Eh, another short one. Tell you what, next chapter will be here in say, five days to compensate. Sound good to you?

Oh, and am I the only one who dislikes the new format for the site? It was fine the way it was, I feel.

Quasimodo: "Sounds good to me. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."

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Chapter 96: The Deadly Bargain

Sora, Riku, Nehrut, and Quasimodo had arrived back in the west tower several minutes ago. As the hunchback went about his business ringing the massive bells, he felt on top of the world.

For the first time in his entire twenty years of life, he had friends. Somebody apart from Frollo and the Archdeacon actually cared what happened to him now.

When he had finished his chores for the night, he returned to his bedroom, where his new friends had gathered.

Yuffie was the first one that approached him. "Quasi! You've got to show me how to do this!" She was holding one of his hand-carved sculptures in her hand.

"Sure." He said, smiling. "I was planning on making a new one anyway."

For the next several minutes, he taught Yuffie how to carve her own little wooden figure using spare chunks of wood. It took her the better part of an hour, and several wasted wooden blocks, before she had carved a tiny effigy of Riku. It was a bit jagged in some places, and certainly far from perfect, but it was still an impressive attempt for a beginner.

She beamed at Quasimodo, and kissed him gratefully on the cheek as thanks. She held her newly crafted figure to her breast, and rushed excitedly over to the real Riku.

Quasimodo watched affectionately, as she tapped her boyfriend on the shoulder, holding the figure behind her back. "Open your hands, and close your eyes, and you will get a big surprise." She said excitedly.

He did as instructed, and Yuffie carefully placed it in his hands. When Riku opened his eyes again, he immediately smiled.

"I love it." He wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her gently to him. He planted his lips against hers.

Quasimodo's eyes wandered from these two, and over to Sora and Kairi. They were sitting at the window together, simply gazing out into the starry sky with hands intertwined. Every once in a while, he could pick out snippets of their conversation.

"You think that one might be Destiny Islands?" Kairi asked, pointing at a certain star that was shimmering bright in the sky.

"I've got an idea on how we could find out." Sora answered, smiling slyly. "Keep your eyes on that star."

He wrapped his arms slowly around her waist, tenderly pulling her close to him. He softly planted a kiss on her cheek. His lips migrated down to her jaw, and her neck. With his free hand, he ran his fingers softly through her hair.

She sighed softly, eyelids fluttering. The star they had been observing suddenly twinkled brightly.

"Yes." Kairi said, moving even closer to Sora. Before their lips met again, she whispered to him, "That's home."

Quasimodo smiled again. These two couples he had watched almost seemed to have a glow around them.

It almost looks like Heaven's Light.

His thoughts went back to Esmeralda. He found himself imagining that perhaps, they had had a bit of Heaven's Light around them, as well.

!

(1)They were all oblivious to Frollo's own personal torment just a few short miles away, in the Palace of Justice.

The Minister of Justice paced up and down a very long, high-ceilinged room. His footsteps echoed loudly down the tiled floor. The large, blazing fire in the fireplace at the far end of the room made his shadow seem gargantuan in relation to his body. He glanced out through the tall, stained-glass windows every now and again, as well as at the large cross above the fireplace.

But most frequently, he gazed into the violet scarf that Esmeralda had left on him at the festival earlier that day. Alternatingly, he would gaze at it with longing or snarl at it with fury and hatred in his eyes.

"Why can't I forget her?" He finally exclaimed, coming to a sudden stop in front of the fireplace, and throwing the scarf to the ground.

"This... This disgusting desire..." He muttered to himself. "These unholy thoughts. That gypsy wretch is driving me to sin..."

"So what will you do about it?" came a chilling voice.

Frollo spun around. At the far end of the room, by a pair of high oak doors, stood a figure. He approached the judge slowly, and as he came into the light provided by the fire, Frollo could make out that this newcomer was wearing a long, crimson, hooded cloak with a fur trim. He appeared to have antlers protruding from the hood.

When he was close enough so that Frollo could see his face, he gasped, and staggered back in horror. It was a skull barely covered by a thin layer of rotting skin.

"What manner of unholy demon are you?"

The newcomer chuckled. "I am no demon, Minister Frollo. Just consider me your ally. You may call me the Horned King."

Still not trusting the creature, Frollo asked suspiciously, "What do you want from me?"

"I want to help you help yourself, Judge." He answered, walking toward him again, slowly. "I can offer you a path to free yourself from the sin of desire."

He had Frollo's undivided attention now. "I can give you power to destroy the gypsy girl who plagues your thoughts, along with the rest of her kind. You will finally accomplish what you've longed to do for the past two decades."

"What is this power?" Frollo asked at last.

