Marie and her keyblade:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Marie-and-her-Shooting-Star-Keyblade-38350 2787

Marie's staff:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Star-Rod-384177139?q=gallery%3Aswirl3y&qo=1

A\N:
I hate writing battle scenes so much, augh. Oh, and, you guys get to see some of the abilities that I've shamelessly forgot to write about for Aura. They're nothing big, since Aura is a physical fighter and relies a lot on her weapon.

Chapter Forty-Five

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Beauty and the Beast

Belle pranced around in her ball gown, and had a bright smile on her face. She was definitely going to enjoy the evening with the Beast, and even the dresser hoped the might would go well. She wondered why he was so nervous, but the dresser simply told her that he had a shy side, so it might've been the case.

After taking a break onboard the Gummi ship, the team set out to their next world, which was Beast's Castle. Aura looked around, and remembered the first time she came here with Ryan, and boy was that a while ago. They entered the castle, and saw Beast waiting outside at the foyer patiently… well, as patient as a beast could be. He was dressed all nice, and they wondered what he was doing. Donald looked around, and was glad to see that there were no heartless or nobodies in sight. Goofy commented that they felt near, and Sora warned the Beast to be careful, but he just growled.

"What are you so mad about?" Donald asked, wondering what got the beast so worked up. He asked them why they were even in his castle, and Aura scoffed—someone was acting a bit rude.

"The Nobodie's world has to be out there somewhere," Sora replied. Aura jumped a bit at what he said, and Sora continued saying they were looking for a way inside. Aura looked away, seeing as how she could easily send them there—but they weren't ready, especially with Marie not being able to wield the keyblade. She heard Marie gasp, and looked up the stairs. The woman of the house walked down the stairs wearing a beautiful golden ball gown, and the beast turned around.

"Tonight is very important," he told them. He walked up the stairs, and Belle smiled at all of them. Marie smiled and swooned at how beautiful the princess of light looked, while Aura just crossed her arms. Belle and the Beast bowed down to each other, and they entered the ballroom.

"Uh, maybe we came at a bad time," Goofy said. He was right, they were interrupting a very romantic evening, but Donald just had to find out. He started running up the stairs, and Marie shouted.

"Donald! You can't just go interrupting dates!" she said. She ran up after the duck, with Goofy and Sora following behind. Aura just shook her head—these people were certainly weird. She walked up the stairs and followed them all inside the ballroom, and watched as the little furniture people set the mood.

"Now then, Monsieur, Mademoiselle. Please, enjoy the evening!" the candelabra said. He turned around and saw the rest of Sora's gang, and he let out a chuckle. "And of course, our honored guests are welcome, too."

"A welcome indeed."

Belle gasped and held onto Beast as everyone looked around. Aura narrowed her eyes as she knew who it was, but she kept her cool. Sora ran and looked around; until he spotted Xaldin standing on the second floor of the ballroom. "The Organization!" he shouted.

"You don't know when you quit," he said. Donald was getting furious along with the Beast, who growled at Xaldin to get out. Belle was upset because he was ruining an evening that everyone so thoughtfully planned out. Beast ran towards him, but Xaldin summoned a couple of lance-wielding Nobodies. He just stood still as he looked down at Beast. "I've come to take something very dear."

He growled in return and Xaldin told him to get angrier. Aura looked up to him, and he looked down to him. She knew he was staring straight at her, she knew Xaldin meant serious business, and she knew he wasn't going down without a fight. Even so, he disappeared, and left a mouthful of Nobodies around. She was going to attempt to chase after him, but when she heard Sora say they needed to clear the surrounding Nobodies, she took out her sword and prepared to fight. Marie did the same thing and called out her staff, while looking at the Nobodies.

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After fighting off the Nobodies, the gang asked where Belle was. Luckily, she was hiding at the balcony of the ballroom, and came out with all the furniture folk. Goofy was glad to know that Xaldin didn't take anything, but Beast gasped as he ran out of the ballroom.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked the others as they watched him run out of the room. No one replied as they saw Belle run out after him, and they wondered what was going on. Sora scratched his head, and looked at the rest. "What's wrong with them?"

