“Well…alright, come in. You can set up over there on the table,” she said, pointing towards the kitchen. As she followed the two shady guests into the kitchen, Angelina glanced at the pile of plushes and the row of nutcracker soldiers by the window, to check on the boys. Both were still holding steady.
As the fox and coachman set up their display of fake potions and continued to spin their web of lies, they scoured the room with quick glances. Both were positive the outsider, who carried the Watch of WONDER, was hiding nearby.
“What a lovely place you have here, uhhhh…I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced yet,” the fox said, while at the same time thinking, I know you’re here little boy, but where are you hiding? “I’m fox, Mr. Fox. And my assistant here is Mr. Jollysnaps.”
“But you can call me Jolly, me lady.”
“And what…may I ask,” there you are, we’ve got you now, boy, “is your name, young lady?” The fox spotted the blue bear wearing the watch. He nodded to the coachman—pointing out the bear in the corner.
“My name is Angelina, keeper of—”
“Keeper of lost toys—which you will never get your hands on, you filthy scoundrels!” Midnight shouted from the windowsill.
“Grab that blue bear!” the fox shouted, as he swept his arm across the table, knocking all the potion-filled bottles to the floor—which shattered into hundreds of pieces and created a hindrance to the cat.
The coachman pulled the golden whip handle from his long jacket, holding it in his right hand. He made a casting motion towards the bear in the corner. A magic whip sprouted outward from the golden handle and quickly wrapped itself around Charlie before he could move. Jollysnaps gave it a firm tug, immobilizing the outsider, giving the fox an opportunity to remove the watch from the blue bear’s wrist.
Angelina somehow managed to build up enough momentum in her wheelchair, running straight into the coachman—knocking the whip handle loose from his grip.
“I’ve lost the whip,” Jollysnaps called out to the fox.
The silver fox charged towards Charlie, who was battling to regain his freedom from the whip.
Leaping into the air, the fox’s eyes grew large—his silvery hair, standing on end. The watch is finally ours, he thought to himself.
SMACK!
Blindsided by the giant wooden nutcracker head of Michael, the fox fell fast to the floor, almost unconscious.
What was that? What just hit me?
Jollysnaps grabbed hold of the whip and lashed out at Michael, wrapping up his legs and tugging hard. The nutcracker fell to the floor with a loud THUNK!
The coachman reached down and pulled his partner off the floor. “You alright mate?”
The fox nodded, as he rubbed the side of his head then asked,“Where’s the bear? We need to get that watch.”
Meanwhile, Charlie had changed into an animated version of himself, making him a much more formidable opponent for the fox and coachman. “Over here, you lug heads,” he shouted. “Looking for this?” He held up his arm, showcasing the watch.
“The watch! That belongs to us now,” the fox growled, “and we’re not leaving without it.”
The shadow villains charged the outsider. One from the left, the other from the right.
Fearing the worst was about to happen, Charlie froze.
The fox and coachman leaped into the air towards the boy—both ready to seize the watch.
There was a sudden burst of light and magic flares from a corner of the room.
Featherwink shot out of its center, and while suspended in mid air, turned and threw a ball of radiant light in the direction of Charlie, striking him in the mid section. SHOOOP! Charlie shrunk to the size of a pin.
The shadow villains collided in midair, both falling hard to the wooden floor.
Feathwink clapped his hands together. ZWINK! Charlie grew back to regular size.
“Over here lad,” Midnight called out to Charlie.
The outsider jumped to his feet and ran across the room where the cat and Michael were standing by the fireplace.
“Not so fast fellas,” the fox growled, as he regained his footing. “We still have unfinished business.”
“Not today my friend,” the cat replied. He jumped in the air and flicked his large striped tail at the foul creature. A large stream of magical light shot from Midnight’s tail, wrapped itself multiple times around the fox, grew wings, then flew out through the window—carrying the fox deep into the woods. He would not be returning anytime soon.
“Lookout, Charlie!” Michael yelled.
