Author's Note: I wanted to go back to Quasimodo because I don't like ignoring the poor guy... he's one of my favorite characters, and he's... how do I say... complex? And yet he's simple... how do I mean?AH! Ah well... Read and Review! The story should be finished in about... Hmmm... Four chapters...? Oh, it's so close... I'm almost afraid of reaching it...

Chapter 25

Laverne watched Quasimodo worriedly, her thin, ape-like arms draping over one another in a concerned cross against her chest.

The hunchback sat silently at the crude table that created the miniature's streets and square, as taciturn and despondent as ever. Scrump's limp green body fell over his large fingers, her detached arm held in his other, nearby hand. His green eyes scanned over the rag doll carefully, examining the tattered edges of her shoulder and arm with an expert eye.

He had not spoken for a day, not even to Victor, Hugo, or Laverne, who noted the silence with obvious worry. They questioned him incessantly, begging for at least some acknowledgement, some explanation for his confusing behavior. But, despite their attention and concern, Quasimodo spoke to no one, keeping his muteness as if he had pledged an unbreakable vow.

He's breaking inside, Laverne thought heavily, the wrinkled corners of her mouth drooping ever the more. You can see it on his face. He doesn't smile anymore.

Though his life was filled with hardships that beat against both his body and his heart, Quasimodo had always had the time to smile. He wished for and wanted an ordinary life, one spent without hiding or alienation. He wanted to be down in the active and ordinary walks that spread across Paris like streams from a river, wanted to live in the houses that he towered above every day. But even though those aspirations may never be fulfilled, he would smile. He was proud of his church, of his bells, of every thing that he achieved in the short nineteen years that he had lived through yet. But now, the angry rain poured down upon the grey city, and Quasimodo's smile seemed drowned beneath its gloomy deluge.

"Look at him," Hugo muttered, coming up to stand beside the old gargoyle. "Doesn't look like he's gonna snap out of it anytime soon."

"No, I'm afraid not," Victor acceded, joining the two.

"What do you think is up?" the fat one asked after a moment.

"Obviously it's that little girl," Victor answered, heaving a harsh sigh. "Ever since she disappeared, it's as if he's grown hopeless."

"Well, she'd better get back here soon." Hugo looked at Quasimodo, chewing on his bottom lip as if it were a croissant.

Laverne kept silent, her wisecracks and insight hushed by her concern.

It's the kid, isn't it, Quasi? she asked voicelessly. That's what's got you acting like this.

There seemed a sense of denial that he exuded whenever she had asked him this, though he never answered verbally. Even when he had waited out in the rain for her for such a long time and had cried when she had not returned within the day, he denied caring about the little girl any further. He seemed to want to forget anything that had to do with Lilo, excepting her doll, which he kept with him wherever he went, tucked into a pouch he tied around his waist. He buried himself beneath his chores, polishing and re-polishing and then further re-polishing the bells until they sparkled almost uncannily in the dim light that poked in through the bell tower's windows. And, when no more chores presented themselves, he whittled figures out of blocks of wood until his fingers ached with cuts and splinters. It was only now, when there was nothing left to do, he sat at his table, as silent and withdrawn as the dead.

Finally, Laverne, ignoring the whispered discussion that the other two gargoyles were having, hopped her way over to stand beside Quasimodo. She looked up at him gravely, her eyes trying to pierce the ugly emotionless shell that he wore, never flinching from her spot. The hunchback acted as if he took no notice of her, greeting her with nothing more than a fleeting glance to where she stood. Quasimodo's attention remained resolutely on the green doll, a serious frown curving over his chin.

"What are you up to, Quasi?" Laverne asked genially, touching his forearm with the tenderness of a grandmother.

Quasimodo was silent. He put the doll down onto the table and reached for a spool standing beside a model townsperson, a needle piercing the thread that curved about it.

Laverne smiled kindly, traces of her worry still visible in her stone eyes. "Sewing?"

He had no answer for her and continued on to pull the needle from the fibers. Placing it to the side, he pulled the string to a considerable length, then, squinting carefully, he proceeded to thread the needle's eye.

Laverne watched him disappointedly as he did his unsaid task. After threading the needle, he looked down at the doll that sat on the table before him. His stare lasted a long while, past the point of examination. The old gargoyle stared up at him, at his eyes, green and moist. There was pride and sadness mixed in that long gaze. Laverne barely understood that shimmer, unsure as to why it was there and what it meant.

Quasimodo finally let out a quiet sigh, the first bit of sound that he had made for the whole day.

"What are you sewing up, Quasi?"

Quasimodo looked forward out at the rain for a long moment, as if thinking deeply for an answer, and then looked down at his close friend. His mouth opened to speak, but, at the last moment, it fell silent, and, shaking his head vigorously, he turned back to Scrump.

Laverne finally turned from the hunchback with an unhappy shake of her head, and, with a final, dissatisfied glance over one bent shoulder, she hopped away, dragging her knuckles along sadly.

The footsteps were becoming louder with every second, guards in their thick leather boots hurrying over from both sides to confront the maker of the noise. Clopin pulled back into the shadows, dragging Lilo by the wrist after him. She continued fervently to close the clasp of her bracelet, refusing to give up on her final prospect of going back home.