"Obviously there's something else he values more," Aura said as she flipped a piece of her hair behind her hoodie. She crossed her arms, and Sora grew a bit annoyed at her holier than thou attitude. Still, he retained his cool, and Marie walked a bit ahead as she turned back to the rest.

"Let's go see what's up," she said. Aura started walking beside her, and Sora did the same. He grew a bit closer to Marie, however, and Aura just scoffed—clearly not impressed with whatever jealousy Sora sprouted. Marie raised her eyebrow to this, and wondered what was going on between the two. Goofy and Donald walked up after, and they seemed to wonder the same thing she did. They all walked outside the ballroom and headed towards the west wing of the castle, they made their way into the hallway and into the room.

They saw the Beast pacing back and forth, and Belle just stood there watching as he did. He growled and punched the floor, and Belle asked what had happened. He growled a bit more, and Belle walked up to him. "Please, calm down!" she cried out.

"Calm down!?" he shouted. She gasped at his loudness, and he glared at the woman. "You just had to have a party, didn't you? Don't you see what's happened?"

"Hey, what's with you?" Sora retorted. He didn't like the fact that Beast was yelling at Belle, but he yelled back saying that his rose was taken. Sora looked at the table and scratched his head. "What? That? He took it?"

Belle asked if he could get another rose, but Beast yelled at the petite young woman, "Silence! You don't know anything!"

Marie gasped at how loud he became, and ran up to Belle as she and Sora placed their hands in front of her. Sora grew annoyed with him. "That's now fair, beast. Don't take it out on Belle," he retorted.

"Yeah, and she wouldn't steal it," Marie added. Aura watched in curiosity as these two defended a woman they would possibly never meet again. She didn't understand why they were doing it—she was just a random woman in a world they came to check out. Belle apologized, but Marie and Sora defended her yet again, saying she didn't have to. Aura looked over to the Beast, and he had a very remorseful look on his face. She tilted her head a bit in confusion; she never really realized just how odd people were with emotions, since the only person she had been talking to were Riku and DiZ—and they were as stoic as a stoic person could get.

"I want you to leave the castle," Beast said in a quiet and sad tone. Everyone watched as Belle questioned why he was doing all of this, but the Beast just looked away, hiding his shame. "Look at me. Look. This is what I am," he admitted.

He explained how he tried changing before they came, but admitted how he was only fooling himself—that he couldn't be any different. He always was a beast, and therefore, came to the understanding that he should live like one and never find happiness, whether on his own or with someone. He said his farewells to Belle, and Marie watched with a sad look. She looked over to Sora, who had his head down, and gave a slight sigh. If she was forever lost in finding her own path, would she live without happiness, too? Belle was shocked to hear it from him, but Beast had made up his mind. Marie shook her head.

"If we can get this rose back, maybe it'll fix things?" she asked. Belle didn't say anything, and proceeded to leave the castle. She followed the woman outside, and everyone else followed. As Belle waved goodbye to the furniture folk, Mrs. Teapot felt bad for the woman. She argued that once the rose was back safely, everything would be alright. Aura scoffed.

"And what exactly is a rose going to fix?" she asked. Mrs. Teapot looked over at her and the rest of the gang, and explained that if the Beast could love and be loved in return, the spell would be broken and they'd all be human again. It was a story they had already told, but the rose had a time limit, and he had to find true love before the last petal fell from the rose. Marie was eager to get the rose back and the furniture folk all urged them too, but Aura again questioned it, "Shouldn't he do it himself?"

Sora glared at how rude she was, but in a sense, she was right. He looked at everyone as he spoke, "If it's that important to him, then yeah. He's got to do it himself."

Everyone agreed, and the gang started heading back to where Beast was. Aura walked a bit behind and called Marie with her. When she was out of Sora's hearing, she looked and asked Marie why she was so bent on helping out Beast get his rose back. "If I can't help my own problems with love… maybe I can help someone else," she replied.

