Chapter 42

Kill the Beast!

Back at the castle, the servants lamented the past events to have transpired. Judging by the condition of the rose, only a few hours remained before the last petal fell and the curse's time limit ended. As far as they could tell, unless Belle had a change of heart and returned out of love for the Beast, then the curse would never be broken, they would remain trinkets and furniture forever, and the Beast would never become Prince Adam again. Cogsworth, Lumière, Mrs. Potts, and the Wardrobe had gathered in Belle's room, along with Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, reminiscing their time with the young woman who had brought so much light into their world.

"Is there anything we can do?" Mickey asked, concerned at the sight of the despondent servants.

Mrs. Potts shook her head. "I'm afraid not," she said sadly. "If only Chip were still here, so we could spend our last moments together."

Cogsworth kicked the bedpost in frustration and crossed his arms. "I knew it! I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up," he said.

"Maybe it would have been better if she had never come at all," Lumière said in mock agreement, disgusted at Cogsworth's attitude.

"And then what?" Riku countered. "You've spent so many years in despair at your condition. But then Belle comes along, and you start having fun again. You begin to have hope that you will get to live as humans again. Even if those hopes are dashed at the last minute, would you really like it better that you never had that time spent with her? That she never met Adam and taught him to love? Would you really give all that up?"

Cogsworth was left silent at this, before he finally shook his head weakly.

Goofy noticed something out the window and pointed. The others turned to see what had caught his eye. They rushed over to the window when they caught sight of something moving through the woods.

"Could it be?" Lumière wondered.

"Is it she?" Mrs. Potts added.

They gasped in horror when the object of their interest was revealed more fully and, in the light of torches, they saw a mob of men on horseback carrying weapons. The man in front held the enchanted mirror and studied it every so often to make sure he was going the right way.

"Invaders!" Lumière identified.

"Encroachers!" Cogsworth said in the same vein.

"And they have the mirror!" Mrs. Potts noted.

"Warn the master!" Cogsworth ordered. Mrs. Potts and Goofy turned and exited the room. "If it's a fight they want, we'll be ready for them! Who's with me?"

Riku, Mickey and Donald summoned their weapons.

The mob crossed the bridge, raucous cheers belting fifty strong. The horses rode through the open gates and into the courtyard. Eight of them carried a battering ram made from a felled tree between them.

Gaston turned back to address his army. "Take whatever booty you can find! But remember, the Beast is mine!"

On the other side of the doors, the servants had gathered and were barricading the entrance with everything they had. Riku, Mickey, and the Wardrobe even leaned her body against it. Donald cast Blizzard on the hinges and lock in an attempt to freeze the joints in place. When the mob reached the door, they began ramming their felled tree into the door in an effort to break it down.

Goofy and Mrs. Potts rushed into the Beast's room. The cursed prince did not appear to register their presence.

"Uh, excuse me," Goofy said nervously.

"Leave me alone," Beast said sadly.

"But sir, the castle's under attack," Mrs. Potts pleaded.

The chanting had grown loud and close enough for them to hear from there. "Kill the beast! Kill the beast!" the mob repeated.

"What shall we do, master?" Mrs. Potts asked.

Beast sighed. "It doesn't matter," he said. "Just let them come."

Mrs. Potts was crestfallen. Belle leaving had left the master of the house as a sad shell of a man.

Goofy nudged her with his foot, causing her to turn and look up at him. The knight simply stared at her resolutely. Understanding, she nodded. They turned and left, deciding to head downstairs. They were not going to give up that easily.

The battering ram continued to pound on the door. Unbeknownst to the mob, Gaston's shadow darkened, and black figures began to materialize around them.

The servants could not hold the door up for much longer, despite Goofy adding his strength. The ice had already broken off of the door entirely, and Donald knew it would be a waste of magic to try to bolster it further. "This isn't working," Lumière groaned.

"Well, we have to do something!" Mickey said.

The maitre'd's face lit up almost as bright as the candle on his head. "Wait, I know!" he exclaimed.

While this was going on, Sora and Kairi reached the asylum carriage. Sora let Kairi catch her breath, while Chip caught up to them. They looked up at the lock on the door. Sora guessed that it should be simple to unlock, assuming that he could summon his Keyblade while in his small size. If it appeared and was still full size, there was going to be a problem.

He bade Kairi and Chip to step back, just in case. He raised his hand and concentrated on the Keyblade materializing in his hand. There was a flash of light and he was holding his Keyblade, which fit perfectly in his hand. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that his weapon resonated with him enough that it would change size if he were too small to use it normally. Then he remembered that it worked the same way in Wonderland, when he drank the potion that shrank him to a foot in height.

