Okay so I know some of you have bee dying for some action, and some action I have given. ...Even though the fight with the Beast isn't exactly one of my favorite fights. Actually, it's one of the most unnecessary. But, oh well.

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts characters/some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 13

"Let's go find the Beast!" Donald quacked. The others smiled and agreed with the plan.

"Splendid!"

-A little while later-

After going into a secret passageway, Lumiere explained to them that they needed to use a contraption to unlock the secret door. The teapot, who's name was Mrs. Potts, followed after Sora as he and Lumiere ran ahead, putting out the dark fires. Meanwhile, Kyrie assisted the clock, who's name was Cogsworth, as he held on to the lever for dear life. The little teacup, who she learned was named Chip, waited by her side patiently until Mrs. Potts came back for them.

As they walked, Chip looked at the girl curiously before looking at his mother.

"Mama, why is she so quiet? Is she sick?" he asked loudly. Mrs. Potts quickly turned to him, shocked that he would say such a thing.

"Chip! That's very rude, young man! Now I want you to apologize to this young lady for offending her." she reprimanded. The little teacup gave a sad nod before looking at her.

"I'm really sorry-" he started, but stopped when she smiled and picked him up, shaking her head as she did so. Goofy, listening in on the conversation, spoke up.

"Aw, it's okay little buddy. Kyrie can't talk at all, that's why she's so quiet." he explained. The teapot and her son looked at her.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear that…" she spoke, but Kyrie simply smiled at her. She didn't really mind anymore when people asked if something was wrong, she had long gotten over that. Grabbing her notebook, she wrote before holding it so they could see.

It's alright, Mrs. Potts. And don't worry Chip, you didn't offend me. Everyone asks that, so I'm used to it.

The teapot and her child smiled at her and she smiled right back.

"You're really nice, Kyrie." Chip complimented, making the girl blush. With that, they continued on. They were silent until they reached Sora and Lumiere, who were standing in front of a stone wall.

"Are we ready?" Sora asked. Lumiere nodded.

"Oui. The secret door should open now." Lumiere answered. The four looked around, but there was no door to be found.

"But I don't see any secret door." Goofy spoke, pointing to the wall. Cogsworth nodded as he cleared his throat.

"No need to worry. Just push that block over there… the one that's sticking out." Cogsworth explained, pointing to a small block that stuck out from the wall, opposite from the rest. Sora nodded.

"Got it." He spoke. With that, he walked forward and pushed the block in, causing the wall to slid into the ceiling as a secret door was revealed. Not wanting to waste any time, the group proceeded on until they got to a small landing. Once there, Lumiere turned to them.

"Now, I must check on the castle. I fear my absence has been too long." He explained. Mrs. Potts nodded as she nudged Chip.

"I'd best be off, too dears." Mrs. Potts added. The group nodded as they left, Sora calling out to them.

"Watch out for Heartless!" he called. As soon as they were gone, Cogsworth turned to them.

"The master's room is at the very end of the West Wing. I shall go on ahead and wait for you." He explained. They nodded before Kyrie walked forward and picked the little clock, having him protest as she did so.

"W-what's the meaning of this? Put me down!" he shouted. Kyrie merely pulled out her notebook with one hand, and while cradling the clock in the crook of her arm, wrote.

I'm sorry for picking you up, but I'd rather if one of us accompanied you. There might be heartless lurking about, and not to be rude, but I don't think you would stand a chance against them.

The clock read her words before sighing in defeat, knowing her words rang true.

"Ah, very well. You can accompany me." then he looked at Sora and the others.

"Your lady friend seems to want to be my bodyguard, would you mind if I borrowed her for a short while?" he asked. Sora nodded, noticing the worried look Kyrie was giving the little clock.

"Sure, we don't mind. Kyrie's a great fighter." he answered. The two nodded, and with that, Kyrie walked away, with Cogsworth in her arms. She walked through the doors and into a dark hallway, with more creepy gargoyles and stone floors. Taking a hesitant look around, Kyrie walked forward until she got to the stairs. That's when a few soldiers appeared, leaping at her with both her and Cogsworth in their sights.