Marie looked at Sora again, and wondered about her own dilemma. She didn't want to think about it, because it hurt a lot, but she knew that with whatever Sora chose she'd love him regardless. It was something she couldn't help, since the boy had an effect on her. Sora, on the other hand, was still confused as to why it was so hard for him to just say those three blasted words. Maybe he did like Kairi? But he loved Marie. Why was it so confusing?

When they walked back into the room, they looked over to the Beast. Sora called out to him, but the guy was still in despair. Sora continued anyways.

"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." Aura muttered a few words on how he should have listened to his own words, and Sora glared at the young brunette. He decided to ignore her, and looked back at Beast. "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 Cogswoth and the others, too."

"In other words, do you really wanna go back to living before that woman—Belle or whatever—got here?" Aura asked. Beast growled a bit at the question, and Marie perked her head as she stepped in front of Aura.

"Er, don't give up now, Beast!" she encouraged. "You can do it! You can get that rose back!"

"I know one thing," Beast said. They questioned what it was, and the Beast turned his head towards them. "This castle belongs to me. Xaldin will never be welcome here."

As everyone left the room, Aura stayed behind a bit. She wondered—did she love Roxas as much as Beast loved Belle? Did he love her as much? Even with the blonde gone, she was still finding it hard to let him go, and with Sora prancing around it wasn't helping. It wasn't just Roxas… Axel was another one, too. She sighed… how was he doing? Before she could think any farther, Marie called her back into the situation, and she left to catch up to the rest.

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As they made their way towards the entrance of the castle, they heard Xaldin's voice, and turned around as they stared up to the man. He was holding a rose inside a container-like object, and the rose itself sparkled—definitely a mystical and magical item.

"You had me worried. I was afraid you'd give up for good," Xaldin said as he looked down at the rest. Beast growled, and Sora asked what they all really wanted. The man simply looked down towards Marie and Aura, and then back at Sora. "…Kingdom Hearts," he said.

Sora, Donald and Goofy looked over to Marie, who glared back at the man. She recognized that voice, but she didn't know from where. Aura, on the other hand, already had her sword out and looked up slightly towards the man without having her hoodie fall down. Xaldin took off his hoodie, and Marie's eyes widened when he did. Not only did his voice sound familiar, but his face resembled someone she greatly knew, she just couldn't remember the name.

"When Kingdom Hearts is ours, we can exist fully and completely," he told them. Donald and Goofy were confused, while Sora wasn't going to let Xaldin take Kingdom Hearts or the rose, and he especially wasn't going to let him use Marie for their plans. Xaldin looked down at Beast. "So you see, Beast—that's why we need your Heartless and your Nobody!"

He jumped over them while they took out their weapons, and they simply watched as he scoffed at them. He exited through the door, and the gang quickly followed after him. When they went outside, they looked around to see if Xaldin was around. Beast took one end while Sora took the other, Marie and Aura stayed in the middle to take a general look. Goofy looked up, and saw Belle leaning against the balcony. She sighed, and when she looked down she quickly saw Goofy waving at her. She gasped, and quickly went to hide, not wanting the Beast to see her. Before she could enter her room, she saw the rose that Beast was trying to get back, and she happily picked it up.

"Look! It's the rose!" she shouted down below. Beast looked up, and watched in horror as Belle's mouth was covered by Xaldin. He called out to her, but Xaldin jumped again over to the castle gates. Everyone quickly followed behind and stopped when he stood in front of them, while Beast growled at the man. "You! Get out of my castle, now!" he yelled.

"With pleasure, but I'd rather travel light, what shall I leave behind?" he asked. He looked over to Belle and then the rose, but in the moment Belle elbowed him in the ribs, took back the rose and ran for it. Sora cheered for her while she ran, and Beast ran and attempted to attack Xaldin. He jumped again and landed across from them, all while Aura and Marie watched. He looked at them both, and had a slight smirk on his face. "No matter, if I cannot turn you into a Heartless and a Nobody, then I shall take what is ours—Kingdom Hearts!"

