The Time Break Saga 2: Silver Linings

by The Unplanner

Continuation after Dark Clouds. Riku and Lambda are back in the Realm of Light, but the Organization isn't through with them yet. Meanwhile, a LOT of time passed in the world of the Azure, and a connection between times has been forged. Xemnas and Terumi's plans collide, which is guaranteed to mess up our heroes' first date. COMPLETE!

14. Get OUT!

Silver Linings

Chapter 14: "Get OUT!"

A/N: This took forever, comparatively, because I recently made the mistake of watching RWBY. I was instantly hooked, and I couldn't escape the fandom vortex without leaving behind a set of OCs. They have intro scenes posted on the site, as some of you have already seen. And I've been toying with a scene or three for Iron Combat: War in the Air, a cheap 3DS downloadable game with a lot of jets, a lot of missiles, a pair of cute anime robot girls, and not a lot of storyline. My theoretical scenes (I'm thinking of calling the story "Logic Failure") would try to improve that last point, but working on that would delay this chapter too long. So here we go! Blast off into Stardust Sweep!

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Blast off! Stardust Sweep!

"Hold on, here we go!" Sora maneuvered the Gummi Ship cleanly into the Keyhole-shaped rift, passing from the shiny warp tunnel into an asteroid field. The space rocks were far enough apart to not really hinder flight, but a batch of enemy fighters immediately warped in front of the ship. Donald, ever quick on the draw, switched the firing mode to Full Auto (and never switched it back ever again) and pulled a trigger to release a stream of orange shots, laying waste to the line of Nobody-marked craft as they passed in front of the Highwind. Sora maneuvered cleanly around the red shots that were fired back by any surviving Nobodies, trying to keep the line of enemies in Donald's sights. The whole exchange lasted five seconds, and at the end, the score was Highwind: 25, Nobodies: 0. "I wonder how many of those swarms there could be?" Sora wondered aloud as he flew over the surface of a massive asteroid.

The asteroid in question could be considered a moon if there was a planet beneath it, so there was plenty of space for Nobody tanks to line up on the surface as Sora passed over them. Donald realized that the aiming sights of the two Fire-Gs and the Blizzard-G (which shot blue bolts at two angles away from the center of the Fire-G shots) were independent of the Gummi Ship's flight path, which was itself handled separately from the ship's ability to move up, down, left, and right. So, he and Sora worked out a pattern that would strafe the tanks below them without any risk of crashing into the ground. Meanwhile, Goofy plotted the fastest general flight path that would take them through the "Stardust Sweep" combat zone without running into any asteroids or World Walls. This was a surprisingly twisty path, but at least the heroes didn't have to worry about sticking to the path while dodging enemy fire.

Goofy looked up while Sora and Donald were concentrating on wiping out some larger tanks, and alerted them to a yellow drone with two conical extensions and a long tail, hovering a little too close for comfort. Sora rolled the ship left, barely clearing the explosion as the yellow Nobody self-destructed. "Yikes, that was too close!" Goofy held onto his hat until the ship stopped rolling.

"Hey, I bet we could use that!" Sora shot at another drone bomb as it appeared, causing its explosion to destroy a whole stream of the smaller blue fighters. "Yes! It worked!"

"I think we might need a few more bright ideas..." Donald pointed out a large, flying saucer-shaped enemy spinning ahead of them. Suddenly, it stopped spinning and sprouted a head with a Heartless Emblem, a pointless dangling tail, and six weapon-studded arms. "Wak! Not good! Lock on...! Fire!" Donald ceased the constant barrage of Fire-G shots to divert power to the Thunder-G homing lasers, which fired in a burst of three and took out that many arms on the Heartless mecha. Sora pulled some evasive maneuvers to dodge return fire as Donald locked on again, and the second salvo destroyed the other arms. Donald switched to pouring Fire-G shots on the mecha as it jerked around in space, enraged by the loss of its limbs. It wasn't long before it retaliated, launching a stream of red shots even more numerous than Donald's salvo. Sora was forced to swerve in a sort of circle to keep ahead of the shots, throwing off Donald's aim in favor of not getting shot down. "Aw, phooey!" Donald switched back to lasers and got off three salvos in between dizzying rolls of the Gummi Ship. At last, the giant Heartless exploded, leaving behind an orb of Light that encased some kind of Gummi Blocks.

Goofy activated the Highwind's tractor field to draw in their prize, then leaned over into a handy slot beside his seat to throw up. "Gawrsh, I hope we don't have to roll so much all the time!"

"I dunno about you two, but I had a great time," Sora grinned as he steered around some strange Nobodies throwing rings of energy at the ship. It turned out that going through the middle of the ring was the easiest and safest way to avoid them.

Donald whooped as he blasted a few more of them, including one that glowed bright red and gave them another Gummi Block bundle as compensation for the extra hits it took to destroy it. "Yeah, take that!"

Sora chanced taking his eyes off the battlefield to check on Goofy, who didn't seem to be having as much fun. "I'm sure that when we figure out what those Teeny Ship things are, you'll have just as much of a blast using them as we do over here. In the meantime, could you point out incoming fighters?"

"Yeah, I guess I could... Dodge! Giant Heartless incoming!" Goofy suddenly yelped, and Sora snapped back to attention just in time to swerve around the spinning Heartless that drilled through the area the Highwind had just vacated...and all the Nobodies that had just entered the same space. The massive Heartless spun backward to face the Gummi Ship with the ends of its four prongs, which were covered in guns. Sora was forced to almost constantly spin the ship to deflect fire, with Goofy hanging on for dear life while Donald switched back and forth between shots and lasers to hit the "Hunter" (identified by Goofy's console, but what difference did its name make?) in any openings that appeared. At last, the giant Heartless began to erupt in a chain of explosions, leaving behind a Gummi Block orb and a few final purple shots that actually hit, creating the first damage the Highwind had ever sustained. "Aw... Gonna be sick again..."

"I'm with Goofy," Donald moaned.

"No more...barrel rolls...until we get off this thing," Sora agreed as he finally gave in to the extreme motion sickness caused by the constant spinning, although he managed to avoid throwing up.

"Well, it looks like that's the exit," Goofy pointed out a shiny spot in the space ahead as they escaped a tunnel that cut through another huge asteroid, "but it looks like we'll have to blast our way there." There were hundreds of smaller meteoroids between the Highwind and the exit, and at the speed they were traveling, there would be no way to dodge them all.

"I've got it!" Donald proceeded to blast a clear path through the asteroids such that no space rocks ever collided with the Gummi Ship, although there were a few close calls that made Goofy cringe. Faster, faster... Clear! The Highwind sailed through the Keyhole portal and back into normal inter-world space.

"All things considered, that was a pretty good flight. I needed to get used to the controls again, but I think I've got the hang of it now." Sora leaned back in his seat as the autopilot eased the Gummi Ship into orbit around a new world, designated "Beast's Castle."

"Wait, does that mean we could've crashed?!" Donald yelped. He'd thought Sora still had it under control from the last adventure.

"No, the flight path wouldn't let us go off course, remember?" Goofy tried to reason.

"Yeah, but-" Donald was cut off as the Gummi Ship's teleporter sent the heroes down to the new world's surface.

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Meanwhile, in Halloween Town...

Riku and Lambda stepped out of the Dark Corridor into Halloween Town. The area looked like a normal town square for public gatherings at first glance, but a closer look revealed a fountain with a dragon head that sucked up and spewed the green, acidic "water" in its basin, vents that blasted geysers of poison on anyone who took a wrong step, and a couple free-standing guillotines that were just waiting to decapitate anyone who walked below. Lambda summed it up. "These are some deadly tricks, but where are the treats?"

Riku looked around for any sign of the Heartless, but the only one that popped up was a tiny Creepworm. Small, gray, many-legged, and generally harmless, Creepworms were actually kind of cute, and tended to run away rather than attack. For a Heartless, this was counter-intuitive, but Riku had seen some strange-acting Heartless before. He guessed the Creepworm was holding large sums of munny, and went in with his Soul Eater, but before he reached the little Heartless, it vanished in a blur of motion. "What...?"

