The darkness spreads open into light and I kneel, and look up into this new world's sky another world
so familiar to mine yet so different. Now I was getting less disoriented from this new manner of travel,
the dizziness diminished and the shadow had faded away. Standing up and turning my face away
from the clear blue sky, I looked across the peaceful country side and listened to the sounds of the
near by flowing creek, the sounds of laughter in the distance. Walking along the beaten dirt road I
was reminded of walking through the park back home, the sun beating down on me and the sounds
of nature blessing my ears with their good graces.
Along the dirt path my worries faded abit, my concerns seem to be cast away. Bells in the distance
I can hear them loud and clear, even louder as I get closer, the town in the distance looking less like
a town and more like a city. French voices, could I be home? Back in Montreal after only a few short
trips across universes and timelines, is it possible?
But stepping towards the city even more, the buildings were different, medieval yet new. The smells
that carried on the wind weren't the smell of fast food and gas like the streets of Montreal, but the
smell of roasted meat and burning wood. As I got closer I could see happy children running by
playing games like I used to when I was younger, their clothes tattered and old fashioned, a old
woman shouted at them as they knocked over a stand of apples. Moving into the city there was
somewhat of a festival going on and people dancing and cheering, I looked up and the sun cast
down on me as I laid eyes on the Notre-Dame church a massive beautiful work of architecture.
Spinning around it went to my head, this world was so much more bright and massive in comparison
to the small town of Sleepy Hollow.
My mind had gone blank as I looked on at what appeared to be Paris, France. Just then I remembered
I reached into my pocket and yanked out the scroll that Red Mage had given to me, the arrow pointed
towards the Notre-Dame de Paris, how'd I see that coming it seemed nearly overly obvious but the
getting to the keyhole may be more difficult than I think, it always is.
Moving more into town there was a happy party going on, a festival, people every where dancing. Then
a strange man came dancing towards me, he looked like a clown or what would be called a jester at
this time period. "Why the glum look!" he grinned at me, I tried to block him out as he pranced around
me, I had grown fed up and just wanted to seal the keyholes. "Look I don't got time for you clown.." I said
to him as he face grew long as his overly hyper ego seemed to deflate as I then walked off.
Trying to pull myself through the crowd, the stage caught my eye a gypsy dancing on the stage. I turned
away and kept going, bumping into a strange cloaked figure I kept moving and ignored him. My eyes
fixated on a person who stood out of the crowd, he or she seemed entirely out of place, the person wore
a sleek black cloak sealed by a silver zipper and the hood inside the darkness was so pitch black that
you couldn't even see a face, but then one eye, one golden eye glared through the darkness. "You!"
I shouted through the crowd at the top of my lungs as I rammed my way through the people rudely
towards the figure as it noticed me and turned and made haste away. Chasing him I turned down corners
and jumped over crates and barrels as I turned down an alley way he had turned and found nothing, the
person had vanished into the air, like magic. Pausing I breathed in the air and relaxed, I had lost him or
her but it didn't change the fact that I was going to seal the keyhole, just seemed a little strange is all.
Back in the crowd, a hood figure caught the eye of the beautiful gypsy but this incident was caught by
the eye of one Claude Frollo, who grinned menacingly before turning to his guards and nodding his head.
The guards stepped down from the priest and made their way for the strange man to take him away, they
grabbed him and dragged him away from the gypsy and pulled him towards Notre-Dame de Paris. It was
strange, I could feel something coming from the priest, a darkness.
It was time, I made my way for the Notre-Dame de Paris, I was going to do this fast and get it over with.
Grasping the door handles I yanked the large door open and went inside, the sun light shined through
the rose window, it was beautiful a real unique and stunning piece of art. Looking at the scroll again the
arrow pointed towards a door, so I followed it and it lead me to a very large stair case so I had to climb it
there was no other choice. The stairs seemed so lengthy but it gave me time to think, about Mel and
the others, but thinking about it made me question all this hard work and why I was trying to find them
and if it was worth it. Like some voice inside me was trying to twist how I feel, like some sick creature
was trying to gain control of me, I decided to think of TV shows back home to get my mind off of it.
"Somebody save me, I don't care how you do it, just save" I sang to myself walking up the stairs to
keep my mind straight, what better to think of than Smallville.
As I got to the top of the stairs the sun light poured it's way through the architectural gaps and holes
in the beautiful Notre-Dame, it was an amazing sight for the eyes, and there was the bell but I heard a
noise. Moving over to the bell I ran my hand along it and studied it but then a voice frightened me "hey!"
