Kingdom Hearts Gaiden

Written by Shaun Garin

Kingdom Hearts is owned and copyright SquareEnix and Disney.

02: Belle

There's a natural order to things. There's the brave heroine, the cursed prince in a faraway land and then, of course there is the inevitable tragedy that draws both together. For me however, it was more of a stroke of luck that brought me to the gates of the castle where Beast lived. My father left that morning, full of hopes and dreams with his new automatic wood chopping machine with every intent on showing it off for the fair. My father made it as an inventor, as attributed to the amount of knick-knacks that had been produced from our little community. The town where I lived in regularly lived off the land with some income coming out of various places. It was not poor, but rather standard for a town in the south of France. And at the very least, men like Gaston shared their hunts with everyone.

Gaston, the villian of this tragedy. I knew him for a long time; what girl didn't? Something of a local hero, he was the top game hunter. Ducks, deer, moose and even the occasional bear. He brought them all down and then, he shared it with the people. I could remember the year when a blight had scoured the land and brought ruin to all of our crops. Gaston set out with his best friend and was gone for three days. When he returned, he carried enough fur and food to last us through the winter. The load was so heavy, he was almost bent over dragging the pile home. Everything was salted and prepared for preservation.

Gaston, though had his moments. I don't know when he changed from such a sweet man, but in time, he grew arrogant in his skills and his reputation. People begun to distrust him at times but there was no one who was brave enough to speak out against him. H grew arrogant in his skill as a top hunter. The triplets in the town, only other girls of similar marrying age as I was threw themselves at him. In a small town in the south of France, it was to be expected.

My day changed that afternoon when three people wandered into the town, looking around like they hadn't seen anything like this. An odd group to be certain; a duck and a dog wandering about standing on their hind legs. Something I thought could only happen in storybooks. The boy with them looked different, like stories of people from the orient with his exotic features. He was dressed as oddly as they were, clad in black, gold, silver and his hair was messy and brown. His pants were baggy, and went only to his shins as it left a good amount of bare leg exposed. The boy and the duck seemed to be in deep conversation while the dog cast a glance around his enviroment.

"... maybe we should have landed somewhere closer to the castle," remarked the boy to the duck and the duck looked perturbed.

"That's what I tried to say, but you wanted to look around first," snorted the duck in a voice that sounded almost like a quacking noise. I could easily imagine his voice being used in a fit of anger.

"Gwarsh, Donald, Sora just wanted to look around. It's not like we're in a hurry, right?" offered the dog and the duck, presumably the one named Donald scowled at the dog.

Then, something seemed to CLICK and without realizing it myself, I grabbed the duck in a fierce hug. "Donald! It's so good to see you!"

"Wak! Put me down, put me DOWN!" proteted Donald and both Sora and Goofy jumped aside in surprise.

"Belle!" exclaimed Sora, surprised. "I didn't know this was your hometown!"

"Well," I said, letting Donald down and the magician muttered something about a thing called a chiropractor, "I was wondering that myself. How is it that I didn' recognise you all before?"

"Gwarsh, maybe it's because we woke up recently," said Goofy and Sora frowned in thought.

"I dunno. We were awake nearly three months ago. Why would Belle notice us now?"

Then, a sick realization hit me and I gasped, "Beast! We have to get back to the castle; he must be worried sick!"

As luck would have it, Phillipe came charging into town and after unlatching the wagon and toting it to the side of the house, the four of us took off into the forest.

Heartless. I hate Heartless.

Sora, in his cute gallant manner told me to get back as he produced the glimmering weapon, the bane of everything darkness. The keyblade cut through the ranks, and I absently noted that it was a reddish weapon this time, glowing with inner fire. Weilded like a sword, Sora slashed through the ranks and Goofy and Donald made short work of the mob of Shadows that threatened to bar our path. Somewhere in there however, I had gotten knocked off Phillipe and I grabbed the first thing that was in his pack; a one bladed hatchet and took a swing.

It cut through the darkness easily and between the four of us they were quickly culled. "Man," said Sora, shaking his head. "I've never seen so many Heartless in one place."

"What about the Tsung Zhao Pass?" asked Goofy and Sora ammended the statement with "second most."

For a skilled fighter, Heartless usually didn't pose much of a problem. Goofy and Donald had no enchantments on their weapons save for some mana and strength agumenting spells on them. A simple and somewhat blunt hatchet was more of a surprise but Donald chalked it up to my pure heart feeding power into anything resembling a weapon. He figured that I could have even picked up a stick and fended them off with that, possibly killing a few. I suppose it wasn't much of a stretch, being that I was one of the seven abducted to open the door to Kingdom Hearts.