Mr. Jollynsaps had regained his composure, and cast his golden whip towards the outsider’s watch arm.
In a split second, Featherwink thrust his hands towards the coachman. A meteor-like burst of magic dust shot out from his palms, striking the shadow villain squarely in the chest—instantly, shrinking him, and his whip, down to the size of a harmless field mouse.
“Aghh! What in the devil have you done to me you silly purple frog,” Jollysnaps squeaked out in a fitful rage. “You…you turn me back this instant.”
Midnight charged the mouse, hissing and meowing with his claws out.
Mr. Jollysnaps shrieked from fear, then took off like a dart towards the gap underneath the front door—quickly disappearing from sight.
Everyone let out a big roar of laughter, including Angelina.
“Oh, I haven’t laughed like that in ages. You should come around more often,” she said to the cat and frog.
“It’s been a pleasure, dear,” Midnight replied with a nod.
“Yes, a true delight,” Featherwink added.
“What now, Midnight? Did you find Ben?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, I was able to locate our friend.”
“So where is he? Can we go save him?” Michael impatiently asked, as he morphed back into his animated human form.
Featherwink looked at the cat and said with a nod, “Tell him.”
“Well, the good news is, we know where Ben is, and he is safe. The bad news is, I received word from Frank that the second Kingdom Crystal location has been discovered.”
“And? Why is that bad news?” Charlie asked.
“Well…the Patrons believe the crystal’s location is going to change before sundown tomorrow, the purple frog said.”
“I see where you’re going with this, and I don’t think I like it,” Charlie replied.
“So you understand what needs to be done?” Midnight asked.
“Yes…I do.”
“What? Did I miss something?” Michael blurted out.
“You and I have to help these two find the second Kingdom Crystal before we save Ben,” Charlie said to his brother in a somber tone.
“No. No-no-NO!” Michael shouted back. “Ben is our friend. We need to save him before we go looking for some stupid crystal.”
The cat and frog bowed and shook their heads. Both looked up, ready to council the young boy. But they were called off by the keeper of lost toys.
Rolling her chair close to Michael, she said, “Young man, if you think for one moment that we, or any of the other Patrons, do not value Ben’s life more than the crystal, then you are sadly mistaken. Any one of us would put Ben’s life ahead of the crystal if we had a choice.
Michael looked to Angelina with teary eyes and said, “We…don’t have a choice? Why don’t we have a choice?”
“Ben is but a single individual. But if we fail to gain control of the second crystal before the evil forces of FOTO…why then, all of us will face extinction. WONDER and all that surrounds it, will face extinction…including Ben, the parks, the movies and everything else we’ve come to know and love about Disney.”
Michael stood and stared, with a blank expression, into the kind, old woman’s eyes.
“Have faith in the Parton’s decision, Michael. Trust…trust in your friends. You must believe, that THIS decision, is the right decision,” said Angelina. “As for Ben, we know where he is,” Midnight add
ed. And I promise you this, Michael, once we get the crystal, rescuing him will be our highest priority.”
There was a moment of silence. The young boy lowered his head to weigh the options in his mind. Then he looked up—his eyes void of all emotion. “Very well.”
Chapter Fifteen
The sun rose, painting the sky with warm hues of yellow and orange, day six of their vacation had begun. Repeated thoughts of Ben’s whereabouts had looped through Charlie’s mind over and over the entire night before—leaving him sleep deprived. His concerns to find the second Kingdom Crystal, with only the guidance of a large black cat and a purple frog with wings, had only added to his night of sleeplessness. And though Midnight and Featherwink were quite capable in helping the outsider, without Frank Wellington’s assistance, Charlie was most certain finding the crystal would be nearly, if not totally, impossible.
Where are you Frank? Charlie thought, staring into the steam-coated bathroom mirror. I know he said there were other things he needed to attend to, but how long does that take? Really? If he doesn’t get back here soon—
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
“Charlie, what’s taking so long? I need to take a shower too,” Michael shouted through the bathroom door.
