Bad Guy, Good Guy

A loud, big ringing filled the girls' ears as they landed in the town square. "Wow, that's loud!" Flo cried as she covered her ears.

They had landed in some sort of large city. An old one at that, as they looked down at their clothes; skirts, blouses, corsets, and bonnets. "It sounds beautiful," Skye said and looked up at the building they were standing in front of them.

The sound of the bells rung clear and strong from the building. "It is quite elevating," Artemis added.

Skye walked toward the building and opened the large wooden doors, which weren't particularily heavy. She looked inside and the sight was breath-taking to her. It was so peaceful and quiet. Candlabras and stands glowed with a pleasant light. Stained windows shined softly from the light outside. She stepped in and with just that one footstep, it set off a chain of echoes. Flo and Artemis came in too. "Whoa," Flo said with awe.

"What do you suppose this place is?" Skye asked.

"A chapel or a church of some kind," Artemis said.

"And the ringing...?" Skye started and looked up at the next floor. "Must be upstairs!"

Without another thought she started to look for the staircase. "Wait a minute!" Flo called and grabbed Skye bu the collar of her blouse. "We don't belong here, we're interferring with matters that don't concern us."

"It's not interferring, it's investigating," Skye said. "Ah, found it!"

Skye started up the stairs, Flo sighed and followed, Artemis came after. The bells started up again, softer this time, then silence. Once they reached the landing, Skye peaked out of the opening. "Someone's there," she whispered down to her friends.

"Who is it?" Flo whispered up to Skye.

"Like I know!" Skye hissed.

"Ssshhh!" the other two chorused.

Skye rolled her eyes and peaked out again. The man was tall, long, thin; he reminded her of a stripped sapling. She could see a bit of gray hair under his odd hat. He was so gaunt, everything about him was sunken in. He was talking to someone, but he was too far in the shadows to see. "You know I won't allow it!" the man said.

Skye shivered at his voice, it sounded so doom and gloom. "How could you even think that!" he continued. "I'm the only one who doesn't fear you."

Skye narrowed her eyes. "We have to hide," she whispered down.

"What do you think we're doing?" Flo asked.

"I mean we've got to get out of the exit," Skye hissed. "Look, there's only one, where do you think he's going to go?"

Flo rose her eyebrows. "Good point," she said.

Skye sighed when the man had his back turned and they snuck to the back of the room behind large bells. "But you go every year!" a sweet, soft, gentle voice said.

"I must go, but I don't enjoy a moment!" the man said and started to walk away. "Do you think people will accept a monster like you, as I do?"

Skye narrowed her eyes at his explanation. It was like he was purposely being harsh, but also sugar-coating it somehow. She didn't like the look of this man. There was something about him that made her stomach cringe and flinch at the sight of him. She watched as the man left and sighed. She looked in the corner and waited for the other guy to show himself. She heard a soft sigh and he moved into the light. Skye gasped. The man was... ugly. He had a huge bump on his back, one leg seemed to be shorter than the other, his face was deformed horribly. However, he didn't make her feel the same way that the other man had. He turned to the balcony and looked out at the city. "I think we need to go," Skye whispered to the others.

Flo and Artemis nodded and they silently went down the stairs. "I wonder what that other guy was talking about back there?" Flo asked.

"Maybe an event's going on today," Artemis said.

"We should check it out then, huh?" Flo said.

"Definitely," Skye said and put her hands behind her head as they walked out the large double doors.

And an event it was! The Festival of Fools was in short fun and freaky! Skye and Flo took their time trying on masks. Artemis looked at the entertainment. Contests, dancing, fire-breathing, singing. It was a kaleidescope of craziness and wonder. Soon the group's attention was locked on a common thing. "-dance la Esmeralda!" the announcer said and vanished in a cloud of red smoke, when it dispersed Esmeralda danced in his place.

"Wow!" Flo said and clapped along with the crowd.

Skye smiled and nodded at her moves. Artemis seemed distracted, like she was looking for someone in the crowd. Once her dance was over, Clopin danced back onto the platform and announced a contest for the King of Fools, to make a terrible looking face. They all tried, one at a time all of them were charged off the stage. The group had their share of laughs, until the man from the bell tower was pulled on stage. Esmeralda pulled on his face, thinking it was a mask. She gasped when she realized it was his actual face. In fact everyone gasped and cried out in repulsion and amazement. Skye looked around nervously. Flo looked like she was looking for an exit and Artemis watched with cool observation. "Ladies and Gentlemen, don't panic, we asked for the one with the most hideous face to take the crown and here he is!" Clopin cried. "Quasimodo the Hunchback of Notre Dame!"

