DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT AND MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: HELLO THERE! I'M HERE - WITH CHAPTER 20! IT'S FINALLY ARRIVED!
Before I get started, I shall just have to say this: This... Is... The Last Chapter For LA VILLE DE SONNER LES CLOCHES.
Of course, this also means the Next World is JUST AROUND THE CORNER! YIPPEE!
After facing a series of tragic incidents the last few weeks, I am glad I was able to get This Chapter up and running before October ended.
A LOT has happened. I will NOT tell you everything. Instead, I Will tell you how excited I am about Disney-Pixar's "Inside Out (2015)" coming out on Blu-Ray/DVD next week! TALK ABOUT EXCITING!
For the record, I have an announcement. I have been preparing a revised version of the "former" story, "Once Upon A Time ~The Darkest Age~". Instead of it being a "Spin-Off", it will serve as a "Season 6" style story - IF You Know What I Mean!
Lastly, I will tell This Chapter is a rather Dark one. Yet, I did manage to add in some Comic Relief.
IT'S TIME TO READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! Plus, remember this important reminder - DON'T FORGET TO READ AND REVIEW!
CHAPTER 20
"…He Shall Smite The Wicked!"
Her eyes blinked open. Her vision came into focus. She sat up. Her head was pounding so much, it seemed to be an obnoxious bong going off every moment. She swiftly put her right hand to her head. The pain seemed to go down a little.
"Are you alright?" a voice asked.
Amemi swung her focus to where the voice came from. A tall, blonde-haired man dressed in white was standing over her. She relaxed, knowing this was Phoebus. "Yes," she said in a soft voice. "I think… I am."
Phoebus smiled a little. "That's good. Can't say the same about us."
Amemi was puzzled. "Huh?"
That's when she saw the two were inside a prison carriage. The iron bars formed a cage over them. The only door was being guarded by the short Beagle Boy and several Heartless soldiers. Amemi jumped to her feet. She gazed up into the sky and froze. She was appalled beyond understanding.
The late afternoon sun was not shining over the city of La Ville de Sonner Les Cloches. The sky was dark and filled with dark smoke. The cathedral of Notré Dame was blanketed by a dark silhouette. The carriage was one of several on one side of the town square. In the middle of the plaza was a wooden platform. All around it were Heartless soldiers and a few Shadowy Heartless. On the other side of the area were the townspeople; they were being held back by the Heartless guards.
What had seized Amemi's attention so rapidly was a group of individuals on the platform. Frollo and Pete were standing on one end with both Esmeralda and Sora on the other. The latter two were tied to wooden posts surrounded by bundles of straw. The entrance to the cathedral opened and out stepped the Archdeacon. The elderly man was blocked by the other two Beagle Boys; they had drawn their swords and crossed them before him.
Frollo held up a long scroll. As several Heartless beat a series of drums, the judge read aloud its contents. "The prisoners, Esmeralda and Sora, have been found guilty of the crime of witchcraft. The sentence — death!"
Several of the townspeople shouted protests. Pete pointed at the crowd, to which many Heartless rushed over to hold the people back. Amemi was ready to panic. She grabbed the bars of her carriage and tried to pull. It was in vain.
Sora was busy struggling. He had to break free from the wooden post. There wasn't much time. The sky was growing darker by the minute. At this rate, a ball of Darkness ready to consume the entire city would be forming within the hour. With his hands tied behind him, he was unable to summon his Keyblade. All he really could do was watch as a Heartless walked up to Frollo. Frollo grabbed the torch from the Heartless and approached Esmeralda. "The time has come, gypsy," he told her. "You stand upon the brink of the abyss."
He grinned a little. Esmeralda gave a disgusted sneer. "Yet even now, it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next. Choose me, or the fire."
Sora gasped when he heard all this. He could tell Frollo's heart of Darkness was trying to seize Esmeralda's Light. No way would he allow that to happen! Sadly, he was tied to a wooden post about to be executed for working against Maleficent, Pete, and the corrupt official.
Whatever Esmeralda did to Frollo in return, Sora didn't know. It was during that moment Pete marched up to him and slapped the young man in the cheek. The villain laughed. "Not so defense-ful now, are ya?"
"Shut up!" Sora snapped in reply. "You know you're not getting away with this!"
Pete gave a sinister grin. "Oh yeah! I'm afraid I already have! So, you can play nice — in de Underworld! Hades has you booked in his deepest, darkest dungeon — forever."
Pete marched away happily. "Ooh! I just love winnin'!"
All Sora could now do was glare. He noticed Esmeralda was doing the same. Frollo raised his torch into the air and started to speak. "The gypsy Esmeralda and her associate have refused to recant," he declared to crowd of protesting townspeople. "These evil witches have put the soul of every citizen of Paris in mortal danger… "
The bell tower was pitch-dark. The only light came from the flames and smoke of the nearby townhouses still on fire. The smoke surrounded the cathedral as a thin mist. At one particular section, a series of stone columns held up the tower. It was here Quasimodo, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were chained in place. For a few hours, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad had been trying to break free. Victor, Hugo, and Laverne had soon hopped over to help them. By this point, it was clear the chains were too strong and wound too tightly around the columns. All eyes now turned to Quasimodo. The young man was looking down in hopelessness.
"Come on, Quasi!" Hugo yelled. "Snap out of it!"
"Your friends are down there!" Victor added.
"Come on!" Donald shouted to the bell ringer.
Quasimodo didn't move. "It's all my fault," he muttered.
"You gotta break these chains!" Laverne demanded.
"Help us out!" Goofy declared in turn. "These here chains are too long for us!"
"Too strong for us!" Donald corrected.
"I can't," Quasimodo sighed. He sounded a little irritated. "I tried. What difference would it make?"
"We can't Pete and Frollo win!" Donald stated as firmly as he knew how to sound.
"Yeah!" Goofy agreed. "This whole world will be covered in Darkness!"
Quasimodo sighed. "He already has… "
Hugo was shocked and worried. "So, you're giving up?" he realized. "That's it?"
"These chains aren't what's holding you back, Quasimodo," Laverne said.
Despite the words of determination and encouragement from the others, Quasimodo did not budge. All he did was snap, "Leave me alone."
Silence filled the bell tower. Donald and Goofy's eyes were as wide as they could get. Hugo, Victor, and Laverne's were downcast and they hobbled away. "Okay, Quasi," Hugo sighed. "We'll leave you alone."
"After all," Victor added. "We're only made out of stone."
Laverne sighed deeply. "We just thought maybe you were made of something stronger."
Once the gargoyles were no longer in sight, Quasimodo gave an extremely deep sigh. Donald and Goofy both had to agree on something else. It seemed there was no way they could convince the bell ringer to save Sora, Esmeralda, and the others down in the square below. The two peered over the edge of the railing and looked down at the scene below.
Launchpad was still fidgeting with his chains. It would have appeared the pilot hadn't paid any attention to what Quasimodo had said. "Well, if I were free," he told the bell ringer. "I'd take a rope, and swing down there like Ol' Prince Greydrake, and sweep Esmeralda off her feet."
Quasimodo looked away. Launchpad was puzzled, not sure why his approach was not working. It was then the group overheard Frollo's voice coming from the square. They all looked over the railing to see what was going on.
"…For justice, for Paris, and for their own salvation! It is my shameful duty to send this poor girl and this poor boy back where they belong!"
Before their eyes, Frollo lowered the torch in his hands and set the bundles of straw around Sora and Esmeralda alight. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were now beyond worried. Could Sora break free in time? What about Esmeralda? Was there anything they could do?! The odds were against them. It seemed this world was about to teeter off the edge into total Darkness.
"NO!" Quasimodo hollered as loudly as he could. The others swerved their focus to him. To their amazement, the young man was yanking on the chains tying them to the stone columns. The vibration shook the whole bell tower, causing some tiny pieces of stone to come crumbling down. One piece struck Donald's head. A second bounced off Goofy's before it hit Donald's shoulder.
"What's the big idea?!" the duck magician snarled.
Noticing how Sora was struggling to hold his breath and Esmeralda was gasping for air, Launchpad pulled on the chains, too. This caused Goofy to give in to the yanking, followed by Donald. At once, the stone columns around them collapsed, sending debris falling all around. With the chains sliding off their arms and legs, Goofy held up his shield to keep the chunks of stone from hitting him; Donald rushed under the knight's shield to stay out of danger. They didn't notice a furious Quasimodo grabbing a rope and tossing another to a determined Launchpad.
