Fantasia Crisis

By Lord Akiyama

Inspired by "Crisis on Infinite Earths" by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez

Chapter Twelve

---

"I wanted to speak to Pocahontas again," John Smith said. "So I went to her village and she quickly got me out before we got spotted by anyone else. She brought me here, I met Grandmother Willow, and then there was this huge flash of light outside the vines. It lasted for what seemed like a day or so. After that, everything changed. Pocahontas did not know which was left or right any more, so we decided to stay close here and wait for people we recognized."

"You were the first we have met in the two years since," Pocahontas said.

"You didn't know what was what, huh?" Simba muttered. He thought for a moment before looking to Grandmother Willow. "Maybe you yourself are unaffected by the balance disruption like myself and those shielded by your vines were also unaffected."

"That appears to be the case," Grandmother Willow thoughtfully spoke. "If what you say is true, than almost everything else outside has been altered. Even her people and his fellow settlers."

"That is pretty much the case, I am afraid," Robin said, tossing the quiver over his shoulder. "In addition to that, most of our companions we are searching for are under the spell of a witch."

"A witch?" Pocahontas asked curiously.

"Evil woman who uses magic," John quickly answered her.

"Well, we thank you for giving us shelter," Ariel said. "I'm sure Yen Sid would have thanked you for the herbal drink, Pocahontas, had he not been in a hurry to tell us the information and leave. He is still slowly recovering from the balance disruption, I'm sure."

"Anything for the master of masters, my dear," Grandmother Willow said. "I would have been honored to have talked with him, but I guess it was not to be at this time."

"No, I'm afraid not," Robin said, pulling the hood over his head. "Well, I guess this is where we say farewell to one another."

"Good luck in finding your companions," John said, shaking hands with Robin.

"Listen to your heart and you shall be guided the way," Pocahontas said with a smile as she watched the three leave.

---

"I believe that we should begin to look for the sages, my apprentice," the master said.

"The sages, master?" Mickey asked curiously, setting down two cups upon the table. The cup before his master contained herbal tea whereas he had a self-conjured juice.

"That is correct," Yen Sid said before taking a sip of his drink. "I suspect that should we successfully defeat Chernabog, there is the matter of the world. It has to be reshaped and the alterations has to be fixed. And we both know that you are more than strong enough to be among them, my apprentice."

"You have taught me well, master," Mickey bowed. "But do we even know who the other sages are?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," the master smiled. "The problem is where they have been scattered since the balance disruption. But do not worry for they are among the few unaffected by the alterations."

"So who should my companions and I be looking for, master?" the apprentice asked.

"You shall be looking for eight others," Yen Sid replied, taking another sip of his drink. "Merlin, The Fairy Godmother, Rafiki, Tinkerbell, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, and Clopin."

---

The trigger was pulled and the cork shot out of the barrel, hitting Simba in the nose. He couldn't help but chuckle as the little boy began to prance around as though he had shot some great monster. Ariel and Robin found amusement in this as well, laughing along with what they saw.

"Now, now, little boy," Robin chuckled as he bent down to the child. "Shooting a lion is wrong, rude, and dangerous. If Mr. Lion here wasn't our friend, could you imagine what he would have done?"

"Oh don't be such a spoiled sport, Robin," Ariel giggled. "The young boy is just having a little fun."

"I know Ariel," Robin looked back. "But you have to consider what would happen to him. What if he was your kid?"

Ariel was about to answer when an explosion was heard in the distance. The boy began to run off home as the three looked into the direction of the explosion. Robin looked about and saw a tree and quickly ran up to the top, looking to see a better view of where the explosion came from.

"What's happening over there?" Simba asked.

"It's coming from a port," Robin called back. "Two ships are battling, one was docked and it appeared the other just arrived to blow the other one up."

"Gosh, they're quite the pushy bunch," Ariel said is disgust.

"That's the way with a lot of things, Ariel," Robin called. "It is as though the main..."

Simba and Ariel looked up further, narrowing their eyes. "You alright up there, Robin?" Simba asked. Suddenly, Robin dropped down to the ground and began to tighten his bow quickly.

"We got to get moving," he said. "The ship being attacked has Amelia!"

"What?!" Simba and Ariel cried.

