Beast's Castle

The Castle Gates

Day 121

Xion's shudders in the frozen breeze as she looks out into the forest from one of the castle wall's turrets. Her Keyblade rested along her lap with one hand gripping the leather-bound handle and the other hand resting along the teeth of the blade.

It took some time, and Roxas had been so patient and kind with her throughout this difficult period, but she did recall the way to summon the Keyblade once again.

Having used his keyblade in the meantime to remind herself of the power and how to get accustomed to using it again. She was so thankful to have him in her corner and to be there to support her.

In the back of her mind, however, she could hear the dark rumble that wrestled to the forefront. His ferocious orange eyes flickered behind her eyelids in the dark, illuminating the curtain of ebony.

"This is what makes you important to them, right? This key? This stupid, goddamn thing?" His words cut through her mind as a blade would carve through flesh.

She self-consciously squeezes the Keyblade and lets out a loud and irritable groan. Crying out against the chilled wind. It was as though she could feel the weapon begin to fade from her hands once again. She didn't like the way that she and Kuro ended their last conversation together. With her declaring that she and he were no longer friends, if they were to meet once again, it would be as adversaries. With him opposing the Organization, opposing her, and with her fighting for the Nobodies' right to exist and for her to have a heart.

She leans back in her seat along the castle wall and stares out into the turbulent darkness that looms overhead. This weight on her shoulders began to sink into her hands, making her slouch as she felt this sour taste begin to settle in her mouth. A taste occurred when she thought of her issues with Kuro.

She hated this feeling. This feeling of… betrayal? Xion's expression soured as she shook her head and squinted her eyes hard. Why would she feel like she would be betraying Kuro?

He was some vagabond on some dead planet. Who wanted nothing more than to eat the dastardly hearts of living creatures and apparently to kill any and eventually all Organization Members. Running around with his Heartless friend. He didn't understand the responsibility of being a Keyblade wielder or the responsibility of being one of the most important players in a group.

He has spent so much time alone and has spent much of his time being angry. Kuro didn't know what it meant to be a part of a team.

A part of her reminded herself that he also showed her an act of true kindness by offering her a potion after a brutal initial combat encounter. When he didn't have to. He also always seemed so excited to see her whenever they encountered each other when their paths crossed throughout the various worlds. Kuro even called her 'beautiful' unprompted, something that no one has ever called her before. Even now, so many weeks later, she could feel the fluttering butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought of him speaking to her in that way. He never neglected to extend invitations to Traverse Town, with the only goal of just spending more time with her.

Xion's eyes gently shifted towards the dark forest. The distant howls of the creatures that lived in the shadows of the dense trees irked her. She hasn't had the most experience with creatures outside of the occasional local she has spied on or the animate candelabra and clock.

That and, of course, the powerful beast that ruled over the castle behind her with an iron claw.

He was a massive and impressive beast, a towering monster that has earned its reputation for fighting off scores of heartless. Tirelessly and capably. Xion and Roxas had fought their fair share of Heartless, but never had they been asked to fight night and day endlessly. This Beast fought tooth and nail to protect his home and all that dwelled inside, all by himself for himself, as far as Xion knew. That was until her conversion with Roxas concerning his most recent mission with Xaldin. Who went on to explain the Beast's true reason for being so vicious with the Heartless.

"He does have something he wants to protect. Something he cares about… but Xaldin says that's a weakness." Roxas was truly perplexed by Xaldin's belief. Which also confused Xion, considering that all the Organization's efforts were focused on getting the group's hearts. Why would one of the founding members of the Organization, the III of XIII, who seemed to hold such disdain for the very humanity that Xion and Roxas craved for, be so against having a heart?

"Why would caring about something be a weakness?" Xion has asked aloud, turning to their Nobody companion. Xion wondered why caring for something could be considered a weakness. She could barely recall the feeling of someone caring for her and couldn't imagine it as a fault. That warmth that came with being watched over. The feeling of tender hands resting on her own. The vague touch of affection that she can recall being brushed along her cheek. Along with gentle coos of assurance that her would-be protector will make sure she is safe and sound.

"I dunno. I didn't get it either." Roxas sounded so confused, taking a bite of his ice cream and staring off into the Twilight Town sunset. He was basking in the crimson rays of the setting sun with a look of serenity on his face. Enjoying the icing on the cake with one of his friends.

She heard the gates of the castle open with the rattling of chains and the creaking of the metal iron bar gate rising up. There is an exchange of words that can't be specifically heard over the sound of the crisp, cold winds. She glanced over the edge and saw a human figure bending down to speak to the servants of the household. The candle's flames flickered against the inconsistent chilling breeze. Xion couldn't hear specifics, but there was one phrase that carried through the air. The only thing she could hear being from the clock was, 'Please be safe.'

Xion then watched this hooded figure begin to walk along the bridge out into the forestline, feeling a substantial amount of power emanating from the figure. Particularly their Heart. Xion took up the Keyblade and stood up along the edge of the castle walls. She jumps off onto the bridge and slowly trails behind the sneaking body. Wondering what they were doing out so late and under the cover of darkness. With her hood pulled and tassels tied off along her collar, she sulks after the powerful heart. Xion quietly pondered what pulled them from the safety and security of the castle, and into the darkness of the forest.

Beast's Castle

The Forbidden Forest

Belle ran. She ran like she never had before. Picking up her skirt to not trip over it. Ducking under low hanging branches and jumping over the lifted roots of the passing trees. Belle didn't have to look behind her. She only focused on what was ahead of her, the feel of the snow crunching under her feet, and the sinister snarls and horrific barks of the wolves that chased her further and further into the dark.

