Author's Notes: This is as promised the rest of what I originaly posted here in the first attempt; plus something new added to the ending to up the ante with the climax this story originaly wound up with. I trust those who have read this once before will re-read it from beginning to end to remind themselves of what went on, because I intend to attempt to update again later on in the week.
The usual disclaimer applies; I own none of the characters, merely the basic plot point of the story that I have expanded upon since last this story was worked upon, please R&R if it's your first time, but if it's the second I don't think you need to review, but a new one would be nice.
The loud ringing of the bells is what finally caused Selphie to awaken; they were incredibly loud, so intrusive. She just wanted to sleep a few more minutes, but those infernal bells they sounded far too close to be making such a large racket if it was only her alarm clock. At last her eyes flew open and she beheld the source of the ringing bells, fear radiated from the girl as she slowly climbed to her feet glancing up at the impressive edifice.
It was the largest building she could ever imagine having seen in her life and she knew no such place existed anywhere near Destiny Islands. The towers had to be at least eighty feet up and the construct was full of strange stone statues some of men others of demonic creatures that all seemed to be staring at her. Stained glass windows adorned certain areas of this building and they would have almost appeared lovely to the girl if she wasn't so filled with terror at having everything she knew so well shattered just with the sight of this edifice. Had she been blown from her island home by the storm? And if so had anyone else survived the attack with her? Or perhaps worse, could it be that those strange shadowy creatures were here in this strange place as well?
She soon began to feel so small and insignificant standing before this place and that strange weapon she vaguely remembered picking up had seemingly vanished. She couldn't stand it any longer, the continual ringing, the laughter of children, flocks of people going about their business as though nothing was out of the ordinary. She did the only thing she could think of, she fled racing off down the odd cobblestone street heedless of where she was going she just wanted to find a quiet place to think. Had she perhaps known that the building, which sent such great fear through her very being was known far and wide as Notre Dame Cathedral one of the most prominent churches in this world she might have been able to avoid her next misstep.
Barreling past citizens and soldiers alike she failed to notice when she passed over the river Seine and continued fleeing towards a section of town most citizens tended to avoid like the plague. This route led to the formidable Palace of Justice a place of misery and death for practically all who entered her halls; as she rounded a corner near one of the last bakeries on this street she barreled into someone and flew backwards crashing into a wooden fruit stand and smashing it to pieces with her momentum.
Glancing dazedly up at the person she'd collided with a sudden chill ran down her spine; the man was elegantly dressed in a black robe with a white collar and a hat of strange design. Red and purple accentuated the uniform, for uniform it was, but the clothes alone did not scare her; his aristocratic features were indicative of a great age at least around fifty-five years and his eyes… They regarded her, no peered at her as if they could see into her very soul and a hint of great malice was glimpsed momentarily before they resumed their normal icy demeanor.
She was so eager not to look upon that face anymore she began to glance about for some avenue of escape and instead found a very bleak sight indeed, a group of guards stood nearby, some on horseback, one of which had a pleasant enough face and gold armor a sharp contrast to the black worn by his comrades. And then she saw the metal carriage, it made her hope sink further down and fear returned climbing to her feet she bowed before the man with whom she'd collided and was about to apologize when he finally spoke.
"Impudent little urchin look at what you have done." He stated in a very deep and almost emotionless voice, Selphie was confused until he indicated the rings that had fallen from his fingers. She'd failed to notice them lying in the dirt as they were; bending down quickly she recovered them and handed them back to the man her hand trembling.
"I… I'm sorry sir." She stammered tugging at the corners of her yellow dress and wishing she'd thought to put her shoes on before leaving home. "I was just so afraid; you see that big building there…" She elaborated indicating the far off image of Notre Dame she tried to continue her explanation, but the man held up his hand as his lips curled upwards ever so slightly with bemusement.
"Frightened of Notre Dame Cathedral." He remarked incredulously. "Guards, take her to the Palace of Justice at once, I shall speak to her personally once we have finished our business in town." He ordered as three guards immediately moved to surround Selphie; she trembled slightly and attempted to speak once more, but the guards began to push her off towards some unknown destination.
As she was forced, none too gently to continue her shoulders visibly slumped resigned to her fate, her mind returned to the way the man had said how he would speak to her… The way he'd said it made her stomach churn with even greater fear and she wished desperately that Tidus or Wakka were with her.
"Are you certain that was wise, sir?" The man in golden armor asked concernedly.