"Amelia is on the ship getting attacked," Robin said as he began to tie to the top of his quiver with his cloak. "If we don't get moving soon, the twelve will be done for good." Quicker than a hiccup, Robin began running down the path toward the dock.

Simba and Ariel followed as fast as they could with Simba quick enough to at least catch up. "We need a plan," Simba said. "Amelia may still be under the lock."

"Don't think I haven't thought of that, mate," Robin said. "Heat of battle is as good as any to get her charged up. Which is why I'm going to board the enemy ship and see if I can get her fired up to attack the opposing captain."

"What?" Simba said. "Are you sure about this?"

"We don't have the time nor luxury to debate any other plans, Simba," Robin said, his speed accelerating. "You and Ariel get on board her ship and see if you can keep her from getting killed."

"I supposed you also want to keep us from getting harmed from her if she is still under lock," Simba moaned as he began to fell back. He slowed down as he watched Robin begin to disappear toward the port. Simba turned and ran over to Ariel and quickly scooped her from underneath so that she appeared to be riding him. "You're not going to like what Robin suggested as a plan," he began to say to her.

Robin slowly edged his head downward to add more acceleration to his speed before leaping off the wooden dock and diving into the water. The speed from his running got him closer to the enemy boat before having to swim. Each stroke seemed like he was running on ground as he reached the other side of the enemy ship. His leap got him high enough to grasp a rope dangling from the ship. He caught his breath and quickly untied the cover over his quiver before swiftly climbing up the rope.

Robin pulled out an arrow before jumping onto the deck, quickly punching an incoming foe. He set his bow in position, pulling the arrow and releasing it. He watched it fly through the shirts three men before slamming into a forth against a post. All three not sure how to get out of their trap for some odd reason, causing Robin to chuckle.

"That was quite a resplendent show of your archery trade, Mr. Hood," a familiar voice said. "It appears you have found me at just the right time as I do believe this little battle I found myself in is getting rather disquieting."

"Amelia?" Robin said with an arched eyebrow. "You know who I am?"

"Of course I do, Mr. Hood," Amelia said, clashing swords with an opponent. "And I know that it was Maleficent who had tenancy me these two years, but that is besides the point right now. We can talk about this later as soon as we disencumber ourselves of Captain Hook and his friends."

"I am more than happy to comply, my dear captain," Robin grinned as he kicked a sword off the ground and into his free right hand. "Simba and Ariel are on the way so be sure to let them know you're alright."

"I shall keep that in mind while I continue to altercate Hook's melancholy legion," Amelia said, knocking her foe to the ground. "Fight on, pariah!"

Simba and Ariel arrived on the port, noticing that getting on board the ship was going to be difficult without a ramp. Especially since Simba could not jump high enough. They began to look around for alternatives. Simba then looked at the buildings along the deck and shook his head.

"I hope you will be able to forgive me for what I'm about to do, Ariel," he said. "Because I don't think I would be able to forgive myself for coming up with this idea." He then began to run toward the buildings.

"Simba, what are you doing?" Ariel said as she sat upon the running lion.

"Thinking upon whatever feet I've got," he replied as he began to jump upon stacked boxes and barrels before he found the reach for him to leap upon the roofs of the buildings. "You see that thing turning," he said, nodding his head to the direction of the mast about to swing their direction.

"Simba, you're not going to make it," Ariel cried. "It's too high and too far."

"I'm not aiming for that," he said. "I'm aiming for the thing dangling from it." Ariel looked again to see a rope hanging from the mast. "You better grab on to it as well, because I'm not sure my teeth can support the both of us."

"Simba, this is crazy!" she screamed.

"You're telling me," he called back.

He stopped running and turned to face the mast. It took a quick second before he got moving again. He was at full speed in addition to having extra weight on his back. The mast was moving closer when he leaped off the very edge of the roof. Ariel screamed as they literally flew in the air. Simba narrowed his eyes as he began to open his mouth. In a split moment, he clamped his teeth down upon the rope. Out of fear of dying, Ariel quickly reacted and grabbed hold of the rope.

