Birth By Sleep: Inherited Flames

by Mage of Hope

Eraqus' 4th apprentice, Ignis, signifies the fire element within her friends. Her skills aren't for speed or strength, however, she's great at defense and magic creativity! Join her as she learns that light isn't always good and that not all darkness is evil! Ventus x OC x Vanitas! Different worlds! Includes RWBY songs and crossovers! Has darker themes with each passing world!

43. La Cité des Cloches (8): Lust

Here we go, guys! The last chapter of this whole Notre Dame arc, as well as the reveal of which of the seven sins it'll be! Although, I'm pretty sure you guys have a good guess as to what it is, and like all the other sin revealed chapters, I'll explain about this particular sin at the end of the author's notes, so stay tune!

WARNING! CHAPTER CONTAINS DARK THEMES SUCH AS GORE, VIOLENCE, AND MANY MORE!

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Kingdom Hearts series, only the OCs! Mage of Hope also doesn't own RWBY songs created and composed by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams, like "When It Falls," and "Until the End."

---

"Urk! Gah...Ha...Ha..."

"Easy there. Just hang on a little bit..."

Quasimodo stood in the background, constantly giving glances back and forth with an uneased, yet concerning look on his face. Ever since he and Phoebus encountered Ignis in such a gruesome and terrible condition, they carried her back inside the bell tower, rushing to save her life. While Quasimodo tried to clean off the blood off her skin using warm water and some towels, Phoebus had to remove her armor and check her body for wounds.

Due to his experience as a soldier, Phoebus knew many things, including emergency first - aid even though he's not officially a doctor. Still, he knew enough first - aid to help disinfect and bandage Ignis' wounds, especially the most critical one being on her left eye. Ignis had awoken while both Phoebus and Quasimodo had tended to her wounds, and needless to say, she did freak out and tried to back away to the corner of the room, only for her wounds and exhausted state to overpower her and leave her unable to move.

Things went a little chaotic for a while, and for some reason, Ignis looked afraid of them, but after both men calmed her down, Ignis allowed them to clean and tend to her wounds, though her body was still shaking and a little jumpy at their touches. She didn't say a single word to either of them afterwards, but all she did was cry out painful grunts and hisses while they tended to her wounds. It hurt even more when Phoebus had to stich her eye wound and was now adding the finishing touches by bandaging her eye, wrapping the bandages around her head and eye area.

"And done! There you go! Just don't touch your eye, alright?" said Phoebus. "Your eye will still need to be looked at by a professional doctor, but I've applied some emergency first - aid, so the bleeding should stop for now. If we had waited any longer, your wounds would have gotten infected! You just need to rest and save your strength!"

"...Thank you..." thanked Ignis quietly.

"Here." Quasimodo walked towards Ignis, holding a wooden cup filled with water. "You must be thirsty."

Throat dry and rasp from not resting to eat or drink since the past few days, Ignis stretched her arm out to grab the cup before guzzling the water down her throat. With a gasp, she took a deep breath for air, having finished the cup before gesturing to Quasimodo for more. Understanding her message, Quasimodo grabbed the cup and went to refill it with water. He returned quickly and handed the refilled cup back to Ignis, who gulped down the contents in a flash before handing the empty cup back to him. Ignis continued to request for more water a few more times as her drinking pace began to slow down to the point where she was completely quenched.

"Quasi...Thank you..."

"It's no problem. You must have been really thirsty," commented Quasimodo, taking the empty cup away from her and putting it elsewhere in the room. "Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

"I...No, no, I'm okay," assured Ignis before her stomach growled loudly. She felt both angry and ashamed of herself for her own stomach exposing her lie, so all she could do to save face was to look away.

"O-Oh! I do have some spare food! It's not much, but you should take it!" Quasimodo sprung into action, hurrying to try and find some of the spare food he kept. "Now, where was it...?"

Phoebus chuckled a little bit. "There's no shame in admitting you're hungry. You must have been through a lot and didn't have anything to eat or drink when we found you."

"...Sorry."

Phoebus shook his head. "No, it's alright. But, if you're able to, do you mind answering me a few questions?" After seeing Ignis' nod, Phoebus cleared his throat and took a more serious, stern expression. "Just...what happened?"

That question was...rather anonymous. Phoebus could have been talking about a number of things from that question alone. What happened to you? What happened out there? What happened to the people you were supposed to protect? What happened to the people you...killed? Or, he could be talking about all these questions all at once, un the form of one question.

Before Ignis could answer, Quasimodo returned with a plate full of stale bread and some cheese before setting it down near Ignis. But, she didn't take a single bite of the food offered to her. She merely gave it a glance and looked away in shame, but when she saw the hurt look on Quasimodo's face, she thought she had offended him and quickly corrected him.

"O-Oh! Sorry, Quasi, I didn't mean to insinuate that I didn't like the food! I just...I don't feel like I deserve the food," admitted Ignis shamefully. "But I do want to thank you for giving me the food anyways."

"Why don't you feel you deserve the food?" questioned Phoebus. "Ignis, I know you're still recovering and that you've been through a lot, but I need to know what happened? If you can, just tell me what's going on?"

Ignis looked away once more, still full of shame. Should she tell him-no, not just Phoebus, but also Quasimodo of what's been happening the past three days? The information she held, it was more than enough to be viewed as a scary story, with the only difference being that this story was real. No fantasy, no scary ghosts, just...information from actual events and experiences. Quasimodo would be horrified and unsure whether she was telling the truth or not, if humanity truly could be as bad as that. He already suffered from the people during the Festival of Fools, but for him to hear more about the bad side of people would...shatter his view. Phoebus would likely take it more easily because he's a soldier, but he would probably hate her for killing his men, even if they did horrible things.

At this point, she felt that she probably did deserve to be hated.

And so, she told both Phoebus and Quasimodo everything, leaving no details behind on her part. Well, she told them ALMOST everything. She just left out one part of her story, the part where she was...violated badly. Even though she was willing to confess everything else, that was the one part she found herself unable to reveal, because she felt so much shame towards that part. And she felt angry at herself for selfishly being ashamed of that above all the other unforgivable actions she's committed.

When she finished her tale, Ignis glanced up to meet their faces. Quasimodo was mortified and looked ready to vomit at the events she's described, and she couldn't blame for that. She's already done enough vomiting herself during the past three days and was still shaking at the things she's done to save the innocent. As for Phoebus, well...he was much more composed than Quasimodo, but judging from his clenched fists and stern expression with a hint of a vein awaiting to burst from his forehead, she could tell that she was angry. And he was probably at her, a fact that she didn't blame him for.

"P-Phoebus!" Quasimodo turned to Phoebus desperately. "Everything she said...is that really true?! Do people...can they..."

"I..." Phoebus was rather uncomfortable at revealing this to Quasimodo. "I don't know I...You hear stories like these, and it's a bad time-I..." Phoebus found himself unable to explain this sort of topic to Quasimodo without utterly crushing his hopes of finding kindness within other people, not that it's already been crushed enough.

"I'm sorry."

Both men turned to Ignis, who got down on her knees and bowed her head lowly to the floor. facing Phoebus. "I...I am so sorry. I killed your men. I have no excuse. I killed them in order to protect as many innocents as I could. Because they were doing horrendous things to them. Because in my eyes, I thought their actions were unforgivable and morally wrong. I...I don't regret what I did, but I also hated what I did as well. I also killed them because I was angry at them. I wanted vengeance. I wanted to make them pay for hurting and killing innocents for fun, like their lives were nothing more than toys to them. If they ever did something like that again, I would have killed them again because I wanted to protect the innocent."

"Ignis..." Phoebus turned to her, his anger slowly dissipating as he looked at the girl in a pitiful position, bowing her head to him, the captain of the soldiers.

"Despite the men that I killed being terrible people, they were still your men. Your soldiers. This city probably has laws for punishing people who harmed or even killed the soldiers. I...I'm willing to be punished for my crimes, but I ask-no, I beg of you, to wait until this whole mess is over. Until Esmeralda is found and taken to safety, until the fires in this city are all put out, until the innocents are safe from any danger from any sort of harm whatsoever. I'm willing to accept any punishment. I'm willing to be beaten up, thrown in jail, executed, any sort of punishment, but I ask that that wait until this whole situation is over-"

"No." Phoebus' tone was firm and held no signs of hesitation. "No. You will not."

Ignis shuddered under her breath and closed her eyes. So, this was it. She was going to be punished right now. Her pleas were going to be ignored by the captain of the guards. She could understand why; he probably wants to avenge his men. He probably thinks that if he waits, then she'll escape and he'll never deliver his vengeance upon her. Normally, her stubborn nature would kick in and she would defend herself to her last breath and escape to rescue more innocents, but she...she was too tired and in no state to be doing any sort of action. If she were to be punished now, then she prayed that the remaining innocents she saved at least managed to get to safety.

"You will not be punished, because you've done no such thing to be punished."

Huh?

"What?" Ignis looked up with a confused look on her face. Phoebus' eyes spoke of his sincerity and with gratitude towards her as he spoke of this to her. "W-What are you talking about? Don't you hate me? I killed your men! And not just because I wanted to save the innocents, but because I wanted to! I wanted to make them pay! I wanted them to die for hurting and killing many people! For killing my friends! I'm a selfish and horrible killer who-"

"But you're not." Phoebus got down on one knee and looked at her. "You're not selfish nor are you horrible or even a killer. From what I've been hearing, my own men were at fault here, not you. I have heard of certain things about them, but never to this extent. What they've done...the horrible crimes they've committed...it's more than enough to put each and every one of their heads under the guillotine." His body trembling with seething anger at the discovery of the corruption within his men, who had sworn an oath to protect the people, not push their own selfish desires onto them. "You don't need to prostrate yourself, because you don't deserve it. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you."

"But-!" Ignis clenched her teeth before crying out, "I killed your men! I've always been taught that killing is always wrong, no matter what the reason! I-"

"And sometimes, killing is absolutely necessary in order to prevent others from hurting others," spoke Phoebus. "You've done this over and over, but you're still too young and inexperienced to understand this fully. Listen to me. None of this is your fault. You did the best you can, but what happened to all those victims, they were not your fault."

"..."

"...But you don't have to worry about that anymore. Just leave the rest to me and Quasimodo."

"W-What do you mean?"

"W-We think we might have a clue as to where Esmeralda might be. She might be inside the Court of Miracles, the home of her people," replied Quasimodo, stepping forward.

"The Court of Miracles...That's where...where Clopin lived," spoke Ignis, saddened by his death and how she was unable to prevent yet another death. "Along with the other gypsies..."

"We're going over there to try and warn the people of Frollo's invasion," informed Phoebus.

"What?" Ignis glanced up, alarmed by the sudden news. "What did you just say?"

"My Master-um...he plans to...he plans to attack Esmeralda's home at dawn, with 1,000 men!" said Quasimodo. "We don't have anymore time to waste, so we need to get going!"

"We'll warn the people and find a way to get them to safety. After that, we'll come back with you. I'm sure they have a doctor amongst them," promised Phoebus.

"I-I'm going too!" said Ignis, struggling to get up.

"No. You need to rest," stated Phoebus firmly. "You're in no condition to move, much less fight. As much as I hate to say it, but right now, if you came, you'd only slow us down." His expression softened. "You've done more than enough. Get some rest. We'll come back."

Phoebus stretched his hand to express his gratitude through a head pat, but Ignis, startled by the sudden gesture, freaked out and summoned her Keyblade, swinging it at his hand and landing a gash on his hand.

"AH! OOH!" Phoebus hissed, clutching his bleeding hand. "What was that f-"

"GET AWAY!" yelled Ignis, shaking as she backed up against the wall. "Don't you DARE touch me!"

"What are you-"

"I didn't give you permission to touch me! It was fine when you treated my wounds, but what were you thinking, trying to touch me so suddenly?!"

"I-!" Phoebus wanted to yell back, but the strange sight of Ignis made him pause and he felt sorrow and pitiful towards her.

Right now, compared to the Ignis he talked to a few days ago, even though this was the same Ignis before him, she felt like a whole different person. This wasn't the same childish, playful, and gallant girl who wandered around with bright, curious eyes full of innocence. No, right before him was a scared, fragile girl, whose trembling could break her body apart any second. She was like prey cornered up on the wall, trying to defend herself with any means necessary, and her eyes were no longer bright, nor curious nor innocent. They were fatigue, and more importantly, full of fear. Traumatized by something that had stolen the light from her eyes.

Whatever happened during the past three days must have messed her up badly.

Due to his experiences in war, he's seen traumatized and frightened soldiers in the battlefield. Soldiers who laid about on the ground, dying and trying to crawl for safety. Soldiers who have survived battles but at the cost of fatal injuries, loss of limbs, or the hellish sights they've seen in the battlefield that would surely bring nightmares every single time they slept.

Right now, Ignis looked like one of those soldiers, and it was heartbreaking because she wasn't a soldier. No, she was just an innocent, young girl that used to be vibrating with joy, someone who didn't have to involve herself in saving others, but did anyways. And now, because she chose to save others, she's likely experienced and seen horrendous things, things that she already revealed to Phoebus. Things that made him pale in horror, and yet redden in anger over so many innocent casualties.

No more.

"...I'm sorry," apologized Phoebus, letting out a sigh. "You're right, I was inconsiderate. Come on, Quasi. Let's go."

"B-But what about your hand?" asked Quasimodo.

"This? I can patch it up real quick on the way. Let's hurry."

"...Why?"

Phoebus stopped after hearing Ignis's soft whisper after he tore a part of his shirt to make as a bandage for his hand. "What?"

"Why would...why would that judge do that? Judge Frollo...Why go all this trouble for Esmeralda? Why go all this trouble for one girl?" questioned Ignis. "It's just...his order...it caused...so many deaths and horror and worst...all for Esmeralda...Just why?"

"..." Phoebus turned back and knelt down in front of Ignis with nothing but honesty in his eyes. "...I don't know. I don't know why something this horrible happened. But I'm going to say this again. This is not your fault, Ignis. Remember that."

"..."

Phoebus was the first to leave the bell tower, and Quasimodo intended on following after him, but first, he wanted to at least say goodbye to Ignis before leaving. He hurried to her and gently pressed the plate of food closer to her.

"Please, eat. T-There's a bed near here, so you can use it until we get back. Please, get some rest, Ignis."

Having said that, Quasimodo hurried after Phoebus so they could locate the Court of Miracles together, leaving Ignis all by herself in the darkened room.

---

Being alone was like...well, lonely.

