That night, Oliver thought he was having the most vivid dream in the world. But it wasn't a dream, as their mentor, Allen, showed them by giving them tiny cut on the arm and telling them to look at their arms when they awoke. The night after that, everyone was demonstrating different reactions to the strange nightly journeys known as "crossing-over". Oliver thought of it as if the whole of Disney World depended on their shoulders- a welcome responsibility in his boring life. Everett didn't like the thought of being controlled while they slept; he was a very self-conscious athlete. Margo just accepted it immediately, as if it were just an old pair of shoes. Quinn saw it as an adventure, a chance to use her abilities to make a real difference. Reubin was fascinated by the levels Disney's technology had advanced to.
Over the next few weeks, Oliver and his team went through some basic training as DHIs. At first, he didn't like the idea of being a leader; but he was starting to like being in charge. The thought of becoming a hologram while sleeping to fight off Disney villains was amazing enough, and knowing that he was the leader of that group was icing on the cake. His family had used his and his brother's money to buy a new house and send Amelia to a hospital.
He got to know his team more and more. Quinn and Reubin, he found out, were his and Everett's age, and Margo was a year older. Oliver saw that Reubin and Quinn knew each other from school, so they got along okay. Reubin didn't really talk to anyone else, though, and Oliver wondered how that would effect his team. Allen told them they would have to communicate on the field if they wanted to succeed.
Now, it was the third week of being a DHI, and Oliver had just crossed over. Margo and Allen were the only other ones there. They said hi, and waited for the other three to get there. Oliver would have liked to just sit there not talking; but Margo started talking.
"What is your brother like?" She made Oliver jump at the sudden noise.
"What does it matter?"
"He doesn't like to talk about himself. He's only ever talked to me about what I like."
"Well, uh, boys don't really like to talk about that stuff, Margo."
"I know, but…" She looked down as she trailed off.
"What is it?" But Oliver didn't get an answer, because Quinn and Everett had just appeared. Quinn's hair-streak was slowly turning from navy to yellow, and then from yellow to pale pink. Over time, Oliver had begun to learn what each color meant: navy meant sleepy, yellow meant excited, orange meant akward, etc. But he still didn't know what pale pink was.
"Hey, guys," she said sleepily. They all waved to each other as the two of them got up. Margo walked up to Everett and started talking to him. Oliver thought this probably annoyed his brother, and he was surprised he hadn't told her to leave him alone. He walked up to Quinn.
"Hey." She looked up from her watch.
"Hey. I was just seeing how long it took me to fall asleep. Fifteen minutes, from the looks of it."
"Not bad. You almost beat my record time." She chuckled.
"Well, 'almost' doesn't count, genius."
"No, I guess not."
"Anyways… Is Reubin here yet?" Oliver was startled by the sudden change of subject. What did it matter where Reubin was? But he answered her politely.
"No. Margo and Allen are the only other ones here, I think."
"Oh. What about Everett? Don't you two go to sleep at the same time?"
"He had to stay up a bit later to do some homework." This was not true. Everett had stayed up later due to Amelia not being able to sleep. She had asked him if he could read her a story to help her fall asleep. Everett cared so much about his sister, how could he say no?
Just then Reubin and Everett appeared on the ground. Everett got up and walked over to Oliver, while Quinn walked over to greet Reubin. Margo joined the brothers, breaking away from her conversation with Allen.
"Hello, Everett." She gave him a friendly smile, which he returned.
"Hey. So, what do you think we're learning tonight?" Oliver spoke up.
"Can't be too much. We've covered a lot of techniques since we first started." Everett nodded. Margo was about to ask him something, but was interrupted by Allen's loud voice. He was a small man, and his voice was almost too big to fit his physique.
"Well, it looks like we're all here. If you will all follow me, we are going to the Hall of Presidents tonight." The group was confused. They usually went to New Fantasyland to practice their DHI skills. The change in location disturbed them. The group started walking toward liberty square. When they arrived at the Hall of Presidents, they entered through a backstage door and ended up behind the curtains. Allen stopped them, then pulled open a hidden trap-door underneath one of the chairs. One by one, the group climbed down a metal ladder into a room with a single glass case. They couldn't quite see what it was, due to the glass being so dusty. Allen told them to stay by the ladder for a minute.
"What do you think's in there?" Everett asked his brother.
"No idea. Must be important, though."
"I like mysteries; solving them, anyways." Quinn stated.
"It depends for me. The mystery would have to be pretty challenging." Reubin said in a much softer voice than he normally would have used.
"It's a shield." Everyone turned to look at Margo. "See?" She pointed to the case, which Allen was just then opening. Sure enough, he pulled out a shield.
"How did you know that?" Everett asked in amazement. He was obviously impressed, whereas Reubin was annoyed that he had been beaten to a conclusion.
"I have my ways. I'm not telling any of you." All of them were about to say something to retaliate, but were cut off by Allen. He held up a large Medieval type shield of red and black, and on the top was Walt Disney's signature.
"This is Walt Disney's shield. He had it made by his Imagineers shortly before his death. It is the foundation of Disney itself. Before this, Disney was crumbling, dying. This has protected it from outside dangers, but it can't protect Disney from itself. I've told you about the Overtakers, correct?" They all nodded their heads. "Good. On several occasions they have tried to retrieve the shield, so that they might attack with outside weapons. We have assigned you five to protect it. There is reason to believe that the OTs will make an attempt to retrieve the shield soon, so you must be trained properly. After I have trained you, you will come here once everyone has crossed-over every night. Got it?" Once again they nodded their heads.
"Why us? We're hardly the best team." Margo thought out loud as they were walking back to the hub to be sent back.
"How do you know?" Reubin questioned. Everyone knew Reubin was upset at bing outshined, especially by Margo.
"Just a guess." She responded.
"Alright, here we are." Allen stated. "Asleep by nine o' clock at least." Everyone nodded, and in an instant, Oliver was in his bed. He had no idea what was in store for him, but he knew it would be risky. He wouldn't have it any other way.