Simba could feel the rope slowly begin loosen in his teeth as he watched the mast turn. He kept his eye on the dock of the ship, which is what he was aiming for. He did not know whether to stay still or start moving around. The problem with moving around is that Ariel was also upon the rope and it might quicken the cut. The problem with staying still runs the risk of not reaching the dock when the rope cuts. He decided to take a risk and swing. Ariel gasped as she was not sure what Simba could possibly be thinking as she swing with the lion. Simba took a few swings before making one more risk in releasing his hold on the rope.

"Oh my God!" Ariel screamed.

Simba roared as he began to roll back in the air before he landed upon a body, slamming them hard against the deck and almost breaking through. Simba caught his breath and sighed before before shaking himself and looking up. Ariel released her hold on the rope without swinging, meaning she would drop straight down. Simba moved quickly to catch her underneath.

"You, Mr. Simba, are the most maniacal personage on four legs I have ever had the delectation of seeing," Amelia said with a laugh. "It is as though you plagiarized a page from my own book."

"I'm... usually... swinging... over... water..." Simba said, catching his breath. He noticed Ariel was shivering out of pure fear and made no addition sound. He finally sighed. "I take it you're no longer under possession, captain?"

"That is true, but we have no opening to dissertate the issue any further, Mr. Simba," Amelia called, clashing swords. "If we envisage on getting out of here alive, we need to get rid of Captain Hook and his crew. Set Ariel near that door over there and help me and Robin administer the quandary at hand."

Robin clashed swords left and right, causing many to fall overboard. His quickness became his greatest asset as he moved from one opponent to another, keeping them from attempting to mount an offensive against him. Soon enough, there was no one else within his range to fight with. That was until his sword clashed hard enough with another that nearly sent him overboard. Robin watched as his sword dropped into the water before looking up to see the blade held by Captain Hook.

"You are quite the scoundrel you appear to be," Hook sneered. "I can see why you are one of the twelve, but all of this shall come to the end of the line. Before I kill you, let me say that you shall become nothing more than a stuffed trophy to be displayed in my galley."

Hook swung his sword back before making the blow, until the sword clashed with another. He quickly turned to clash swords with Amelia. This brought a smile to his face.

"Ah, there you are," he said. "I was wondering when we would clash swords again, my dear."

"I assume you are more than expectant to take another plunge into the water, Captain Hook?" Amelia asked with smirk.

"This time, it shall be you who will be swallowing water," Hook said.

The two began to clash swords. It quickly became evenly matched though Robin suspected Hook had something up his sleeve. Robin quickly ran to the nearest sword and entered the battle to help Amelia. They soon learned that Hook was very well trained to battle two opponents with one sword and a hook.

Simba pounced the last of Hook's crew when he looked up to see Amelia and Robin struggle against Hook. He looked over to Ariel, who slowly began to pull out the sword she carried. An idea came to Simba as he began running toward her. Ariel looked up to see his eyes and understand what he was going to do. She tossed the sword with him grabbing it with his mouth. He ran toward Amelia and Robin, dropping the sword in a specific place before leaping onto the back of Hook. He began to bite down on the exposed shoulder.

Amelia stepped back as this happened. She looked around and saw the sword that Simba had laid down. She dropped the sword in her hand and quickly picked up the other just as Hook turned to face her. Simba released his hold before Hook could nail him with his swiping hook. Amelia charged with the sword and swung. The clash caused great force, breaking Hook's sword in two and sending him screaming as he flew far off the ship and into the water.

His head emerged from the water and began to scream. "You shall pay for that!" he yelled. "As soon as I get up there I'll--"

Tick, tock, tick, tock. The familiar sound rang clear in his ears. He quickly turned to see the crocodile approaching. Hook screamed as he began to swim swiftly away, his foe following close behind him.

"Dear me, this is quite the impressive sword," Amelia muttered. "Where did you get this?"

"Ariel had it," Simba said. "It was given to her by her husband before we left and ran into Robin."

"We'll explain everything in a bit," Robin said. "Right now, we need to get moving and fast. Hook attacked you obviously because of Chernabog. Yen Sid visited us the other night and told us that the twelve are now targets for elimination. We have to set sail and find the others and break the lock before they get killed."

"If that is the case then we shall use Hook's ship," Amelia grinned. "He doesn't appear to be using it and we are already set to sail." She walked over to the end of Hook's ship and faced the crew upon the other. "Attention all hands! I want everyone to salvage whatever they can and load them upon this very ship. We set sail at once!"

to be continued...