"All I have to do is close the circuit," she gasped at him, still trying to bring both ends together on her wrist. "If I can just make them come together then it'll work!"

Clopin watched her rave about the piece of jewelry with a rolling eye. She was going crazy under all the pressure, he knew it. But, if she didn't quiet herself down soon there would be no chance of either of them surviving this exploit. He pulled her close to him in the small nook that drew into the wall, clapping another thin hand over her moving lips, which mumbled indignantly against his palm. He shushed her, putting a finger to his mouth.

"Quiet!" the king hissed uneasily, baring his teeth in an animalistic way.

Lilo, who was becoming frustrated with her failed attempts and now this new annoyance, pushed away his hand with an uncanny strength.

"Help me!" She shook the chain of metal in his face. "I know that if I just do this, I can make it! I know I can!"

"Young lady," Clopin said in exasperation, holding back that unfriendly hiss that threatened to overwhelm his voice, "I don't know what you mean! The bracelet won't clasp and whatever it is you're saying to me doesn't make much sense at all!"

"But—"

"Quiet yourself," Clopin said, pressing a long, spidery digit against her lips. "We need to be quiet, my dear. There is only one chance of us getting out of this alive, and the last thing we need is for us to be caught before we can."

Lilo wanted to continue talking, wanted to tell him that this was the only way that she could make it out of here alive… she knew that she was just dead weight on his shoulders, that with her dragging along, he would never be able to make it out of this dark place alive. She didn't want to disappoint anyone anymore. But, she saw how he looked, that anger, that frustration… her talking wouldn't help either of them.

She brought her hands together in an unhappy knot, clamping her lips together with the obedience of a beaten dog. She didn't know what to do now… how was she supposed to…?

Lilo felt a sudden mild shock rush up her arm, and, instinctively, she let out a startled scream, quickly shushed again by the unhappy Gypsy beside her. She shut herself up, but, curious, looked down at her hands to find out what had happened. All that she saw in her hands was that infernal transmitter and Quasimodo's talisman… what had…?

Interested, she stuck her finger between the two clasps and a sudden twitch of electricity ran up her arm. Well, that accounted for the sudden shock… her finger would've finished the circuit, but something about it seemed almost dangerous… She repressed a frustrated whine… She had almost done it.

She wanted to cry. If Frollo caught her, no doubt there would be a horrible fate awaiting her. Lilo didn't want any of that. She wanted to go home, she wanted to see her 'ohana again… she wanted to see Quasimodo again… she stared at the medallion, at it's metal face, the golden sun hewn into its surface…

METAL! Was gold a good conductor? Of course it was a good conductor, it was metal, wasn't it? But, she couldn't do it alone. If she did it, she'd probably get shocked again, and then the connection would break before she got home…

"Mr. Clopin!" She tugged on his sleeve, causing a startled scream from the Gypsy king. "I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" he asked in a strained manner.

"Hold onto Quasimodo's talisman, please?"

"What?"

Shoving the medallion into Clopin's barely ready fingers, she held both ends of the transmitter with her fingers. It was a clumsy way of holding them, but she did it tightly, so that in two fingers she held one clasp and in another two fingers she held the other end.

"Put the talisman between the ends," she instructed, holding the tips apart to fit the pendant and a little bit more. Clopin, though obviously confused, did as she said and slipped the edge of the disc in-between.

"Now, when I give the signal, press this button here," she pointed to the large red button on the face that had "go back" printed on it in white letters. "Do you understand? When I say so, push this button here!"

"I get it," Clopin said with a weary nod. It was strange how much more bossy people were becoming toward him nowadays.

Doing her best to ignore the horrible noise of nearing soldiers, Lilo held the clasps tightly.

Okay, she thought in her head, breathing anxiously.

"On the count of three, Mr. Clopin," Lilo told him, glancing up to see him nod. "One…" She tightened her grips on the ends. "Two…" Clopin's finger hovered expectantly over the red button. And, Lilo, letting out a breath of nervous air, screamed out, "THREE!"

In that final second, Lilo forced both clasps against the face of the talisman, and Clopin, holding his breath, pushed against the key. And, with a sudden burst of white light, the young girl disappeared, and Clopin was left standing alone in the shadows of the Palace of Justice with the sounds of soldiers nearer than ever.

A/N: Thank you, nice people, who actually review! It is greatly appreciated! And thank you too, those of you who actually read this story! It makes me proud to say I'm writing it! Read and Review, as always!

Funfact: Although it's probably not going to happen now, Matthias and Clopin were supposed to resolve their problems by the end of this story... but there have been some changes to the plot, and, as far as I can tell, they seem to have grown farther apart. But, I suppose the two of them will have to deal with their problems until some later date. In the original script, when Lilo and Stitch were reunited, the scene was so touching (and took place in front of the whole court) that the two of them decided that fighting was bad... don't ask... it was in the original story, where Lilo and Stitch were dropped onto that earth by friendly aliens... They had gotten seperated after a fight, and were reuinted in the Court of Miracles... Well, now Clopin and Matthias hate each other! If anyone even REALLY remembers who Matthias is...

-Guille van Carter