Hey guys, this is a one shot of Finn set 50 years after the seventh book in the Kingdom Keepers series. Being that I have never been to Disney World, the park mentioned within the story is based off the Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. Warning: may contain spoilers to the seventh book! Please review and leave criticism. Thank you. :)
A warm California breeze tickled the elderly man's wise face as he made his way down Main Street. The shop lights illuminated his way down the empty street that had been buzzing and bustling just an hour earlier. How oddly at home he felt after the horrendous evening where he brushed shoulders with death. If he had died from the lightening strike that had saved the park, he would have been eternally stuck in SBS, the ever feared side effect of being a Keeper, and to think even worse-never awake to his family, friends, and his wife of thirty years, Amanda Lockhart, or more properly: Amanda Whitman.
Continuing past the Partners statue that depicted Walt and Mickey, Finn Whitman made his way through Sleeping Beauty's castle and into Fantasyland. Whistling a soft tune, he politely bowed in greeting towards Walt's first princess: Snow White. "Good evening," he greeted, his voice as warm as the summer evening in California. The cheerful character curtsied and waved to Finn as he passed. Finn couldn't help but allow the small grin on his face to grow into a full smile. Seeing these characters every evening after all these years never grew tiring. They always left him feeling starstruck.
Continuing on, he navigated his way through the park until he ended up facing It's a Small World. Finn's brows furrowed. Even after all these years, his fear of the ride had never really seemed to cease. His green eyes flickered over the entire outside of the ride, sending a shiver down his spine as memories returned of his encounters with the dolls belonging to the attraction. As if a reminder of the challenge to get out of the ride, his cheeks ever-so-slightly began to ache. The ache was the feeling someone would get from smiling too much or too long. A soft chuckle escaped his lips and he continued towards his intended destination.
There he stood-Finn Whitman-gazing up at the words: Toon Town. Swallowing hard, he stepped under the bridge and into the town where Mickey and his friends resided. The lump in his throat had already formed and his fingers brushed the gold watch that he always wore on his right wrist ever since Charlene had handed it to him as a gift from Wanda Kresky at her father's funeral. The watch had formerly belonged to his mentor Wayne Kresky, a spry elderly man who had been Walt's right hand man and the protector of the magic kingdom after Walt Disney's death.
He had been like family to Finn, teaching him how to be a leader for the Keepers, even if it was through riddles and seemingly never ending missions to save the Disney parks. Yet that wise old man had given his life to save one of his fellow Keepers during a battle in this very place. Without realization, the then young Finn Whitman had taken on the roll as Wayne Kresky as the life left his mentors eyes. None of the Keepers had realized it until they held a meeting about the odd hieroglyphs the Wayne had left for Finn to figure out and save the park with his friends. Maybeck's words slipped through Finn's mind about how he had become the new Wayne.
Finn felt tears sting his eyes and he wiped them away with the heel of his hand. Gently removing the flower from the inside of his coat pocket, he placed the flower on top of a gas pump near the Toon Town gas station. It had been near where Wayne had died. Finn squinted and recognized the name tag Wayne had always displayed proudly. It sat in the corner of the gas station window, hidden well enough to only be found by someone really looking for it. Finn smiled at the Disney cast members' ingenious incorporation of the memory of Wayne.
Finn Whitman glanced at his watch and it was telling him that it was nearing 2:45 in the morning. Well, he better get a move on. With one last wistful look at the name tag in the glass, the old man turned and left.
Sitting on a bench in front of the Partners statue, Finn Whitman sat eating a box of pop corn. Glancing at his watch, he peered around the plaza and down Mains Street. Any minute now.
A ghost like figure of a middle school boy flickered in front of Finn before it totally solidified into a boy with a glowing blue outline. The boy sat up, rubbed his eyes, and jumped when he spotted Finn on the bench.
"Alright, I must be dreaming. I can't be in Disneyland in the middle of the night," the boy murmured in disbelief to no one in particular.
"And yet here you are," Finn replied, popping a hand full of pop corn into his mouth.
The memory of his very first cross-over surfaced in his mind and he assumed this was how Wayne must have felt that first time he saw Finn, hopeful and curious. Finn also assumed that the stunned face of the boy was probably the same one that Finn himself had worn on a night like this many years ago.
"What's your name?" Finn inquired, his old eyes warm.
"Nathaniel Alexander," the boy replied.
Nathaniel couldn't be more than fourteen Finn judged. He's a short boy with sandy blond hair and gray eyes.
"Well son, why don't we start with why you are here," Finn grinned as he settled back comfortably in the bench and started from the very beginning. By the end of his story, the other four new Keepers had arrived, their eyes just as wide at the news.
"I leave you with this, Tia Dalma and Maleficent are not to be taken lightly. You will face hardships and friendships will be formed and tested, but if you work as one team, evil will be defeated and good will prevail again."
With those words of wisdom, Finn Whitman stood, dusted off his pants, and tossed his trash into the nearest trash container. "If you need me, I will find you," he stated and turned, moving at a leisurely pace down Main Street and disappearing from the eyes of the children. Like Wayne had, Finn was leaving it up to the kids to figure things out and to only step in as needed.
As the kids turned their attention away from Main Street, Nathaniel could feel the eyes of four kids on him. He gulped and looked at a black remote with one button on it that Finn had left behind on the bench. Picking it up, he flipped it over to find three letters scribbled on the back: Fob. Looking at the two boys and two girls, Nathaniel squeezed his eyes shut and clicked the button.
So what did you guys think? This was my first one shot and I hope I did decent job. Thank you so much for reading this. :)