“I’ll be out in a minute. Just chill out.” Geeez, that kid has no patience, Charlie thought. Now what was I thinking? Oh yeah. If Frank doesn’t come back soon, I don’t know how we’re EVER going to find the second crystal. Not a chance.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
“Done yet?” Michael barked again.
“Charlie, you’ve been in there long enough,” his mother said. “Come on out so your brother can get cleaned up, please.”
“Just give me one, more, second, pleeeease,” Charlie said—almost falling, as he pulled his shorts up. “Doesn’t anybody have any patience around here?” he mumbled to himself.
“But, Dark Leader, if we—”
“There is no more time for fiddle-faddle, Captain Fibs,” Senkrad said, raising a hand to silence the captain.
“But, but we know where the second crystal is, and—”
“Yes, for the most part, you and your spies have done well to track down the young boy and the Object of Magic he holds in his possession. However, you have FAILED miserably to capture this so-called, outsider, or at the very least, to bring us the watch upon his wrist. And now you want us to believe that you can not only get the watch, but also, the second Kingdom Crystal?” Senkrad questioned.
Fibs shrunk into his chair like a frightened little child.
The Dark Leader went silent and turned to Fibs. “The other Dark Thorns and I presented you with several opportunities to retrieve the watch. You failed. We even sent shadow villains to assist you in capturing this illusive Object of Magic. Yet still…nothing.
Fibs swallowed deeply. “And?”
“And,” Senkrad said in a cold, gravelly voice—his dark, lifeless eyes staring right through the Captain’s, “We. Will. NOT. Fail. Again.”
Charlie had heard people using the phrase “Animal Kingdom hot” on the bus ride over from their resort to the park. Though he really didn’t think much about it until now—as he and his family waited in line for the It’s Tough to be a Bug! attraction.
The line curled endlessly towards, around and under the spectacular Tree of Life, and all the lush foliage that surrounded it—which offered only temporary relief from the hot, mid-morning sun, as everyone slowly crept along.
“Mommy, can we go inside now.? It’s hot,” a little girl, no more than five, said to her mother—who was doing all she could to keep her daughter cool.
“Michael, here, you need to drink some of this, honey.” His mother handed him a partially frozen bottle of water. “Here’s one for you too, Charlie.”
Relieved by the ice-cold touch of the plastic, Charlie rubbed the bottle across his forehead, then twisted off the cap—chugging nearly a third in a matter of seconds. As he tilted his head back to take another swig, the giant monkey head near the attraction entrance came to life—directing its attention towards Charlie.
“Ooh-ooh-ooh, young boy wait here with brother, Ooh-ooh. Let parents go ahead.”
Charlie looked down at his watch, confused by what he saw. The green dots were fully lit and small. A swirling mass of colorful, green light began to rise up from the watch face. It was time to go.
“Michael, wait here,” Charlie said, holding his brother back—allowing their parents to walk inside while they remained outside.
“Ooh-Ooh, watch take you to Epcot, Ooh,” the giant monkey said.
“Epcot?” Charlie questioned.
“Ooh, cat and frog in Epcot, Ooh-Ooh.”
“What’s going on, Charlie? Who are you talking to? And why is your watch lighting up like that?”
“The big monkey.”
“You mean that big head?” Michael said, pointing to the monkey head.
“Where in Epcot?” Charlie asked.
“Ooh-Ooh, dolphin head.”
“Dolphin head?”
“Charlie, what in the world are you talking about? Dolphin head?”
“I’m still talking with the monkey, be quiet, Michael.”
“Dolphin head go through before, Ooh.”
“Oh, you mean the dolphin at the Neptune fountain? In the Italy Pavilion?”
“Charlie, those people over there are giving us funny looks. I bet they think you’re nuts. Something better happen soon, or they’re going to point us out to a cast member,” Michael said.
“Yes, ooh. Italy, ooh-ooh.”
“Got it,” Charlie replied.
