Kingdom Hearts II

Hi!!! Thanks for the reviews again!!

Sorry for the late update :P

Go on with the story!!

"You ask for it, Roxas."

He slowly reaches out his hand and grabs Roxas's forehead. Darkness slowly overtakes his vision.

Sora...

二人の約束

The Promise Between the Two of Us

Chapter 17:

The Rose or Love?

Sora and gang arrive at Beast's Castle, as they procced to find Beast and Belle. While in her room, Belle is preparing for a night of ballroom dancing in her room. She hums to herself as she finishes putting on her dress.

Wardrobe smiles at her. "I hope tonight goes well."

"So do I. But I wonder why he's so nervous."

"The master does have his shy side, you know."

Back to the trio, they enter the castle and see the Beast pacing in the Entrance Hall, wearing a fancy suit. "Hey there!"

Donald looks around. "No Heartless and no Nobodies! But I think they're close, though...Better watch out!"

The Beast sighs in frustration as Sora raises an eyebrow. "What are you so mad about?"

"Why are you here?"

Sora shrugs his shoulder. "The Nobodies' world has to be out there somewhere. We're looking for a way in."

"Hmph."

"You all came." Belle walks down the east staircase as the trio awe at the sight of her beauty. Beast turns to them. "Tonight is very important…"

Beast walks up the stairs and meets her at the entrance to the Ballroom. They bow to each other. She takes his arm, and he leads her into the Ballroom.

The trio looks at one another. "Uh, maybe we came at a bad time."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Donald runs up the stairs into the ballroom.

"Donald!"

They have no choice but to run after him. The Beast and Belle walk to the middle of the Ballroom and stare into each other's eyes.

"Now then, Monsieur, Mademoiselle. Please, enjoy the evening." Lumiere announces as he and the other servants bow to them. They notice the trio by the door. "And of course, our honored guests are welcome, too."

"A welcome indeed."

They were surprise by the voice echoes through the hall, Sora runs further into the ballroom and turns around to see a cloaked man standing behind the railing above.

"The Organization! You are Xaldin!"

"You don't know when to quit." Xaldin shrugs his shoulder.

"Get out!" The Beast leaves Belle and runs toward Xaldin. Belle glares. "Not tonight!"

Xaldin snaps his fingers and several Dragoon Nobodies appear. The Beast runs and swipes through them with a roar. "I've come to take something you hold very dear."

Beast lets out a loud bellow while Xaldin chuckles. "Yes. Let your anger grow..." He disappears, leaving the Nobodies to take care of them. They fight the Nobodies, while the castle staff quickly hurries Belle out to the balcony away from the fight.

After the battle is over, the Beast realizes something and races out of the Ballroom while Belle quickly runs after him.

"Belle? What's with them?"

They hurry to the Beast's Room in the West Wing, where the Beast is pacing around the room. He roars and slams the floor.

"What's wrong?" Belle walks closer to him. "Please, calm down!"

The Beast swing to face her, she holds up her hands. "Calm down!? You just had to have a party, didn't you? Don't you see what's happened?"

Sora steps forth. "Hey. What's with you?"

"The rose... My rose..."

"What, that? He took it?"

Belle tries to go nearer. "But surely, you can find another rose..."

"Silence! You don't know anything!" The Beast swipes slightly at her as Sora stands between them. "That's not fair, Beast. Don't take it out on Belle. It's not like she stole it!"

The Beast holds a hand to his forehead, as Belle looks away. "I'm sorry…" Sora raises his hand to stop her. "You don't have to apologize."

"But..."

The Beast looks away. "Belle... Sora... I want you to leave the castle. Look at me. Look. This is what I am. When you first got here, I tried to change." He looks at his hands. "But I was only fooling myself. I can't be any different. I'll always be a beast. So, I should live like a beast. With no one, alone. Goodbye, Belle."

Belle gasps. "You can't mean that..."

The Beast says nothing further. Belle turns away as Sora pats her shoulder. "Look, Belle. Leave this to us. If we can get the Beast's rose back, he'll calm down."

She nods, turns to look at the Beast one more time, then leaves. Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, and Lumiere are in the West Wing. Belle waves solemnly at them as she walks by and down the stairs.

"Poor child..." Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet with them.

"How could it have come to this? And they were so looking forward to this evening..."

Sora looks at them. "What's so special about one rose, anyway?"

"If the master can love and be loved in return, the spell will be broken. We'll all be human again. But there is a time limit. He must find his true love before the last petal falls from that rose. Ah, but that is not all... Over time, caring for that rose has become a cherished part of the master's daily life. It's as though all his hopes and dreams are tied to that single bloom..."

Sora's hand subconsciously reaches to his pocket, where the photo of Roxas and group is kept. "We must get the rose back! But we can't without the Beast, though. If it's that important to him, he's got to do it himself."

Donald and Goofy nod as they return to the Beast's room. "Hey, Beast."

