Hi, guys! So, I half-expected you guys to get all mad at me for writing down some of those scenes from last chapters, but you guys were pretty chill with me. Actually, you guys were mostly angry towards the soldiers and all of the suffering that Ignis was put through. I did warn you all what would happen, and now, while this chapter doesn't really have any suggestive themes like last chapter, it will still have a bit of a warning to you guys.

WARNING! This chapter contains high levels of violence, gore, dark themes, and so forth! If you wish to avoid any of those, then scroll down to the author's notes and read the summary!

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Kingdom Hearts series, only the OCs!


"The Mademoiselle is doing what?"

Clopin has asked, dismayed and shocked at the news delivered before him. The fires within Notre Dame were still burning even after three days, and the search for Esmeralda was still continuing. Clopin had thought that by retreating back to the Court of Miracles, he would be able to find Esmeralda, but so far, none of the gypsies encamped within their secret home had found her. He and a small group of gypsies have already searched all throughout Notre Dame themselves for the past three days and they haven't even found Esmeralda themselves, which was both a good and bad thing, since that means that they know that Esmeralda hasn't been caught, but she's still nowhere to be found.

And now, he learns that Ignis, the one person who's been working harder than anyone else in the city to save the innocent lives in the city, is now not only doing that, but also massacring soldiers left and right. Granted, the soldiers definitely deserved death for all the atrocities and discrimination they've spread, and he'd be more than happy if those soldiers were gone, but this?

Ignis' actions were essentially sending her to an early grave.

She was strong, both physically and mentally, Clopin couldn't deny that. Actually, he admired and respected her courage to willingly go out and save as many people as possible during the past three days. Those she saved, specifically from his own people, claimed that she was a reincarnation of the famous Jeanne d'Arc, fending off against the forces of the corrupted and evil soldiers belonging to Judge Frollo and healing those in need. They could never forget her fierce and blazing form as she did everything in her power to protect the people, deeming her as a hero forever engraved in their minds.

But even if she was strong, she was only still one person.

The people she saved couldn't rally up or defend themselves. Clopin heard that she fought so hard to protect the people, and yet they ended up dying anyways when she wasn't around, when she was busy trying to save other people in different areas. As much as Clopin wished to help, he, too, was only just one man, and him, along with a handful of his people, were fighters, while most of his people weren't. He couldn't help her, because he was too fixated on helping his own people, although, if Ignis learned of his situation, she would have understood and not hold it against him.

Still, like he thought, she was still one person. Her against the entirety of Paris' soldiers? She wouldn't last even a minute, even if she has that mysterious key-shaped blade of hers, and her witchcraft. And she's not even actively looking for a fight. She was just a normal girl who had been doing her damnest to protect and help as many people as possible.

When he last encountered her sometime yesterday, he saw how...weary she was, both physically and mentally as well. From experience alone, he could tell what a good judge of character was, and judging from her appearance, reactions, and especially those eyes of hers, he could tell that she's seen...things. Things nobody should ever have to witness. Things a kind and cheerful girl like her didn't even deserve to learn and would most likely never forget. And yet, those eyes of hers were determined not to give up; a fire that still flickers behind those weary eyes of hers.

Ignis was a foreigner. A traveler that came from a distant land and only came to the city of Notre Dame for sightseeing. When the entire mess involving Esmeralda began, she didn't have to get involved. She didn't have to, and yet she did, because not only did she gain many friends in this city, but like him and many others, she grew to love this city as well. That was both a great, and yet terrible thing, because since she loved the city, she was doing everything in her power to save it, even if it should come at the cost of her life.

When he saw her, he could tell that she was very close to reaching a breaking point, of crossing a line that once crossed, could never be retracted back. It must have come from witnessing horrible things that the evil in this city had done, as well as the failure of saving people she swore to protect. But the failure wasn't Ignis' fault at all. If anything, it was the soldiers and Judge Frollo that caused all this, so the deaths that happened during the past three days, were all on their shoulders, and never something Ignis should ever have to bear.

Despite him telling her that, he could still tell that she blamed herself for something that was beyond out of her control. He offered and wanted her to rest at the Court of Miracles, not only because she more than deserved to rest, but also because he couldn't bear to see her more broken down than she already was. If she had continued this brave, yet foolish path, it wouldn't take long for her to snap.

And, judging from the reports he's been given...he was right. This time, he hated how right he was.


Droplets of crimson, red liquid with the stench of steel, along with drops of sweat and tears flow in the air and the ground as the fumes of fires still burnt within the city.

A swooping motion of a fire-based, key-like blade aims at the flesh of a sinner.

A step to the side, swiftly dodging the swing of another weapon that planted itself on the ground.

A body collapses on the ground facedown, another falls to his side, and the third crashes into a ruined building, crushed by the debris from above. The fourth is gripped by the face and thrown into the fires through brute force, screaming as he dies painfully from the flames before his screams dies down with his death.

Bodies are tossed and thrown around like ragdolls within seconds; their blood splatters like paint against the grounds and walls of Notre Dame. Too many blades, too many arrows, too much blood, too many screams of pain and suffering fills the area. The sole fighter on the side of the innocent, the one dominating over her corrupted enemies, loses count of how many ways her enemies had died and couldn't care less so long as they weren't around to hurt more innocents.

She was done showing mercy.

The pain, the suffering, the agony, everything that the innocents faced not only because of the soldiers, but also because of her own negligence to finish off her enemies. She was too soft, too gentle, too naïve. She thought that by merely defeating the soldiers and leaving them be to collect them later so they could be arrested and judged, they would leave the innocent civilians alone. And she was wrong.

Instead, they just woke up and continued their onslaught, "punishing" civilians that were in their way or merely having "fun" with them. Everything Ignis witnessed the soldiers do, it was gruesome and the innocents suffered and died so painfully, it was like Ignis felt that sort of pain imbedded into herself.

