Humanity and Beast-ity
A/N- So everyone, I'm back at school but what's more I'm moving and that means I'm going to be taking time to try and get adjusted. Sorry everyone. And I need to warn everyone that any of the worlds that come twice; Halloween Town, Beast's Castle and such will be just as long, if not longer than the last chapter. And while I'm here, I also have to apologise that this chapter is later than it should have been. My laptop got broken. Again! Honestly, I can't wait till I get a new one for Christmas.
The Key Wielders were gathered in front of the Gummie Ship's screen. Upon it were the faces of the different world representatives. "So what did you guys learn?" Leon asked them.
"A few things." Roxas answered, taking charge as per usual. "We learnt a few things about Sasuke, but more pressing. I'm afraid of the power the Organization might posses. I faced Xigbar alone and I was defeated easily."
"But you can't forget, you've already defeated Sasori. Sasuke was able to defeat Itachi on his own, so they can't be overly powerful. At least not all of them." Leon encouraged Roxas, who still looked doubtful.
Sakura decided to change the subject. "Have you heard anything from the Beast? Or anyone. We're heading to his world now, but we're still worried."
Leon looked uncomfortable. "No, no one from that world has contacted us. We're worried too. But we need to figure out where you guys are headed next? Any ideas?"
Roxas spoke up. "I was thinking Olympus Coliseum." He said, his eyes fixed on the screen that Hercules was usually attending, but at this moment was empty.
"I see. Okay then, good luck guys. I think I would have suggested going there next too. It seems like Hades might be giving Herc some trouble."
"Got it. Thanks Leon. We'll talk later." Roxas switched off the screen and could see the outline of Beast's Castle on the horizon.
"You've gotta stop, you know that right?" Naruto asked Roxas.
The blonds glared at each other. "What the heck are you talking about?"
Naruto started to laugh. "You. You're too serious. You need to lighten up. You're taking this whole thing, your whole life, much too seriously."
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm a little concerned about the fate of the universe, which lays in our hands!" Roxas shouted at Naruto, sizing up to him.
Naruto didn't flinch. "Oh what? And I'm not. Of course I am. But I'm not letting it get to me. I don't want to come out of this, as an old man!"
"I'd rather be an old man, than dead, along with the rest of the Universe! If losing my childhood, means that I can save the ones I love, then so be it!"
"Damn it dude! Why do you have to be like that. So high and mighty, it's like you're trying to not stoop down to my level and really let out some steam. Admit it, you hate your life as much as I hate mine. You can't just bottle up your emotions!"
"What the hell do you know Naruto? You don't know me, or at least not as well as you think. You have no idea, what it's like having to try to balance the darkness and light in your body!"
"Oh no! Because it's not like I have a giant demon fox, who I have to reign control over, otherwise he'll take control of my body. No, whatever gave you that idea?"
"Enough!" Sakura cried, coming in between the two, pushing them apart. Roxas' eyes were glowing a golden colour, the sign of darkness as well as Naruto's becoming more like Kyubbi's with each passing second.
"Stay out of this Sakura!" Naruto growled, holding out his hand where a red orb was forming in his palm.
"Not a chance. The both of you need to calm down. We're all just a little angry because we're getting sick of our lives. But fighting isn't going to help. The only thing we can do is keep going."
"You're right Sakura." Naruto said, but his Rasengan was still spinning in his hands. "But we shouldn't have to put up with him. Why don't we go it alone. Or better yet, we can go and get Li and Hinata and fight with them."
Sakura looked almost outraged, as if Naruto was insulting her by suggesting such a thing. "Naruto- no! That's…"
"You bastard! If you want me to leave, just say the word and I'll go!" Roxas started to scream. Sakura turned on Roxas, this time with tears in her eyes making the two boys feel a pang of guilt.
But suddenly Sakura smiled, maliciously, making Roxas and Naruto both flinch. They both realised that this couldn't be good.
"If you two think each other's lives are so easy. Why don't we prove it?" She pulled out one of her Star Cards. "I've always wanted to try this card, to be honest. Change card!"
There was a second of hesitation, as nothing was said. Both the boys blinked, mindlessly and suddenly the two were screaming. Pointing at the other.
Sakura laughed and the two turned on her. "What did you do?" They cried, simultaneously.
Sakura glared at them, suddenly cold. "You've swapped minds. You're now living in each other's bodies with each other's hearts. You've got the other's life now. Let's see what you think of it." She said, making both gawp at her with their jaws hanging at the hinges.
"Sakura! Change us back. We're almost at Beast's Castle. For all we know, the toughest challenge we're ever faced lies before us and you're doing this. We won't be able to fight properly in each other's bodies." Naruto fumed, however Sakura reminded herself that it was Roxas speaking.
"It seemed like the only way for you two to reconnect. That's what you need to do, but the thing is. You're lives are on the line. I wonder how long you two can keep your bodies in check, before you let loose the darkness inside."