I jumped and turned around my keyblade appearing as I swung it towards the voice and the small figure
jumped away. "What the hell!..a talking gargoyle!" I shouted as it peered over at me the fat and comical
looking gargoyle waddled over to me with a smile. Looking at him strangely I watched as two other gargoyles
came out of the shadow of the bell tower, it was so strange, I had never seen talking and moving statues
before. But then again I also had never seen a talking ant and a headless horsemen before either.
Then I heard footsteps climbing the stairs of the tower towards the door, the gargoyles gasped and hopped
into their positions and stayed as still as real statues as I rolled behind the bell and hid in a dark corner.
Bursting open Quasimodo was thrown into his dank bell tower he called home, as the soldiers laughed at
him, Frollo came from behind the guards laughing as he moved closer to Quasimodo. "You're to stay in
the bell tower! You're to never leave here, the people out, the people won't accept you! They can't! And
neither can that gypsy girl!" Frollo shouted at Quasimodo, his tone was uncertain of reassurance or
orders. He turned and left slamming the door shut and locking it, as Quasimodo pulled himself up, his
already droopy face seemed to sink even more in his sadness. The gargoyles hopped over to him to
comfort him, I could tell they were his only friends, it's sad but true the world is a superficial place and
sometimes it's hard to keep fighting and keep telling yourself things will get better, but Quasimodo
didn't seem like the type to easily give up as he went to plotting with his little set of model figures and
Notre-Dame.
Stepping out of the darkness of the corner I spoke out to Quasimodo, "hello.." I said softly as to not
scare him, he turned and saw me but hid his face quickly and moved away "don't look at me!" he
shouted. "Look it's alright, we all have our problems..right now I'm looking for my friends, I'm sort've
lost.." I told him as he looked at me and said "friends?..I don't really have any friends, it's better to
have friends and lose them then to never have any at all" as he stopped hiding his face and walked
over to me. "I'm Quasimodo" he said brushing his hair back a bit as I smiled and shook his hand and
said "I'm Kevin, now you got a friend Quasimodo", a voice in the back of my head and deep in my
soul whispered "why? why befriend him! destroy him!" but it was so faint I didn't really notice it
but it managed to give me goose bumps.
"So you have a plan?" I asked him as he eyed his models and looked back at me "a plan?" he
questioned as I grinned "to get your gypsy girl!", why was I trying to help him, maybe because
in some way he reminded me of how I was used to be, overly self-conscious and scared. He
turned away and mumbled as he was at a loss to find words to say as he turned and smiled and
nodded his head and said "she's so beautiful, so great..so" he jumped up on the ledge looking off
at Paris and opened wide to sing and I said "no time for singing lover boy, get back in here would
you!" I couldn't help laughing as he laughed and came back in.
Quasimodo planned to see Esmeralda no matter what the cost, deep down he truly loved her. But
there was another man close to her heart, Pheobus, the captain of the guard whose men are
ordered to rid the city streets of gypsies was fond of her and her beauty. Climbing down the side
of Notre-Dame de Paris on a rope, Quasimodo plans to see Esmeralda, while I on the other hand
need to find that keyhole. The arrow on my scroll tells me that it's on the bell, but when ever I hold
me key to it, it does nothing, I don't understand.
Making his way to find her, Quasimodo runs with great haste and a great big grin on his face to
see her again and just be around her. Searching high and low in the usually hiding spots, he sees
Esmeralda's goat Djali roaming around in a field near by, a tent shinning with the glow of candle
light. He approaches quietly, and peeks inside to find Pheobus embracing his love Esmeralda,
Quasimodo gasps and falls back and crawls picking himself up and running off, tears down his
cheeks his heart broken. Esmeralda turns to the tent opening and runs and looks outside seeing
Quasimodo running in the distance and she covers her mouth and turns away knowing he had
seen them and was obviously heart broken. Phoebus placed his hand on her shoulder "we should
go after him.." he said concerned about Quasimodo and what he may do in his saddened state.
Climbing back up into his bell tower Quasimodo sobbed, I turned to look at him "what happened!"
I asked as he slowly looked up "she loves another.." he said sobbing in between his words. Sitting
down beside him I patted his shoulder, his face was quite horrible, it was obvious Esmeralda could
never love a man so disfigured but I knew how that was, my self esteem was never quite high even
though in reality I'm a pretty good looking guy just maybe I feel ugly inside myself deep down. I guess
we all have a little Quasimodo in ourselves some where, and there's nothing more we'd love to do
than break out of ringing that bell and find true happiness.