It especially didn't help when she, herself, experienced some of the suffering the innocents experienced before dying.

Just thinking about the experiences from the day before along with how much the other innocents must be suffering drove Ignis to tears as she continued onwards, only stopping when she heard some cries for help. She caught sight of some soldiers having fun with some girls and was startled at first, before that hesitation quickly changed into rage upon remembering that the very same thing that was going to happen to the girls had happened to her before. She couldn't allow such a thing to happen to those innocent girls as well.

While the soldiers were distracted, pinning the innocent and beautiful girls whose eyes were widened with fear, they failed to take account of another enemy rushing at high speeds towards them. It was only after one of the soldiers was beheaded and his headless body was spraying a fountain of blood that they noticed the situation had drastically changed.

Ignis, who arrived at the girls' rescue, embedded herself with enhancement magic to increase her speed and physical strength to further increase her chances of saving the girls. With a yell, she threw her Phoenix Fairy at another soldier like a javelin, striking him deep in the chest as the Keyblade dug itself into the tiled floor, granting that soldier a painful death, before she turned to the last soldier with a death glare.

Her eyes, normally full of life and joy along with a hint of child-like naivety, was now stone-cold and so full of anger and hate that everyone that met her gaze was stricken with fear, unable to avert their eyes away no matter how desperately they want to.

With her gauntlet-covered hands, Ignis lunged forward and grasped the last soldier by his face, clawing him tightly and lifting him up in the air before slamming him down on the ground. She growled and snarled like a beast as tears dripped from her eyes filled with hatred. Just seeing the young girls about to be..."tormented" by the filthy soldiers before her brought back horrible memories from yesterday and made her feel all dirty once again.

"YOU-! MURDERER! SCUM! YOU WILL NEVER HURT ANOTHER INNOCENT BEING AGAIN!" hollered Ignis, squeezing the soldier's face tightly with her enhanced strength. She could feel the bones in his face cracking with each second that she kept ahold before twisting his face to the side, effectively cracking his skull to the side and then dropping his dead body to the ground.

Upon his death, her enhancement magic wore off, leaving Ignis back to her normal state. She dug out her Keyblade from another soldier's corpse, swinging it to the side to throw the blood off her already-bloodstained weapon and turned to the innocent girls who were shuddering at the sight of her, even though she saved her life.

Pointing to a different direction, Ignis, having calmed down at the sight of the girls being safe, softly said, "Go...now...Hurry."

Leaving no room to argue, the innocent girls quickly got up and fled as fast as they could, not bothering to thank Ignis for saving their lives. Once they left, Ignis collapsed to her knees and dug her Keyblade into the ground, panting heavily as she used her Keyblade as support.

She shouldn't rest! She couldn't rest! This wasn't over until all the innocents she could save were off to safety somewhere, along with Esmeralda! It was her duty as a Keyblade wielder to see things through to the end! Her duty to protect the innocent!

Even if...even if it meant resorting to killing her enemies now.

Her hands are already stained with too much blood ever since her mind was made up. No, it was more like her emotions made the decision for her. She held such deep hatred towards the corrupted soldiers for their actions, and especially what they did to her. Whenever she thought back on the soldiers, her face twisted into an expression of rage, prompting her to stand back up and remove her Keyblade from the ground.

Her mind unstable with two goals; protecting the innocent and killing the soldiers, and her body screaming for rest, yet her willpower forcing it back into action, Ignis hurried and raced down the streets, intent on accomplishing her goals.


"I...I'm not gonna die here...! Damn that bitch...!"

A soldier was using his spear as support, heaving himself forward and holding one hand on his spear, while the other was clutching a bloody injury on his side. Coughing out blood, the soldier glared ahead as his steel-covered gauntlets tried to cover the injury in his side.

He was dying. He was going to die a pathetic and painful death and there wasn't anything that was going to stop it from happening. And it was all because of that red-haired girl!

The rumors had been false all along! He heard from other soldiers that the red-haired girl was really as strong as the elite soldiers in Notre Dame and that she only knocked out and spared soldiers like him! He thought of her as naïve and a stupid little girl who didn't know her place.

But he was heavily mistaken.

When he, along with another group of soldiers, confronted her, she absolutely obliterated them. She was nothing like what the rumors said! Yes, she was certainly strong, but she showed no mercy like the rumors claimed she had! Instead, she was on them in an instant, taking them down in mere seconds with her strange weapon and her witchcraft!

Fortunately for him, he was one of the first to supposedly "go down," when in reality, he just took a hit and fell down, pretending to be one of the many corpses lying around on the ground. As he shut his eyes and pretend to go motionless, he could hear the screams of his allies, the clashes of weapons, and their bodies tumbling to the ground.

Part of the reason why he was so defeated so easily was because he underestimated just how strong she was. But another reason was because of her eyes. Her eyes...he's never felt so much fear from staring upon such deep hatred within when their eyes locked onto an instant, but it's an unforgettable image that can't be wiped off his mind, even after death.

When he was certain that the fighting ceased, he stayed motionless for several more minutes before getting up, trying to get out of the streets before that red-haired girl realized that she had missed one enemy she failed to kill. There was no point in checking to see if his allies were alive; they were dead long before they even hit the ground anyways.

Despite the fear he felt towards the red-haired girl when he gazed upon her eyes, he also hated of how humiliating his defeat was! He was a lucky man, having survived through that encounter, but barely. It was humiliating how he, a noble soldier of Notre Dame and has had years of training and experience as a soldier, was taken down in mere seconds by some...some naïve and idiotic girl! She must have cheated with her witchcraft, he was sure of it! When next he sees her, he'll have more than enough reason to kill that witch!