The two were suddenly clutching their chests, listening for their hearts beating. The weight of Roxas' heart suddenly hit Naruto like a tonne of bricks. He felt the balance in his heart, but he also felt the pressure it had. Naruto felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment.
While Roxas was sensing his own heart. It was much lighter than his own, but there was a much larger tug on his will. Roxas realised that Naruto's strength was immense. He was something else, entirely, but a large part of the strength he contained was used in keeping the Nine-Tailed beast trapped, completely under his will.
"Damn you Sakura, damn you." The two cursed at their friend, until they arrived at Beast's Castle.
The interior of Beast's Castle was dark and ominous, it was in worse condition than it had been when the Key Wielders had been there last. "This looks bad." Naruto muttered, rubbing his hand along the walls where long claw marks stretched across almost everywhere.
"We better go look for Beast. Or Belle. Who knows where they are." Roxas said, looking around. His eyes fixed on a door to the right.
"There's an energy coming from there."
Naruto glared at him, slightly. "At least you can use my powers…" He mumbled. Then he stopped, as if thinking. "Byakugan!" Naruto, suddenly, shouted. Using Naruto's abilities, he was able to see right into the room. The thing giving off so much energy was a rose. A single rose in a special glass case.
Just then, a roar sounded throughout the castle. "That's the Beast!" Sakura cried, happy to know that seemed to be alive at the very least. "It doesn't even seem like he's hurt or anything."
Roxas nodded, happily. But Naruto was solemn. "If he's not hurt then why hasn't he been contacting anyone. That's what we've gotta find out." Roxas scowled at Naruto, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself, at risk of triggering Sakura's rage once more.
"Guys. We have trouble." Sakura said, pointing to the ground where heartless were moving swiftly towards the room with the rose.
"Where did they go?" Sakura asked, charging into the empty room. The three looked around, but saw no sign of the heartless. And neither Naruto nor Roxas could use their sensory powers well enough to find out where they were. However, they could sense what the source of energy was. On a table, by the fireplace there sat a glowing rose, protected by a glass dome.
Sakura approached the rose, cautiously. She looked troubled by the flower, although neither Roxas nor Naruto had any idea why. "This rose has very powerful magic attached to it." She told them, examining the rose but not daring to touch it. "It feels…malevolent. It's not dark magic, but whatever this flower is connected to isn't magic with good intentions." Sakura was about to reach out for the rose, when the heartless appeared.
Sakura jumped backwards. Naruto and Roxas took to their battle stances but they didn't look confident fighting against the heartless, as their numbers continued to grow by the second, filling up the living room. "I swear to God Sakura. This had better work." Roxas growled, menacingly.
Sakura didn't seem completely convinced at her own actions, as her eyes skirted between Roxas and Naruto, worriedly. "I'm sure it'll be fine. These guys are just shadows. Good practice for the first fight."
Naruto rolled his eyes and looked at the enemies. He attempted to make the hand signs that this body had preformed countless times. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He cried out…but nothing happened.
"You idiot!" Roxas shouted, choosing to simply slay the heatless with his blade than rely on the powers he had at his disposal. "You used the Dragon hand sign, when you should have used the Tiger one."
Naruto huffed, but preformed the jutsu in the right way afterwards. The clones set out to each attack a group of heartless.
"Water style; release!"
"Wind style; release!"
"Ice style; release!"
Roxas watched, grudgingly as Naruto preformed the multiple attacks, taking out a good majority of the heartless. Thankfully there was still more for him to take on. "Thunder!" He cried, but again nothing happened.
Naruto burst into laughter at the sight of Roxas trying repeatedly to use the electrical attack to finish the remaining heartless. Finally Roxas couldn't take anymore. "What? It's hard!"
Naruto shook his head. "No way. Memorising hand signs is difficult. I've actually got to give you credit, I don't know how you do it. But magic is easy. All you have to do is will your powers to do what you want. It's the exact same as using Star Cards." He shrugged.
Roxas blushed slightly, possibly or from embarrassment or both. "Thunder!" He cried again, this time succeeding in destroying the last of the heartless.
"There you go. This is going great. Mark my words, by the end of the day you'll be the best of friends again." Sakura said, proud of her own experiment.
But at that moment, the room continued to be flooded with a new wave of heartless. The three cried out. There just seemed to be no end to the amount of heartless these days. And in the next moment, the doors to the sitting room were broken through by a great lumbering animal, walking on two legs and donning a purple robe and the shredded remains of a pair of royal blue trousers. Beast! The creature took out the heartless, which all targeted him as its prey. He didn't bat an eye, as he took them all out.
"It's great to see you again Beast. We were pretty worried." Sakura said, waving at him. But Beast never made eye contact with her, or indeed recognised her existence, until he swatted her away like a fly with his large hands.
Naruto caught Sakura, as she began to go flying. She looked shocked, almost as if she couldn't believe what had just happened. Naruto shouted at Beast. "Hey! What do you think you're doing! You can't just go around taking us out, what's wrong with you!" But Beast never answered. He only had attention for the rose on the table. He picked it up in his arms and cradled it, as if it were something special. Without another word, he left the room and was gone from sight.