Sure, one would feel a little sad if they were lonely all by themselves, but not in the extent Ignis was feeling. To her, it was like a deep pit inside of her, gnarling at her and filling her with the dreaded emotion called depression. It certainly didn't help that she was all alone inside the bell tower, sitting on the wooden floor while hugging her knees close to her chest and just staring at nothingness with a blank expression.

She was alone, cold, and scared.

What was she supposed to do now? She was tired and was constantly nudging her head back and forth as her eyes grew droopy, and while she wanted to drift off to sleep, something nagging inside of her told her she didn't even deserve the luxury of sleep.

And it was right.

Why should she even sleep when all she's done so far was screw everything up? Oh sure, she managed to save several innocent lives during the past few days, but it was her own damn fault to failing them because those lives ended up dying, only postponing their deaths momentarily before they were wiped out by the very same soldiers that were supposed to protect the people. The same soldiers that continued to live at first thanks to Ignis continuously sparing them.

Ignis wasn't even sure how many innocents were still alive in this city. She supposed Phoebus and Quasimodo counted because Phoebus didn't try to arrest nor kill her. Instead, he just patched up her wounds with Quasimodo's assistance and ensured her that everything that happened wasn't his fault. But she knew, or rather thought, that he was just saying that. Maybe he was just taking pity on her because of her pitiful state. He says it wasn't her fault, but her own damn decisions allowed the soldiers to kill the very innocents she decided to protect with every being inside her. Worst, they even killed her friends and even a little baby, just for fun!

The soldiers were monsters, but she thought of herself as a monster too, because she had given into her rage. Her emotions had taken over and out of a fit of rage and desire to avenge the fallen, she mercilessly killed the soldiers, one-by-one. Magic, Keyblade, it didn't matter what killing method she used, but she still killed. Why she's being bothered by this isn't just because of the ideal that she isn't meant to kill unless absolutely necessary, but also because she was blinded by her overwhelming emotions to kill them. She was taught that vengeance never led to anything good and not to fall victim to it, but she disobeyed that the moment she started killing the soldiers.

She couldn't stop killing until after Clopin's death. Even though she had fought and killed soldiers to prevent them from harming anymore innocents, that didn't stop yet another one of her friends from dying. She realized too late that it no longer matter whether she spared or killed the soldiers, because her friends ended up dying, all because she wasn't fast enough. She should have been faster, more stronger, and have taken less rest times during the past few days, but despite giving it her all and then overcoming some of her limits, it wasn't enough.

It was never going to be enough.

She felt sick at herself. She felt disgusted. Dirty. Horrified. Angry. So many things that she felt that she now hated herself. She hated herself so much, and she wouldn't even blame any of her friends, or even her Master for hating her should they learn of the events that transpired here.

She's disobeyed the Master so many times. She broke so many of his rules and even learned forbidden magic, especially when it came to the element of darkness. Ignis knew how much Eraqus despised the darkness, and yet, she chose to continue learning it because she wanted to learn more about the balance between darkness and light. She saw nothing bad from learning more about light and darkness, especially since she's somewhat seen a bad side of the light when all Master Eraqus seems to talk about is how the light is always good and that no evil could come from it.

Oh, why couldn't she just have gone home? It's simple: She wanted to explore more. Anything about the darkness, Master Eraqus would have never taught her because he "doesn't" have darkness within, but that's completely false. No matter how good or pure you are, everyone always has even a bit of darkness within, and she is no exception.

After Quasimodo and Phoebus returns, she'll do the best she can to help out the other innocent folks, including the gypsies and help solve this world's issue. After that, she'll...she'll try and find a way back home. She won't beg for forgiveness, because she doesn't deserve it, but she will accept any punishment Master Eraqus will give to her. Whether it's banishment from the Land of Departure, or something as worse as...

Death.

Even though she knew she deserved such a fate, just thinking about it...frightened her. Ignis got up and re-equipped her armor back on her clothes before sitting back in the same position she was previously in. Even though it felt uncomfortable sitting down, all curled up, while wearing armor, she felt much more safer that way.

Yes...much...safer...that way...

---

Bells.

The light rumbling of the heavy bells rang all across the city in an ominous manner, as though death was tolling its bells and awaiting judgement to arrive. A dark and heavy atmosphere filled the entire city along with smoke coming from the fires of purgatory, and the entire cathedral shook with pillars of stone crumbling from the wrath of a particular man with a hunchback.

Quasimodo.

Hearing the heavy tolls of the bells, Ignis blinked her eyes open and gasped, startling herself awake. It didn't take her long to remember where she was, what happened to her, and that she had fallen asleep sometime while resting and waiting for Phoebus and Quasimodo to return.

"Idiot!" Ignis berated to herself, smacking herself on the head. "Idiot, idiot, IDIOT! What were you thinking, suddenly falling asleep like that?!" She hurried outside of the bell tower, glancing down from above the city in its current state. Most of the city was no longer burning, but, to her horror, she saw Esmeralda tied to a pyre on a platform and was being burned to death as the rest of Notre Dame watched, either supporting or protesting against this act.

Ignis couldn't stop the horrified shriek that escaped her mouth as she watched the horrible scene before her. She grasped her palms onto the railing, intending to jump off and use her acrobatics to land safely to aid Esmeralda when suddenly, Quasimodo came swinging down with a rope, freeing the fainted Esmeralda and pulling her away from the flames.

Seeing Quasimodo being surrounded by guards, Ignis knew that he needed help if he wanted both him and Esmeralda to escape safely. Without waiting to see what would happen next, Ignis hurried to find a way down without the use of stairs, as taking that route would be much longer. She used her training, her acrobatics to slid down the rooftops, climb down the pillars, and eventually land on the side of the cathedral. It felt like time had stopped for Ignis as she had rushed to her friends' aid, but it turns out, it wasn't even necessary.

Upon reaching the top of the cathedral and standing in front of the cathedral's beautifully colored glass-stained window, Quasimodo lifted Esmeralda's unconscious body high above his head and bellowed out a word that sent chills down everyone's spines, and yet encouraged them all the same.

"SANCTUARY!" Quasimodo bellowed, victorious as the crowd cheered along with him. "SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!"

Ignis felt a smile forming on her face; the first true sign of hope whelming up inside her when she saw that Quasimodo had successfully rescued Esmeralda. Something had finally turn up good in this hellish world, so maybe, just maybe, they can turn the tides in this entire situation.

She glanced around and saw soldiers loyal to Frollo were attempting to get into the cathedral, possibly under his orders in order to capture both Esmeralda and Quasimodo, of course. Luckily, the cathedral doors were closed shut tightly, forcing the men to try and break down the door or climb up to the higher levels using ladders they were now gathering.

The fire that was around the pyre had spread to the rest of the platform, causing a huge fire and a large amount of smoke, making it a bit difficult to breath. That didn't stop Ignis from making her way through once she spotted cages trapping the gypsies inside, and she had every intention of saving them.

"Citizens of Paris!" Ignis stopped and heard Phoebus' voice, so she turned and saw Phoebus gathering up a crowd, standing on top of cage to be heard loud and wide all over. "Frollo has persecuted our people! Ransacked our city! Now, he has declared war on Notre Dame herself! Will we allow it?!"

"NO!"

Now, it seemed that all of Paris had become as one as they angrily cried out the declaration all at once after hearing Phoebus' speech. They took up whatever weapons they could find; sticks, torches, pitchforks, stones, anything that could be used as a weapon, and began to assault the soldiers. It wasn't just for Notre Dame and their city that they were fighting for; they were also fighting for their loved ones, who were innocent and, despite that, killed by the corrupted soldiers under Frollo's rule.

What should have been a neutralizing solution turned out to be a bloodbath between the soldiers and the citizens of Notre Dame.

Ignis understood that the citizens were angry. They wanted vengeance for their lost ones, for the innocents that were slaughtered like cattle simply because of the soldiers' corruption and selfishness. Even so, it still horrified Ignis to see so much slaughter and bloodshed in this...well, even though battle was the technical term, it didn't seem that way for her.

A warzone was a much better fitted term to describe the scenery before her.

People being thrusted through the stomachs by spears. Women using stones to drive the sharp ends and using blunt force to smash down on soldiers that were already pinned down. Men engaged in close combat with any sort of weapon, with one man successfully driving his pitchfork through the other soldier's chest, and another soldier slashing another man in half. People who chose not to fight neither the soldiers nor the citizens tried to get away; some managing to escape, and many being cut down by soldiers. Screams and blood ripped through the warzone as Ignis just stood there, mortified by just how cruel humanity could be.

"Ignis? IGNIS!"

"H-Huh?" Ignis saw Phoebus running up to her, holding a sword in his hands before he arrived at her side. "W-What?"

"What are you doing here?! You shouldn't be here! You should be back inside, resting!" scolded Phoebus harshly.

"I..." Ignis' expression hardened into a determined look as she faced Phoebus. "I can't! Not when there's so much danger right now! Now when I woke up to see Esmeralda nearly getting executed! Not when this whole area is burning, and everyone is apparently out for blood!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Hearing the sound of a woman screaming, Phoebus and Ignis turned their heads to see a woman attempting to crawl away from a soldier before he swung his halberd down, digging deep in her chest and ending her life in an instance. Horrified before getting angry, Ignis summoned Phoenix Fairy and instinctively shot a beam of light at the soldier, penetrating him through the chest and killing him.

Although he's seen terror in the face of war, being a war veteran himself, Phoebus could never comprehend the death of innocents, so he was left shocked when he saw a soldier killing the innocent woman right there in cold blood. He was then startled when he saw some sort of light shoot through the soldier and looked at the source of where that light came from: Ignis.

When he looked at her, he saw indignation; anger directed towards the soldier for killing another innocent. But, he also saw...kindness.

Ignis was still angry, that's for certain. However, he saw hesitation, sorrow, and yet a strong willingness to continue the choice of killing instead of the choice of sparing the soldiers. Someone who hated killing, yet did so to protect innocents; a duty she didn't have to uphold yet did so anyways. One that definitely didn't enjoy any of the violence or killing. Someone who grieved for the death of an innocent she didn't even know. One who had such traits could only be seen as kind.

Ignis lowered her Keyblade and stared at her free hand. 'That rest earlier did at least something good. It restored my stamina and my magic power back, but for now, I'll have to utilize my power in order to...' She paused, forming her hand into a clenched fist as she realized what she was meant to do next. '...To kill.'

"Ignis." Phoebus placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do this. While your help would be appreciated, I don't want you to be even further disturbed by all this. This is only going to get a whole lot worst, and it'll involve a lot of killing. No one will blame you if you run."

Ignis closed her eyes and took a deep breath; opening her eyes to show a determined and yet scared look. "I...I'm scared...I don't want to kill..." She gritted her teeth and swallowed. "But I'll help out. Phoebus, will you help me?"

Phoebus squeezed her shoulder tightly, granting her a smile. "Ignis...I should asking that of you."

Ignis nodded, relieved that she wasn't alone in this fight. "Thanks...But wait, what about Quasi? He's still up in the cathedral with Esmeralda. I know those gates are shut tight, but eventually, those soldiers will find a way in. What do we do?"

Phoebus glanced up. "I don't think you have to worry about that. Our mutual hunchback friend is already handling things up from there."

From above, Quasimodo was busy with his role, playing the guardian of the cathedral of Notre Dame, all to save Esmeralda and drive off the soldiers. Beams of wood, countless stones, barrels, and all sorts of things Quasimodo was tossing down, aiming for the soldiers that continued being Frollo's loyal subjects and were still trying to barge in.

"Alright, we should get moving, too," advised Phoebus. "I'll take down as many soldiers as I can and act as a distraction, so you go and escort as many people away from the area as soon-"

"No." Ignis shook her head. "I...I'll do it. I'll get rid of any enemies that get in our way. You go deal with the people and take them away to safety."

Phoebus' eyes widened. "What? But, that'll mean you'll have-No, I won't allow it."

"Phoebus, we really don't have time for this!" Ignis said. "Even now, people are dying and killing each other and nobody's doing anything to stop that! You know that I have powers beyond what anyone else can do, and besides, you gave that speech earlier. The people looked up to you, so it's likely they'll trust you more than me..."

As much as Phoebus hated to admit it, she was right. This isn't the time for debate and she pointed out good points that made her decision a more valid choice. They both despised killing, but knew it was necessary right now.

"Alright. As soon as I get as many people out of here, I'll come back! So don't you die!"

After watching Phoebus leave, Ignis looked ahead with an uneased and hesitant expression, but steeled herself within as she gripped her Keyblade tightly before charging forth towards the sight of the first group of soldiers she saw. The moment she attacked, blood sprayed all over her, and she knew this was not the time for hesitation. If killing the soldiers meant saving more lives, then...so be it.

When It Falls

Composed by: Jeff Williams

Sung by: Casey Lee Williams

Maybe red's like roses?

Maybe it's the pool of blood

The innocents will lay in

When in the end you've failed to save them?

Slash. Stab. Duck. Slash. Counter. Fire.

Ignis focused solely on the battle against so many soldiers before her, relying on her battle experiences, instincts, and fighting skills. It was...terrifying of how easily her Keyblade and magic cleaved through the soldiers' armors and their own flesh with each blow she delivered. And yet, it was thanks to her skills that's helped her survive this long and to stand a good chance against the soldiers.

Pools of blood draining out from the fallen corpses were multiplying all over the place, but they didn't just belong to the dead soldiers. Innocent blood was spilled as well; blood that belonged to civilians that either died in the conflict or trying to escape. Whenever Ignis came across a body that didn't belong to a soldier, she knew it was yet another life she was too late to save.

During her battle with the soldiers, there were lives she protected and lives she ended up failing to save, and no matter how much she berated and blamed herself for failing to save the ones that were lost, she still didn't quite get the conception that it was the soldiers that were at fault; not hers.

The overflowing pools of blood...their red color matching the color of flames in the background that lit the night...they were as red as roses...

Ignis loved the color red for various reasons, like they were the same color as her favorite flower, the roses, her hair was red, her primary fire attribute was red...but right now, looking at the splatters of blood all around...

She couldn't help but feel nauseous and disgusted at the sight of red.

Their dying eyes

Are wide and white like snow!

And now they know

The cost of trusting you's obliteration!

Seeing the deaths of more innocents motivated Ignis to move faster. Swing harder. Kill the enemy more effectively. But no matter what, the innocent civilians kept dying, dropping like flies with every second passed. Still, Ignis persisted, pushing herself further, trying to reach out to protect the innocents and help them escape.

She saw a small group of what appears to be farmers and their children being cornered by more soldiers and rushed towards them as fast as she could. She was about to cast a shield spell over them when she was assaulted by another group of soldiers. Wasting no time, she slashed through them using various sword techniques and glanced back at the group to see them being mercilessly cut down; their screams being the last thing heard before they collapsed to the ground.

