Chapter 9: Mysteries and Magic. NIGHTMARES fantastic.

I sat at the edge of my bed, gazing out the window. It was 30 minutes after closing, and my thoughts were keeping me from any form of sleep. Even Milo was a bit disturbed from today's events. But it wasn't his burden to carry.

I kept arguing with myself to go to sleep. My eyes burned as I kept staring out at the sleeping park. I thought Milo had already fallen asleep, but was proven wrong when he spoke up just above a whisper. "Moira? What-Who were you chasing? After you stopped the ride, I mean."

I didn't answer right away. I didn't think he'd believe me if I told him who I was pursuing. It all could've been my paranoia playing tricks on me making me think she was really there. But I felt that cold. That cold that'll forever haunt me.

I pulled myself farther up my bed until I was leaning up against the headboard, my knees brought up to my chest. I didn't bother to make eye contact. "I-I was chasing Maleficent. I swear I saw her shadow fleeing away, and didn't want to risk losing her."

"But what if it wasn't her you were after?"

"Then I've officially gone crazy."

It went silent. I heard soft movement, and the next thing I knew, Milo was crawling onto the bed next to me, wrapping his arms around me. "You're not crazy, Moira. You're just highly overprotective. And that's completely understandable with what went down today. You shouldn't blame yourself for your actions. If anyone is to blame, it's those godforsaken Villains."

"Dusk was right about them cracking down hard. I never imagined that they would target the guests."

"I guess none of us did. But it was bound to happen with our knowledge or not. We're all just fortunate that we were there at the right time."

"But what if I hadn't gotten there, too? What if it had gotten worse than it did? I swear, if something were to happen to you or Dusk, I don't know what I'd do."

He gently gripped my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. They had a slight twinkle, and his soft smile was enough to calm me down even just a little bit. "Moira, you do realize everything we've already been through, right? What do you think is worse, being beheaded, or a haywire rollercoaster?" I managed to release a small giggle. "Even before all this started, we've been through hell and back. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if you asked."

"Really?"

"Of course! You're my little sister. I wouldn't abandon you for anything." That right there was enough. I tightly wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him as if I might lose him. "Now let's get some sleep. I hear there's an early employee meeting in the morning." I nod with a small smile, and Milo replaces himself within his own bed across the room.

I could already tell this employee meeting is only for the 3 of us, and Milo doesn't know about Gordon yet, so that's something I need to remind him about.

As soon as Milo is secured, I shut off the lamp light, and drift off to sleep.

The meeting was held in a back room at the informational building in Main Street. On the way, I did inform Milo that Gordon was on our side of things as he was involved. Surely he didn't mind.

As Gordon entered, he seemed a bit older than he should be. His eyes were slightly red from exhaustion, and he moved as if he were waterlogged. I could tell he was in desperate need of a break, and who knows how long it's been since he's had one of those?

"Let's start business. Tonight is Fantasmic. This show is filled with Villains, as it is your basic Villain takeover show, so it'll be fairly easy for any real Villain to mimic that of a Cast Member. Moira, I'm putting you in your usual position as mechanics supervisor. Milo, you'll be joining her. Dusk, you'll be on lookout. If anything happens, and I mean anything, no matter how small it may be, you shut the show down, raise the fountains. I do not want a repeat of yesterday. Are we clear?" We all nod, and part ways. As I go to leave, Gordon stops me. "Why don't you take daytime hours off. The guys can join you if they please. I just think you need a bit of a break."

"Thanks, Gordon. I think we all do."

Knowing me, I didn't exactly decide to take an entire day off. Instead, I lessened my work load, and managed the Carousel, this time teaching Milo how to work the switchboard, while Dusk calmly observed. He was catching on fairly quickly, but I really wasn't allowed to let him fully operate out it, so in small time bursts would I let him handle it for a few minutes.

"So!" began Dusk, clapping his hands together. "Tonight should be fairly interesting."

"Please don't remind me," I groaned. "Anything that could go wrong most likely will go wrong."