Within seconds, the bell ringer and pilot were swinging down to the side of the cathedral.
Sora was holding his breath as much as he could. He noticed Esmeralda had starting coughing violently. Through the flames and smoke, he could see pleased faces on both Frollo and Pete. The latter villain seemed to be laughing.
At that moment, the seventeen-year-old Keyblader spotted something startling out of the corner of his eye. Two figures were swinging down from the cathedral rooftop and now flying over the crowd in a sideways arc. He felt a surge of relief. One of them was Quasimodo. The other was… Launchpad?
Quasimodo was the first to reach the platform. He landed before a startled Frollo and speechless Pete. When the bell ringer jumped over to Sora and set him free, the latter leapt out of the flames and summoned his Keyblade in an instant. Quasimodo proceeded to free Esmeralda.
"Hey, you!" the two tallest Beagle Boys were charging onto the platform to stop Quasimodo. Sora positioned his Keyblade to fight them. Before he could even swing the weapon, Launchpad swung over and slammed straight into the pair of villains, shoving them off the platform.
Sora grinned at the pilot while the latter returned to the cathedral. Quasimodo grinned at Sora while he grabbed his own rope and swung back to the cathedral with Esmeralda safely in his arms. "Quasimodo!" an outraged Frollo declared.
Quasimodo and Launchpad reached the cathedral's upper floors in no time at all. Although the pilot landed safely on the floor, Quasimodo had ended up on the outside wall. He quickly climbed up. Sora's grin grew larger as he watched the sight of the bell ringer being a true hero. "Way to go, Quasi!" he cheered.
Quasimodo reached the level where a circular, stained-glass window was positioned. He stopped there and held Esmeralda high into the air. "Sanctuary!" he yelled as loudly as he could. "Sanctuary!"
Sora nodded in approval. Esmeralda was now safely out of Frollo's hands and under the protection of Notré Dame. Spotting his sister and Phoebus in a prison carriage less than ten feet away, the young man leaped off the platform and hurried over to her.
Frollo was beyond furious. He glowed a dark-purple color as he struggled to hold in his anger. This sight made Pete gulp and start to sweat. It took a lot to make the large cat-man sweat with fear. This definitely meant Frollo's Darkness was becoming greater than even Maleficent had dared to go. There was no doubt in Pete's mind as to what was going to happen soon.
At any time, Frollo's heart was about to fall to Darkness.
"Pete!" Frollo ordered. "Seize the cathedral!"
Pete gave a very nervous gulp and saluted. "Y-yessir!"
He couldn't let the judge know how anxious he felt. What if Maleficent was watching them from her chamber? He could not receive the title of "coward" from her again. He had to show he was brave, and loyal, and self-determined (the last one wouldn't be too hard). He glanced around, relieved to know Sora had disappeared into the crowd.
Wait… why was he relieved Sora had escaped? Without bothering to take the time to ponder, Pete signaled to the Beagle Boys to come over. All three rushed over to him in a hurry. He pointed at the entrance doors of Notré Dame. "Get 'em!"
"Righty-o, boss!" the Beagle Boys acknowledged with a series of salutes. They rushed at the cathedral.
Pete glanced up with a sinister grin. His eyes nearly popped out when he saw the large, wooden beam falling from above. "Watch out!" he yelled. He covered his head in alarm.
The Beagle Boys fled when the beam landed onto Frollo's armored carriage and smashed it into splinters. When looked up, Pete saw Quasimodo and Launchpad looking back down with determined smiles. In a voice loud enough for everyone below to hear, Launchpad remarked, "What a nice crash!"
Frollo was so angered by this sight, he gave off a thicker cloud of Darkness. This made Pete gulp louder than before.
"Come back, you cowards!" Frollo yelled at the Beagle Boys. When the trio didn't return, the judge snatched a sword from a Heartless and stormed up to a frightened Pete. "Pete! Pick up that beam! Break down the door!"
Pete nodded and urged some Heartless soldiers over. He sent them to the gigantic beam. Perhaps a battering ram would suffice.
Sora raced to the prison carriage. Fortunately, he didn't have to face any Heartless along the way. When he got there, Amemi saw him and shouted, "Sora!"
"Sora!" Phoebus declared. "I have a plan of how we can stop Frollo."
"Tell it to me later," Sora returned. He pointed his Keyblade at the carriage's lock. A beam of Light shone into the lock and opened the door. Amemi raced out and gave her brother a hug. Sora was a little surprised. The last time he'd been in this situation was when Kairi had hugged him back in Organization's castle.
"Thank you, Sora," Amemi said. "I'm sure this is how WordGirl would've thanked you."
"Okay," Sora said as his sister let go. He turned to Phoebus. "You've got an idea?"
"Let's rally the crowd," the blonde-headed man replied. He climbed onto the roof of the carriage.
"Right," Sora approved as he clambered on up. The two turned their attention to the crowd of townspeople gathered in the square. They were still shouting protests. Sora took a deep breath, hoping this was a plan that would work. He noticed many of the townspeople were holding wooden clubs, pitchforks, and canes. Although these items in a mob was somewhat expected, he also knew any kind of weapon would do, so it didn't matter.
"Citizens of Paris!" Phoebus proclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Frollo has persecuted our people, ransacked out city! Now he has declared war on Notré Dame herself! Will we allow it?!"
"No!" the crowd shouted in return. They raised their arms to show their determination to turn against Frollo and his goons.
"C'mon, everyone!" Sora yelled in an equally loud voice. "Fight the Heartless and save the Light!"
The next few minutes were filled with chaos. The people started to riot. The Heartless soldiers holding them back were shoved aside, knocked over and trampled, and severely beaten. Everyone Frollo, Pete, and the Beagle Boys had arrested from the Court of Miracles were freed from their prison carriages. The crowd then rushed at the group of villains trying to break into Notré Dame. When Pete and Frollo saw the mob of people headed for them, the two evildoers sent several hordes of Heartless to stop them. The Heartless consisted of various types, including Shadows, Soldiers, Large Bodies, Air Soldiers, Defenders, and many other kinds.
Knowing everyone in town might not stand much of a chance against a few hundred Heartless, Sora leapt off the carriage. He saw Phoebus was already mixed in the fray, knocking Heartless aside with his sword. Sora gave a quick nod to the man and dashed off to fight some Heartless. It didn't take long since the Heartless were just about everywhere in the plaza. Sora slashed, slammed, and smashed his Keyblade on, at, and through four or six Heartless at one time or another.
After only seven minutes, Sora had to stop to catch his breath. The heat from the fires lighting up the area was starting to take its toll on him. If this kept up, he would be worn out within three or ten minutes. Once he caught his breath, Sora glared at a pair of Large Bodies before him. Before he could rush around and strike them down, the two Heartless were struck and vanished into Darkness. To the brown, spikey-haired youth's surprise, Amemi was standing behind where the enemies had been. Her slingshot was all set to fire at a nearby Air Soldier Heartless.
"Amy?" Sora realizes, startled his own sister was easily destroying the dark creatures. "What are you doing?"
Amemi shot her slingshot at the flying Heartless and terminated it. "I'm doing what WordGirl would do, even if I can't fly around at super-speed."
Sora sighed. This answer wasn't what he'd expected. "I mean, how are you defeating the Heartless with one hit and I have to deal at least three hits?"
Amemi shrugged. "It could have something to do with range. I noticed Donald's magic gets them in one try, too."
Sora was shocked. Did his own sister really notice more about these battles than he did? Or was she just making this stuff up? Whatever the case, he knew he could not let her fight alone.
"C'mon, Amy," the Keyblade wielder said. "Let's show these guys a thing or two."
Amemi's eyes lit up and she pointed behind her brother. "You mean those guys?"
Sora spun around. There were the three hooded characters he instantly recognized as the Beagle Boys. "Thought we'd given up," one of the taller ones said.
"We're faster than you think," the other tall one added.
"Let me at 'im!" the third (short) one shouted.
Sora readied his Keyblade. "Alright! You want a challenge?" He glanced at his little sister. "Let's do this, Amy!"
Amemi nodded. She readied her slingshot. "I'm ready."