"Something's going on here." Roxas said, looking suspiciously at where Beast had just left.
Sakura nodded, in agreement. "There's definitely something wrong here. Let's go find Belle. She'll be able to tell us something, at least." The boys liked the idea and so the three set off towards Belle's bedroom in search for the Princess.
"Her room is down this hall, I think." Sakura said, leading the mis-matched boys to where she believed Belle to be. The boys weren't sure how Sakura knew exactly where Belle's room was, but it didn't matter at this point.
At the end of the hall, were a pair of elegantly designed doors with saint like maidens on either side. A female's voice emerged from behind the doors. Naruto knocked on the door, although Roxas seemed like he was ready to bash the doors through and take out anything that could waiting for them on the other side.
Naruto had barely come away from the doors, than they had swung open, revealing the smiling face of a beautiful girl with brown hair, tied back into a long ponytail. She was wearing ribbons in her hair and a simple blue and white outfit, which almost seemed like a maid's outfit.
"You three! You're here. Thank goodness." She said, smiling at us all.
Sakura tensed up, Naruto and Roxas both turned solemn.
"Belle." Naruto said, taking the lead. "What's going on? We haven't heard from you, in awhile. Leon and the others were getting worried. The Beast…"
Belle frowned a little and she tried to avoid the three's gaze. "He's been acting strange, lately." She admitted. "He's kept me from contacting with the outside world and he's locked up all of the servants in the dungeon. They're probably the only ones, who even have an idea about what's going on. I would love to help them, but Beast…"
Roxas nodded. "Say no more. We'll help them get out and then we can help the Beast."
Belle looked reassured by this and nodded. "The dungeon's main entrance is through a door in the West Hall. I think it may be guarded somehow, but the servants are obedient enough to not try to hard to escape."
The three took in that information and set off for the West hall, searching for the missing servants. There were a lot of puzzle pieces here, but none of them fitted together. Naruto and Roxas both cursed Sakura's magic switcheroo for this. And she was happy to accept that.
The West Hall was much grander, than its east counterpart. The walls were lined with columns and statues, ones that went all the way to the ceiling. There was slightly less battle scars in this area, but that didn't mean there wasn't any. The whole place was covered in the small little details that made it obvious what had taken place within it.
The gang discovered the door that Belle talked about. It was being blocked by a large cabinet, that looked like it belonged in Belle's room. The odd part was that, amidst all of the wreckage of the West Hall, this one piece of furniture was completely untouched. Had it been put here recently?
Roxas took it upon himself to try and move the cabinet, but it seemed to take much more physical strength, which he didn't have and he only just was able to get it to move out of the doorway.
Everyone was about to go through the door into the dungeon, but then Sakura paused, her eyes wide, as she looked at the cabinet. The boys were confused, until they saw what she was seeing. The cabinet had a face. With eyes and a mouth.
Her eyes pinned them on us. "Do you mind?" She screamed, shocking everyone as they moved back away from the talking cabinet.
The boys looked at Sakura. This kind of thing was more her area of expertise. "It's the same kind of magic, around the Beast and that rose. I don't understand it, but let me move her."
She pulled out the Star Card 'The Move.' The cabinet was lifted into the air, by a pair of small red wings, which gently floated the cabinet up and gently let her down away, so the door was no longer blocked. The cabinet seemed to be sleeping and that was reason enough for everyone to hurry through the door.
Inside of the first room, the group found another door. This one seemed to be engraved with a monstrous beast, almost like a guardian. There seemed to be things like old bookcases and wardrobes tossed aside in this room, probably to be used as firewood later on. Thankfully, none of these pieces of décor were alive.
Roxas went to the door, not surprised that it was locked. "I'll open it." He said, raising the X-Blade. Before even a spark could fly out, the three heard a dark chuckle from behind and turned quickly enough to see a man in a black cloak, with red clouds on it disappear into the darkness.
"Organization XIII are here?" Sakura cried.
Naruto threw an enraged look at Roxas. "Why didn't you sense them?" He cried, gesturing with his hands that showed that he wanted to strangle him.
Roxas shrugged. "That's not fair. How can I sense them? They're literally non-existent."
Naruto looked like he was about to retort, but saw the glowing eyes of the figure carved into the door. "Get back!" He called to Roxas, who was able to jump away in time for the creature to come to life. Another heartless, of course. Actually two, although they seemed to be connected to the one body and each only had one arm.
However, those arms seemed to have no elastic limit, as they stretched over and came together to try and crush the Key Wielders. "Shield!" Sakura cried, protecting everyone from the initial attack.
"Sword! Fly!" She cried next, going in for the attack against the major foe.
Naruto and Roxas looked at each other, helplessly. What could they do exactly? Well they decided that they couldn't just stand back and do nothing.
The three all went close combat to beat the creature, as it couldn't move from its spot. But that didn't seem to be the case, as the creature banished all three of them with a wave of its hand. Sending them into the air, with no control of themselves. Without, Roxas and Naruto their normal selves, there was no way this would work out in their favour, at this rate.
