Fantasia Crisis

By Lord Akiyama

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

Chapter Seventeen

---

"Yen Sid said that we would rest here until his apprentice returned," Robin said. "Yet the minute we arrive, you start saying we should leave and then a bunch of masked warriors appear, more than willing to attack us. We need to know now. What the hell is going on here?"

"I think you summed up the situation yourself rather nicely," Helga shot back sarcastically. "I don't care what the rest of you decide to do, but I'm getting out of here like I said in the first place," she added raising the sword in her hand.

"You're not going any where, Helga Sinclair," a familiar voice rang.

Helga's lips curled in a sneer as she turned to the voice. "Just watch me, princess."

The Atlantean Queen looked very unhappy to see the blonde woman alive and apparently well. Queen Kidagakash griped her spear harder than before as the mere sight of the woman made her blood boil. "I don't know how in the name of the Gods you survived the volcano explosion," she hissed, "but rest assure I won't let you do so again."

"Too bad you don't have a choice in the matter," Helga shot back before quickly sheathing her sword and grabbing onto the spear of one of the men surrounding them, flinging him into another in an effort to clear herself a path.

"Blast it all," Amelia thought to herself, "she's going to get us all killed whether she knows it or not." As the Atlateans began to attack, the others fought back. Kida stood in place, watching all that was happening. All of a sudden, the sound of thunder echoed all around everyone stopped in place.

"Enough!" the commanding voice of Yen Sid spoke. "This useless fight shall come to an end, or I shall end it the hard way." Yen Sid slowly appeared behind Kida, holding in his right hand a large staff.

Kida's eyes shot wide open upon seeing who spoke. "The... the master of masters..." she whispered.

As the others drew back, Helga seized the opportunity and turned to make a break for it. The rest of the group didn't matter. They would know about her past soon enough and they'd probably be more than willing to turn her over to the restless natives.

"Helga!" the master commanded. "I would not dare run, if I were you. Especially since every path you ever know that led in and out of Atlantis has been affected by the balance disruption. Though the city and her civilians were untouched, everything else outside has. I doubt you would get far before running into a literal dead end."

Helga stopped in place without turning around, clenching her fists. "At least then I'll have a fighting chance," she replied.

"A fighting chance as what?" he said, more calm and soft than before. "What good would it serve you if you cannot escape. Especially now that there is no land mass that would lead to the surface. No ship to escape through the waters that have engulfed the entire city."

"If you know all that, why the hell did you bring me here?" Helga spun around, furry blazing in her eyes.

"Because this is the only place I could bring you to," he said. "I have not recovered enough to transport you any where else. This city was the closest from Monstro that I could possibly bring you will all that I have recovered. My apprentice will come to retrieve all of you. But until then, you must stay here."

"Wha-What do you mean?" Kida said in shock. "We deserve to hold her prisoner, yet you speak as though you are in need of her. What could you possibly want from this woman, master of masters? She has wronged us from the minute she stepped foot into the city!"

"What?" Ariel gasped.

Helga folded her arms feigning disinterest.

"I am in great need of her, Queen of Atlantis," Yen Sid said. "She is essential and no other can take her place. I am sorry to say to you, yet Helga Sinclair cannot be sidetracked from what she must do regardless of what she has done. I know it is against your better judgment, Queen of Atlantis, but she must rest along with her companions. They have had a long journey thus far and it shall only be more dangerous ahead. I trust you will heed my words, for I am needed elsewhere." And with that, the master of masters disappeared from sight.

Kida looked back to Helga. Her fist griped so hard it seemed as though she was about to pierce the palm of her hand. "I wish I could ignore his commands," she said between clinched teeth. "But I cannot. He has served Atlantis well and we are indebted to him. But if you even try to harm my people ever again, I will personally see to it that you never leave our imprisonment ever." She then spoke to her people in their native tongue. They were genuinely confused and bitter at their queen's command, but did so regardless. Soon, the six were left alone.

Robin stared at Helga. "Helga," he began. "I want to know. What did you do here to cause those people great grief?"

"It's not really important," Helga shrugged turning away again. "Everything she said is absolutely true. She has no reason to trust me and neither do any of you."

"You're right," Robin said, his eyes narrowed. "I have no reason to trust you. Not any more." Robin then turned and walked away. Stitch following with various growls at Helga.

Ariel looked at Helga with anger. "You're no worse than the evil we've been fighting," she said before storming off.

Amelia sighed in frustration. "We can't do this," she yelled at the others, going off after them. "We need to stick together. And we certainly cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves." She continued to speak, but she was too far off for any other word to be heard.

Simba remained silent the entire time. Moments after Amelia left, he sighed and sat in place. He looked at Helga with a sense of pity.

"What?" Helga fairly growled. "You'd better hurry and catch up with them."

"Why should I?" he said as though it were a thoughtful response. "Do you think I'm in agreement with the others and distrust you?"

"If you're not, you should be," Helga scoffed.

"Remember what the master said when we all first got together in his mystical plane?" he said.

"That was a long time ago and you may remember, I had a lot on my mind, like not dying," Helga replied drolly.

"You asked him why you should trust him," Simba said. "He said, 'Do you really need trust?'"