Sora rushed at the three glaring villains and rapidly was caught up in a series of clashing weapons. Since the Beagle Boys tended to attack simultaneously from different directions, Sora had to time his movements. First he had to block the enemy and then counter with a swing. From a few feet away, Amemi sent tiny stones flying at the villains.
The fighting quickly became a steady routine. Block, counter, take a few steps over… block, counter, take a few steps over… block, counter, take a few steps over… block, counter, take a few steps over. This was really starting to get to Sora. He needed something different to stop the villains. If he could find a distraction, it would prove quite helpful.
The group of Beagle Boys forced Sora backward. The young man swung his Keyblade at them and it struck something wooden. Sora and the villains stopped fighting when they realizes they'd gotten very close to a stockade. The device was open, allowing a really old, really thin man to get out. The man was filled with a face of excitement. Over and over, he cheered in a soft, gentle voice, "I'm free! I'm free!"
He suddenly disappeared from sight. Sora noticed a roadwork sign that seemed to read "sewer". He realizes the man had fallen down into a sewer of some kind. A voice from below yelled, "Dang it!"
In turn, all Sora could say was, "Okay… "
When he saw the Beagle Boys were puzzled about what had just taken place, Sora knew this was the chance he'd been looking for. He slapped his weapon against the Beagle Boys — one by one. The villains rolled away and came to a stop just inside a nearby prison carriage. Sora and Amemi zoomed over and slammed the carriage's door shut. The two gave each other a high-five before hurrying towards the seemingly-distant cathedral of Notré Dame.
Neither Sora nor Amemi noticed the Beagle Boys each pulling out a small lock pick….
"Fire!"
"Blizzard!"
"Thunder!"
The Heartless soldiers were terminated by the bolts of electricity raining down. Donald grinned. Here he was sending fireballs, blocks of ice, and bolts of lightning at the Heartless soldiers trying to scale the side of Notré Dame. He noticed a large group of Heartless soldiers were charging at the cathedral. He was about to aim his wand at them when a pair of voices drew his focus away from the battle.
"Ready?"
"Yeah!"
Before Donald could question who had spoken and why, a wooden catapult slid straight past him and fell to the ground. The contraption flipped before it landed upside-down on the group of Heartless soldiers.
Though he believed he knew who had done such a thing, Donald still turned his head to the left. Goofy and Launchpad were staring at the catapult below. "Ya big palookas!" the mage scolded. "That's not how those work!"
There was a loud crash from the square. Donald swung his vision down and stared in disbelief. The catapult had activated and crushed all the Heartless soldiers out of existence. "A-Hyuck!" he heard Goofy chuckle. "Looks like it works to me!"
"Yeah!" Launchpad added. "It makes such a nice crash!"
"Let's make more of them cat-y-pults!"
While Goofy and Launchpad walked away, Donald was still astounded. Not willing to admit the knight and pilot had actually done something correct with their "skills", he murmured a large amount of illegible stuff before yelling, "…Aw phooey!"
Sora and Amemi raced through the crowd of people fighting the Heartless soldiers. They saw a group of people beating several Heartless into oblivion. A group of men armed with pitchforks were stabbing Heartless, causing the enemies to explode. There were people running around, punching Heartless from behind, in the face, and kicking them onto the ground. Sora and his sister had to smile. From the looks of things, they were winning. The tide was definitely turning.
They reached the entrance to Notré Dame in a flash. Frollo and Pete were still there, ordering the Heartless to use an enormous wooden beam to break down the cathedral's doors. At this point, the doors were starting to crack.
"Frollo!" Sora hollered, pointing his Keyblade at the judge. "I won't let you do this!"
Pete and Frollo spun around. Pete was shocked beyond understanding. "Huh?! B-but… how did ya escape?!"
Frollo snorted his disapproval. Without a word, he shook his head. His body suddenly was enveloped by a thick cloud of black smoke. Sora stared at it in alarm. This was not ordinary smoke. It was pure Darkness.
"Look out!" a voice screamed in alarm.
Sora, Amemi, Pete, and Frollo whirled their attention to the square. The people who'd been fighting around the wooden platform were running for their lives. The group looked up. Sora, Amemi, and Pete all froze in alarm. Frollo gave a hint of a smile.
A humungous flying creature was descending from the sky. The monster raised one of its fists and slammed it straight into the wooden platform less than fifteen feet away. The platform splintered apart and crumbled into a large cloud of dust. Sora, Amemi, and Pete had to shield their eyes to prevent themselves from being blinded. When they looked again, their eyes were wide and their mouths were open in surprise.
There was the gigantic, flying gargoyle-shaped creature with gun arms that had attacked Amemi back in the Court of Miracles. It was mostly a dark-purple color. The face was marked by a blazing yellow jaw and dark-purple cheeks. The arms were dark shades of navy-blue wrapped in magenta chains. It had a whip-like tail with fiery red and navy-blue stripes that ended in a semicircular blade. The wings resembled stained glass windows. The Heartless emblem was located on its front on some dark-purple, belt-like bands around its waist. The entire being was enveloped in thick smoke, which Sora could automatically tell was complete Darkness.
"Not you again!" Sora snapped at the enormous Heartless. He remembered how this very creature had ambushed Amemi and him on a bridge, set an entire windmill up in flames, knocked Amemi out cold, and had now destroyed the platform he and Esmeralda had been prisoners on not twenty minutes ago.
Pete felt a little relieved at the sight of Sora's anger being directed elsewhere. He regained his composure. "Meet the Wargoyle," he told the young man and teenage girl. "You'll have one difficult time stopping this Heartless."
"No way!" Sora shouted in return. He turned to glare at Pete and pointed his Keyblade straight at the enormous Heartless. "Once I take care of him, you're next!"
Pete shook his fists and struggled to keep himself under control. He just wanted to smack Sora in the head and shove him aside like he was nothing more than a paper doll… like the ones he'd used to give Pistol. He still missed those good ol' days….
Following a deep breath, Pete looked at the Wargoyle with a stern expression on his face. "Wargoyle! Get 'em!"
The large cat-man pointed directly at Sora and his sister. The Heartless veered its undivided attention over to the two. Sora's Keyblade was in its usual place for the start of a battle. Amemi held out her slingshot, a stern frown written on her face. Just before the two could rush at the enemy, three hooded individuals raced into view and blocked their path. The trio had swords drawn and scowled at the two.
Sora stared in disbelief. It was the Beagle Boys — again?! "How'd you'd get out here?!" he demanded to know.
"We don't go down easy-peasy!" one of the Beagle Boys replied.
"Let me at 'em!" a second declared.
The third Beagle Boy laughed. This made Sora glare at them more than he'd ever glared at them before. "All right! I can take you on!"
"Me, too!" Amemi declared in a loud voice. Sora and the Beagle Boys were equally shocked to hear the sandy-haired young woman speaking with such force. "If you challenge my brother, you challenge me!"
Without taking the time to give this a second thought (there wasn't time for thinking), Sora nodded and scowled deeply at the villains and the giant Heartless behind them. "Let's go!" he yelled.
Sora and Amemi split up and rushed at the Beagle Boys and the Heartless from different directions. The Beagle Boys charged at Sora, only to get slapped aside by the Keyblade. Sora glared at the three villains and waited for each of them to rush at him. For the most part, they were attacking one at a time. Every now and then, the Beagle Boys ganged up in twos or all at once, so Sora had to swing his Keyblade around in a full circle whenever that happened. He retained his glare at the enemies until one of them finally dropped down from exhaustion. "Take this!" Sora hollered as he continued to smack the other two Beagle Boys around.
In the meantime, Amemi seized the Wargoyle Heartless's attention and shot her slingshot at it. The Heartless flinched each time it was hit. Before long, the creature swooped lower and tried to slam straight into the young woman. Amemi was too quick and slid her way around an empty prison carriage. The Heartless slammed headfirst into the carriage and roared in agony. "That's what you get!" Amemi scolded.
The Heartless struggled to break free from the carriage and ended up snapping the cage in two. Amemi saw the creature heading her way and took off towards a nearby maypole; she wondered if this had been left behind from the festival. Acting in super-fast reflexes, she leapt onto the maypole and spun around it very rapidly. The Heartless swung its fists at the maypole, so Amemi flew off it and sent herself straight at the side of the cathedral. She made sure her feet were in front of her and bounced off the cathedral's wall. She tucked her arms and legs in and soared like a bullet straight into the Heartless's torso. The creature was so stunned by the attack, it fell to the ground. Amemi landed on her feet a few inches from the enemy's head. She turned to it and grinned. "WordGirl would be happy," she remarked.