Squinting his eyes, the soldier gazed upon a feminine figure when he heard a strange, soft sound. In fact, that sound was perhaps the most beautiful sound he's ever heard, even more beautiful than the most wonderful songstress in the world. As such, it was only fitting that the most beautiful sound came from the most beautiful woman he laid eyes upon.

The moment their eyes made contact with each other, the soldier was hypnotized by this woman's beauty. First with her sharp eyes that showed love for him and only him, and then to the rest of her body. Her body was like a fusion of an angel, saint, and siren altogether. She was utter perfection beauty reincarnate, and she was standing right before him.

The woman before him...her hair was long and silky, as though one look of her hair would make one assume that even on strand of her would be like touching heaven's clouds. Her red lips were luscious and her body mature and voluptuous, swaying her hips back and forth as her movements, elegant and graceful, headed towards him. Her dress revealed much of her cleavage and curves, causing all sorts of imagination to pop into the soldier's mind as he lecherously licked his lips at the thoughts of what he could do to this woman, whether she would comply or not.

To his surprise, the woman gave a silent gesture by curling her index finger, beckoning him to come closer and follow her as she entered an alleyway. The soldier could barely contain his excitement as he hastily followed after her. If he was going to die anyways, why not enjoy his last moments with a beautiful woman such as her?

That would be the last mistake of his life.

Silence filled the alleyway at first, and then soon after, screams that were quickly muffled out and replaced with louder, squirmish sounds that would make one feel uncomfortable if they listened closely to them. Once again, a tense silence filled the air, and the only evidence of anyone, or rather, anything still alive was the momentary glance of glowing, red eyes in the darkness of the alleyway.


Many hours later...

"I'll incinerate you all! Mega Flare!"

Gathering a large amount of magic power from within, Ignis unleashed a large, powerful fireball that flew towards a large group of soldiers standing in her way. Their shields couldn't defend them from the impactful explosion that took place once the fireball connected with their shields, rapidly turning their flesh into ashes in a matter of seconds from the explosion.

Slamming her Keyblade against the ground, Ignis concentrated her magic power and converted it into darkness magic by conjuring shadows towards the next group of soldiers. The shadows then reverted into spikes of darkness that pierced through the soldiers effortlessly, killing them. Then, she removed her Keyblade from the ground and pointed it towards the next group of soldiers, focusing the remainder of her magic power into light magic and firing multiple beams of light from her Keyblade, obliterating the soldiers before her.

Ignis panted and wiped the blood from her lips as she glanced around for more enemies. She reached inside her bag to grab another Ether only to take out a Potion. She placed it back and opened her bag in search for more Ethers to replenish her magic power until she realized that she had no more Ethers remaining. During the past three days, she used it all up fighting the soldiers, extinguishing fires, and helping the innocents.

Now, she was left with two options to restore her magic power. One, find a Moogle Shop and buy more Ethers, but that option was possibly no longer valid because it was likely that during the whole chaos, the Moogle had already left this world. Or two, find a suitable hiding spot to rest. However, she didn't have time to rest, as she still had to uphold her duty of protecting the innocent, so that meant that she would have to continue her task without anymore usage of magic.

Hearing battle cries, Ignis turned around and deflected an arrow with the blunt side of her Keyblade, getting into a fighting pose for another fight to take place. She was, no doubt, tired and has no magic power left, but the important tasks of eliminating those who seek harm towards the innocent, and protecting the innocent, stuck to her mind as fuel for her to continue right as she charged towards the next set of soldiers.

The first soldier came charging in, raising his blade to slash down at her. Ignis deflected and held his blade in place with her Keyblade, fluidly stepping to the side and delivering a hard kick to the shin, forcing him to fall to his knees. Seeing her chance, Ignis slashed at the soldier's unprotected neck, delivering a deep, fatal wound that would surely spell his demise. A grimaced, uneased look formed on her face for a second as her ears caught wind of his gurgled gasps that quickly died down. No matter how badly she despised and wished to kill these men, that didn't mean she enjoyed committing such a horrible task one bit.

As another soldier came at her, slashing wildly, and yet in a sloppy and predicable manner. Ignis didn't even need to make the effort to block his slashes and instead dodged them with ease before planting her foot forward and delivering a heavy slash that finished him off. The sound of his body collapsing was all Ignis needed to determine he was dead before focusing on her other enemies.

She watched as another soldier came charging forward, swinging recklessly like the last soldier. She had to deflect another arrow from an archer before blocking the soldier's sword. She kicked a pile of sand and dust up at his face, blinding his eyesight before easily disarming him and then finishing him off. Three more soldiers were aiming for her; one the archer and the other two wielding heavy axes.

The first axe soldier came bustling in and swung his axe down at her, hoping to bisect her frail body in half, only to drive his axe deep into the ground. Ignis climbed on top of the axe, running up the staff part of the axe before slicing his neck off. Blood splattered onto her already bloodstained clothes and armor as she kicked off the headless body to make a safe landing.

She had no time to rest or contemplate, as she deflected and blocked more arrows coming her way. This time, it wasn't just one archer, but three more archers joining him, releasing a volley of arrows that Ignis had to continuously block as fast as possible. Meanwhile, the other axe soldier, enraged at his comrade's death, came bustling in with his axe.

An idea popped in thought as Ignis continued blocking the arrows with Phoenix Fairy. She saw the archers reloading their bows with more arrows and decided to take advantage of this opportunity to lure the axe soldier in, dodging his swings and making him unaware that he was now in the archers' line of sight. Just as the axe soldier was about to swing again, the arrows fired once more, and Ignis leapt high out of the way, while the arrows lodged into the axe soldier. Even one arrow was able to pierce the back of his neck, making the axe soldier drop his axe and grasp at his neck, gasping for air.