With no hesitation, Ignis fired at the soldiers that struck down the group of farmers with wind magic, slicing them apart before hurrying to the farmers and their children, hoping there was still a chance, even a small one, that they could be saved.

There wasn't.

When she saw them, their bodies were faced up, blood flowing out of the injuries that dealt their demise, and worst of all, their eyes were wide open, white as snow. They had seen their own demise right before their very eyes and were killed instantly by soldiers that were supposed to protect them. Their wide, white eyes were blank and empty, but they must have held some sort of light before their deaths; a look of betrayal and fear spread all over their pale faces.

Covering her mouth, Ignis looked away with horror and shame, unable to stare at the corpses she failed to save yet again. She should have gotten here faster. She should have been stronger! If she had, she would have saved the group of innocents, but in the end, nobody came to their aid. They were killed...by people they trusted with their lives. And as a result, they'll never come back.

Mirrors will shatter!

Crushed by the weight of the world!

The pillars collapse in shame!

The battle waged on in the background, forcing Ignis to clear her mind of any doubts and hesitations as she engaged the soldiers head-first, trying to stop them and buy time for Phoebus to lead the people away. More people were being slaughtered on both sides of this conflict; blood spilling and splattering all over the place, bodies falling, tensions rising...it was a warzone.

Ignis was handling the situation with a heavy heart, as evident of her cutting away the enemies' lives with a discomforted expression. Seeing death in real-life, a war-like conflict, bodies and blood piling up, the spread of fire all over the area...was a dark experience for her.

It made her definitely disgusted and horrified by just how cruel people could be. It opened her eyes and made her realized just how...naïve and childish she was. All the other worlds she's been in...yes, they've had tough and bad times, but never, in a million years, did she ever imagine a world with so much conflict and issues could result in this. Result in her making horrible choices, whether willingly or not. It put Ignis in a new light for her, and it was one she could never get comfortable with.

There'll be no rest!

There'll be no love!

There'll be no hero in the end

Who will rise above!

And when it ends,

The good will crawl!

The shining light will sink in darkness!

Victory for hate incarnate!

Misery and pain for all

When it falls!

Ignis continued running around the city square, slashing and hacking at every enemy she bypassed, gritting her teeth and trying not to think of just how many people she's killed so far. Blood splattered and soaked her armor and clothing; parts of the enemies' blood even flying at some parts of her face as she continued killing.

A battlefield doesn't have mercy. It doesn't even have the luxury of love. When one enters a battle, their opponent will never give them the opportunity to rest or any form of mercy. A battlefield is no place for any hesitation nor childish and naïve thoughts.

Ignis knew that as a Keyblade wielder, she must take her duties seriously. Protect the innocent and defeat the evil. No matter how simple that may be, it'll never be simple for her. She now knew that being a Keyblade wielder meant bearing a lot of responsibility in one's shoulders, but she's come to realize a lot of things even while she's doing her duty.

She hated this.

She hated killing. She hated hurting people. She hated the sight of blood. She hated having to cut people up with a power meant to protect, even if it was an action indirectly protecting the innocents. She thought upholding her duties would make her feel like a hero, but she doesn't feel like one.

And she hated how she selfishly thought of herself as a hero when there are more important things at stake.

Swallowed by the darkness!

Soon the moon is bathed in black!

The light of hope is taken

And discontent is the contagion!

With more soldiers, Ignis knew that she couldn't defeat them with strength alone, so she utilized her darkness magic, swirling the power of darkness all over the area and using it for offensive purposes. With how vengeful Ignis felt towards the soldiers, the strength of her darkness magic increased as her darkness magic engulfed groups of soldiers in her path.

The soldiers saw nothing but darkness right before their incoming deaths. A wave of darkness engulfed their surroundings and perspective, so when some looked up at the night skies, when the moon was still up and gleaming down with its light, that light along with the moon blackened completely in their sights before unimaginable but swift pain coursed through their bodies, killing them instantly.

Any hopes of the soldiers winning died out from the sickening power known as darkness.

The blinding eyes

That burn a yellow flame!

The embers that remain

Will light the fuse of condemnation!

The battle waged on, and it's unknown how much time has passed ever since the onslaught between the two sides begun. At first, soldiers were being struck by shadows and spikes of darkness everywhere, but now, many of them were being pierced by beams of light coming from a single red-haired knight.

Seeing the corpses of innocent people along with others trying to escape or fight back only to be cut down mercilessly by the soldiers only further fueled Ignis' rage as she now unleashed fury attacks with her Keyblade and light magic. With increasing numbers up against her, Ignis had to continuously use not only light magic but fire magic, ripping through and incinerating any foes that dared to attack her or any other innocents.

All that was left in her wake was a trailing, burnt path with flames that surely condemned the wicked to hell, witnessed by eyes burning with vengeance.

Kingdoms in tatters!

Hung on the brink of a war!

The peace will succumb to flames!

Just like the city of Paris, the grounds of the Notre Dame cathedral were burning; fires burning all over the sacred place. What started the massacre of a large number of Paris' population came from the Minister of Justice's own command. Because of his drive to find one single gypsy woman, the city within Notre Dame found itself facing a huge conflict, almost as thought the city itself was facing a war.

Murders, arson, thievery, and so many other crimes being committed in the span of a few days, and the city was close to the point of collapse. So much corruption within the population, and so many innocents caught up and victimized. Whatever peaceful lives that the people lead, they were swept away by the flames that ignited a war-like conflict within the city.

Waterfalls of molten lead only fueled the fires of conflict in the battlefield from high above the cathedral, courtesy of Quasimodo, in an attempt to cease any further disturbance to the cathedral as well as ensure nobody gets in. Many soldiers close near the entrances scrambled away to avoid the molten lead, but many others were unfortunate and their bodies were not only covered in heated, boiling lava-like lead, but the combined pressure and high temperatures were enough to kill them painfully; their bloodcurdling screams echoing in the night.

All while Judge Frollo successfully managed to sneak inside amongst the chaos.

This is not a tragedy!

It's not an accident!

You placed your faith in fools

And now you'll smother in lament!

They play the part of allies

Claiming peace their only goal!

But once the fight for power starts,

They'll eat each other whole!

Their iron gloves point fingers!

They'll wage a war of blame!

And mankind will wilt in pain...

The citizens of Notre Dame depended on the soldiers at first, because they were meant to be the protectors of the city. They were meant to protect them, the people.

But now, the past few days, the eyes of the citizens have opened to how utterly corrupted the soldiers are. No, not just them, but Judge Frollo as well, for issuing the one order that ruined many lives.

Yes, the soldiers' orders were to find one single gypsy woman, Esmeralda. It wasn't very unusual; search orders within the city were actually fairly common, especially when it came to tracking down gypsies, but this one mission was much more...forceful and extreme.

The soldiers interrogated. They set fire in homes and buildings all over the city. They killed anyone that got in their way, even if it came from a child who made the mistake of tripping in front of their feet. What the soldiers viewed justice, the citizens saw monstrosity. What the soldiers thought was a noble duty, the citizens thought they were committing genocide, both with the gypsies and the common folk of Notre Dame.

None of the citizens saw justice. None of them saw righteousness in the soldiers' actions. The soldiers may claim that it was their duty to punish evildoers and that they were under orders, but they still committed terrible crimes worthy of execution. What "justice" allowed the slaughter of innocents, children, arson, pillaging, and a whole lot worse?

The "soldiers" weren't soldiers at all. They were just demons garbed in shining armor, slaves to the one man known as Judge Claude Frollo.

There'll be no rest!

There'll be no love!

There'll be no hero in the end

Who will rise above!

And when it ends,

The good will crawl!

The shining light will sink in darkness!

Victory for hate incarnate!

Misery and pain for all

When it falls!

After taking down another soldier, Ignis planted Phoenix Fairy onto the ground, panting for breath as sweat and the blood of her enemies dripped down on the cracked ground. Licking her lips and gasping for air, Ignis closed her eyes for a moment to rest if even for one moment.

Kill after kill after kill...How much more must she continue to kill? How much more slaughter is absolutely necessary in order to cease all of this unnecessary violence that has claimed so many lives? Both innocent and evil? How much more must she continue feeling flesh sliced and bones cracked through the power of her strength while using a weapon meant to protect others, not slaughter them? How much more must she commit heinous crimes for good intentions?

"Ignis!"

Turning around, Ignis saw Phoebus running towards her, exhausted and bloodied up just like her, but much more severely injured. Gashes and cuts laid about around his chest, arms, and parts of his face, which most likely came from fighting many soldiers just like her. When he saw Ignis' condition, his expression softened, though it was full of guilt as well.

"Are you okay-"

Suddenly, something large crashed onto the ground, creating dust clouds that quickly disappeared within mere seconds. Glowing eyes illuminated in the dark brightly before dimming down, allowing Ignis and Phoebus to catch sight of the bright glow that had them mesmerized. Ignis blinked and shook her head; the mesmerizing sensation fading away before her eyes took on the full appearance of a new enemy she could only identify as an Unversed.

"That's..."

Standing in front of them was a demonic, cow-like Unversed with bovine traits, such as bestial legs leading to cloven feet. The Unversed's head was that of a cow and had thick, twisted horns stretching backwards. Unlike most Unversed, the demonic cow-like Unversed could be identified as female, as shown with her feminine assets such as a feminine face, sharp curves, and a large chest. Her entire body is a deep, dark blue, covered with sturdy, heavy chainmail, and her eyes glinted a glowing, blue-white hue color. A darker shade of blue, almost identical to black, coated her long, flowing hair that reached down to the back of her knees and a on top of her head was an armored helmet resembling a silver tiara with a red ruby gem. Her weapon of choice appeared to be a whip with a sharp bladed-end, which is unusual considering her more muscular body type compared to a weapon more towards agile and light-bodied users.

"Esmeralda...?"

"Huh?" Ignis turned to Phoebus, confused. "What did you just say?"

Phoebus' stunned expression broke into a grin as he rushed towards the cow-like Unversed, much to Ignis' shock. "Esmeralda! You're safe!"

"What the fu-?" Ignis wanted to question Phoebus and see if he was right in the head, but her eyes caught sight of the cow-like Unversed lifting her whip, intending on using it on Phoebus as she raised the blade-like end at the end of her whip. "LOOK OUT!"

Everything in the next moment happened in an instant. Ignis boosted her spell using a quick Haste spell to grab Phoebus and summon her Keyblade at the same time. The Unversed's whip lashed down at the spot where Phoebus previously was, only for her to miss her target and thus create a crater in his place. As for Phoebus, Ignis had grabbed the back of his shirt and flung him back to dodge the whip attack while her left arm tightly gripped her Keyblade, intending to use it for defensive purposes for the time being.

The Unversed lashed her whip arm to the left, forcing Ignis to block the next whip strike from her left. She gritted her teeth and held her ground as the whip struck her Keyblade, nearly falling over to her right. She knew that the instant she fell over, the Unversed wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of her vulnerable, fallen state, thus why she held her ground.

Sensing the cow-like Unversed was now about to unleash a volley of whip slashes, Ignis cried out, "Barriera!" A dome-like barrier surrounded her and Phoebus within just in the nick of time. as Ignis' prediction came to fruition. Multiple sashes in one pounce came crashing down on Ignis' barrier magic and normally, Ignis would offer much more resilience, but because of her fatigue and injured condition, especially with little rest during the past few days, her resilience was quickly breaking down. As further evidence, cracks began to form around her barrier, forcing her down on one knee as she struggled to keep her barrier magic intact.

"Ignis...? What are you doing?" questioned Phoebus, recovering as he stood up and wiped the dust off his clothes. "Why are we trapped in this strange thing? There's Esmeralda right there-"

"That's not Esmeralda!" shouted Ignis, sweating and trying to recover her breath by gulping in breaths while concentrating on keeping the barrier intact.

"What are you saying? Of course that's her! We have to find a way out of here and take her to sa-"

"And I'm telling you, that's not her! That monster doesn't even remotely look like her!" Stress and frustration was starting to build up within Ignis, and her panic intensified when she heard and saw more cracks forming on her barrier. She's been putting more of her magic power into her barrier just to keep it up, but she's nearly at her limit. If she continues, she'll run out of magic power, and Barriera will shatter before her eyes!

Suddenly, the cow-like Unversed trudged forward, though her movements were heavy and slow with each step she took creating large hoofprints in their wake. She bent down and suddenly leapt in the air before landing on top of the barrier. Her weight along with the huge impact of her fall was what finally shattered both Ignis' concentration and her Barrier magic. Ignis stumbled back and then was thrown backwards along with Phoebus when the cow-like Unversed crashed back into the ground after the barrier shattered, creating distance between them and the Unversed.

"Ignis!" Phoebus grabbed ahold of Ignis' shoulders from behind, keeping her steady and letting her lean back against him. "What's happening?! How...Why did Esmeralda just-"

Twisting around, Ignis grasped Phoebus' collar and yanked him towards her. "Listen to me!" She pointed at the cow-like Unversed, who was slowly getting up from her crash. "That thing is not Esmeralda! I don't know where you got that ridiculous notion from, but that's not her! How are you seeing that monster as Esmeralda?!"

"But it is her! Plain as day!" argued back Phoebus. "I can see her right there! My eyes aren't playing tricks on me!"

'What is he even talking abou-Wait a minute. Every unusual Unversed I've fought so far has had some sort of unique ability. They always have some sort of special power! If that's the case, then maybe the Unversed did something to Phoebus that I didn't realize! A status condition? If so, I'll take care of that!' Ignis thought, loosening her grip on his shirt collar before placing her hand on his shoulder. "Esuna!"

For a moment, Phoebus' eyes glistened and cleared, causing his eyes to widen in horror at the true sight of "Esmeralda." That is, until he blinked and Esmeralda reappeared in the place of the cow-like Unversed. "W-What? What was that? Just now, I saw...a monster! But, that's Esmeralda right there, isn't it?"

'Did it work?' thought Ignis, frowning. 'No, I'm certain it worked, but only for an instance. Whatever that Unversed did to Phoebus, she's making him see that she's Esmeralda for some reason! I hate to spend more magic power, but maybe a stronger Esuna spell will knock him out of whatever hallucination he's in!'

"Esunaga!"

Instantly, Phoebus' eyes became clear as day and no longer under the cow-like Unversed's spell. Time felt like it was slowing down as Phoebus realized that the monster before them was not Esmeralda, but the monster he briefly saw earlier.