Was this a mistake? Belle certainly didn't think so. That kind of opinion depended on who asked and what they thought was worthwhile. But for The Beast… her Beast, this would all be worth it.

She immediately turned on a heel, looking for anything that could be used as cover. The forest floor began to break into levels and small areas of different heights. She saw what could be mistaken for a short dirt cliff. It would have to do.

She dove underneath a carved-out piece of earth. Its walls are intricately woven with tree roots, deep mole holes, and loose patches of grass. She clapped a hand over her mouth and waited for the dark hunters to pass her by. She felt her legs quaking, and her breath was struggling to get a decent breath. She must've run for fifteen minutes, but she has been on her own gathering mission for the last few hours.

The ebony masses slunk against the snow and shoved their snouts against the dirt. Sniffing and scratching at the trail left behind by the Beauty. The Canis Minors glanced up towards the hills and peered through the dense woods. It was as though the very air had grown even colder, making her blood chill and freeze over. Belle watched as the shadowed canines began to cower as a huge canine meandered forward. Unlike the Canis minors, which resembled the typical size of wolves at around five feet from the tip of the snout to the end of their fluffy tails, with every strand of fur this deep ink black, this wolf was massive in comparison. Towering over the other Heartless creatures as the woods towered over the dirt. From snout to the end of their tail, the beast was nearly twice as long as their minor pack members. Standing at an even five feet tall when they crawled along on all fours.

The Canis Major, unlike the other wolves whose fur was shaded pitch, had a coat layered with charcoal gray fur. Their once bright golden eyes had dimmed to a low flickering of muted yellow. As though the little life it held in their stare was fading, the gold iris was fading to the pitch black of its pupil. The Canis Major barked, this disjointed and unnatural sound that sent goosebumps all along Belle's skin.

The bark was this guttural, harsh-sounding groan. It is as though it is dreadfully painful to just make the noise erupt out of its maw. The other Canis Minors heeded the Major's call and immediately trailed after it, as it then went to give chase to their target deeper and deeper into the forest. Belle used the opportunity to try and catch her breath.

She was tired, but she knew her lack of breath was only a small fraction of the stress and exhaustion that the master of the castle had felt lately.

It was the Beast who had been off chasing those horrid, Heartless creatures. It was the Beast who had been battling against the endless wave of darkness every day for the last few weeks. It was the Beast who was constantly on the defensive and trying to keep the peace. Belle wished there were some way that she could help. She had asked Cogsworth and the others for any and all ideas that could alleviate the problem. But their ideas fell short.

Belle couldn't wield a sword or a shield; the servants of the Beast's fortress were only living furniture, with his most trusted being a chipped cup, a motherly teapot, a prim and proper clock that butted heads with a flirtatious candelabra. They couldn't defeat the Heartless together, much less on their own. But they were smart. They knew of other resources that they could use to help. She was sure that by putting all their minds together, they could figure something out.

In their research in the great library, they discovered a recipe for a truly powerful potion that could heal any ailment and revitalize the body with new and fantastical energy. A truly tantalizing purple-shaded concoction. An Elixir.

She just had to get her hands on a potion. Then she could take care of the rest of the process in house. This meant having to either purchase the potion or toil over one from a recipe she had found.

She knew going into the quiet village was forbidden by the Beast, and she had come to respect the rules. Granted, while she did very much miss her father, the Beast had proved to be a fair and kind host, all things considered. With the fabulous meals, the kind waitstaff, and the beautiful library, a part of her felt some relief that there was such a place that accepted her wholeheartedly and treated her like family.

She would not want to risk exciting her father with her abrupt and short-lived return, nor did she want to end up running into that proud and boastful Hunter, Gaston. She wanted to pay the Beast back for his kindness, affection, and protection. Particularly for his affection.

It was a little over four and a half months ago that their world had initially fallen into darkness, and she was taken by the Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent. She and her band of ne'er do wells worked to collect the Seven Princesses of Heart and use them to open the keyhole in Hollow Bastion. A world across the stars.

Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine, Alice, Snow White and herself were all under the authority and fury of that monster. Each was ripped from their respective worlds, either as the veil of darkness fell over them or by the boy with silver hair who worked alongside the dark fae. She can recall the fear in Alice's eyes and Jasmine's constant paranoia when they awoke. Aurora, Snow White, and Cinderella awoke much more fearful of the damage that may have been done to their homeworlds since they fell into the darkness just as the Princesses were stolen.

Not that it was all doom and gloom. Despite coming from different worlds and different circumstances, there was a sense of kinship amongst the Princesses. They were able to depend on each other and lean on each other for support.

The Beast, through his true affections and earnest love for Belle, had torn through the fabric of the very Realm itself with sheer strength and untethered fury to get to her. Constantly putting himself in harm's way, all in the name of Belle. Fighting off hordes of Heartless, that nefarious Maleficent, and her destructive transformation into a dragon. And even when they return home, he continues to protect those he loves tooth and nail.

Once the coast was clear and there were no more sounds of ravenous beasts, she gathered her courage and began to continue on her mission.

Belle's feet dragged along the snow as she tried to gather the materials before Beast awoke from his most recent bout of sleep. Which had been inconsistent and infrequent since the invasion had begun. His sleep schedule had him sleeping for at most two to three hours and being awake for more than thirty hours at a time. Alongside barely sleeping, he rarely ate when he would find that very small sliver of time between his bouts of combat, struggling with staying awake and being on patrol, as well as sharing what little that time he could spare with Belle.

No visit to the little town meant she would have to find a way to make this special potion on her own. She would have to make do with what she could forage and gather around the grounds. She had to be able to get only a few handfuls of ground sage and a few vials of the pure essence of the world they inhabited. As per the instructions of the book that she had found.