"As that may be true, there is only one thing I could think of them using to their full advantage." I cocked an eyebrow at him, awaiting his supposed answer. "The dragon."

"If we're going to go with the theory that the Villains are surely gonna take over tonight, you might as well just say Maleficent."

"Hey, guys, should we really be talking about this out in the open?" asked Milo as he stopped the Carousel to allow guests to exit and new ones to enter.

"He's kind of right," I said. "We have all of tonight to prepare. And really don't want to risk anyone possibly hearing us since we're the only ones who can interact with the Toon Reality."

"Fine, alright," said Dusk. "I'll see you both tonight at the stage. We'll discuss a game plan then."

The audience for Fantasmic were massive as usual. We had made a few changes to the show, such as changing the Peter Pan scene to Pirates of the Caribbean and adding in Aladdin.

In the hours leading up to now, I thought of what could possibly be done to keep any threatening Villains at bay. Speaking to the boys at the control room, I told them, "I'm just going to admit that I'm not entirely worried about the 1st half of the show-"

"You mean the 1st half that now has the Pirates of the Caribbean segment?" inquired Dusk.

I sighed. "Yes! I'm not worried about that exactly. Just treat everything normally until it gets to the Evil Queen's segment. There's a backup where the actress portraying the Evil Queen has to wear a white wig just in case she can't make her exit to allow the Old Hag to come on. What I want to happen is Milo, you're going to manage the stage lift. Do not let her leave the stage. The only way we can see if she's an actress or not is if she pulls off the backup. If she still manages to turn into the Old Hag without exiting . . ."

"Then it's really her and we're borderline screwed?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Fine. But what about-"

"Dusk, I swear mention that Dragon one more time! If you're so worried about it, you can be in charge of it!"

"If I'm on technicals, and Dusk is on Dragon duty, what are you going to be up to?" asked Milo.

"Simple. I'm going to be monitoring the entire thing to make sure everything goes according to plan."

"So you're just going to be kicking back while Dusk and I do the dirty work?"

"Excuse you! Try spending a day in my shoes and you'll be wanting the same thing!"

"Will the two of you shut up and get to positions! The shows about to start!" said Dusk. Milo marched to be placed underneath the stage, managing the lift. Dusk followed me to side stage right, standing by where the Mark Twain Riverboat stops in the finale. The lights dimmed down, and I turned the volume down on the walkie-talkie I had acquired.

I glanced at Dusk, and in a whisper said, "Shouldn't you be at the Dragon's cave?"

"I will in a while. I just want to make sure you're situated. Like you said, anything can happen. You might need backup." I smiled at him and nodded, then focused my gaze onto the stage as the show was beginning.

"Welcome to Fantasmic! Tonight, our friend and host, Mickey Mouse, uses his vivid imagination to create magical imagery for all to enjoy. Nothing is more wonderful than the imagination-for in a moment, you can experience a beautiful fantasy or an exciting adventure! But beware . . . nothing is more powerful than the imagination-for it can also expand your greatest fears into an overwhelming nightmare . . ."

As the Snow White barge floated off, and Dusk helped the actors off as it docked next to us, I saw the Evil Queen enter and the music turned ominous. "Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space! Through wind and darkness, I summon thee. Speak!" With a crash of thunder, the Magic Mirror projection appears.

The Magic Mirror says, "Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold: three lovelier Protectors I see. And here, in Mickey's Imagination, beauty and love will always supplieth." I froze, and I could tell Dusk went tense, as well. Did I seriously hear lovelier Protectors? The line is supposed to be lovelier maids!

I grabbed my walkie, and turned it on. "Milo, are you ready?"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Moira. They're threatening me with my job because I won't let them near the lift." I honestly felt bad for him down there. This is a very stressful show for anyone to function. Malfunctions are bound to happen at any minute, and I'm surprised they don't happen more often than they do.

I watched the Evil Queen hover over her cauldron, waving her hands over it as she chanted her spell. "A magic spell in the black of night! With a scream of fright! And a bolt of light! Turn my hair to white!" I gripped Dusk's hand tightly watching the scene unfold.

