Seeing Eye to Eye

Over the next few hours, Mokuba and Rebecca explored the cathedral for a little bit. They even decided to attend the evening mass before going back to the tower. The children listened to the archdeacon's teachings as well as the sound of the bells.

When the mass was over, the children returned to the bell tower. Quasimodo had a few small beds made for them at one of the upper decks. There wasn't much except for a few small blankets and some cushions. But it would do. Mokuba and Rebecca were used to sleeping on hard surfaces since it was like that for them in the feudal era. Though they didn't have any extra clothes to wear for they night, Rebecca had a plain white underdress and Mokuba had a white shirt under his tunic. It would have to do until they would have other clothes to wear.

Hours passed and it was still night, but Rebecca was too excited to even sleep. She climbed down the stairs and approached the table where the model of Paris rested and began playing with the figurines.

Quasimodo woke up and saw her. "Becky, it's the middle of the night."

"I know," she whispered. "But I just can't sleep. So many wonderful things happened today."

In truth, the hunchback agreed and felt the same way. "I know. Meeting you and Moki and becoming friends with you two has really been wonderful."

Rebecca felt that way with every new friend she made in another world. She looked at the figurines again. "You have an awesome talent, Quasi," she complimented. "You're like my friend Shippo. He's also from another world and he has an artistic talent too. He draws lots of fun pictures of us and all our friends." She paused and said, "I think you two would get along. Actually, I think you'd like all our friends. They'd like you."

It sounded grand, but at the same time, not so much. "I don't know, Becca. I like the idea, but-"

"Relax, they wouldn't be shocked by your appearance," the blonde assured him. "Like me and Moki, our friends have seen creatures worse than you." She got up and went back to get her things. She reached inside her knapsack and took out a small picture of her and Mokuba and the rest of the gang.

She came back and showed the picture to Quasimodo. "Here's a picture of all of us in the Pure Valley." And she began introducing the whole gang. Mokuba and Rebecca were in the middle, Leon was right next to Mokuba and Rini was right next to Leon. Between Mokuba and Rebecca was Guilmon and on top of the dragon's head was Shippo. Rin was right next to Rebecca and Kohaku was next to Rin, placing his hand over her shoulder.

Quasimodo looked at the picture in amazement. "You have an amazing group of friends," he said. He had never seen people with such unique appearances before. "That thing between you and Mokuba, is that a monster?"

"Yeah," Rebecca answered. "He's Mokuba's Digimon partner Guilmon. That means digital monster. He's from the Digital World, but he lives with Mokuba."

This meant that Mokuba and Rebecca were telling the truth about travelling to other worlds and seeing may different kinds of monsters. "You really have been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things," the hunchback told the blonde. "I guess you two must really know a lot about these worlds."

Rebecca shrugged. "Not a lot, but we know some. I'm just glad Mokuba and I aren't stuck like you are." Then she realized she shouldn't have said that as she saw her friend turn away in sadness. "Hey, don't take it so hard," she apologized. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad, really, I didn't."

Quasimodo smiled and looked at her. "It's okay, Becky. The truth is I don't think I could ever go outside if I wanted to."

"Well, what's holding you back?" Rebecca asked, though she knew the answer.

"Well, with me being the way I am, I wouldn't fit in out there," he answered. "Besides, Frollo wouldn't approve."

A frown crossed Rebecca's face. She disliked the man for his cruel nature towards others. "Why do you put up with that man?"

"Because," Quasimodo was saying, "he's the one who raised me."

Even though Rebecca knew that, it was still somewhat of a shock to her. "How can that be?"

But the hunchback didn't want to talk about his past. He thought it would be too sad of a story for Rebecca. "It's a sad story," he told her. To show that she was interested, Rebecca scooted closer to Quasimodo and sat up with her knees against her chest. This was enough to make Quasimodo change his mind. "Well, just like how Mokuba said problems with his brother brought you guys here, problems with my family brought me here," he began. "It happened twenty years ago. My mother looked at me and decided that she didn't want a monster for a child."

"But you're not-" Rebecca protested, but was cut off as the hunchback held his hand to silence her. "Sorry, go on."