He pointed the Keyblade at the padlock and fired a beam of white light out of the tip. The beam went right into the keyhole and the padlock popped open. Realizing that they still had to manually remove the lock, Sora sighed in annoyance.

"Can't make it easy on us, can it?" he joked to Kairi.

"Not to worry, because I think a simple Aero spell can launch you up there no problem," Kairi said, smiling. Sora nodded and stood underneath the padlock, his Keyblade held at the ready. Kairi summoned her own weapon and pointed it at a spot between Sora's feet. "Aerora!" A gust of wind shot up from the ground and pushed Sora into the air.

"Wow!" Chip said in amazement. Kairi guided him to step back again and raised her Keyblade in preparation for defensive measures.

Sora shot up until he was at the window. He landed on the ledge, surprising Belle and Maurice. "Hey. Just give me a second, then you'll be free," he told them. Belle nodded in understanding. Maurice stared in wonder at Sora's weapon. Sora turned so that he could see the padlock. Raising the Keyblade in his left hand, Sora threw it straight at the padlock, shattering the iron into pieces. Kairi cast Reflera to deflect a piece of the lock as it fell toward them. Chip giggled when he saw the spell in action.

Belle pushed the carriage door open, and Sora held onto one of the bars for dear life as the door swung around. Kairi and Chip stepped back so that neither former prisoner would step on them. Belle noticed them and reached down to pick them up. Kairi grabbed onto Chip's handle and climbed into his bowl, allowing Belle to simply pick him up. She held Chip next to Sora, and he slid inside.

"What is all that racket?" Monsieur D'Arque asked, marching over to the back of the wagon. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Belle and Maurice standing outside of their confinement.

Belle held the teacup close to D'Arque's face, allowing the asylum keeper to get a good look at Chip's blinking face. Sora and Kairi poked their heads over the rim and waved.

"Hi," Sora greeted sarcastically, his voice sounding like a high-pitched squeak from the old man's perspective. "Sorry, who's the crazy old man?" He summoned his Keyblade and lit the tip on fire.

Monsieur D'Arque turned and ran away. Sora and Kairi high-fived.

They turned back to Belle. "We need to stop Gaston," Sora said. Belle nodded. Père Robert ran over to the cottage and untied Philippe, then led the horse over to Belle. Belle put Chip, with Sora and Kairi inside, in her satchel for safekeeping.

"Be safe, Belle," Maurice said.

"I will," she promised. She hugged her father. "I love you, Papa."

"I am so proud of you," Maurice said. They broke the embrace. Belle climbed onto Philippe and flicked the reins. The horse galloped off as fast as he could, understanding the urgency of the situation.

Philippe had actually grown fond of the castle during his time there, curse or no curse. And he could certainly tell that Belle had grown fond of the Beast, so he was willing to head back and help out for Belle's sake.

The mob continued slamming the battering ram into the door, until finally it went through. But it was not because the door had finally been broken down, but rather because the door had opened just before the ram hit, causing the villagers carrying the felled tree to stumble as it went farther than they expected.

They were certainly surprised when they saw that the entrance hall was empty. There was not a soul to be seen, nor was there any sign of a barricade being in place. Torches were mounted on the walls, but all had been extinguished, leaving the foyer in darkness. There were only sets of furniture strewn about. The villagers walked around nervously, unnerved by the quiet.

"Are-Are you not the least bit concerned that this castle might be haunted?" LeFou asked Gaston.

"Don't lose your nerve, LeFou," Gaston said. He walked ahead of the mob and, holding the mirror to guide him, walked toward the stairs.

As the torches had been abandoned once they exited the darkness of the woods, LeFou decided to grab the nearest source of light he could find, a single three-headed candelabra.

A face melted out of the center head. Lumière smirked wickedly. "Now!" he shouted.

The furniture and ornaments sprung to life. The wall-mounted torches burst to life. Cogsworth shouted and the chairs kicked out at some villagers. Mrs. Potts spun around and summoned dishes, cookware, and silverware which flew at the invaders.

Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy barged out of the dining room. Donald cast Blizzard spells around, blasting the encroachers back. One of the villagers swung his shovel at Cogsworth, but Goofy blocked the attack and shoved him back with his shield.

More shadows materialized, and a Shadow Heartless pounced on one of the villagers. Those around him screamed in terror, but Mickey jumped in and slashed it into nothingness.

A coat hanger stepped in front of Gaston and LeFou and brought its "arms" at Gaston, but the hunter pulled LeFou in front of him. As a result, LeFou was slugged in the face multiple times. Wardrobe ran at both of them, screaming. Gaston stepped away, leaving LeFou in the Wardrobe's shadow. She hit him and pinned him against the wall. Gaston looked over at his friend.