"Come now Captain Phoebus she fled the Cathedral of Notre Dame, clearly this is indicative of some guilt on her part, even if it was as innocent as the theft of a loaf of bread." The dark clad man stated. "Besides I have never seen her like of dress before, it is possible that she has information concerning the whereabouts of the Court of Miracles. An honorable man of justice would not pass up such an opportunity to discover what he could, don't you agree?" He inquired before heading into the bakery to make his usual purchase for the week. Phoebus shuddered slightly, and it had nothing to do with the cold wind that swept through the street just then, he didn't care for Minister Frollos' tone or his obsession with the Court of Miracles. He intended to see to the questioning of the girl personally to ensure that no extreme measures were taken.
Jose Carioca, or Joe to his friends, wasn't a frightened man by nature, if you can call a green anthropomorphic parrot in a rich Earth brown apron that signified his status as blacksmith and his matching hat, which perched awkwardly to one side of his head a man. But when he arrived for work today at the Foundry only to find the door smashed in, the room a shambles and Professor Von Drake missing, but more importantly a certain Keyblade that only he, his very good friend Panchito, the Professor and King Mickey knew about, also absent. He couldn't help, but feel a twinge of fear as he examined the remains of the Professors specially crafted Warp-G/Navi-G personal transport gun.
"Oh no, I must seek aid at once. I trust my friend Donald is still at the Castle we may need the assistance of a magic user to find whoever did this." He stated in his thick Brazilian accent, of course he didn't know one thing about Brazil having never been there, but that's not really important.
Rushing over to the far left hand corner wall he hopped up onto a stool and yanked hard on a cleverly disguised chain hanging from one of the criss-crossing beams that had been used in the buildings construction. The wall flipped open on metal hinges that were always well maintained just like one of your automatic garage doors might open, inside this smaller room sat a few inventions the great Professor chose to reveal only to his very favored apprentice.
The Professor called the machine Joe was desperate to use the Instant Teleport Mystical Muckety Muck Machine, Joe sighed as he dragged the stool into the room with him so he could gain proper access. The Professor really needed to think of shorter, more practical names; this device had been crafted out of an old ornately decorated golden bathtub, a long pole had been attached to the drain from, which hung minute particles of Warp, Navi and Protect Gummis. A huge vat had been riveted onto the side, which is where one inserted the specially perfected fuel sources; large and small holes had been drilled into the bottom of this vat and a multitude of lead, nickel-iron and plastic pipes led down into the over-turned pressure cooker. This was connected to a strange control panel sitting on the left rim of the tub, which was filled with blinking lights, brightly colored buttons and several weird dials. Joe carefully poured a Potion, Ether and the Professors' patented Elixir into the vat careful not to get them mixed up as the Professor had warned him, which was why he'd added the barriers between the three main fuel lines.
"I sure hope the Professor didn't put the wrong co-ordinates in again." He muttered to himself before hopping into the tub, twisting a blue-green dial and slapping the prominent amber colored activation switch.
A belch of thick grey smoke suddenly burst into existence in the center of Disney Castles' expansive gardens, Lieutenant Horace Horsecollar pulled out his collapsible spear and shield only to lose his grip as he burst into a coughing fit. Horace wore the typical guardsmen uniform, except for the odd helmet type hat that had been designed by someone obviously a lot smaller than the average guard; Horace had replaced it with a red cap with a visor, which he tended to wear back-way-round.
No one knew quite sure why or for that matter where he'd gotten the cap, save that it had always been a part of his wardrobe; as the smoke cleared Horace retrieved his weapons and stared confusedly at the oddest contraption he'd ever seen as well as the town blacksmith.
"Uh, Joe just what is that thing?" He asked completely perplexed.
"No time to explain Lieutenant I have urgent news for the King." Joe stated rushing towards the palace entrance.
"Uh, but ya can't see his Majesty." Horace called as he dashed forward to catch up with the agile parrot. "The King's on some kind o' secret mission and Captain Goofy and Royal Mage Donald just left to go join him."
"Then I shall see the Queen, this is a most urgent matter indeed." Joe shot back dashing past Lady Clara and Duchess Clarabelle. Horace grumbled over his lackluster training regime of late huffing and puffing as he fought hard to catch up with the shorter man.
The two men wound their way around the long hallways passing the Magic Mirror, which had appeared one day and no one questioned it, at one point Horace feared Joe had gotten lost. That is until he turned quickly back a few paces and tapped a knob on the wall, surprisingly a secret doorway opened and Joe dashed in followed quickly by the out-of-shape lieutenant.