Naruto huffed, looking at the heartless with his Byakugan. He hesitated for a moment and tried to avoid all of the attacks, the heartless threw at him. "Got ya!" He yelled, going forward. "Ice style; Release!" He cried, freezing the heartless.
Then he jumped backwards, raising his Key. "Release!" He cried, the ice broke, but two dark shapes escaped from the door's engravings. They were the reason that the heartless had come to life.
"Sakura! Light!" He called out and she nodded. Roxas stood in silence, doing nothing more than on looking. He was starting to feel discouraged now. Even though he was a fish out of water, Roxas still managed to be able to completely outshine him.
"Drive form! Light!" Sakura cried, her body going inside a crystal orb for less than a second and then returning wearing a pure white dress and crown. She raised one hand and light absorbed the heartless, turning them to dust.
Roxas made sure he was the one to open the door, so that it seemed he was doing something. But as he looked into the dungeon, he frowned. "There's nobody here." He called to the others.
Sakura and Naruto came in and frowned at Roxas. "You really are an idiot." Naruto told him, shaking his head. He gestured to the pieces of furniture, with all the faces. A clock, a candelabra, a teapot and a tea cup, with a small chip in it. "These are the servants!" He said, gesturing to them all.
The decorative objects jumped off their seats and continued to hop towards the other three. Roxas frowned in complete confusion, but he was starting to realise he could sense their hearts inside. It was completely different to his usual way of looking at things and it unnerved him and also fascinated him.
"Hi." Sakura said, friendly. "It's us, remember? My name's Sakura. These are my friends, Roxas and Naruto." They nodded, at the wrong names and then turned pink, realising the mistake. Sakura tried to laugh it off.
"I guess you could say they're not feeling like themselves today. Belle sent us to come and get you. She believes that you guys are the only ones who know what's wrong with the Beast." The animated inanimate objects suddenly turned a mixture of sad and solemn.
"Yes. The Master is out of sorts lately. We believe it may have something to do with a visitor he's been getting. Someone by the name of Xaldin, I believe. He goes around in this awful cloak." The clock said, in a very posh sort of voice.
Naruto nodded. "As we expected. Okay, we should be able to handle it." He promised them, despite the looks he was getting from Roxas.
Sakura inspected the objects with a burning curiosity. "This is a powerful type of magic. You all used to be human right. What happened?" She asked.
"The enchantress." The clock answered.
"It was a very long time ago, it seems." He said, waving his burning arms. He had an accent of sort. French, probably.
"It was an cold Winter's Night." The teapot began. She seemed to know the story well and seemed like an almost motherly figure to those present. Even the Key Wielders. "An old beggar woman came to the castle looking for shelter from the cold. But, the Master was a cruel person back then. Judging people on their looks rather than anything else. Because this woman didn't meet the master's high standards, he turned her away."
"Now, now Mrs. Potts. No need for such blatant disapproval of our Master's youthful antics." The clock said. Apparently his name was Cogsworth and the grand candle stick was Lumiere.
"Now, as I was saying." Mrs Potts continued. "The beggar warned the Prince to be careful how he judged those, by appearance alone. The beggar's ugliness melted away, until she was a woman with breathtaking beauty. She turned the Prince into a Beast, which she thought would best match his cold heart and as a extra punishment, she punished everyone else in the castle alongside him."
The three took in that information. They were all too aware of the Beast's surly and slightly aggressive nature, but to be punished so severely for something as silly as judging a person on their looks seemed completely crazy.
"How does the rose fit in to all of this?" Sakura asked, her mind still going at a mile per minute.
Lumiere answered. "Well you see. The enchantress gave the Master that rose, when she left. She told him if all of the petals on it fall off, he will be stuck in that form forever, as will we all. The only way for the spell to be broken would be for the Master to love and to be loved in return."
Sakura sighed, heavenly. It was like something out of a fairy tale, no wonder she found this world so attractive above all others.
"That's beautiful. But surely Belle…"
"Not yet. And it seems the two are drifting further apart. That's why we need you to get rid of this Xaldin character, so the two can go back to how they were."
The three nodded. "We'll help. Of course we will."
The group of seven moved quickly, taking a shortcut through the dungeon to get to the West Hall. "I will take Mrs Potts and Chip and take care of the castle. Cogsworth, you take our guests to see the Master. Maybe they can talk some sense into him."
Cogsworth nodded, superiorly and left Lumiere to attend to the castle, while he led the other three to the Beast's room at the end of the West Hall. The doors were even grander than Belle's, although they lacked the touch of cleanliness that Belle's had had. The scenes of struggles seemed to get worse as the group went on.
"In here." Cogsworth whispered, opening the door very gently. Inside was the Beast and a man in a cloak with his hood up. That must have been Xaldin. The member of Organization XIII.
"That Belle is such a trouble maker." The man told him. He also had a posh sort of accent, which made him seem like the perfect member of the Organization to take to the Beast, but what was he doing here?
