Okay, here's another chapter. Thanks again for reviews. This chapter contains spoilers from Hunchback of Nortre Dame II and Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Dissidia: Final Fantasy and the Final Fantasy series in general was created by Square Enix. Disney owns the rights to the Disney characters, locations, etc.

Chapter X: La Jour De Amour

As Cid piloted the Ragnarok II close to the world in question, Sora recognized the general outline of the world in question"Looks like the Realm of Sleep has really connected to the Realm of Light, somehow. But wait, was it still asleep? I wonder."

"Which world is this?" inquired Serenia.

Sora addressed his daughter"If what I'm seeing on the outline is right, we're at La Cite des Cloches, it means The City of the Bells. I know some people from there, we can go together if you want."

"Really?" smiled Serenia.

Sora nodded"Yes, there shouldn't be any trouble down there. Anyone else want to come explore it?"

"I'll go" said Tyler.

Ventus stood next to the small blue haired boy"Count me in as well, if there's any trouble, we'lll just ask some of the others for help. I think we're okay though, I don't sense any darkness down there."

"Cid, can you keep the ship running?" said Sora.

"You don't need to ask, I'll just go resupply at Radiant Garden if this thing runs low on fuel" grunted Cid.

The four went to the teleportation pad near the engine room and teleported down into the world. Upon landing, they found themselves in the middle of a huge marketplace.

"You've been here before, right Sora?" inquired Tyler.

"Yeah, I think so. Let's go look around" said Sora.

The four proceeded through the town to find it in a festive mood. At the square, Sora made his way through a crowd of people until he saw a familiar cathedral. Ventus breathed"That's one cool place."

"Let's go in" piped Tyler.

Sora's group entered the cathedral and headed up a set of stairs. They eventually entered a room at the top of the cathedral and saw three familiar people visiting with each other, with them was a small boy. One of the men had red hair, the other had blond, and the woman had black hair. Ventus approached them"Hey there."

The four people turned to see Sora and his group. The small boy, who had blond hair gazed at the red-haired teen"Hi."

"What's your name? I'm Serenia" said the red-haired girl.

"I'm Zephyr" said the blond boy with a friendly smile.

Sora addressed the black-haired woman and her friends"Do I know you? I'm Sora, do any of you recognize me?"

The woman let out a small sigh"I'm afraid I'm not sure if I should say 'nice to meet you' or 'good to see you again'. I'm Esmerelda, the blond man next to me is my husband, Pheobus."

"I'm Quasimodo" said the red-haired hunchback.

Sora grinned"Well either way, it's nice to see you all. Esmerelda, is the little boy who is with you your son?"

"You bet, my dad's captain of the guard. Mom's a dancer" chirped Zephyr.

Pheobus acknowledged Sora"I don't really know who you are, but I'd like to know what you're doing here."

"Just taking the sights, the town seemed very active today" said Sora.

"A celebration of romance called La Jour De Amour is taking place soon" explained Quasimodo.

Serenia smiled"That sounds interesting."

"A romantic festival... Guess I should've brought Kairi along. Never mind, is there anything special about it?" inquired Sora.

Esmerelda nodded"The Festival itself involves a man and a woman who are in love, married couples also attend. On the day of the festival, couples proclaim their love in front of the cathedral while the bell-ringer rings La' Fidele, the prettiest bell in Notre Dame."

"You bet, I can just picture me and Esmerelda standing before the cathedral loudly declaring our love" remarked Pheobus.

Serenia addressed the hunchback"Are you going to the festival?"

"No, I don't have anyone to invite."

"But then who's going to scream your name?" Zephyr inquired.

"No one will" sighed Quasimodo, sadly.

Sora shrugged"Well, that all sounds fun either way."

"Oh, and a circus came to town as part of the festival. I'm gonna go see it with my mama and papa" grinned the small blond boy.

"I've never seen a circus before, it sounds fun" whispered Tyler.

Serenia addressed Sora"Can we see the circus, too?"

"Why not? I think we can spare a little free time from our quest" grinned the brunette keyblade master.

Zephyr addressed the teenage girl"The circus starts this evening, I bet you'll like it."

"I bet it's going to be funny, I'm looking forward to it" smiled Serenia.