She was sure she could find the sage in the Beast's beautiful garden. However, the essence of the world would prove to be very difficult to come across. She had only recounted it twice in her studies and they stated that it was found along the living surface of the planet. With a picture of a flower with a clay brown stigma and a mixture of white and red striped petals.

The look of the flowers was unique. But that is all that she could find about the essence of the planet. The lack of other information made it impossible for her to determine where exactly the essence would sprout and take root. Considering there was constant snowfall in a dense forest, there were low chances of finding them.

Belle meandered forward, further into the dark and against the cold. She shivered in the hard, crisp wind. Her eyes peered over the snow-laden forest floor, and her hands were toiling over one another as she searched. For both warmth and to quell her anxious thoughts.

She glanced off to the right and saw it rooted near a tree, just as it was drawn in one of the tomes. White and red petals, brown stigma. She walked over and carefully scooped the plant into a small jar before tucking the jar into her bag. One down, she just needed one more for the potion. Belle's feet carried her across the fresh and powdery snow, trying to keep as low a profile as she could. Lest she provoke the pack of ravenous Heartless once again.

Belle crept along the forest floor and continued to look for the last essence of the world. She has to stay on the lookout for white and red petals. It was going to be difficult to look for a specific white and red petaled flower in a snowy environment. Belle pulled her cloak's tassels and settled her hood. The Beauty wandered deeper into the dark, all in the name of her Beast.

She continued for what felt like an hour until she found an open plain that was hidden amongst the trees. In the center of the clearing, she saw several petals with the same coloring as the essence of the world. She glanced around to make sure that it was safe to go in for the flowers. With a few breaths to get her blood pumping and her adrenaline flowing, she ran to the center of the plain and made for the flowers.

Just as she breaks the treeline, that beastial bark resounds through the trees and marks the young woman as she sprints, with almost a dozen yellow eyes focusing on her as she runs. Bell grabbed the flowers as she strode past, ripping them right out of the soil and tucking them into her messenger bag as she continued to run. As her feet crunched against the snow, she could hear the sound of claws tearing against unearthed tree roots after her. The Canis Minors hard pads stomped against dirt as they zoomed through the woods after their quarry.

Belle glances out the corner of her eye and sees the snapping jaws of an ebony wolf, pulling her leg out of the way just as the canine lunged and went for her ankle. The Heartless ended up crashing against the snow for their effort, tail rolling over their head. Belle continued to run, one arm swinging at her side and the other over the buckle of her bag. She could hear one of the wolves getting closer. One of the Canis Minor's snatched the hem of Belle's cloak. They dropped their weight and began to pull her back.

The wolf tugged back on the Beauty's cloak and dragged her down into the snow. Belle threw out an arm, trying to ward off the beast as she kept a hand on the messenger bag. Trying to keep the contents safe. Even if she were torn to shreds, she would make sure not a single petal was torn from its stem. The rest of the wolves slowly gathered around, circling up to ensure no escape for the Princess of Heart. Leaving the only way out being in pieces through their teeth.

Belle tumbled over onto her hands and knees, coming face-to-face with the wolf that dragged her to the dirt. Belle's frantic stare met the frenzied glare of the canine Heartless. Those golden eyes reflected the fear that rested in hers. Just as the Heartless made a move to latch their jaws around Belle's face, the dozens of eyes turned towards the east. The forest was aglow with the shine of ravenous golden eyes turning in sync.

A piercing whistle resounded through the woods, followed by the sound of boot heels crunching against the snow. Each step brings them closer and closer to the pack. The wolves turned in the direction of the note, digging their paws into the snow. The whistling soon ended, with the sound of a voice clearing and a devilish cackle echoing through the trees.

"Bolt!" A rumbled roar echoed through the treeline, and the thunder that coarsed above in the darkness overhead rolls before a single bolt of lightning comes crashing down atop one of the pack members. The wolf burst into a dense cloud of purple smoke and dust. Belle jumped up in fear, arms folding over her face, and her screams nearly deafened the crashing bolt of lightning. "Hey! Go! Run! I'll fight them off! Go!"

Belle took heed of this stranger's words and did as they told her to do. Belle rises to her feet and charges back towards the path she thought led back to the castle grounds. She could hear the cracking of thunder and lightning reverberating off the trees. Belle hears the called-out shouts of her savior, as each roar is shortly followed by the crackle of lightning meeting Heartless.

"Not so tough when I'm your size, are you?" The voice shouted as the sound of lightning was replaced with the sound of iron scraping against iron. The battle cries of the stranger who risked their lives for Belle's own thundered against the harsh chilling winds. "Dusk! Take care of the stragglers! Come on then!"

Belle continued to run, rushing up an incline of a hill, and as she reached the top of the hill, she was then cut off by another Canis Minor that barred their teeth and snarled at her with saliva dripping off of their fangs. A pair of orange eyes darted towards the Canis that was intimidating Belle, letting out a furious roar as he made his play to protect the Princess. The small Shadow Heartless sent out a small fireball, sending it spiraling into the wolf and exploding into a small burst of flames. The wolf turned their attention to the Shadow, who immediately slunk into the floor and began to shift away from the Canis Minor.

As the beast lowered its shoulders down to prepare for a pounce on Belle, a spinning dog-faced buckler of cold iron smashed right into its left shoulder vertically, nearly splitting the beast right down the middle had it not gotten finally stuck into the beast's spine. The beast collapses into the earth with a sudden drop, its corpse sinking into the snow momentarily before crumbling and dispersing into purple smoke.