"Be quiet." Naruto whispered to everyone and they snuck behind the broken tables and upturned wardrobes.
"She's scheming to take everything you have. Your castle, your rose…your life." Xaldin continued, although he himself had the rose in his hands. He seemed to be examining it, as if he was just as curious about it as Sakura was.
The Beast growled slightly. Xaldin nodded. "That's good. Feel your anger. Feed it. Embrace it. It is that anger alone that will allow you to become strong."
The Beast seemed to subside a little on this point. Xaldin was quick to pick up on it as well. "Oh please. Do not tell me you no longer care for strength. Let me guess, you wish to love and be loved in return?" Xaldin said it in such a icy, cold tone that the hairs on the back of each of the Key Wielders necks stood high.
"Who could ever love a Beast?" Xaldin asked the Beast, treating him like a dumb animal. But the Beast didn't object, he still had his face turned from the view of the others, but they could all sense that something was terribly wrong here. The Beast wasn't one for taking anything lying down. "Now Beast. I'm taking this rose where it can be better protected from her. It seems she has already sent people to take it for her. Eliminate them!"
Xaldin disappeared through a corridor, as the Beast turned. Everyone gasped and Roxas' eyes went wide. The Beast's eyes were a bright yellow, darkness was clinging to his body. Roxas could see it. The darkness close to taking over his heart. The Beast charged at the group's hiding spot.
Cogsworth jumped up, as the Beast was charging. Everyone screamed at him, especially the Beast. But all screams were drowned out, as Cogsworth let out a excessively loud ring. The Beast stood in the middle of the room, dazed for a few moments. Sakura took that as her chance.
"Light! I need your strength!" The light card, which was still infused with Sakura managed to give out several rays of light, consuming the Beast, but as Cogsworth bell stopped, the Beast raged on, his darkness still going completely out of control.
"Do something!" Naruto yelled at Roxas, who was staring at the Beast, not sure what to do.
"What can I do?" He shouted back. He felt completely weak and hopeless in this other body, which he didn't know how to use.
"Sakura! You have to change us back!" Naruto cried, he jumped to Sakura's side.
Sakura shook her head. "I can't. I don't have enough energy."
"Then let someone else do it. What's the Change card under?"
"…The Dark card!" Naruto cursed. He couldn't believe this and he turned all of his anger on Roxas.
"This is your fault. You're so completely useless. You can't even begin to use the powers you have at your disposal. In your body, the power source is so easy to control. It's no wonder, you're so laid back. You've never had to constantly try! You battle heartless and Nobodies, but really all you want is peace and quiet! And you take any chance you get at it."
He raised his fist to Roxas, who actually flinched, never realising that he could get so angry, but Naruto changed his direction and fired at the Beast instead. "Ice Style: Dragon Blizzard jutsu!" The black dragon made of ice and snow smashed right into the Beast sending him flying and crashing against the glass wall on the other side of his room.
Naruto let out a breath and kneeled beside the Beast, who was unconscious. "Sakura. Can you exchange the Light card for the Dark card and try to take away all this excess darkness. Naruto. Please tell me you've at least figured out how to use my cure technique?"
Roxas didn't reply as he came over and covered the Beast with a magical green aura. Sakura did as Naruto asked of her and she was successfully able to take away all of the leftover hatred and anger inside of the Beast's body. At least temporarily.
"Cogsworth…what happened?" The Beast was sprawled on the floor. Cogsworth was attempting to awaken his master and restore him. But the Beast was in a complete daze and it didn't seem he could remember anything of what happened.
"Um…well…that is to say…Master." Cogsworth mumbled, unable to string his words along to create a sentence.
"You put the servants in the dungeon. You made it so Belle could never leave her room. The darkness in your heart almost took over you. And then you tried to kill us." Roxas said, bluntly, looking at Beast, apparently unimpressed.
"What?" The Beast looked bewildered. He seemed like he was thinking and then his eyes lit up again. "Xaldin…He came from the darkness. I didn't like him…but then he used my anger to control me."
The Beast turned suddenly and roared. A sound that could probably be heard throughout the castle. "He stole my rose!" The Beast shouted and then he turned back, looking at the Key Wielders. "I'm going to kill him. Will you help me?"
The Key Wielders didn't need another second's thought. "Of course. That's what friends are for?" Naruto smirked.
The Beast frowned slightly. "I don't remember you being so…civil."
Roxas looked wounded, but tried to fake a smile anyway. "Can we just get going?" He said, not bothering to wait for an answer.
Naruto and Sakura sighed, but headed off anyway, with the Beast following and Cogsworth remaining behind to make sure that this section of the castle was secure.
"Wait." The Beast said, as we were still running through the castle. "I don't deserve Belle back. From what you've said, I've done terrible things."
"Oh come on Beast!" Sakura cried. "We know what you're really like. You would give your life to protect Belle. You probably put all the servants in the dungeon as a way to protect them." The Beast didn't look convinced, but he went on, slightly slower though.