Heavy amounts of fog covered the stage for 20 seconds. And then . . . the cackle matched the face. Somehow the Old Hag was on the stage. I again reached for my walkie. "Milo! I told you not to use the lift!"

"I didn't! I swear!" With the Wand Charm I wore, I knew he wasn't lying.

A montage of different Villains was playing on the projection screen. I felt Dusk give my hand a squeeze before bolting to the other side of the stage to help manage the Dragon's entrance. And I just stood there feeling helpless. I was shaking with anticipation, just waiting for anything to happen.

Then I hear static come from my walkie. I hold it up to my mouth with a shaky hand, pressing down the button to hear Dusks voice. "Moira! We have a slight issue!"

"I doubt it's anything slight. What's wrong?"

"The Dragon won't work!"

"Come again?"

"The damn animatronic Dragon won't activate!" Now was a time to freak out. If the Dragon wasn't going to come out, then the Maleficent Cast Member will be lifted by a mechanically operated pillar.

The smoke finally cleared out revealing Mickey and Maleficent. Maleficent says, "Now you'll have to deal with me-and all the powers of my imagination!" This sent chills up my spine for one reason, and one reason only. As she was saying this line, she wasn't looking at Mickey. She was looking past him, directly at me with a twisted toothy smile.

I wanted to move, I wanted to run away, but for some reason my feet wouldn't cooperate with me. She was lifted up by the pillar, her staff pointed outward. I couldn't exactly tell who she was aiming for, Mickey or me. But it was clearly me because when I went to notify Dusk of what was happening, an electric green zap shot my walkie out of my hands.

It happened so fast that I had to blink a few times to process what happened. I looked to my left and saw a Cast Member, Lawrence I think it was. He was prepping for the finale, but what I really needed his walkie.

"Psst! Lawrence, I need your walkie!"

He looked at me unamused. "What happened to yours?"

"It kind of blew up in my hands! Now would you just give me the damn thing!"

I hardly waited for him to unhook it from his belt before snatching it from him. "Dusk! Dusk, are you there?"

"Moira? What's wrong? I lost connection on your end. I thought something might've happened."

"Sort of. I was nearly zapped to death. Where are you?"

"Just finished restoring the Dragon. Gonna have to do a hydraulics check-"

"Shut up! I don't care about that right now! The one thing we should worry about is . . ." I looked back up to the pillar and saw that Maleficent is gone.

"Moira? Moira, you there?"

"She's gone . . ." I said in barely a whisper.

"What?"

"Maleficent! She's gone!"

"What do you mean she's gone? You're standing right there!"

"Don't you go accusing me of anything! I glanced away for a minute, I turn back, and she's not there! I honestly don't know what to do at this point!"

"Alright, relax. I'll be there in--"

Static overcame the walkie, cutting Dusks voice off. I tried calling his name, but nothing came through.

My heart was dropping miles and miles. Is this what he felt when my walkie blew up and went silent like this?

I had the urge to run to the other side to see if he was okay, but I was painfully restrained when a sharp hand pulled me back by my hair. I didn't have to look to realize who it was. The small menacing chuckle was enough. "Move," she hissed. She pushed me onto the stage where heavy amounts of fog had spilled, covering up most of our bodies. I stared out into the audience. They had eyes of awe and suspense. They all thought this was staged when in reality, my life was on the line.

Maleficent pulled out a large silver needle from her robes, holding it out dramatically as if this was still a show. She laughed maniacally, sending chills down my spine. She yelled, "This is what happens when Imaginations collide!" She was about to pierce my neck, but someone pulled her back and I was pulled away by my waist.

I looked at who was holding me back and saw it was Milo. He then ripped my Charm Necklace from my neck and threw it towards the stage. Amidst the fog, I saw that Dusk had caught it, attaching it to his neck.

He looked pained, his teeth clenched tightly, and his eyes were almost squinting. He was also breathing hard I noticed as he summoned the wand. But instead of it being gold, it was silver.