Summoning her Lost Memory keyblade, she kept a tight hold on the little clock as she knocked the soldiers away and sent them into the wall, making them disappear instantly.

She stood still for a few moments once they were gone, before she started walking again. Cogsworth immediately pointed ahead of them where she could see a long, narrow hallway and a door.

"There, that's the master's chamber!" he whispered. Kyrie nodded and as she got closer, she could hear a muffled conversation taking place. Kyrie couldn't understand what was begin said, but she could recognize one of the voices.

"Xaldin! What's he doing here?" she thought as she listened. Now she understood why she felt a familiar dark presence earlier, it was him.

"And if he's here, there's no doubt he's the reason why the Beast is acting abnormal. Xaldin always liked using people's feelings against them." her thoughts continued. Hearing footsteps from behind her, she turned and spotted Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they approached. Once everyone was together, Sora opened the door and they walked in.

"What? To be loved and loved in return? Who could ever love a beast?" a voice taunted. Inside the room was the Beast and a man in a black cloak, who Kyrie knew almost instantly. At his words, the Beast whipped his head around and let out a roar of anger. Xaldin seemed to ignore this, as he indicated the five.

"See? She has accomplices." He spoke, pointing at them. Kyrie took a step in front of Sora, glaring at him. Without further ado, he waved his hand and opened a corridor before disappearing. Kyrie relaxed a little, but quickly stiffened when Sora walked over, waving.

"Hey, Prince!" he smiled. But the Beast quickly glared at him and roared at them, causing Donald to fall over as Kyrie held Cogsworth tightly, fearing the little clock would get damaged.

"Oh dear! Master!" he cried, panicking as the Beast lunged. Kyrie reached out and grabbed Sora's arm as she jumped out of the way, pulling him with her. After that, she allowed the clock to go to his master as he, Sora, Donald, and Goofy tried to get the Beast to come to his senses.

The Beast roared and thrashed about, knocking poor Donald into the door and sweeping Goofy off his feet as his face hit the floor. Kyrie jumped and dodged his swipes, but she had to summon her keyblades to defend herself from his sharp claws. Sora turned to her, dodging a swipe from the Beast as he did so.

"Kyrie, don't hurt him! He's being controlled!" he begged. She looked at him and nodded as the Beast went after her once more, slamming both paws against her keyblades as she held them over her head, in an 'X' formation. She grunted as he began to push her back.

"Better hurry up, guys! If he doesn't stop, I might have to use force to take him down!" she thought as he continued to push her back, making her legs tremble from the amount of force on them.

"Master, please, control yourself!" she heard Cogsworth shout. The Beast wince at his voice, and jumped away from Kyrie, holding his head tightly. She looked at the clock and gave him a swift nod.

"Thanks Cogsworth!" she thought as she ran in again, using herself as bait to lure the Beast closer to Cogsworth. It was clear that whatever the clock was doing, it was waking the beast up. But just as she ran in, the Beast reared back, roaring and taking a swipe at the little clock. Gasping, she changed course and grabbed Cogsworth before the Beast could harm him.

"Beast, wake up!" Sora cried as he, Donald, and Goofy tried to hold him back. She could hear a large intake of breath and looked down, to see Cogsworth preparing himself to shout once more. Setting him on his feet, she took a few steps beside him, just in case the Beast were to attack.

"Master, please, control yourself!" he cried. He seemed to snap out of whatever was controlling him.

The Beast fell on all fours as he placed a massive paw against his head, having finally come to his senses thanks to Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cogsworth, and Kyrie. Cogsworth took a few tentative steps forward before the Beast looked at him.

"Cogsworth…what happened?" Beast asked, he was still in a daze as he tried to remember what had been going on.

"Well, Master…ah, you see…that is…How shall I say…ah, actually…mmm…" he stammered as he placed a small hand under his chin.

"Well, you put everybody down there in that dungeon!" Donald started. The Beast looked at him in confusion.

"I did what?" The Beast asked, appalled by his actions. Cogsworth nodded.