Sora's group exchanged a quick goodbye to Quasimodo's group, hoping to see them at the circus in the town square. As the group left Notre Dame, Ventus addressed Sora"My heart was still asleep at the time, but you've been to this world, right?"

"Yeah, it's the same place, I guess the events that Riku and I saw before happened as soon as the world was awoken from sleep" he replied.

"What was the realm of sleep like?" chirped the teenage girl.

Sora shrugged"I don't remember it too well, but the Realm of Sleep consisted of worlds that were never fully restored after Xehanort's heartless was defeated. Riku and I went there to unlock the seven keyholes, but we fell into Xehanort's trap. I don't understand why this world is still in the Realm of Sleep, but let's not get too down about it."

"So what'll we do until evening?" piped Serenia.

"We're returning to the Ragnarok II, I thought we'd get some training done" replied Sora.

The group went close to the city gates and warped. They had not known they were being followed, however. The pink-haired man Lumaria had just warped into the world, accompanied by Arlene"Hmph, if what Sanhille says is correct, there may be a twilight shard here."

"This world's keyhole has it, right? So what are we waiting for?" said Arlene, impatiently.

"Sora will find it soon enough, that's when we'll snatch it from right under his nose" grinned Lumaria.

Sora and his group had lunch and trained until the sun began to set. Serah addressed the brunette keyblade master"So what was it like down in that world?"

"It's great so far, a festival is taking place in the town. A circus show is also scheduled there" grinned Sora.

"A Circus? That sounds fun" beamed Serah.

Snow grinned"Want to go see it, Serah?"

"Why not?" his girlfriend smiled.

Sora addressed Serenia and Tyler"Are you about ready?"

"Yep" his daughter grinned.

"Cloud, we should go too. I'd like to see the show" smiled Tifa.

"I guess" muttered the blond swordsman.

The group headed for the teleportation room and warped back to their destination. Tifa glanced at the sight when they arrived"It's a beautiful city, don't you think so Cloud?"

"I suppose" replied the blond Ex-Soldier.

The group traveled a short distance towards the town square. Quasimodo, Phoebus, Esmerelda and Zephyr were standing among a crowd of people in front of a wooden stage. The little boy smiled as he saw Serenia"Hey guys, glad you could come."

"The circus show must be really good if this many people came to see it" remarked Tifa.

Sora glanced towards the stage"I have a good feeling about it, but at the same time, I wonder..."

"Sora?" Tifa looked worriedly at him.

"It's nothing" he shrugged.

A few moments passed before a dark-haired man in black and purple clothes appeared onto the stage"Welcome to Circe De Sarousch, ladies and gentlemen."

"Wow" Tyler, Serenia and Zephyr watched in amazement with everyone else as the show began. The magician Sarousch started off the circus show with an elephant disappearing act.

The circus show was entertaining, as the audience enjoyed it. Sora and Zephyr noticed Quasimodo gazing at a blond young woman who is Sarousch's assistant. Sora prodded him"Quasi?"

"Hey, Quasi. You're making googly eyes at your girlfriend" piped Zephyr, referring to the blond woman. The circus show meanwhile was nearing it's climax.

The red-haired hunchback snapped out of his trance, embarrassed"Oh, she's not, well we're not-Zephyr!"

"Heh" Sora was amused at the sight, Quasimodo and Zephyr were best friends from what he could tell.

"Sora, we should go now. The show's just about over" said Cloud.

"Well, the show was pretty cool" remarked Snow.

Sora and his group left the square and headed out-of-town so they could teleport back to the ship. Tyler remarked as they returned"How cool was that circus? I thought the disappearing act was amazing."

"Me too" smiled Sereina.

"It's getting pretty late, we should probably hit the hay for the night" said Tifa.

Sora nodded"I was thinking that, myself. We should probably go somewhere else tomorrow, there was nothing unusual going on that we need investigate."

"Hold on, while you guys were gone, I sensed a dark presence down there all of a sudden. Probably some of Sanhille's goons" frowned Ventus.

"What could he be up to now? Sounds as though they're glued to our boots" sighed the red-haired teen.

"Let's check it out in the morning, we can't do much at the moment." shrugged Sora.