He called forth his six lances, and motioned one to aim straight at Marie. Aura gasped, and quickly ran in front of the blonde as she grabbed the lance. It pushed her back a bit, but she brought it down on him like a scythe. Unfortunately he was able to grab it back, but it was enough for Marie to cast a fire spell, which had a slight effect on him. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Beast all ran up to them while Aura took out her sword. She didn't look at the rest, but she figured she'd give some Intel on the Nobody.

"Be on your guard, Xaldin is very skilled with his lances," she said. "And he controls the power of wind."

"How do you know this?" Sora asked, getting a little suspicious.

"I told you," she started as she turned her head slightly towards the boy. "I'm after the Organization, so I know a little about them."

Sora was about to speak more, but Donald called them to the battle. They took out their weapons, and heeded Aura's advice. She was hoping to fight with her keyblade, but because she didn't want to create attention towards her, she took out her sword. Her wrist hurt a bit from grabbing the lance, since it came at Marie at full force, but she was still able to fight. Xaldin looked at her, and seemed angry as he could get—how dare she turn against them! He recalled her saying she probably wouldn't have the satisfaction of eliminating him since she wouldn't be there, but now that she was, he was going to make sure he gained the satisfaction of merging her with Marie and taking what was rightfully the Organizations. He spun his lances around him while floating towards the gang and Marie created a shield using her staff, but it didn't protect for very long, and everyone jumped out of the way. Sora came running in with his keyblade and managed to deflect a couple of lances, he then started attacking the man, with Donald gaining enough time to get a couple of thunder spells in. Marie followed in after, and raised her staff to cast some high leveled thunder spells. She really wished she could use her keyblade, but with the way things were, she didn't even know if it would be possible.

Xaldin kept his attacks strong and firm, and he was the quickest opponent that they ever had. Because of his wind power, he glided and dashed quite easily and effortlessly. It was hard to get some attacks in, and when they did they seized the moment. Xaldin looked over to Aura and glided towards her, she blocked a couple of the attacks he dealt, and for one of his stronger attacks brought up a magical blue shield to protect her. She noted how she had that ability, since she was connected to Kingdom Hearts and Marie, but never had to really use it until now. She blocked a couple of other attacks, and then he jumped up into the air. The gang waited for him to drop down, but when they heard the sound of his lances, they looked up to see all six of them falling down. Goofy blocked a couple with his shield while Marie and Donald created shields from their staffs, and protected both Sora and Beast. Aura again brought up her staff, and when all six of the lances fell, Xaldin appeared.

Beast took the opportunity to attack, and Xaldin suffered a couple of blows from it. Sora and Donald took this chance to prepare for a joint attack, and the duck jumped on Sora's back as he pointed his staff at Xaldin. Donald summed a couple of magical rockets, and they all headed towards Xaldin. Unable to block in time, he suffered a multitude of blows, but was still standing. Beast looked over to Sora, and they both nodded in understanding as Beast stood behind Sora. They both emitted a shockwave of light which temporarily blinded the Nobody, and ran up to him while dealing another set of punches and slashes. While even after those attacks, Xaldin still had a bit of fight in him. Aura took the chance and ran up behind the man and snapped her fingers, he then flew halfway across the field, and Goofy used his shield to throw him in another direction. Marie and Donald stood back-t0-back as they brought up their staffs and chanted their thunder spells, and both Sora and Beast came running in and dealt the last couple of attacks before Xaldin finally succumbed to his pains.

As he stumbled backwards, his lances surrounded him. They began lighting up, and he shouted in pain. Sora, Marie and the rest watched as he suffered, while Aura walked up to him. He still had just enough to look at her, and although the rest couldn't hear, he began to speak. "Now I seem… to see the resemblance… you and the young mistress have. Neither… of you… give up."

"I'm on the side that wants to live, that's why I haven't given up," she replied in a cold manner. She stared at the man in a stoic manner, and he let out another cry of pain. "You shouldn't have doubted me from the start. I am something to be scared of, and your carelessness got the best of you."