"Watch out, Riku!" Lambda rushed in and yanked Riku back, having caught what happened to the poor Creepworm. Most Heartless weren't called "poor" after their demise, but then again, most Heartless weren't swallowed whole by the tentacles of one of their own. The tripartite claws/jaws of five more Tentaclaws burst out of the ground around Riku's previous position, searching for more yummy hearts to eat. Lambda shot a sword at the nearest one, severing its mouth. The remains of the stalk retreated underground, but Lambda's scans indicated it was merely regenerating. "These things are connected somewhere. Let's find the source!"

Riku groaned. "Right. Only problem is, getting around here is almost as confusing as Wonderland. We'll need to know where we're going, or we'll just get lost. Do you have a fix on where it is?" As Lambda continued to scan, Riku chopped up a few more Tentaclaws. For every black tentacle Riku severed, three more would appear. Apparently, the heroes had gotten the attention of whatever giant, cannibalistic Heartless controlled these things.

"Locked on! It's in the manor ruins, past the graveyard. I was taken there in the middle of fighting Xion, so I can make us a Corridor right there."

"Fighting who?" Riku wondered.

"Oh, right. I'm the only one who seems to remember her, but I'll try to get around to fixing everyone's memories someday. Right now, though, we have a giant Heartless covered in cannibalistic tentacles to weed out." Lambda opened the Corridor and pulled Riku through.

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Oogie's Manor Ruins: Defeat the Leechgrave!

Riku gaped at their target's main body. "Yikes, that thing's huge!" The thing in question, called the Leechgrave by Lambda's apparently-omniscient data link, stood more than three stories tall on four thick, green legs, each covered in nasty spikes. They supported a purple, onion-shaped bulb with a typical yellow-eyed Heartless face, and under that bulb hung a giant coffin with the Heartless Emblem on the lid. The coffin seemed to be chained shut, but Lambda reported that it could easily open wide enough to reveal any nasty surprises the Leechgrave kept in there. A yellow eye could be seen through a hole in the lid, suggesting that whatever was hiding in there was either extremely dangerous, contained the boss' weak point, or both.

As soon as the Leechgrave spotted the intruders in its territory, its bulb began to vibrate, and then it split open to spew sickly green spores in a noxious cloud around itself. Riku and Lambda decided not to risk touching that obviously harmful dust, and instead launched a Dark Firaga and a summoned sword at the coffin. While they did some minor damage with these projectiles, it was only enough to anger the monster.

Five Tentaclaws abruptly sprung from the solid stone ground to loosely surround the two heroes, who took care of the nuisances in short order. Oddly enough, while destroying the Tentaclaws didn't harm the main Leechgrave, the legs and coffin collapsed to the ground in fatigue as soon as the last peripheral tentacle was severed. The spore-filled bulb deflated, and a pair of massive claw-like hands fell out of the coffin, lying limply on the ground. Riku didn't waste the chance, and flashed into melee range to hack away at the coffin and the claws. Anything Riku could reach was swiftly gouged through, but Lambda warned him to back away as the claws began to twitch again. The warning came just in time; the massive scratches the Leechgrave attempted as it raised itself upright missed their chance to lop off Riku's head by inches.

Lambda suddenly felt something slimy wrap around her armored leg, and she realized belatedly that she'd focused too much on Riku's performance. Now she was in an extremely unsavory situation, being pulled into the mouth of a fresh Tentaclaw by its long red tongue. She had just enough time to scream before it swallowed her whole...

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Beast's Castle: Entrance Hall...

Sora, Donald, and Goofy wandered around the large, gloomy entryway to Beast's Castle. "I wonder who lives here?" Sora wondered aloud, which caused even Goofy to wonder if Sora could possibly be that clueless.

Before either of his companions could state the obvious, the whole castle shook with the force of a massive roar. "Well, Sora, do you recognize that?" Donald asked as a leading question.

"It's the Beast! I guess this is his castle." Sora clapped a fist against his palm, like he'd just solved an intricate mystery.

Goofy chuckled. Part of him was surprised that Sora missed it, and another part was just glad someone else got dinged for acting a little dim once in a while. "A-hyuck! You couldn't tell from the world's name?"

Sora sputtered defensively. "W-well, I didn't think it meant anything! We never met anyone named 'Wonder' in Wonderland, did we? Let's just see if there's anything we can help him with."

"Well, we should look 'round here first," Goofy pointed out. "We need ta figure out which doors lead where."

"Heartless!" Donald yelped, pointing out a flattened Shadow. The weak Pureblood slipped under a side door that had been left slightly ajar. The heroes ran after it, assuming it was stalking someone who lived here.

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Beast's Castle: Parlor...

The door opened into a very nice parlor with a warm fire burning in an expensive fireplace. The fancy decor didn't really seem like the Beast's style, but there were deep scratches on the wooden table and shreds in the wallpaper, showing the fallout from one of his epic temper tantrums. Overall, though, the room didn't seem all that dangerous... And the Shadow Donald had chased in here was nowhere to be seen.

Donald stepped further into the room, looking left and right for an ambush. "Where did that little guy go...?" The magician suddenly got distracted by a glowing object on a table in the corner. It was a round glass case, and inside was a single red rose, blooming beautifully despite the lack of soil or water. As it floated upright in space, plainly a result (or a source) of some powerful magic, it cast a muted pink glow over everything nearby. As Donald approached, enthralled as usual by shiny objects, he almost tripped over the Shadow, which had suddenly pulled out of the ground in front of him. "Wak! Found it!"

"Found some more!" Goofy called out. The heroes had walked right into an ambush, and were now surrounded by dozens of Shadows. Under normal circumstances, these foes would be a breeze to defeat, but they just kept coming in droves.

"Okay," Sora huffed after smacking down a twentieth Shadow, "I've seen plenty of Heartless ambushes, but they tend to just pop up out of nowhere. Heartless shouldn't be smart enough to lead us into a trap."

"Ya think someone might be controlling 'em?" Goofy asked, as he repelled a leaping slash with his shield.

"It doesn't matter who did it, if we can't end these things! Somebody help us!" Donald yelled as loud as he could.

Almost immediately, his plea was answered by the parlor door banging open. Filling the doorway was a very angry Beast. As the brown-furred master of the castle stomped into the room, several Heartless tried to leap at him, but they were smashed into walls with no effort. The Beast didn't even have to look at the monsters he was crushing, and this time, the instantly defeated Shadows were not replaced.

Sora cheered and waved at their savior. "Just in time!" The Beast didn't respond, but instead backhanded Sora across the room with as much ease as he had to the Shadows.

"Hey!" Donald and Goofy tried to protest, but were batted aside. The Beast paid no heed to the damage, focused on scooping up the glass-encased rose, cradling the item with a sudden gentleness that starkly contrasted his treatment of everyone and everything else.

"Hey, Beast, what's wrong?" Sora tried to place a hand on the Beast's shoulder, but stopped short as waves of burning red energy began to rise from the purple-caped creature's fur. The Beast's aura of pure, tangible anger flared up like an explosion as he suddenly roared right in Sora's ear, knocking the Keyblade wielder over with the sheer force of his voice. The flames of his rage then mostly dissipated as he carried the rose out of the room without uttering a single word of explanation. Sora picked himself off the ground, digging a finger in his ear to try and restore his hearing. "What's his deal? We've got to find out what happened to him." Brushing dust off of his pants, Sora led the party back to the entrance hall.

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Back in the Entrance Hall...

Donald rushed ahead suddenly, making a beeline for the sweeping staircase that led to the East Wing. "I could have sworn I saw a lady up there..." Donald frowned at the doorway atop the stairs.

Goofy reasoned, "Well, if this castle belongs to the Beast, then that lady must've been Belle, right?"

Sora agreed. "Let's talk to her. Maybe she knows what's wrong with the Beast." The trio climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway in the East Wing, casting nervous glances at the intimidating gargoyle statues lining the hall. They looked a little too life-like...

Soon, the heroes could make out muffled sobbing from the one door at the end of the hall. "I'll handle this!" Donald wound up and charged at the door before the other two could stop him. Maybe he expected the door to be locked, or maybe he thought some monstrous Heartless was attacking Belle on the other side, but the door swung instantly out of the way, as though consciously avoiding Donald's rush. He plowed through empty air, overbalanced, and toppled into Belle's bedroom. Belle, of course, noticed the ruckus instantly, and her tears stopped as she gasped and scooped Donald into a tight hug.