Ignis landed back down and grabbed ahold of the axe soldier, running directly towards the panicking archers and using the axe soldier's body as a human shield against the arrows with all of her strength before shoving the heavy axe soldier against the archers, making them fall on their backs and struggle to squirm free of the heavily weighted soldier. Towering over the archers, all it took was a couple of slashes from her Keyblade to finish them off. She let out a sigh and gripped her Keyblade tightly, knowing this fight was far from over.

After a long time, Ignis was bent over, panting. Her eyes were blurring in and out of focus in sync as she once again struggled to stay on her feet. Her lungs hurt and were burning for air, a deep gash on her cheek was there from a lucky hit, and some arrows stuck to one of her arms and legs. She fought through several more waves, a mountain of corpses laid around the streets as a result of her victory.

She didn't have anymore magic power left to cast healing magic on herself, and she only had one healing potion left, though it wouldn't completely heal her wounds. Taking out her last Potion, Ignis then gritted her teeth and yanked out the arrows embedded on her body. Unable to stop herself from crying out in pain, Ignis proceeded to quickly take out the arrows on her arms and legs before gulping down the Potion. As she thought, the Potion wasn't enough to entirely heal all of her wounds, but at least the bleeding for her wounds ceased, though she would need to bandage her wounds or find more healing items soon.

The mountain of corpses on the streets that she killed, the bloodlust she felt towards the soldiers as she killed them for torturing and killing the innocents whom they've sworn to protect, the way she sought out vengeance for the innocents that had fallen, and the disrespecting way she disregarded her Master's teachings to carve out her path...It was moments like these that she didn't even feel like a person.

She felt...so tired and horrible. Her entire body felt repulsing and disgusting to her, and she also felt that same way towards herself. When she had killed the soldiers a few days ago, that was when she unconsciously knew there was no going back. She stained her hands with blood when she first killed Madam Mim, but that was understandable because it was both an accident and self-defense, but now? She had killed willingly and out of rage. Her emotions compelled her to take action, and she chose to accept and follow her emotions instead of stopping and thinking rationally.

The strange thing is, she didn't feel...corrupted. As in, she didn't really feel any negative effects from using darkness magic so much. Granted, she also started using light magic just as much as she used fire and darkness magic, but she was certain there would be major consequences, although there seemed to be none. She was most certainly angry and hated the soldiers, yes, but Master Eraqus always told her that keeping negative emotions in was always a bad thing and would lead to darkness. He was right on that part, but Ignis didn't entirely agree with his teaching as humans were always prone to both positive and negative emotions; another reason why she chose to pursue darkness magic a bit in her path for balance.

Right now, though, she did feel corrupted, though it wasn't because of the power of darkness. It was because of how much bloodshed she had caused and how many...sins she had committed even while trying to save innocents. No matter what would happen once this whole mess was over, she would never feel "clean" again. The thought of the soldiers still wandering around, still killing and harming the innocents made her blood boil once more, and that thought prompted her to start running and hurry to the next area, where there still could be innocents in danger.

Just then, she stopped when she saw someone rather familiar step out of the alleyway and blocking her path. It was Clopin, who was rather startled to see her bloody and disheveled state, but tried to crack a smile to ease the mood.

"Why, hello there, Mademoiselle. I've been told you've been busy," said Clopin.

If she wasn't so busy and too enraged at the soldiers, Ignis would have explained herself right there and then, but she wasn't neither of those things. She narrowed her eyes and got into an animalistic stance, as though trying to scare off Clopin. She didn't want to hurt Clopin, but something inside of her were making her have the urge to fight off anyone that stood in her way, including him.

"You must be really tired right now. I'm sure you've done enough."

"Move." Came Ignis' tired, yet cold tone.

"Now, now, there's no need to be so hostile. I'm sure a nice, good rest, bath, and a song back at my home will-"

"Just move and go back to safety."

"Not without you. You look so tired. You need to rest and come back with-"

SLAM! Ignis stabbed her Keyblade down on the ground so hard, cracks formed around the hole her Keyblade dug deep in, close to creating a small fissure. She snarled and glared at Clopin with eyes so wild like an untamed beast as she gripped the hilt tightly; hands shaking with anger.

"MOVE ASIDE, DAMNIT!"

Clopin's cheery tone fell and his expression grew more firm and serious as he realized that his soft and encouraging words won't get to Ignis in her current state. "No, I won't. I can't let you go on like this, Ignis. Not in the state you're in."

"I DON'T HAVE TIME TO REST, DAMNIT! I HAVE TO PROTECT THE INNOCENTS! I HAVE TO GET THEM TO SAFETY! THAT'S MY DUTY!"

"Ignis, you've already done more than enough. So many lives have already been saved thanks to you. You're in no condition to continue saving more. You need to rest. You deserve-"

"NO! I DON'T! I DON'T DESERVE TO REST! NOT AFTER LETTING OTHERS DIE! NOT AFTER WATCHING THEM DIE BEFORE MY VERY EYES!" Ignis screamed, tears forming on her eyes in her still-enraged expression. She furiously wiped her tears away and clenched her fists at her side, continuing to yell, "IT'S THOSE DAMN SOLDIERS! THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT BUT INSTEAD, THEY KEPT KILLING THEM! IF NOBODY IS GOING TO PROTECT THEM, THEN IT'S MY DUTY TO MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS! I'LL PROTECT AND GET THE INNOCENTS TO SAFETY, EVEN IF IT MEANS KILLING EVERY SINGLE SOLDIER IN MY WAY!"

So it was true, Clopin realized. Ignis did snap at some point and even started killing the soldiers. Yes, she did killed some soldiers even before they met in the cemetery yesterday, but this time, she was going all-out. She was practically slaughtering anyone that was a soldier, all to stop those kinds of people from harming the innocent people of Notre Dame. Most of the soldiers in this city were pretty much bad, but Clopin could tell that not all of them were evil. If Ignis continued this mad path of saving people all by herself...