"T-The monster! But how?!"

Ignis pushed Phoebus out of the way and leapt back to avoid the cow-like Unversed's whip attack, although because of her reaction time diminishing due to saving Phoebus, she couldn't completely avoid the attack and her left shoulder was slapped down by the attack. If it weren't for her Keyblade Armor pauldron, then her shoulder would have been dislocated from the attack, though she still felt immense pain from the attack.

"Gh-! That's an Unversed!" cried out Ignis, clutching her shoulder. "Unversed has all sorts of different powers! That Unversed must have some sort of power to make you somehow see it as Esmeralda!"

Angered at the sight of Ignis injured and the fact that the monster tried to trick him by impersonating Esmeralda, Phoebus' grip on his sword tightened. "I see...Then, stay back! I'll take care of this!"

"No, wait-!"

Yelling out a battle cry, Phoebus charged ahead, knowing that despite being no match against the Unversed, he still wanted to put up a bit of a fight and allow Ignis some time to rest, considering her condition. What he didn't account for was the cow-like Unversed disarming the sword out of his hand and cracking it severely with her whip. He cried out in pain, as the hand the whip had lashed out was also the hand he bandaged up after Ignis struck at him earlier, though he knew that was no fault of hers. Though, now because of that whip attack, his hand was broken and the gash injury from Ignis started opening up, causing the bandage wrapped around his now-broken hand to darken with blood.

"PHOEBUS!" yelled Ignis, lunging forward with Phoenix Fairy in hand. 'That hand injury! It was caused by me! It's my fault! I know his hand was just broken because I heard a loud crack sound, like bones were being broken! And I know that it was the Unversed who broke his hand, but I still injured and hindered his ability to fight! God, I'm so selfish and stupid! No, now's the time to attack! Protect him! PROTECT ONE MORE PERSON NOW!'

Clenching his hand, Phoebus glanced up and saw the cow-like Unversed preparing for another whip strike, tilting her body slightly so she could aim for Ignis while appearing like she was about to strike Phoebus. Seeing that Ignis was approaching to assist him, fear struck his chest. "Ignis! Look out!"

But the warning came too late as the whirling whip smashed into Ignis' left arm, making her immediately drop Phoenix Fairy before it faded off after falling to the ground. This was followed up with an explosion of pain with her crashing headfirst into the ground.

Drip. Drip.

Blood trickled down from her forehead from where Ignis crashed her head into, but that wasn't the only wound she suffered from. Her left arm dangled as she struggled to stand up with only one arm intact. Not only was her left arm's bones utterly shattered from the whip attack, but it was bleeding out from the wound. Her nerves, muscles, and blood danced around like mad, screaming internally. Finally getting back on her own two feet, Ignis frantically held her convulsing left arm with her right, nearly losing consciousness.

When Ignis comes to, her body is still screaming in pain and she's still standing, holding her arm. She looks around and sees Phoebus fighting against the cow-like Unversed, tired and injured, but nowhere near the critical state she was in. He's losing a losing battle, and yet, he still stands his ground even after being thrashed and hurled about. Even if his attacks are constantly missing or dealing no damage to the stronger Unversed. Even if there's no sliver of hope he'll survive this fight, much less injure her.

He's standing strong and tall, just like a true soldier. No, a true knight.

And what was Ignis doing? She was standing tall and strong. But she wasn't in the front lines. No, she was in the back, clinging onto her wounds. Phoebus must have taken over because he wanted to protect Ignis even though he has no chance of winning. It was a foolish, yet courageous choice. And now, Ignis felt that she must do the same-!

Getting in front of Phoebus and raising an uninjured, free arm towards the cow-like Unversed, Ignis defiantly faced against her as she raised her whip to lash out at the Keyblade wielder. All of her emotions, both good and bad, conjured with a lot of her magic power, surged up within Ignis and flowed out of her hands to unleash a devastating, high-tier spell.

"HELL FIRAGA!"

At close range, Ignis released an high-tier fire spell consisting of an explosive bombardment of black flames ignited all at once that successfully landed a direct hit onto the cow-like Unversed, but also sent Ignis flying back with burns on her arms. The spell also caused a large smokescreen, especially since it hit the target at close range, so it was unknown what the cow-like Unversed's current status was.

Landing back on her feet but tripping and falling on her bottom, Ignis winched and clenched her teeth, trying to fight against the pain from the burns on her arm. She hurriedly casted a healing spell on her arms with the remainder of her magic power, rapidly making the burns vanish and the healing process to smoothly course through her body. Plus, the healing spell did smooth over her broken arm, though not nearly enough to fix the bones. Because Hell Firaga was a recently new spell she learned and a much stronger spell than Dark Firaga, it was still difficult to completely control the powerful spell not only because she hasn't used it much, but it also required the combination of both darkness and fire magic, which involved deep concentration in order to fully control it and not receive a backlash as a result. The previous burns on her arms was proof that she hasn't fully mastered the spell yet.

Just as the smokescreen was about to be cleared, the cow-like Unversed leapt out from amidst the smokes to reach a very high point in the skies, reaching out and then landing on top of the bell tower. While they were uncertain as to why the Unversed escaped, both Phoebus and Ignis relaxed, knowing they could take a bit of a breather until they realized something crucially important.

"QUASI!" Ignis spoke out first. The bell tower was Quasimodo's home, and considering that he rescued Esmeralda, he must have taken her there for safety! It was extremely bad since the Unversed landed on the bell tower and could possibly harm both Quasimodo and Esmeralda if they didn't hurry! "Phoebus! We have to hurry! Quasi and-!"

"I know! I know!" Phoebus glanced around and tried to find a way across the river of molten lead surrounding the cathedral. "Damnit! There has to be a clearer path!"

Ignis caught up to him and marched ahead, also trying to find a pathway until she spotted a narrow pathway on the molten lead river consisting of debris and large rocks. "I found something! We can use that to-!"

Pat. Something fell on top of her head. Ignis reached her hand out to touch the warm, red liquid. Blood? More red liquid dripped from the skies until three things crashed into the ground.

A head. A headless body. And...a body with a hunchback.

Ignis didn't know how long she was standing there with a stunned expression. All she knew was that she was forcibly dragged by the arm by Phoebus, yelling something at her as they crossed the narrow pathway towards the inside of the cathedral. She couldn't hear what he said clearly, probably because her mind was still processing the fact that three human things fell from the sky right in front of her, but she was starting to hear him a bit better the more she focused.

"-way! Look away, Ignis! Don't turn back! Just look straight ahead! Or at me!"

Wait...now that she was starting to recall what happened, Ignis realized something. She couldn't see the face, only the back of the head, but the head still had glamorous, raven-black hair. The headless body bore a dress and a feminine figure. And there's only one person in Notre Dame with a hunchback.

Horror and despair flooded her face at the revelation of her discovery. She looked at Phoebus just as they managed to enter the cathedral and she pulled her hand away. "W-Wait! Phoebus! Back there, that couldn't be-! Was that really-?!"

"Yes." The quiet answer stunned Ignis into silence as Phoebus glanced at her with a sorrowful look. "That...was undoubtedly Esmeralda and Quasimodo."

"Then...those bodies...the ones that fell from the sky...I didn't just imagine that, did I?"

"..." Phoebus couldn't help but look away with a pained face. "No, those bodies were definitely Esmeralda and Quasimodo. They're...they're dead. Nobody can survive a...a fall from that, and nobody can survive being beheaded..."

Crack. It was only appropriate that her mind cracked like glass from the reality that two more of her friends were now dead.

She wanted to scream. Deny that that was now the reality they were living in. She wanted to wail and throw an angry tantrum. She wanted to cry. She wanted to uncoil so many uncontrollable emotions inside of her that it hurt and burned her on the inside as her throat became scratchy and it became even harder to breathe.

Instead, she just collapsed to the ground, staring up with a blank look filled with agony and disbelief.

"But...but we just saw them...We saw them not too long ago..." spoke Ignis. "Quasi...He...He saved her. He saved Esmeralda. I saw it. You saw it too, didn't you? Everyone saw it. They were still alive."

"...I know." Phoebus whispered.

"And now...you're telling me that...they're dead? They suddenly fell from the sky and crashed to the ground and died?"

"...Yes."

"But...they didn't deserve it. Just like all the other people I've failed to save, they didn't deserve to die..."

"Yes, you're right."

Phoebus' soft yet cruelly honest answers was what finally caused Ignis to shed tears. She tried to hold herself together. She tried everything within herself to keep her emotions in check, but it was already too overwhelming. She at least bit down on her lip and tried not to wail loudly as she muffled her sobs, shedding tears for her friends. For failing to save them. For everything that's happened so far.

Ignis didn't know what happened next, but she could hear voices in the background, like two men talking to each other. Because she was too wallowed up in her own grief, she barely noticed anything in her surroundings, including the footsteps walking towards her. She heard a shuffled sound and something overshadowing her before she felt a warm palm touch her cheek wet with tears. Upon feeling that warmth, she looked up.

It was the Archdeacon. He bore a sorrowful expression as well, and his lower lip was quivering, but he held himself strong, if only for her. At this moment, upon seeing the Archdeacon holding himself together, Ignis thought he was stronger than her, a weak, pathetic, stupidly naïve little girl trying to play knight in shining armor, only to end up losing the moment she let innocents die.

"Child, you-"

"I'm sorry..." apologized Ignis, unable to stop more of her emotions flooding in the form of tears. "I tried. I tried saving as many people as I could, but I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong eno-No, no, those are all stupid excuses...It's my fault. Everything. I should have been faster, more focused, but I was too late...If I was much more stronger, if I wasn't such an idiot-! I...I would have saved Quasi and Esmer-"

"Stop." The Archdeacon's tone was firm, yet soft-spoken. "That isn't true. Ignis, everything you've done...it wasn't in vain. Yes, there were many unfortunate souls that have descended from this world much too earlier, and it is a tragedy of what has happened, but none of this is your fault, Ignis. You never killed them. You never once wished them harm. Instead, you did everything within your power and more to protect them with all your might. You've become a shield to the people you've fought for, and the unfortunate, kind souls will surely find peace under God's warmth."

"If..." Ignis sniffled, her expression twisted into one full of sorrow, anger, and confusion. "I...I'm not that much of a religious person, but if God did exist, then why didn't he try and save the people?! They were innocent, and yet they were killed wrongfully by soldiers who were supposed to protect them! Why doesn't God punish those guys instead of the innocent?! Damnit! What use is a God if all he gets are prayers and not once does he repay the people who worships him?! He should have saved those people with his own holy power! He should have...he..."

"...Life, sadly, isn't fair," sighed the Archdeacon, not once getting mad at her words even when she cursed God. "God cannot always grant our wishes nor can he always be there for us. In the past, he had his son, Jesus, save us from sin by sacrificing his life for us, and we must be grateful for that. As human beings, we must attempt to resolve all of our problems on our own, but it isn't hard to rely on faith when times are difficult."

"I just...want..."

The Archdeacon softened his expression and offered a hand to Ignis to help her up. Ignis was about to take it, but hesitated for a few moments due to her..."trauma" holding her back. In her mind, she knew the Archdeacon wouldn't do anything...repulsive to her, but she was still hesitant. Finally, she wiped her tears away with a swipe of her dried-bloody arm and placed her hand in his, allowing him to help her stand up.

With tired, red eyes, Ignis glanced around the cathedral and noticed Phoebus wasn't anywhere. "...Where did Phoebus go? Ah, you probably don't know his name. You know, the man who was here earlier?"

"Ah, him. He requested that I take care of you and allow you to rest before charging up the stairs all by himself. It was after I told him that Frollo was upstairs-"

"What?!" Ignis interrupted, shocked. Any signs of tiredness instantly went away upon hearing this new revelation. "He left by himself?! And Frollo's here, too?!"

The Archdeacon nodded. "Yes. Earlier, I did try my best to stop Esmeralda's execution, but Frollo's men held me back. I could do nothing but watch from the sidelines. I was so happy and proud when I witnessed Quasimodo take action and save that young lady. When the fighting began, I wanted to try and find a way to help the people, but they urged me to head back inside the cathedral for my own safety. I snuck back inside and tried to figure out a way to end all this when Frollo came barging in. I tried to stop him, but he pushed me down the stairs and headed upstairs. I explained all of this to your friend, who proclaimed that he'll resolve this issue and headed upstairs."

"By himself?! Damnit, Phoebus!" Ignis looked around and saw a spiral staircase ascending upwards, presuming that that was the way in which Phoebus came towards. The Archdeacon tried to stop her, but Ignis refused to listen and, despite her injured state, moved much faster than the Archdeacon.

Phoebus ran, halfway to the bell tower where he was certain that was where Judge Frollo was with sword in hand. As much as he despised the man, he had no intentions of murdering him, only using the sword as self-defense and to defeat the monstrous being he and Ignis fought earlier. He left Ignis behind because she needed rest, whether she wanted to or not, and while he was aware that he was certainly not going to be a match for the monstrous being, he reminded himself that he was only there to apprehend Frollo and have him answer his crimes at the Royal Court. As long as he focused that and escaped from the monstrous being, there was still a chance for justice.

"Phoebus!"

Coming to a stop, Phoebus paused and whirled around to see Ignis running towards him, huffing for breath. "You should have stayed behind!" he yelled angrily. "Ignis, I appreciate your concern, but you are in no condition to help!"

"You should be telling yourself that! You're in no condition to even take on that Unversed even if you reach Frollo!" argued Ignis. "There's no doubt in my mind that the Unversed is going to be up there! You can't take her on! I'm the only one who has a chance against that thing! You shouldn't have left me behind!"

"You're injured! Much more tired than me, and that monster broke your arm!" Phoebus pointed to Ignis' slightly dangling left arm. "How are you going to fight with only one available arm left?!"

With a painful grunt, Ignis tried lifting up her left arm. Earlier, she had casted a healing spell on it, and while her healing spells instantly took care of gashes and flesh wounds, it does take a longer, significant amount of time and healing magic to mend broken bones. While some pain from her left arm had vanished, her bones were still somewhat broken and her arm felt like breaking apart any second the longer she kept her arm up.

"I can still fight..." grunted Ignis, winching at the pain and trying to endure the pain as she forced her left arm to roll around to show it was fine. "I'm fine...I'm fine! As long as I don't use my left arm, it'll be alright!"

Phoebus still wasn't convinced. "You're not coming with me. Go back downstairs and rest."

"...You can't stop me," Ignis stated. "Even though I'm injured, I can still take you on. But you and I both know we don't want to come to that, do we? And we don't have time to waste, anyways! If you don't take me along, you're just asking to die!"