The rest of the trip was spent in a more lesurely trot to Beast's castle since Phillipe needed to conserve his energy in case we had to make a break for it. Phillipe knew where father was and even though I had the route memorized, we made good time through the bramble. Once or twice, some wolves tried to bother us but Sora scared them off with bursts of flame from the end of his keyblade. Soon enough we got to the gates. Pushing the heavy iron-wrought gates open, we trotted onto the stone bridge that seperated the castle from the rest of the world. The courtyard followed and... were those statues ATTACKING us?

Sora's keyblade sliced into the rock, Goofy's thrown shield gouged large rips into the statues and Donald's magic froze them before they shattered into bits. I did my part by performing a spectacular overhanded throw with my blunt hatchet that took the head off a gargoyle. After which Phillipe and I charged about. There was something amusing about seeing a stone gargoyle statue goggle at you comically as you beat it out of existence with your shoe.

Sora grinned at me and said, "Not bad, Belle. We gotta introduce you to Mulan sometime."

Pondering over that statement and wondering if Mulan was a friend of theirs from another world, we made our way into the castle where, surprise, surprise, there were a boat-load of Heartless waiting for us. I doubt we could have moved through the castle. I hoped the servants were doing all right since their current forms did not lend itself to fighting.

Spells flew, the keyblade glinted, Goofy charged headlong into the pack and I smote several with my shoe and a book I had neglected to return to the bookstore owner. The fighting abruptly ended however as Beast charged into the pack from a spectacular jump from the upper levels. The appearance of Beast however galavanted fresh reserves. It was like an entire castle full of Heartless were here to take down the furious ball of angry teeth and claws that was Beast. That was when Sora, not to be outdone in his cute competitive manner, shouted "LIGHT!"

The world seemed to crackle with thunderous explosive energy and then Sora was swinging not one but two keyblades. The second was a blue keyblade embossed with a star for teeth and he was a whirlwind, cutting down the horde to a more sizable amount. I had to admit, it was very impressive on how he had apparently learned some new tricks since the last time I saw him, which amounted to almost two years and three months ago.

Panting slightly, Sora straightened up as his red outfit faded back to the gold and black I was slowly getting accustomed to. I was also getting accustomed to his deeper voice but kids grow like all of us. "Beast, great timing!" he cheered.

Beast, apparently was in no mood to talk as he shoved past the pair, throwing Donald into the wall, and slammed the doors of the parlor open. He re-emerged holding the enchanted rose. Wait a moment...

Storming past us, Beast deemed to say nothing and he bounded up to the west wing entrance without a word. "That was odd, even for Beast," mused Goofy. "D'ya think something happened to him?"

The boys were quickly pressed into a short conversation between them. I could hear snatches about a group called Organization XIII and the possibility of something happened to Beast. "Y'know," finished Goofy, "We need to get the Beast ta talk. Something's on his mind."

"I'm worried," I added. "I'll go with you."

"But it could be dangerous," protested Sora. "The castle must be swarming with Heartless."

"I don't care," I said, hands on my hips. "Beast needs me. And since I don't see the servants anywhere, you need all the help you can get."

Sora deflated like a popped soap bubble and Donald rose some protests. In the end we made a compromise. I would go with Goofy to find out where the servants were after liberating a sword from the suits of armor that graciously gave me one. The blade felt heavy and I was certain I wouldn't do any good with it, but Goofy, patient as he was, helped me out with using it without hurting myself.

Sora and Donald would go and find out what happened to Beast and, Donald added morbidly, "Hope he doesn't tear our throats out in the process of Q and A."

The hallways, were predictably infested with Heartless. Goofy and I cut down several, and he protected me when I paused to regain my breath. He was a dear, living up to the status of Captain of the Guard. Never once did he make me feel inadequate by cutting down the Heartless without a thought, but rather let me gain better proficiency with the blade that slowly became an extention of myself. I suppose in respect, it was my heart growing stronger and soon, I was swinging the blade often with only a pause to toss Goofy or myself a potion that had been dropped by the otherworldly invaders.