She might not tell the difference between innocent and enemy anymore.

"Ignis...even you have to know that you can't save everyone in this city by yourself," spoke Clopin calmly. "Let it go...and come back to the Court of Miracles with me. If you don't...you'll be going down a path you won't be able to return from."

Ignis' breath hitched, as she knew what Clopin meant. If she did continue, she might do something even worse than killing the soldiers. Going down the wrong path...another one of her Master's teachings. Going down the wrong path always resulted badly for the person that chose to go down the wrong path, so if she was indeed going down the wrong path, what could that mean for her?

Still, she knew she had a duty to uphold, and that she'll deal with the consequences later. She did calm down a bit, but still couldn't stop the boiling blood full of hatred inside of her. "...You can't stop me," Ignis told him, glaring at him. "I can easily bypass you, or I can just take another way out of this street!"

"My associates have the entire area covered. Even behind me, there are more gypsies just waiting to block your path," spoke Clopin calmly.

That was a lie, of course. There were no associates of Clopin covering the entire street or even behind Clopin. It was just Clopin who came to confront Ignis all alone all by himself. The rest of the gypsies were safely back at the Court of Miracles, so Clopin chose to go alone to convince Ignis to step down so she could finally get the rest she deserved and remove the burden from her shoulders.

"If you want to get past me and my friends, you might have to do the impossible and kill us. Are you willing to go down that path? A path that you won't be able to return from?"

Her eyes widened, Ignis took a step back. She seemed hesitant and unwilling to even think of killing Clopin or any innocents, even if they were in her way. But, she had to continue saving others from the corrupted soldiers!

"Well, we've both reached an interesting point, have we?" continued Clopin. "I clearly cannot fight you, but I'm unwilling to move from my spot. And while you can easily best me in a fight, you can't bring yourself to harm an innocent being like myself. Therefore, we're both at a standstill. I can't harm you, and you can't harm me. It's time to let it go, Ignis. Come with me. You need to rest."

"I...! But I can't just...!" Ignis gritted her teeth and dropped her Keyblade, unwilling to raise a blade against Clopin. "But I can't stop! I have to continue helping-"

"Like I said, you've done enough," assured Clopin, relieved that he was finally getting through to Ignis. "Ignis...you are so brave and so strong. You've done so much, but you've taken too much on the burden of saving the innocents. Please, come back to me to a safe place. We can figure out how to save more people later, but you need to rest now. Esmeralda is even amongst my people. She is safe."

"She...she is?"

"Yes. I am not lying to you about this. She is safely back at the Court of Miracles, and she will be more than happy to see you if you come with me."

Clopin's words were tempting, and Ignis' already exhausted body was taking a toll on her mentality and she really wanted to rest despite her desire to save the innocents. "...Will...will that really be okay?" questioned Ignis. "Clopin...I really want to save more people, but I can't ever forgive the soldiers who abandoned and kill them..."

"You don't have to. I wouldn't ever forgive the soldiers either, for what they've done. For forcing their burdens onto a young, beautiful girl like yourself," said Clopin, walking towards her gently, yet in a slow pace.

"Would it...really be okay for me to rest? While the city is still burning? While innocents are still tortured and killed even now?"

"We've managed to escort as many innocents as we can out of the city. I won't deny that there are still people around, but we can worry about that later."

"I've...killed so many people...so many soldiers..." admitted Ignis, staring down at her bloodstained hands. "Would...Would it really be okay for a murderer like me to rest? My friends and my Master...they'll never forgive me for what I've done...the taboo I've committed..."

"You killed those soldiers to save innocents. If you explain yourself properly, I'm sure they'll understand," said Clopin. "If they were your friends, they would help you instead of judging you."

"Judging..." Ignis looked away, tears threatening to flow from her eyes. She wasn't sure if Clopin's words rang true to her ears, even if he was trying to comfort her. Last time they met, her friends already judged her cruelly for using the power of darkness. Right now, killing so many was probably even worse than using the power of darkness. If they could judge her because she chose to use darkness, just the thought of them judging her and possibly hating her for killing was just...it would break her heart just like it did when they spoke such cruel things to her.

But even so, Clopin's offer was tempting, and it...wouldn't hurt to rest, if only for a little bit. She turned to Clopin and relaxed, asking, "If...If I go with you, will you and the others help me save more innocents once I rest a little bit? I...I don't know if I can do this alone..."

Clopin's expression softened as he grew closer to her. "Of course. You won't have to endure this alone, Ignis. Come on, let's-"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blade swung from above and slashed a heavy blow. Down on Ignis' right eye.

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from Ignis' raw throat as pain burst out from her bleeding right eye. Her vision flickered and burst into red light and pain. She stammered back; her fragile body trembling as she panted in short breaths while clutching onto her right eye, trying to stop the bleeding and ease the burning pain. She tripped on a rock behind her and fell down, curling up a little and trying everything she could to stop the pain and trembling in her body. Besides yesterday, she never felt so much pain and so helpless before in her life.

While Ignis was trying to stop the bleeding and the pain from her right eye, Clopin was trying to stop the soldier that had attacked Ignis from proceeding any further, blocking him with his staff. If it was just one soldier, that'd be fine for him, but...more soldiers were starting to appear.

Ignis gasped as she removed her hand from the blood-bursting injury over her right eye. She had no more healing potions and her magic power was completely wiped out, so she couldn't apply any first aid to her eye. That didn't stop her other free, non-injured eye to witness the sight before her.

Clopin being impaled front and back by several soldiers.

An enraged scream combined with the pain from her eye found itself howling out of Ignis as adrenaline and anger forced herself back on her feet. She gripped her Keyblade much more tightly than ever before, she swore she could feel her own blood seeping out from the hand injury she brought upon herself before raising her Keyblade up in the
air, creating a large flash of light with her light magic.