"If you don't think you deserve her, earn her back! Defeat Xaldin and protect her. But at the same time. Let her live. Teach her to fight, if you think it would help." The Beast again didn't look so sure.
"A princess shouldn't fight. They should be protected by their Princes. To make her fight would mean that I had failed in my duties as her Prince."
"Bullshit!" Both Naruto and Roxas cried. "A princess is strong and can fight better than most people give them credit for. The light in their hearts is so strong that it can take out any threat!"
The Beast was startled by this. He wasn't sure what to make of it, so he turned solemn and continued thinking to himself. Meanwhile Sakura smiled. It seemed that Naruto and Roxas did have one thing in common. They both cared for their Princesses.
In Belle's room, the group didn't find any Belle. But they did see the cabinet (or it could have been a wardrobe, but it looked more like a cabinet) was there. She seemed shocked to see her Master here.
"Where is Belle?" The Beast demanded, in a threatening tone. If the cabinet could blush, she would have done so in that instant.
"Oh well you see. She's gone. She went out, in quite a rush I might add. Something about chasing a man in a black cloak." The Beast's pupils dilated and he threw his chest out as he screamed.
"What!" The cabinet flinched from the Beast's howl. "Why doesn't that girl do, as she's told?" He asked, but he was not expecting an answer.
The cabinet smiled a bit, as if she now understood why the Beast was so angry. "Temper, temper." She teased. "Honestly, if Belle didn't have such spirit, you probably wouldn't be so interested in her." The cabinet laughed and it gave the Key Wielders the impression that this woman was very much like a gossipy mother figure, ultimately too involved in her 'daughter's' affairs.
"Come on. Enough of this. We better go find her." Roxas said, summoning his key and looking determined to be of some use this time around.
The Beast nodded and followed him out the door, leaving Naruto and Sakura little else to do but go on and catch up. "Sakura. The dark card probably isn't going to help you here. Better break the drive form and conserve energy."
Sakura nodded, already having this idea herself, and broke the connection between her and the dark card. Then all of them found themselves in the foyer.
"Beast! Help me! Please!" Belle's voice came from inside of the ballroom. She sounded like she was in some sort of trouble. Her voice sounded weak and not entirely there.
The Beast didn't waste a second bursting into the ballroom. His eyes searched every corner, but he couldn't see her. His eyes locked onto the balcony doors, which were wide open. There seemed to be a draft and the doors opened and closed. But then his eyes locked upon Xaldin, hanging up above the whole ballroom.
"So Beast. You've finally arrived." He said, smugly.
"Where is she? Where is Belle!" The Beast was completely furious, looking as if he was about to foam at the mouth in any moment. His breathing was deep though, as if he was trying to calm down.
"Belle?" Xaldin repeated, feigning confusion. "I can assure you, she's not here. Whatever you thought you heard must have merely been the wind." He dismissed the creature's wild accusation.
Roxas stepped up in front of Beast. "What is it that you guys really want? Tell us!" He seemed just as angry as the Beast.
Roxas almost didn't expect an answer and everyone was shocked when it was actually given. "Kingdom Hearts." Said Xaldin, simply.
Kingdom Hearts was the same thing that Ansem had attempted to take control of, attempting to destroy all the worlds in order to do so. But the Organization members didn't want to destroy the worlds, so how else were they going to go about achieving their goal.
"Why?" Naruto asked. Again no answer was expected, but one came. Xaldin must have been confident that the information would be lost on those who were about to die.
"When Kingdom Hearts is ours, we can exist fully and completely." He said, deciding to take off his hood to reveal dreadlocks, sideburns and huge eyebrows. Again, more examples of why Xaldin must have been chosen to try and recruit the Beast to their side.
"So you see Beast." He continued. "That is why it is crucial to take your heartless and Nobody for our own!"
He snapped his fingers and the room was filled with enemies. A huge numbers of Nobodies. Some of them were the usual Dusk types. The other a special type, carrying lances, named the Dragoon. But there was also another type of enemy. A pureblood heartless, by the looks of it. A huge beast-like creature, which clung to the chandelier overhead. His entire presence seemed to make the room fill with darkness. Xaldin didn't seem to want to waste his time watching the fight, so he simply left through another corridor.
"Oh no you don't!" Roxas cried, he seemed pretty angry. His eyes were beginning to glow yellow. He held out his hands and a corridor of his own appeared. "Come on Beast!"
"Naruto stop it! My body isn't like your's. You can't get angry!" Naruto shouted, but his words fell on broken ears, as both Roxas and the Beast left the ballroom.
That left Naruto and Sakura alone to face the mass of enemies, including a giant heartless. Naruto growled menacingly. "I'll kill him!" Naruto declared and then hit himself, as though to punish him for being so negative.
Sakura put her arms around him. "You know it's okay to get mad sometimes right? You seem to forget that sometimes."