"Wardrobe!" I cried as we turned the corner. Wardrobe, my closest friend since I had first arrived was being overwhelmed by the inky darkness. Fierce protectiveness arose in me and there was a shattering sound in my mind, like something had been broken. "PROTECT!" I cried and there was a burst of magic erupting from the tip of my sword. Goofy had clasped his hand over mine and the power intensified two fold. The pair of us found ourselves standing on the other end of the group and like a pile of dominos, they exploded into black smoke as if a massive hand just tore through the ranks.

"Belle!" exclaimed Wardrobe, taking in my disheveled appearance. "Oh you poor thing, you're all dirty and you have cuts and bumps... what has the Master thought, letting you roam about in this condition?"

Fending off Wardrobe's well deserved but ill-timed attempt at mothering me, I cut in with "I'm fine, Wardrobe. Really. Goofy and I are just fine."

"Well I suppose there's nothing for it," said Wardrobe, sniffing derisively. "Tell me dear, what brings you back to the castle? The servants were worried when you vanished, not to mention the Master. And bringing along a surprise guest a well?"

"I don't even remember leaving," I murmured to myself. Before Wardrobe could ask what I meant by that, Goofy interjected smoothly. Obviously he was used to deflecting statements of the sort.

"We were wonderin' where all of Beast's servants were," said Goofy. "Belle says that there are a lot of people here but we haven't seen anyone."

"Oh dear," sighed Wardrobe. "it was when a man dressed in black came to the castle during Belle's absence. He started talking with the Master and since then, he hasn't been the same. I fear the worst, so in a moment of sanity, I convinced the Master to open the Undercroft, the dungeons deep below the castle. All of the castle servants are hiding there in order to keep everyone safe. I volunteered to act as a guard for the door. But those dratted black things keep attacking me. I could barely fend them off until you two showed up."

Wardrobe stepped aside and said, "Be careful dears. There may be something lurking down there. I haven't heard a peep from them and Cogsworth was the most vocal about being thrown down there."

Imagining Cogsworth being bodily carried down into the Undercroft brought a giggle to my lips as we stepped through.

I'm certain there was a word for it, but I couldn't think of it. I was too tired.

Being a Princess of Heart had merit apparently as the Gatekeeper flinched from my heart and often, it escaped the stone body it possessed. Goofy was all over the Gatekeeper and between the pair of us, we defeated it. As the stone doors dissolved to reveal normal old oaken ones, Goofy coughed a couple of times and then righted himself. "Are you okay, Belle?"

"I'll be fine, just a bruise," I replied, fingering the painful bruise on my side. "Come on, let's hurry."

Rescuing the servants was easier than we thought. The door yielded to a push and then we were mobbed by half a dozen happy household items. In the midst of the din and Goofy unlocking more of the cells to free up the rest of the staff, nearly three hundred in all, Cogsworth pushed to the front of the mob and raised a concern. "What's happening to the Master?" he asked.

An answering angry bellow could be heard from far above, accompanied by a terrible crash that shook the castle. "Oh what now?" grumbled Cogsworth as we lead the pack out of the dungeons.

We found Sora wrestling with the enormous strength of Beast, his face dripping with sweat. A cut over his eye trickled blood into his eye and he was blinking rapidly to keep his vision from hazing over. Donald looked dazed as he lay on the ground and muttered something about "no more crashes, Launchpad". "Sora!" cried Goofy and the Captain was rushing into battle.

Goofy blocked a strike the knocked the pair into the stairs. The steps were stone and I winced as they got back up. Goofy healed Donald of his daze and the three laid into Beast. Beast was furious, but there was a mechanical movement to his actions. Like he was a puppet of some form or another.

"Master! Control yourself!" cried Cogsworth and he turned to Lumiere. "We must do something!"

"I do not know what, mon ami," said Lumiere.

"Oh, we need a plan of some type. Some way of bringing him to his senses," fretted Cogsworth.

It was then I got an insane plan. And they call SORA reckless. Snatching up Cogsworth and twisting his key several times, much to his protests, I darted right between the fight and held up Cogsworth. The major domo's alarm rang and Beast cried out, holding his head and stumbling backwards from the noise. Snapped out of the trance that held him in it's thrall, a tangible darkness rose about him as he fought for control.

"SORA!" cried Goofy and Sora aimed his Keyblade. The mystical weapon shone and there was a clicking sound as the darkness rose into the air. It snarled angrily and then vanished into the ballroom. Crisis averted. For now at least.

"That man," said Beast, after he had awkwardly apologized to me for mistreating me. Poor thing had aparently forgotten that time had reset, and I just arrived. "Xaldin! He's the one who was doing this! He used my anger to control me, made me nothing but RAGE!"