"Donald, it's so good to see you again!" Belle looked over her captive's shoulder, and gasped again at, "Sora, Goofy! Why are you here?"

Meanwhile, Donald struggled against the suffocating embrace, repeatedly emitting muffled cries of "Put me down! Put me down!" Belle suddenly realized how tightly she'd been hugging the poor duck, and release him all at once.

"Oops! Sorry!" Donald just groaned incoherently, his eyes spinning in two different directions as he recovered some of his lost oxygen and figured out which way was up.

Sora replied for him, "It's okay. We were just passing through, looking for problems with Heartless or Nobodies. We also met the Beast, but he didn't seem to recognize us."

Belle's mood instantly fell. "Oh, yes. He's been like that all day and yesterday. He won't talk to me, and he locked up all his servants in the dungeon!"

"What?! Why would he do that?" Sora yelped. Sure, the Beast had enough anger issues for a two-year subscription, but back in Hollow Bastion, he'd always channeled it into attacks against the real problems. He'd always cared, in his own stubborn way. Heck, the only reason he was at Hollow Bastion instead of ending up in Traverse Town or worse was because he'd willed himself there for the sole purpose of saving Belle. How could such focused heroism turn into directionless rage like this?

"I don't know, but I hope he gets better soon," Belle murmured sadly. Then she got an idea. "Hey, while you're here, could you free the servants from the dungeon in the West Wing? It's the best idea I've got right now."

"Sure thing!" Sora grinned. "That's what the Keyblade does, after all!"

"That's wonderful!" Belle cheered. Then she looked a bit worried. "Just be careful out there. And don't be fooled by the way the servants look; I don't think they're what you're expecting."

"No problem!" Sora waved as he led the way back out of the bedroom.

"I wonder what Belle meant by that...?" Goofy mumbled as they walked back down the hallway.

"Whatever she meant, it can't be weirder than Wonderland, can it?" Sora pointed out.

"Don't jinx it!" Donald yelped. Too late; the Gargoyle Knights along the wall of the hallway broke free of the floor and attacked. They proved to be immune to Donald Thunder and Sora's Blizzard spell, but took damage from the party's weapons well enough. Goofy blocked a diving stab from one of them, and the repelled Gargoyle knight slumped over. A clump of Darkness pushed partway out of its head, and Sora realized that the statue was being possessed by that Heartless. He took a quick guess at what to do, and fired the Keyblade's unlocking beam at the Possessor, evicting it from the statue. The Gargoyle Knight crumbled to dust, and the Possessor floated away into the ceiling. Goofy smashed another one normally, and that one's Possessor also escaped.

After Sora smashed the final Gargoyle Knight, he dismissed the Keyblade. "I wonder where those Heartless went? I hope they don't come back to bug us later..."

Donald practically threw a fit. "I told you so! Stop asking whether it can get worse! Asking that makes it worse!"

"Oh. Oops. I'll just keep my mouth shut then..." Sora rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, but quickly composed himself and led the way to the West Wing.

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Oogie's Manor Ruins: Defeat the Leechgrave quickly!

Riku whipped around when Lambda cried out, and saw a grotesque bulge travel down the stalk of a Tentaclaw. Riku's vision went red, and before he realized what was happening, all the Tentaclaws were destroyed, and the Leechgrave's coffin lay splintered under his repeated bashes. The giant Heartless collapsed for good, and all across Halloween Town, Tentaclaws melted into the ground.

Riku didn't care about how many people (and Heartless) he'd just saved, though. As he ran out of targets, the all-consuming rage he'd unleashed on the monster fell away, leaving a pit of choking despair. Lambda was gone, eaten by this ugly monster in the process of saving the Heartless. Riku fell to his knees and pounded the ground while he cried his eyes out.

After a few seconds of bawling that he didn't care if anyone saw, Riku became aware of a strange sloshing sound from the Leechgrave's corpse, which had yet to disappear. Riku growled and readied his sword. "Dammit, why won't you just die alread-" The deflated bulb suddenly exploded, and Lambda stumbled out of it. She was covered in green gunk, her hair was a mess, and Riku couldn't imagine a more beautiful sight. He ran to meet her, but before he could hug her, she slumped to the side and fell over. Her armor vanished. "No... The poison?" Riku started to panic, but he knew he could still save her. He had no Elixirs, he couldn't cast Cure or Esuna, and he (ironically) couldn't contact Mickey without Lambda's help, but there was a resident of this world who he was certain could purge the toxins from his girlfriend. He scooped her up, trying to ignore her labored breathing, and formed a Dark Corridor to Doctor Finkelstein's lab.

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Doctor Finkelstein's Laboratory...

As soon as Riku emerged from the portal, he shouted, "Doctor Finkelstein! You've got to help Lambda!"

"Who dares disrupt my thinking? I'm in the middle of an experiment!" The pale-skinned scientist didn't swivel his wheelchair around yet, but he stopped rubbing his brain and closed the lid on his skull, so Riku at least had his attention.

"I'm Riku. Quick, can you purge the poison from Lambda? She doesn't have much time!"

Doctor Finkelstein swiveled around to face Riku, but his goggles focused entirely on Lambda. "Ah, what an impressive device you have there! I'll have to take a look. Lay her on the table."

Riku did so, but warned, "Don't cut her open or anything. I just need to get the Leechgrave poison out of her."

The doctor scoffed at Riku's concern. "Oh, is that all? I was hoping for a challenge! Ever since those Tentaclaws started popping up, I've been waiting to get a chance to test this antidote!" He pulled a vial of bubbling green liquid from a pocket on his wheelchair, and immediately tipped the questionable fluid down Lambda's throat.

"Are you sure that'll..." Riku started to say.

"Of course I'm sure! My formula is perfect! And this time I mean it! There aren't any holes in the theory, like in that failed heart I produced last year! Look, it's already working!" Indeed, the color began to return to Lambda's cheeks as Riku watched, and Doctor Finkelstein set to work wiping the green gunk off of her with a black rag. Soon, Lambda's breathing went back to normal.

Riku heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Doctor! I won't forget this. How much does it cost?"

"Don't bother paying me back. Science is its own reward! You just let me test an experimental antidote, after all!"

Riku gaped at him. "You mean it might not have worked?"

Doctor Finkelstein waved away Riku's accusation of malpractice with a black-gloved hand. "Of course it was going to work! My designs are always perfect! Now take that amazing construct out of my lab before I'm tempted to reverse-engineer it." Riku got the hint, scooped up Lambda, and made a hasty retreat through the lab's undersized door.

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Halloween Town Square...

Riku looked down as Lambda finally stirred awake. She blinked a few times and looked up. "Riku...? What happened? The last thing I remember is something grabbing my leg."

"You got eaten by a Tentaclaw, and I sort of went nuts on the Leechgrave. I was so sure you were gone, but then you broke out of it yourself, and I was so glad! Its spores poisoned you, though, and you fell unconscious, so I took you to a...doctor here to get you healed. It's only been a few minutes since that."

"Then that's another one I owe you, Riku! I hope we're still even." Lambda smiled, then motioned to be set down. As soon as she was standing upright, Riku crushed her in a hug and forcefully kissed her right on the lips.

"Just don't scare me like that again..." Riku released Lambda from the squeeze, holding onto only her arms.

Lambda smiled up at him. "I'll do my best. I guess you were right earlier, though. Death threats do speed up a relationship."

Riku glared in a threat that was only half-joking. "I hope that doesn't mean you'll do it again on purpose."

Lambda grinned. "Of course not, dear! The whole ordeal was disgusting."

Riku froze up. "...D-dear?"

Lambda smiled in a way that was half joking, half affectionate. "Well, I wanted a title that says 'I love you', but that might have been a bit too sappy..." She adopted a thoughtful expression as she started running a search of her thesaurus for better terms. She'd just pushed past "beloved" and "devout" (too formal...unrelated...) when Riku grabbed her arm and tugged her into a Dark Corridor.