"Gaston… help…" LeFou pleaded weakly.

Gaston looked at LeFou for a second longer, then looked at the mirror, then the stairs. He shrugged. "Sorry, old friend. It's hero time," he said before running up the stairs and taking the left branch.

Wardrobe's jaw dropped. "Wow. I am so sorry," she said sincerely. She stepped away from LeFou, who tumbled to the ground. She scanned the room for assistance. "Mickey! We need some healing over here!" she called. Mickey ran over and cast Cura on LeFou. He saw more Heartless appearing up the stairs and defeated them.

Riku deflected a pitchfork strike. "Guys, can't we talk about this?" he asked. Someone hit him over the head with a rolling pin, which cracked from the blow. He cricked his neck in response and rubbed the back of his head in pain, then whirled around and thumped his wrist against his attacker's head, knocking him out instantly.

Cogsworth commanded an array of books to soar into the fray, and they hit several of the villagers. "Yes, those are called books, you third-rate musketeers!" he taunted.

Tom, Dick and Stanley turned and saw him. Cogsworth shuddered, realizing that he had drawn their ire. They ran straight at him, but Wardrobe jumped in the way. Her doors blasted open, and fabric flew out and weaved their way around the brutes. She laughed as she did so.

Tom, Dick and Stanley found themselves wrapped up in colorful, decorative dresses and make-up. Tom and Dick looked at each other and shrieked in horror. They turned around and ran. Stanley, however, looked himself over and smiled up at Wardrobe before walking away elegantly. Wardrobe giggled and cooed at her handiwork.

Belle ran inside, but was soon beset by Hook Bats. Sora climbed out of the satchel and leapt at one of the Heartless. He grabbed onto its hook and, using his weight, swung it around and threw it at another, causing the second Bat to shriek and disrupt the others. He jumped off and landed on Belle's shoulder.

"Mama!" Chip shouted, jumping out of the satchel and hopping across the entrance hall, bouncing through the chaos until he reunited with his mother. However, the reunion was interrupted by the appearance of a Heartless that resembled a giant red hammer with black arms and legs, which had the emblem on the front plate. It leaned back, ready to smash the teapot and cup to pieces, only to be knocked to the side when a knife was shoved into its left eye.

LeFou stood over the Hammer Frame and kicked it in its slender body until it dissipated. He turned to Mrs. Potts and Chip. "Are you two alright?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Mrs. Potts replied. She gasped when she saw two Soldier Heartless coming up behind her rescuer. LeFou picked the teapot up, then whirled around and kicked one of them, knocking it away, and dodged a strike from the other. Mrs. Potts snorted hot water out of her spout, spraying the second Soldier, scalding it and causing it to stumble back in pain. LeFou picked his knife back up and stabbed it through the head, destroying the Heartless.

"Nicely handled," the teapot commended.

"Well, I used to be on Gaston's side," LeFou admitted, "but we are so in a bad place right now."

"You're too good for him anyway," Mrs. Potts reassured him. LeFou nodded.

He gestured to the monsters swarming the area behind him. "So, those things…"

"They're called Heartless. They're drawn to the darkness in men's hearts," Mrs. Potts explained.

"That Gaston must be a pretty bad man," Chip added. "Those things were popping up wherever he went."

"So, then I guess we should fight back?" LeFou guessed. Mrs. Potts nodded. He tilted his head to the side as if to say Sounds fair. He spun around, holding Mrs. Potts out while she sprayed hot water over the Heartless and the few villagers who were still attacking.

At this point, most of the villagers had dropped their weapons and were running out of the castle. Cogsworth and Lumière waved them out and shouted jeers. A Shadow came up behind them, but Lumière turned around and stuck his burning candle arms into its eyes. Cogsworth promptly headbutted it. Wardrobe jumped on top of it, crushing it. Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy fought off the Heartless and allowed the villagers room to leave.

While the battle raged downstairs, Gaston made his way through the West Wing. He marched into the Beast's room and pulled out his bow. He nocked an arrow, drew it back, and aimed at Beast.

"Hello, Beast," the hunter said. "Belle sent me."

A/N: Well, we're coming to the end of the "Beauty and the Beast" story in this world. Be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think of all this.

Since the curse is a rather convoluted subject, I left my own take on how it affected everyone and everything, going off of an idea that I came across online that only the servants we see for most of the movie (and a few others) are the ones turned into furniture while most of the hundreds of other items are simply being magically controlled by the main servants. I also left the conditions for breaking the curse and what happens when the rose dies up to your interpretation.

Read and review. But if there's something you're not happy about, please refrain from siccing an angry mob on me. Thank you.