Phoebus sighed, scratching his head. "I know that there's no way I can ever defeat that beast, but I also can't let you come with me, Ignis. In any other situation, I would have happily accepted your help, but you are in no condition! You're far too injured!"

"So are you!" argued back Ignis. 'If I had anymore magic power left, I would have healed both him and myself! I can force myself, but that would mean taking the risk of a Magic Burst! ...I may have to take that risk when casting magic again later against that Unversed, but still!' "If worst comes to worst, then we'll both run away to live another day! But you've seen me take on that Unversed! You've seen me being able to fight on my own! At the very least, we have to try!"

"..." Phoebus sighed tiredly. "You're right. You're absolutely right. We don't have time to argue, and I could use some help. But the main objective here is to find Judge Frollo and arrest him. From what the Archdeacon told me, he's up at the bell tower."

"That prick...! He's the one responsible for all of this...!" growled Ignis. "But, how do we know he's still alive? For all we know, he's probably being maimed by that Unversed as we speak!"

"I don't know, but if there's a chance that he's still alive, then he needs to pay for his crimes," said Phoebus. "Ignis, I'll allow you to come with me, but the moment things start to get worst, then I want you to run away."

"Run away-?!"

"It's for your own good. Please."

"...If that's a command, then let me ask something in return!" said Ignis. "If...If I ever get the urge to kill Frollo, you have to stop me. I don't know I'll be able to control myself if I see that guy..."

"Alright."

---

"Ah, if it isn't Captain-No, rather I should say, former Captain Phoebus. And you even brought that vile sinner with you."

Frollo sneered at the two once they arrived, holding onto a sword with blood gleaming on the blade. Phoebus and Ignis glanced at it and they paled, having a good guess as to how the sword ended up in its current state. Their expressions grew dark, filled with silent rage towards the one man that practically caused an apocalypse.

Ignis glanced around, still angry but now mildly confused. Where was the Unversed? She couldn't have gone and left, could she? They both witnessed the Unversed leap up to the top of the bell tower, so she should be somewhere around here.

She mustn't give into her own rage. Not again. She absolutely hated Frollo, and her anger towards him will not fade away, that's for certain. But right now, her priority was taking out that Unversed before she causes more trouble to the city. She has to divert and focus all her anger from Frollo towards the Unversed when the time comes.

But nobody said it was going to be that easy.

"Judge Claude Frollo, I am placing you under arrest," announced Phoebus, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at Frollo. "Resist, and-"

"And what? You think you're in any position to place me under arrest?" questioned Frollo calmly. "The moment you disobeyed my orders to burn down that windmill home, that was the moment you lost your position as Captain of the Guards."

"I will NEVER burn down a house full of innocents!" growled Phoebus. "What you ordered me to was inhumane! Inside was an innocent family! Children were inside!"

"What?" Ignis turned to Phoebus, surprised. She hadn't heard this tale from Phoebus, but that could explain why he was no longer the Captain, and only further fueled her hatred towards Frollo, turning to glare at him. "You tried to burn down a home with innocents inside?! What is wrong with you?!"

"They were cooperating with the gypsies, and as such, they have acted against God's will," replied Frollo nonchalantly. "As the Minister of Justice, I only did what was necessary and punished those vile sinners."

"Cooperating with-Does it even matter whether or not they were?!" questioned Ignis. "The fact that you knowingly and willingly tried to murder an innocent family goes to show you were definitely acting on your own will! Gypsy this, gypsy that! This whole mess started because of you, you godforsaken asshole! Because of your weird obsession with Esmeralda, and your stupid racism towards the gypsies, so many people, both gypsies and the civilians, are dead! And you're never going to admit that you're wrong, because you're such a goddamn narcissistic asshole who hides behind 'God' like a coward!"

Frollo was appalled by the choice words Ignis had to describe towards him and was trembling with rage at the gall of a vile sinner daring to stand up against him, the Minister of Justice! Pointing his finger at her, Frollo angrily stated, "Never, in all my life, have I ever met a human as selfish and bloodthirsty as you, girl!"

Phoebus stepped forward, defending Ignis and angered at Frollo's own hypocrisy. "How dare you-?!"

"Insulting me as though you claim to know what sort of person I am, not knowing the things and sacrifices I do for this city, and worst of all, massacring my good men while defending more sinners! Have you no decency?!"

Good men? Sinners? That's his own view on this entire situation?! Ignis gritted her teeth, barking out, "I tried to be decent and spare your men, but look how that turned out! Your own men violated and killed so many innocents! Those weren't the works of gypsies! They were from your own men!"

"I believe you are the one misunderstanding things here, young lady," said Frollo. "I ordered my men to interrogate any and all suspects and if they were to get in their way, use whatever means necessary to force them away. They simply did their orders."

"I've done and witnessed extreme orders, but they were never this extreme!" shouted Phoebus. "The men back in the army were much more disciplined than your own men! You should have disciplined them more! This is your fault, Judge Frollo, and you cannot blame this on anyone but yourself!"

"Why do you keep calling him 'Judge?' Far as I know, he never deserved a title if a tyrant like him is in charge!" said Ignis.

Frollo looked as though he wanted to yell at them more but took a deep breath, quelling his temper. "Everything I have done, I have done for this city, the people, and especially Notre Dame. As Minister of Justice, it is not my duty to be liked, but to deliver swift justice onto any evildoers! I cannot fathom how you two believe what I have done is not under God's will!"

"Of course not!" shouted Ignis. "You're still too busy trying to uphold a pointless policy that any and all gypsies are automatically evil when everyone knows that's just a big, fuckin' waste of time and a way to flank off your racism!"

"The gypsies are a foul, race full of sinners that use witchcraft to deceive the people so they can pillage and murder them to their heart's content! Any and all gypsies will be interrogated and arrested without question!"

"That's a fuckin', broken system that shouldn't have existed from the start, and deep down, you know it!"

"Thievery, bribery, all works from the gypsies! I challenge you to prove me wrong, that the gypsies haven't committed these heinous crimes! Unless you, too, have also committed these sins!"

"I WOULD NE-!"

"Enough!" hollered Phoebus. "Ignis, calm yourself. You're letting your anger get the best of you."

"But-!"

"I know. But letting your anger rise up like this will not help anyone. Calm down."

"You can't possi-"

"Ignis. Calm. Down."

Reluctantly, Ignis heeded Phoebus' command, though she still glared at Frollo. Frollo spoke up once more. "Surrender, the both of you! Surrender for your crimes and receive judgement! Only then will you be able to atone for your sins!"

"NO!"

Frollo gritted his teeth, starting to lose his patience. Phoebus was about to intervene when Ignis looked back at him, baring a determined look that silently asked him to trust her. Phoebus ultimately relented, deciding to put his trust in her, thinking that she wouldn't attack Frollo.

Ignis continued, "We won't relent to your injustice! We have power, and we're supposed to use it to protect and help the people! But you only use yours to terrorize others!"

"And you haven't?" questioned Frollo.

"I didn't want to kill those men! I didn't mean to lose myself! All I wanted to do was protect the people here! Protect the people you were supposed to be protecting! I did so many terrible, unforgivable things because I had no other choice! How could you just stand there, so calmly accepting this reality where prejudice allowed your men to kill so many innocents, including the gypsies?!"

"It is not as though I wished for this outcome as well," said Frollo. "There is so much filth in this city that needs to be purged. My laws has disciplined much within the city, but there are still those that sinned. Despite my laws, I have given everyone a chance, including the gypsies, but not everything goes right in law. Countless gypsies in this city are full of evil souls that must be dealt with! I despite the gypsies because of their witchcraft, but another reason is that they have committed more sins than any other civilian in this city! Their festivities which are clearly witchcraft rituals, stealing gold that wasn't rightfully theirs, and even downright lying! Pah!"

"...Evil?" questioned Ignis. "Witchcraft? Their own performances, dances, and songs are considered 'witchcraft' to you? You disregarded them for...Did you even try to understand any their cultures at all? Maybe...maybe some of the gypsies really did commit crimes, but that doesn't mean that all the gypsies had to die so horribly like the other innocents from that stupid, selfish order you gave! It was...it was a massacre!"

"A...massacre?" wondered Phoebus breathlessly.

As though confirming his line of questioning, Ignis nodded. "Yeah, that's right...Many people I tried to protect...both gypsy or not, they were all dead...Everyone's dead-except me. You say that everything you've done was for the city, for the people, but you forsake the gypsies without any hesitation! If you truly want to help the city, that means you have to save the gypsies as well! Maybe you'll continue hating the gypsies, but you have to acknowledge that they have lives as well! They're just as much human as we are! But no, you just go around, arresting and even executing them! I bet you didn't even bother giving them fair trials, too! If you're the Minister of Justice, then you have to extend all fair rights to everyone, including the gypsies! And yet, even after all this, you still can't see anything wrong in your own world of 'justice?' Tell me!"

"I see no impurities in the world I seek," spoke Frollo without hesitation. "If the gypsies never resorted to witchcraft, perhaps they would have been better people, but in the world I seek, there is no need for any sort of gypsy filth."

"Frollo, you-!"

Now ignoring Ignis, Frollo turned to Phoebus. "As much as a traitor you are, you, of all people, must understand the importance of duty."

"I do, and the only regret I have...is being under orders of a madman."

Frollo's expression darkened and he lifted his head, glaring at Phoebus as though he was trash. "I see...so even you do not understand the true value of justice under God's will. You do not even understand a single bit about the sacrifices I've done by judging the sinners in this city!"

"So, you just go after any sort of 'sinner' and order your men, soldiers meant to protect the innocents, to 'judge' them?! Like some sort of god?" questioned Ignis angrily. "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I am the Minister of Justice! God's word is law, and I am merely his messenger carrying out any sentence for justice!" replied Frollo. "Do not blame me for the actions of my men! I simply commanded my men, and they were the ones who carried out the sinners' sentences! If the sinners haven't sinner, then I wouldn't have resorted to arresting or execution!"

"Oh, that's bullshit and we both know it!" shouted Ignis. "Shifting your own violent actions onto your own men, huh? Just because you never killed anyone doesn't mean your hands aren't dirty! No matter what, YOU gave the command! You caused so much pain and misery to many others, so don't even think about running away from what you've done!"

"I wouldn't expect a naïve, idiotic girl like you to understand! You fail to understand the righteous justice I have placed onto this city that has kept many people in check!"

"You know," started Ignis. "You keep going on and on about this justice crap, but you're using violence and prejudice to prove your point! Is that what a true leader does? Rule people with fear? That's something only a tyrant would do!"

"I have no regrets," spat Frollo. "All I have done, it has been done in the name of the Lord! No matter who you are, if you have sinned, then you must atone for your sins! The gypsies are a vile race full of liars, thieves, and murderers that have casted witchcraft onto others to perform their evil deeds! And as such, from this moment forward, I, the Minister of Justice, Judge Claude Frollo...declare the gypsies to be exterminated!"

"What?!" exclaimed both Ignis and Phoebus, shocked.

Darkness lurked out of Frollo's body as he began muttering to himself, encouraging himself as his mind had steeled, set on doing the one task he truly believed to be righteous. "Yes...I should have done this a long, long time ago...If that was the case, then that witch would not have casted her spell on me...this city would have been purified a lot sooner...yes...God would not want any sinners to roam this city any longer! This is God's will! THIS IS JUSTICE!"

As quick as lightning, Ignis whipped out her Keyblade, pointing it menacingly at Frollo. She drew herself to her full height with one single emotion on her face: Rage. Rage, as white-hot as the sun.

"Racism is NOT JUSTICE! Setting peoples' homes on fire is NOT JUSTICE! Endangering innocent lives to find one single girl is NOT JUSTICE! Tricking and killing the very same citizens you swore to protect is NOT JUSTICE! Children being chased and shot down by arrows is NOT JUSTICE! Newborn infants being speared by pikes is NOT JUSTICE! Women being violated, toyed around like...like actual toys, and..." Ignis paused, swallowing the hot bile forming within her throat and holding back her tears before she continued. "...and...And being raped is NOT JUSTICE!"

Phoebus only stared at Ignis in horror upon hearing the unbelievable things coming from her mouth. He did indeed hear horrible things that the soldiers were doing all across the city, but never, in his entire life, did he ever something as...inhumane as this. Only a monster wouldn't care about this...injustice.

"...And? What of it?"

Silence. That was the best thing to describe the situation right now. It was as if all of the rage and anger that was in the air had magically vanished in an instant from Frollo's response.

"So, there were casualties during my men's investigation. A small price to pay for justice to be served. Things like that happen everyday around the world, so it's not as though crying will change anything."

Cruel approval. That's exactly what Frollo's doing. He's cruelly approving his men's inhumane actions all for the sake of justice, claiming that the loss of many innocents was a small price to pay.

Phoebus...couldn't believe it until he witnessed it for himself, and his wish was granted. Sure, the Minister of Justice's job wasn't to be liked, but to deliver swift and justified sentences to any sinner in this city. But right up to this point, Phoebus genuinely thought that Frollo was doing everything for the people in Notre Dame.

Instead, he's only proven how much of an inhumane monster he truly is.

Phoebus never felt so much...fear coming towards one single man. He's fought many battles in the war, each one of them terrifying because one can never tell when they could lose their life, and he's faced all sorts of fears throughout his life, but this? This was on a whole new level. He doesn't think anyone else could tolerate his existence any longer than him, but even so,, Claude Frollo needed to be captured and taken to trial for his crimes.

And that's why Phoebus had to stop Ignis from killing him.

It was due to his battle instincts and senses honed from countless war-like battles that caused him to react quickly than ever before in his life. The moment he sensed Ignis' darkened mood, the air around her suddenly chilled, and he just knew that she was going to kill Frollo. He grabbed ahold of her arm and held her back, stopping her from attempting to lunge forward and stab her weapon right into Frollo's heart. He took one look at her face and knew that she was beyond angry.

There is no word in existence that would strongly describe the extreme hatred filling Ignis' heart. Hatred dyes her brain red. She's about to lose her mind. She's about ot break down. Fatigue, injuries, stress, all of them was starting to build up inside of her as one thought stuck to her mind.

She will never forgive this man.

This man, who have trampled over lives like they were nothing. This man, who thought the innocent lives that died during the past few days were but a small price to pay for justice. This man, who allowed crime all for the sake of finding one woman. This man, who thought it was okay and deemed necessary for even children to die.

Such a being should never have come into existence. Even if someone forgives him, even if God himself forgave him, Ignis would never forgive him.

"Ignis, calm down-!"

