Chapter 7 (SORA): Tragedy/ Transformation

Chapter 7 (Sora): Tragedy/ Transformation

        Since he had watched Belle leave his castle to be with her father, the Beast remained alone in his room, refusing anyone who wished to talk to him about his decision to free Belle.  There was nothing Mrs. Potts or anyone else currently in his servitude could say to him to make him change his mind.  Belle was with people who made her happy and that was enough for him, despite the fact that he had given up his one and only chance at love.  He didn't care about being human anymore.  All he could think about was Belle and being with her again.
        Occasionally, he would look out onto the bridge leading to his castle and hope that Belle would be riding back to his side, promising her love to him.  But he knew that would never happen.  He was almost completely sure that he would live the remainder of his days alone.
       A raucous beyond his gates drew the Beast's attention, but only for a moment.  A man with an assortment of weapons and a legion of dark followers marched towards the gates of his castle.  Beast sighed.  At least his death was coming sooner rather than later.
        The door to the West Wing opened and Mrs. Potts hopped inside.  "Pardon me, Master..."
        "Please, leave me in peace" the Beast requested.
        "But sir, the castle is under attack!  We're readying a defense.  But we cannot act without you.  What shall we do, Master?"
        The Beast stroked the glass casing around the rose and grumbled.  "It doesn't matter now.  Just let them come."
       Mrs. Potts seemed ready to argue, but she lowered her head and hopped back out of the room.  Beast kept his focus on the last petal that hung from the rose, knowing that once it fell to the bottom of the case, his fate would be forever sealed.

        Gaston kicked the doors of the castle in and marched inside.  His Unversed followed in and were instantly attacked by a menagerie of enchanted household objects.  Under the guise that the Unversed were still his fellow men, he ordered them about.  "Take whatever booty you can find, but remember that the Beast is mine!"  Gaston looked past his horde and saw Sora, Donald and Goofy hurrying to stop him.  "Keep them away until I get to the Beast!"
       The Unversed all crept closer to Sora and his friends as they entered the foyer.  Sora watched Gaston sprint his way up the walkway to the West Wing.  "We can't let him get to Beast!"
       The objects, seeing Sora and his friends returning, seized their fighting with the Unversed and hurried to Sora's side.  "You have returned" Cogsworth cheered.  "But where is Belle?"
      "She's on her way!" Sora proclaimed.  "But we have to save Beast before Gaston kills him."
      Several Unversed attacked the group, causing Sora to jump ahead and slice several of them into pieces.  "We have to defeat these creatures first!" Cogsworth cried.

Defeat all 50 Unversed!

Get Bonus:

Sora: Learned Upper Slash 

Donald: +10 HP

Goofy: +10 HP

        As Donald's Thunder spell wiped out the last of the invading Unversed, Sora turned his attention to the path leading to the Beast's room.  "We're running out of time!"  Sora hurried up the steps after Gaston to save another friend from damnation.

        Gaston kicked the last door of the West Wing opened and grinned coldly.  The Beast stood by the glass doors leading outside.  The Hunter loaded an arrow into his bow and began to aim for the creature.  

       Beast acknowledged the hunter for a moment, but too depressed to attack the intruder, simply returned his focus to the bridge leading to the woods, where he had last seen Belle.  Suddenly, the Beast roared in pain.  An arrow had struck him in his back.  Before he could rip the arrow out, he was tackled and thrown through the glass doors by Gaston.  Gaston snorted evilly as he hopped through the hole of glass and prepared to grapple with his prey.  

       As the Beast struggled to his feet, Gaston kicked him over the balcony and down the roof of the tower.  The Beast landed hard on a walkway overlooking the bridge.  Gaston slid down the balcony after him.  "Get up!" the hunter ordered.

      Beast moaned and remained still.

      Once more, Gaston kicked the Beast.  Beast rolled towards the edge of the walkway.  "Get up!  What's the matter, Beast?"  Gaston snickered as he stood over the Beast.  "Are you too kind and gentle to fight back?"  Gaston waited for the Beast to respond, but the creature moaned once more and refused to look the hunter in the face.  

      Gaston growled.  "Fine!  If you don't want to fight me, this will make my job much easier!"  Gaston walked over to one of the gargoyles overhanging on the walkway and ripped it clean.  Brandishing the statue like a club, he slowly made his way towards the Beast.  

      Sora looked down and saw the hunter descending towards the Beast.  Not waiting for Donald or Goofy to catch up with him, Sora dove off the balcony and rolled his way behind the hunter.  Summoning his Keyblade, Sora rushed past the hunter and stood in his way.  "Leave Beast alone!"  