"I'll bet that's what they're doing," mused Goofy. I hate to admit it, but Goofy is the smartest out of the group when it came to common sense. Sora and Donald were on the shy of reckless. "They wanted to turn you into a Heartless. And when that happened, they'd have control of your Nobody too!"

Before they could continue, there was a hideous crashing noise from the ballroom. "The darkness that was possessing Beast!" excalimed Sora, realizing they had not banished it.

Beast's darkness had manifested itself into a giant floating head. Sharp teeth and wrapped in chains, the darkness floated, smashing the huge pillars about the ballroom. "We gotta stop it before it brings the whole castle down!"

"Destroy my castle? I don't THINK SO!" Letting out a furious roar, Beast tackled it and the fight was on. The Darkness was tricky, smashing through pillars, changing the nature of the ballroom into a battleground and even using the chandelier as a weapon. Even after it changed into a dangerous looking parody of the Beast, it fought similarily with a few new tricks here and there.

Beast wound up protecting me far too much during that battle, and yet I welcomed it. But it certainly surprised him when I held my own and soon, the creature was vanishing, a captive heart floating up into the skies before vanishing. "Belle," he said awkwardly. "I... owe you an apology."

"It's all right," I replied, laying a hand on his cheek. "But you know, you could try to at least make the effort to warn us when you're going to do something like this."

Beast looked chargined. And then, a thought came to me. "Wait... where's my father?"

We found father in what was soon to be my suite. Fortunately Beast had retained some of his memory and instead of throwing him into a high tower for tresspassing, my father, Maurice had been put up in a room. Locked away and kept safe by a pair of loyal suits of armour but he was relieved to see me. Papa tried to get me to come away with him but I knew my place was there. Papa looked worried but Sora, Donald and Goofy did their part in helping convince my father my place was here.

We never really got to see that elusive Xaldin and Sora, Donald and Goofy left soon after as his Keyblade shone. Time went on and soon after winter had passed, things stirred up again.

Beast never took my learning fencing well, proclaiming it was his duty to protect me but I just smiled and shook my head. As a Princess of Heart, I was obviously a target. And if by the stories Sora told me while heading to the castle about a girl who dressed as a man to help protect her family's honour held water, it was certain that I could learn too. The old knighthood looked happy, as happy as featureless suits of armour could as they taught me every trick they could think of, and some moves that were definitely not used in a proper duel.

Spring rolled around and then, my father came rushing to the castle in a hurry. Letting himself in as the clouds were gathering, he hollered for me repeatedly till I appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Papa, what is it?" I asked.

"This... man in black. He appeared one day and started rallying the townsfolk against the prince," he puffed and Beast and I shared concerned glances. "There is a group of men being led by him. You must flee!"

"NO," growled Beast. "This is MY castle, and I will decide who is welcome here."

"Beast, we must prepare the castle for war," I said, and he threw me an angry look. "Remember? The man in black, Xaldin was his name was the one who used you like a puppet! No doubt he was able to fester the darkness in the hearts of the townsfolk!"

Beast deflated and he nodded. "Old man," he growled, and papa looked up at him. "Who leads the townsfolk?"

"The man in black rallied them under Gaston," said papa. "He... did something to him. He's angry. And dangerous. Extremely dangerous now. I don't think Gaston is the same anymore."

"He must have drawn out the darkness in his heart," I mused. "We must get a hold of Sora, Donald and Goofy!"

"We cannot, they left no method of contact," said Beast, shaking his head. "I will assemble the guard. Let us see who has the stronger gates."

Beast was an excellent strategic planner, when he was not clouded by irrational thought. Deploying his servants and guard to key areas of the castle foyer, the most likely area of entry, he ordered the guard to prepare a little welcome for the villagers.

If the line was breached, the remainder of the forces were in the ballroom where my father, Beast and I stood. Beast had prepared for the battle, muttering to himself "Control, control" as he paced back and forth. My father looked worried as he was to the back line with the children, preparing to take shelter as soon as posible. The old captain of Beast's guard, Sir Ducharme had given me his elegant rapier. He said that something was amiss, and I was inclined to believe him.

A shout went up from the sentry and soon, a rabble of men stormed into view, chanting words that spoke of fear and misguided anger. At the head marched Gaston with the black robed Xaldin next to him. The man pushed his hood back and I knew instinctively that he held no feelings. He was EMPTY.