Naruto shook his head. "No Sakura. You don't understand. Ever since I called on the X-Blade…I can…Wait…" Naruto looked at his hands and then placed them on his chest, over his heart. A wicked smile formed on his face. To describe him in a word, he looked…mercurial.
"I'm gonna have some fun!" He said, gleefully.
Naruto moved fast, possibly faster than he usually could move. Some sort of force was driving him, pushing him to his absolute limit. A steady stream of red chakra was beginning to flow out of him.
He began to make hand signs. Hand signs that Sakura had never seen Naruto use before. "What's going on?" She muttered to herself. "Could Kyubbi…?"
"Secret Technique: Flight of the Obliterating Water!" Sakura watched as Naruto directed all of the moisture in the air to bend to his will. Hundreds of Thousands of needles were appearing in the air, made of water. "Ice Release!" Naruto cried, and they froze on his command.
No Nobody stood a chance, they were annihilated quickly and easily. They disappeared, as their beings were torn apart in every direction by the needles. Sakura was shocked by just how violent Naruto was at this point. She didn't think that switching their bodies around could have this sort of impact.
Naruto set his sights on the giant heartless, still swinging from the chandelier. "Sakura." His voice was even. That surprised Sakura. "Could you please call out Watery and Windy. I plan on taking this guy out with their help."
Sakura didn't move for a second. She was actually a little afraid. Roxas, inside of Naruto's body was angry, but he was the type of person that had an eerie sort of calm vibe around him when he got angry. It was unsettling. Still when his eyes didn't leave her, she realised she had no say in the matter and called upon the two cards he requested.
"Watery Style: Rising Water Slice!" A huge jet of fast running water came heading straight for the heartless, who tried to avoid it by mixing his presence with that of the columns around them. It didn't help, as the ones in Naruto's sight were destroyed instantly. Sakura feared that the walkway overhead would come crashing down upon them.
This didn't seem to worry Naruto though.
"Byakugan combination! Eight Trigrams; Sixty-four gale palms!" The Windy card covered Naruto's fists, as he went in at the huge beast like heartless, landing hit after hit, each one powered by the ferocious cutting power of Naruto's wind, tearing into the heartless, winding him down to nothing.
"Let's go." Naruto said, after he was through. Sakura was trembling slightly. If that was what he had done to the lackeys, Sakura really didn't want to see what he did to the boss.
Meanwhile, Roxas and Beast had been able to follow Xaldin to the courtyard. "Hurry up!" Roxas cried, the two believed that Xaldin was trying to escape. Right now, he was on the bridge. And he was holding the Rose and Belle.
The Beast stopped, unable to think or move. Xaldin had both of his most precious things in his arms right now.
"Get out of my castle." The Beast managed, his eyes never leaving Xaldin, who looked straight at the Beast the entire time.
"Oh gladly." Xaldin said, but he was smiling. That wasn't a good sign. "But first, I want to test something. Which of these two do you care more about? The Rose or Belle?" The Beast was confused at first, as was Roxas, but then Xaldin made his point by letting go of both and making the wind carry them onto opposite sides of the bridge. "You'll only have time to save one."
The Beast looked horrified. He wouldn't be able to choose. He could either give up Belle or give up any chance of her being with him. Either way to him, it would seem like he was losing his Princess.
"I'll get the Rose. You get Belle." Roxas said, dashing past the Beast and launching himself at the Rose. Xaldin didn't bat an eye, as a lance came right at Roxas, making him stop.
The Beast still didn't look like he knew which choice to make, but his eyes refocused as Belle began to scream, the winds beneath her fading away. The Beast jumped and grabbed her before she could fall. Her eyes looked past the Beast, to the rose that was about to fall, never to be seen again.
"Stop!" The Rose froze in the middle of the fall, thanks to Roxas' magic, it was safe.
Now the Beast could concentrate on taking out Xaldin, but the usually calm exterior had vanished. Xaldin was livid that his plan had failed. The wind surrounded him, fast and strong. Along with that, his weapons were six lances and he didn't seem to need to touch a single one. He had an ultimate defence. And he also had a powerful offence to go with it.
His lances all at once tuned on the Beast, sending him flying. Belle ran after him, hoping to help. She attempted to drag his body back to the safety of the castle, but it would be a slow process.
That left Roxas to face Xaldin alone. His lances came down striking him one after the other. The winds buffeted him and Roxas could barely get a hit in. He wasn't sure what to do. "Oblivion Arrow!" Roxas shouted, hoping to get a lucky hit in, but the attack was swept aside like it was nothing.
Roxas was beginning to give up hope. "Infinity Sword!" Sakura screamed, striking down with one of her most powerful attacks from overhead. The one spot, Roxas noticed, that Xaldin's defence was weakest.
Xaldin screamed in pain as the attack hit, but blew Sakura away just as easily as anything else. He then proceeded to attack her from the air. She too, it seemed, was no match for Xaldin. So who was?
Naruto laughed, approaching Xaldin. His eyes were slits, beast like and his whole body was almost in some sort of twisted fashion. Roxas watched fascinated, Belle and Sakura turned away in disgust. Even Xaldin seemed disgruntled.