A ring of fire appeared around the fallen Heartless. Amemi was so puzzled, she didn't see what was taking place… until it was too late. The Wargoyle Heartless rose from the ground, sending a column of fire flying upward. Amemi was caught in the flames and sent flying backward into a nearby building. She banged her head into the outer wall and slid down. Her eyesight blurred and she landed onto the ground. She wasn't moving.
Sora continued to swing his Keyblade when he saw what had happened to his sister. "Oh no!" he declared, slapping another Beagle Boy attack to one side.
In was then Phoebus rushed over to Amemi and helped her up. He glared at the Wargoyle Heartless. The monster seemed to be laughing out-of-control. Sora was furious. Not only had the creature injured his little sister, it was mocking her. He could no longer hold back his anger. "That does it!"
When he saw the last two Beagle Boys charging at him with their swords swinging, Sora slashed his Keyblade through them, immobilizing the villains. He then knocked them high into the air and caused the Beagle Boys to slam straight into a nearby house. The impact knocked them out cold. With the Beagle Boys down, Sora sprinted towards the gigantic Heartless.
Once he'd grabbed the Wargoyle Heartless's focus, Sora shouted, "This's for Amy!"
Sora dashed at the Heartless. Within seconds, he found himself hopping into the air and dashing through the sky at super-sonic speed. He positioned his Keyblade above his head and tilted his body a little to the right. He went spinning straight into the creature and delivered a smashing blow to the enemy. The Wargoyle Heartless roared in pain as it shriveled up and collapsed onto the plaza. Sora looked back in time to see an enormous captive heart rise into the sky and vanish from sight. The defeated Wargoyle Heartless vanished into Darkness.
Sora took a deep breath. The creature was gone and he could now take a moment to calm down. Sora walked over to Phoebus. "Is she okay?"
"She'll be alright," Phoebus informed the spikey-headed young man. "See? She's waking up."
Amemi's eyes fluttered open. She smiled. "Sora… "
"Amy," Sora said with a relieved smile. "I'm glad you're okay."
"I was like WordGirl," Amemi told her brother with excitement in her voice. "I went flying at the cathedral and knocked the Heartless onto the ground! It was amazing!"
Sora gave a nod. "C'mon, Amy. We still need to stop Frollo and Pete before they get into the cathedral."
Amemi nodded in return and clambered onto her feet. The two raced for the cathedral's entrance while Phoebus rejoined the fighting with the crowd of people.
Sora and Amemi were back at the entrance to Notré Dame just in time to see Frollo, Pete, and the Heartless about to splinter the cathedral's entrance doors apart. When they arrived, Sora yelled, "Hey! Leave this place alone!"
Pete whirled his head around and gasped when he saw the Wargoyle Heartless was gone. "B-but, how did youse —?!"
His shock swiftly transitioned into a snarl. He waved his fist at Sora. "Ya little brat! Why I oughta —!"
Sora cut the villain off by twirling his Keyblade in his right hand. He positioned it on his shoulder and grinned brighter than before. "I prefer 'Keyblade Master'!" he declared in a loud and proud voice.
"He's right, you know!" Amemi approved of Sora's statement. She smiled just as brightly as her brother.
Pete could only glare at the two. He stomped his feet and shook his fists. The sight reminded Sora and Amemi of a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. When pointed at the two again, Pete snarled, "Time for 'Plan C'! I'm finishin' you two off now!"
Sora positioned his Keyblade to fight. Amemi pointed her slingshot at Pete's face. Before anyone could make the first move, a bright light came from above. The group swung their eyes up. They stared in alarm, seeing a large amount of blazing, molten lead was falling from above as rain would. The Heartless soldiers didn't notice and were vanquished by the molten lead the instant it touched them.
The next moment happened so swiftly, Sora could only recall certain parts. He saw an outraged Frollo seize Amemi and pull her behind the raining lead before they were sealed off like they'd ducked behind a waterfall. Pete was so terrified at the thought of being burned to a crisp, he opened a dark portal and shouted at Sora, "I'll deal with you next time!"
Sora had jumped back when the molten lead splashed onto the steps and bounced down to the ground below when he slipped and fell. His Keyblade clattered down beside him and he landed on his face. He slowly looked up and saw Frollo and Amemi had vanished behind the curtain of fiery lead. "Oh no!" he yelled.
"Sora!" Sora turned back to see Phoebus rushing over to him. The blonde-haired man looked concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Sora sighed. He climbed to his feet and grabbed his Keyblade from the ground. He then gazed back at the cathedral. The entire entrance was blocked by a shower of molten substance. "But Amy's inside with Frollo."
Phoebus was angry. "I know a way inside."
"Huh?" Sora was surprised. What other way was there into the cathedral of Notré Dame?
"There is a side door," Phoebus informed the Keyblade wielder. "I used it when you and Quasimodo drove me out."
Sora had to nod. He remembered driving out Phoebus alongside Quasimodo since the former had seemed to be on Frollo's side at the time. Of course, that wasn't the case now.
"Let's get going," Sora stated. Phoebus gave him a nod and led the way. The path did lead around the waterfalls of molten substance and to a small, side door in the cathedral.
She was struggling — a lot. Despite how much Amemi wrestled, Frollo held her tight. He started to show signs of summoning Heartless, something Amemi had only heard Sora talk about with his friends, Riku and Kairi. She'd been eavesdropping on those "private conversations". Now, it seemed everything her brother had said was true. There were other worlds. The Keyblade was a weapon that could save the worlds. There were Heartless. There were people who would use the Heartless to create chaos and do mean things. People like… Frollo — and Pete, too.
Amemi kicked at the corrupt man. Frollo winced at the pain. This gave the young woman the opportunity to break free and start to run for the exit. Frollo swung the sword in his hands. The blunt side of the blade struck Amemi in the back of her head, knocking her down. She rolled over and lay upright on the tiled floor. Her eyesight was a little blurry, but she could still see everything going on in the room.
There was the Archdeacon, marching up to Frollo. His face was red with fury. "Frollo! Have you gone mad?" he growled. "I will not tolerate this assault on the house of God!"
Frollo grabbed the older man by his neck and shoved him aside. "Silence, you old fool!"
The villain marched up the stairs leading to the bell towers. His voice echoed back, "The hunchback and I have unfinished business to attend to. And this time, you will not interfere."
There was the sound of a door slamming, followed by a lock clicking. Amemi was appalled. Here she was, lying in a daze on the floor of a massive, luxurious cathedral. Sora was nowhere in sight. Frollo was getting away, and there was nothing she could do… for now, that is.
She felt a tear slide down her face. This situation was one that definitely called for someone like WordGirl. Only a superhuman… or an alien girl with superpowers could stop the judge and prevent disaster. She'd been trying so hard to be like her favorite animated character. Maybe Sora was correct. Maybe WordGirl wasn't real. Maybe it was only a show. Maybe everything their dad had said about other universes was fictional.
She wanted to close her eyes and disappear for good….
"Amy!"
The shout and easily-recognizable voice filled her ears. Amemi opened her eyes. To her surprise, Sora and Phoebus were inside the cathedral. Phoebus was helping the Archdeacon up while Sora hurried to his sister. "Are you okay?" her brother asked for what could've been the hundredth time he'd asked her in the last four years.
"Yes," Amemi answered as Sora helped her up. She smiled. Before anyone could speak, the sandy-haired girl gave her brother a hug. "Thank you."
Sora looked a bit perplexed and uncomfortable. "Huh?! Amy, what's gotten into you?"
Amemi backed off. Her smile vanished. "I was just showing you how much I care about you, Sora."
She crossed her arms and looked away. "I guess it isn't worth it."
"No, no! That's not it at all!" Sora rapidly stated. He paused and sighed. He had to grin. "You're really taking after Mom, Kairi, and me."
Amemi turned her eyes back to him. "Really?"
"Yeah!"
"I am?"
"Of course!"
She had to smile and wipe the tears out of her eyes. "Sora, that's one of the nicest things you've said."
"What'd you expect?"
She shook her head. "Wait until Kairi hears about this."