Horace was surprised that they had entered the library, where Queen Minnie remained most of the time to ease her troubled mind during emergencies. Lady Daisy looked up in annoyance as the two of them barged in; Donald and Goofy had only left three hours ago and Minnie was still quite distraught at the absence of her husband.
"Lieutenant what is the meaning of this outburst?" She demanded crossing her arms in front of her chest in annoyance.
"I really don't know Milady." Horace replied after he managed to gather his breath.
"Someone has broken into the Foundry." Joe blurted addressing the Queen promptly and directly. "The Professor and the…" He trailed off unsure how much the Queen knew.
"The First too?" Queen Minnie prompted saving Joe the trouble; he nodded and she brought her hand up with a gasp. "This is terrible news, everything is happening as Merlin warned us it would."
"What?" Daisy blurted. "Who's Merlin and what's this First?" She added totally confused.
"I am afraid there is no time to explain, Lieutenant Horsecollar you must escort Master Carioca here to distant worlds as he searches for both the Professor and more importantly the First." Queen Minnie ordered rising from her seat.
"Muh-Me your Majesty?" Horace wondered in befuddled fear.
"Yes you, he will need protection." She confirmed. "Take the Excelsior it's docked and ready to go, Master Carioca I trust you have a means of finding it?" She asked; in answer Joe held up a tiny blue crystal that was glowing very, very faintly.
"She will help." He replied cryptically.
"Oh good, I feel this is all happening for a reason, so I am sending a chronicler with you to record your journey." She added indicating the nearby desk; a portly middle-aged genuine sized light brown mouse in elegantly tailored dark blue pants, brown shoes a reddish or perhaps maroon tweed jacket and matching shirt looked up from a tiny newspaper. He had been reading it during the entire conversation and now paid complete attention to his surroundings, removing the small pair of oval framed glasses he folded the ear-rests and gently tucked them into his right chest pocket.
"Why I'd be honored to perform this task your Majesty." He began heading to the edge of the desk pausing to pick up a small briefcase and umbrella in the process. Joe moved over to the desk and plucked the mouse from his perch gently placing him on his hat.
"Good morning sir, Doctor David Q. Dawson at your service." He greeted with some difficulty since he could not see Joes' face.
"Jose Carioca." He replied smiling as he caught Horace saluting the mouse.
"Quickly, you must find the First and rescue the Professor before all hope is lost." Queen Minnie stated in a worried tone, both Joe and Horace quickly bowed and rushed off through another secret passageway that would get them to the docks faster.
"Your world was lost?" Horace asked of Dawson as the trio made their way down the low-lit stairway. "How is that possible?"
"Unfortunately a great many worlds are becoming lost to the darkness, Jiminy Cricket and I; were comparing notes just the other day and it seems that both our worlds were consumed by the same dark creatures." Dawson replied his eyes filling with sadness as memories of lost comrades were drawn to the surface alongside great pain at their loss. Horace seemed to sense this and he decided to change subjects' for the mouse's' benefit.
"What exactly is this First?" Horace inquired. "If I'm going out to search for it I should know what it is." He added.
"I will tell you my friend, but you must swear to secrecy." Joe insisted tugging his new brown jacket back into place and wondering for the eighteenth time why the royal tailor had insisted on so many belts and zippers, he couldn't believe anyone in their right minds would wear something like this. Especially to blend in on other worlds whose style of dress tended to vary, but Mrs. Beakley had insisted.
"My lips are sealed." Horace stated pantomiming zipping his lips, locking them and tossing away the key.
"As are mine." Dawson piped in reminding the others of his presence.
"Good." Joe acknowledged with a nod knocking his new hat to one side with a tap of his umbrella. "You see; a long time ago all the many worlds were connected and darkness didn't exist. People could visit anyone they wished, humans and our kind could speak with one another and a few were even gifted with the ability to understand animals like you Dawson." He began attempting to recall as much information as he could. "But soon darkness began to form in peoples' hearts and something known as the light was eclipsed, lost to the darkness. But some fragments of the light survived somehow, what most of the survivors didn't know is that their worlds were still tied to the darkness. Thus the First appeared." He continued feeling slightly muddled, he thought he'd forgotten something important, but he couldn't remember what. Horace scratched his head in confusion growing slightly impatient with the way Joe was going about this explanation, he made to speak, but Joe barreled onwards.