As the brunette Keyblade Master went into one of the ship's bedrooms, Tifa addressed the blond swordsman"If we stuck around long enough, we could attend the festival. What do you think?"

"Not interested" shrugged Cloud.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you're too shy for it" teased the Martial Artist.

"I just can't put it past you, huh Teef?" smiled her boyfriend.

Morning came as Sora woke up and went to make breakfast in the galley. The others filed in shortly after as he made pancakes for his entire group, Tifa smiled"Smells good in here."

"Yeah, well, I haven't had many opportunities to cook since I left on my current quest" flushed the brunette hero.

The group sat and ate pancakes, while talking about the day's plan. Serenia piped up around a bite of her portion of their breakfast"So who's going to investigate the darkness that Master Ven detected?"

Sora thought for a moment"It's probably nothing serious. Roxas, Xion, Ven and I will go down there to make sure everything's okay, but it seems unlikely that we would run into our enemies."

"Better safe then sorry, right?" said Serah.

"What about Tyler and me?" piped Serenia.

Sora closed his eyes for a moment in thought before saying"I don't have a problem with you exploring La Cite Des Cloches some more, maybe Noel and Serah can go with you. Everyone else can hold the fort, what do you guys think?"

"You can always count on us" smiled Ven.

"You don't need to ask" replied Xion.

"Babysitting can get old sometimes, but I'm in" grinned Noel.

Serah turned to address Snow"Are you coming with us again?"

"Why not? I'd hate to miss out on the fun" grinned the blond Martial Artist.

Sora and his group went to the teleportation room after finishing breakfast and teleported to the city square. Serenia turned to her group as Sora went to look around the square"I'd like to visit the cathedral again, I've been there. Do you mind?"

"Not at all" replied Serah.

Sora said a brief 'see you later' to his daughter before going to a nearby tent. Xion spoke up"Do you think someone will know whoever we're looking for?"

"Probably not, but we might come across some rumors" said Roxas, calmly.

The group entered the tent to find Quasimodo and Esmerelda talking. The black haired woman recognized them"Good day."

"Hi, we were just checking out the sights. Quasi, how was last night?" grinned Sora.

The bell ringer replied"I barely got any sleep last night, I felt restless all of a sudden."

"Is it about that blond girl from the circus show?" inquired Sora, smiling.

"Yes, and her name is Madellaine. She and I talked together and took a walk together" replied Quasimodo.

Sora grinned"I bet you took quite a liking to each other."

"Hey guys" piped a voice as Zephyr entered the room.

"Hi, how are things?" said Sora, addressing the boy.

Just then, Pheobus entered the tent, muttering"That circus is responsible for a string of robberies."

"Something wrong?" frowned Sora.

The blond man sighed"Yeah, there had been a series of thefts, several villagers lost their money and jewelry. I can't assume it was a coincidence."

Zephyr was oblivious to his father's words"Dad, the circus was awesome, can I join it?"

"No" replied Pheobus.

Sora was shocked"You can't mean... Hold on, even if there was a theft, the thief could've been anyone."

"I was informed that a blond girl was involved" said the captain.

"Madellaine? No, she can't be, she is my friend" frowned the Hunchback.

"Yeah, well, maybe. And maybe she's using you, I mean, look at the fact!" persisted Pheobus.

"Find some, and I will" responded the Bell Ringer as he left the tent in annoyance.

Roxas shook his head"I'm going to go spy on the circus ringmaster to see if your claims are true, the Ringmaster is usually responsible for his troupe's actions. What's his name?"

"He's a black-haired man called Sarousch" replied the blond man.

Roxas nodded"I'll find him as soon as I can, but if I find out you are wrong-"

"Let's not threaten anyone, okay Roxas?" sighed Xion.

Sora and his group left the tent, Zephyr and Esmerelda left shortly after, upset at Pheobus's suspicion. The brunette keyblade master addressed Xion"Think Roxas can find the thief?"

"Possibly, but I thought I sensed Lumaria's presence when we came back, Roxas might have a bit of trouble. Let's explore the city further" replied the black-haired Keybearer.

"Can't hurt to go sightseeing" chimed Ventus.

Serah Farron gaped at the cathedral Notre Dame as her group approached it"It looks amazing."