Sora was taken aback. "What?!"
Amemi started giggling. This made Sora smile and place his hands behind his head. This was one of those times….
"So, where's Frollo?" Sora inquired after two minutes had passed.
Amemi pointed to the stairs. "He went upstairs, saying something about 'unfinished business'. But he locked the door."
"No problem," Sora announced with a grin. He turned around and headed for the stairway. He marched up the stairs and found the door his sister was talking about. He pointed his Keyblade at the lock and watched as it shone a beam of Light into the keyhole. The lock clicked and the door creaked open.
"That was amazing… "
Sora turned around to see Amemi looking at him from behind. He shook his head and grinned some more. "You haven't seen anything yet."
The two headed up into the upper floors of the cathedral of Notré Dame. Hopefully there was still time to stop Frollo before anyone else got hurt….
Up in the bell tower of Notré Dame, Donald was grinning happily. The Heartless soldiers attacking the cathedral had been terminated. With the molten lead Quasimodo, Hugo, Victor, and Laverne had poured out over the edge of the railing, there was no way Pete or the others down below would be entering the cathedral anytime soon.
The duck mage looked to his left. Goofy and Launchpad were giving the gargoyles high-fives. Quasimodo rushed into a nearby room and declared in a thrilled voice, "We've done it, Esmeralda! We've beaten them back! Come and see!"
All eyes turned to the doorway. When Quasimodo and Esmeralda didn't come out, Donald trailed Goofy and Launchpad over to the entrance. There was Quasimodo knelt beside Esmeralda. The raven-haired woman was not moving. She didn't even seem to be breathing. Either she was out cold, in a coma, or she was….
Quasimodo was sobbing. Tears fell from his eyes like a tiny river. This sight was plenty for Donald to assume the worse had happened. He frowned, starting to feel what the bell ringer was probably feeling. Why hadn't he tried harder to break free from those chains? Was this how he would look after Daisy someday? The sudden thought of being married to a sore loser like Daisy was so shocking, Donald shoved it clear out of his mind.
The three closed the door in silence and strolled sadly away. Goofy pulled out a Kleenex and very loudly blew his nose. He handed the soaked tissue to Launchpad, who blew his nose into it, too. When the pilot tried to hand the drenched Kleenex to Donald, the latter shook his head and started to feel greenish.
The noise of footsteps hurrying towards them filled the air. Before their eyes, Sora and Amemi came rushing from around the side of the bell tower. "Sora! Amemi!" Donald declared.
"Where'd you come from?" Goofy wondered. "Are you both okay?"
Sora nodded quickly. "Yeah, we're good. Guys, we got a problem."
"What kinda problem?"
"Frollo's around somewhere," Amemi explained. This resulted in sudden gasps from Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad. "We must track him down."
"We've been here the whole time," Donald informed the two siblings. "Nobody's got past us!"
Sora crossed his arms in thought. Where could Frollo have gone? Was he lurking behind the corner waiting to strike a surprise attack on them? Had he slipped into the bell tower to hide until they gave up looking for him? Was he hunting down Quasimodo at this very moment?
One thing was for certain. There were a lot a places to search inside the huge bell towers.
Quasimodo's mind was reeling. His thoughts were in such a blur, all he could do was feel guilty. He hadn't rescued Esmeralda in time. He had failed to save the only true friend he'd ever had. He would never feel her kindness again. He would never see her smile. He would be able to tell her how much her friendship meant to him….
The door opened. A figure stepped inside. Quasimodo did not move. When a hand touched his shoulder, he knew who the stranger was. His Master, Frollo.
"You killed her," he said in barely a whisper.
"It was my duty, horrible as it was," Frollo answered. "I hope you can forgive me."
Quasimodo went on grieving. "There, there, Quasimodo," Frollo said in a voice that seemed to be trying to reassure the bell ringer. "I know it hurts. But now, the time has come to end your suffering… forever."
Through his peripheral vision, Quasimodo saw Frollo's silhouette on the wall before him. The shadow was raising what he could tell was a sharp dagger. In one hasty move, Quasimodo spun around and grabbed Frollo's arms. Frollo struggled to break free, causing the bell ringer to shove the judge aside and snatch the dagger as it fell to the floor. Frollo slammed into the wall beside the doorway and froze when he saw Quasimodo holding the dagger like he was a serious huntsman about to kill a princess. His hands were trembling from anger and his face showed signs of rage.
Frollo looked frightened and reached out his hand to stop the young man. "Now, now, listen to me, Quasimodo."
Quasimodo's anger towards his guardian had reached its peak. "No, you listen!" he shouted with sorrow in his tone of voice. He violently tossed the dagger to the other side of the room. "All my life you have told the world is a dark, cruel place. But now, I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!"
Frollo was shaking with fear. Deep down, the judge could sense the heart of Light Quasimodo was starting to show in full force. He could not allow that Light to escape. What would Maleficent say?
"Quasimodo?" The two turned around to see Esmeralda was now sitting up in the bed. She looked a little dazed.
Quasimodo was beyond pleased. "Esmeralda!"
Frollo was not pleased in the least, little bit. He glowed a dark-purple color and grabbed a sword from the floor. "She lives!"
"No!" Quasimodo was horrified when he saw the sword. He scooped Esmeralda into his arms and rushed out the doorway. Frollo was seconds behind.
Sora, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad had looked through ever last nook and cranny in the bell tower. There was no sign of Frollo or any Heartless. For that matter, Sora also took note of how Quasimodo wasn't around. He did not see Esmeralda anywhere either. In fact, Hugo, Victor, and Laverne were nowhere to be found. It appeared the entire area had been vacated with such haste, only the people and talking stone gargoyles had left.
"Where is he?" Sora finally asked aloud. He had just reunited with his teammates on the balcony between the twin bell towers. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad shrugged.
"Who knows?" Amemi added. "Quasimodo and Esmeralda aren't here, too."
"Yes, they are," Donald stated. He pointed to a nearby door. "He's inside, crying."
"'Crying'?" Sora inquired. He failed to notice the door was slightly ajar. "Why?"
"Esmeralda's gone," Goofy explained. He looked down sadly.
Sora was suddenly filled with total astonishment and dismay. If the raven-headed young woman really was gone, then that meant Quasimodo had not rescued her in time. The smoke. It had gotten to her. She had suffocated before the bell ringer and Launchpad had swung down to save her and the Keyblader.
He sighed. "No way… "
Why did this stuff always seem to happen? He had lost Kairi once… but he later found her. He had been all upset that Tron had been derezzed by CLU back in The Grid… until it was revealed Tron had been reprogrammed into the hostile program, Rinzler. Now it seemed Esmeralda was gone… or was she? Since the others had turned out to be okay, could Esmeralda also be alright?
A loud crash echoed from the nearby room. Everyone swung their attention to it. A minute went by before they saw Quasimodo rushing past with a conscious Esmeralda in his arms. He hopped over the railing beyond the group and seemingly disappeared.
Sora felt relieved. Esmeralda was alright. He and the others had been worried all for nothing.
Another person emerged from the room with a sword in hand. Sora and his team stared. There was Frollo, a dark-purple color illuminated from the older man's body.
"Where are you?" the judge muttered to himself, ignoring Sora and the others staring at him. He took a few steps over to the far end of the balcony and jumped around the corner. Seeing nothing, he looked both left and right. After seeing Sora's group, he stepped up to the edge of the railing. He gave a sinister grin.
There were Quasimodo and Esmeralda. The bell ringer was hanging onto the nearest figurehead. The young woman had her arms wrapped around his upper torso. "Leaving so soon?" Frollo inquired, a hint of pure evil in his voice.
Frollo swung his sword, but Quasimodo dodged the attack. The bell ringer had swung to another spot. When Frollo prepared to swing his sword a second time, Quasimodo yelled, "Hang on!"
Before Frollo could slice the two apart, Quasimodo swung off the figurehead and started hanging onto the next one over. Frollo yanked his sword out of the stone and moved on down after them.
Nearby, Sora and his friends were filled with alarm. "We gotta do something!" Sora declared.
"But what?" Donald asked.
Goofy gulped. "Look at that!"
Frollo now had Quasimodo cornered on the railing. Esmeralda had climbed off the bell ringer's shoulders and was crawling away from the scene.