"The First is the original Keyblade, the master copy that the first Key bearer wielded to originally seal the worlds… Somehow, I don't know how… After they had succeeded however a great evil, who had succeeded in escaping from the darkness's new prison struck." Joe lowered his head and shuddered in fear as he thought about that last part, for everyone knew who that great evil was.
"You don't mean Churnabog do ya?" Horace asked in a low tone fearing that somehow the great demon would appear just from the mention of his name.
"Yes, he fought the Keyblade bearer and defeated him or her, but they managed to send the Keyblade here with their last ounce of strength. Four years later the darkness began to gather its powerbase once more, that's when Merlin contacted the King through some means." Joe paused as the trio finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs drawing Horace up short before he could open the large doors leading into the secondary docking bay. "That's when the Professor and I were charged with forging the other Keyblades, Merlin said we would need more than one for there would be Key bearers this time and each of them would need a Keyblade. But the First Keyblade has certain special abilities that our copies were unable to duplicate…" Joe trailed off with a sigh.
"So if this First fell into the wrong hands it'd mean trouble right?" Horace asked.
"Yes, very big trouble." Joe replied with a quick nod.
Not long after, the sleek craft known as Excelsior exploded out of the docks and headed off towards Traverse Town for supplies it was a much more streamlined ship, the Professor had managed to find a way to mold the Gummies' into many different shapes before he'd been sent to the Foundry and so there were many different styles of ship. Excelsior was similar to the Kingdom design however it was composed of a dark blue and green patterned gummi collection and had been built with speed in mind. Unknown to the three occupants Pete watched from his darkened one man craft and smiled darkly as he began to power up the ship for travel.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before someone went searchin' for it, now all's I gotta do is follow'em and claim the Keyblade." He chuckled to himself and punched on the special signal lockers that would allow him to track the ship even if it went to warp; though Pete didn't think anyone at the Castle knew how Warp-Gs' worked in tandem with Gummi ships. Flipping the small dark switch his ship shimmered once, twice and then vanished into its personal cloaking field.
As Sora, Donald and Goofy bid farewell to the trio of strangers they had come to know and who had informed them on the secrets of the Heartless and the Keyblade the large doors; that for some strange reason were marked Exit opened and two more colorful characters arrived in the first district of Traverse Town.
Horace was too preoccupied with seeing the sights to notice the group; he was instantly drawn to the odd looking white creature with the red puff atop its' head that was marching back and forth as if searching for something.
Joe regarded the area quickly taking in the small café to the far left, the item shop beside it whose windows glowed an inviting and warm yellow indicating that it was open for business. The central stairs led up to an accessory shop; though Joe wasn't sure what Accessories were or why anyone would want them, his eyes were inexorably drawn away from the shops' seemingly large doors by the unmistakable voice of his good friend Donald.
"Donald my old friend I thought we might run into you before… Well that's not important." Joe called out waving his hand and striding quickly towards the group; the look of confused nervousness in Donalds' eyes told him that he hadn't expected this and really wasn't in the mood to chat.
"Jose." Donald exclaimed using his full name; which most of his friends tended to ignore in favor of the easier to remember nickname. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here to buy some supplies 'cause we've got to find…" Horace began before Joes' umbrella popped open hiding his face and causing him to clamp his mouth shut in sudden remembrance.
"I'm afraid my friend that is secret…" Joe quickly recovered; suddenly his gaze was drawn to the Keyblade in the young boys' hands. This one was a Kingdom key as evidenced by the kings' seal dangling on the end of the key chain; the Professor never could fathom why the blades altered appearance depending on the key chain they possessed. "Marvelous craftsmanship." He murmured pleased with his own work to such an extent that he momentarily forgot no one else outside his group knew who created the Keyblades.
"Yeah it is." Sora agreed startling Joe from his reverie. "My names' Sora; who's your friend Jose?" He asked actually managing to pronounce the name correctly on his first try. Joe took Soras' hand and shook it warmly in greeting and then pointed to Horace with his umbrella.
"That is my bodyguard; Horace Horsecollar." He introduced; Horace removed his hands from over his mouth and smiled warmly wrapping the shorter human in a nice, big, friendly hug.
"Pleased ta meet ya mister Keyblade bearer." He stated.
"Gawrsh Horace, how d'ya know about the Keyblade?" Goofy wondered speaking up for the first time now that his initial confusion had passed.