Quasimodo continued and said, "My mother took me and left me just outside the cathedral and disappeared into the night. People saw me and looked at me with shock and disgust. Some even talked about wanting to do away with me by drowning me or burning me. It caused a bit of a commotion that got Frollo's attention. He came by to see what was going on and when he saw me, he understood and was just as shocked as everyone else who surrounded me. But then, he looked again and began to take pity on me. Then he decided to be the one to take me in. After that, he consulted with the archdeacon and they agreed to let me stay here in the tower. I've lived here ever since and have never left."

As Rebecca listened, so many mixed feelings began to build up inside of her. In many ways, that story was true because that's sort of how it happened in the book. But it was still a lie because it wasn't how it happened in this world. But Quasimodo only knew this because it was the story his master told him. Frollo convinced the hunchback that he was abandoned because he didn't want him to know the truth about how he came to be here. So while Rebecca was angry, she wasn't too angry. All she could say was, "You're very loyal to Frollo, aren't you?"

He was, like a dog was loyal to its master. "I owe him my life, Becca. I wouldn't be here without him."

In many ways, that was true. And that was why Rebecca couldn't find herself to be too angry with the man for his actions. Still, it was so wrong. "Are you… are you glad things turned out the way they did?"

Somehow, that question was hard to answer. Sometimes Quasimodo wished things had turned out differently, that he had been born normal and would have had a real family and a normal life. But he was grateful to his master for being the one to take care of him. Quasimodo also resented his mother for abandoning him, but at the same time, he couldn't blame her for what she did. His appearance wasn't exactly something to be proud of. All he could say was, "It's complicated."

Rebecca leaned herself against Quasimodo's side to embrace him. "You know, to be honest, I'm kind of glad you ended up here."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, if you didn't, Mokuba and I would have never learned your story or wanted to come here and see you," she answered. "And you shouldn't think so badly of yourself because of what someone else thinks. To be honest, Moki and I like you just the way you are," she said sincerely.

Quasimodo placed his arm over Rebecca to hug her. "Well, you two would be the first, but thanks," he said appreciatively. He released her and decided to change the subject. "How do you like it here so far?"

"The bell tower?" Rebecca asked. "It's not too bad. It's just going to take some getting used to being here in Paris." She looked out the window and rested her head on her hand. "But then, I think about my grandpa. I know I don't have anything to worry about because time stands still back home when I go to another world, but I can't help but think that he could be worried about me, wondering where I am and when I'm coming home." She faces Quasimodo and tells him, "Moki has the same feelings for his brother too."

"I guess it's natural to think that about your grandfather and Mokuba's brother," said Quasimodo. "But for them to worry about you means that they really care about you, right?"

"Yeah," the blonde replied. She also wondered how the others were doing. "I also bet Guilmon misses Mokuba too. He gets lonely without him sometimes. Then there's our other friends back home; Yugi, Joey, and Emily." Then they both heard a gurgling sound. Rebecca smiled with embarrassment and placed her hand on her stomach. "Thinking about Emily gets me thinking about her baked goods." Then she remembered. She went back to the upper level and came back with the loaf of bread Emily gave to her and Mokuba. "Emily made this for me and Moki before we came here. You've got to try this. Her baked goods are the best." She broke a small piece off for herself and for Quasimodo. "Here, have some," she offered.

"Thanks," he said, taking his share. He took a bite and slowly chewed to get the flavor. The bread was sweet from the berries it was baked with. "This is really great," he said happily.

Rebecca smiled as she chewed her share of the bread. "See? I told you you'd like it."

Mokuba started coming down to join them. "Is that the bread Emily made for us?" he asked.

Rebecca nodded. "Don't worry. We saved some for you."

Quasimodo apologized. "Did we wake you up?"

The raven-haired lad shook his head. Like his friends, he couldn't sleep either and he had been listening to everything they were talking about. Mokuba broke off a small portion of the bread and began eating. As he took in the flavor, he wondered what berries Emily used to bake the bread with. Based on the pinkish and reddish hues, he figured that maybe they were strawberries.

After eating, the friends looked outside and saw that dawn was breaking. They went up to the roof to watch the sunrise. When they got there, they saw the sky getting brighter and the sun was coming into view. Mokuba and Rebecca smiled and moved closer to Quasimodo, placing their arms on his back to embrace him. The hunchback returned the gesture and placed his arms over their backs.