Sora had seen enough. He knew something terrible was about to take place and did not want to see it happen. He summoned his Keyblade. "Frollo! Stop it!"
Frollo stole a glimpse of the Keyblade wielder rushing at him. He raised his left hand at the brown, spikey-haired young man. A wall of red flames appeared, forcing Sora to come to a sudden halt. It was clear. There was no way around the flames. Frollo had sealed off the area around him, Quasimodo, and Esmeralda.
"No!" Sora shouted. He swung his Keyblade at the fire, but it bounced straight back. He almost lost his grip on the weapon in the process. He veered his attention back to his friends. "Help me out, guys!"
"I have no magic!" Donald yelled in reply. He looked at the others. "Any Eithers?!"
Amemi started going through the pockets in her jacket. Sora sighed in irritation. Waiting for his sister to go through everything she had zipped up in her jacket was no different than watching airline personnel going through an entire backpack of stuff at a snail's pace. He switched his eyes back to Frollo.
Frollo glared at Quasimodo. "I should have known you'd risk your life to save that gypsy witch," he snarled. "Just as your own mother died trying to save you."
Quasimodo's eyes lit up in shock. "What?!"
Frollo gave a "polite" bow before raising his sword back over his head. "Now I'm going to do what I should have done twenty years ago!"
Quasimodo jumped back as Frollo flipped forward and over the railing. The judge landed onto a figurehead. Quasimodo was about to fall when Esmeralda rushed over and grabbed his hand. "Hold on!" she said in a loud voice.
Not one to give up so easily, Frollo steadied himself onto the figurehead and stood up all the way. He gave a sinister laugh and gave an equally, dark grin at the raven-haired woman before him. He positioned his sword behind his head and, in a very loud voice, proclaimed, "And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit — forever!"
Sora was shaking with complete fear and anxiety. He felt a rush of super-energy, similar to what he'd felt while taking on the Wargoyle Heartless earlier. His heart started to race like he was a racecar in the Indianapolis 500. He positioned his Keyblade, ready to slash through the flames on a moment's notice.
"Here! I found one!" Amemi declared. She held up the Hi-Ether in her hand and handed it to Donald. The duck gulped the container's contents down and grinned. He pointed his wand at the flames and shouted at them.
"Blizzara!"
The magical ice doused the flames in an instant. Sora saw his chance had come. He darted to the railing where Frollo was about to swing his sword and kill Esmeralda, which would ultimately cause Quasimodo to fall to his doom, too.
"Frollo!" Sora hollered. He waved his left fist at the villain.
Frollo stopped and turned his eyes to the young man. His grin faded and he snorted his disapproval. He gestured at the still-burning buildings in the distant and the darkened sky above. "You see?" he said. "This is the power that has been granted to me."
Sora pointed his Keyblade straight at Frollo. "All I see is some old guy with dark heart!" he struck back.
Frollo's frown hastily became a scowl. "Again, you are wrong!" he argued. Darkness radiated from him as he raised his sword high into the air. He jumped back over the railing. "Now, you shall all be judged — just like the rest!"
Sora readied his Keyblade in his normal fighting stance. The two glared at each other for a moment or two. Then the battle started. Sora lunged at Frollo, but the latter swung his sword and knocked him back. Frollo summoned a few flying Heartless Sora had never seen before. They were shaped like bats, but they were pure black and lacked the Heartless emblem. He swung his Keyblade at each monster, terminating them each quickly.
Frollo didn't stop there. He pointed his sword into the air and sent a barrage of Darkness orbs raining down from the weapon's tip. Sora was barely able to dodge them all before he turned back to face the judge. He rushed forward, only to have Frollo block and counter his attack. Sora felt backward onto the balcony. He flipped upright and landed onto his feet.
Frollo was furious. Sora was not going down easy either. The two were now locked into a constant clashing of sword and Keyblade. The fight wasn't all that hard for Sora. He had defeated multiple villains who used similar weapons. He'd countered and parried every swing Shan-Yu had dealt at him. He had forced Barbossa backward into a mound of treasure by blocking his swing, stepping on his sword, and then slapping his Keyblade under the villain's chin.
Unlike those other two, Frollo's swings were slow, but well-aimed. He could have sliced Sora's neck if the young man had not seen the attack coming. If Sora hadn't been focusing on simply defeating the judge, he might have stabbed Frollo to death.
Of course, that was one thing Sora knew he could never do! He'd never stabbed anyone! He was not a murderer. He was a Keyblade hero, and he wanted it to stay that way — no matter what befell him during his quests!
After the clashing had gone on for nearly ten minutes, Frollo and Sora both bent down to catch their breath. Frollo seized this chance to swing his sword at Sora. "Welcome to your Judgement Day!" the villain yelled.
Sora immediately brought his Keyblade up and blocked the attack. "Shut-Up!" he shouted.
With an unanticipated thrust of his arms, Sora shoved his Keyblade forward. The weapon lurched ahead, knocking Frollo back so far, the villain lost his sword and flipped backward over the railing. Sora was so startled, he rushed to the railing in time to see Frollo falling head-first toward the flames in the plaza below. In a loud voice, Judge Frollo declared, "Judgement is mine!"
Sora watched as the villain vanished from view. He felt a sudden wave of shock and alarm. Had he really just killed someone?! What had caused this to take place? Then again, it might have not been his doing. Frollo's heart had simply fallen to Darkness. Yes! That was it! He had not killed anyone. He had only watched someone's heart disappear into the Darkness for good. Just like when Riku had shoved Mother Gothel out of Rapunzel's tower in Corona.
By now, Judge Claude Frollo and Mother Gothel were probably meeting each other in the Realm of Darkness, or wherever hearts go when their owners fall into Darkness.
With a deep sigh of relief, Sora turned his head back to see his teammates looking back. They were staring at him like they'd just seen an assassination taking place.
"Huh?" Sora asked. "What's wrong?"
Donald's hands were shaking as he pointed at Sora. "Sora!" he said, his voice barely able to bring out the words. "You were glowing!"
"It was spooky," Amemi admitted. "It reminded me of last Halloween."
Launchpad seemed unfazed. "It was nothing big," he remarked.
Goofy seemed to have a completely different approach. "Thuh Keyblade… it was covered by Darkness. Sora, you do have some of Xehanort's Darkness still in ya!"
Sora could not believe his own hearing. He recalled how Goofy and Donald had suggested it was possible the Darkness Xehanort had placed into his heart back in the Realm of Sleep was still in him. Apparently, they were correct.
There was still some extra Darkness in him. Wait. Did that mean he had killed Frollo? No way! That would have been completely out-of-character for him! Then again, the very idea of using the Darkness at all was entirely out-of-character for him, too.
Sora shoved the contemplation aside and smiled at his friends. "Hey! No worries!" he tried to sound cheerful (as usual). "At least there's one less guy working with Maleficent."
Goofy and Donald were a little unsure. "I don't know," the latter said.
Amemi folded her arms across her chest. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Sora, someone's death is not something to be proud about."
Sora shook his head. "I didn't kill anyone! His heart fell to Darkness! That's all!"
Amemi rolled her eyes a tad. Only Launchpad was still smiling. "Heh, heh, happens to the best of us," the pilot chuckled. "Now we just have to save a damsel in distress."
Sora's eyes widened in a hurry. He'd completely forgotten about Quasimodo and Esmeralda. "Oh no!"
The young man spun around. Esmeralda was still leaning over the railing. He hurried over and saw Quasimodo was slipping. "Quasi!" Sora declared. He grabbed the bell ringer's hand.
"Quasimodo!" Esmeralda strained to hold on. "Quasi!"
Sora felt his hand slipping away. At once, Quasimodo slipped free altogether. Sora and Esmeralda stared in horror as the bell ringer plunged toward the flames below. Sora's heart skipped a beat. Was this the end of Quasimodo, too?
Quasimodo stopped falling. Halfway down the cathedral, someone helped the bell ringer safely inside. Esmeralda's eyes lit up and she rushed away to the nearest doorway in the bell tower. Curious about where she was headed, Sora followed. Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were directly behind him.
Down below, there was a narrow corridor inside the cathedral. It was here Phoebus had just finished clearing out some Heartless soldiers when he'd seen Quasimodo falling. He had rapidly reached out and caught the young man. After pulling him to safety, Quasimodo smiled and gave Phoebus a hug. Phoebus returned the embrace.
