She shook her head in dismay and walked back up the stairs.

"Are you alright?" Clopin frowned. "Yeah I guess so. Complex isn't he?" "You're telling me." Esmeralda shook her head and sat on the floor. Sadie knelt in front of her. She looked lost. "What are you thinking about Esmeralda?" The woman was silent for minute. "I..'m worried about a friend. Sorry." Clopin sat beside her and rubbed her back.

"Oh? Who's your friend?" "He said his name was Quasimodo." Sadie blinked. "Oh! The bell ringer."

Clopin stood up. "Shall we set out to find him then?"

Sadie picked up the bread slice off her blanket and continued to eat it. "I don't see why not. After all, the more company the better." She smiled. "Why don't you two stay here. I'll be back shortly."

"Uhh. Wouldn't it be best if we all went together?" The girl frowned. 'What if he's not found alive? What if they get hurt?' "No. Stay here." Esmeralda sighed. "Please Sadie?"

Two minutes of hesitation passed and Sadie gave in. "Okay okay. But stay behind me. Got it?" The gypsies picked up their swords. "Yep."

Clopin slowly closed the door behind them and deeply sighed. "You have to keep quiet. Follow my lead." Sadie motioned them out the door and scanned the streets. Nothing.

The trio made their way towards the church. Clopin then halted.

"What?" Sadie spun around on her left heel. Esmeralda widened her eyes and quickly backed up. A single zombie bumped into a worn out fruit stand then trudged over to them. "D..Doesn't he look familiar?" Sadie lightly smiled. "Yes. Yes he does."

Clopin looked into the creature's eyes. "The captain of the guard!" He playfully saluted to him. "Oh what a pity." Esmeralda rolled her eyes and folded her arms. The gypsy king kicked him in the chest, pushing him away.

With a ten feet distance between them, the blade impaled it's head. The body slumped down beside four other corpses. "Nicely done grasshopper." Sadie giggled and softly clapped. Clopin smiled with a bow.

"Aright. Let's see..the Cathedral is.." "I know the way. Let's keep walking." "Thanks Esmeralda. Hey, do mind if I call you Esmé for short?" The woman smiled. "Sure. No problem." "Cool."

Esmeralda gave each direction with Clopin on right of her and Sadie on her left.

"Hey!" He hurried over to a hand crafted jewelry box. Blue and purple rhinestones were placed in a circle, one in the other over the original black. "Oh that's cute! Why don't you take it and you can go through it when we get back." Esmeralda smiled. Clopin quickly took it and carried it with two hands. "It's awfully small. Maybe large enough to hold three or four rings." Sadie shrugged and hurried up the stairs. The girl drew her gun and slowly opened the door.

Inside was a gruesome sight. A count of ten human bodies lay mauled on the church floor. Esmeralda quickly looked away and hid her face on his shoulder. Clopin glanced at one of the bodies and shivered.

"What?" Sadie whispered. The gypsy mouthed who it was, not wanting to upset his partner. Sadie blinked then shook her head. 'The Archdeacon. May God rest his soul.' "You two stay here then. I'll be right back." The girl hopped over each body on her way up the bell tower. "Sadie." She stopped and turned her head. "Be careful." Clopin said with a straight face. She nodded and climbed up the staircase.

"Hello?" She quietly called out, briefly looking around. "Is anyone here?"

There was a sudden chime of the bells and she jumped with a yell. "I..I'm not going to hurt you. P..Please come out." A large shadow appeared on the wall in front of her and she quickly aimed her gun. "Please! Don't shoot. I mean no harm!" The deformed man hobbled over to her. Sadie slowly put away her weapon and blinked.

"Qu..Quasi?" He backed up. "How do you know my name? Who are you?" "My name is Sadie. A friend said she was looking for you." Quasimodo blushed. "Friend? I didn't think I had any friends." "Well you made one right now. Sadie." She smiled and held out her right hand. "Quasimodo." He held out his and shook hers. "Come with us. We could use another member." "Member?" He tilted his head. "Yes. We're teaming up against the enemies."

"Okay. Sure." Quasi shrugged and followed her down the stairs. "So how did you survive up here all by yourself?" "Oh. Well I broke down a few rails of the balcony and trailed all those creatures over, watching them fall below." "Wow! That's incredible!"

Esmeralda lifted her head at the sound of footsteps. She gasped and ran over, hugging him tightly. "Quasi!" He was a little unsure at first but lightly did so in return.

"Did you guys happen to find Phoebus?" The woman flinched at his sudden question. "Uhh..We kind of did and kind of didn't." "What do you mean Esmeralda?" "We'll explain on the way." Sadie spoke up then led the group out the door and back down the street. Clopin held the small chest still in his hands.

"So what did you guys mean when you did and didn't find him?" Sadie sighed and cleared her throat. "Well Quasi, You remember those creatures who attacked the Cathedral?" He nodded then shrugged. "Yeah. I used the bells to distract them while others fled. But that didn't work out in the best way." Sadie blinked. "Well if they bite you, anywhere, you turn into one of them. That's unfortunately what happened to him." "Oh. I see. I heard being one of Master's guards is overrated anyway."

The girl shook her head. "Frollo is no longer in control of you Quasimodo. You're with us. Teamwork. We all help each other." Esmeralda looked back and noticed him smile for the first time in a month. 'He's so sweet when he smiles.'

The four of them made it back into the small base with tired faces. Sadie opened the door and let everyone in. "Yeah it's slightly bigger than the bell tower but it's shielded off so no one can sneak up on us."

Clopin playfully snuck up on her and whispered in her ear. "Boo!" She lightly screamed then shivered. "Clopin! That wasn't nice!" Esmeralda folded her arms. "I'm sorry Sadie." He lightly hugged her. She hummed. "It's alright." He let go and sat back on his bed. "So. I was thinking since we're..haha!" Sadie grinned, looking at the other bed. "What?" Quasimodo followed her eyes.