The monkey’s eyes lit green and a large mass of bright light pushed its way outward from the edges—outlining the giant head.
The swirling mass of lights on the watch spun faster and faster—growing brighter and larger, eventually encapsulating the boys.
The giant monkey head opened up as if it were hinged from the top. The light unleashed from behind blinded their vision, forcing the boys to look away and shield their eyes.
Instantly, Charlie and Michael were pulled into the light. SHOOOOOOP!
The giant head slammed shut with a giant THUD!
They were gone.
And their parents, unaware.
Charlie and Michael sat on the bench nearest the Neptune fountain, waiting for the arrival of their two magical friends.
“Well, we’re here,” Michael remarked.
“I’m sure…”, his brother stopped mid-speech, caught off guard by something rather unusual.
“What is it, Charlie?”
Pointing towards the fountain statues, he said: “Dolphin head.”
Michael turned, his eyes went wide as saucers.
The left dolphin had Midnight’s face, and the right, Featherwink’s. So flanking Neptune were two smiling dolphins, one with a cat’s head, the other a frog’s head.
“Morning chaps,” Feathwerwink said. “Are we all set to go?”
“Can anyone else see you besides us?” Charlie asked.
The boys nervously looked around. Worried someone would see what they were seeing.
“Not at all lad,” Midnight said with a chuckle.
“Whew, that’s a relief. Yeah, we’re ready,” the outsider said. “Wait. What…what’s that?”
The Neptune statue had taken on life and was rotating the trident above its head in a large circular motion. A gust of tornado-like wind grew out from the statue and picked up the boys. Round and round they spun—screaming and kicking in the air. A whirlpool opened up at the foot of the statue. Neptune cast the trident downward towards the spiraling water. The boys, controlled by the motion of Neptune’s trident, followed suite and shot down into the whirlpool. Shrinking along the way on every rotation.
Then suddenly. SHOOP! Everything went silent.
They uncovered their eyes, and were amazed by what they saw.
Charlie and Michael were in the club car of a passenger train…traveling through a small village, scal
ed to the size of a model train. They were still in Epcot’s World Showcase, only now they were in WONDER’s Germany pavilion. And they were…MUCH smaller.
The tiny train rolled on along the tracks. Sitting across from Charlie and his brother were Midnight and Featherwink.
“So, what do you think, boys?” Midnight asked, as he looked towards the window, queueing the boys to do the same.
Giant guests beyond the enormous iron fence were pointing, smiling and admiring the miniature train system the boys and their two friends were traveling around, over and over again.
Charlie gave it a good look over, and was astonished by what he saw.
Michael did the same.
“It’s amazing,” Charlie said. His mouth agape, as he and his brother continued to stare out the club car window.
“You’re probably wondering why we’re here?” Midnight asked.
“What?…oh, yes,” Charlie replied. His eyes still occupied by the view. “So what are we doing here, and why…”
“Why are we SOOOOOO small?” Michael blurted out.
“Yes. Exactly.” Charlie added.
“We needed to find a place to talk. A place, where there was absolutely no chance someone would overhear. Especially Thorns,” the cat replied.
“Oh, that makes sense,” Charlie said, continuing to look out the window. “And I definitely think you managed to do that.”
“Now then, if you would please,” Midnight said, to call the boy’s attention away from the window. “We need to discuss the location of the second Kingdom Crystal.”
Charlie’s ears perked up.
“It has been brought to our attention by some of our best Patron spies that the second crystal is currently hidden somewhere on the Western River Expedition attraction.”
“Western River what?” Charlie replied.
“The Western River Expedition attraction,” the cat answered back.
“I’ve never heard of it. Which park is it in?” Charlie asked.
“I’ve never heard of it, either,” Michael added.
Featherwink chuckled. “Well, that’s probably because it was never really created.”
“Huh?” the boys replied.
“You see, Western River Expedition was a boat ride dreamt up by legendary imagineer, Marc Davis, that never came to be. It would have taken guests on an extraordinary, and very entertaining, journey through the old west.”
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