"What?" Horace blurted. "Did I say Keyblade…? Er, well since that sword is in the shape of a key I… Uh guessed the name was that so ya see I don't know nuthin' Captain Goofy, sir." Horace was visibly shaking with nervousness as Joe rolled his eyes; he quickly grabbed Horace by the hand and headed towards the Item Shop.
"It was nice to see you again Donald; we'll have to do it again some time." He called back even as he quickened his pace; as they neared the Item Shop Leon eyed them with mistrust shifting slightly from his position up against the Cafés' order window, which was closed at this time of night.
"Those two are up to something." He stated reaching towards the Gunblade leaning alongside him; Yuffie grabbed his wrist to stop him a small smile on her lips as she looked up into Leons' eyes.
"They're from the Kings' Castle; I doubt they're involved with the Heartless." She stated softly so the two travelers couldn't hear them as they entered the brightly lit Item Shop.
"I sense something about those two." Aerith added her odd outfit rustling slightly in a sudden breeze. "As if…They are tied to Soras' destiny in some way."
"Oh Aerith you've been spending too much time with that old wizard again." Yuffie teased grinning widely as she gently tugged at Leons' arm to get him to come away from the wall. "Come on let's have a chat with them." She urged heading towards the Item Shop doors.
Horace was nearly tackled by Huey and Dewey as he closed the door behind him and burst out into a hearty laugh as the young ducks started to tickle him mercilessly. Louie rolled his eyes at the antics of his siblings and hopped up onto the counter near the cash register.
"Heya Unca Jose; Unca Horace how can I help you?" He asked as the trio continued to roll around laughing hard and having a grand old time; they called everybody in Duckburg Uncle since they knew them so well by now; there were only a few exceptions like Goofy or the King who were given a little more respect and a wide berth whenever the Duck Triplets were around.
"We'll need some Potions, Ethers and… Ah yes a few quills and ink wells for Dawson." Joe replied trying hard not to laugh aloud at the others childish antics.
"Are you on an adventure too?" Huey asked Horace after another minute of horseplay.
"No fair, we're never going to have our own adventure." Dewey complained at Horaces' nod of confirmation; Horace chuckled and straightened his outfit as he returned to his feet.
"You three are always so eager to grow up and have adventures; I thought you got enough of them while staying with your Uncle Scrooge." He remarked half in jest as he pulled out a small traveling bag and began to load up the items Louie had placed on the counter.
"That wasn't the same thing; we never got to have any fun or practice with swords like Unca Donald and Goofy did when they were our age." Huey muttered with a sigh as the cash register blipped and beeped behind him.
"That'll be fifteen hundred Munny." Louie stated after ringing up the purchase on his cash register; Joe eyed the duckling with a hint of surprise and reached for his wallet.
"That is a tad steep don't you think?" He asked.
"Not really; Ethers' are a hot commodity these days what with the Heartless running around." Louie informed quickly snatching up the amount of cash from Joe before he had a chance to count it.
"Heartless?" Horace repeated in bewilderment. "What are they?"
"They are the cause of the Darkness; ones without Hearts." A new voice replied sending a chill down Horaces' spine; he and Joe turned slowly to face a rather imposing figure dressed mostly in dark somber colors and a shorter woman in a very provocative ensemble of green and yellow, with very long white stockings and orange fingerless gloves. He suspected she was in the thieving profession; her friend however struck him as being some kind of warrior.
"Wow; I thought we just had to worry about… You-know-who." Horace muttered aside to Joe afraid to utter the great demons name outside the safety of the Castle. Joe shrugged slightly ruffling his feathers as he strode towards the strangers and in typical fashion took the woman's hand and kissed the back of it.
"A pleasure to meet you young lady; but right now we have more important things to do then discuss these Heartless." He stated gallantly sweeping his hand out to indicate that the two should move away from the door; Leon frowned at this birds' words and prepared to summon his blade fearing betrayal.
"Hold up there Joe; if we're goin' to other worlds to find the Professor and that there First we might run into these Heartless guys. Knowin' about'em could only help matters." Horace stated as he sealed the bag and attached it to the belt around his waist; Leons' eyes widened at the mention of the First though he did not know why and Yuffie grasped his wrist as she noticed that he was still in the process of summoning the Gunblade, which could prove decidedly not in their favor at the moment.