"I guess no one on Coccoon or Gran Pulse was religious enough to build one of those" shrugged Noel.

"My, fancy meeting you here" said a voice. Noel, Serah and Snow braced themselves as a silver-haired figure clad in white and black appeared"Oh, do forgive my lack of introduction. I am Kuja."

"Kuja? As in one of Chaos's warriors? I heard of you" said Serenia.

Kuja sneered"Fancy meeting you here in a place like this, but I'm not simply here to chat. You meddlesome insects know of the Twilight Crystal and are the ones Sephiroth warned me about."

"Go pack your bags, we'll kick your butt out of this world" said Noel, taking out his blade.

"Don't get cocky on me now, let us set the stage for your defeat!" snarled Kuja, just as several Manikins appeared.

Snow charged at one of the Manikins and punched at it, only for it to dodge and slash him. Serah cast Cure on her boyfriend while Noel took down a Manikin before engaging another in a duel.

Serenia and Tyler summoned their keyblades"How about some KID power?"

Kuja cruelly humored them by casting Flare. Serenia barely dodged while Serah shot an arrow at their opponent. Snow and Noel fought off the Manikins before rushing to the young Keybearers' aid.

"I'm just getting warmed up" snarled the Chaos Warrior, flinging Ultima at the group. Serah desperately cast shell and protect on her allies, while Noel swung his blade at their adversary.

Kuja dodged and countered with Flare. Noel's barrier stopped most of the blow, but he was still burnt. Serenia and Tyler cast magic on the Chaos Warrior, taking him off guard.

"Ready to give up?" smirked Snow.

Kuja surprised the group with a final Ultima"You fell right into my trap, which was all too easy to perform. But fear not, I will not kill you, this is my command performance."

"Just as anticipated, now for the rest of Lumaria's plan" said Weiss as he appeared.

Serah groaned as she struggled to stand"You won't get away with this."

"Really? But I already have. Sora's nobody will undoubtably find us, Lumaria recently planted a note at his destination" grinned Weiss.

Meanwhile, as the rest of the afternoon passed, Sora and his group enjoyed the sights. Xion's thoughts strayed as she began to worry for Roxas, who had been gone for hours.

Ventus stopped for a moment as he saw a couple soldiers rush through the area"I hate to be negative, but I think something bad has just happened."

"You feel it, too?" frowned Xion.

Sora hurried over to the nearest guard, who was currently on patrol"Is there something wrong?"

"Haven't you heard the news? One of Notre Dame's bells have been stolen" frowned the man.

"What? How can someone steal a bell?" frowned Sora.

"I don't know the details, but we're currently hunting the thief" said the soldier.

Sora thought for a moment before saying"Hey, maybe we can help. I doubt whoever's behind it will get far, will you let us help catch the culprit?"

"I appreciate it, but you need to talk to the captain. He's currently at the Palace of Justice, it's east of here" said the soldier.

Sora's group quickly ran to the palace. Stopping only to ask for directions, they came upon the dungeon, where Quasimodo's group was in the middle of a discussion.

"Sora, did you hear what happened?" said Esmerelda, seeing the Keyblade Master enter.

Sora nodded"Yeah, but have you seen Roxas? He had gone to find the thief."

"Oh I'm sure we'll find him soon enough. We have the whole city on alert" said Pheobus.

The blond woman from the circus show, who was currently locked in the nearby cell, spoke"You're looking in all the wrong places. Sarousch is using a hidden passage, there was always a tunnel under the stage. It's the same as the elephant disappearing act."

"He could be using the catacombs" said Esmerelda.

Phoebus shook his head"That might be true, but she could also be saying what Saroucsh wants her to say. We go underground: He slips right out of town."

"Sarousch? The magician from the show? That's a surprise, didn't sense any darkness in his heart" frowned Sora.

Xion hurried over to where the blond woman was imprisoned"You're Madellaine, right? I'm Xion."

"Don't talk to the prisoner, we can't trust in her words" interjected Pheobus,

"Phoebus, wait, I want you to at least try. Try to trust her words and take the chance, like you did with me" whispered Esmerelda.

Phoebus hesitated before taking a set of keys out of his pocket"All right, but she's coming along as a prisoner."