      "I told you to stay out of this" Gaston growled.  "I'll deal with you in a minute!"

      "You'll deal with me now!"  

      "Fine!  Your funeral!"  Gaston thrust the club forward, knocking Sora backwards towards the wall.  Donald and Goofy followed Sora down and prepared to defend their friend, but were swatted to the side by the hunter's huge muscular arms.  

      As Sora struggled back to his feet, Gaston grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and snarled.  "You want to be the Beast's friend?  Then you can join him in death!"

       

      "NO!" a woman's voice cried from the bridge.  The Beast looked down and gasped.  Belle and her father stood looking from below at the situation on the tower.  "Beast!"  

       "Belle?" the Beast cried.  "She came back!"  The Beast looked back and saw Gaston  preparing to deal a fatal blow to Sora.  The Beast roared and lunged for the hunter.  Gaston looked back, but could not defend himself in time for the onslaught of the Beast's attack.  He was thrashed down to another roof and looked up in fright as the Beast roared against the moon.  

      Beast rushed to Sora's side and pulled him up.  "Sora...thank you."

      "Forget it, Beast" Sora shouted.  "We have to stop Gaston!"

       "One step ahead of you!" the Beast snarled, lunging down and grappling with the hunter.  Donald and Goofy raced to Sora's side.  With a look of determination, all three leapt down to their friend's side.  

        Gaston and the Beast thrashed each other about the roof, grunting and howling viciously as both tried to get an advantage of the other.  "Were you in love with Belle, Beast?  Did you honestly think she'd want you, when she had someone like me?"  

       The Beast threw Gaston against the wall.  Sora and his friends landed next to the Beast and readied for battle.  Gaston jumped to his feet and swung the club violently.  "It's over Beast!  BELLE IS MINE!"  Enraged, the Beast lunged forward, followed closely by Sora, Donald and Goofy.

Boss Battle: Gaston

HP: 550 

NOTE: Join Forces with the Beast and put an end to Gaston's rage!  The Beast is an ally, 
not a Party Member!

Music: Vim and Vigor

Get Bonus:

Sora: HP +5, Obtained the Cure Element

Donald: Learned Mega Flare

Goofy: Learned MP Gift

        Gaston fell against the wall out of exhaustion.  He weakly attempted to club the Beast one final time, but the Beast smashed him against the wall hard enough to knock the club out of his hand and off the roof altogether.  Beast grabbed the hunter by the throat and dangled him over the roof.  Hundreds of meters below, was the hunter's certain doom.  

       Gaston grasped his prey's arm frightfully.  "Let me go!  Let me go!  Please!  Don't hurt me!  I'll do anything!  ANYTHING!"  

      The Beast prepared to drop the hunter, but his rage began to subside.  The Beast looked at the hunter and then himself.  He finally understood what the differences were between man and beast.  His love for Belle outshined his hate for this new arrival.  Beast brought him away from the ledge and growled.  "Get out!"  The Beast flung Gaston away.  

     Beast turned to Sora and was about to say something, when a voice called out his name from the balcony of the West Wing.  "Beast!"  

     The Beast looked up and smiled.  "Belle?"  He began climbing his way towards the West Wing.  Sora and his friends admirignly looked on.  

       "I think we did it!" Donald exclaimed.  

       "Let's go up and talk to them!" Goofy rallied.

       "Yeah!"  Sora and his friends hurried through a nearby door and began their way to the top of the castle.  

        As Beast made it to the top of the fortress, he took Belle's outstretched hand.  "Belle?  You came back!"

        Belle took the Beast's paw and stroked it lovingly.  The Beast smiled warmly.  "But I don't understand.  Why did you come back?"

      "Don't you know?" she asked.  "Beast, I lo--"

      The Beast snarled in pain.  Belle looked back in horror to see Gaston had plunged a dagger into his side.  A wicked smile etched itself on the hunter's face as the Beast slumped against the balcony in pain.  The Beast lost balance and swung his paw backwards.  Gaston dodged the paw, but lost his balance.  He desperately reached for something to grab, but could find nothing waiting for him.  Instead, the hunter plummeted from the roof and to his death hundreds of meters below.  "AHHHH!"

       Belle helped the Beast onto the balcony as Sora and his friends arrived.  "BEAST!" Sora called to his friend.  

      Beast collapsed to the floor in pain as Belle sat above him.  He weakly opened his eyes and smiled.  "You--you came--you came back!"  

      Belle smiled, fighting back an ocean of tears.  "Of course I came back" she wept.  "I couldn't let him--oh this is all my fault!"  The woman hugged the Beast.  "If only I'd come sooner."