Leon calmed down at her touch, but only for a moment as he stared at these two odd men wondering just what they were up to and how it could possibly help anyone. Joe in the meantime had carefully considered Horaces' words and shook his head as he finally came to a conclusion, brushing past the two humans he pushed the door open and glanced back over his shoulder.
"Come on Horace, we haven't the time if the…" He hesitated not wishing to repeat the word, but knowing it was necessary. "If the First is on a world consumed by the Darkness it will be lost for ever and so will all hope of finding the Professor and the ones' who took him." He finished marching straight out the door; Horace eyed the two humans with concern and shrugged as if to say sorry.
"Maybe we'll chat again next time we're in town." He muttered quickly following after Joe. Yuffie watched as they headed past the impossibly large doors marked Exit, not for the first time wondering what lay beyond those doors and felt a sudden twinge of despair it was as if those two had an even greater mission than Sora. Which was impossible; Aerith entered the shop from the second level side door; having listened in outside to the brief conversation and shared a look with Yuffie before both woman turned to Leon who had his head down deep in thought.
"What could they have meant by the First?" She asked beating Yuffie to the punch.
"I don't know; and that's what troubles me." Leon replied in a low tone barely audible to the others; Pete smiled from beneath his cloaking field and slipped out the door at the top of the stairs trusting that the short pink-clad girl would fail to notice his movements. He may not like Silver; but he came with some very useful and impressive toys.
"Looks like I've got me some new information; maybe the boss could use it… Or perhaps I should just get back to my ship before those two deadbeats get too far…" He muttered chuckling as he stuffed a very large bag filled with stolen goods into his pocket; ah the miracle of magical bags. "Next stop, whichever world those two wind up at…" He paused a twisted grin playing across his lips. "It'll be their last, har, har, har, har!" He cried slipping through the Exit doors and rushing through the docks to his parked ship.
Selphie felt very cold even close to the fireplace in this tiny room, it was bare save for a small cot in the far corner and two chairs near the fireplace. Selphie guessed it was rarely used, if at all and might just as well be a closet the way it appeared. She knew that the guards had only stuck her in here because the door had a lock, she didn't know what was going on or why she was being held here and that frightened her more then the cold.
Had she died? Was this Hell? It certainly couldn't be Heaven her parents had always told her that Heaven was a happy place where nothing bad could ever happen to you and besides Wakka and Tidus should have been there to greet her, not a bunch of strangers she knew nothing about.
Thinking of her parents only brought back the memories of their deaths; when those creatures had attacked and tore their hearts out right in front of her… She burst into tears once again and fell back hard onto the cot curling up as best as she could; trying to choke back her sobs. Suddenly the key turned in the lock and the door opened, expecting to find that evil looking man she tried desperately to regain control as she sat back up. Surprisingly the gentle looking man in the golden armor with the dark blond hair and lighter dirty blond goatee entered the room and looked upon the still crying child with a deep sadness in his own eyes.
Captain Phoebus took the few moments of silence they shared to examine the child more closely, she was wearing a very impractical light and airy yellow dress without any footwear at all. Her light brown hair was done up in a style he'd never seen before curled upwards near her neck and shoulders and looking unceremoniously like a bowl up top; a few strands even stuck up near the back of her head. Her emerald green eyes were distinct and even their beauty could not be marred by the redness caused no doubt by hours of crying. He found it hard to believe that she could know anything at all about the Court of Miracles, or even the city of Paris.
"Why am I here?" She asked in a worried and frightened tone that made Phoebus' heart twist with pity.
"Minister Frollo believes you are a gypsy child who can lead him to the Court of Miracles thus you are being detained until he can question you." He replied with a heavy sigh and a slight creak as he assumed a seat by the fireplace.
"I've never been to any place with that name before… I've never even seen this city before." The girl remarked in a low tone filled with obvious confusion.
"Yes, but your admittance to fearing Notre Dame Cathedral has led Frollo to conclude that you are guilty of some crime. However I intend to speak on your behalf, you are obviously not of Paris." The man stated eyeing her strange style of dress once more; not for the first time Selphie cursed her stupidity in leaving her shoes behind.
"You mean that big building I ran from is a Cathedral… Like a church?" She asked in dawning comprehension; Phoebus nodded and Selphie lowered her head in embarrassed shame. At least she knew she couldn't be in Hell, she doubted very much that such a place would have Cathedrals. That still left the question of where she was and not to mention what had happened to her island home; although she felt, deep in her heart that Destiny Islands was no more.