"If you can joke like that, you're fine. Let's get moving... Dear." Riku grumbled under his breath. Before the Darkness covered them, Lambda caught a glimpse of him giving her his own warm smile. It wouldn't be until much later that she would realize Riku's real face was superimposed over Ansem's in her view, but for now she appreciated the lengths her boyfriend was willing to go to protect her, and vowed to help him in return.

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Beast's Castle: The West Wing...

Stepping into the West Wing, Sora's party was immediately struck by how different it looked from the rest of the castle. It had warm brown walls and red carpets, and the halls were much higher and more spacious. Odd, then, that this was the path to the dungeons.

Sora reached the end of the hall and didn't see any doors labeled "Dungeon" or otherwise in plain sight. A staircase ascended to what was probably the Beast's master bedroom (the idea that the Beast owned the whole castle was taking some time to sink in), but it was blocked by suits of armor. Unlike the Gargoyle Knights, these suits didn't attack, but they blocked every effort Sora made to get past them, like the most effective blitzball goalies of all time. Their shields even repelled the Keyblade, though the armor didn't use their long spears to strike back.

Finally, Goofy decided to just ask nicely. "Um, excuse us, sirs, but do you know which way leads to the dungeon?" The armors didn't speak, but they did point at the wall opposite the stairs, specifically at a wardrobe leaning there all by itself.

Sora facepalmed. "Man, now I feel stupid."

Donald grumbled, "I told you there was something off about that wardrobe!"

Goofy pointed out, "You can't solve every problem by whackin' it on the head, ya know." He rubbed a spot where he often got whacked on the head, to demonstrate that repeated head injuries hadn't stopped the Captain of the King's Royal Knights from fighting the forces of Darkness with nothing but a shield. Which, now that he thought about it, sort of made Goofy himself a problem, but oh well. He couldn't be expected to be the smart one every time, either.

"I get the picture." Sora moved over to the wardrobe and shoved it aside, revealing a green door. "Now, let's go!"

"Do you mind?" came a disgruntled female voice from Sora's left, right before something large and wooden smacked him off his feet. He looked up from the floor just in time to see the Wardrobe (now clearly deserving of a capital letter for her name) scoot back into place in front of the door, and her human-like face disappeared as she fell back asleep.

"What in the world...?" Sora yelped, but quieted down as the Wardrobe snorted in her sleep. He whispered, "Okay, I guess we have to move her without waking her. I can do it if I just push slo-"

"WHAT THE BLEEP?!" The new voice from directly above Sora's head was notable for several reasons. First, it was one none of those present had heard before. Second, it was LOUD. Third, it hadn't used any curses; the large, muscular man who fell on Sora's head actually said the word "bleep." The man jumped to his feet with a cry of "Ukemi!" Then he looked around, taking in the unfamiliar baroque architecture, the strange creatures standing nearby, gasping at something beneath him...and Sora, who was still pinned under his boots. "Oh! My apologies, child! I will remove myself from your back now. Jump!" The man called out unnecessarily as he hopped off Sora's back and allowed the Keyblade wielder to stand up. He stood to best show off his muscular chest, which was left uncovered by the green sleeves and padded shoulders he wore, which couldn't really be called a shirt. He also wore some baggy, green pants, metal bracers that covered his wrists, and a bright red scarf. In terms of weapons, he only visibly carried an enormous nail, like one that would be used in woodcraft, except it was exactly fifty-five inches long, wrapped in another red scarf just below the head of the nail, and it stuck to his back through some unknown force that reminded Sora of Cloud's Buster Sword. His brown hair was somewhat spiky, but unlike Sora's untameable explosion of hair, the boisterous man's hairdo seemed to be deliberately gelled in place (and Sora's natural spikes were still spikier).

"I'm not a kid! My name's Sora! Where did you even come from... Um... Whoever you are?" Sora asked while rubbing his sore back, unfortunately setting himself up for the incoming intro speech.

"You ask of my origins? I, BANG SHISHIGAMI, am a ninja of the Shishigami Clan, and a hero of love and justice who hails from the ill-fated lands of Ikaruga! Even now I seek to ease my people's pain and bring the wretched Jin Kisaragi to face his punishment under the burning hammer of justice!" Bang Shishigami (who will be henceforth referred to only by his full name) shouted while thrusting his finger at a random wall.

Sora was going to ask him to please tone down the volume, but the Wardrobe beat the boy to it. "I was just about to settle into a nice, long nap, when I was so rudely interrupted. It looked like this boy had learned his lesson and I might get some well-deserved beauty rest, but no-o-oo! An even more loud-mouthed brute had to actually fall out of the ceiling! Well, since I'm obviously never going to actually get any sleep, what are you doing here, and not in this 'Ikaruga' place?"

Bang Shishigami, for once in his life, was unable to form a long-winded reply to these accusations. Instead, he turned to Sora, the most normal-looking person in the area (and that was stretching the definition of "normal" quite a bit). He spoke in what he clearly thought was a whisper, complete with a cupped hand to try and muffle the noise in the Wardrobe's direction. "Is that wardrobe...talking to me?"

"That's what I was going to ask before you showed up. But yeah, she is," Sora whispered back while clearing some earwax that Bang Shishigami had knocked loose with his so-called whispering. "I've seen a lot of crazy things, but this is at least third place. You're second place, by the way."

It fell to Goofy to once again be the voice of reason. "Excuse me, ma'am, but can we get through that door? We were trying to rescue some servants from the dungeon."

The Wardrobe immediately dropped her attitude of drowsy grumpiness. "Oh, why didn't you just say so? Yes, go right on through. The dungeon is dark and damp. Certainly no place for a clock!"

"Huh?" Sora wondered. "A clock?"

"You'll see soon enough. I'm counting on you, dears! I'll just be on my way; I've got to check on Belle!" The Wardrobe hopped down the hall, leaving everyone even more confused than before.

Bang Shishigami scratched his head for a moment. "My mind is overwhelmed, but... You say there are wrongly-imprisoned innocents through this door? We must rescue them!"

Donald was opposed to letting Bang Shishigami tag along, to say the least. "Okay, two things. One, stop saying redundant things. Two, who said you get to come with us? We have it covered just fine!" Donald stomped over and yanked open the door, letting a cold draft blow through.

"What harm could he do?" Sora asked. "We don't know if the Beast put any guards in the way."

Bang Shishigami jumped on the wrong part of Sora's argument. "To what nefarious beast do you refer? I, BANG SHISHIGAMI, will smite this Beast in the name of love and justice!" Bang Shishigami punctuated his declaration with another manly finger point at nothing in particular.

"Okay, now I get what you're saying, Donald," Sora muttered as an aside before trying to reason with the new loudmouth. As if Donald wasn't loud enough, and to make matters worse the new guy smelled like he didn't know what a shower was. At least the Gummi Ship cleaned Sora and co. of sweat and other contaminants whenever they boarded, to prevent diseases from spreading between worlds. What was this guy's excuse? Anyway, "The Beast is actually a friend of ours. We're trying to figure out why he changed all of a sudden, and our best lead right now is getting his servants out of the dungeon."

"These servants serve the Beast? Does that mean this is the Beast's castle?" Bang Shishigami tried to puzzle out the strange situation.

"That's what the castle's called, yep!" Goofy confirmed. "Something doesn't add up, though. If the Beast was really mad at his servants, he would have smashed them, not locked them up. He doesn't keep people around if he doesn't like them. So maybe he's not too far gone after all!"

"And you two! Are you beastkin of some sort?" Bang suddenly noticed the anthropomorphic dog and duck, having sort of glossed over their presence in his mind ever since arriving.

"Are we what?" Donald asked suspiciously.

"Nope, we're Donald and Goofy!" Goofy stated, just in case it wasn't obvious.

"I don't think I've ever heard that word before," Sora noted. "Are you from some other world?"

Bang Shishigami went deep into thought, or at least gave an exaggerated impression of doing so. "As preposterous as that theory sounds, it would explain many things. But if I have indeed fallen into a completely different world, how did I do so? More importantly, how will I return? The people of Ikaruga need my fists!"