Esmeralda suddenly came rushing in through a nearby doorway. Sora, Amemi, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were straight behind. They all stopped and gave relieved smiles when they saw Phoebus and Quasimodo grinning.
Esmeralda stepped up to Quasimodo and gave him a heartfelt hug. Although Sora could tell Quasimodo enjoyed it, he refused to admit this was anything like how he felt about Kairi. He and Kairi were just friends, and they would always be just friends. …Wouldn't they?
The bell ringer latter took Esmeralda's hand and held it. He did the same for Phoebus with his other hand. Quasimodo put his hands together and, with a large smile, removed his hands to reveal Phoebus and Esmeralda were now holding each other's hand. When they saw this, Phoebus and Esmeralda smiled at each other and shared a kiss. Sora and Amemi grinned while Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad covered their eyes in a hurry.
Sora shook his head. This was one sight he didn't want to forget… hopefully this would not be what he would see with Riku and Kairi. That would not be a pretty sight!
Phoebus and Esmeralda proudly stepped through what was left of the entrance doors of the cathedral. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi were directly behind them. The group was met with a series of cheers and happy shouts from the townspeople outside. The Heartless were gone and the sky was as bright and clear as it should be. Phoebus and Esmeralda raised their hands into the air in victory.
In turn, Sora raised his Keyblade. "We did it!" he declared.
"Yes!" Donald agreed.
"Yahoo!" Goofy cheered, jumping up and down.
"You said it!" Launchpad proclaimed.
Amemi smiled at her brother. "I was wrong," she told Sora. "You used to make your adventures sound so exciting and fun. Now I can see they really aren't all 'fun and games'."
Sora nodded at his sister. "Yeah. The Heartless aren't something you wanna see in any world."
Amemi gave a nod of her own. She smiled brighter. "Still, can I tag along for the rest of this quest?"
Sora shrugged. "Why not?"
He glanced at his friends. "How 'bout it? Can we have a girl among us?"
Amemi looked stern. "That wasn't nice," she scolded. Her smile returned a moment later. She shook her head. "You sound a lot like Becky's brother, TJ."
Sora had to grin to that statement. He knew it was true.
The applause finally died down. Esmeralda walked back inside the cathedral. She stopped and bent lower before extending her hand into the interior of the building. Sora and the others looked inside. They could see an anxious Quasimodo still hiding in the shadows.
Sora's grin faded. "Quasimodo," he said in a calm voice. "You can't let your heart be a prison."
"I know," Quasimodo confessed with a sigh. "Master Frollo… he made me live inside the bell tower. I can't blame him for putting walls around me. It wasn't those walls that were holding me back. The real walls were the ones I'd built around my heart."
He smiled at Sora and Esmeralda. "You helped me see that," he continued. "My heart is free now. I'm ready to really see what's out there."
Sora nodded. This was exactly what he had once expected to hear Rapunzel say.
Quasimodo took a deep breath and accepted Esmeralda's hand. She led him outside the doorway. The sunlight was so bright, the bell ringer had to pause so his eyes could adjust. When he looked again, he could see lots of people staring at him with uncertainty. He started to feel a little nervous.
Sora saw this anxiety written on Quasimodo's face. "It's okay," he told the young man.
At that moment, a little girl with golden hair and wearing a violet dress strode up the steps to Quasimodo. She also had a white apron-like garment around her skirt and her head was covered by a hood. She stared at the bell ringer for a second before reaching out and touching his face. Quasimodo wanted to step back, fear starting to take hold. Sora stared, fearing the worst.
When he realized he was safe and okay, he relaxed and smiled. The girl smiled, seeing how Quasimodo wasn't a dangerous person after all. She led him down the steps where everyone else started to gather around Quasimodo with smiles.
Sora grinned, knowing the townspeople were not afraid of the bell ringer. They could now see he was a harmless young man who cared about others more than anyone really had known. He noticed the tall, thin man (who had been leading the gypsies in the Court of Miracles) hanging onto a nearby maypole. In a cheerful voice, he shouted, "Three cheers for Quasimodo and his friends!"
The crowd cheered once more and they lifted Quasimodo into the air like he was a true hero. To Sora's team, that was the case. The man slid down the maypole and approached Sora and his team. He was still smiling. He gestured out at the crowd and declared, "So, here is a riddle to — guess if you can — sing the bells of Notré Dame. What makes a monster, and what makes a man?"
Before Sora and his teammates had a chance to answer, numerous voices seemed to fill the air. "Sing the bells… bells… bells… bells… "
"Whatever their pitch," the man called out. "You can feel them bewitch you — the rich and the ritual knells… "
Sora relaxed and placed his hands behind his head. He started to rock back and forth. His famous grin was still showing on his face. He listened intently as the man and unknown voices all cheered, "…of the Bells of Notré Dame!"
When he felt a strong Light, the spikey-haired Keyblade wielder realized where the mysterious voices had come from. It was the world's heart calling out with joy. He had to grin much more brilliant than ever before.
A bright Light shone down. At first, Sora assumed it was coming from above, before he realized it was coming from behind him. He cocked his head to the left and stared in amazement. "Guys," he told his companions.
Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi all turned around when they saw what Sora was pointing at. A rather large shape was glowing the middle of the stained-glass window above them.
A Keyhole… the world's heart was somewhere inside.
Sora stared at it like it was the first time he'd seen one, and by this point, he had seen several. Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, and Amemi all walked over to him and looked up at the glowing keyhole.
"Wow!" Donald exclaimed.
"A-Hyuck!" Goofy commented. "Kinda purty!"
"Aw shucks," Launchpad complained. "It's just a keyhole."
Amemi was staring at the keyhole with intense focus. "A Keyhole… why does this seem so… familiar?"
"Amy?" Sora asked the moment he noticed his little sister was in some type of trance.
Amemi broke free and whirled her attention over to the seventeen-year-old Keyblader. "Huh? Oh, yes. Sora, don't you have something to do?"
Sora gave a nod. He pointed his Keyblade straight at the Keyhole. A ball of Light shone out from the tip of the blade and sent a beam of Light at the Keyhole's center. The beam struck the Keyhole directly. The glow grew brighter for a few seconds before it faded away. There was an audible lock and the Keyhole disappeared from view.
Amemi was still impressed. "I wonder, why does the Keyblade do that little light show?"
Sora turned to his sister. "The Keyhole leads to the heart of the world," he told her. "The Heartless are trying to steal the world's heart."
Amemi looked a bit shaken. "Is there any way to stop it from happening?"
Sora nodded. "I can seal the Keyholes, with this," he held up his Keyblade. "Once I sealed that Keyhole, there's no way the Heartless can threaten this world."
Amemi smiled. "That's good."
Sora nodded. "Yeah, it is."
A bright Light suddenly appeared from above. The group swung their attention back to the stained-glass window. A beam of Light shone out from the window and into the sky. Everyone watched as the Light formed a gigantic Keyhole-shape in the sky.
Sora grinned. "Alright," he told the others. "Once I unlock this Keyhole, we can move on with this adventure."
Amemi was startled. "'Unlock' it?! But I thought you were supposed to seal the Keyholes!"
Sora shook his head. "This isn't an ordinary Keyhole. It's a gate to the next world. If I don't unlock it, we can't continue on our quest."
Amemi looked puzzled beyond understanding. Sora grinned at her. "I know, it's complicated," he admitted. "But other worlds are still calling for help. We've got a job to do."
Amemi gave another shrug. "I'll just play along with everything you just said. Maybe WordGirl can help me makes sense of it — once I finally meet her in person."
Sora pointed his Keyblade straight at the Keyhole-shape in the sky. A beam of light shot out from the weapon and shone directly in the shape. It unlocked, sending a brilliant array of Light all around. Once it had faded, Sora turned to his friends.
"You guys ready to go?" he asked.
Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad nodded. Amemi gave her own nod a moment later. Sora nodded in return. Goofy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, grey remote. He pressed a button on it and the five friends instantly teleported out of the view of any of the world's inhabitants.
La Ville de Sonner Les Cloches was now at peace.
From the outside, Villain's Vale was still surrounded by hordes of Heartless. The creatures were so tightly bound, it almost looked like they were swampy, black soup. In the fortress's tallest tower, a series of shouts, screams, and flashes of lightning magic could be seen, even from a few hundred feet away.