The effects of a Magic Burst took effect on Ignis' body, forcing her to cough out blood as the soldiers cried out, being temporarily blinded. Because she used magic, the payment to conjure up that much magic used some of her life force as payment for lack of magic power, hence why she got badly injured afterwards. It didn't matter to Ignis at the moment, though, because she was more focused on dealing with the soldiers to save Clopin.

As one of the soldiers was beginning to recover from blindness, Ignis drove her Keyblade down on his back, prompting him to scream. She stabbed down as deep as she could, even through his chest, before pulling her bloody Keyblade out and kicking his corpse away. She barely dodged another blade in time, but a second blade tore a bloody line across her thigh, causing her to winch in pain.

Ignoring the pain in her thigh, Ignis surged forward and struck her blade against one of the soldiers in the neck area, ducking underneath a blade's swipe from another soldier before hacking and slashing at more soldiers. She continued this deadly dance of slashing and delivering more blows, all while blocking and slipping under blows and making sure to put decent distance between her and the soldiers.

It felt like forever, but it was finally over. Like all the other wave of soldiers she killed, this group was no different. They laid dead at her feet, never again to rise up and harm anyone ever again.

Recalling that Clopin being stabbed was what triggered Ignis to rush in and kill the soldiers, Ignis turned around and hurried to Clopin's body. She held him in her arms as she tried shaking him, trying to rouse him awake with tears in her eyes.

"Clopin! Clopin! Open your eyes! Open your eyes, damnit!" cried out Ignis, unable to accept the fact that she would be losing another dear friend. "You can't die! Do you hear me?! Don't die!"

Despite the heavy wounds he sustained, Clopin did open his eyes and smiled at the sight of Ignis. "You...You are alright, Mademoiselle...?"

The tears that Ignis had been withholding collapsed and rained down on her cheeks as she held Clopin close. "Yeah...! Yeah, I am! It's all thanks to you, Clopin-! So, don't you die! Don't you dare die on me! I can't bare to see another friend die! I always let down so many people in this city! I already had to watch them die before my very eyes! I failed them! I can't fail you, too!"

Clopin shook his head and pulled his body back, raising a hand to stroke her cheek. "Mademoiselle...Ignis...You and I both know that my time is up, and-"

"Shut up! Don't you dare say some sort of bullshit cliché line like that!" cried out Ignis. "I swear, I'm going to start healing you, even if at the cost of my life! I don't care if the Magic Burst effects take over me! I don't care what'll happen to me so long as I save another innocent life! So just-!"

"No...No, your witchcr- your magic will be wasted on a dying man like me," assured Clopin as blood trailed down his mouth. "I have lived my life, tricking, lying, and stealing just to survive another day. It may not seem like a good life, but I have also had fun in my life, entertaining the crowds, especially the children. But, despite me being the leader of the gypsies, I have not once lived for another person."

"W...What are you trying to tell me?" questioned Ignis as her hands started glowing, beginning the healing process. "I-"

Clopin, realizing what she was doing, grasped her hands tightly, ceasing her healing process and shaking his head. "No...No, that is far enough. I wanted to say, that not once have I lived for someone nor would I sacrifice my life for them. I am a coward and a selfish man. But, my last act in this cruel life of mine...it was saving an innocent and beautiful maiden like yourself...Just once in my life, I wasn't a coward...and I am ever so grateful for that."

Sniffling, Ignis started shaking, and although she could easily pull her hands away from Clopin and continue to heal him, she found that she couldn't. "Y-You could do more heroic things!" Ignis said, trying to convince him to live. "You could entertain people and save lives, but you can't do that if you're dead, so please-!"

Clopin, once again, shook his head. "I appreciate you still caring for an old fool like me, but we both know my time is up. I've...had many regrets in my life...If only I could rewind time and make up for my mistakes...especially towards poor Quasimodo...I shouldn't have encouraged him to go up on stage...I should have led him out when the mob started throwing things and making a literal fool out of him...but I just wanted him to explore more of the world and experience things for himself..."

Realizing he was referring to what happened at the Festival of Fools, Ignis tried to convince him once again. "When you see Quasimodo, you can apologize to him yourself! So just...please...!" Continuing to cry, Ignis was starting to lose more and more hope of him living as more blood pooled out from Clopin's sword wounds.

"Ignis..." Clopin stroked Ignis' cheek, trying to wipe away the continuous steam of tears. "No matter what happens, I just want you to know...you are not to blame for all these deaths. You are not responsible for the tragic deaths of all the innocents you've fought to save...Nobody is blaming you. I do not blame you for my own demise. I...I wish for you to do me a favor..."

Ignis stared at Clopin, still crying. "I...I can't...!"

"Then, at the very least, hear me out," whispered Clopin, feeling his vision growing blurry. "You must...escape this city...You've done so much for the people...You need to escape here alive, even if it means escaping alone...Go on, and live your life to the fullest...If you can't escape, then at the very least, you must hide and rest. Live and fight another day..."

"I...I..."

"Mademoiselle...I have so much to tell my people and Esmeralda...but I fear I do not have the time...But I can say this one last thing to you...I do not wish for you to go down the wrong path...so please do not give into so much vengeance and anger...you are young and inexperienced, so you have the chance to make things right...Continue your life, continue protecting and spreading happiness to others...It is a shame...You will grow to become a beautiful woman like Esmeralda...but I will be...unable to..."

Clopin's words trailed off and his body slumped over in Ignis' arms. Amongst the fires still burning the city, the piles of corpses surrounding them, a young girl in shining armor was left sobbing with the loss of a dear friend in her arms.


Later...