"Ah…you did!" he added. The Beast looked at the floor sadly, ashamed that he did such a terrible thing. Now that he wasn't so angry and violent, Kyrie felt bad for the Beast. Especially since he had someone who's as conniving as Xaldin pulling the strings. Sora looked around before finally breaking the silence.

"Who was that guy you were talking to? The one in the black?" he asked. The Beast immediately snapped his head up angrily.

"Xaldin… that's his name. He came from the darkness… he… used my anger to control me." he paused for a moment before continuing.

"He took all my sorrow, my sadness, my pain… and turned it all into rage. There was nothing I could do…I could no longer see the truth." He explained as he stood, staring at his massive paws. Goofy nodded as he slapped his fist against his open palm.

"Well, I'll be. That must be why you threw all of your friends down there into the dungeon. You wanted to make sure that you didn't hurt 'em, right?" Goofy spoke, smiling at him. The Beast looked at him uncertainly.

"Was that it? Was it to protect them?" He asked. Goofy nodded.

"Sure. We know you're good inside." He answered. Sora and Donald nodded, while Kyrie just shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know the Beast as long as they did, so she didn't really have an opinion on him.

"He's right, Master. We've all seen how kind you can be. After all, Belle can see the goodness in your heart, but I'm afraid you've yet to…" Cogsworth started, but drifted off when the Beast stiffened at Belle's name.

"Belle!" He gasped before slumping forward, continuing, "I've mistreated her… I've mistreated her and been so selfish." Sora looked at the others and raised his eyebrow, before turning back to him.

"She didn't say anything about that." Sora spoke, obviously confused. The Beast shook his head.

"She'd never tell anyone of my cruelty…She's too good." He explained. Cogsworth leaned his head towards them, holding his hand so that it was hiding his mouth.

"You see, I'm afraid he judges himself far too harshly." He whispered. Sora was silent before an idea popped into his head.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?" Sora suggested. The Beast looked away uncertainly.

"But…"

"No excuses! C'mon, we'll go with you." he insisted. The Beast gave a small nod and the group proceeded out of the room. Kyrie was hesitant and stayed as far from the Beast as she could, feeling even tinier compared to his large stature. The Beast looked at her from the corner of his eye as she hid behind Goofy, who allowed the Beast to walk ahead of him thanks to the narrow hallway.

"You have a new friend?" he asked. Sora looked at Kyrie, who was hiding behind Goofy, and nodded.

"Yeah, this is Kyrie. She's traveling with us for awhile." he explained. The Beast nodded as he extended his massive paw out.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you." he spoke bashfully, the gesture a little awkward with him. Kyrie gave a small smile and a nod as she reached out and shook his paw, surprised that he was being so gentle with the gesture. Sora smiled at them before continuing.

"Kyrie's mute, so that's her way of saying "Nice to meet you too."." he explained. The Beast nodded in understanding as they continued on.

Once they got through the west wing and the entrance hall, they finally got to the east wing and made it to Belle's room. When they got inside, they were surprised to see only the wardrobe there.

"Master!" she exclaimed. The Beast looked around in confusion before Donald spoke to her.

"Everybody's safe now." He declared, making the wardrobe smile brightly at him.

"Wonderful! Thank you!" She sighed in relief. The Beast finally turned his attention to her since Belle was nowhere in the room.

"Where's Belle?" He asked. The wardrobe was silent for a moment as she thought.

"Why, she left in a hurry. Something about going after this… man in black." She explained. The Beast snarled angrily.

"What?" Beast demanded, snarling as he did so. "Why doesn't she do as she's told?" he continued, turning it into a rant. The wardrobe shook her head at him.

"Temper, temper! Her spirit is what makes Belle so special." She tsked. Before the Beast could continue his yelling rant, Sora stopped him.

"We'd better go find her!" He spoke, turning to the wardrobe. She nodded as everyone began to leave the room. Once they got to the entrance hall however, they could hear a muffled voice as it yelled.

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

Alright, so there's some action to hopefully keep you guys content until the next chapter. Reason why...the next chapter has WAY more action and WAY more fluff.

So please, read and review.