Chapter 4: Poor, Unfortunate Souls

Quasi awoke with a jolt as he felt someone nudge him in the side. Looking around with blurry eyes, he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He cleared his eyes by rubbing on them, but he could still barely see thanks to the darkness that had fallen over the city. He managed to make out two large figures standing over him.

"Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty," a deep voice said.

"Who are you!" Quasi demanded as he leapt to his feet and pressed himself against the wall in fright.

"Easy now," another, similar voice laughed, "We're not here to hurt you."

"We just want to talk," the first voice finished.

"Talk?" Quasi asked, "Who are you?"

"Let's get some light in here shall we," the first voice said as one of the figures nodded to the other. A few seconds later, a torch was ignited, illuminating the belfry. After giving his eyes a few moments to adjust, Quasi looked up and found the men known as the Stabbington brothers standing over him.

"Who are you?" Quasi asked, uneasily.

"My names Drake Stabbington," the brother with sideburns introduced himself, "And this is my brother, Fletcher. Say hi Fletch."

"Hi," the brother with the eye patch greeted, nodding in Quasi's direction.

"What do you want?" Quasi asked still uneasy.

"We just wanted to talk is all," Drake said as he sat against the wall.

"Talk?" Quasi asked, confused.

"Yeah, talk," Fletch agreed as he took a seat as well. Slowly, Quasi followed suit and sat down.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Quasi asked, uneasily.

"Well, you see, me and Fletch were at the festival today," Drake explained.

"And we saw what happened," Fletch elaborated.

"Everything?" Quasi asked, embarrassed.

"Everything," Drake replied.

Quasi buried his face in his hands.

"We saw what they did to you, Quasimodo," Drake said, putting a hand on Quasi's shoulder, "They were terribly cruel to you."

"Including the guards," Fletch chimed in.

"Especially the guards," Drake corrected, "Bunch of punks if you ask me. Think they can do whatever they want just because they wear some uniform. What gives them that right, huh?"

"They do," Fletch replied, gesturing to the houses that surrounded them, "They and the rest of the people who make up this lousy kingdom. They pretended to be all warm and civil and caring. And then what happens?"

"They turn on you," Drake answered, snapping his fingers, "Like that. You saw it firsthand. They raised you up on a pedestal just to tear you down again."

Quasi sighed as he nodded in agreement.

"It just ain't right," Drake sighed.

"Not one bit," Fletch agreed.

"Lucky for you, we know how to get back at them," Drake stated, looking at Quasi.

"Get back at them?" Quasi asked.

"You want to, don't you?" Drake asked, "They wronged you pretty bad today."

"Yeah, you deserve a little revenge," Fletch agreed.

"Revenge?" Quasi asked.

"Yeah, you know, payback." Drake explained.

"Why do you want to help me get revenge?" Quasi questioned.

"Well you see, we have a plan," Drake elaborated, "There's a piece of jewelry we've had our eye on."

"A tiara in fact," Fletch explained.

"The thing is, we're having trouble getting it," Drake said.

"Where is it?" Quasi asked.

"The castle," Drake replied simply.

"You're thieves!" Quasi declared, hopping to his feet and moving away from them, "You want to steal the Lost Princess's crown!"

"He's a sharp one," Drake said to Fletch.

"Very," Fletch replied,

"Yes, we want to steal it," Drake stated, "And we need your help."

"What would make me want to help you?" Quasi spat.

"Easy, we just explained it to you," Drake said, standing up and walking over to Quasi, "Cold, hard revenge."

"I couldn't do that," Quasi replied.

"Of course you could," Drake stated, placing a hand on Quasi's shoulder, "We saw you today, you ran circles around those guards. This should be easy."

"I'm no thief," Quasi asserted.

"We're not saying you are," Drake continued, "We just have need of your skills and we thought you might have a stake in this."

"Revenge is a powerful motivator," Fletch continued, "As is money."

"Money?" Quasi asked.

"That tiara will fetch a pretty penny when we sell it," Drake explained, "And if you help us, you'll get a cut of the profit."

"What would I want with that?" Quasi asked.

"You're skipping town aren't you?" Drake asked, "I figure you are with all the heat on you. You'll need money for when you get out of here."

Quasi looked at the floor, a pensive look on his face.

"They don't deserve your respect Quasi," Drake pushed, "You have to show them that they can't get away with doing this to you."

Anger and hurt crossed his face as Quasi continued to stare at the ground.

"What do you say Quasimodo?" Drake asked, "Are you in?"

Slowly, Quasi raised his head and looked at Drake with a look of determination.

"I'm in," he declared.

"Good to hear," Drake said as he patted Quasi on the back, "Now come with us and we'll get ready."

"Right," Quasi replied.

Nodding to Fletch, Drake jumped out of the belfry onto the roof outside, followed by Fletch. Quasi quickly hopped after them as the larger men made their way across then off the rooftop onto the street below. The Stabbingtons then led Quasi through the maze of streets and back alleys, eventually coming to an old, abandoned store room. Opening the door that led inside, they revealed a mostly empty room, containing only two make shift beds along with a mattress laying on the floor and a desk on which plans and equipment had been laid.

"Get some sleep, Quasimodo," Drake said, indicating to the mattress on the ground, "We'll explain the plan to you in the morning."

Quasi nodded and curled up on the mattress, thankful for the improvement over the hard wood floor of the belfry. Soon enough, he had drifted off to sleep, his dreams filled with the images of a beautiful girl dancing in the sunlight.

The next day

The three of them stood outside one of the walls that surrounded the royal castle, hidden from view by a large shrub.

"You ready, Quasimodo?" Drake asked, turning to Quasi, who was carrying a long length of rope.

"Ready," Quasi replied with a nod.

"Let's get going then," Drake replied, before cupping his hands, as did Fletch. Quasi quickly stepped onto their hands before he heaved him upwards. Quasi flew the air before grabbing onto the top of the wall. Pulling himself up, he lowered the rope and grabbed onto it with both hands. Weighing it down, Quasi held the rope as the two brothers climbed up it. As they hopped over the wall, Quasi quickly pulled the rope up and disappeared as well, just as a guard walked by.

A/N: Very quick and short chapter. Just wanted to show how Quasi ended up falling in with the Stabbingtons as well as giving them a bit of characterization. Hope you guys liked it! Please review!