Ping-Pong
Finn, Philby, Willa, Maybeck, Charlene, Amanda, and Jess crossed over into the hub in the Magic Kingdom. No one had seen any suspicious activity on the DHI monitor lately, so they could hang out for a while.
"What should we do?" asked Philby.
"We could play Truth or Dare," suggested Maybeck with a sly look in his eye. "I've got a - "
"NO!" chorused the others.
"Remember what happened LAST time?" said Jess.
"Oh yes. He made Charlene say all that crazy stuff about him, and he recorded it and posted it on YouTube," said Willa.
"It was kind of funny, though." Finn cracked up.
Amanda slapped him. "OW! What the heck!" Finn yelled, rubbing his face. Maybeck snickered. Charlene stifled a giggle. Willa just laughed.
"I thought you didn't like it when we made fun of each other," Amanda smirked.
"I don't! I just - " He cowered when Amanda lifted her hand. Everyone but him burst into hysterical laughter. "Fine. Sorry, Charlene."
"Hey, I know! We could play ping-pong!" said Willa.
"I love that idea," said Philby while the others murmured in agreement except for Maybeck who mumbled to himself. "We just have one problem."
"And what might that be, Philbs?"
"We don't have a table. Or paddles. Or a ball."
"This is Disney. I'm sure they have equipment in a back room somewhere," said Willa.
"Guys?" whispered Charlene. Her face was focused on something behind Amanda. A chilling, unnatural breeze blew. "Turn around."
The rest of the crew spun around and came face-to-face with the evil green fairy Maleficent. She cackled. "I couldn't help but overhear your little predicament, and I might like to make a proposal," she said in her icy voice.
"Play ping-pong with you? Um, no," said Maybeck.
"He's right for once," said Amanda. "You'll cheat."
"Then perhaps we shall put a little something in it for you. If the Overtakers win, we get to take over the parks without interference. If you win, we shall leave the parks alone for a little while and give you a rest."
"A rest does sound nice," muttered Charlene.
Finn was willing. "What do you think, guys? Are you really good ping-pong players?"
"Totally." "Of course." "I'm in."
Finn held out his hand. "We accept your challenge," he said as Maleficent shook his hand. Her skin was freezing cold. "Then come with me," she said.
The Keepers followed Maleficent past Cinderella Castle, into Tomorrowland, and to the back of Space Mountain. She led them to a room in the back. Inside, Overtakers were playing all sorts of table games. Jafar was shooting hoops. Ursula and Shan Yu were playing foosball. Lady Tremaine was beating the Evil Queen at checkers. Judge Frollo and Dr. Facilier were playing air hockey. Strangely enough, no one was playing ping-pong.
Maleficent tore three other Overtakers away from their games and led them to a corner to discuss a game plan. Philby decided to give his friends a pep talk.
"Okay, guys," Philby said. "We need to win this, or bad things will happen. Wayne, the parks, and the world is counting on us."
"Wow. Way to get me down, Philby," complained Charlene.
"It's just reality."
"Well, I hate reality!"
"Guys. Stick to the point," said Finn.
"Kingdom Keepers! Prepare to meet your doom!" bellowed Maleficent. "Morbu!" The sweet-natured bear from Brave ambled up. Maleficent handed him a notebook and pencil to keep score.
Gaston stepped up first. The keepers sent Willa to play him, and it was less than ten minutes until Morbu was holding up the score. Gaston could not stop gazing at Willa. All she had to do was hit the ball away from his sight range.
"He's gonna get a long lecture from Maleficent for that," Willa grinned as her friends gave her high fives.
"But why was he just staring at you like that?" asked Maybeck.
"Because she looks a lot like Belle, that's why," explained Amanda. She shook her head.
Maybeck was chosen to play Drizella Tremaine. Drizella was afraid to muss her hair or wrinkle her dress, so she stood in one spot and reached as far as she could with her paddle. Once, she fell over, and everyone caught sight of her bloomers. "I wish I had a video camera," said Maybeck when they stopped bending over in hysterics. He ended up winning the round.
Drizella was very upset. "MOTHER!" she screeched.
"Yes?" Lady Tremaine was calm, but you could hear the irritation in her tone.
"This, this PEASANT boy beat me!"
Lady Tremaine did not look up from her game. "Perhaps you need to work on your skills, darling," she said.
"UGH!" Drizella stomped off.
Finn chose to play Frollo. As Frollo stepped up, he began to make a speech about sportsmanship. "It is not glorious to seek one's own glory, and we must not rejoice when our enemy - HEY!" Morbu had given the start signal and Finn had scored. As Finn was a very good ping-pong player, he beat Frollo with almost no trouble at all. Then Frollo called in his cathedral guards to arrest Finn and had to be dragged away by Mother Gothel and Hades to calm down.
Philby stepped up to play Maleficent. The keepers cheered for him. All he had to do was win the round and they would be safe from the Overtakers for a little while. "Can someone find the thermostat and turn it up a few degrees? It's a little chilly in here," whispered Philby with a sly grin. Then he picked up the paddle and served the ball.
While a battle for the ball went back and forth, Charlene wandered about the room, pretending to be interested in the various games. She found the thermostat behind the basketball hoop. It read 69, so she turned it up to 77. Then she returned to the game.
Willa watched Philby. With his speed and agility, he was a point ahead. Maleficent was already getting tired, and Willa knew it was about to get a whole lot worse for her.
A few minutes later, Philby and Maleficent were locked in a deuce. It was very warm, and Maleficent was wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. She was getting worn down by the heat. Philby won another point.
"Your serve," he said. Maleficent served hard, but Philby hit it back. The ball bounced back and forth, back and forth, and again and again. Everyone was getting dizzy from watching. Philby hit it again, and Maleficent made one last effort. She missed.
The keepers gathered around Philby to congratulate him. Maleficent had to sit down. She was way too tired to insult the keepers for winning.
The keepers high-fived each other. Maleficent was then strong enough to stand for a minute. "Very well, Kingdom Keepers. You have won this round. But mark my words, you will pay for this!" Then she passed out and was carried away.
The Kingdom Keepers left the game room and headed back to the hub. Charlene recalled Frollo's silly speech and Finn's interruption. Everyone laughed at the memory of Drizella's fall. Willa said to Finn, "You shouldn't have asked us if we were good players. You should've asked Maleficent if SHE had good players." Everyone laughed, and Finn pushed the button on the fob.