Phoebus was sneaking out of the cathedral, having mostly recovered from his wounds after escaping from Frollo and his men and being taken care of in Quasimodo's care under Esmeralda's request. He knew he couldn't force Quasimodo to come with him to alert the gypsies of Frollo's invasion, but he thought at least the young man would have the heart to come after Esmeralda's kindness towards him.

Suddenly, Quasimodo came out of nowhere, being upside and encountering Phoebus the moment the blond-haired former soldier opened the door. "Phoebus!"

"Gah!" Phoebus gasped, nearly suffering a heart attack and being taken aback by Quasimodo's sudden appearance.

"Shh! I'm coming with you!"

"Glad you changed your mind," Phoebus addressed, smiling at Quasimodo's decision.

"I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for her," Quasimodo whispered.

"You know where she is?"

"No, but she said this will help us find her," Quasimodo explained, taking off his necklace that was given to him by Esmeralda before handing it to Phoebus.

Intrigued, Phoebus tried to examine it. "Good, good, good! Ah...Great! ...What is it?"

"Not sure."

"Hmm..." Phoebus further examined the necklace, trying to find some sort of hidden code or clue within it. "Must be some sort of hidden code...Arabic? No, no...Maybe it's Ancient Greek!"

"'When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand...'" murmured Quasimodo, delicately touching the necklace as Esmeralda's words clicked something in his head.

"What?"

"It's the city!"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a map! See?" Quasimodo pointed to several spots on the necklace and tried to address them to Phoebus. "Here's the cathedral! And the river! And-and this little thing!"

"I've never seen a map like this-!"

"I've lived in the bell tower for 20 years-!"

Despite the men's hushed tones, their arguments began to increasingly grow in both volume and intensity as they tried to correct one another which one was right and which one was wrong. Their arguments grew to the point where practically the entire area could hear the two men as they were not mindful of how loud their voices were becoming.

Faint footsteps stepped onto the tiled road ahead, and soon, those faint sounds increased in volume the closer the footsteps headed towards both Quasimodo and Phoebus. Their loud voices may have overshadowed the sound of the footsteps, but what truly stopped their argument was the sight of whom the footsteps belonged to.

Ignis.

They were rather...horrified to see the state she was in. Cuts, bruises, unimaginable injuries inflicted onto one single, young girl, and the sight of so much blood on her clothes, armor, and body was just as overwhelming as the stench of the blood on her. Her face was pale and her body so thin and fragile, it felt like it could be ripped in half so easily. Dark circles underneath her free eye was a clear indication of how exhausted and tired she was. In the darkness of the night, the two couldn't tell whether her hair was actually covered in blood, or if it was her natural red hair color; perhaps a bit of both. The worst of her injuries came from her bleeding right eye, which needed immediate medical treatment.

Anybody could tell that this girl had been through a lot, both physically and mentally.

"...Ignis...?" spoke Quasimodo softly, shocked and almost too afraid to approach her.

Being more common with the state Ignis is in, but still uneased on seeing such a state on a young girl, Phoebus rushed over and checked her for any injuries. "Hey! Are you alright?! Speak to me!"

"I..." Ignis' voice croaked out, in both a tired and low tone. "I...I tried..."

"What?" Phoebus looked at her, confused. He then noticed that up close, tear marks were on her cheeks, indicating she had been crying.

"I...tried to save so many people...I let them all die...I..."

Phoebus heard about this, how a red-haired girl in armor tried to put out fires with her "witchcraft" and save as many innocents as possible. Many people were scared of her because of her witchcraft, but at the same time, many people were grateful towards her for saving their lives. Phoebus was actually disgusted by his own men committing crimes, even under Frollo's orders, and to have to resort a young girl to save so many people? He may have been out of action for a few days ever since he defied Frollo's orders, but he didn't realize it was this bad. Seeing the state Ignis was in, he could only indicate that the situation had gotten a lot worse.

"Ignis, it's alright. We're going to help you," assured Phoebus before glancing over to Quasimodo.

Quasimodo, still mortified at the terrifying sight of Ignis, snapped out of it and nodded. "R-Right! I'll get some warm water, some food, some blankets-!"

"No! No, no, no, no, NO!" cried out Ignis, shaking her head and backing away. "I...I don't have time to rest! I...I just need more time! I need to hurry back and save the other people-!"

"Ignis, you are in NO state to be saving others," admonished Phoebus, grabbing her shoulders. "It's even a miracle that you've survived for this long! When was the last time you've eaten? Or slept? Or-No, that doesn't matter right now. I know some emergency first aid! Quasi, do you have anymore medical supplies?"

Quasimodo nodded. "Yes, of course!"

"We'll need them-Damnit, she has some serious injuries! And we have to disinfect her eye wound before it gets worst!"

"I don't need those!" cried out Ignis, looking away in shame. "I don't deserve to rest and-! I...I need to hurry and help the other people escape! I tried to save the other people, but the soldiers killed them, and I let them down by letting them die-"

"Ignis, listen to me," spoke Phoebus, gripping her shoulders tightly. "I don't know exactly what happened during the past few days I was out, but I can assure you that this whole mess isn't your fault. Everything happened under Frollo's orders for whatever reason. The deaths of the innocents were unfortunate, but they weren't your fault!"

"How can you say?! Of course it is!" Ignis yelled, clutching the sides of her head and glaring down at the ground. "I-I let them all down! I practically let them be killed! I should have been more faster! I still have time-! I-"

"Ignis, IGNIS! You're hyperventilating! Calm down!" yelled Phoebus, roughly shaking her to snap her out of it while Quasimodo just stood in the background, uncertain of how to deal with this particular situation.

Ignis couldn't stop hyperventilating as memories of the past three days continued coursing and re-appearing in her thoughts over and over like a recorder on replay. Her body, having already surpassed it limits from lack of rest, finally started to cave in. Her eyes began to slip closed, her strength gradually sapping from her body, her bones feeling hollow, and a dark tiredness swept over her before she lost consciousness.


