Philby sat up screaming; his eyes wide. Immediately Jess was at his side, meeting his eyes with her worried ones.
"Hey," she whispered, "you're okay...You're okay..." She hugged him and rubbed his back; a gesture she seemed to use a lot.
"Jess?" Philby asked sitting up and hugging her. "What happened?"
"Jafar and Gaston...They were trying to take me and bring me to Maleficent." She could see the anger in his eyes as she continued. "But...you didn't let that happen. They had me pushed against a wall, and Jafar was about to cast some type of spell, with his staff, that was supposed to make me pass out. Right before that happened, though, you jumped in between me and the staff, causing the spell to hit you instead."
Philby released himself from the hug and grasped Jess's arms. "Where are we?" He asked looking around.
"I don't know..." She whispered.
"Do you know if there's anyone else here?"
"No...It's just you and me..."
Philby sat there for a while, staring at Jess; thinking. "Are you hurt?"
Jess laughed a little. "What's with all the questions? Is my life an interrogation?" Philby looked at her skeptically. "What?"
"Are you?" She laughed again. "Jess..." He said more seriously, gripping her arms tighter.
"Yes, Phil, I'm fine." She looked at him with a tilted head at his reaction. "What's up? Why are you acting so weird?"
"I don't...It's nothing, Jess...Just...Nothing..." He tried to stand up, but let out a pained groan and fell.
"Whoa...Easy there, kid." Jess said helping him up. She led him over to, what she hoped was, a wall. "I think you hurt your leg."
"Really? I didn't notice." Philby snapped.
"Sorry...You probably knew that..." There was a combination of sadness and fear in her voice.
"I'm sorry..." He said putting his head in his hands. "I just...get a little snappy when I'm scared."
"You're scared?" Jess asked sitting down next to Philby.
"Well, I mean, yeah..." He said looking at her.
"Why? We're going to be okay."
"How can you be so sure? We don't even know where we are, much less where everyone else could be."
Jess could see that he was really thinking about Willa. "Philby," she said putting her hand on his shoulder, "we will find them. We'll find her. I promise."
Philby laughed a little. "Wow, Jess."
"What?"
"How are you so calm when you don't know if you'll ever see Amanda again? Or Dillard?"
"I don't know..." She shrugged. "I guess I've been separated from the ones I love so much that I've learned to always just hope for the best and to not let fear get the best of me. I always tell myself that anything's possible when you put your mind to it, and it really does help take the edge off of things. It doesn't make things better one-hundred-percent, but it does do a good deal."
Philby smiled at her then looked around. "We need to get out of here."
"I know, but how?"
"We'll have to look and hope for the best." Jess smiled at him.
...
Hans walked down the long hallway, his prisoners not far behind.
"Put them in separate cells." He ordered the guards. "I don't want them planning anything. And the reindeer and snowman out. There's no need for them any longer."
The guards saluted and, one by one, threw Finn, Amanda, Charlene, Maybeck, Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff into their cells. Within seconds, the seven were chained to the cell walls and left alone. There was no possible way any of them could escape. Elsa's powers were stabilized by some potion that was injected into her body. She couldn't do a single thing when inside a building except act as a normal person.
"This is ridiculous!" Maybeck shouted. "We didn't do a thing to that idiot!"
"But we made Maleficent mad." Amanda said from the cell next to Maybeck, her chains made a faint clinking sound as she positioned herself more comfortably against the wall.
"How did we manage to do that this time?"
"We survived on that island." Finn said across from Maybeck.
"So that was her doing?" Charlene said from the cell next to Finn. "I thought Loki was just trying to get rid of us for his sake. Then again, how would he even know who we are?"
"Maleficent." Finn, Maybeck, and Amanda said simultaneously.
"Hm." Anna said shivering. "W-why's it so c-cold in here all of a s-sudden?"
"It's not cold." Kristoff said from the cell across from Anna's. "Anna, are you sure you're cold and not just scared?"
"Y-yes."
"Well-"
"Kristoff, did it ever occur to you that Anna isn't really used to the cold?" Elsa asked.
"What?"
"You're an ice harvester. You're used to the cold. She's not."
"Guys?" Amanda said. "I think Anna's cold for a reason..."
Before anyone could say anything, the sound footsteps filled the hall. The sound of rubber from boots hitting the ground combined with the clicking of heels. And they were coming their way. As they approached, each of the seven recoiled as far back into their cells as possible; fearing whoever they were about to face.
"Don't be worried, my children." A raspy voice called out. "There's nothing to fear. I won't hurt you...unless you give me a reason to." A monotonous laugh rang throughout the long hallway.
