in return. He turned back to the couple before him. "I know you had a tough time, Belle, but the Beast is willing to ask for a second chance. Please make sure you give him that."
Belle looked at Kirito for a second, then smiled. "I will, Kirito." she answered.
Just then, Sora's, Kirito's and Asuna's Keyblades produced themselves. The trio looked at their weapons, looked above, then looked at each other, and nodded in response as what to do. Up above them, Beast's rose and it's glass cage started to glow and float. They pointed their Keyblades downward together as they and the floating rose glowed brighter. Suddenly a crown mark appeared around them, and a strange energy surged around them as the surrounding changed into what looked like a bright sky with black clouds. The light from the rose suddenly bursted into the sky, and a large keyhole appeared. The trio jumped back, flipping their Keyblades around and pointing them at the keyhole. Three beams came from their Keyblades and shot themselves at the keyhole, and a sound of a lock unlocking was produced, along with a blinding light. Suddenly everything was back to normal.
"What happened?" the Beast asked as he and Belle walked towards them.
"The gate is open!" Donald cheered.
"Do you have to go?" Belle asked them.
"Yeah." Sora answered.
"Now, no more arguin`, ok?" warned Goofy. Belle and the Beast looked at one another, and the Beast looked a bit embarrassed.
"You guys take of them." Yui asked the servants.
"We'll see to it." Lumiere responded, bowing to the group.
"Take care, dears." Mrs. Potts said to them.
"Bye, you guys!" Chip squeaked, "Come back and play with me, Yui!"
"I will do that!" Yui answered.
"You're welcome here anytime!" Cogsworth told them. Yui flew onto Asuna's shoulder and waved at them.
Sora turned to Belle and the Beast. "If you hear anything about Riku, the King, or a guy named DiZ, the Heartless, the Organization, anything at all, let us know!" He told them. They nodded in response. "Okay, gotta go!" Sora stated as he, Donald and Goofy waved in goodbye.
"Take care!" waved Asuna.
"You guys be safe, okay?" Kirito told them, then the group walked away to the entrance door.
As they left, another element orb came out of nowhere and fell in front of the Keyblade trio.
"That's the Cure element." Yui explained, "That will allow you to use Cure magic, which is a healing spell."
"Sounds great to me." Asuna stated as the trio touched the orbs, and they dove inside of them, allowing themselves to use the magic.
"You know," Asuna told Kirito, "I think you might've grown up a bit just now."
"Huh?" What's that suppose to mean?" Kirito asked confused.
"Oh, I don't know." she answered with a cheeky expression, "You should think about it." She then rushed off.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?!" Kirito shouted, racing after her as she giggled. The other three ran off behind them, on to their next adventure.