"Be that… as it may," he replied. He gave a half-laugh at the Nobody, and started to disappear slowly. Before completely leaving, he took one last look at Aura before speaking. "You'll never… get Roxas back."

As he disappeared, Marie came running up to them. She lowered her eyes a bit, and felt a bit of remorse for the man. She sighed, and watched the black smoke around the area Xaldin was disappear. "You know, I feel kinda bad about him. I know him from somewhere, but I can' really put my finger on it."

"His original name was Dilan," she replied low enough for only Marie to hear. The blonde in question widened her eyes once she remembered, but didn't do anything else. Instead, she placed her left hand over her right arm as she applied pressure on her right foot.

"That makes sense, I knew a Dilan back in Hollow Bastion. He was the castle guard, but…" she stopped and looked over to Aura. "How did you know his original name?"

"Like I said, I'm after these guys so I know a little about some of them," she told her. She sounded a bit irritated, so Marie didn't push any further. She figured she had her reasons to keep quiet, but she was wondering if Aura had her and the gang's best interest. They would be saving a lot of time if she told them everything she knew, but decided not to. She turned around and walked to Sora, Donald and Goofy as they watched Belle approach Beast.

"Here. It's yours again," she said as she gave back to rose. Beast only called out her name, and she looked away as she placed her hand near her chest. "I know. You want me to leave the castle."

Beast looked away, and everyone—Sora, Donald, Goofy, Marie and the furniture folk waited anxiously to see what he would say. It took a moment, but he looked back at Belle and sighed.

"What matters is… you weren't hurt by Xaldin…you're safe," he told her. "And… I'm very grateful to you… for bringing the rose back to me. Thank you."

Belle was genuinely happy to hear those words from him, and she told him that it was the least she could do. He had been really good to her, even though he didn't have to. He looked at her and wanted to say something, but looked at everyone else. Sora, the furniture folk, and everyone else encouraged him to continue, and Beast looked at Belle.

"Belle, I'd like you to stay…with me, please?" he asked. Belle gave another genuine and joyful smile. She stuck out her hand for him, and he happily returned the offer. They got into a waltz, and when the music appeared, they started to waltz around the courtyard. Everyone watched as they did, and Marie swooned over the romantic evening that blossomed. Sora looked at her from the corner of his eye, and gave a small smile at the fact that she seemed like such a romantic. Maybe it was because of Olette, but she really enjoyed such beautiful scenes. Aura just smirked at the two—maybe there was hope yet for them? She hoped so.

D'aww, I love Beauty and the Beast, such a lovely movie. Well, that's one world and Nobody down, but I wonder why Xaldin didn't expose Aura? Maybe he knew better, or maybe he didn't care. I'm pretty sure he thought he was going to win. Poor Dilan…

Grapejuice101:
Haha, she does! She still has a lot of other stuff to remember, but at least it's getting easier to remember, like just saying a name will bring up a memory. Poor Sora seems confused :/

Shadow 1n2:
Haha, I'm glad I got them all uploaded within a timely matter. Yes! I'm sure Axel is pleased, but when he disappears? I'll feel so bad for both Marie and Aura. Aww, demy! I hope he comes back; too, he was such an awesome character. Ah, well, it gets a lot more touching when she sees Ansem at the world that never was. ;-;

LOL yeah! I was like wuut Goofy you're so silly. XD and yes, Aura and Sora are going to definitely butt heads a lot. They're like the annoying brother and sister—and the fact that he feels intimidated by her should be interesting. :D go Axel!

Lvl-ZeR0:
Thanks! Glad you like the story, haha. And yeah, it took a while, but I wanted to write them all first and fix anything before sending them out since it dealt with a lot. X-X

Dracula X:
Haha, not everyone lost their shit, but I'll save that for another time I suppose. She's not staying for the whole time, just for a tiny bit. She eventually had to show herself a bit before the final battle ensued.