Belle's eyes followed the distance that the shield was tossed, following it to a silhouette of a figure in the dark woods. The glow of their hellfire eyes glows in the shadows. They nodded, letting out a satisfied chuckle. A pair of golden eyes lunged at the stranger, and he dodged out of the way with a quick pivot. The stranger's blade crashed up into the throat of a nearby canine, skating across its neck before following it up with a swinging back of his thick arms and chopping the wolf into two separate meat chunks before it burst into a dense cloud just like its sibling. Without skipping a beat, the stranger decided to take the opportunity to join the Princess at her side. The stranger rushes towards his shield, their sword in hand, running past Belle to grab up their dog-faced buckler and turn their attention to her.

Belle's stare brought her face to face with her savior. With stunning silver hair, dark tanned skin, and a devious glint in his orange-shaded eyes. She recognized the look of fury and utter joy that they held in the devastation of their enemies. It was the very same look the Seeker of Darkness held as he fell to darkness back on Hollow Bastion. She felt her legs grow rigid, and her breath became still in her chest. She could see him falling into the dark, with those damned orange eyes of his burning in the ever-seeping shadow that dragged him underneath its turbulent ebony waves. The wolves gathered behind them, reconvening in their hunting formation. Ready to strike.

"Hey!" Kuro shouted, breaking her attention from the way he looked and the pack of ravenous wolves, nodding his head in the opposite direction from the Heartless. "Where can we go?"

Belle's eyes refocused, and she gathered her senses. She turned to Kuro, who immediately began to place himself in the way of the oncoming pack. Sword and shield in hand. Ever ready to protect her. Belle pushed aside her remembrance of the Seeker of Darkness, nodding her head. When she could gather her breath, she told him where they could go.

"The castle." Belle said, trying to recall the direction she initially came from. She pointed in the direction she could recall. "The castle! Now we just need to-"

One of the wolves charges ahead, their jaws open, and their eyes focused on the Princess of Heart. As the wolf lunged and aimed to take Kuro to the ground, a silver streak was thrown through the treeline and pierced into the right side of the wolf. The Canis toppled over against the snow and let loose an aching, painful cry. The silver barrel, golden guard, and tri-circle keychain. Both the Heartless and the Princess of Heart recognized the weapon, and turned in the direction it was tossed from.

"Sora?"

"Xion?"

The keyblade rematerialized into its owner's hand, the hooded figure of the Keyblade Wielder glaring down at the pair. Her jacket's tails and her tassels get caught in the cold breeze. Looming ominously in the distance. Kuro nudged his head in the direction that Belle pointed, taking point behind her.

"Get running." Kuro stated with a cautious tone, his shield up and his eyes focused on the shifting, hunched-over shadow figures in the darkness of the forest trees. Watching as they slowly and steadily moved towards the pair of them. Kuro glanced over at the Princess of Heart, feeling the power and strength that radiated within her chest. He gulped and steadied his breath. He had to protect Belle. "I'll follow you. Go!"

Belle ran in the direction of the castle, Kuro keeping his pace behind her. In the distance, he heard the crunching of fallen snow under the boots of the hooded Xion as she raised her Keyblade and sent out a powerful spell that proceeded with the rumbling rolling thunder above and was immediately followed by bolts of lightning crashing down from the turbulent skies. Several wolves are then struck by the spell, combusting into dense clouds of smoke on impact. With each strike of lightning bringing light to the dark forest, the intensity of its light was nearly blinding to the Heartless. Kuro heard the frenzied chops of a missed canine's jaws and readied his shield. The sound was coming from his left side.

"I'll catch up! Keep going!" Kuro shouts as he immediately pivots and swings his arm about, smashing the face of the shield into the mongrel's snout, before the creature recoils with a snapping of their jaws and goes for a lunge for his throat. Kuro's blade rises and is caught between the fangs of the wolf, whose paws press into the orange-eyed Heartless' chest and shove him hard into the nearby trunk of a tree. Kuro's shield is lifted above his head as he prepares to slam down into the Canis Minor to knock it off of him.

A sudden outcry of worry halts his movements for a moment, his eyes turning to the source, and he sees the hooded figure's arm fully outstretched and their Keyblade spiraling towards its intended target. But fate or cruel coincidence, there is a brief flash of natural lightning that illuminates the shadowed figure's face, Xion's soft blue eyes grow wide in total fear, and her mouth falls slack-jawed. Her cheeks are losing their complexion and turning pale. Kuro is briefly confused, only for his eyes to catch the blinding light off the Keyblade's barrel when the lightning flashed. While he couldn't see where it was heading, he knew he would feel it first.

The Keyblade slices through the Canis Minor that pinned Kuro to the tree, simultaneously killing the wolf as well as piercing through his stomach and impaling the man into the tree trunk behind him. The thunk sound of metal meeting wood makes Xion's heart drop to her stomach and makes his heart suddenly stop momentarily in his chest.

Kuro's eyes darted down to the deep red ichor that spilled out along the steel, running down the angled blade in a sudden wave of crimson. His weapons fell out of his hands and dissipated into the snow when they hit the dirt. Kuro watched as his blood dribbled down into the freezing white ground, the heat of his split blood pooling along his feet and beginning to slosh the snow that he had been standing in.

The sudden heat of the steel barrel is immediately felt, the feeling of his body locking due to being unable to move sent distressed waves through his body. Each short breath echoed out another piercing stabbing pain that started in his stomach and rang out through his back. The inhale felt as though his very spine was forcing each vertebrae to slowly roll inward towards his stomach. The exhale brewed a devastating heat that felt like he was melting his stomach into mush. He barked out in pain, each solemn note that the humming of the fabled weapon made skyrocketing the Heartless pain even further. As each hum was bellowed out, the metal grew hotter. It was as though she had brought the blade to a piping hot melting point just prior to chucking it at him. From the feel of it, it was only getting hotter the longer the Heartless was in contact with it.

