A/N: As of late, I know how I will be ending this story! I think I do, at least!

After traveling through the west hall, the group had finally made it to where the Beast and Belle were currently at, the Beast pacing back and forth. They watched curiously, and Hope covered her ears tightly when the Beast let out a loud roar and slammed his fists to the floor, nearly causing everyone to fall down.

Belle watched him worriedly, not understanding what was happening. "What's wrong?" He growled angrily, and she approached him slowly, reaching out to touch his arm gently, "Please, calm down!"

He swung his arm, and Belle reached up the protect his face as though she thought he was going to hit her. "Calm down!?" he hmphed and glared at her, "You just had to have a party, didn't you? Don't you see what's happened?"

Sora walked up, a frown on his face, "Hey. What's with you?"

"The rose... My rose..." his voice softened, and the sadness in his voice was clear by then.

Sora looked over at the table where the rose had been sitting when he had been here the last time. "What, that? He took it?"

Trying to be positive and optimistic, Belle spoke up again. "But surely, you can find another rose..."

"Silence!" He screamed at her, "You don't know anything!" He swung his arms again and Sora stepped in front of Belle in case Beast tried to hit her. This rose he kept speaking of was clearly something that was very important to him, otherwise he wouldn't be as angry as he was.

"That's not fair, Beast. Don't take it out on Belle!" Sora yelled back, his arms held out from his sides to protect Belle, "It's not like she stole it!"

He groaned softly and pinched the bridge of his nose. Hope watched Belle look down, a look of guilt on her face. "I'm sorry..."

Sora looked at her over his shoulder and gave her a kind smile. "You don't have to apologize."

"But..." She looked up.

Hope walked over quietly and stood in front of Sora, looking up at the Beast silently. He was frowning sadly, and his sapphire orbs held mixed emotions. Pain, regret, and sadness were swirling around in them. He looked ashamed, and it was clear that regretted losing his temper in front of them all. He looked away, and was quiet for a bit longer before he spoke, his voice softer now.

"Belle... Sora... I want you to leave the castle." Belle opened her mouth to object, but stopped as Hope put a hand up. "Look at me. Look. This is what I am..." He looked at her quietly, "When you first got here, I tried to change. But I was only fooling myself! I can't be any different..." He looked at his hands sadly and closed his eyes. "I'll always be a beast. So, I should live like a beast. With no one, alone. Goodbye...Belle." He turned his back to all of them.

"You can't mean that..." Belle said sadly, reaching out to him, only to have him look away and keep his back to her.

"Aw, I think his mind's all made up." Goofy whispered to Sora.

"Yeah..." He looked at Belle who was starting to walk away, "Look, Belle. Leave this to us. If we can get the Beast's rose back, he'll calm down."

She looked at them for a moment and nodded silently, leaving the room. The four followed behind her, leaving the Beast all alone to silently grieve.

"Poor Child..." Mrs. Potts murmured softly as Belle walked by her and the other enchanted objects, watching her go down the stairs in silence.

The clock, Cogsworth, gave a soft sigh, shaking his head. "How could it have come to this?"

"And they were so looking forward to this evening..." Lumiere, the candelabra added, his voice sad.

Hope watched the teapot turn to them, chiding them softly, "Now now-no need to be so sad. Once the rose is back safely, this will all be over."

"What's so special about one rose anyway?" Sora asked, his arms crossed over his chest. Hope stood beside him, watching the three objects turn to look up at them.

Cogsworth explained. "If the master can love and be loved in return, the spell will be broken. We'll all be human again."

"But how come the Beast is as angry as he is about it?" Hope asked.

Lumiere looked at her, "You see, mademoiselle," he began, "there is a time limit. He must find his true love before the last petal falls from that rose."

"Ah, but that's not all though." Cogsworth piped in, "Over time, caring for that rose has become a cherished part of the master's daily life."

"It's as though all his hopes and dreams are tied to that single bloom..." Mrs. Potts added, and Hope smiled at that. She understood what that rose meant to the Beast.