Sora turned to address the Hunchback"Did something happen, Quasi? You've been quiet over there."

The Hunchback sighed"Pheobus was right... Madellaine and I were getting along well until..."

"She betrayed you, why that-" Xion turned to slap Madellaine in the face.

"Xion, wait, there has to be an explanation. I can feel it in her heart, she was forced into it. Am I right, ma'am?" said Ven.

Madellaine nodded weakly"Yes, it was only to protect Quasi from getting hurt. I wanted to convince Saroucsh not to steal La Fidele, but he made me."

"Let's move it already, we can't let that madman get away. I was such a fool for not realizing it earlier" said Phoebus impatiently as he tied Madellaine's hands together with some rope.

"Quasi, you coming with us? I'm in it to help nab the thief and recover the bell" said Sora.

"You heard about La Fidele? Yeah, I'm coming" said the hunchback, quietly.

The entire group left the palace, and proceeded down to the catacombs. A little way in, Xion saw a familiar blond figure laying unconcious on the ground"Roxas!"

Roxas woke up and slowly stood up"Xion... Sora... Sorry I was absent for this long."

"You're hurt, who did this to you?" said Sora.

The blond nobody sighed"I went to the cathedral not longer then an hour ago, I saw a man with dark hair and two orange clad men enter the bell tower and made one of the bells vanish somewhere. a blond boy, a goat, and the three gargoyles were there, but were helpless."

"Zephyr's been missing, now that you mention it" frowned Quasimodo.

"What happened beyond that, Roxas?" pressed Xion as she administrated a potion.

The nobody sighed"There's more, I had found a note from Lumaria and someone called Kuja, Serenia and some of our allies had just been abducted. I rushed down here to save them, but I was ambushed by Manikins."

"Manikins? So Chaos isn't gone for good?" said Sora.

"Beats me, but we should hurry. I think I feel the blond boy's presence as well" said Roxas.

Just then, a bleeting sound came and a goat and Serenia rushed into the area. Sora wrapped his arms around the red-haired teen"Thank good you're safe, we heard you were captured."

Serenia nodded"Yeah, but I was able to escape, Weiss was too stupid to take the keyblade off me and block my spells with Silence. This goat had also escaped captivity from someone else, we have to hurry."

"We're on it" said Sora.

"Djali, thank goodness" Esmerelda smiled as she greeted her pet goat.

"Zephyr's probably ahead as well" said Sora.

The group ventured deeper into the catacombs until they came to an underground waterway. Sora glanced at a closed gateway and frowned"Where are the others? And I thought we'd find Sarousch here as well."

"Wait, he's nearby" said Ventus as a small boat came into view.

Phoebus glanced in the direction of the boat which carried the stolen bell and recognized two of the passagers"Sarousch!"

The dark-clad man seemed hardly surprised as he saw Sora's group"Captain, I'm surprised to see you down here."

Pheobus drew his sword"You're not going anywhere Sarousch, now release the boy!"

Ha, I have a little leverage right here. Open the gate, or I can't guarantee the boy's safety" grinned the man, holding Zephyr threateningly over the edge of the boat.

"Mama! Papa!" cried Zephyr.

Madellaine addressed Quasimodo"He means it Quasi, he'll hurt Zephyr. I can help save him, just untie me."

"Why? So you can escape with Sarousch?" said Quasimodo, still hurt by her 'betrayal.'

Phoebus lowered his sword, knowing he wouldn't be able to save his son. Instead, he shealthed his weapon and went to open the gateway. Sarousch grinned evily as his boat passed"Bravo, captain."

Madellaine desparately turned to the hunchback again"Trust me."

'How can I? I already made that mistake' thought Quasimodo. After a moment's hesitation, he removed the rope from Madellaine's wrists and the pair went upstairs. Seeing the gateway opening, Sora felt a dark aura and rushed outside the catacombs. Two more people were waiting at the exit, it was Arlene and Lumaria.

"Well, well, you've taken the bait" grinned Arlene.

Sora summoned his keyblade"What are you two after? And where's Tyler?"

"You called?" Tyler, Neol, Serah and Snow rushed down a nearby hill. Accompanying them were Cloud and Tifa.