"Kuro!" Xion's sensible mind was thrown to the wayside, this primal urge and instinct rampaging to the front of her consciousness as her thoughts flooded with nothing but concern for Kuro. Her logical reasoning was dismissed entirely, this fear was rushing through her. She ran to his side, her hands immediately cupping his cheeks as she forced him to focus on her. The light in his eyes waned, his breathing had gotten shallow. "Kuro! I'm so sorry! I don't mean to!"

Kuro's once clear vision blurred, his unfocused seeing what looked like washed away water colors of dark greens, midnight blacks, and blinding whites, with the only stagnant and untouched color being the pair of blues that were locked onto him. Kuro's eyes shut. The sound of a barreling body towards them was followed by the low sound of a rumbling growl. Xion raised her hand to cast a Curaga, knowing that a spell of that caliber would go as far as to restructure bones and heal pierced organs. However, the spell didn't take, no green bells were heard, and Kuro continued to bleed. She once again, to no avail.

"I can't heal you…" Xion whispered, her cheeks stark white and her eyes filling to the brim with unspent tears. Kuro saw the mass growing bigger through his hazy vision, his lips curling to a scowl, the eroding pain making his eyes squint nearly shut, and his breath growing more hollow with every breath.

"Mm… move." Kuro begged slowly, his eyes darting up to see a mass of dark gray charging towards them against the greens and blacks, only growing bigger as it approached. Kuro heard an uncertain noise come out of Xion, not moving fast enough for his liking. His right hand reached up to grab her by the shoulder and used up the last of his coordinated strength to shove her aside onto the upward slope of the snow laden hill as the gray mass pounced forward to pursue its target. Missing her and chomping into him instead.

The Canis Major smashed its form directly into Kuro's pinned frame, its fanged maw closed around his chin and cheeks, sinking its teeth deep into his face. Its massive front paws crashed into his chest, breaking them both through the thick trunk of the tree and tumbling down the slope together. The tree had been broken by nearly two-thirds of the trunk being blown out by the Heartless scuffle, and it was felled. The tree snapped under the weight and began to careen down the hill, smashing into other trees in its descent. Breaking off branches and dislodging gathered mounds of snow to be sent smashing into the earth. Before wedging itself between two trees and staying put. Xion recalled her blade to her hand, the Keyblade rematerializing into her hand. Not a speck of blood was found along the steel barrel.

The Heartless stumbled and crashed down into an open plain, the massive gray wolf letting go of the orange eyed Heartless and circling around the downed Kuro. The Canis Major was waiting to see if he would attempt to get up and fight back. Its huge paws smash the snow flat and dig its sharp nails against the frozen dirt beneath.

Kuro could feel the open wounds along his throat and cheeks begin to heal, the warm sensation spreading across his face and the sound of sizzling flesh making him groan involuntarily. His healing factor returned his face and neck to an unblemished state. The taste of copper lingered on his tongue as he rolled over onto his side and spat out the remaining gathered blood into the snow.

Kuro's eyes slowly trailed down to the open wound along his stomach, which wasn't healing in the slightest. Kuro shut his eyes and focused his energy into the gaping lesion that the Keyblade left, only to feel the harsh pain when the chilled air beat against the sizable hole. Kuro's gaze shifted to the dimmed eyes of the Canis Major, whose snout and fangs were drenched with his blood. Their pink tongue lapping up the excess along its chops and drinking it down with a look of satisfaction aglow in its eyes.

Just as the beast went to lunge, a different Beast pounced first and dove into the side of the big wolf with a frenzied roar. Kuro saw the brown furred Beast, the very same one that he had fought several months ago in Hollow Bastion, had just tackled into the Canis Major and wrestled it onto its side. His massive paws shoved it hard into the dirt as he sank his teeth into its shoulder.

Belle approached the downed Kuro, a torch in her hand, and saw the damage that Kuro was carrying. Kuro's eyes shifted to his hands, the palms caked in a thick layer of blood. The Heartless huffed a few adrenaline-rising breaths before he summoned that fiery ball into his hands, and with an unclear mind and a locking of his jaw, Kuro shoved his palm against the open wound and immediately cauterized the wound with his handful of cupped flame.

To say he screamed was an understatement. His eyes rolled to the back of his skull as he hollered out so hard that his vocal cords started to scratch. His vision went completely dark, and his body fell loosely to the dirt. Crashing into the earth as a marionette puppet would fall when all their strings were simultaneously cut.

Just as Belle's eyes went wide and her eyes averted the sight, Kuro's screaming rattled his teeth down to the roots as he shifted his open palm fire to the exit wound along his lower back and applied the heat as well. The smell of burning flesh filled his senses. Once the wounds were sufficiently burned and the bleeding stopped, the currently blind Kuro threw himself into the dirt and snow, letting the cold dirt and powdered snow cover his wounds and fight back against the heat of the cauterization. His palms were cupping mounds of snow and smashing them against his bare skin. The heat of the snow on contact with bare skin is fighting against the true heat of the fire.

Kuro's vision resettled, his sight returning to him, and his breathing shifted from a painful and wheezing death march of breaths to a suddenly sharp and rapid series of heart pumping deep chested bouts of air.