Steps on the stairs again, my eyes widened the gargoyles turned away from Quasimodo and I ran
into the darkness of the bell tower as the door swung open. Frollo burst into the room rage in his
eyes and face as he shouted "don't think I didn't see you leave your bell tower! I saw you as clear
as day Quasimodo! AND WHAT DID I TELL YOU!" looking up shaking abit he responded
"to never leave here, that they wouldn't accept me down there...". Frowning a great big frown Frollo
said "this time..you must be punished.." and then as by command I looked on as he finished his
words a few heartless sprang from their voids in the air. They began to attack Quasimodo, Frollo
laughed and walked away closing the bell tower door and making his way down the stairs, I just
waited until I heard his steps grow distant until I sprang into attack. Dismembering the heartless
as quick as I could I turned to Quasimodo as if to hit him, my arm pulsated in pain the keyblade
felt as it were latched to me.
The keyblade faded away as I helped him up, "are you okay?" I asked as he just nodded and smiled
as I sat him down on a near by ledge and let him rest. "You can't always take this abuse from Frollo
Quasimodo, you don't deserve any of this.." I told him as he just looked at me, I could see the
uncertainty in his eyes as he lowered his head in shame.
Just then foot steps leapt up the stairs with a quick pace as the door burst open and Phoebus
ran in, "Quasimodo!" he shouted as I turned and my keyblade appeared, Quasimodo looked up
at him saddened "what is it?". Breathing loudly and trying to catch his air Phoebus began to
speak of terrible things "it's Frollo! He's kidnapped Esmeralda and I cannot get to her, these
creatures are stopping me..he's lost his mind!" we both looked at him and we knew we had to
save her. What I knew is that doing this task would probably help me some how in sealing this
world, it had seemed every world needed something to be done before you could lock it and this
seemed fitting.
We climbed down the stairs but only making it half way we were confronted by several heartless
wearing knight's armor that clanked around and seemed totally unintimidating. Phoebus swung his
sword attacking them as I slashed away with my keyblade, Quasimodo looked around in a panic
not attacking, as more heartless came up the stairs. We kept on attacking them, Quasimodo leapt
off the stairs grabbing a rope and ran along the wall and untied a rope as a chandelier fell from above
and slammed on the heartless turning them to smoke. Phoebus cheered "good job Quasimodo!" as
we continued down the stairs and it was in the main hall of the Notre-Dame de Paris that Frollo held
Esmeralda captive.
"Let her go Frollo!" Phoebus demanded, Frollo laughed and looked at Quasimodo and shouted "get
back to your tower!" and Quasimodo slowly turned fighting his own urges, he then stood his ground
and shouted back "NO! I shall not go back! Release Esmeralda!". "You dare defy me! Your both going
to pay dearly for this!" Frollo shouted as he was lifted up on the back of a giant heartless covered in
heavy knight's armor brandishing a large lance and shield, I stared on and it caught me off guard abit
but I held up my keyblade none the less. Frollo and the giant knight heartless began to come towards
us smashing the wooden pews of the church as they walked.
Phoebus ran at him and swung his sword and dodged attacks trying to destroy the heartless but he was
smacked away into the wall and knocked out. Quasimodo distracted him as I looked around and saw
several pillars on the walls, I knew it'd be bad to knock them down but it's the only way to defeat him.
Striking the pillars I fiercely tried knocking it over as Quasimodo bought me time, then it cracked and
tilted over and fell onto the heartless's head stunning him enough to lower his shield, as I began to
attack him wildly. But then he came to his senses and knocked me back, Quasimodo went back to
distracting him as I went for the next pillar and beat it till it fell over on the heartless once more. Repeating
this sequence several more times, I slammed my keyblade into the heartless and it exploded and Frollo
seemed to fade away, the heartlessness of his soul had devoured him. Esmeralda's heartless designed
cage turned to dust as she fell and was caught by Quasimodo.
Phoebus woke up and stood up and ran to Esmeralda and hugged her as Quasimodo smiled, he wanted
the best for Esmeralda and knew that the way Phoebus loves her was the best she could have. My scroll
gleamed and I pulled it out as it lead me to the stair case, and I looked up and saw the keyhole brightly
shinning on the bell and I lifted my keyblade and it shot a beam of light up into the bell and locked the
seal closing the world from the heartless.
Moving back to Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Phoebus I smiled and said "I must go now, I have to find
my friends..". Quasimodo smiled and said "I wish you the best of luck Kevin" they smiled and I knew
everything was going to get a lot better for Quasimodo now that Frollo was gone. And as like before
the darkness surrounded me and I faded away like a heartless and I was travelling to another world.
But within the darkness something was born, a heartless unlike any other. A princess of the dark, a
wretched girl of anger, hate, and sadness. A minion of the heartless, a deceiver, a warrior, a lover.