I wanted so much to go out and help him, but Milo had such a tight grip around me. It was almost hard to breathe.

I saw the fountains at the front of the stage were full blast, blocking the audience view. It must've been one of the boys since they're the only ones who knew exactly what was happening.

Dusk was in a full on battle with Maleficent, blocking any blast thrown at him, and vise versa. The way he moved was like something was holding him down.

Finally he stopped, panting and sweating profusely. He raised the wand high into the air, made eye contact with me, smiled, and then . . .

It happened so fast yet it everything was in slow motion. A huge red and yellow blast erupted from the wand, covering the entire staging area, blinding me and Milo. He hugged me close to his chest to protect me from the blast.

Once the blinding light faded seconds later, I saw that Maleficent was gone, and Dusk was lying on the floor, unconscious.

I gasped breaking from Milo's grip and slid onto my knees next to his body. I put my hands to his chest but didn't feel a heartbeat.

I shook him. "Come on, Dusk. You need to get up. She's gone." But he didn't respond. "Dusk, please!" I was on the verge of tears as I shook him harder. But he still didn't respond.

Milo knelt down beside me, wrapping his arms around me again, but this time it was more soothing than restraining. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I hugged Milo tightly, silently crying into his shoulder. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Milo was allowing a few tears to roll past his cheeks.

Calming myself down, I pulled down the collar of Dusks shirt to take back the Charms. But before I even snapped them off, I noticed that these Charms weren't the ones I had collected. They had changed. And I realized this because I recognized the Rocket Ship Charm where the Saturn Charm should've been.

Another thing that caught my attention was that his entire chest where the necklace had been was badly burned and scarred.

I finally took the necklace off of him and placed it around my neck, and the Charms reverted back to the ones I was familiar with. Milo had stood up, holding out a hand to help me up.

When I took it, I sensed movement next to me. I looked down at Dusks body, which looked still as death. But then I saw it. His head was slowly moving side to side, and his eyes were clenched tightly.

I knelt back down to his side, placing my hands back on his chest. Before I could say his name, his hand covered mine and his eyes fluttered open.

He just stared at me. I honestly was at a lost for words. He let out a shaky sigh and said, "I'm in this deeper than I've led you on to believe."

"Oh, Dusk. What do you mean?"

"Well . . Let's just say Dusk isn't my real name."

"Let's not worry about that now. You need serious medical attention." I grasped Dusks hands and helped to pull him up, in which he stumbled a bit, but I managed to catch him.

I slung his arm around my shoulders and wrapped mine around his waist. "Milo?" I muttered.

"Don't worry. I'll lead the way," he said. He walked ahead of Dusk and I. I wanted to keep ourselves slow so I didn't pain him.

Along the way, I couldn't help but run Dusk's words in my head. He's in deeper than he's told me? His name's not Dusk? I kept glancing at this poor boy hanging on to me and felt that he couldn't be anything bad. After seeing him in action, he's anything but!

At the moment, I didn't care what or who he was. I'll be happy once he's safe in my hotel room.

Eey! Long time no see! I thought I'd do something new where I answer/reply to people reviews at the end of chapters. So here we go!

STICKSBRANCHESROOTS: I agree. A name like Gordon doesn't seem very trust worthy. But the name came to me just out of nowhere. Unlike Moira and Milo's name's hold meaning that'll be revealed towards the end of this fic. I would love to read your fic! It seems interesting just by reading the title. And yes, I wish there was a Hunchback of Notre Dame ride or experience so I could incorporate it heavily into the story. But I might be able to make some form of references or mentions. I'll be brainstorming that for you.

RENNYANGELEE: Thank you for enjoying the fic! And thank you for the reminder of the quoting. I'll be sure to look over the chapters to see if someone's quotes needs to be emphasized. I just edited the last 8 chapters, so hopefully I caught them and fixed them.

JOHNHAMMOND1993: When I first read your review, I felt sad knowing there isn't an Up ride. BUT I remembered the Wilderness Explorers area in California Adventures. So yes! I will brainstorm an UP chapter with Charles Muntz.