Philby POV

As soon as I stepped out of the ride, I saw Charlene making a mad dash for me. Oh, god, I can't outrun her! I spun on my heel and sprinted as fast as I could.

But it wasn't enough.

Charlie practically flew through the air when she jumped, landing on top of me. My face was suddenly smashed against cement. "Philby," she whispered in my ear, sitting on my back. "Please, just give us a second."

"This is for your own good, Philby," Willa said, coming from behind me and crouching down so I could see her face. I only glared at her.

"What? What are you guys up to? How long have you been keeping secrets from me?" I hissed.

"Maybeck only told us earlier toni-" Charlene cut herself off with a glare from Willa.

"What? What did Maybeck tell you? Was it the Tear? Was it the Voice? What's going on?"

"You had a dream," Finn's voice came from behind me. I couldn't see him, and Charlene refused to get off of me. I only saw Finn's shoes as we walked in front of me. "Didn't you, Philby?"

"A...dream?" my voice was hoarse with Charlene's weight on my back.

"Was Maleficent in there?" Willa asked, kinder than Charlene and Finn were being right now. I didn't need to answer, my tiny sucking-in of breath was answer enough.

"What did she say, Philby?" Finn asked. "Was it something like-"

"Goodbye, Dell Philby. But no one will miss you," Charlene interrupted. I gasped again.

"How...do you...know that?" I grunted, struggling under Charlene. She wouldn't release me.

"So it's true..."Willa whispered sadly.

"Maybeck's Voice told us about that little rhyme," Charlene said. "We think it's a spell, Philby."

"We have been keeping a secret from you, Philby," Finn sat down, cross-legged, in front of me. "And I'm sorry about that."

"Just...tell...me..." I whispered. Finn bowed his head and sighed.

"The characters have been gone-"

"I know that!" I hissed, interrupting him.

"All of them. Except one. One that not many people would recognize."

"What...are you...talking about...?"

Finn looked over at Splash Mountain, and my eyes followed him. A figure stepped out of the shadows in the entrance. They were short, only about 4 feet tall, and wore a robe hiding their identity. They let the robe fall to the ground.

"The characters are gone, Philby," the figure said, stepping into the light. I gasped.

"Oswald..."

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit raised his chin, his rabbit ears flicking. "I am normally not here. But for some reason I woke up here and all the characters were gone. Including the OCs."

"We think it has something to do with your...dream," Maybeck said, walking towards us. Jess and Amanda followed behind him. "That drunk driver wasn't a coincidence, Philby."

"I also...had a dream," Jess rubbed her arm, bowing her head guiltily. By the look Amanda was giving her, I could tell she hadn't told anyone. She looked up at her sister. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It wasn't a very nice dream." She turned to me. "It was about you."

"There's weird things happening, Phil," Maybeck said. "Disappearances, weird poems, my Voice is telling me nothing."

"We're trying to protect you, Philby," Finn scratched the back of his head.

"But it's hard to do because, well, we don't know what we're protecting you FROM," Amanda added.

"We all pretty much know nothing," Willa said. "And that's not helpful at all."

"We think the drunk driver and the poem and my dream are connected," Jess said.

"There's something happening to you," Willa whispered. "It's hard to explain..."

"You're under a spell," Oswald said bluntly. I gasped. I felt my body relax as Charlene climbed off me and stood up. Grunting, I slowly sat up and looked around. Finn had his head bowed in shame.

"Oswald can't leave Splash Mountain," Finn explained. "It's why we wanted to bring you in there." Oswald proved his statement by reaching out for me. Once his fingers reached past where the fence of Splash Mountain ended, a transparent blue wall appeared, bending with the force of his fingers. It was like the wall in Wreck-It-Ralph, when Vanellope couldn't leave her game. He lowered his hand, and the wall disappeared.

"Then why didn't you just tell me?! I would have agreed!"

"It's best that you stay...unknowing about what's going on," Oswald said. "The more you know-"

"-the higher the chance you die," Maybeck finished. I looked around at everyone.

"But...Wayne chose me...for my knowledge..." I was so confused.

"Wayne's gone, Philby. He disappeared too," Oswald said. I stumbled backwards, the force of his words hitting me like a brick.

"I don't understand this spell, Philby," Maybeck walked over to me. I stared up at him, wide-eyed. He put a hand on my shoulder. "But I will figure this out," he bowed his head and sighed. "Cindy's gone, Philby. And FG. They're both gone. And you-" he looked back up at me, and his breath caught. "...You are my best friend. I'm not going to lose you because of this spell."

And suddenly, I felt like I was going to cry again. Holding my breath to hold in the sobs, I turned back to Oswald.

"What does everyone's disappearance- and you're appearance!- have to do with me dying?" I asked. Oswald's ears drooped.

"I don't know, Dell," he whispered. "I don't know why they're gone, why I'M here, why Splash Mountain, why you? There are so many unanswered questions."

"There has to be a way this all connects!" I yelled, looking around at everyone.

"I'm sure there is," Oswald said. "I'm sure it all fits together like a puzzle, but for now-"

"-we just don't know," Willa stepped beside me, putting her hand on my forearm. "I'm sorry."

I looked down at her hand, then at everyone around me, then at Oswald.

"I hate not knowing," I grumbled.


K so BASICALLY the theme of this story is ignorance, since Philby is all knowledge and stuff. Answers will come, children.

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