The Wardrobe yelled from around the corner. "That's what I was asking!" Apparently she'd decided not to leave just yet in favor of gathering gossip material for when her friends were freed.

Goofy thought over the events since the large, sweaty man arrived. "Well, you did fall from the ceiling. Maybe there's something up... Whoa-oh!" Goofy pointed up at the distortion that had dropped Bang Shishigami into the room.

"What in the world...worlds...is that?!" Bang Shishigami hollered.

Donald took a look at it. "It looks like a portal of some kind. You could probably just jump back through." He might not be quite on the level of Merlin, but he didn't have the title of official Royal Magician for nothing. He gauged the height of the portal, which was floating several meters off the ground. "Can you jump that high?"

Bang barked out a laugh. "Ha! Ha, I say! Even if I, BANG SHISHIGAMI, could not jump to that height, which I most certainly can, I can simply run up the wall! After all, I am a ninja! Toh!" Bang Shishigami did indeed jump halfway to the portal, air-dash to the wall, run straight up the wall, and leap off back through the rift, leaving Sora to re-evaluate the man's skills and claims.

"Between that guy and Yuffie, I can't tell if they have no idea what a ninja is, or if I'm the one who was taught wrong." Sora shook his head and turned back toward the dungeon, but had to whip back around as another strange man thumped to the ground.

"Aw, man! Bang could've at least told me this thing would drop me ten feet straight down!" The newcomer grumbled with a good-natured sigh as he stood up and brushed off his expensive clothes. He wore a white dress shirt with a few of the top buttons open, black pants, and a black coat that seemed to function as more of a cape tied around his neck. He also wore several belts, some of which were merely cosmetic representations of how tough he was. He probably didn't need the extra belts for that boast, since the weapon magically adhered to this stranger's back was an enormous, rectangular, black sword with red markings outlining the edges, a sword slightly larger in all dimensions than even Cloud's Buster Sword. Sora never thought he'd see the day Cloud's sword could look small. The man regarded Sora and co. with sharp eyes that wouldn't be out of place on a predator of some sort, though Sora could sort of tell that his friendly grin was genuine. The swordsman flipped one of his longish black locks out of his face and asked, "Okay, which one of you three is the Keyblade wielder?"

Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and took up a fighting stance. "How many random people are going to show up and try to take the Keyblade from me before I'm done with these journeys? It's getting really old!"

The newcomer waved his hands in a gesture of apology. "Whoa, whoa! I'm not here to take your Keyblade, kid. I just need you to shoot that Time Break up there with it when I give the signal."

"I'm not a kid! I'm Sora!" Sora repeated. "And who are you, anyway?"

"I go by many names," the man coolly bragged. "Kagura, Kagura the Black Knight, Kagura Mutsuki, heir to the most powerful noble family in the Duodecim, Lady Killer, Kagura the Almighty Sexiest, and Beer Pong Champion. The second-to-last one depends on who you ask. But none of those really matter here, and I'm trying to make sure it stays that way."

"Okay... What's a Time Break?"

Kagura pointed over his head. "That rip up there. You know, the one that's slowly expanding and will eventually gobble up both our universes? I'm especially miffed at this one, because it showed up and dumped Bang here right when I was trying to explain stuff to him. Now we might have to postpone that talk, although I'm sure my baby here," Kagura patted his massive sword, "will get through his thick skull if he refuses to listen again. But listen to me, prattling on about top secret rebellions...that you never. Heard. About!" Kagura made sure to emphasize that last part, putting a finger to his lips and everything. Then he pulled a small device out of a pocket on his coat (his pants were too tight to comfortably put things in the pockets) and called, "Kokonoe, I've found that Sora kid you mentioned. Yeah, just let me jump back through before you fire up Tager's newest toy. Over." Kagura replaced the walkie-talkie and addressed Sora again. "When you see the Time Break get all rainbow-y, lock it with the Keyblade. You might run into more of these things later, but my group will be there to help you shut them on our end. Quick and steady, now. Maybe it's the hair, but you look like someone who puts in a lot of extra flashy moves. Don't spin around too much, or you'll miss the window." Then Kagura jumped straight up into the air and sailed through the Time Break.

"Well, I guess we can stick around for a few seconds." Sure enough, the Time Break started glowing, and Sora fired off the Keyblade's lock-breaking/making beam, causing the distortion to shrink down to nothing. "Hopefully now we can get those servants free without getting distracted again." Now back on track, Sora led the way down into the dungeon.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Beast's Castle: Dungeon Hall: Defeat the Thresholder!

The next room wasn't the dungeon proper, but a sort of antechamber. It was appropriately gloomy and unkempt, with various supplies and furniture piled up by the walls. The dungeon itself was behind a massive stone door carved with a highly detailed picture of twin monsters who were either punching each other or doing a brofist. Either way, Sora didn't like the feeling he got from the doors, remembering the Gargoyle Knights from earlier.

Sure enough, when Donald tried to open the doors, the stone eyes of the beasts glowed yellow. Darkness flowed over the door, knocking Donald's hand away, and he barely stumbled out of range before the massive joined fists of the Thresholder could smash him flat.

"I knew it..." Sora observed the Thresholder's combat moves, which seemed to mostly involve swinging their massive, stretchy arms around to keep enemies away. It was a fitting tactic for a door guard stuck to a door, but perhaps they weren't so tough against fighters who could get up close and personal. Sora motioned to Goofy to cover him as the two charged into melee range, and Goofy blocked a massive fist on the way in, allowing Sora to strike at the monsters. A few random swings told Sora that the most vulnerable part of the monsters was the brofist that still blocked access to the keyhole of the door, making it obvious what Sora had to do: loosen their grip and Release the Possessor animating the beasts.

Sora got in several mighty combos, but eventually the Thresholder combined its efforts to blast Sora and Goofy back across the room with a wave of concussive force. Sora smacked into the wall beside the entrance, but Goofy landed on the sword of a Gargoyle Knight that had been summoned behind them to assist the boss Heartless. "GOOFY!" Of all the nasty wounds Goofy had suffered over the course of their adventures, this impalement was definitely the worst. Sora ran through several options that might save Goofy before his heart was stolen. Cure? Didn't work anymore. Potion? Might not be enough, plus it would take too long, and Goofy had most of the items anyway. What was left...?

"These aren't ordinary garments. They have very special powers."

Perfect! "Goofy, give me strength!" Sora focused on Goofy, drawing his friend's power into himself. Goofy turned into a stream of red Light that rushed into Sora's jacket, and Sora exploded in a white flash as the Drive Form engaged. Valor Sora rushed forward to destroy the Gargoyles, including the ax-wielding Gargoyle Warrior that was after Donald. With an overhead smash of two Keyblades, Sora released a wave of red power that obliterated the magic-resistant Heartless. The power fueling this "Brave Shot" move was sheer fighting spirit; no elemental resistance would matter against it. Sora left Donald with a Potion, the only one Sora kept on him; it seemed that fusing with Goofy didn't transfer his item stock to Sora. "Here, use this. We're gonna finish this fight!"

Valor Sora rushed back into the fray against the Thresholder, running fully twice as fast as he did normally. The giant monster wilted under the dual-wielding Keyblade assault, and its two torsos slumped over, its hands dropping away from the Keyhole. Sora pointed the Star Seeker in his left hand at the Keyhole and fired a Release beam, launching a huge Possessor out into the room.

Unlike with the Gargoyle Knights, Thresholder didn't disintegrate immediately when the Possessor was released, though it did freeze in place and turn back to stone. Meanwhile, that Possessor slowly tried to float back to its host. Valor Sora didn't let it; the Possessor was powerless and harmless out here, and couldn't withstand the massive aerial combos Sora loosed on it. As the Possessor's true, vaporous body dissipated, the Thresholder vanished as well, leaving an unlocked, stone door with no carvings besides slight indentations where the beasts had once been.

Sora spun his Kingdom Key around one hand while holding Star Seeker over his shoulder, an ad-hoc victory pose for this new dual-wielding style. "I did it! We did it!" Of course, that was when the Drive Form reached its limit, and there was a white flash over Sora and a red flash to his right as Goofy reappeared.

"Phew!" Goofy wiped his forehead. "That really tuckered me out! But it was worth it!"