Kuro rose unsteadily to his feet and saw several more wolves sprinting out of the tree lines to assist the Canis Major in their fight against Beast. Images of Beast facing down hordes of Heartless alongside Sora, even supporting him when Riku had stolen his Keyblade from him, flashed in Kuro's mind. The Heartless raced toward the Canis that was the closest to attacking the Beast, driving his heel into the Canis' cheek and hammering a fist down into the mongrel's skull.

The stretching out of his leg and the swinging back of his arm, having just reopened the freshly healed wound and nearly splitting it open even wider. Kuro, with his eyes swelling with tears and biting back a scream, dove and locked his arms around the throat of the Canis Minor to keep them pinned to the dirt. Its legs kicked out in a pathetic attempt to break from his hold.

"Stranger?!" Beast's roar echoed through the area, rattling some stagnant snow out of the branches of surrounding trees as he lifted the Canis Major up over his shoulders and threw them into the trunk of a nearby beech tree. The burly, fully fanged maw lumbering Beast glared at Kuro, his piercing blue eyes meeting the orange eyes of the Heartless. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving Belle! Be on your guard!" Kuro shouted as he grabbed the jaws of a Canis Minor and quickly dragged them in different directions, the canine's snout breaking towards the right and its jaw snapping over to the left. The Heartless wolf combusted into smoke, Kuro rolling onto his knees. He rises up onto his feet and walks over to join the Beast's side. Preparing to face down the pack of wolves. Kuro smirks, rolling his neck about along his shoulders as he lets his right hand rest over the stinging wound the Keyblade left. Kuro bites down a scream and instead growls out. "Are you ready for them?"

Belle heard the Beast's laborious breaths and the rattling sound of his shallow groans as he got down onto all fours and refocused his anger. Xion, having just broken the treeline and reached the open area, could see that Kuro had not only staunch the bleeding wound but that he had gotten back up onto his two feet and was prepared for combat once again. The pack of the remaining four wolves along with their pack leader stood their ground against the Beast and Kuro. The Major's painful bark signaled the attack, and the four wolves ran ahead of the Canis Major.

Xion watched as two wolves pounced on Beast and one tackled Kuro into the dirt, the last one running around the outside to make a break for Belle, who was standing off to the side of the battlefield. Xion prepared her blade as she rushed to join the fight. She took position in front of Belle, Keyblade up in her guarded position.

Beast's jaws chomped down into the neck of one of the wolves, his left paw effortlessly lifting the one he bit while the right hand scruffs the other one by the back of the neck and slams it hard down into the earth.

Kuro's right arm was raised, and the wolf sunk its teeth into his forearm, Kuro's left hand coiled into a fist before delivering a series of hard and painful punches into the throat of the Canis Minor.

Xion caught the lunge of the wolf with a downward swing, slamming the Canis Minor into the dirt before she thrust the blade directly into the chest of the canine Heartless. The teeth of the Keyblade cut through its muscle before it combusted, as so many Heartless had done before. Belle's eyes darted to the weapon in her hand, then back to the thin shoulders of Xion.

"Sora?" The Beauty whispered aloud, the puppet's hooded head turning towards the Princess of Heart and she felt a sudden wave of confusion wash over her as she heard his name aloud. "Is that you, Sora?"

A name that pulsed through her body as though she had just been struck by her very own lighting. An image of a seashore flashed in her vision. Just as she could barely conceive the sensation the lapping ice-cold ocean water against her feet, she heard a rumbling battle cry and a furious shout.

Xion was pulled out of her waking dream as her sights darted to Kuro, who had just rolled the wolf he was wrestling onto its back and began to slam its skull into the dirt. Disturbing and knocking up snow with every hammering of the Canis Minor's head into the earth.

Beast's teeth tore through the Canis Minor he had bitten, tearing out its throat and tossing it aside before piercing his claws into the side of the wolf and bisecting it into two separate pieces.

Kuro repositioned his stance and slammed his heel into the skull of the wolf he was fighting, smashing it down flat before it crumbled into clouds.

The trio of eyes darted to the Canis Major, whose dimmed eyes were focused on the Beast, its pink tongue running over their fangs, before they rushed towards the Beast and sunk their teeth into his arm. The Beast bellowed out a roar as he shifted his weight to throw the wolf off, only for the Canis Major to plant their paws into the dirt, drag him off of his two massive canine feet, and send him into the snow. The Canis Major unlatched their teeth and dragged their claws against the forearms and shoulders of the Beast, as though they were trying to dig through him to get to the dirt.

Beast pulled back his hind legs and thrust them hard into the belly of the giant wolf, launching them up into the air and landing back onto the snow. The wolf quickly rolls over onto his belly and jumps up onto their paws, ready for another attack.

Before the wolf could retaliate, Kuro jumped onto the Canis Major's back and locked his arms around the wolf's throat and his legs around their hindquarters. He then began squeezing as hard as he could. The wolf bucks like a bronco, trying to get the silver-haired Heartless off of its back. The wolf jumped and slammed its back into the dirt, which not only disoriented Kuro but also made him tighten his grip.

Beast unsteadily rose up onto his feet, having only gotten just shy of an hour and a half of sleep when he awoke to the constant noise of Lumiere and Cogsworth arguing over something trivial and benign. It was when he couldn't smell Belle within the walls of the castle that he took to following her scent out into the forbidden forest. Then he happened upon the wolves and Kuro.

Beast saw Kuro keep his hold of the wolf, before galloping over and shoulder charging into the canine and crashing his claws into the wolf's chest and thigh. The Beast raised the Canis Major up over his head, Kuro included, and sent them both back into the earth in a crater, making his body slam. The Canis Major burst into a dense smoke cloud, and Kuro and the Beast lay against the snow. Both of them were exhausted and full of pain and agony as they rested against the frozen earth.

