No character in this chapter is the property of Heddwyn McCloud. They are all property of Walt Disney Animation Studios and their respective films.
Chapter I: Her Arrival
When you wish to do things right
And do not know the laws you'll fight,
Everything the law requires
Will come at you.
If your mind does not abide,
No torture will be denied
When you wish to do things right
As rebels do.
(chorus) Justice is blind
She takes from those who defy
The sweet fulfillment of
Their different longings
Like a bolt out of the blue,
Justice comes and then subdues
Those who wish to do things right
The laaaaaw iiiiiiiiiiis truuuuuuuuuuuuue!
Pretty dismal, huh? I bet some of you may believe this at times, but I've found out quite recently that conscience and law don't always go together . . . that, and I'm not the world's greatest lawyer . . . or investigator. Of course, I'm just a little ol' cricket trying to be the voice of reason to a certain young boy who's awfully curious and often wanders into trouble. Old Pinoc never disobeys the law, though . . . not intentionally, at least. He did go to school, and learned that it takes money to give an apple to a friend instead of taking one from the vendor; he did also learn that it isn't nice to fight girls even though he usually tussles with the other boys at his school. He gets along fine, and all I really have to do is remind him of what I told him from the beginning: "And always let your conscience be your guide!"I
That was her problem.
It all began almost literally with her arrival to the House of Mouse. It was an exciting night. The stars were shining like diamonds high above the roof of the gay little building, and the stars below were hanging around talking like any other night. There weren't any cartoons playing just yet because we were all waiting for the new arrivals: children, parents, friends and whatnot of everyone that's been here for a while.
A red carpet was rolled out inside; it twisted and twirled around every seat, making sure it reached every table for every guest. The tables were clear; even the candles had been taken off in case any of the new guests, particularly the children, had a fear of fire. The regular lights were off in favor of the spotlights that would be guiding them in.
The many toons that were there were minding their own business, for the most part; I saw from one of the balconies that they would periodically glance at the doors, waiting for someone new to arrive. Mickey constantly adjusted his bowtie, Donald had his shirt straightened out by Daisy every five minutes, and Minnie checked her watch every minute. Goofy was tending to the other guests, who would merely ask "when are they coming?"
As I stated before, I was in a balcony with Pinocchio watching, waiting for the new arrivals. The princes and princesses were down below ready to greet the newcomers, so we got the balcony to ourselves. Pinocchio was as excited as could be, feet dangling over and eyes glued on the doorway.
"This sure is great, huh Jiminy?" Pinocchio's feet dangled faster as the time wore on.
"Yeah, sure is Pinoc," I replied. Indeed, meeting the new people excited me, but it also scared me. I knew that some children would be making their first appearance, and I wondered if any of them would be either scared or mischievous . . . or on the brink of evil.
A fear well-founded, if I may say so now.
D'ya think there'll be any kids my age?"
"Of course." I hopped onto his shoulder. "But I'd wait until they become comfortable here before you play with any of them."
"Why?"
I couldn't tell him the truth, now could I? If I did, and he told someone else, I may had been in a lot of trouble; on the other hand, if I told him and he lied about it, then I would've been failing him as a conscience. "Er, because, Pinoc, they . . . may be afraid and cause a ruckus. Yeah, that's why."
"Oh," Pinocchio said, taking his attention off of me and back onto the doorway. Suddenly, he began to hop up and down. "Look, Jiminy! They're here!"
Everybody heard him and perked up; Mickey fumbled with his bowtie one last time, and I had to jump off him to avoid falling off the balcony. Cameras from wonderland came out to take pictures, and the spotlights focused on the throng of limousines approaching. Max and the penguins rushed outside to greet the first limo, and every other one behind it.
Now if I were to describe how everyone entered through those doors, then this part of my tale would be too long. So, instead, I'll name them, as the person concerning this tale arrived lastII:
The fathers that arrived for the first time to the House of Mouse were Cassim, Aladdin's father, and a man known as "Papi," Kronk's father.
The mothers that arrived for the first time to the House of Mouse were a meerkat simply known as "Ma," Timon's mother, and Athena, Queen of the Seas and mother of seven princesses, including Ariel.
The newly-married spouses that arrived for the first time to the House of Mouse were John Rolfe, husband of Pocahontas; Madellaine, wife of Quasimodo; Mei, wife of Yao, King of the Rock; Ting-Ting, wife of Ling; Su, wife of Chim Po; a woman known as "Miss Birdwell," Kronk's wife; and Nita, wife and mate of Kenai.
The children that did not accompany their parents that arrived for the first time to the House of Mouse were Cody, an Australian boy who befriended Bernard and Bianca, and Ronno, who came from the same forest as Bambi.
The sons and daughters, including those adopted, that arrived for the first time to the House of Mouse were Kiara, Simba and Nala's daughter; Melody; Ariel and Eric's daughter; Jane and Danny, Wendy's children; Zephyr, Esmeralda and Phoebus' son; and Angel, Lady and Tramp's adopted
The villains were to come last, and everyone had already consciously decided to ignore their entrance. The princes and princesses, and even Mickey himself left the villains to themselves, allowing Maleficent to welcome them in. I too ignored the first few members, but Pinocchio was there, and he was just as interested as he was about the previous members.