"No kidding!" Sora grinned. "That was awesome! I can't wait until we can do it again!"

"Aw, when will I get a Drive Form?" Donald groaned.

"We'll make sure to visit your castle and figure that out, just as soon as we open a Gummi Route there," Sora assured the mage, "but we do need to free those servants. I sure hope they're actually back there, or I'd feel pretty silly about putting so much into that fight."

Reminded of the things they'd actually spent on the fight, Goofy passed Sora a replacement Potion. Sora thanked him and hauled open the massive door. Thankfully, the hinges were in good repair.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Beast's Castle: Dungeon...

Unfortunately, the small room seemed to be empty of any people. There was an assortment of appliances littered around the room, but given the mess outside, it didn't look very important. Sora called out, "Hello? Is there anyone in here?"

"I wonder if this is the right place," Goofy mumbled.

"You mean, there's no one to rescue?" Donald asked.

"Did someone just say 'rescue?'" A new, heavily accented voice called out from somewhere in the room.

"Shh! It might be them." A new voice told the first.

"Oh, they seem like alright sorts to me." The first random appliance to move was a white china teapot, who hopped over to the trio of jailbreaking heroes. "Hello, dearies! Mrs. Potts, at your service!"

"WHAAAT?" Donald yelped. Okay, maybe a talking teapot wasn't weirder than Wonderland, but this had to at least tie the score.

"Oh, don't worry, dears! We're all nice folks. Cogsworth! Lumiere! Chip! We're saved! Come greet our guests!"

"It is entirely my job to direct the other servants as you rec-" Cogsworth, the talking clock, was cut off by Donald picking him up around the middle and trying to see how he worked. "Put me down, you ruffian! Put me-" He was cut off again by being vigorously shaken up and down.

"Were you always like this?" Goofy asked.

"Oh, not at all. It was the enchantress... Put me down, I say! I am self-winding, sir!" Cogsworth tried to slap at Donald's fingers.

"Donald, put him down so we can hear the story." Sora pushed Donald's hand down, coaxing him to lower Cogsworth to the ground and let go.

"Okay, yes, where was I? Oh right," Cogsworth began, then lowered his tone to better fit a spooky story. "It was a dark and stormy night. An old beggar woman came to the castle. Back then, the prince of the castle, that is to say, the Beast-"

"The Beast is a prince?"

"The prince is the Beast?" It was hard to tell exactly who'd said what, but Cogsworth took it in stride.

"Yes, indeed, but I was getting to that. The prince was selfish, and refused to allow the beggar woman to take shelter in the castle. It turned out she was merely concealing her true appearance as a beautiful enchantress, and though the prince cried for mercy, she took no more pity on him than he had on her. She cursed the prince, the castle, and all the servants into these forms."

"Let's get the enchantress!" Donald called out.

"No, that will not do." Lumiere the candelabra/maitre d' took up the tale. "The enchantress told the Beast that the only way to break the spell would be if he learned to love, and found love in return. She left him with an enchanted rose, which would bloom for eighteen years. If he can fall in love before the last petal falls, the spell will be broken!" Lumiere's mood (and candle flames) dimmed for the next part. "But as you might expect, there are few who can see deep enough past the appearances to ever have a chance to love our Master. This is why Belle is so important! But whatever you do, do not tell Belle any of this. I fear if she knew, her budding love for the Master would turn to mere pity, and all hope would be lost."

"I promise." Sora put a hand on his chin to think. "But the way the Beast is now, they're not going to talk to each other. We need to snap him out of it somehow."

"But how can we get the Beast to wake up?" Goofy asked.

Cogsworth suddenly jumped in the air. "I've got it!" At the same time, he released an ear-piercing alarm, causing everyone in the room to clutch their heads. "You see? No one could fail to wake up after my alarm! At the very least, it will create an opening to bring the Master to his senses."

"Excellent idea, Cogsworth! Perhaps you're useful for something after all!" Lumiere poked the clock/concierge with an unlit candle.

"Oh, you waxy-eared mongrel! I am always useful!" The clock started chasing the candle in circles.

Mrs. Potts spouted steam with a shrill whistle. "That's enough, you two. We have a lot to do! We still have to reach the Master's chambers, and the armor suits in the way answer to the Master first and us second."

"Ah, not a problem! We still have the secret passage from the antechamber to this very room!"

"I hope it's a shortcut," Goofy mumbled. The faster they got this done, the better the results for everyone.

Lumiere hesitated. "Ah... That depends on what you mean by 'short.' By distance, it would be faster to go up the stairs the normal way. But in terms of obstacles in our path, it will be easier to use the passage than to get through those guards."

"Well, it's about time something was easy around here!" Donald cheered.

Cogsworth coughed. "We claim it will be easier, but only because it is possible in the first place. It will still be fairly difficult to get the secret entrance open. Follow me." The clock waddled and bounced up to a walkway over the entrance to the antechamber, and when everyone followed, he cleared his throat to another pair of armor suits. "Ahem! Allow our guests to pass!" The guards stepped aside and snapped to attention, and Cogsworth gestured for them to be at ease as the last of the group passed through.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Beast's Castle: Secret Passage...

"Okay, so where's this secret passage? I don't see another door." Sora wondered.

"It's at the end of this hall, which curves back and forth." Lumiere replied. "But it would also be a terrible secret entrance if it appeared to be one, no? There are some mechanisms we must use to open the way. Cogsworth, if you would, pull the lever!"

"*Grumble, grumble...*" Cogsworth jumped up to a crank on the wall, groaning all the way, and his weight pulled it from the left side to straight down. A lantern burning with an obviously unnatural black flame descended from high on the ceiling to the level of our heroes. "The thing to do is to light all four lanterns!" Cogsworth called in a strained voice.

"Strange, the lanterns are already burning! But this kind of flame will not help us. We must remove it first," Lumiere mused.

"Can Mrs. Potts just splash water on it?" Donald asked.

"It won't be enough to quench this flame of Darkness," Mrs. Potts replied. "But if we also use the Power of Light..."

"That's easy! I'll use the Keyblade!" Sora summoned the Kingdom Key to demonstrate. Together, Mrs. Potts and Sora doused the black flame, and Lumiere replaced it with a normal one. "Done!"

"But again, there is more," Lumiere added, to the groans of the heroes, "do you truly expect Cogsworth to hang from that lever forever?"

"You insolent...! I could do chin-ups from this lever all day!" Cogsworth's tone didn't match his boasts, though. He was struggling to keep his grip.

"Perhaps," Lumiere teased, "but in the...unlikely event that Cogsworth grows tired and falls off, the lanterns will rise to the ceiling again, and we must wait until he regains his strength to continue."

"Then go! And be quick about it!" Cogsworth yelled. The group went.

Luckily, there were no Heartless in the corridor. The group made short work of the lanterns, and Sora's Keyblade made short work of the flimsy crates in the way of the smaller members of the group. The last lantern was lit just as Cogsworth's strength gave out, and the heroes watched the newly-lit lanterns rise to the ceiling.

"I don't see any secret passage." Donald pointed out.

Mrs. Potts nodded. "No problem! Sora, if you would push that block on the wall, the one that now sticks out, the secret entrance will open." Sora did so, and a section of the stone wall next to the secret switch slid down into the floor. Donald immediately popped around the new corner, and looted a treasure chest in the shadows of the hallway behind the secret door. Mrs. Potts grinned. "Ah, so that's where that box went! We don't really need the Hi-Potion, feel free to take it as a souvenir!" The treasure chest then purred and rubbed up against Donald's legs, before bouncing up the stairs and out of sight.

"Was that a cat once?" Donald asked nobody in particular. Nobody answered. The servants thought it was obvious, and his friends didn't want to trigger Donald's bizarre phobia that cropped up after dealing with Sabor in Deep Jungle.

"The Master's chambers are straight ahead! I will go with you to assist... But give me a few days to rest first." Cogsworth weakly proclaimed from his position on his back, way at the start of the hall.

