A/N: Hi-ya, everybody! Well, thanks to snowiweather's AWESOME rendition of some parts of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" in the "If 9 Were a Musical" thread, I was inspired to write this - a 9 version of the classic Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"! The movie has always been one of my favorite Disney movies, so I thought it would be a great idea to write something like this! If you've seen the movie, you'll most likely pick up on who everyone is pretty quickly! Anyway, enough chit-chat, let's begin the first chapter of "The Stitchpunk of Notre Dame"!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own 9 or The Hunchback or Notre Dame, though I wish I did. I do, however, own a plush toy of Quasimodo!
Dedication: This is dedicated to snowiweather, who helped give me the idea for this in the first place!
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It was early morning in the city of Paris, France, and the square was bustling with activity. Various stitchpunks were opening up their shops, gathering supplies, and stopping to chat with each other on their routes. And overseeing it all was the grand cathedral known as Notre Dame.
In the vicinity of the cathedral, a small puppet-theater stand was set up, manned by a one-opticed stitchpunk known as 5. He smiled contentedly as a group of younger stitchpunks gathered around him, listening to the bell tolls that sounded from the towering cathedral.
"Ah, listen," 5 sighed in regards to the bells, "they're beautiful, aren't they? So many different sounds and moods! Because you know," he added with a mischievous grin, "they don't ring all by themselves!"
"They don't?" a small "Puppet-5" on 5's right hand asked in a high-pitched voice.
"No, you silly boy!" 5 answered, smiling. He glanced up toward Note Dame. "Up there, high, high in the dark bell-tower, lives the mysterious bell-ringer. Who is this creature?"
"WHO?"
"What is he?"
"WHAT?"
"How did he come to be there?"
"HOW?"
"HUSH!" 5 said as he lightly smacked Puppet-5 on the head, earning several giggles from the younger stitchpunks. "5 will tell you. It is a tale - a tale of a man... and a monster!"
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There was a light snowfall that dark night all those years ago, and a small group of stitchpunks were in a small boat, pulling up to the docks near Notre Dame. The woman held her baby wrapped in a small blanket. The baby was crying.
"Keep it quiet, will you?" said one of the stitchpunks
"We'll be spotted!" hissed another.
"Hush, little one!" the mother said, trying to get the baby to stop crying.
The boat soon reached the docks, and the group of stitchpunks gingerly stepped out, only to be stopped a soldier who held out his hand.
"Four guildings for safe passage into Paris!" he demanded.
Suddenly, he was cut short as an arrow zoomed by, piercing the stick he was carrying. He whirled around, as did the other stitchpunks, as four guards armed with arrows quickly surrounded them.
But the small group gasped with fear as they saw a stern figure approaching them on a sleek, mechanical horse.
"Judge 1!" one of the stitchpunks said in a frightened, choked whisper.
The stitchpunks, apart from the woman, were quickly captured by three of the guards and clapped in iron cuffs and led away.
"Take these gypsy vermin to the Palace of Justice!" 1 demanded to the guards as they left.
"You there," barked the guard who had stayed behind, attempting to seize the bundle from the female stitchpunk, "what are you hiding?!"
"Stolen goods, no doubt," 1 said his optics narrowing, "take them from her!"
So the frightened stitchpunk acted on impulse, and ran as fast as she could. Unfortunately, 1 was quickly following right behind her. She didn't dare look back, but the horse's hooves pounded the ground behind her.
Desperate, she finally managed to reach the church of Notre Dame, banging on the door frantically. "Sanctuary, please give us sanctuary!" she cried out in panic.
However, when she whirled around, it was too late. 1 reached her and managed to seize the bundle from her, kicking her as she tried to hold on to it. The blow connected with her head as she fell, her head hitting the steps of Notre Dame. She did not move again.
It was then that 1 heard crying from the bundle that he now held. "A baby?" he questioned, lifting a part of the cloth to see. Upon this, however, he gasped and quickly covered the baby up again. "A monster!" He looked frantically around - there had to be some way to get rid of it. Finally, 1's optics rested on a well, and rode over to it. He looked into the dark emptiness of the well, and lifted his arm to drop the baby into it.
"STOP!" a voice suddenly cried out, making 1 turn around. It was the Archdeacon, 2, who had spoken.
"This is an unholy demon," 1 said, unperturbed. "I'm sending it back where it belongs."
"You've spilled innocent blood on the steps of Notre Dame," 2 said sadly as he cradled the body of the fallen stitchpunk.
"I am guiltless," 1 replied, beginning to ride off, "she ran, I pursued."
"And you would add this child's blood to your guilt?" 2 questioned desperately.
"My conscience is clear, 2!" 1 demanded.
"You might say that, 1," 2 said with a hint of anger in his voice as he pointed at the various statues on the cathedral, "but you can't hide what you've done from the eyes of Notre Dame!"
As 1 looked around at all the statues, in seemed as if their optics were penetrating him. He realized 2 was right - he couldn't hide it. For once in his life, 1 felt a small twinge of fear for his soul. What he did in this life would have consequence, he knew. "What must I do?"
"Care for the child," 2 replied, turning to him, "and raise it as your own."
"What?!" 1 exclaimed in disbelief, "I am to be saddled with this misshapen-" He paused before looking at 2. "Very well - but let him live with you in your church.
"Live here?" 2 asked. "Where?"
"Anywhere," 1 said simply, gazing up at the towers, "as long as he's kept locked away where no one else can see - the bell-tower, perhaps." He glanced at the bundle, then at the tower, then back to the bundle again. "And who knows, our Lord works in mysterious ways. Even this foul creature may one day prove to be of some sort of use to me."
2 gave 1 a concerned look before turning around to leave.
The moment that 2 was out of earshot, 1 turned his attention back to the infant stitchpunk, who was now sleeping. "I would of sent you back to the firey pit you came from," 1 said with a hint of disdain, "but it would seem that 2 has spared your life." A thought then occurred to 1 - the infant had no name.
"The devil's number is 666," 1 mused, staring at the sleeping bundle, "just because you are to be in my care does not change the fact that you are a monster." After another moment of thought, a sinister grin appeared on 1's face, and his optics narrowed at the infant stitchpunk.
"6," 1 whispered. "Your name shall be 6."
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Well, I hope you liked the first chapter! And just as a note, yes I will be including renditions of the songs from the movie in here, I just didn't for this chapter because I thought that not including it would make the chapter flow a little more smoothly. Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for the next chapter of "The Stitchpunk of Notre Dame"!