The crowd cheered and carried Quasimodo to another platform. Skye gave a sigh of relief. "That was almost too close," she said.

Artemis nodded. "No kidding," Flo said.

Suddenly something flew past their heads and smacked Quasimodo on the face. Skye gasped, Flo looked behind them and Artemis covered her mouth. The crowd was taken aback for awhile as well, but suddenly they were all laughing. Vegetables were thrown, ropes and chains were thrown onto him. Skye was on it in a second, the Keyblade brandished and slicing its way through the crowd. "Stop this!" she cried. "Stop it, now!"

Flo's shields were out and she shoved her way to the platform. Artemis followed Flo her book under her arm, waiting for the proper time to use it. Finally they fought their way to Quasimodo and they jumped up to defend him. But someone beat them to the punch. Esmeralda knelt beside him and wiped his face with her scarf. "Gypsy girls!" the skeletal man called.

Skye looked back at him and frowned, what did he want? "Get down at once!" he cried.

Get down? Didn't he want them to free the man he considered his own? "Yes, your honor," Esmeralda said. "Just as soon as I free this poor creature."

"I forbid it!" he shouted.

Skye was outraged, this man didn't care about this boy. Skye looked at the chains and pointed the blade at the padlock. Immediately it fell away and the chains slunk off his body. Esmeralda had pulled out a knife and cut away the ropes. "How dare you defy me!" the skeleton growled.

"How dare you let these people mistreat this poor man!" Skye called.

"You speak of justice yet you are cruel to those who are in most need of you help!" Esmeralda cried.

"SILENCE!" the man cried.

"Justice!" Skye, Flo, Artemis, and Esmeralda chorused as they helped up Quasimodo.

"Arrest them!" the man cried.

Soldiers started to circle them, but they weren't the only ones. Bursts of black showed Heartless soldiers wanted some of the action as well. "What are those things?" Esmeralda asked.

"Heartless!" Skye said.

"This is going to be interesting," Artemis said and held up her book.

"Wait," Esmeralda whispered. "I have an idea."

Esmeralda started to count the soldiers off. "So there's ten of you and four of us," she said. "What are poor girls to do?"

"Follow my lead," she mumbled.

The girls nodded and started to look distraught and down-fallen. Suddenly Esmeralda blew her nose in a handkerchief and smoke enveloped them. They scattered in different directions Skye summoned her keyblade as the Heartless backed her into an alleyway. "Alright, you asked for it!" she growled.

Artemis ran away as if the city was on fire, she summoned her grimoire and the pages flipped frantically. She tripped on a cobblestone and the book fell away and slid down the alley. Artemis groaned and sighed and crawled back to the book. Then a black boot came into view and stepped on the book, preventing her from picking it up. Artemis looked up into the hooded face and gasped. "Another spellcaster?" a suave, husky voice spoke.

Artemis stood and glared at the cloaked man (for the voice was decidedly male), he was more like a boy than a man. His voice sounded like it was frosted with shadows, but was underneath that cover she could not decipher. "Excuse me, but your boot is on something of value to me," she said calmly.

The boy looked down and tilted his head. "This... little child's toy?" he asked as he picked it up.

Artemis growled. "Give me back The Grimoire!" she called.

"If it is your's, it should be easy to get back," the boy purred and started flipping through the pages.

Artemis growled again, but then she raised her hands to chest level, arms outstretched as if waiting to catch something. "Grimoire, you mistress commands you," she whispered.

The book flashed and then appeared in her hands. "Very impressive," the boy said. "Summoning an indecisive weapon."

Indecisive? What the Hell is he talking about? Artemis thought.

"That book is laced in both darkness and light," he said. "It's scent always borders, just barely tilting to one side."

Artemis gripped the book more tightly and made it vanish again. "Your lucky that your entire being is so strongly tied to the light or that book would turn on you at the drop of a hat," the boy continued.

"Shut up!" Artemis shouted. "You don't know what you're saying!"

The boy only chuckled. "Maybe not," he said. "But I'd keep close eye on that if I were you."

And without another word the cloaked boy disappeared through a portal of darkness just like the other one. "Hey, get back here!" Artemis called, but the door vanished, leaving her with more questions and no answers.