The Horned King stopped one meter away from him. He slowly raised his hand. It was enveloped with a Dark fire, which mixed eerily with the light of the orange flames behind Frollo. Then, on either side of the Horned King, two shadowy creatures rose from the floor. The Neoshadows gazed at Frollo with malignant yellow eyes.

"The power of Darkness, and the control of the Heartless."

Frollo looked from the two creatures, then into the Darkness resting in the Horned King's hand, and finally into the sorcerer's face. "What would you have me do in exchange for this power?"

"Nothing, just yet. Merely to know that I and my allies can count on your support should we have a need for it later."

Frollo looked into the Horned King's empty eye sockets for a moment, weighing his odds.

Then, he realized that he was clutching Esmeralda's scarf tightly in one hand. He gazed into it, and held in up to his face. He inhaled its disgustingly alluring scent one last time, before he twisted it around and threw it into the fire.

He watched as it caught fire inside of two seconds. He watched for the next few moments as it burned, and curled up into a tiny little sliver of burnt cloth. And finally, it disintegrated into dark ash, falling into the cracks between the kindling logs.

"Excellent choice, Judge." The Horned King was standing next to him now. Frollo turned to face him again.

The sorcerer reached out his hand, which was still enveloped in Darkness. He touched one finger to Frollo's forehead. The fire somehow didn't burn his skin, and he could feel the Horned King's clammy touch on his brow.

The Darkness quickly spread, enveloping Frollo's entire body without burning him. He closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, practically breathing the Darkness into him. When his eyes opened, they briefly flashed yellow, before going dark again.

"Make her taste the fires of Hell, Judge Frollo." The Horned King said, satisfaction evident clear in his voice.

He vanished in a quick burst of fire, leaving Frollo alone with the two Heartless he had summoned. But no sooner had he left, than the doors at the other end of the room flew open, and a black-clad soldier rushed inside, out of breath.

"Minister Frollo!" He panted. "The gypsy has escaped."

"What?" Frollo began to walk toward the man, who apparently hadn't noticed the Heartless.

"She's not in the cathedral, sir. She's gone." Then, the soldier looked past the judge, and noticed the Neoshadows several feet behind him. Immediately, he drew the short sword that had been hanging from his belt in its sheath.

"Sir! Look behind you!"

Frollo nearly laughed, but he wouldn't allow one of his lackeys to see such a rare event. Instead, his lips curled into a sort of sneer.

"I am aware of them, you idiot." He snarled, now practically in his face.

The soldier looked shocked for a few moments, gazing at the Heartless. They returned his gaze with their empty yellow eyes, slowly starting to creep toward him.

"Judge Frollo..." The guard said, stammering, "Y-you accommodate these... these demons?"

Frollo's hand lashed out, catching the soldier in the side of the head. He flew into the room, landing a meter in front of the two Heartless. The winded soldier tried to get back to his feet, but suddenly, the Heartless sprang.

"I am a man of God." Frollo stated, as the unfortunate soldier lost his heart.

He paid it no attention, and instead walked to the nearest window. He gazed out of it, toward Notre Dame.

"I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris."

!

"Well what do we have here?" Riku wondered aloud, gazing out of Quasimodo's window to the street below.

It was morning, and most of the bell tower's current occupants had awoken. The morning's pale sun coming through the thick layer of grey clouds that had rolled in overnight tinted the streets below with a dull, muted light. The city looked quite a great deal different in this light than it had during the festival the previous day.

After a group effort to shake Sora awake, the eleven friends gathered at the window. On the street, they could see a line of dark-clothed soldiers standing at attention on one side of the street. Standing slightly ahead of them was the familiar bronze-armored figure of Phoebus.

A black, boxy carriage rolled up in front of them, pulled by a black, grey-haired horse. It rattled to a stop, and the door opened up. Claude Frollo stepped out of it, looking at the troops.

"Wonder what they're up to?" Mickey wondered.

"Give me three seconds." Yuffie said. Suddenly, she was gone in a puff of smoke.

She reappeared on the far side of the carriage, on the opposite side of Frollo and his men. She peeked around the side, careful to expose as little of herself as possible, so that they would be unable to see her. They were still fugitives, after all, and only safe within Notre Dame's walls.

"Good morning, sir." Phoebus said, saluting.

"Hello, Captain." She heard Frollo reply. His back was to her, but somehow, he felt different. He seemed to give off a different sort of vibe. "Rally your men. I have a very important undertaking for all of you."

"Your orders, sir?"

"Find the gypsie girl."

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Again, we're setting up for more action in this one. I wanted to follow the movie, and there's only so many liberties you can take to keep the story intact. Don't worry, it gets more exciting soon!

1) For added ambiance, play the movie's instrumental for 'Hellfire' over this next scene.

Review please!