"So where do you come from exactly?" The guard asked attempting to gain some useful information; Selphie made to speak however the sudden wild opening of the door and the appearance of two more guards accompanied by the man called Minister Frollo caused her to squeak in fear and back up against the wall.
"Captain Phoebus I gave no permission to question this prisoner without my presence." Frollo stated with narrowed eyes; Phoebus rose quickly assuming a straighter posture than before and saluted.
"I know sir, but I felt…" He began only to be interrupted by a wave of Frollos' hand.
"I know what you were thinking" He snapped causing both Phoebus and Selphie to cringe. "You two take her to the dungeon where we can properly question this whelp." He ordered motioning for the two guards to approach Selphie; Phoebus strode quickly between the girl and them.
"Sir? You would torture a child?" He demanded his own voice growing harder as he could not believe that even Minister Frollo was so consumed by hatred that he would stoop to such an immoral practice.
"Captain you are teetering upon the edge of insubordination." Frollo warned his careful mask of indifference changing into an angry hate filled glare. "If you stand aside now and allow these men to carry out my orders I shall overlook your presumptuous nature."
"I can not in good conscience allow this to happen." Phoebus countered slowly reaching for his sword; Selphie was tired of feeling so helpless, she wanted desperately to have a weapon to teach these men a lesson in manners. Wakka and Tidus told her to never let anyone walk over her, not even them and she was determined to escape this nightmare and find the answers to her questions. It might compound her problems with these lawmakers, but in her honest opinion such men who hid behind rules and regulations and used the law for their own ends were worse than those eerie creatures that had killed her family. At least they were monsters who didn't feel the need to hide behind locked doors. But she had nothing, not even that strange sword she'd found…
Suddenly; as if just her thoughts could bring it to her, the sword suddenly appeared in her hand. It was like no sword she'd ever seen; it had the shape of a key to it, though it was slightly curved near the hilt not straight as a key should be. There was a funny shape at the opposite end instead of a normal blade, like the sword her mother had given father on their anniversary; this weapon had a flat tip with the shape of a crown carved into the metal. The tips of this crown shape were dull; though as she thought how impractical such a weapon was, they seemed to sharpen into fine points. The hilt in her hand seemed made for her; in fact upon closer inspection she found that it resembled twin nunchaku flowing into and out of one another and connected to one another by a small gold bar that ran through the center of the tangled mess, which she was holding. Leaping quickly from the bed she waved this weapon before her menacingly forcing her would be torturers to back up and allow her clear passage to the door.
"I'm leaving now." She stated confidently.
"See; this child is a witch." Frollo exclaimed indicating the strange sword that had magically appeared in her hands even as he too was forced to move from the doorway and allow her safe passage. Selphie ignored his words and his tone, she was no longer a helpless girl and she liked the feel of a weapon once again in her hands. She remembered how she'd killed some of those monsters with it and wondered fleetingly if these men might vanish into oblivion were she to use it on them. But no; that would just prove she was as evil as they were, instead of prolonging this confrontation and perhaps even messing things up she chose to dash from the Palace of Justice running through the long hallways. Skipping past guards until she was back in the sunshine again; now there was only one option, as long as the rules still applied she could find sanctuary within the Cathedral and those nasty men couldn't touch her. Fleeing off down the street back towards Notre Dame she ignored the cries of guardsmen as they too exited the building and began the chase. Meanwhile Frollo spun to face the guards with a glare burning into them. They shuddered in fear and he charged towards them as if to punish them for their failure.
"Go after her you fools I want that girl, I must know where the Court of Miracles is." He growled; both guards saluted and raced off leaving a very confused Phoebus behind to face their commanders' wrath. "As for you Captain." Frollo added whirling to face the foolish young man. "Consider this as your only warning; dare to disobey my orders again and you will be… Replaced." He added in a dark and low tone before he turned from the room and strode quickly; purposefully toward his private chambers.
"Understood sir." Phoebus muttered disheartened in the now empty room; he sighed and rubbed his temples glancing out towards where the child had run off. "Just what have I gotten myself involved in?"
Frollo sighed rubbing his temples and quickly made his way down the hall into his private offices; he poured himself a small decanter of wine and sat down before the fireplace with a heavy sigh. "I am surrounded by incompetents." He muttered to himself; suddenly someone began to laugh, it was a deep belly laugh and as Frollo glanced around in fear, Pete appeared from behind his personal cloaking field. His dark floor length cloak with the hood up hid his features quite nicely; even if it did make him look like a larger version of that fool Ansem who was flitting about from world to world disguised as he was.