The Beast was laid down on his stomach, his face buried in the dirt as the bloody lesions along his forearms and shoulders wetted the snow. Kuro was laid up on his back, his eyes staring into the endless black sky, as he felt the wound along his stomach reopen and his heated blood trickle along his ribs and gather along his side. Xion rushes to Kuro's side, Belle to Beast's. The Puppet cupped the Heartless' cheeks, seeing his dark complexion fade into a pale imitation of his usually tanned skin.

She hears the crunching of snow and sees Dusk, the shadow in their tiny blue puffer jacket, approaching Kuro and taking hold of his left arm. Furiously shaking it while butting their head into Kuro's skull. Kuro's left arm was thrown out, his dog faced shield appearing in his hand and being handed over to the Shadow.

With the sound of thunder and the sudden burst of dense blackened smoke, Dusk in their Champion form, their massive shield in hand, loomed over the Beast and the downed Heartless. Belle shuffled back before throwing herself over the Beast, in a desperate attempt to shield him from whatever damage this new Heartless could do.

Xion reached over and took hold of Belle's hands, nodding her tenderly.

"It's ok. This one is a friend." Xion whispered, Dusk nodding with their helmed head and giving the Princess of Heart a thumbs up. Belle nodded as well, hesitantly stepping back and allowing Dusk to help. The Champion threw the Beast over their shoulder, then he laid the shield down on the ground, dogface into the dirt, and pulled Kuro onto it like a makeshift sled.

Belle leads the way, with Dusk carrying Beast over their shoulder and Xion dragging Kuro on the shield by his foot. The winds blow hard against the party as they make their way back to the gothic castle in the distance. Marching against the darkness. Xion's eyes focused on the castle's looming shadows, only to be pulled away when she could start hearing a lowly murmur from Kuro as he faded in and out of consciousness. His eyes shut and his lips twitched every so often from the blistering cold.

"Sorry… I'm sorry." Kuro whimpered as he was rocked and shifted with the small dips and rises of the winter terrain. His breathing was slow and uneven, his right hand pitifully applied little pressure to the still aching and bleeding wound in his torso. "Xion… I'm sorry."

"Let's get you out of the snow and healed up." Xion mumbled, her voice rattling due to the cold and her feet sinking deep into the snow. She thought of how she attempted to fix Kuro with a Curaga only for it not to take him at all. Her stomach began to sink when she thought she could already be losing her power to use the Keyblade once again. "Why couldn't I heal you?"

Kuro's lips curled to a defeated smile, his eyes barely shifting open as he glared out into the darkness that surrounded him. Making his skin crawl and his blood run cold. He hated being in the dark. It began to encroach on his vision once again, and he hated the way it felt to sink into the darkness once again.

"Heartless…" Kuro grumbled with a hiss of pain before falling limp against the steel shield once again. The flashing of golden eyes and constant shadows took his sight away once again. "The Heartless…can't be healed."

Beast's Castle

The Foyer

"It was a bad idea." The clock mutters as he paces parallel to the lobby doors, anxiously waiting for the master of the castle to return and deliver a verbally thorough thrashing of how irresponsible it was for them to allow Belle off of the Manor's grounds and into the dangerous forests with all the Heartless about. "You should have never told her to go!"

"Cogzworth, you know Mademoiselle Belle, only the very elements could dare defy her téméraire spirit, no?" The small clockwork servant glances over at his candelabra companion, running a small hand over the glass face and humming a few terrified notes. The gears in his chest are cranking loudly and making his minute and hour hands spin. Lumiere then let out a grumpy groan. "Also, moi did not encourage Belle to brave the dark alone. It was an effort d'équipe."

"Do! Not! Try to shift the blame to me!" Cogsworth shouted, rushing over, tapping the candlestick, and getting in his face. "You decided to tell her about the potion!"

"It twas tu! Who told Belle to check the library in the first place!" Lumiere shot back, his flames growing bright and his breath fogging up the glass of Cogsworth's face. "If the master were to blame anyone-"

The two would have continued their back and forth if it had not been for the creaking of the heavy wooden doors. Cogsworth covered his face to avoid his master's glare, and Lumiere jumped behind the clock and attempted to hide.

They trudged across the stone bridge, and walked across the front of the manor's courtyard. Belle coordinated with Dusk and Xion to bring the two wounded warriors towards the parlor off to the right hand side.

"Belle! Master!" The two servants spoke aloud and excitedly, only to see the armored Heartless carrying their furred master over their shoulder and following in line after Belle. Xion trailed shortly behind, her back facing the Princess and the Champion, both of her hands holding Kuro by his feet and dragging him along the floor and carpet. The servants made way for the hurt party and opened the doors to the parlor. "What happened?"

"I was ambushed by some creatures in the forest. And the man with silver hair saved me." Belle said it with a growing smile. "Then Beast saved him."

Cogsworth and Lumiere pushed open the doors to the parlor, and as if on cue, the hearth roared alive with a raging flame. A kettle is slowly bobbing along the floor, throwing itself onto a hook above the fire, and preparing some hot water for the patients.

Dusk places the Beast in his chair beside the hearth, before walking over and effortlessly lifting Kuro by his vest and shirt, craning him over to an upholstered couch, and gently laying him down.