"Bah, the tides are against us after all. We should never have followed Weiss, Lumaria" growled Arlene.

"Cloud, Tifa, thanks for the backup" grinned Sora.

The blond Cosmos Warrior nodded"Noel managed to send us a distress signal. Tifa and I tracked down and took the enemy off their guard and freed Serenia before proceeding to beat Kuja's ilk to a pulp. We rescued the rest of Noel's group while we were at it."

"Improvising is one trick I still have up my sleeve" snarled said Chaos Warrior as he appeared.

Sora smiled"Ready to give up?"

"Look" Tifa pointed, seeing what looked like a tightrope and a blond woman walking on it. A boat passed just below it when the blond woman plunged, grabbed something and stood back onto the rope.

On the boat, Sarousch scowled as he saw his old assistant"What do you think you're doing?"

"Just standing here looking pretty" said Madellaine coolly as she held the recently rescued blond boy.

Phoebus, Ventus, Xion and Roxas hurried out of the catacombs and proceeded to capture Sarousch and his two cronies. The evil magician wailed"Oh no, not the face, watch the face!"

"Pathetic magician" sighed Kuja, as he pulled out a dark crystal and summoned forth a portal.

"Oh, I'd say he's as much of a narcissist as you" muttered Arlene.

Weiss appeared"Your plan seems to have failed, two withdraw."

Arlene scowled"Ooh, we'll get you little beasts, yet!"

Kuja finished summoning the portal and a multi-colored Heartless appeared. The humanoid figure with vine-like limbs was familiar to Sora, it was the Trickmaster.

"What the heck is that thing?" gasped Phoebus.

Sora turned to address the good captain"Just take Zephyr and Madellaine and go. I've got this."

The Trickmaster hurled a fireball at the boat, which Ven deflected with his keyblade. Sora attacked the Heartless with a Blizzard spell, only for it to jump back a ways and cast a spell in retaliation. Sora blocked with Shell and hurled his keyblade into the monster. The Trickmaster staggered and retaliated by igniting its weapons and swinging them at Sora.

"Hang in there, Sora. OMNISLASH!" Cloud launched a flurry of sword slashes onto the Trickmaster. The Heartless staggered again and cast a spell when Tifa performed her Meteotwist attack on it.

"My goodness, it seems I made quite a boo-boo. Sora, is it? The worlds beyond here may provide even more challenges then what you faced here, come after me if you dare!" snarled Kuja before disappearing.

"I already can't stand Kuja's corny lines" groaned Serenia, casting a spell at the Trickmaster to help Sora. The monster cast two more fireballs at the two, only for Xion to hit it with Blizzard.

Just as the Trickmaster was weakening, a Manikin of Sora appeared. Sora sighed"Great, another one."

"We'll finish off the Heartless, just go after that manikin" said Tifa.

Sora nodded and charged at the Manikin. The Manikin pulled forth a mirror version of the Kingdom Key and swung, Sora dodged and hit the Manikin with Fire. The Manikin survived the spell and attempted a Strike Raid.

Cloud, Tifa, Xion and Ventus fought the Trickmaster head-on. The monster cast more fireballs as it nimbly dodged most of the heroes' attacks. Serenia and Tyler cast Thunder and Blizzard respectively onto the Trickmaster. The Heartless staggered back and unleashed three fireballs.

Sora dodged the Manikin's attack and countered with a Strike Raid of his own. The Manikin staggered and cast Triple Fira at Sora, who dodged again and slammed his keyblade into the monster. The Manikin disappeared in a flash of light, defeated"Manikins are broken records" he commented.

The Trickmaster continued its barrage of spells at Xion's group, who dodged out of the way as best they could. Ventus addressed Roxas and Xion"Triple whammy?"

"You're on" said Roxas.

"Let's try it" replied Xion.

Xion froze the Trickmaster in place with Blizzaga, just as Ventus cast Tornado to toss it into the air. Roxas leapt as high as he could and drove his keyblade into the Trickmaster's body. The Heartless broke up into particles and vanished.

"Ha, that got'em" said Ventus, grinning.

"Thanks a lot for your help, but what were those?" pondered Phoebus.