This chapter really dark, just like the past few chapters have. Granted, this chapter probably wasn't as dark as the last chapter, but still dark regardless. Anyways, summary time!

Summary: On the third day, ever since the order to find Esmeralda using any means necessary was established, Clopin discovered the horrible things Ignis has now been committing. While Ignis was still off saving innocents and helping led them to safety, she was now going around and killing every single soldier in sight. Clopin knew that Ignis was definitely a kind and strong-hearted person, but at the same time, he knew that her decision was going to get her killed since she was still only one person up against who knows how many soldiers.

Clopin never blamed Ignis for the deaths of the innocents because none of them were her fault. It was Frollo and his men who should have been held responsible, and because most of the soldiers in the city weren't doing their duty and doing whatever they pleased, they forced a young girl like Ignis to take the role of protector for the people when it should have been the soldiers' duty to uphold safety for the innocents. He could only pray for safety for Ignis and hoped that she didn't snap and go down a darker path than she's already leading on.

Sometime later, Ignis was still going around, slaughtering every single soldier in sight, especially those that continued to harm and kill innocents for fun. She was done playing mercy and while her efforts were finally bearing fruit and less innocents were being killed, not once did she find herself enjoying the slaughter. Her mind still unstable with yesterday's events, especially when she was also a victim of the soldiers' playthings, she continued killing the soldiers in a somewhat berserk-manner, all while trying to save as many innocents as possible.

Meanwhile, a soldier who miraculously managed to escape Ignis' grasp by pretending to play dead after receiving a vital blow from her, was trying to crawl to safety, trying to fight off death despite knowing that he was going to die sometime soon. Then, he was greeted by a beautiful woman and snuck in an alleyway with her, intending to at least have his way with her before he died, but the moment he stepped into the alleyway and disappeared into the shadows, his fate was sealed.

Much later on, Ignis was still running around and was in the process of eliminating more soldiers with her magic. She used up so much magic, she had run out and was about to replenish her body by refilling her body with more magic power until she realized she was out of magic power. She engaged in more waves of soldiers with just her Keyblade and fighting skills alone, eventually killing them all over and suffering injuries of her own until she pulled out one last Potion that didn't completely heal her wounds, but still closed her bleeding wounds.

After the battle, she rushed forward to reach the next area, but was stopped and confronted by Clopin. Clopin tried to calmly convince her to calm down, but at the moment, all Ignis thought of was trying to save more innocents and killing more of the soldiers. The more Clopin tried to convince her otherwise, the more Ignis grew more enraged at him wasting her time, stating she didn't deserve to rest, not after allowing innocents to die under her watch.

Clopin and Ignis were at a standstill. He knew that Ignis would never, in her rage, ever attack an innocent, which included him, but at the same time, all Clopin could do was persuade her with words, and he couldn't attack her even if he wanted to, as he wasn't even strong enough to do so. Eventually, his words started calming Ignis down and slowly starting to persuade her.

Suddenly, a soldier burst out of nowhere and ambushed Ignis, striking deep into her right eye. As Ignis was left screaming in agonizing pain, Clopin jumped in to protect her and tried to fend off the soldier before more soldiers appeared and surrounded Clopin, stabbing him in all sorts of directions. Horrified at such a sight, Ignis angrily and aggressively finished off the soldiers who injured Clopin before tending to the jester-like gypsy, trying to keep him alive.

Clopin assured her that none of this was her fault, and that he doesn't blame her for his own demise. He told her that his time was up and appreciated her trying to continue to save her, even though it was hopeless. He urged her to escape or at the very least, hide and rest for the time being. With that said, he passed away in her arms, leaving Ignis with the fact that she just allowed another friend to die before her very eyes.

Later, Phoebus and Quasimodo were talking amongst each other, trying to figure out the location of the Court of Miracles, where Esmeralda was supposedly at, so they could warn her and the other gypsies about Frollo's invasion at the Court of Miracles. They ended up in an argument, only to cut off short when they saw the horrified state Ignis was in.

They rushed to her aid, and Ignis started becoming a little delusional and hyperventilating, stating she needed to continue to save more innocents and that everything was her fault over and over again before her body finally caved in, making her lose consciousness.

And that's the end of the summary! For all of you wondering, just who was that beautiful woman that the soldier saw in the alleyway? Well, you'll find out in the next chapter, but she's not like, a major character or anything. I think you can all guess just who she is based on the hints I gave during that part.

Yeah, after three days of non-stop running, not stopping for a rest, not eating or drinking or even sleeping, eventually, Ignis' body was going to give way and forced itself into a resting position. So don't you all worry! She's not going to die, but she'll need to rest a lot after what she's been through!

Yes, Ignis did suffer a heavy right eye injury, and to answer the question you've all been pondering about, it will leave a heavy mark, and Ignis will...lose her right eye. She still has her left eye, but regardless, she will lose her left eye which will have a huge scar that'll forever close that left eye.

For all of you wondering, when is the end of this arc? Don't worry, the next chapter is the last chapter for the Notre Dame arc for certain! It'll certainly be...something. And it'll have a big major change now that Clopin's dead and he was practically the de facto leader of the gypsies.

QUICK QUESTION FOR ALL OF YOU! The songs I post in the story...do you want me to explain them within the story or in the author's notes? Or do you want me to give out hints within the story of their meaning? Last time, I chose to explain their meaning in the author's notes, but some of you didn't like that, so I want to know your opinion! Don't give me some vague answer like, "You're the author, you can do whatever you want!" No, I want to hear your opinion. I'm still gonna keep doing the songs since they fit in the story in a way, so that's not stopping. Plus, they're interesting and fun to hear, too!

Read and review! Be careful and stay safe of the Coronavirus!