"Oh man, I almost forgot!" Sora facepalmed. He led the group back to Cogsworth. "We don't really have a few days to wait... I wonder if I could give him a boost with the Keyblade?" Sora focused his mana. The spells he knew didn't work, and the spells that worked wouldn't help, so he just sort of made up his own "Charge" spell that released globes of Light to restore Cogsworth's stamina. It worked beautifully, and Cogsworth was up and about in seconds. "Phew! It worked! And it didn't explode! I don't think that would work on anyone bigger than you right now, though." Sora now had a bit more respect for wizards like Merlin who spent their lives experimenting with magic. It was tougher than it looked to mold mana into a new shape like that.

"You mean you might have blown me to smithereens?! Still... Thank you, Sora. Let us be on our way, and never speak of this again!" Cogsworth stomp-waddled out the secret exit, with Sora and co. following.

"Indeed," Lumiere agreed, though his tone said otherwise. "I, meanwhile, must check on the rest of the castle. Dust must be piling up everywhere! Oh, that reminds me to also find the servants who made it into hiding. Like the duster girl! Oh ho ho..." He was off before either Cogsworth or Mrs. Potts could smack him for his lecherous tendencies.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Beast's Castle: Master Bedroom: Bring the Beast to his senses!

The trip to the Beast's room was short, and the Heartless along the path were few. This was very good for the heroes, since they had to defend Cogsworth. Luckily, the clock was small enough to stand on Goofy's free arm, meaning they didn't have to defend a specific spot.

The group paused outside the Beast's bedroom door. There was an unfamiliar, sinister voice speaking within...

"It's time you dealt with Belle. She's scheming to take everything you have: this castle. Your precious rose. And then... Your life. Trust no one. Feed your anger. Only anger will keep you strong."

"I don't care about strength. There's only one thing I want..." That was the Beast talking.

"What?" The other voice scoffed. "To love and be loved in return? Who could ever love a Beast?"

The Beast's responding roar was Sora's cue to bust into the room. Getting locked out was something that happened to other people.

"You see? She has accomplices..." Almost predictably, the mystery voice turned out to be a man in a Black Coat. He waved a gloved hand, setting up a Dark Barrier between the rest of the people in the room and the pedestal on which the Beast's rose glowed. This act of "good faith" was all it took for the Beast to let his rage take over and attack Sora on the Organization member's behalf. The heroes jumped backwards as the Beast's claw smashed into the ground where they'd been.

"Cogsworth, use that alarm whenever you're ready!" Sora tried to push back against another attack, but the Beast's absurd strength was too much. As Sora picked himself out of a pile of rubble that might have once been furniture (potentially human furniture), Cogsworth replied.

"Roger that! Cover your ears, friends!" The Beast was too far gone to realize Cogsworth was in the room, much less that he was strategizing out loud. Consequently, only the Beast was unprepared when the alarm rang out. "Please, Master! Control yourself!" The Beast flinched back as though struck in the head. Sora took the opportunity to shove the former prince on his back.

"Alright, let's give it everything we've got!" Sora used the Charge spell again, boosting Cogsworth beyond his normal limits of stamina and annoyance. "One more time!"

This time, the alarm left everyone's ears ringing for a solid minute. But when everyone could think clearly again, "everyone" included the Beast.

The Beast sat up and rubbed his head. "Cogsworth, what happened? What was I doing?"

"Well, that is to say... You... Um..." Cogsworth tried to muster the courage to give the Beast the truthful but undesirable answer.

Donald had no such compunctions. "Well, you locked your servants down there in that dungeon!"

"I... I did?" The Beast looked horrified.

"Um... Y-you did!" Cogsworth finally spat it out.

"Don't worry, we know you wouldn't do it on purpose!" Sora placated.

"Yeah! In fact, I think you did it because you're really nice! You wanted to make sure you didn't hurt 'em, right?" Goofy guessed in an amazing display of insight. Somehow, nobody ever got used to Goofy being the wise one.

The Beast tried to remember. "I...might have. I don't recall much."

Sora asked, "Well, do you at least know who that guy was? The one in the Black Coat."

The Beast suddenly jumped upright. "Xaldin! ...That's his name. He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain... And turned it all into rage!" Some of that rage was still there; the Beast growled at the manipulator through the rush of memories returning to him. Now, though, that anger was correctly aimed squarely at Xaldin.

"He must be a member of Organization XIII," Sora told him. "When a strong-willed person becomes a Heartless, a Nobody's created, too. See, the Organization has control over all the Nobodies."

"Yep!" Goofy picked up the explanation with the logical conclusion. "And he was gonna turn you into a Heartless! That way they'd get that Nobody of yours and have control over it!"

"If what you say is true, we must hurry and see to Belle's safety!" Cogsworth rallied.

"Belle...! I've mistreated her..." The Beast slumped over. "I've mistreated her and been so selfish."

Sora patted the Beast's massive shoulder. "She doesn't blame you. Besides, you still have plenty of time to patch things up and make it up to her! Let's go!"

"You're right." The Beast shook off Sora's hand and stalked out the bedroom door. "These creatures have no place in my castle. I'll start making it up to Belle by making this place safe again." With a mighty howl, the Beast rushed down the hall to the West Wing.

"We're with you all the way!" Sora and co. ran to catch up, leaving Cogsworth to return to the other servants.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Beast's Castle: Rampage Road!

The West Wing had grown thick with various Heartless while the heroes had been away, perhaps being drawn to the Beast's rage during the fight. Now they gathered around him like moths to flame...but ended up like mosquitoes to a bug zapper. Between Sora's Keyblade and the Beast's claws, there wasn't much the various Large Bodies and Gargoyles could accomplish before they were torn apart. The group didn't take long to reach Belle's room in the East Wing, but they only found the Wardrobe, who told them Belle had left a few minutes ago looking for them. The Beast's temper was instantly replaced with more productive effort when Belle's scream could be heard echoing from the Ballroom right between the two wings of the castle.

"I'm warning you! You'll be sorry!"

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Beast's Castle: Ballroom: Defeat the Shadow Stalker!

"Belle!" The Beast ran ahead and busted through the tall doors to the ornate Ballroom, which gave off an entirely different vibe from every other room in the castle with its warm colors, sparkling floor, and the glow of the overhead chandelier.

"Let's go!" Sora followed the Beast into the room, with Donald and Goofy right behind him. There was only one enemy in the room, and it wasn't Xaldin, but a round, strangely glowing Heartless.

"I'm alright!" Belle ran out to the balcony connecting to the Ballroom and shut the glass door behind her. The glass wasn't so much protection as it was symbolic. If anyone shattered that glass, the Beast would break them just as thoroughly, as his roar testified. The Heartless didn't pursue Belle, but instead bounced around in midair, screeching incoherently.

The Shadow Stalker looked like the Darkballs Sora saw in his first adventure, but it was covered in rattling chains and glowed blue. It bounced high into the air, then slammed down into the floor, covering the whole room in the Power of Darkness. It acted like a Possessor of the highest order, warping the whole area into a series of weapons. The Possessor leaped into the chandelier above their heads, which crashed down with a large shockwave. Sora jumped the wave and attacked the ornament, managing to stop its movements before the lasers blasting out of it could rotate to hit him. A Release beam knocked the Shadow Stalker out into the open air, letting the group whale on it for a few combos apiece.

It got away in short order, zooming over to the back wall. It wasn't fleeing the fight to attack Belle like they feared, though. Instead, it possessed the windows to reveal a massive version of its creepy face before blasting huge walls of energy from each pane. The heroes managed to get between the blasts, but the Beast was a bit too wide and a bit too slow to avoid the purple energy completely. Goofy passed him a Potion to heal the burns, and the Shadow Stalker emerged on its own, moving over to the columns on the right side of the Ballroom.

It possessed a particular column, and the whole line lifted up and scraped along the ground, missing the heroes completely. Before it could try again, Sora attacked the possessed column and Released the Shadow Stalker from it, prompting the whole party to pile onto it with slashes and bashes until Sora felt something give way under his Keyblade. Assuming the Heartless was finished, like the other tough Heartless he'd gotten that reaction from, Sora stepped back to avoid any explosions that might accompany its demise.