"YOU-! FUCKER! MONSTER!" Ignis found herself struggling against Phoebus who was holding her back with every ounce of strength he had left. If it weren't for the fact that she was already exhausted, she would have broken free from her monstrous newfound rage as she continued to spat vile insults at Frollo. "HOW DARE YOU?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE! BUT YOU'RE DISREGARDING THEIR LIVES LIKE TRASH! I'LL NEVER, EVER, EVER-!"

Suddenly, having been attracted by the forces of darkness lurking from Frollo and Ignis' increasingly growing hatred and rage, the cow-like Unversed reemerged, crashing down on the same site they were in. Her critical injuries from Ignis' previously used Hell Firaga spell could fully be evident on her body and is proof that magic is a deep weakness for the cow-like Unversed.

Frollo crackled with laughter. "Yes...YES! Beata Maria has appeared to strike you sinners down! Oh, dearly Maria! Please purge these sinners from their sins and punish them with justice in the name of the Lord!"

Ignis wasn't even going to question it anymore. The man known as Claude Frollo had already lost his mind the moment he sent out the order to find Esmeralda that led to the slaughter of so many innocents. All Ignis saw was a sad, old man grasping hope in the form of a powerful Unversed.

And it was her duty not only to slay the Unversed, but to extinguish the hopes of that sad, old man.

"...Phoebus," spoke Ignis, still seething with rage. "I'll deal with the monster. You better deal with Frollo, because when I finish with the Unversed, I'm coming back. And I will not be happy when I see his ugly mug...!"

"...I will arrest him," Phoebus solemnly promised, releasing Ignis. "Just leave him to me."

A part of Ignis was reluctant to obey Phoebus, deeply wishing to slay Frollo right before her. But, at the same time, another part of her knew that it wasn't the right thing to do. Frollo definitely needed to answer for his crimes and be brought to court, alive. That, and she couldn't ignore the large, cow-like Unversed. Hardening her expression once more, Ignis leveled her glare towards the cow-like Unversed before dashing at the Unversed.

The cow-like Unversed met her dashing approach by slamming her whip down from a long-range distance. The ground trembled under the weight and immense impact of the whip as the whip lashed towards Ignis. The whip's slash could not have been more easier to anticipate, as despite its predictable path, the speed of the weapon came so fast, Ignis almost miscalculated her dodge and felt some strands of her bloodied-up hair get sliced off. As Ignis reached closer to the cow-like Unversed's location, the cow-like Unversed managed to twist her body around like a rapid hurricane, bringing her whip around so fast that Ignis could barely even perceive it on time to block the lash strike with her Keyblade.

While she managed to avoid being sliced in half, the impact sent her flying, rolling uncontrollably several times on the ground before coming to a stop. As Ignis got up, she was painfully aware of the shooting agony up her left arm. Realizing that she needed to step up her A-game, Ignis slammed her free hand against her pauldron, activating her Keyblade Armor that would allow more movement and grant her a little more extra protection. Though her left arm was uncomfortably stiff due to being encased in armor, Ignis decided to bare with the pain and charged forward.

It was certainly a challenge trying to reach the cow-like Unversed, even with her Keyblade Armor on. The only thing equivalent to a buzzing bug to her right now was the cow-like Unversed's whip. Multiple consecutive slashes deflected the whip slashes, and comparing the two combatants' strengths, the cow-like Unversed's is simply too overwhelming. The Unversed's whip slashes were like that of a hurricane, while her whip, spiral thrusting techniques were akin to a rock drill, spinning at all directions that will mercilessly destroy all that would dare approach.

Ignis' current options were to either block or dodge. Ducking and dodging around another combo of whip attacks, Ignis backflipped when another whip attack came from beneath, slashing upwards and trying to catch her off guard as debris flew by. If Ignis take a full-on, direct hit, it'll prove disastrous for her, even with her having high defense.

The only way for Ignis to match the cow-like Unversed's storm-like blows, especially since she was down one arm, was to increase her strength with support magic, but because Ignis was out of magic power earlier, instead of magic power, she had to sacrifice bits of her own life force to pay the price for more strengthening-like support magic, causing her to cough out blood from underneath her helmet from the Magic Burst's effect. Still, her efforts were proving to blossom into fruition, as she repels the attacks straight on without faltering, slowly getting closer and closer to the Unversed, yet still dangerously risking her life in the process. She deflects each of the blows because she must, for if she doesn't, she'll be slashed in half. Each blow that continues without pause are in fact blows that she blocks with all her might.

Both of them continued clashing and deflecting. Their ranges, speed, strengths are all too different, so naturally, if one has much weaker stats than the other, they would lose. In this case, Ignis should have already lost, but she hasn't so far, but it won't be long before her luck runs out.

Deliberately placing herself within the storm of blade-like slashes, Ignis doesn't back down and continues dodging and deflecting. Continuing this path will only make her be cut down in the end unless she tries a different approach. Both their weapons makes sparks, and Ignis' Keyblade Armor splinters bit by bit for each blow. It's only natural. Ignis' defense and weakened state can't hold much against the cow-like Unversed ferocious attacks, so her armor is chipped away with passing time.

Finally, the cow-like Unversed's whirlwind-like whip slash cuts through the wind and flings back at the defending Ignis. Despite the pain, Ignis hit the ground first before getting back up and charging bravely at her opponent. Breathing wildly, Ignis' movements start growing slower and starting to lose strength. All of her energy was spent preventing the cow-like Unversed from reducing her into a bloody stain on the ground. All she could do at this point was either dodge or block.

Leaping away from the latest attack, Ignis leapt onto another rooftop of the cathedral, running across it easily as though she was still on solid ground. With the way things were going, the cow-like Unversed might end up destroying the very same area Phoebus and Frollo were in, and while she didn't care much for Frollo, she at least had some sense not wanting to harm Phoebus in any way, so she figured to take the fight elsewhere. Hearing the enraged roar from the cow-like Unversed and nearly tripping when the Unversed crashed onto the same rooftop she was running across, Ignis chose to continue leading her opponent elsewhere, leaping from rooftop to rooftop across the cathedral and other connected towers.

Due to being far away, the cow-like Unversed took advantage of the long range her whip could provide and swung it at her from behind. Sensing impeding danger, Ignis turned around and barely managed to block the swing with her Keyblade; the sheer force of the strike sending her flying, crashing into the pavement of another area. With a bit of difficulty, Ignis got to her feet, coughing out more blood from her mouth.

With another fearsome roar, the cow-like Unversed struck her whip against the ground, creating cracks in the earth and causing debris and dust to rise. Ignis forced her tired and injured body to leap away from cracks and debris speeding towards her and blocked the whip's next attack.

After a heavy exchange of dodges and blows, one critical blow from the cow-like Unversed finally landed a hit onto Ignis' armored torso, sending her soaring through the air and crashing onto the bell tower. The full impact of the blow would have done more than broken her bones; it would have utterly broke her body in half. Luckily, because of Ignis' defensive magic and her armor protecting her, she withstood the brutal blow at the last second, though at the cost of some of her life force decreasing and her Keyblade Armor and armor beneath to shatter, leaving Ignis in her regular red clothing, as well in a worst, battered state.

Maybe it was due to her injuries or her numb ears, but Ignis couldn't quite hear properly at the moment. But her eyes, or rather, her single one eye, was still functioning, so she was able to witness Phoebus being impaled.

"...Eh?"

Phoebus being impaled meant that he was being defeated. The Captain of the guards, a man who fought in many battles in a war, defeated by a clergyman who has never fought a battle in his life? Impossible. And yet, the squelch of pierced flesh was seen right before her eyes. But it wasn't the familiar steel of a blade that impaled Phoebus.

It was a blade of darkness.

More specifically, a tentacle of darkness shaped like a blade had pierced through Phoebus. That tentacle of darkness came from the shimmering shadows surrounding Frollo, portraying as his own twisted darkness. And it didn't look as though it was the first time Phoebus was pierced through. Multiple stab-like wounds covered his body as he staggered to stay on his feet.

No wonder Phoebus couldn't arrest him earlier. An average human being could never stand up against powerful forces that Frollo possessed.

With a motion of his arm, Frollo commanded his shadow-like tentacles to lift up a helpless and heavily injured Phoebus before making a swipe motion, throwing Phoebus off the tentacle towards his impeding doom below the bell tower.

At least, that was meant to be until Ignis intervened.

Summoning what little strength remained from her body and focusing it all into lunging towards Phoebus, Ignis flew her right arm out, desperate for anything just to save him. Fingers brushing against the fabric of his torn-up and blood-stained shirt, Ignis' fist closed tight on his wrist as though her life depended on it. Because Phoebus was heavier and she was overwhelmingly exhausted and injured, Ignis' body tipped over the railing, forcing her to reach her other arm out and grasp the railing tightly on the edge of the rail.

"GH-! GAAAAH!"

A painful scream escaped from Ignis' lips as she held dearly for life, It was bad enough that she was desperately holding onto Phoebus' life with her right arm, but her left arm felt as though it was going to be torn apart. Aside from being downright having the bones broken and shattered, her left arm desperately needed medical attention, and using a broken arm to try and hoist herself up while holding onto the weight of another man with her other arm wasn't helping the issue. She could feel her grip slipping and loosening, and yet she held herself strong, if only for Phoebus' sake.

Ignis was so focused in keeping both herself and Phoebus alive, that she hardly noticed Frollo's approach until it was too late. She craned her neck, and her eyes widened with horror as she finally saw the judge for who he really was.

A demon cloaked in human flesh. That was possibly the best description she could grant to him. Standing before the balcony, raising his blood-stained sword above his head with the shadows squirming around him, his appearance truly revealed his nature to be that of a demon. His black robes swaying in sync with the cracking sparks of fire and howling winds, eyes gleaming malicious intent as deadly as the hell-like fires beneath the cathedral, and his grin equally matching that of a demon. With one sentence, Judge Claude Frollo sealed the fate of Notre Dame.

"And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!"

And with that, Frollo swung his sword with all his might, slicing off her arm.

---

...Was it pain that woke her up? The shock of remembering the earlier events that transpired? ...Strangely enough, darkness waking her up?

Whatever it was, Ignis started to wake up, and she remembered everything. From the confrontation of Frollo, the battle, trying to save Phoebus, and...her left arm.

The arm that no longer exists.

Glancing over to her left arm, all that was left was a bloody stump of where her arm originally was. Nothing but bloody meat in what remained of her left arm. She recalled Frollo being responsible for taking off her arm, so that means that he was the one who took out most of her left arm, leaving her with a stump that may as well be a mess of blood, bone, and flesh.

Hot, boiling sensations rang across her body from her wounds and bloody stump. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurts!

She let out a scream. No, in this instance, a scream wouldn't be the appropriate term. She let out a roar. She screams in order to ward off the pain in her arm. She screamed until her dried throat could no longer produce anymore screams, being so broken and sore that Ignis felt like she could choke out blood.

She was trembling, scared because she just lost an arm. She imagined this to be the worst kind of pain possible, because now she was missing an arm. She never thought such a thing could happen to her. She was so terrified, she couldn't move nor think straight, but...one thing was concerning for her.

Where...was Phoebus?

Taking in her surroundings, Ignis found that she was back on the ground, looking up at the Notre Dame cathedral still surrounded by rivers of molten lead. All around her, corpses of civilians and soldiers littered everywhere; their deaths differing from being burnt to death, getting stabbed, and so forth. As Ignis struggled through the pain and lack of strength to stand up, she finally realized that her back was...wet?

Whirling around, Ignis' mind could no longer comprehend the horrors she's witnessed as she saw yet another horrifying sight before her.

It was Phoebus. But, he was no longer alive. His entire body was...splintered. Multiple stab wounds darkened his white shirt into red, his flesh fractured,bones sticking out with blood pooling from his body. Blood from the back of his head joined the pool of blood as his head was cracked and his neck twisted to the side. He didn't just die from his wounds; he died from falling from so high up. And if he and Ignis both fell at the same time, then he must have acted as a shield and a cushion to block her fall. It was the only explanation why Ignis was still alive.

He sacrificed himself for her, and she could never repay him for that.

The gore-like sight of Phoebus' corpse was what finally broke down Ignis.

Horrendous screams clawed their way out of her throat, tearing through her vocal cords and echoing across the hell-like warzone. It was a scream that didn't take long to revert into sobs and would pierce the hearts of many who heard it, causing a widespread of heartbroken sympathy.

Ignis' heart felt as though it was being torn and ripped apart. Splintered, tortured, minced, all sorts that was causing indescribable amounts of pain. She could barely her mind, body, and emotions in check, and now the pain within her heart was getting out of control.

She couldn't even breath to save her life. She couldn't without smelling the blood on her clothes. The blood on Phoebus. The blood of countless corpses surrounding the area. The scent of molten lead and the fires in the background.

Ignis was breaking down, physically, mentally, emotionally, and in so many more ways. Her mind was twisting and lost in a fog of emotions, her body in excruciating pain, and her will to move-no, her will to live was diminishing. Her entire world was collapsing and breaking apart as reality was hitting her in the worst possible ways, forcing her to acknowledge that any fun dreams of adventure had no place in the cruel reality before her.

All she could do was acknowledge that this was reality. All she could do was breath, even enduring the repulse to vomit from smelling so much death in the air. All she could do was sob and blink tears from her eyes.

She felt like the most absolute worst person in the world. No, not just that. She felt like the most disgusting and cruelest person in the world, especially covered in dirty, sweat, blood, and tears from both her and the enemies she killed. She was almost glad that her friends and Master weren't here to see her pathetic state.

Ignis was bawling her eyes out, not caring who was around to hear her screams or wails any longer. She failed. She failed her duty as a Keyblade wielder. She was supposed to protect the innocent, stop the evil, but all those around her died and despite giving it her all, it was never going to be enough. So many died...under her watch, no less!

Never, in her entire life, had she wanted to die more than at that very moment.

"I'm sorry...Aqua...Terra...Ven...Master Eraqus…I...I'm such a selfish, and horrible failure of a Keyblade wielder..."

She cursed herself over and over, for failing to live up to their expectations. As a Keyblade wielder, it was her duty to see it through that worlds could be saved with the power of the Keyblade, but in the span of a few days, this world was practically done for. If only she had been more faster and stronger...but such thoughts were useless now.

She was blind to everything else going on in the background. The fires, the rivers of molten lead, the corpses, the increasingly growing pools of blood...She was blind to everything except one thing. A familiar purple and black striped hat fluttered its way down to the ground near her, and her vision honed on that one particular piece of clothing that belonged to the most horrible person she's hated in her life.