"So...the rose is basically a part of him now." She murmured thoughtfully.

"Then we have to get it back!" Sora exclaimed, looking at Hope. "But we can't without the Beast though. If it's that important to him, he's got to do it himself."

"You're right." Hope said, ruffling his hair and smiling. "How mature of you to think that way, Sora~"

"Hey!" He pouted, and she laughed softly.

"You three go talk to the Beast. I'm going to go talk with Belle."

"Huh? Why?"

She started to walk down the stairs. "I think she'll feel a little better if she has another girl to talk to about certain things."

And with that said, Hope left the corridor to go find Belle.

Hope was lost. While she had only wanted to see if she could cheer Belle up some, she had been careless for not asking someone for directions. She had managed to find her way back to where they had come in from. She stood in the middle of the room and looked around before she headed up the next set of stairs. "I recognize this hall..."

It had been where she had met Sora several months ago. Where Axel had left her.

She walked to the last door in the hallway and knocked on it. "Belle?"

From inside, she could hear the quiet sobs suddenly go silent, Belle sniffling as she tried to stop the tears. "Y-Yes?"

"May I come in?" Hope asked softly, stepping back as the door creaked open slowly, revealing Belle wiping the remaining tears from her eyes and mustering the best smile she could as she invited Hope inside. She shut the door behind her and watched the girl move over to the window. "It's not your fault, ya know? What happened with the rose..."

Belle smiled sadly and looked at the ceiling, "You know...I didn't want to stay here. In the beginning when I first came here, I hated it. I just wanted to go home. I never thought there would be a day where I would actually find myself wanting to stay here. But now..." She sighed sadly and sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at her lap sadly and shaking her head.

Hope sat beside her, looking up at the ceiling. "I know how you feel."

"You...do?"

She nodded slowly, a sad smile appearing on her face. "I was in a situation where I didn't have a choice in the beginning. I was kept there against my will, and I hated it for a while. I made friends though. Friends who...who I cared about a lot. That's why I didn't leave for the longest time."

"Why...did you leave?"

"Because I was at risk. So, I left for good." She looked at her. "The man who took Beast's rose is probably here for me too..."

Belle gasped softly. "But why?"

Hope smiled sadly. "I'm too important for them to let go. They proved that by sending people after me when I left."

"Was it hard? Leaving them behind?"

Hope frowned slightly as she thought about her words, "It was hard leaving some of them behind, but it was better that I left for my sake and theirs." She smiled, watching Belle get up and wander out onto the balcony.

"I just...I care about him. He can be so...infuriating and difficult at times. It drives me mad!" She huffed in annoyance, moving her hands about as she spoke. "Yet...the idea of leaving him makes me..." She paused, as though she was having trouble thinking of the right word.

"Sad?" Hope supplied.

Belle nodded and looked back at her, a sad smile playing upon her lips. "I used to think leaving would be the best day of my life...but now that I am able to leave, I don't want to..." She murmured, looking up at the sky. "Before I came here, people back home thought I was...odd. They would talk about me as though I couldn't hear because they thought that if my nose was buried in a book my ears couldn't work. It was so silly, but...it did hurt somewhat. I can't believe that I ever wanted to go back to that." She leaned over the balcony slightly, letting her arms rest on top of the edge and settling her head on top of them, a quiet sigh escaping her lips.

"Do you love him?"

"I..." Belle paused, looking down at the ground below. Donald and Goofy were outside with Sora and The Beast, the latter looking around while Donald and Goofy were jumping up and down while waving up at Belle. She blinked, gasping softly and getting up, turning to run back inside of her room when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. "Is that..."

"Hm?" Hope looked over, standing up slowly to see what was up.

She blinked in surprise when Belle, who had been bent over, stood up while holding a glass case that held the missing rose. She found it strange that it had been outside on the balcony this whole time.

Belle ran back to the edge, a bright smile on her face. "Look! It's the Rose!"