Instead, it opened its mouth wide and remained perfectly still as tendrils of Darkness flowed out to swirl around it, quickly sealing it in a huge purple cocoon. Sora tried to stop whatever it was doing, but his Keyblade was repelled. Soon enough, the cocoon burst to reveal a much more intimidating form of the Pureblood Heartless.

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The Possessed Ballroom: Defeat the Dark Thorn!

The newly-metamorphosed Dark Thorn screeched in anger before vanishing from sight. Only a subtle distortion in the air revealed the location of the monster after it turned invisible. Sora braced himself for a tough fight.

Good thing he did, because the Dark Thorn's first attack was to rush right at him with confounding speed, grab the Keyblade wielder in one massive hand, and fling him at the left-hand wall of the Ballroom. Sora barely managed to get his wits about him in time to hold his Keyblade out and try to catch himself on a column as he passed. Success! His straight flight turned into a spin around the column, and Sora launched himself right back at the Dark Thorn while it was engaged in a vicious contest of strength against the Beast. Sora clocked the Heartless on the head so hard as he passed that its invisibility faltered, letting the Beast aim a more effective hit and bring the boss to hands and knees.

Now that the Dark Thorn was fully visible from the extra damage, Sora did a maneuver that would have been crazy for anyone else, and was honestly pretty crazy for Sora too. He used the monster's back as a springboard, launching himself up to the chandelier overhead with the extra oomph of the Dark Thorn's defiant roar. Sora snagged the former light source, still corrupted by the possession of the Ballroom, and dropped it right on the Heartless' head. Then he ran the chandelier around in a circle, dragging the boss beneath it, and allowed the helpful room feature to rise back to the ceiling.

The heroes dog-piled on the weakened monster, hitting it with everything they had, and finally Light began to jet out through cracks in the Dark Thorn's skin. "Okay, now it's going to blow up!" Sora called, and the group covered their faces as the Darkness blew outward from it, blowing away the corruption of the room.

"We did it! Go, team!" This and other self-congratulations rang out from Sora's group while the Beast and Belle were reunited with a tender hug.

"Looks like things will be just fine here!" Chip the teacup said of the heartwarming scene, having sneaked into the room while no one was looking (and having somehow avoided the chaotic fight). "Mama wants Belle and the Master to get along. She'll be glad!" He hopped off to go spread the good news, and Sora noted a glow from the Keyblade.

"Is there a gate somewhere?" Sora held out the Keyblade anyway, despite the relevant object not being in the room, and everyone saw a bright flash of Light as the crown-shaped mark formed on the ground.

Sora, meanwhile, was transported to a strange, glowing space where the Beast's magic rose floated in the air, much like the Membership Card had in Hollow Bastion. Sora readied the Keyblade and fired a Release beam at the Keyhole that appeared, then found himself back in the Ballroom.

"What was that?" The Beast asked.

"That was our cue to go. We can move on to the next world now," Sora replied.

Belle asked, "Will you be back?"

"Sure! And if you run into trouble, we'll be glad to help!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy waved at the master of Beast's Castle as they left the Ballroom, then teleported back to the Gummi Ship.

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Meanwhile, in Ibukido...

"Now will you listen for a minute?" Kagura huffed as he replaced his massive sword on his back. Bang Shishigami tried to rise and fight longer, but found himself unable for the moment because his legs were ripped up.

Bang coughed up a small amount of blood, but noted that he could quickly recover from this. Kagura knew both their limits, well enough to do exactly as much damage as needed and no more. A benefit of training under Master Tenjo alongside Bang, he reasoned. "I suppose... I have no choice. What is so important that you would go to such lengths to have me hear?"

"I'm sorry for the delay, Your Highness. Could you please come forward?" Kagura motioned to a random pile of debris, and a young boy dressed in fine, orange robes and a fancy black headdress stepped out from behind it. Bang's jaw dropped right into the dirt.

"L-Lord Homura! Son of Master Tenjo! Is it truly you?!"

"It is I, Bang. I'm sorry we couldn't meet sooner," the boy affirmed with politeness and grace befitting royalty.

"See, Bang? I did have a reason to flee Ikaruga back then. Master Tenjo ordered it. While Master Amanohokosaka Tenjo entrusted you with the 55-inch nail, or should I say the Nox Nyctores, Phoenix: Rettenjo, I was entrusted with the safety of his son and heir, Amanohokosaka Homura. I had to fake his death and hide him from the NOL ever since."

"And I am very grateful for your aid, Kagura," Homura added.

"But why did you not tell me?" Bang implored.

"We were trying to create a death that didn't exist," Kagura told him reprovingly. "What good would it have done to tell anyone? And even you heard that he was still alive somehow, right? We couldn't afford to deliberately compromise the situation any further."

"Oh... It's like a dream come true! I've searched a very long time for any trace of the young master!" Bang wailed manly tears of relief.

"Geez, you are so loud!" Kagura winced.

"I find it endearing," Homura chuckled. "Dry your eyes, Bang Shishigami. You've done well leading the Ikaruga refugees in my stead all these years."

Instantly, Bang got down to business. "Indeed, the people always come first! As they still do! But surely, Kagura, you did not tell me to meet you here only to reintroduce me to His Highness? Is there more?"

Kagura inwardly thanked his lucky stars that Bang was finally being serious. "Yes. I want you to go to the castle ruins at Wadatsumi. Wait in the lowest basement. In two days, someone will appear to meet you. I can't say for sure who that person will be. You will be the judge of their character. If you find them worthy, use the Phoenix: Rettenjo."

Bang stuttered. "'Use'? Don't you mean 'give'? It's usually 'give' this or 'give' that."

Kagura laughed lightheartedly, though his expression remained deadly serious. "No, the 55-inch nail was entrusted to you by Lord Tenjo. You must understand the weight behind his choice; you must be the one to decide how that power is to be used."

Bang pumped himself up for another speech. "Of course! This 55-inch nail is the spirit of my Master! No one will claim his legacy while I live to protect it!"

Kagura cleaned out his ears. "Good to hear. Now, do you know anything about the Rettenjo?"

Bang crossed his arms. "All I know is what a man named Relius told me, and I have no way to know if he spoke the truth. He said there is a device called Kushinada's Lynchpin hidden somewhere in Ikaruga, and that this nail of mine was its core. He also claimed the Rettenjo was made to destroy the other nine Nox Nyctores, though he seemed more concerned about the Lynchpin."

Kagura nodded. "That's the general gist of it. I'm sorry I can't tell you more; I don't know much about it myself. But I know that you'll find Kushinada's Lynchpin if you wait in the basement of the castle, and I know we'll need it if we're ever going to get His Highness back to the position he deserves. Our enemies are also looking for the Lynchpin, so be careful."

"Indeed. I will do as you request. However, the hour has grown late and the air is cold. It's not good for Lord Homura's health, so I'd like to end this meeting here."

"Don't worry about me, Bang. I hope the person who appears before you is a good soul." Kagura and Homura walked away from the moonlit scene, Homura seeming to melt into the shadows a good distance from Kagura, despite wearing bright orange. Satisfied that His Highness was in good hands after all, Bang Shishigami made haste to Wadatsumi Castle.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

A/N's: And another late chapter is added to the growing tale! I'm a little worried that I'm over-describing Sora's side of events and under-describing Riku's, but it's a consequence of having so much material to work with for Sora in KH2 and essentially making up everything as I go along for Riku. Next chapter will bring Riku and Lambda back to Wonderland. As if it wasn't bad enough that Lambda can no longer maintain the quarantine over that headache, there will be another uninvited guest there who makes the Cheshire Cat look sane...and makes the Heartless seem harmless.

Tell me what you think of the various systems as I described them, such as Gummi missions, Valor Form combat, and several Reaction Commands. We know the Keyblade does some crazy stuff; for examples, just play Re: coded. Apparently it nullifies time-stopping genie powers, who knew? Anyway, my take on Reaction Commands is the Keyblade being wacky plus Sora just winging it as he goes along. Most of his moves seem like random opportunistic brawling involving grabbing enemies and yanking their guns around. He'll get more finesse as time goes on, but does he really need to? I'll leave that question to the philosophers, because I'm going to be away from my laptop over the weekend. As a final note, I'm accepting requests for Blue Skies one-shots, and have been for some time. Send in your ideas, please!