"You? You've allowed the darkness to take over. Are you truly prepared to give up everything in order to defeat me?"
"Shut up!" Naruto screamed. "You're really pissing me off. I can't stand you. You think you're so superior. What are you number three in the Organization? It doesn't matter. You've been picking on my friends and I'm so sick of your pathetic Organization. It will be fun to eliminate you."
The red chakra around Naruto was building, increasing. "Drive form!" Naruto screeched. "Three tails!" Red chakra was completely pouring out of Naruto at this point. There wasn't anything anyone else could do. Naruto went on all four's, and charged at Xaldin. The winds didn't affect him, in fact, Naruto was whipping the winds for his own use. Little shockwaves were being formed in the gales as well. Xaldin was shocked.
"Impossible!" Xaldin screamed, hitting him time and time again with his lances. They seemed to bounce harmlessly off his skin.
Naruto raised a fist and was able to send Xaldin flying straight into the gates. He looked bewildered, as if couldn't comprehend what was going on. He was being beaten and about to be destroyed by this creature before him. One that held ultimate hatred inside of him. Like it was all flowing out of him.
"Roxas! Stop it!" Sakura yelled, as Naruto continued to punch Xaldin, knocking him into the gates repeatedly.
Roxas just stood there, watching. He had never realised that this was what he was capable, but he didn't understand why Roxas was so angry, why he was being so violent.
'Because he can.' Came the answer. But he came inside of Roxas' head. "What? Roxas has a voice inside of his head?" Roxas screamed slightly.
'You've got a giant, demon fox inside of you. I wouldn't judge people so quickly.'
"Okay then, but what are you?"
'I don't think that matters. Not right now. Anyway, the answer to your question is because Roxas can now be angry and violent.'
"I've seen him angry before."
'No you haven't. Not really. You see. Roxas, ever since he was born and especially since he called on the X-Blade has had to keep a balance of light and dark qualities inside of him, or he loses his powers. If he was to be too light, then he would become blinded and would try to eradicate the darkness, no matter what. If he was too dark, then his heart would give way and he would become a heartless, like everyone else. Only a much more powerful one. One that could rival even Ansem's power.'
"What? But…he always seems so…"
'Serious? That's because serious is the mid-way point for him. Neither too happy nor to sad. Just normal. Neutral.'
And that's the moment that Naruto finally understood Roxas. And it was at this moment that Xaldin had disappeared into the wind, only to reappear on some sort of Dragon like Nobody. It fired a powerful laser at Naruto, who crouched down in a protective ball…made of a crystal like substance. "Four tails!" He cried.
The darkness and red chakra covered Naruto's entire being. Roxas could feel it from here. Kyubbi was awaking. The darkness returning to him. His evil mind being restored.
Roxas turned to Sakura. "Sakura! You have to switch us back right now!"
"But you won't be able to control that power. You could be killed!"
"Just do it!" He commanded, to which she had to abide to.
"Change card!" Naruto looked dumbstruck for a moment and then howled, as Naruto returned to his true body. Roxas had collapsed the moment he had returned to his own.
"Your time is here Uzumaki!" Xaldin screamed.
"Tailed Beast! Chakra Arms!" Naruto said, forcing all of the red chakra into a massive hand which continued to absorb the attack and then grab hold of Xaldin, crushing him slightly before tossing him aside.
"It's over Xaldin!" Sakura declared.
Xaldin staggered and tried getting to his feet. His lances faded away and he began screaming, as his entire essence slipped away from him. And that was that. Xaldin was no more. Another one of the Organization down. Sakura flew down to retrieve the Rose. And then she saw the damage. Naruto, Roxas and Beast were all completely exhausted. Fighting Xaldin had been too much for them and Sakura felt responsible for trying to test people. She was just like Xaldin in a lot of ways and she couldn't let her curiosity or what she thought was right be able to get the best of her.
And suddenly nothing else seemed to matter in this world. The Beast had begged Belle to stay with him, despite the danger she might be in and had thanked her for bringing his body back to the castle on her own.
The two were dancing in the ballroom now. Dressed up and having the time of their lives. "Those two are made for each other." Sakura muttered, watching them dance.
Roxas and Naruto nodded in agreement. Overall, the whole thing had been quite the experience and they were too tired to dwell into the matters yet. They needed time to rest. But first…
"I'll do the honours." Naruto said, lifting his KeyKunai at the Rose, which glowed accordingly. With his key, Naruto opened up the gate to the next world, thinking of someplace in particular when he did so.
Naruto led the way for Sakura and Roxas outside. It was partly to give Beast and Belle some privacy, but really it was to relive a memory of standing here looking up and the stars and realising just how beautiful and peaceful the world could be. "Here's to tomorrow and everything the future may bring!"
Next Time- The true essence of a hero is darkness?
I'm really sorry about the length and the wait. Plus I made a few mistakes in this chapter, so I'm apologising. I'm trying to keep this story going, but it's become my least priority among other things.