A flash of anger seared through her numb soul, her breathing picking up nosily and her body quivering in seething rage. "You bastard..." She gritted her teeth, bailing her fist. "You racist scum...You prideful, fuckin' tyrant..." She reached out and grabbed the hat, twisting and squeezing it as she imagined the hat to be Frollo. "You...! You...! YOU GODDAMNED-!"

Face red, eyes watering, and lips trembling, Ignis heaved out a painful cry. She threw the hat away, finding very small relief in watching it burn to ashes. That relief, just like the ashes, burned away when reality made her realize once again that one cannot turn back the hands of time. She can't go back to where all of this started, she can't go back to save more lives, she can't go back to save Esmeralda and Quasimodo, she can't go back to save Phoebus, and she certainly can't go back to stop her arm from being chopped off.

Did that mean...everything she's done since the past few days, all of those saving, the killing...was it all for nothing if it was eventually going to lead to this awful outcome?

A crash alerted her, and Ignis didn't even need to look up to know that it was the cow-like Unversed. Unknown to her, the cow-like Unversed was quite different this time, especially with blood and guts splattered on the outside of her jaws. She was a lot bigger and stronger too, and this was because she had killed and devoured the man known as Judge Claude Frollo, relishing in the large amount of negativity he had within him right before eating him alive to gain more strength and heal a lot of her wounds.

The cow-like Unversed, seeing as Ignis wasn't even trying to take a battle stance and was kneeling down on the ground, seemingly in defeat, decided to take the opportunity to finish off the last obstacle in her path. She pounced off the ground, high in mid-air and holding her whip above her head. She arches her back as though drawing a bow before slamming down her whip with a loud battle cry.

Her latest whip attack was hurled using all of her newly gained strength, and it cannot be dodged, seeing how closely it was getting towards Ignis as the seconds ticked down. Combined with her enhanced strength and the fact that the Unversed was already insanely strong to begin with, this blow would surely prove fatal-no, it would definitely kill Ignis if it made a direct hit on her!

The lashing whip blazed forth, and sensing the whip that'll spell her destruction approaching, Ignis continued staying still in her distraught position. In a split second, with her head down, she closed her eyes, as though accepting death-!

"Reflega!"

One of Ignis' most powerful defensive spells emerged in the form of a crystalized dome surrounding the cow-like Unversed, meant to be impenetrable from all sides. The whip crashes against the shield and lashes back at its user, hitting the cow-like Unversed across the face, leaving a bloody gash on her face that left her shrieking in rage. The cow-like Unversed then begin unleashing a barrage of whip attacks in her rage, with all of them backlashing and being reflected back to hit several areas of her body. With each attack, she placed more and more strength within, but they kept being blocked over and over by Ignis' defensive shield spell.

Ignis was dying. She could feel it within her. It was bad enough that she was heavily injured, exhausted beyond her limits, and losing blood from losing her arm, but continuously using magic, especially high-tier ones when she had no more magic power to spare, was extremely hazardous for her. Sacrificing her life force to replace the appropriate amount of magic power for her spells was something she deliberately had done, just like she did when she casted the Reflega spell. And yet, she didn't seem like she cared nor minded.

Right before her was an enemy; an Unversed. Earlier, she lamented for the innocent souls of the city and the unfortunate fate that this world had come to, but since the appearance of the cow-like Unversed, Ignis knew she needed to uphold her duty by getting rid of the Unversed. If she let it be, the cow-like Unversed would just go rampage and exterminate the remainder of the civilians in this city, and she couldn't have that.

She was in no physical condition to engage the Unversed into a close combat battle any longer, so the only thing she could rely on is her magic. Right now, she's keeping her trapped and at bay within her most strongest Reflect magic, but she's purposely using and exchanging her own life force for magic power to power up and cast the Reflect magic; a consequence of Magic Burst that Ignis was now grateful for since she now has a means of attacking and defending herself in her current state.

Blood splat out of her mouth as she struggled to keep up the Reflega magic. Her life force was fading by the seconds, and Ignis was now preparing to cast a secondary spell while keeping up Reflega. Ignis planned on using Summoning Magic to summon her Familiar, Pyra, to finish off the Unversed after dropping off the Reflega magic spell.

Ignis was going to die here. She was going to die to save what remained of this world and its civilians. It was the least she could do for failing her duties, making her friends hate her, and for disobeying her Master for who knows how many times. At least this way, she would die not just to destroy the Unversed, but more importantly, to become the last, remaining shield for the people of Notre Dame.

Summoning Phoenix Fairy, Ignis stabbed it into the ground before glancing up at the night sky reverting into warm colors of red, orange, and pink, noting that dawn was about to arrive soon. How fitting. She gave a sad smile with blood still spilling out of her mouth. Every single fiber within her body was screaming in pain, and yet, as she gathered enough magic power to summon her Familiar, all Ignis could say was this.

"It's been fun, guys...Aqua...Ven...Terra...Vani...Master Eraqus...I'm sorry...You chose the wrong student..."

Lowering her head, Ignis gritted her teeth and felt her life force flowing out of her body to compensate for her lack of magic power. The magic summoning circle for her Summoning Magic far extended and grew bigger and bigger until it reached completion. Ignis wasn't just aiming for her Familiar's summoning, she was also enhancing her Familiar's power so that the Familiar, Pyra, would be far stronger than her normal Familiar form, which didn't need to require so much magic power that was sucking out so much of Ignis' life force. Upon reaching completion, Ignis shouted out loud for the world to hear, letting her life force in place of her magic power to explode.

"Ignis, disgraceful Keyblade apprentice of Master Eraqus, summons forth her Familiar! Come forth, Pyra!"

At that very moment, as the Reflega barrier lowered until vanishing completely, the Familiar Ignis had deemed as Pyra, rose and emerged from the magic summoning circle, acting as protection in front of her summoner and master, as well as taking an offensive stance against the cow-like Unversed.

Familiars act as a sort of spirit animal for their caster, and as such, Ignis' Familiar took the form of...a turtle. No, more specifically, she took the form of a giant fiery tortoise shielding Ignis. Because Ignis' elemental attribute was fire, Ignis' tortoise Familiar was completely embedded in flames, even the shell part, though her eyes held a fierce determination within them. It was a strange combination, as tortoises were normally creatures of water, and water is an element opposite to fire.

Ignis' current state was...currently unusual. Fortunately, she wasn't dead, but her body was glowing a golden light. She was staying in the same place, at the same position. She was staring blankly into space with lifeless eyes and had gone completely silent; the air in the battlefield sharpening in a heated manner, especially with the appearance of the tortoise Familiar, Pyra.

But, she did snap out of it and wondered, why wasn't she dead? She was certain that she would certainly have died once she casted her Summoning Magic, but her body felt fine, though she did noticed the golden glow in her body. Perhaps the golden glow was the source of her puzzling situation? And...was it just her, or did it feel like her magic power had been fully restored?

"C..Curaga…?"

Green illuminant light joined in with the golden glow temporarily on her body, instantly healing all of her wounds and rejuvenating her strength, though her right eye and her left arm still remained unfixed, especially since her arm was no longer there. What was even more amazing was that despite using a spell, it was as though her magic power gauge had instantly refilled even afterwards.

Just where did this power come from? And why, why did it activate only just now? If this power granted her unlimited amounts of magic power, then...wait, a memory flashed in her mind, as though trying to conjure the answer towards her.

---

Flashback...

Later, while the bayou wedding was still commencing, Ignis glanced around and saw the wedding guests have either left or stayed around and were chatting with each other. She could see Tiana and Naveen happily talking with each other, and knowing they were going to be just fine, she turned around and started to leave, bypassing trees as she left the flower field.

"Ignis? Where are you going?"

Turning around, Ignis saw Louis and figured he must have saw her leaving before walking up to him. "Oh, I...I was just leaving, you know?"

"Oh, I see! You gonna come back and sing with us more or eat some of Mama Odie's special cakes an-"

"No, I mean, for good. I have to return home," said Ignis, staring up at the sky. "I've been gone for so long. Days...weeks...Definitely not months. I have people waiting for me to return home, and when I do...it's chores for a year, I bet."

"You don't sound that eager to return," said Louis.

"No, no, I do have to return. I spent so much time here, but I really do have to go. I can't waste anymore time here. Louis, can you tell Tiana and Naveen I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye to them before leaving? It's really important that I have to go now."

"I see...Oh! Mama Odie wanted me to give you something!" Louis said, revealing a small vial with a single golden drop of water inside.

"...Dude, it's a single drop of water."

"Nuh-uh! Mama Odie said it was a special magical potion! The greatest accomplishment she ever made! Called it, 'Second Chance Luck!' She wanted you to drink it! Said that if your life was in very close to danger, this would grant you immunity for a few minutes when the time came! Mama Odie's really good with fortunes, so I'm sure you'll need it!"

"Well...Alright. I swear, it better not turn me into a cricket again!" said Ignis, taking the vial. "I like Mama Odie, but I have an incredible, yet understanding distrust towards fortune tellers now. Alright, bottoms up!" She swallowed the single drop while down her throat, tasting absolutely nothing. Her body glowed gold for a single second before fading. "Huh. I don't feel any different."

"Well, maybe when the time comes, it'll have an effect!" said Louis.

---

'...I see. It was probably from Mama Odie's potion...If I had known, I...I would have pushed myself harder just to activate this...' Ignis rose to her feet; a regretful and sorrowful expression written on her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. Just how many more people would have been saved if she had known about this? Esmeralda, Quasimodo, and Phoebus would have still been alive, but she...!

As though sensing her jumbling emotions rising, Pyra began gathering fire-elemental energy in front of her jaws, storing up as much magic as possible to unleash a devastating blast. The cow-like Unversed, sensing immediate danger upon seeing the fire tortoise charging up, frantically began lashing out her whip to attack Pyra, only for her attacks to be ineffective and fires to spread across her whip due to Pyra's Familiar body fully being that of fire.

There was a number of things Ignis wanted to shout out. She wanted to curse this cruel, yet kind world. She wanted to angrily question why bad things must happen to good people? Why do so many innocents have to suffer and die from the actions of others? Why everything that's happened in the past few days led to this terrible outcome? All sort of things she wanted to scream out, pouring deep within her strong, yet fragile heart. But, she chose to continue protecting whoever and whatever was left in this world, therefore, as much as a mess of tears, blood, and sweat she is, she began to pour her heart out into the finale of this gruesome battle that should never have come to be.

"Stop it..."

Pyra was near completion with charging up her magic power; the signal of letting loose everything would come at the ignition of Ignis' heartfelt emotions exploding out.

"Stop trying to...STOP TAKING AWAY PEOPLE'S HOMES!"

A large, magically-charged blast of fire fired from Pyra's jaws, instantly engulfing the Unversed's entire body and the cathedral behind her. The Unversed stood no choice and was extinguished into ashes, and then nothing, and everything went white.

---

Up until the world of La Cité des Cloches, Ignis never fully understood the weight of responsibility.

Oh, she was aware that responsibility was a very important and serious thing in everyone's lives, and while she upheld the responsibility of keeping the Unversed out of people's lives, she never truly experienced the weight of failure and loss until now.

A true Keyblade wielder always must use his or her power to protect the weak and innocent, to stop the corrupted evil, keep the balance of worlds, and all that stuff. And Ignis? She failed in those responsibilities. She was stupidly naïve, a bit selfish, and fooled around in this world, not knowing about the upcoming disaster that fell upon this world until it was too late.

Until the End

Composed by: Casey Lee Williams

Sung by: Casey Lee Williams

A new day

Is gone without a trace.

All memories are dark and light is fading.

We try so hard,

But what are we fighting for?

We're losing our strength

How can we give more?

Time, falls away

The pain, always finds a way to stay.

The tears that you've shed

May find a tree to water

But only when you're stronger

I promise that I'll be here until the end.

I promise that I'll be here until the end.

A new dawn had risen the moment the last enemy, the Unversed, faded away from existence. The dawn signaled a glorious victory, but Ignis didn't feel like it was a victory. No, even after winning against her battle, it still felt like a loss. Too many losses and sacrifices...to end the turmoil within the city, which started a few days ago.

It was like the ultimate, "you won the battle, but you lost the war."

Whatever magical potion effect that was placed on Ignis, she could feel its power slipping away, and knew that she would never again reclaim it within a few more minutes. Therefore, Ignis decided to use her "unlimited" supply of magic power to cast water magic all around in the form of rain, showering the city with rain and extinguishing any fires and turning the rivers of molten lead into solid rock. This included putting out the fires of the cathedral, leaving it still standing, though on the brink of collapse with many burnt areas and the damage done during the invasion earlier. Normally, such a magical feat would have been impossible for Ignis, but due to the Mama Odie's "Second Chance Luck" potion, she was able to gain unlimited amounts of magic power temporarily, allowing her to cast as much water magic to put out the fires and reduce the damage to the city significantly. All while this was happening, Pyra, seeing as her role in battle was over, faded away, awaiting to be re-summoned by Ignis in the future.

Finally, the effects of the potion disappeared from Ignis' body, reverting her body back from the golden glow and no longer granting her the unlimited amounts of magic power. Standing up, Ignis raised her Keyblade, pointing in front of her to conjure up a light portal. She didn't care where she went anywhere. Falling into a volcano in another world, getting caught in a tsunami in another, she didn't care, so long as she didn't stay here any longer.

With a dark and tired look, Ignis staggered forward; her movements heavy and limp, as though she was barely walking with any life left.

Wherever she ended up, she found herself in a clear area, within another city. She wished that she ended up in immediate danger, like facing a tornado or falling into the ocean, instead. When she took another step forward, all of the exhaustion building up within the few days caught up to her and she found herself facedown on the ground.

Her body was barely functioning, but she could hear voices in the distance before her vision went dark.

---

READ! PLEASE READ! VERY IMPORTANT!

Whew! So, that was something! I certainly didn't expect this chapter to be this long, but I had a bunch of ideas that I wanted to incorporate into this chapter, thus this ended up being an extremely long chapter! I hope you guys really enjoyed this! You can also count this as a sort of apology gift for taking so long and this also counts as the big finale to the Notre Dame arc!

So, where do I begin? I have SO MUCH to talk about! I guess I could start off with the changes in the original movie vs the changes in here! So, the reason why there were significant changes throughout the original story scream of the Hunchback of Notre Dame was, well, as much as you guys would hate hearing this, but it was a little bit of Ignis' fault. Let me explain before you start throwing tomatoes!