Hope barely had a chance to react when Xaldin appeared behind Belled and grabbed her, covering her mouth with a hand as she let out a muffled cry. "Belle!" She ran towards them, watching Xaldin pick up the young woman and jump to a different part of the castle. "Dammit!" Immediately, she was jumping over the edge of the balcony, using a wind spell to help her over to the other building. From the rooftop of it, she jumped down and ran over to Sora, following them to the bridge.

"What happened?!"

"I don't know! He came out of nowhere and was already gone when I was moving in to attack!"

At the end of the bridge was Xaldin, holding Belle and the rose. As they got closer, they came to a stop, The Beast growling softly.

"You! Get out of my castle, now!"

Xaldin smirked. "With pleasure, but I'd rather travel light..." He smirked, glancing at Hope. "What shall I leave behind? Belle? Or the rose? Or how about a deal: both for in exchange for that one right there." He pointed towards Hope. "Xemnas is quite fed up with you, my lady."

Hope narrowed her eyes at him. "Let Belle go, Dilan.

The Beast growled, looking between the two and Hope. He really didn't need to think about it for long. "Belle!" He took off, and Hope smirked when Belle elbowed Xaldin in the gut, causing him to loosen his grip on her so she could grab the rose and take off.

"You go, Belle!"

"Good one, Belle!" Sora cheered as she ran past him, a smile on her face.

Hope smiled and looked back as Sora and the others charged at Xaldin. "Be careful! Xaldin's element is the wind!"

"Right!"

After the battle

"Here. It's yours again." Belle smiled softly, handing the rose over to Beast, who looked extremely relieved to have the item back.

"Belle..."

"I know. You want me to leave the castle."

The Beast sighed, the sound more of a soft growl. Everyone watched anxiously, worried of what would happen. "What matters is...You weren't hurt by Xaldin...You're safe. And...I'm very grateful to you...for bringing the rose back to me. Thank you."

Belle smiled softly, a soft blush staining her cheeks. "It's the least I could do. You've been good to me. And you didn't have to be."

"Listen, Belle..."

"Yes?"

The Beast struggled to find the right words to say, looking back at Sora and co. for help.

Sora smiled. "Say it!"

"Go on!" Lumiere encouraged.

"C'mon!" Donald urged.

"You can do it!" Mrs. Potts said kindly.

"We have confidence." Cogsworth said.

"Don't be bashful, now." Goofy chided.

Hope slowly walked over, her hands behind her back and a soft smile on her face. "Just say what you feel."

He nodded, slightly worried he would fail at getting his point across. "Belle, I'd like you stay..." He paused, laying a hand on his chest. "With me...Please?"

Belle smiled beautifully, holding her hand out to him. Slowly, he took it in his much larger one and the two moved closer. "I will." She told him quietly as he brought her closer to him.

"Maestro-Music." Lumiere said, and music suddenly began to play, from where, Hope would never know. She watched the two waltz slowly, a smile on her face.

"Hey, did you see the look on Belle's face when she grabbed that rose?" Sora asked, his hands behind his head.

"Yep! She sure was havin' fun, all right." Goofy stated happily, a smile on his face.

Hope was lost in thought, watching the two dance slowly. As she watched, her mind drifted back to the past.

"Ow. Lea, you keep stepping on my feet."

"You know I can't dance, princess. So don't complain."

She puffed her cheeks, looking up at him as they moved slowly. "You're so mean, Lea!"

He rolled his eyes, dipping her carefully and smiling as she giggled. He lifted her back up and held her close, resting his chin on the top of her head and swaying them gently, his ears tuned in on her soft humming with the music that was playing in the background.

"Let's do this more often..."

"You got it." He smiled, spinning her.

"Hope, we're leaving!"

She blinked and looked over to see Sora waiting for her, Donald and Goofy watching. "What's wrong?" Donald inquired, looking up at her as she walked over.

Hope shook her head and smiled. "Nothing. I was just thinking about the past."

He nodded and followed after Sora and Goofy as they made their way back to the Gummi Ship to head off to the next world.

A/N: I've had this forever, I just keep forgetting to post it! Sorry! On to the next chapter~