"Look! That woman looks like Ursula, only thinner and paler!"
"Look! A Rottweiler!"
"Look! A stout Arabian man who walks like he's afraid of everything!"
"Look! An Australian man and a goanna!IV"
"That's nice, Pinoc," would always be my halfhearted response; my attention was on the other guests fixating themselves into the seats and into the crowd.
"Look! A Man with a powdered wig and a pale, gaunt face!V"
"Look! A crazy-looking purple mermaidVI"
"Look! A circusman! Wait . . . is he the good kind of circusman, Jiminy?"
"No, Pinoc," I said halfheartedly. "He's only a conman and a thief." I had heard of Sarousch's antics with the La Fidele bell in Paris; I would be especially careful around him with Pinocchio.
And then it began.
"Look," he said extra-joyously. "A lion and her cubs!"
"That's nice Pinoc-c-c-cubs?" I immediately whirled around and stared at the doorway. I must've been very loud, because everyone dropped everything they had and stared as well. Even Mickey double-took and ran to Maleficent's side, much to her disinterest. The only one who wasn't paying much attention was Scar, who was busy trying to have a conversation with a transfixed trio of hyenas.
Sure enough, just outside the doors were two lions and two cubs. The mother was a lean, semi-pale lioness with small, light-brown eyes (light enough to look red) and an eerily confident smile. The eldest lion (who, I later found out, was one of the children) was scrawny and fidgety, dark like Scar, but a lot more unkempt. They both were smiling and standing side-by-side.
But what got everyone's attention wasn't these two: it was the two behind them. One was smaller than Simba was as a cub, but was darker than Scar. He appeared to be a little frightened, even while he was behind his mother. The other one was a little larger, still smaller than Simba as a cub, with very golden fur (lighter than Simba's) and a smile almost like her mother's. She also, unlike and feline I've seen yet, she had a large tuft of hair in front of her face.
For a moment, the crowd just stared at the two; the littlest one hid behind the mother's legs, while the other one just smiled somewhat kindly.
"Good evening to you," Maleficent said just plainly enough to make everyone jump. "Welcome to the House of Mouse. I hope you will find this place to be to your liking."
"Why, thank you, mistress," the lioness said in a voice somewhat like the Mistress of all Evil, only a little more raspy and a little more . . . seductive. "My name is Zira, and this is my son." She gently pawed the little brown cub forward; I believe he shrunk as she leaned forward to look at him. "Kovu, say hello."
"H-h-h-h-h-hello," he spurted out in rhythm with his shaking.
"Hello," Maleficent said rather nonchalantly. I couldn't see how she looked at him, but I did see part of her iris wander over to the other children. "And who're they?"
Zira looked over her shoulder at the other two; she looked annoyed. "These are my other two children, Nuka and Vitani.
"Hello, madam," the one named Nuka greeted with a suave approach to the fairy. "Please to meet you."
"Charmed," she replied coldly. She then looked at the other one, Vitani.
"Pleased to meet you."
Now I don't know about anyone else, but those four words sent shivers down my spine. It was simple, with no over-the-top tone or hesitance. That wouldn't have bother me except for the fact that she didn't shirk in fear at the mere glance of the Mistress of all Evil! And it was a friendly 'pleased to meet you,' and not one of dominance!
And Maleficent must've noticed this as well. And she smiled; I nearly fainted. "I'm pleased to meet you as well, Vitani." She lingered over the cub for a few moments; I was about to hide in Pinocchio's pocket, but Maleficent stepped back. "You may proceed to your seats now."
"Thank y-"
"Woah woah woah, hang on a minute!" Mickey stepped forward and mustered the best smile that he could and said "You kids are not allowed to cause any trouble here, okay? We like to keep order around here." There was a brief commotion amongst the guests before they nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Mickey," Zira replied. "Come along, children. Your father is at table 8 waiting for us."
And so that's where it all began, on her arrival into the House of Mouse. As the cubs ran over to their father, and Zira walked proudly to her mate, and Nuka grumbled behind her, I could only guess at what disasters would follow.
And, even though I'm a fairly educated cricket, I never even came remotely close.
That's is for this chapter. I apologize if nothing seemed to happen in this, but this is sorta an introduction. Also, I apologize for any and all spelling and grammatical errors I made; this is only a rough draft and will be corrected later, and anyone with a keen eye that can point them out will get a personal thanks in the next chapter.
Also, I must make this clear: I have written on my profile that if I were to ever have pairing, it would be Sergeant Tibbs (101 Dalmatians) and Angel (Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure). These two will NOT have a romantic relationship in this fic.
Any suggestions and critiques are welcome.
I In this fan-fic, Pinocchio is human and not a puppet.
II The author Heddwyn McCloud has not watched Tarzan II yet, so no character from that movie will appear in this chapter.
III Because Scamp was partially in the first movie, I did not include him in this ceremony.
IV This is Percival McLeach from "The Rescuers Down Under." I know this is technically canon, but it is a sequel and, therefore, I decided to put it here.
V This is Forte, from "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas."
VI This is Marina Del Ray, from "The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel's Beginning."