"He was here?" The judge's robe and hat were left untouched on the bed. Sadie rolled her eyes and picked them up, sliding them under the bed. "Yes. But he didn't want to..be part of our group. Preferred to go alone." "Figured that would happen. Well, might as well return them." Sadie picked them back up.

The clothing changed heat from cold to warm. 'I..It's all in my head.' "Yeah. Good point. We'll be back guys. Come on Quasi." Clopin was distracted by opening the chest. Esmeralda smiled, hopeful that something useful came out of it. The hunchback closed the door behind them.

They giggled and walked back up the street. "So you're the leader of the pack?" The girl narrowed her eyes then shook her head. "I wouldn't say leader. More of a..contributor I guess." "Oh. Cool."

Sadie started to slow down with a suspicious look in her eyes. Quiet moaning was heard behind them and she quickly shot the zombie in the head. The corpse fell onto a pile of four. Quasi blinked. "Wow. How did you do that?" "Do what? Sense what was behind me?" "Well..yeah. It's pretty neat." "Oh." She smiled. "Well I get paranoid a lot so yeah. Come on."

She walked up the Palace of Justice doorsteps and went to knock on the door when it opened. Sadie gulped and Quasimodo hid behind her. "Judge." She replied blankly. He folded his arms. "Heathen." The hunchback made a confused face. 'She doesn't believe?'

Frollo rose his head, looking down at her. "May I ask your purpose for appearing before me?" "I was just going to return your attire. Since.." He cleared his throat. "And why would that be? Your plagued hands now defied their whole purpose." Sadie kept a straight face but was laughing inside. "And now they shall be burned." Frollo set them on a black side table next to the door.

"Were you going to retrieve them? She was doing you a favor!" The boy spoke up with a glare. Sadie sighed. Frollo scowled and held out a hand. "Come my boy. She will no longer bring harm to you." Quasimodo backed up. "No! You abandoned me in the bell tower twice already and now you expect me to trust you again. Not this time!" He heavily panted.

Frollo slowly nodded and pulled out his dagger. The boy gasped and stepped in front of the trembling girl. "Out of the way boy." Frollo shoved Quasi against one of the pillars and stared down at Sadie with a grin. She was so consumed in fear that she couldn't remember which pocket her weapon was. "There there my dear." He placed his other hand on her head, twirling small strands of her hair. "I know it hurts. But now the time has come to end your suffering." She hiccupped.

She roughly shook her head and stood up, finally facing her defense with his. "What has crossed your mind thinking that I'd be better off dead?" Her voice was moderate but shaky. He stared at her with a sly grin. "Sadie.." The judge shook his head with closed his eyes. The girl looked away and gulped once Quasimodo took her hand. Frollo evilly snickered as they left down the pavement and shut the door, locking it.

"Sadie? Are you okay?" He stopped. "I'm fine." She lightly smiled at him. "You..don't seem fine." "Eh. I usually show that I'm scared on the outside rather than inside." "Really? Why?" Quasi hurried beside her. "Carried on from when I was little. Mental instability was the result. I act more than explain. No one took me seriously just because of the way I looked." He lightly hugged her. She smiled with a sigh as his large hands were set on her back. "I'm sorry to hear that. How old are you though?" "I'm almost twenty-two. But whatever. Let's hurry. Looks like it's going to rain."

Grey clouds began to slowly cover the sunny sky. "Good idea." They ran while little drops of rain hit their heads. Sadie hurried inside the building and opened the door. Quasi followed and shook his head. Clopin and Esmeralda were quietly sitting on the floor.

"Oh there you guys are! We thought you were lost." "Frollo just had another rant. We're fine. I see you guys hadn't opened the box yet." "Had second thoughts. I'd feel pretty bad if you weren't here for the big reveal." Sadie giggled. "Aw thanks Clopin."

The four gathered in a circle and he opened it. Inside were two small silver rings and a gold necklace with a colored tiger pendant.

"Oh how cute." Esmeralda picked up a ring and placed it on her left ring finger. "Little big but I like it." "Me too." Quasi added. "It's not too big is it?" Sadie asked, picking up the necklace. "Not big enough that it'll slip off but..Yeah never mind. Might become too much of a hassle later."

The girl shrugged and clicked the backing of the jewelry. "Sadie!" "What?" "That looks fabulous on you!" She looked at Clopin and blushed, not remembering the last time she received a compliment. "Yeah. It's cute!" "Symbolic." The gypsy woman smiled.

"Thanks guys. I kinda like it. Not too bulky, not too long, not too heavy. You know what? I accept." She giggled. "Do you guys know what time it is?"

Clopin emptied everything in the box and clapped. "What else did you find?" The hunchback scratched his head. "A watch." It was black and white. "Does it still work?" He opened one of the latches covering it. "Seven forty-two."

"Cool." Sadie stood up, taking one of the swords. 'She can't stay still can she?' "Where are you off to now Sadie?" "Little more practice doesn't hurt anybody."

Esmeralda sighed. "In the rain? Well..okay. Let me find some towels first." She left down the hall and found only one. "Better than nothing I suppose." Quasi rose his head at her footsteps. "Just one. Be careful out there Sadie." The girl nodded with a smile.

Clopin stood up. "Wait. You're coming as well?" "Even the best soldiers need backup." He grabbed the other sword. "Nah. I'm not a soldier." "Ah don't be so selfless. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have such protection." He gestured to the door. "Not to mention you saved me." Quasi smiled. Sadie wiped her eyes then sighed. "Thanks guys. Let's head out Clopin." "At your service." He walked after her.