Beast sighes without turning to them. "Leave me alone."

"C'mon, you need to hear this. You used to be fearless. You would have given your life to save Belle. Don't you know what that meant to us? You gave us all courage. Hmph, maybe you should have kept some for yourself. I mean, are you really gonna throw your happiness away? The rose is your only hope, isn't it? Well, it's the only hope for Cogsworth and the others, too. So, don't throw away your last chance. Remember what it was like before Belle lived here?"

The Beast turns to them. "See? You can't give up. Not now. At least you know where your precious things were, you still can save it! Not like me…absolutely clueless about everything…to save the people precious to me…"

Beast sighs. "I know one thing."

"What?"

"This castle belongs to me. Xaldin will never be welcome here."

The trio nod as they return to the Entrance Hall when they hear Xaldin's voice from above. "So, Beast...you came after all." He stands high at a stained-glass window, holding the enchanted rose. "You had me worried. I was afraid you'd given up for good."

"What do you guys really want?"

"...Kingdom Hearts." Xaldin takes off his hood as he smirks. "When Kingdom Hearts is ours, we can exist fully and completely. So you see, Beast---that's why we need your Heartless AND your Nobody!"

They fight the group of Nobodies that appear as Xaldin floats down from the high pedestal. He looks back at them and leaves through the front door. The four hurried to the Courtyard but Xaldin is nowhere to be seen. Goofy looks up and sees Belle on the balcony outside her window.

Belle sighs and looks to the Courtyard. She sees Sora, Donald, Goofy and the Beast, and gasps, about to head back inside. She looks to the spot on the balcony next to her. "Is that..." She picks up the glass with the rose in it and calls down to them. "Everyone look!! I got the rose!"

They look up when a gloved hand covers her mouth. She struggles against Xaldin, but he holds her firmly.

"Belle!"

Xaldin grabs Belle, who's still holding the rose, and jumps from the balcony. He lands at the Bridge. They run through the arc as Beast shoving the door open with his shoulder. The stars glimmer in the night sky, as Beast runs ahead down the Bridge towards Xaldin and Belle. He stops as he gets nearer.

"You! Get out of my castle, now!"

"With pleasure, but I'd rather travel light..." He looks to the rose and to Belle. "What shall I leave behind? Belle? Or the rose?"

The Beast growls. The Beast begins to run. Catching Xaldin off guard, Belle elbows him in thestomach and grabs the rose. She runs past the Beast and Sora.

"Good one, Belle!"

Seeing that Belle and the rose are safe, the Beast charges at Xaldin and swipes at him with his claws. Xaldin leaps backwards out of the way. He throws up his hands creating six small pillars of dust. Lightning thunders through them. Xaldin releases his arms and the dust clears, leaving six naginata. They teleport into the air above him. He catches two in each hand, and creates a wind tunnel that holds the other two.

"Where's the fun in this?"

They fight a cruel battle against Xaldin, as he uses his teleportation skills, giving Sora and group a hard time. But they manages to defeat him in the end. Xaldin is shoved back, his six staves sharp in the ground. They disappear in shafts of white light while Xaldin screams in agony and fades away. Afterwards, the castle staff arrives at the scene. Belle hands the rose to the Beast.

"Here. It's yours again. I know. You want me to leave the castle."

Beast looks from the rose to Belle. "What matters is... You weren't hurt by Xaldin... You're safe. And... I'm very grateful to you...for bringing the rose back to me. Thank you."

Belle smiles. "It's the least I could do. You've been good to me. And you didn't have to be." The Beast places the rose on the ground. "Listen, Belle..."

"Yes?"

The Beast is having a hard time forming words, and he glances at the group behind. All are urging him to confess, the Beast looks back at Belle.

"Belle, I'd like you to stay... With me... Please?"

Belle smiles and holds her hand out. The Beast understands and places a hand on her waist and around her hand. "I will."

"Maestro---music!"

They start to dance as the music plays. The Beast twirls her. Sora looks to the group. "Hey, did you see the look on Belle's face when she grabbed that rose?"

"Yep, she sure was havin' fun, all right."

"The two of them do seem made for each other." Sora places his hands behind the back of his head, as he looks from the couple to the night sky.

'Roxas…Where are you….?'

Back at the headquarter of the Nobodies, Namine glares at the person sitting a distance from her. Xemnas smirks.

"There, there, why are you so angry about?"

Namine turns away from him. Knocking from the door sounds through the room, as Saix came in, along with another cloaked figure.

"It's seem like everything is ready now." Xemnas looks at the cloaked figure as Saix bows. He turns to Namine and back at the cloaked figure. "Why don't you introduce yourself to our young lady here."

Namine looks at the cloaked figure as the person takes off his hood, making the blond gasps.

"You…! No…No…you can't…!"

The End!!

Stay tuned for the next chapter where Sora and gang find a way to go into the Town that Never Was!