"You incompetent idiot!" Maleficent hollered. "How dare you return here empty-handed — again!"
"B-but I tried ta take over!" Pete pleaded. He tried the puppy-dog pout expression he'd seen his daughter, Pistol, use. Sadly, he had completely forgotten such techniques never work on someone like Maleficent.
With a twirl of her staff, Maleficent sent a bolt of green lightning flying at Pete. The large cat-man ducked down in a hurry. He quivered with fear. "Not only did you not conquer a simple world," the evil fairy snarled. "You allowed Frollo's heart to be consumed by the Darkness. He was one of our best members, and you let him be taken away by the Heartless."
Pete gulped. He glanced around the circular chamber. Only Mortimer Mouse was there. He tried to plead for help, but the long-snouted mouse did not pay him any mind. Knowing he was on his own, Pete turned back to Maleficent. "But what about them Beagle Boys?" he questioned. "They ain't come back neither."
Maleficent's rage decreased and she seemed to have calmed down at last. Pete gave a relieved sigh. One minute, the villainess had been going hullabaloo. Now she was as calm as Saïx, one of Organization XIII's former members.
"Yes… they haven't come back, have they?" the witch seemed to give a hint of a smile. She turned to face the grinning Mortimer Mouse. "Bring Cinnamon Teal, Doctor Drakken, and Don Karnage to me. I have a little 'proposition' for some of you."
The moment he heard "proposition", Pete's mind also thought "a second chance". He was on his hands and knees in an instant. "Oh, please! Please! Let me help out!"
Maleficent snorted at the large cat-man's behavior. "Stand up!" she demanded. Pete was on his feet in less than the amount of time it took the evil fairy to blink her eyes. "Now then, I will send you along — on one condition."
"Uh… okay? What 'condition'?" Pete asked.
"If you dare to fail me again, I will have you washing this entire fortress with a sponge and toothbrush ten thousand times over."
He gulped with anxiety. "I gotcha."
Pete knew it was so. There was no backing out now. He needed to prove himself to Maleficent, show her how loyal he was. The only way to do that now was to return from this assignment a success instead of the previous failure(s) from before.
There were no blinking stars. Only twinkling ones. This sight helped bring Riku's mind to rest. He knew there was an excellent chance Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad had saved a world from the Heartless yet again. What a relief!
He turned away from the moon-shaped window and walked around Master Yen Sid's desk. He noticed the retired Keyblade Master had his eyes closed and head tilted towards the floor. It seemed he was either deep in thought or meditating. Chances were, it was probably the former. After all, there was still no finalized information regarding whether it was Xehanort or Maleficent causing all the trouble this time.
The silver-haired youth strolled toward the small, wooden doorway leading downstairs. The door suddenly opened and Mickey stepped in. The mouse king stared at him in surprise. "Riku. I was just on my way to see you."
"Is something wrong?" Riku asked.
"I just spoke with Violet," the king admitted. "She said you said you weren't gonna trust her again. Sounds like you two had a fight."
Riku shook his head. "It wasn't a 'fight'. It was… "
Mickey's nod cut him off. "I know. You feel like you've been betrayed by a friend. I know how that is. When I first started learning how to use a Keyblade, Master Yen Sid had another apprentice."
"Another apprentice?" Now Riku was interested. "Who was he?"
"We called him 'Bob'," Mickey explained. "But I always thought he looked more like an inkblot. I started to call him, 'The Phantom Blot'. He liked the name. Then, one day, he just disappeared. Master Yen Sid later told me he'd given up his training, but it kinda felt like there's something missin' here."
He sighed. "I always wondered if my teasing ended up destroying him. If he disappeared because of me, then I'm the one who betrayed him."
Riku paused to think it over. If everything Mickey had just said was accurate, Master Yen Sid had once had two Keyblade apprentices. One was Mickey, and the other was named 'Bob'. One day, 'Bob' vanished, leaving Mickey mystified if it was his fault his fellow apprentice had left without a trace.
Hopefully this was not the kind of story ending the silver-haired Keyblade wielder was going to face with the Angel of Dreams. True, he had clashed with Violet sometimes. For the most part, the angel had simply frowned at him or scolded him for something he'd said. She had also done the same for Sora. She was a loyal and True Friend. He was not about to give that up for anything. Same with… her.
His mind went moving back to Niccole. The golden-haired young woman he had met back in Wonderland. He had always tried to be a good friend to her, but then Maleficent was there and… he wished he could go back in time and straighten everything out. Yet, like Xehanort's Heartless had told in the Realm of Sleep, he couldn't run from the past and there was no way to rewrite history.
"I know how you must feel about Niccole," Mickey went on.
Riku was taken by surprise. Had the mouse just read his mind? It had to be a mere coincidence.
"She is a loyal friend," the king added. "I know. I rescued her from the castle dungeon. She was all upset, claiming she'd been betrayed by a friend. I told her I'd be her friend. She smiled, so I set her free."
Riku's eyes widened. He stared at Mickey. "She cares about you, Riku. Violet and Niccole are two of your Truest Friends — and they are both around here right now," the mouse king added. He sighed and his eyes became downcast. "But I can't help ya with this. You'll need to resolve these problems on your own."
Mickey stepped away. He headed for the closet. Riku leaned against the study's wall and slid down to the floor. He looked up at the ceiling. He imagined seeing glow-in-the-dark star stickers hanging from above. It would have felt just like the time he had spent the night at Sora's house ten years ago. With a deep sigh, Riku closed his eyes and tried to picture the sounds of distant waves lapping against a sandy beach.
He wondered if he would ever be able to resolve all his problems by himself.
A/N: YAY! WHAT A DETAILED CHAPTER!
(1.) So, here it goes. I will start by pointing out my favorite part in there. When Pete scolds Sora for defeating the Wargoyle Heartless, and Sora's reply is "I prefer, 'Keyblade Master'!", I just have to laugh at my own writing style. I actually create that particular moment a few years ago, but it was so well-accepted by my friends, I just had to bring it back.
(2.) I am certain you noticed how Sora directly battled Judge Claude Frollo. His style of fighting is shown in the movie, especially the way he handles his sword in the movie's climax. Interesting Point: After I wrote that entire scene, I looked back and realized how dark it truly was. It nearly blew me back!
(3.) You might be wondering what happened to the Beagle Boys. All I can say is, STAY TUNED! THEY MIGHT APPEAR SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THIS STORY!
(4.) Yes! I DO strongly feel Pete is a coward at heart. Try picturing how Pete would react in the "Kingdom Hearts Games" if he was working alongside Frollo. That's what helped me visualize This part of the story.
(5.) Yes, Amemi is supposed to be a huge fan of the PBS-Kids Show, "WordGirl". You might be able to take a guess as to why I decided to make her character that way... or maybe not. HA! HA!
(6.) In case I wasn't clear before, THIS PREVIOUS WORLD was one of the main reasons why I gave This Story a "T" rating instead of a "K+" rating.
So, without further ado, here is a RIDDLE HINT for the Next Disney-Based World in This Story!
HINT: "SORA AND HIS TEAM ARRIVE IN A "MIDDLE" CITY WHERE THE HEARTLESS RUN RAMPANT! WITH A "MAD" SCIENTIST TRYING TO CONQUER THE WORLD, AND HIS SIDEKICK POSSESSING WHAT APPEAR TO BE SUPERPOWERS, SORA'S TEAM WILL HAVE THEIR HANDS FULL TO CAPACITY! PERHAPS, THERE IS A CERTAIN HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADER WHO CAN PROVE QUITE HELPFUL... !"
IF You think you know what Disney Movie (OR Disney Franchise if you prefer) I am referring to, please post your answers in the REVIEWS Section for THIS CHAPTER!
So Then, I'll See You Next Time!
In other words, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
REMEMBER THIS - A MINIMUM OF 214 IS REQUIRED FOR THE SEQUEL! IF 240 ARE POSTED, I WILL INCLUDE A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THE SEQUEL ITSELF! HOWEVER, THAT/THOSE GOAL(S) MUST BE MET BY THE TIME THE-SECOND-TO-LAST-CHAPTER IS POSTED! THAT WAY, I WILL HAVE TIME TO ANNOUNCE WHETHER OR NOT EITHER GOAL WAS MET!
This Is SoraLego278 Saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Plus, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!"