Ignis' intervention in this world did a lot of good, with her saving people and helping out as much as she could. But, as much as her good intentions were, her intervention did a lot bad than good, even if she never directly or intended to cause a "bad ending" to the world of Notre Dame. It was like in the Justice League Flashpoint Paradox movie, where that Zoom guy told Flash that his actions caused a "time boom," which meant that Flash's one action changed so much in that timeline, like his good action caused a lot of troubling actions that made it an apocalyptic timeline, even though he never intended to do that.

For example, Ignis being injured when Phoebus and Quasimodo found her cost them a lot of time. The time they spent treating her wounds and talking to her, that time could have been better spent finding the Court of Miracles as intended at first. And they did find the Court of Miracles, but they were a little late, and just like in the original script of the movie, they were captured. Also, if Ignis hadn't continued to intervene and stop the soldiers, they wouldn't have gotten continuously furious and taken their anger out on the people by killing them, further spiraling Paris into a dark ending. Even though Ignis had little to nothing to do with Frollo and his mens' actions, she was still a little cause to alternating the world's fate.

If she hadn't intervened, or if she left the world of Notre Dame, the world would have continued on with the original script, and Quasimodo and the others would have stayed alive. This just goes to show one of the possibilities of what would happen if a Keyblade wielder intervened too much into another world's matters. That's shows the importance of keeping a world's balance at bay, and a lesson Ignis learned a very harsh way. I feel like Kingdom Hearts didn't convey the consequences of too much intervention and keeping the balance of a world too much, so I wanted to show y'all what might happen. Of course, this is just ONE of the many possibilities of intervention.

Next, the deaths of the main characters and the other people. In the movie, from Frollo's position, he would have chopped off Esmeralda's head like a guillotine. Because Ignis and Phoebus took too long, Frollo got that chance and killed both Esmeralda and Quasimodo. He beheaded Esmeralda, and because of that, Esmeralda was unable to hold onto Quasimodo, so they both died, with Quasimodo falling to his death and cracking his body upon impact on the ground.

Normally, it would have been impossible for Phoebus to lose against Frollo, since he's a trained, military man who's fought in an unknown war, while Frollo has never fought anyone before in his life due to being a clergyman. However, this is NORMALLY. In the Dream Drop Distance game, we all saw Frollo embedded in some sort of darkness power, and we all know how darkness could be used in terrible manners. So, Phoebus stood no chance against a man corrupted by his own darkness and used that darkness power to fight off Phoebus, who had to rely only on his own physical skills and had no magical capacity or defense whatsoever. Also, when he and Ignis fell from the balcony, he chose to save Ignis, grabbing ono her and using his body as a shield to cushion the fall, saving her from being a splatter on the ground like he did.

I did some research on the history of the century in which the events of the Hunchback of Notre Dame took place, and I discovered quite some...horrifying things. Babies were allowed to be impaled on pikes, which meant that children were allowed to be killed by soldiers. The soldiers could also set homes on fire and rape and kill innocents as well, so long as no crime linked back to the soldiers and they could justify it as being part of their "orders." And, nobility was very high back in that century, so the king was more likely to listen to the nobility than the pleas of the poor and common folk, which meant that the corrupted nobility could lie as much as they want, lying that the people were starting a rebellion and that the nobility had to fix it, which is a pretty messed up system.

Next, I wanted to address the lack of Unversed in this arc. Yes, there were a few Unversed, with the major one being the cow-like Unversed, and I will explain about her in a bit. First, I originally wanted to put in more Unversed for the purpose of being more enemies Ignis had to deal with while being in this world, but I decided not to and to put only one major, big-time boss one for her.

Why? Simple, because not all of the other worlds' problems relied only on the Unversed. Yes, a lot of trouble came from the Unversed, but another trouble relies on humanity's dark and dirty side. Like a balance, there will always be both good and bad people. If I had put in more Unversed, the troubles of the world of Notre Dame would be blamed solely on the Unversed, and not on humanity's evil nature. I feel like Kingdom Hearts doesn't address the evil side of people more, and just blames all its problems on monstrous enemies, like the Heartless, or Unversed.

Of course, the dark and dirty sides of humanity is shown through Frollo and his men when they corrupted and devastated the city in many, horrible ways. You could even incorporate the seven deadly sins in what happened in this arc, and the seven deadly sins are kinda a little bit religious, so it fits. I wanted Ignis to know that issues in other worlds doesn't just divulge on the Unversed, but also from the corrupted sides of humanity. This was an important life lesson she needed to know, a lesson on the darkness of people if she wanted to truly walk on the path of balance between light and dark.

Anyways, I mentioned earlier that I was to talk about the major, big boss Unversed in this arc, which is that cow-like Unversed I kept mentioning. Like all the others, she is one of the seven deadly sins, representing the deadly sin of lust. Because lust is normally incorporated with females, I chose to make her a female Unversed. I mean, in Kingdom Hearts 3, there was that dame Heartless thing with the dress and umbrelle, I think was in Rapunzel's world? Yeah, there were feminine-looking Heartless, so I thought, why not with the Unversed?

I researched a bit about the seven deadly sin, lust, and found a couple interesting things. First, at least one of the animals representing lust was a cow, and it kinda made sense, seeing that in other medias, cows had apparently big breasts, for milk purposes and I'll let you guys figure out how that could be...feminine. But, cows also represent motherhood, which may be a small part of lust. I also made the cow-like Unversed blue-colored, because the symbolic color for lust is blue, though I'm unsure of the reason why. If it was red, I would have kinda understood since red is a symbol for love, but the symbol of color for lust is blue, so you know.

Next, in case you guys were confused, I'll explain the cow-like Unversed's abilities and powers. She's like a female version of a minotaur, having humongous strength in exchange for having low speed. Her choice of weapon is a whip, and yes, I chose that because whips are commonly used for dominatrix, and a dominatrix usually uses a whip for...sexual purposes. And sexual is a common thing for lust. Another weakness the cow-like Unversed had was towards any form of offensive magic, like she has zero defense when it comes to magical attacks, though she can stand her own when it comes to physical defense.

The cow-like Unversed's special power comes from her eyes. Upon making eye contact with her targets, she could plunge them into an illusion, making them see only what they truly desired in the form of lust. She uses this ability to exploit men before devouring them, as devouring humans heals her and strengthens her. She's already tested this on soldiers, Phoebus, and Frollo, making them see what they "love," whether it's a person, or in the form of power. I heard that lust doesn't necessarily always mean love, as it could always mean a lust for power as well.

The only reason why the ability didn't work on Ignis wasn't because she was a girl. No, it was because the power involved making direct eye contact, as in with both eyes facing each other. Ignis had lost one eye, her right eye, so she couldn't make direct eye contact, and therefore, she was unaffected. This was also one of the reasons why I made Ignis lose one of her eyes, so she couldn't be affected by magic directed from eye contact.

Next, the songs in this chapter, which represent the situations currently going on at the time. I thought they were rather fitting for the parts they were placed in, and that last song? It was recently new, so when the full song comes out, I'll come back and put in the full lyrics of the song.

Now, I want to talk about yet another one of Dr. Facilier's predictions! This time, it involved the Lovers tarot card, which fits the sin of lust for this world. Obviously, the Lovers tarot card means love, cherishing those you hold dear. Ignis demonstrated this multiple times during the arc when she chose to "love" in the form of protecting others she cared for, whether they were strangers to her or not. Still, the Lovers Reversed symbolism was pretty close to this arc, but there was also another meaning for the upright Lovers card; choice. There was always a choice in this arc. A choice of whether to kill or not to kill, a choice of staying to rest or going out and risking one's own life to fight? A choice to protect or not? Quasimodo made the choice to save Esmeralda, Phoebus chose to defy his orders even if it branded him as traitor, Esmeralda chose to defy Frollo up until the very end, and Frollo chose to use any means necessary to find Esmeralda, and Ignis chose to continue protecting even until her dying breath. There's an additional meaning to the Lovers card; unification. Both Quasimodo and Phoebus rallied up all the civilians to fight to take back their city, Ignis somewhat unified and gained support from others after saving them, and Frollo unified almost all of his men to follow his orders.

So, I mentioned that the Unversed's ability for eye contact was one of the reasons why I had Ignis lose an eye, but that's not all. Another reason was for character development. She needed to develop both physically and mentally, and losing an eye and a limb might be an experience she's not likely to forget anytime soon. I also had her lose a RIGHT eye and a LEFT arm to balance things out, you know, kinda going with the whole balance thing? Don't worry, she'll be able to fight, kinda, you'll see. And I'm not trying to make her like Auron from Final Fantasy, though I don't know too much about him except he appeared in KH2. I'm also not trying to copy this from Fullmetal Alchemist, either, I just think this was something she needed.

As with her armor breaking, don't worry, I've seen a few instances where Keyblade Armor could be repaired. Just look at Ventus' armor, like, I know only the helmet part was broken, but Sora was clad in it including the armor, so that means that Keyblade Armor can be repaired. Also, take a look at Terra's armor. He got it back even after it was destroyed. Well, I guess you need the pieces for the Keyblade Armor to be restored and you couldn't restore your armor if the armor was completely destroyed, but yeah, Ignis will get her Keyblade Armor back. But, as for her initial armor underneath, that was broken beyond repair from her fight with the Unversed. She's not getting new clothing armor in the next arc, but in the arcs after that, she'll get a new character design. Which means a NEW APPEARANCE! YEAH! But, you'll have to wait until the next arc is over.

Oh! I almost forgot! I had to explain why lust is the sin theme for this world! I mean, it's pretty obvious if you watch the movie. Frollo was driven by his LUST for Esmeralda, wanting to keep her for himself. It was also strongly hinted in his Hellfire song. He's pretty much turned into Disney's first ever yandere. There were a few parts of lust within this world, like Quasimodo's innocent love for Esmeralda, Phoebus' more mutual love for the same girl, the soldiers doing...unspeakable things to females out of lust, Ignis kinda loving Vanitas out of lust with Vanitas visualizing Ignis in a more lustful light while they did talk, and much more. Actually, it was thanks to Vanitas' lust for Ignis that he unknowingly created the cow-like Unversed. In the novel for Birth By Sleep, he can control and not control his negative emotional powers, with the backlash always being him forced to endure pain whenever his Unversed died. It could also be hinted that the cow-like Unversed's presence in the world increased the need for lust, given that she is the symbolic sin for lust.

Oh, yeah! I also wanted to talk about Vanitas! Yeah, the main reason he didn't appear and "save the day" was because he didn't find a reason to. Remember, I only mentioned about putting a few Unversed in. Besides, he already met and knew Ignis was in the world before the entire disaster began, so he assumed that she would be fine on her own. He was busy tracking down Aqua, Terra, and Ventus until it was too late, with that too late being his cow-like Unversed dying. Remember, he can feel immense pain whenever one of his Unversed "dies," so he must not have investigated the matter until after his Unversed died.

Right, I wanted to talk about Pyra, next! After so long, after lots of time spent on training, Ignis successfully managed to summon forth her Familiar, which is basically like her spirit animal companion. Pyra is a fire-attribute Familiar taking the form of a tortoise. Tortoises have a symbolic meaning of longevity, wisdom, emotional strength, and most importantly, protection. Tortoises' spiritual meaning means to protect others from anything harmful, whether it's physically or mentally. Ignis' true nature wasn't simply her child-like and cheerful personality, but more towards her desire to protect those she loved, whether she cheers people up or fights to protect them. If Ignis was ever in an RWBY universe and she was born with silver eyes, she would have made a fascinating Silver-eyed maiden, being more similar to Ruby.

Initially, I wanted Ignis' spirit animal to be a phoenix, or at the very least, a fire bird, to represent her freedom. There were other spiritual meanings to being a phoenix, like having a power close to the yin and yang symbols, rising from the ashes and darkness to become stronger, and the usual, transformation, death, and reincarnation into life, but that's not for Ignis. Besides, her Keyblade, Phoenix Fairy, already kinda symbolizes a phoenix, but adding one phoenix with another phoenix would make a person too powerful, so there needed to be a balance. Kinda like with someone having a sword. Offense is good, but you need defense to win as well. Like, the best defense is a good offense, and a good offense is a good defense, and vice versa.

The best offense for Ignis is her Keyblade, representing the phoenix in a physical form. The best defense for her is her spiritual Familiar, a tortoise, representing defense. Simply having only offense would make one a mad dog, and put down like one without anything to protect, while having only defense would make one indestructible from attacks, but it would also render the user from ever moving forward, only staying in one spot. Both offense and defense would support each other to survive and move forward.

Interestingly enough, the phoenix and tortoise symbolism was also inspired by a poem I read before. It was a poem written by Shakespeare called, "The Phoenix and the Turtle." It really shouldn't take you guys long to figure out the connection.

I now want to talk about Mama Odie's potion, the "Second Chance Luck." Remember at the end of the Princess and the Frog world? Right before Ignis left, she was given the potion by Louis to drink, being given the knowledge that the potion's effect would activate if her life was in serious danger. Magic Burst, a term I invented in this story, was continuously activated in this chapter, exchanging parts of Ignis' life force to compensate for her lack of magic power to activate spells, and this would be considered a highly dangerous, risky thing for mages that would be considered a last resort. Ignis was willing to give up her life to stop further evil in this world. And before you say anything, no, life span and life forces are two different things! Even if Ignis' life force was restored, her life span is still cut in half from the protection magic she used on Winnie the Pooh's world!

The potion was meant to only be in effect for a few minutes, stopping Ignis from dying and giving her unlimited amounts of magic power, so no matter how much magic she used, as long as she was in the potion's effect, her magic power would be restored instantly, so that she could heal herself or attack with as many magic spells as she wants. This was a one-time only potion and will never ever be used again. Sure, it may be mentioned from time after time, but it won't be used again. If this thing actually existed, it would make the person too OP, so if Ignis ever finds herself in danger again, she'll never utilize the power of the potion to save her life.

I think that's all I have to say, guys! It was...certainly a huge roller coaster with this arc! Yeah, this is going to traumatize and deliver strong PTSD to Ignis as well as give her Survivor's Guilt in the next arc. I mean, yeah, she's gonna recover, though maybe not completely. You'll have to see. I mean, some signs of PTSD towards men was evident here in the beginning of the story, though not too strongly.

I'm taking a break from this story to focus more on my other stories, but I will return to this story eventually. This isn't over by a long shot, but we've reached the half of this story, so there's a bit more to go! In the next arc, there'll probably be...maybe 5 chapters in the next arc? Oh, come on! Ignis needs to recover! She can't just instantly recover in one chapter and end it all in the next! That'll make her a bit of a Mary Sue! She needs time to recover and get strong! And least it'll be a bit less than this arc! Yeah, not giving you guys a hint of what the next world will be.

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