Belle ran off to fetch some medical supplies, leaving the Nobody with the Beast and the Heartless. Xion glanced over at the Beast, the wounds along his shoulders and forearms were still visibly bleeding, his thick brown fur getting matted from it. She walked over, taking her Keyblade in hand and casting a Cura. As the green bells rang, the flash of emerald light dispersed the dark shadows for a moment. The wounds began to heal, leaving barely visible white scars that hid just out of sight underneath the Beast's hair. Xion's eyes glanced over at Dusk, whose armored body took vigilant watch over their companion's conscious form, and silently approached them. With a subtle gesture of her hand, she attempted a basic Cure spell. Just like Kuro, Dusk didn't seem affected by the spell the same as Kuro. Her mind replayed the word Heartless over and over again, her eyes subtly glancing over at the downed man and taking in his still-unhealed wound. Her hand gently moved to check the condition of his festering lesion and inspect the damage.

While the bleeding had stopped, it appeared that the damage was charred black along the outside of the area, with the center of the wound this stark white, flaky patch that ran from the edge of his hip to just under his left ribs. With the bleeding replaced now with these series of small bubbling blisters from his cauterization of the wound. A few burst and spilled along his taut abdomen, wetting the waistband of his jeans with their juices. She checked his face, cheeks, and arms. Areas that she knew the Canis Minors had damaged and attacked, only to see these healed and appear non-existent. His healing factor addressed those wounds, but not the major ones. The only evidence of any dmanabe is the dried blood along the hairs of his arms and in his beard.

Xion's eyes fell shut, and she realized why he was able to control a Shadow Heartless. When he entered his frenzied state, he resembled the more feral and violent Heartless that she had encountered. Kuro had the ability to destroy worlds and devour Hearts. It was so obvious that it actually hurt her sense of awareness that she didn't notice it until now. Kuro was a Heartless. A dangerous one at that.

Xion felt her tears well in her eyes, and her body steadily grew numb at the realization. Her fingers were stinging from the lack of feeling, and her stomach was aching as the reverberation of the numbness began to creep in. Belle returned with her hands full of medical supplies, gauze, alcohol, and herbal leaves to make up some kind of potion. When she went to check on the Beast, she saw that his wounds were cleaned and scarred over already. Having healed perfectly. She turned to Xion, recalling the Keyblade's power and gently bowed her head.

"Thank you." She whispered, handing the gauze and a few loose leaves of some medical herb to the raven-haired girl and nodding her head toward Kuro. She saw the kettle jump off, careful not to spill a drop of boiling hot water. A rag then hopped, wrapping itself along the handle as it took position beside Xion. "Put the leaves in the water, wet them, and then start to wrap up his stomach. We want to keep him from getting an infection."

Xion nodded, seeing the kettle's lid open and awaiting the herbs. The Organization member drops the leaves in and lets the kettle begin to slosh the contents about to ensure that the leaves dilute the water. Once properly mixed, the kettle poured its salve onto a rag and proceeded to return to the fire to maintain temperature. Xion lifts up Kuro's shirt and hesitantly rests the piping hot rag against his burn wound.

Kuro is awoken to the sensation of yet another blistering fire pressing against his lesion. The hot, damp rag was gingerly placed against his burn, and his eyes shot open immediately in response. He recoiled from the sudden pain in his stomach.

The Heartless' orange eyes darted around, the dark skies replaced with a somehow darker ceiling, the shadows of the parlor feeling more suffocating than the dense storm clouds outside. He tried to sit up, only to feel a gloved hand press down against his shoulder and force him back down. Kuro reached up and grabbed Xion by the wrist, his breath unsteady and his eyes rapidly glancing about. There is a huff and a pair of rageful blue eyes casting judgment over the Heartless.

"Don't fight it, it'll only be more painful if you do." The Beast grumbled from his chair, recalling an eerily similar situation that had played out the first night that he held Belle here as a prisoner. "Trust me."

"Just hold still." Xion whispered as she met his petrified orange stare, his forehead slick with sweat, and his pale complexion slowly regaining some color. Xion then grabbed by the sleeve and angled up into somewhat of a seated position. She gently wrapped the gauze around his waist, ensuring the rag was properly covered and resting against the wound to maintain pressure. "Ok."

She lowered him back down and let him settle against the couch. She took a seat beside his feet, her eyes staring at his half-lidded stare as he attempted to regulate his breathing. She glanced down at his hand, a tiny thought to reach out and hold it tightly. It came and passed, recalling her commitment to the Organization. She turned her eyes away from Kuro, her hands balling into fists to stave off the temptation.

"I need to RTC." She whispered as she slowly rose to her feet and moved to leave Kuro in his resting position. She stopped at the side of the couch where his head rested, glancing at him out of her peripheral vision. She wanted to say that she was glad he's alive. Another moment she wanted to throttle him for keeping the fact he was. Heartless shamefully hidden away from her. She huffed and continued to leave. Exiting the parlor and finding a quiet place to summon her Corridor of Darkness out of sight of any locals.

Kuro's eyes followed her until she could no longer be seen, accepting that she did not want to associate with him any longer than necessary. But she still dressed his wound and apologized for hurting him. There was a part of her that was concerned for him. Even a little bit.

"You protected Belle?" The Beast's words echoed out as they turned their attention to the Heartless. Kuro's eyes flickered over to the Beast, nodding his head gently. The Beast let out a bemoaned sigh, crossing his arms over one another just before pounding his fist into the arms. A sudden irritation came over him. He trudged over to the Heartless, towering over him, glowering at him before easing his scowl and shutting his eyes. As though it were painful to admit, he then spoke in a tender tone. "Thank you."

Kuro felt a smirk creep along his face, his sigh of relief coming at the expense of a sudden wave of pain that he accepted as if washed over him. Kuro raised his thumb and gestured at the Beast.

"You're welcome." Kuro mumbled softly. His eyes shut and his body once again fell limp as he rested on the couch. Enjoying the comfortable spot and the roaring fire. "Happy to help…"