"Wh-who are you?" Charlene said.
The voice laughed again. Suddenly, the long hallway was filled with an eerie light; fire to be exact. "I am your worst nightmare."
Finn squinted to see who exactly 'their worst nightmare' was. "Cruella? You can't be serious."
"Oh, but I am, my dear boy." She said stepping closer to Finn's cell. "Here, I'll prove it." Cruella snapped her fingers and Finn appeared in her grasp instantly. None of them understood how this was possible. It was Cruella DeVille. One of the least terrifying Disney villains to exist. She had no magic, no special staff or wand or anything, she couldn't even throw a decent insult if life depended on it. She was as normal as a dog crazy, fur coat loving, child hating person could get. Okay...Maybe she's not so normal...
"What are you planning on doing?" Finn asked struggling to get out of her grasp.
"Oh, you'll see. You'll all see. Let's just say that, after tonight, Finn Whitman will no longer be of existence." She laughed...then coughed...then laughed again and headed towards the end of the hall, guards following. There was a loud BANG followed by some clicking. The door was locked again, leaving Maybeck, Charlene, Amanda, Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff left in the darkness once again.
"Great..." Amanda muttered. "Just great..."
"It's okay, Amanda." Charlene did her best to comfort her friend. "We'll find him and beat that crazy lady senseless. You can book it."
Amanda smiled at Charlene's words even though she knew she couldn't see. "Thanks, Char."
...
"Dillard? Dillard wake up." Willa shook the, hopefully, unconscious boy. "Dillard." When he didn't move, Willa started freaking out. He wasn't moving and it looked like he wasn't breathing.
He's dead...Willa thought. He's really dead...What's going to happen? How am I supposed to tell Jess?
"D-Dillard?" Willa asked once more kneeling over him. "P-please...Don't be d-dead...Please..."
Nothing.
And she cried. Hard. It's not that she had a thing for him. He was just a good kid. He was good to Jess. He'd never done anything wrong and he doesn't deserve to die. Not like this. She had been through Amanda being technically dead for two days; she can't go through this again.
Willa's sobs echoed off the walls of the Utilidor making her feel all the more alone. She and Dillard had fortunately made it down there just barely missing a flying dagger from Mother Gothel.
She looked down at Dillard again, seeing the puddle of scarlet next to his body for the first time. That's when she noticed the dagger. And that's when she realized what had happened.
Ten Minutes Ago
"Willa! Go in there!" Dillard pointed towards an open door marked "Cast Members Only".
"No, Dillard!" Willa yelled. "I'm not leaving you out here by yourself!"
"Willa, please!" He said turning his back on the enemy to face her.
"No!"
"GO!" Dillard pushed Willa into the open door and ran in after her. Right before he made it in, though, Mother Gothel threw her dagger and it struck Dillard's right shoulder from behind. He was too focused on Willa and himself that he didn't even feel it make contact with his shoulder.
Present Time
Willa stood and walked over to the dagger, stepping over Dillard in the process. She picked it up and examined it. It looked like any old dagger. Well, except for the faint glow it produced.
Wait a second... She thought. Daggers don't glow...
She held the piece of weaponry closer to her face and took notice of its intricate designs on the hilt. The glow grew brighter causing Willa to bring it away from her face.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice said from behind Willa. Willa jumped, startled, and dropped the dagger. She bent down and picked it up. "It was once mine, but got taken and is now used for evil."
"Rapunzel?" The startled girl asked turning around. "Is that you?"
"Yes." Rapunzel replied stepping closer. "I'm sorry if I've frightened you. I wasn't thinking."
"No, no, it's okay." Willa said turning her attention from the mystical weapon to the princess. "I just...wasn't expecting anyone else to be down here. That's all."
"You seem sad. What's wrong?"
"My friend, Dillard, he's..." Willa looked behind her at Dillard's motionless body lying on the ground.
Rapunzel gasped and put a hand on Willa's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I'm sure you two were perfect for each other."
Willa looked at the princess funny. "What?"
"Weren't you two..."
"Oh, no. He and my friend Jess were together. Not me and him. We were just friends."
"Right...Sorry..."
"It's alright."
"What happened?"
"Well, we were under attack by Mother Gothel," Rapunzel made an ugly face at the mention of the woman who held her captive for eighteen years, "and Dillard saw the open door to the Utilidor and pushed me in before seeking safety himself. I guess the dagger got him before he made it in completely."
"I see...Let me see that." Rapunzel said pointing to the dagger in Willa's hands. She handed it to her.
"Do you know why it's glowing?" Willa asked out of curiosity.
"Yes," the princess said looking back to Willa from the dagger, "it's been cursed."