      Beast sighed in pain.  "Maybe--it's--it's better--it's better this way" he spoke weakly.  

      Belle put her hand to his mouth,  "Don't talk like that!  You'll be alright" she exclaimed, trying to loosen his cape to help him breathe better.  "We're together now.  Everything's going to be alright!  You'll see."

       Beast raised his paw and stroked Belle's hair.  Belle took his paw in her hands and wiped away tears from her eyes.  "At--at least--I got to see you...one...last...time."  Before Belle could answer him, the Beast slumped backwards and breathed no more.  His paw slipped away from Belle's grip and fell beside him.  

      Sora gasped.  Belle's hands instantly covered her mouth in shock.  The enchanted objects that had made their way up now lowered their heads in sorrow.  Cogsworth comforted Mrs. Potts as she let loose a tear. Sora fell to his knees and wept himself.  

      "This didn't just happen" Sora tried telling himself.

      "No...no!  Please" Belle pleaded with the dead Beast.  "Please don't leave me!"  Belle fell onto the body and sobbed incredibly.  "I--I love you!"  

      Lumiere looked back towards the rose.  The last petal shined once more and finally fell to the bottom of the case.  The candelabra closed his eyes and helped Cogsworth comfort Mrs. Potts.  

     

      Sora was about to turn to leave, when he saw a stream of magical light fall from the ground.  He turned back to the Beast.  The Beast and Belle were surrounded by a mystical glow.  Belle noticed this and fell backwards.  The Beast's body began to lift itself into the air.  The group all looked on in wonder.  

      "Can it be?" Lumiere asked.

      "Was the spell broken?" Cogsworth asked.  

      "Look!" Sora exclaimed.  The Beast's furry paws slowly began to revert into human hands.  His hind legs that were reminiscent of a wolf, reverted back to human legs.  His burly chest slowly deflated to that of a human's.  Finally, his horns disappeared and his beastly exterior was once more that of a human's. 

        Belle was shocked at the transformation.  She slowly made her way over to the Beast,  The man began to push himself to his feet and rise.  He looked himself over and gasped.  "I'm--I'm--"  The man turned his attention to Belle.  The man was a strikingly handsome Prince!  The Spell had been broken!  "Belle?  It's me!"  The man stood beside Belle.

       Belle eyed the man curiously.  She studied each and every one of his features.  When she instantly recognized the eyes of the monster she had fallen in love with, she cried.  "It is you!"  The couple embraced, before finally taking each other in their arms and kissing.  Fireworks shot out of nowhere and began to transform the castle.  The eerie gargoyles and creepy Gothic designs were replaced with angelic statues and magnificent lions.  

     Sora began to tear up in joy as he watched the two together.  He looked down to the objects, who also began to have magic swirl around them  and returned to their human forms.  Sora laughed as he thought he could notice small traces of the objects inside the Prince's servants.  "I can't believe this!"

      "It is a miracle!" Lumiere called out, taking his friends in his arms and hugging them.  

       The former Beast and Belle embraced each other as a beam of light appeared from thin air and shined down past them.  King Mickey walked down the path and smiled.  "Congratulations on breaking the spell, everyone!"  

       "Your Majesty!" Donald exclaimed.  

       Belle left the Beast's side to address Mickey.  "Hello, Mickey.  What brings you here?"

       "Actually" Mickey explained, "I'm here to bring you to someplace safe.  We think Master Xehanort is going to start targeting you and the other Princesses of Heart.  We have a safe place established for you."

       Belle looked to her love in sadness, but the Prince nodded.  "If Mickey thinks you're in danger here, than I want you to be safe.  Go with him."  The Prince and Belle embraced each other once more.  "We're not going anywhere.  We'll still be here waiting for you to return home."  The Prince turned his attention to Sora.  "Sora, you've done it again!  If it weren't for you, we'd still have a curse on us.  Thank you."  

      Sora shrugged.  "We try I guess!"

      "We're just glad y'all are human again!" Goofy proclaimed.  

      "We owe it all to you gents" Cogsworth cheered.  

      "You are always welcome here, my friends" Lumiere professed.  

      Mickey nodded.  "Sora?  We have to go!  There are more worlds waiting!"

       Sora nodded and waved goodbye to the Prince and his servants.  Mickey and Belle departed into the light, followed by Sora, Donald and Goofy.  Though they were departing from this castle, they knew that their lack of presence there would be for the best, because that meant that the castle was finally free from the enchantress.  

Forged a D-Link with Donald

Forged a D-Link with Goofy

Obtained the Blackthorn Keychain

STR: +4

MAG: 0

Ability:

Increase the Damage done through Ground Combos