The makeshift battering ram made of a felled tree smashed against the doors. The doors, old and rusted, heaved inwards and Beast laid a hand on my shoulder. "You can flee with your father," he said softly.

"No, this is my home too," I replied.

The men poured into the foyer and the muttering grew soft in confusion. Taking advantage of the inanimate objects that his staff resembled, they had piled into the corners and all about, like it was a storage room rather than a castle. "A little more," muttered Cogsworth, our eyes and ears at the doors leading to the majestic ballroom. "A little more..."

Le Fou picked up Luminare and the candlebra exclaimed, "NOW!"

It was chaos, no doubt about it. The men were scattered, the anger holding them as puppets dissolving like threads. Xaldin looked furious at the interferance and he tightened his grasp on Gaston. Gaston marched towards the Ballroom and with a mighty shove, pushed the doors open. "BELLE!" he proclaimed.

"Gaston," I replied, my voice cooler than it should have been.

"So this is the Beast," said Gaston, sizing him up like he was a prey. Gaston looked very much the hunter, his shoulders hunched a little, his arms tensed and he laughed. "What a magnificent specimin! Truly a remarkable prey for the master hunter to mount on his wall."

Beast growled and I laid a hand on his arm to calm him. Beast relented and growled, "You are not welcome here. Leave. Now."

"Oh, but we came such a long way to see you both," said the voice that belonged to Xaldin. The evil looking man appeared in a ball of darkness and he held under his arm, the enchanted rose. Beast tightened in shock and he smirked. "That's right. I'm here to take all that you hold dear. The rose... and the girl."

"Not if we can help it!" Xaldin and Gaston whirled to stare at Sora, Donald and Goofy who ran in. They bore new sparkling weapons and Xaldin snarled at the man. Pulling out huge lances, six in all, magic blocked off any and all access to the room. My father was trapped on the other end, and I was grateful for he and the children would not be harmed.

The time for talk was over. Beast, with an obvious axe to grind, took on Xaldin who took to the air, his weapons spinning about him freely. Sora and Donald joined the fray and I turned to Gaston whose eyes were blank and filled with dark light. "Gaston, stop!" I cried but he aimed and fired a bullet.

Quicker than I could react, Goofy was in front of me, catching the bullet on his fancy new shield. "You won't hurt her," he said, his voice dead serious. "Because she's my friend and she's yours too!"

"Young miss," called out Cogsworth and then I realized what he meant. "Goofy, let's get in close," I said and with Cogsworth riding my shoulder, we launched ourselves into battle.

"Feeling any better?" I asked of Gaston and he chuckled before wincing.

Touching the painful wound on his side, he uttered, "I've been better."

"That's good to hear. Those who were injured also were treated tonight and most of the villagers left to reassure their families they're all right." at his expression, I added, "Beast, well, Adam is fine."

"I was helpless," said Gaston sourly. "That man, Xaldin awoke all of the darkness in my heart. All of my petty thoughts, my anger, and my ego. Everything. I was his puppet, dancing on the strings of his tune."

"It's not your fault," said Sora. He had stayed up late to keep an eye on Gaston and was still awake when I came in to look after him. "Organization XIII won't stop at nothing to achieve their goal; to fully exist. To do this, they're using me."

"And you still go about your mission?" asked Gaston. At Sora's nod, he snorted and shook his head. "I could never, not after what I could do. I felt so powerful, immersed in uncaring darkness. And by that same reason, I felt empty."

"You know, you and Adam are alike," I said thoughtfully. Gaston looked horrified at being the same as the hot-tempered prince and I giggled. "You both take things FAR too hard."

Sora laughed and I poked the boy on the nose. "And YOU too."

Leaving the pair to sputter protests, I left the room.

"The castle never looked better," said Adam, gazing over the beautiful landscape. When the spell of the enchantress had lifted, so did the murk and gloom that surrounded the castle. He was barefoot, and Adam noticed my gaze. He chuckled and said, "I can't stand shoes. Not after being barefoot for so long."

"You'll catch cold," I pointed out and he smiled.

"Ill worry about that when it comes," he replied and reached up. Unclasping the cape, he let the wind whip about his form and he smiled. "I'm still getting used to not having a protective pelt."

"Belle?" asked Goofy and I turned. "Donald and Sora and I are headed out. I wish we could stay, but Sora just got a feeling Jack Skellington needs us."

"All right," I replied. "Wait for us; we'll see you all off."

The sun crested over the mountains that morning.