...
Finn was brought into a large room with walls that seemed to stretch up forever. He felt as if her were inside the Haunted Mansion "stretch room". He felt weak; he felt helpless; he felt lost. He knew there was nothing that could be done except to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends. Two guards, almost immediately, threw him onto a metal chair and strapped his arms and legs down so he couldn't move.
"You are to stay here and await your fate." One guard said.
"Not like I have much of a choice." Finn mumbled.
"What was that?" The other guard asked stepping closer to Finn.
"I said I can't wait." He snapped sarcastically.
"You keep that tone up, boy, you'll be gone sooner than later."
"Right. I've heard that before, and look, in still here."
"I think this time will have a different outcome." The first guard said turning and walking out the room with the other guard.
...
"Jess," Philby said from across the room, "I think I found a way out. Come over here."
Jess jogged over to where Philby stood and found herself facing an empty wall. "Right..." She said looking at the Brit like he was crazy. "And I just found my lost unicorn over there. We were planning on hopping on my dragon and flying out of here."
She started to walk away, but Philby grabbed her arm. "No, look." He pointed to, what seemed to be, a crack in the wall.
"A crack? What purpose does this serve exactly, Philby?"
"Look closer." Jess obliged and took a step closer to the concrete and leaned in. "You see? Follow the crack. Look where it goes." He traced his finger across the crack up about six feet, across about three, and down six.
"A door." Jess said amazed. "It makes a door."
"Yeah."
"But, how do we open it?"
"I'm guessing some type of lever or hidden button, but where would something like that be hidden in a place like this?" He spread his arms wide gesturing to the empty space around them.
"Right here..." Jess said crouched over, what looked like, a rock. She hit it and the door slowly rose, like someone had attached strings to it and was pulling it upwards, and revealed a dimly lit passageway.
"Nice..." Philby said walking, more like limping, over to Jess and giving her a high-five.
Jess gave a smile and said, "I know...I'm just that good..."
"Uh-huh...Don't get too full of yourself Miss unicorn girl..." He said walking past Jess and into the passage.
"Watch your mouth..." Jess said playfully from behind him. "You don't know how long we'll be in here together. I can kill you anytime I want..." This made Philby stop in his tracks allowing Jess to pass him up.
"Heh...Yeah..."
...
"Cursed?" Willa asked looking at Rapunzel with wide eyes.
"Yes."
"W-what's going to happen to him? Is he going to die?"
"Willa."
"Can he be awoken?"
"Willa."
"Is there any way we can save him?"
"Willa!" The girl stopped talking and looked at the princess.
"Sorry..." Willa apologized, her face red.
"No, it's okay. We need to go someplace private and safe. Come with me, and bring your friend."
"Why?" Willa asked.
"I know how to break the curse, but this is not a safe place to talk. There could be Overtakers anywhere."Willa's heart sped up as she picked Dillard up.
A way to wake him up? He's not dead. Jess won't be alone. She'll be happy. But how must the curse be broken?
...
"True loves kiss?" Willa asked.
How cliché... She thought. Haven't they learned by now?
"Yes, I'm afraid so." Belle said.
"Well?" Ariel said.
"Well what?" Willa said confused.
"Aren't you going to kiss him?"
"Oh, they aren't together." Rapunzel said to Ariel, clearing things up.
"Yeah," Mulan's said, "she's with the British one with red hair."
"Oh...He's a cute one." Ariel responded as Willa's face became the same color of her hair.
"So, who do we need to get in order for him to wake up?" Merida asked.
"Jess." Willa replied. "My friend, Dillard's girlfriend, Jess."
"Lockhart?" Mulan asked.
"Yeah."
"She's with him?"
"Yes."
"Since when?"
"I don't know!" Willa threw her hands up and laughed. "I'm not their personal stalker! That's Maybeck's job!"
"How do we get to Jess?" Belle asked.
"I don't know where she is in the park, if she even is in the park at all."
"Well," Merida, "looks like we've got us a person to find."
"We can start in Tomorrow Land." Rapunzel said. "And then we can make our way around the park from there. Sound good?" Everyone agreed.
"Wait, who's going to watch Dillard?" Willa asked.
"I will."
"Wayne?" Willa said turning around.
"Yes, I'll stay and watch over Mr. Cole until you return."
"Thank you, Wayne." Willa said hugging the old man.
"Anytime. Now hurry along. We don't want to keep Dillard waiting, do we?"
"No. Let's go." Willa said heading towards the door of Cinderella castle, the princesses following.
There you go! I hope I made it to your liking! I tried to make it longer than usual! Please review and feel free to request!