"The monsters were dark forces from another world, in fact there's a strange threat headed our way" said the brown haired Keybearer.

"I guessed as much, Sora, you are from another world. I never thought there were until we saw you and some the two strangers, I could see none of you were from Paris" said Esmerelda.

Quasimodo addressed Madellaine"How's Zephyr?"

"He's fine, I handed him back to Esmerelda and we kept him from seeing the fight. It wouldn't have been good to let him get nightmares from it" replied the blond woman.

Roxas turned to the three unconcious thieves on the boat, he had cast Sleep on them"What about Sarousch?"

"I'll have the criminals put behind bars. Madellaine on the other hand is free to go, she helped save Zephyr, I was wrong to doubt her" said Phoebus.

Within moments, a yellowish keyhole appeared. Sora turned to Roxas"We may have both have to use our keyblades on that."

"I concur" nodded his nobody.

The two pulled out their keyblades and pointed them at the keyhole. Beams of light shot out and zapped the magic hole, causing it to glow. As it vanished, an orange shard fell slowly from the sky. Sora took it in hand"A shard?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the Twilight Crystal" supplied Roxas.

"What's with the light show?" whispered Zephyr from his mother's arms.

"My group and I will have to leave soon, there is a big mystery to unfold" responded Sora.

"Hey, why not participate in the festival with us?" asked Qasimodo.

Sora smiled"I guess we can spare the time."

Sarousch was now in prison awaiting trial for his crimes. Madellaine was pardoned and she and Quasimodo renewed their friendship. On the day of the festival, couples gathered around the church square to loudly declare their love as Quasimodo rang La Fidele, which is back in it's rightful place.

Sora smiled as he watched the festival"It's a beautiful occasion."

"I agree" said Xion.

Phoebus and Esmerelda loudly declared their love as husband and wife, and the bell stopped ringing for a moment after. Before Sora's eyes, Quasimodo and Madellaine loudly proclaimed their love for each other as Zephyr rang the bell.

"I love Madellaine!"

"I love Quasimodo!"

Sora grinned'Congrats.'

"So now where to, Sora?" inquired Ventus.

Sora squared his shoulders"We found one piece of the mystery, there could be other shards out there. We'll keep exploring the worlds until we find as many shards as possible, it could be the key to dispelling the Twilight Eclipse."

The group watched the festival a little longer before saying good-bye to Quasimodo and his friends. Zephyr addressed Serenia"Can you come back and see me sometime?"

"Zephyr... I'm sorry, but I am not from your world. I can't promise I'll return, but maybe you will meet another girl you might like as you get older. Besides, we barely even know each other" replied the teenage red-head.

"You're right, sorry I was being selfish" said the small blond.

Serenia smiled"That's okay."

"Hey Sora, don't you think it's about time we left? Snow's starting to get on my nerves" said Cloud.

"Cloud, Tifa, before we leave, why not proclaim your love here? I know the festival is just about over, but do you mind?" said Sora.

"Go ahead, it's part of the festival" Madellaine urged Tifa.

Cloud shrugged"As long as I don't have to do anything else embarrassing."

"Sure thing" blushed the brunette martial artist.

Cloud and Tifa stood back, Quasimodo proceeded to ring the bell again as the couple proclaimed:

"I love Tifa!"

"I love Cloud!"

In the background, Serah and Snow shouted each other's names around the same time. Sora grinned, he still thought he should've brought Kairi along, but he knew his wife's safety was important.

"Gosh, this festival was so romantic" breathed Serenia.

"You bet" grinned Tyler.

Man, the next time I take this long, you can go ahead and flame me. Oh, and I know sleep isn't a spell in Kingdom Hearts, KHII, Days, Chain of Memories, Coded or Birth By Sleep. Dream Drop Distance probably didn't have it either, but I added it for good measure. Not to mention this is my longest chapter in this story yet.

Oh, and if you want me to change the title, please let me know. Only the beginning and ending segments of the chapter were the actual festival. Huh, now that I notice, Cloud and Tifa were likely a bit OOC here. Kuja probably is as well, I have not played Final Fantasy IX in a while.

The One Piece gang may not be in for another few chapters, I don't know how I can fit them in outside Luffy and his crew's universe.