"Well now palie; seems like you could use some help." Pete remarked smiling beneath his hood unseen to Minister Frollo.
"Who are you?" Frollo demanded rising to his full height only to find that this person dwarfed him and he was a fairly tall man in the kingdom of France.
"Just a friend who happened to catch that pathetic display." Pete replied striding over to the wine bottles and such, and pouring himself a healthy share.
"I am a just and righteous man; I do not need help from the likes of you." Frollo countered suspecting this man of ill intents; he prepared to shout for the guards, Pete sneered beneath his hood and whirled back to face this delusional little man. The Heartless could tell when someone had darkness in their hearts and he was practically oozing it.
"Listen here bub; I ain't got time to mess around with you, I'm here on an important job. It's just my good fortune that you and I have somethin' in common… What yo' might call one o' them fortunate circumstances." He began sipping occasionally at the wine to wet his tongue, Frollo returned to his seat a slight hint of interest playing across his face.
"Please continue." He requested with a wave of his hand; Pete sneered yet again at the arrogance of this would be villain, his boss would have torn him apart by now for his arrogant presumptuousness.
"You want to find that there court o' miracles don't-cha?" Pete asked eliciting a nod from Frollo. "Well I, that is ta say; my pals can find it easily…" Frollo laughed out loud causing Pete to glare at the man dangerously.
"I've been searching for it for twenty years, how can you be so certain to find it in one day?" He demanded; Pete smiled darkly his teeth gleaming beneath his hood and he snapped his fingers. Three creatures appeared in a flash, one was a gangly looking humanoid in a strange soldiers' uniform with two beady yellow eyes peering out from an otherwise flat face. The others were the same little dark blobs that had attacked Selphie on her island, though Frollo did not know of this.
"These are my pals, you might say, Minister Frollo; the Heartless don't need twenty-years to find that there miraculous court." Pete explained while Frollo studied the Soldier and Shadow Heartless before him. "All they gotta do is sniff out the hearts of whoever's livin' there and voila… No more court."
"Surely these creatures serve the forces of darkness." Frollo exclaimed fearfully. "I can not rely on them." He added; Pete chuckled to himself, so he did have some intelligence after all, but Pete had a plan all along otherwise why even show himself to this lesser villain.
"Now that's where you're wrong." He began jovially slapping the Soldier across the small of its back and sending it stumbling forward comically, just like that goof of a captain. "The Heartless serve, they don't care if they work fer light or dark, they're the perfect servants. And what's better they never disobey orders." He stated moving closer to Frollo and placing a hand on the humans' shoulder as he proclaimed his spiel, Frollo regarded the Heartless contemplatively circling them once more.
"And what is it you want?" He finally asked regarding his strange benefactor a wary expression still present on his features, but a glimmer entering his eyes as he thought of the possibilities.
"Hook, line and sinker… Oh Petey boy ya still got it." Pete whispered to himself before clearing his throat loudly. "That girl you had, she's got somethin' that belongs to a friend o' mine. Funny lookin' sword in the shape of a key." He replied with genuine sorrow and frustration in his tone; after all the Keyblade should have been in the boss's hands hours ago.
"So she is a thief as well as a liar." Frollo muttered glancing down at the Heartless one last time and reaching his decision. "Very well sir, we have a deal, but I want it made clear that all of those in the Court of Miracles are not killed until after I've had the chance to speak with them." He stated reaching out his hand to Pete, Pete grinned triumphantly as he slipped a tiny ring on his finger in the shape of the symbol adorning the Soldier Heartless' chest. Grasping Frollos' outstretched hand he shook on it causing a thin needle to emerge and prick the Minister; drawing a tiny trickle of blood.
"You got yourself a deal palie." He stated confidently.
"What did you do?" Frollo wondered eyeing the trickling blood from his right index finger; it appeared darker then usual as though pooling with blackness itself.
"Oh nothin' special; that's just ta make sure the Heartless'll obey ya." Pete replied backing up into the shadows. "I'll be in touch." He added before he vanished once again leaving Frollo alone with the Heartless.
"You there." He called; the Soldier straightened up seemingly and approached Frollo. "Wonderful." He praised. "Now then, find me the Court of Miracles, those who are living there have impure hearts and must be brought to justice. Now go." He ordered; the Soldier bobbled his head, as if it was nodding and then he and the Shadows' vanished into the darkness.
To Be Continued