Helga stayed silent for a long moment. "I was wrong then. I never should have trusted him or anyone else. Trust is the most important thing you can have and the most often unrewarded."

"He also said, 'To trust is to believe in one that they will do as you expect them to and deliver on their word,'" Simba said. "He also said, 'You of all should know that trust can very easily be masked and false.' If this is the case, than how can it be the most important thing you could have?"

"Just because it's important doesn't mean I believe in it," Helga replied with a condescending look. "It's like the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. People need to believe in it, they enjoy the fantasy, but that doesn't make it real."

"Why is it so important if you don't believe in it?" he asked.

"This is ridiculous, I'm arguing with a reject from a petting zoo," Helga muttered in frustration. "Because it can get you in a lot of trouble if you're not careful, that's why!"

"Then how do you know that you're being careful with how you use your trust?" he said.

"You don't know," Helga shook her head. "Usually not until it's too late and what good does it do you then? The only thing you can do is not take unnecessary risks and right now, for you, that risk is me. For all you know, I could just bring you the same trouble I brought these people. Can you really honestly say you can afford to take that risk?"

"Maybe I don't have a choice," Simba said. "Neither one of us asked to be one of the twelve to stop Chernabog, but we are. Yen Sid said that each one of us is essential. Without either of us, the game is over and Chernabog wins. Obviously there is something about you that will help us succeed in what we have to do. Can I afford the risk? Yes. I can. I must. We're in this together, regardless."

"Personally, I think Yen Sid made a mistake, but it was a mistake that saved my life, so I wasn't going to argue," Helga bushed the stray hair out of her eyes. "You may as well know right now, I have nothing to lose in all of this. You saw what happened back there. That is what I have to look forward to when this is all over."

Simba couldn't help but grin. "Maybe that's why you're one of the twelve," he said. "You have nothing to lose. That makes you a threat to Chernabog."

"Hardly," Helga scoffed. "I don't have anything to gain, either."

"Perhaps there is," Simba said. "Who said Yen Sid would send you back here if we succeed?"

"Who said they wouldn't track me down anyhow?" Helga arched her eyebrow. "It really doesn't matter. I don't have anywhere to go back to, not anymore."

"Has anyone ever told you to try and think on the positive things for a change?" he grinned.

"Yeah, they did, and one of them's dead and the other tried to kill me so do you have any other brilliant words of wisdom?" Helga stared back, almost in a challenging way.

"Probably two," he said as he got up and began to walk away. "Hakuna Matata."

Helga quirked her head at an odd angle. "And this is why people keep lions as rugs," she muttered under her breath.

"Strange things happen when you grow up with outcasts like a meerkat and a warthog," he chuckled. "And it means no worries." After that, he was gone.

"No worries, yeah, right," Helga muttered to herself. " You and Santorini would have gotten along great together." She looked up at the edge of the city. Hopeless or not, it was more appealing than waiting around in in this stifling mess. By now, she was sure the princess had given them all the full story, or if not, the king had. Either way, she was just as bad off as she had been two years ago before Yen Sid showed up. One thing nagged at her, though. She was curious as to what had become of Rourke and the others. Really, she didn't hold a grudge against them, there wasn't anything personal in it, but Rourke... Well, he wasn't here, that was for sure or the princess would have mentioned it.

She sat down on a bit of stone trying to figure out what to do next when she looked up and saw something floating up in the sky. It couldn't be, but... it was. The crystal Rourke had wanted so badly was floating high up on the air surrounded by floating stones as it had in the dark underground cavern.

"How was I to know the thing was real?" she muttered. "Just like the Tooth Fairy..."

---

"I can feel it," The Horned King whispered. "It is so close, I could feel it in my hands. It truly is a wondrous day, servant of Chernabog. And now, you shall do as you wish. For your diversion shall allow me to claim hold of The Black Cauldron. And you may cause this civilization to finally be extinct."

The Firebird grinned as his eyes began to glow.

---

"Now more than I ever I want to get this thing over with," Robin muttered as he watched Helga approach them. "I wish that apprentice was here so we could get out of this damp place."

"Calm down, Mr. Hood," Amelia rolled her eyes. "You've been ranting for the past hour and it really has done nothing in our current state. We still have the matter of finding the others, releasing the lock upon them, await the rebirth of The Spring Sprite, and weaken Chernabog."

"How exactly are we suppose to weaken him?" Ariel asked.

Stitch began to speak in a babble that only Amelia could understand. She just shook her head in frustration.

"I think we're forgetting something," Simba said. "There's the matter of those in alliance with Chernabog."

Helga hung back at a distance. Really, she didn't know why she was even coming back, but it probably was better to stay with them long enough to get back to the surface safely, then find a good opportunity to slip away. Yen Sid was just being dramatic, they didn't need her.

"I think we really need to think seriously about that firebird," Simba continued. "I don't think he's done yet."

"Do we even know he's still alive after what happened?" Ariel asked.

"You can't be too sure of everything," Simba replied. "He could very well be on the move."

"Make that right over our heads," Amelia said. The others looked to see The Firebird rise in full form, screeching in flame and ash.

"Well my day is now complete," Helga muttered to herself.

"We got to get moving," Simba said. "That thing is practically lava. He'll destroy everything he touches."

"Not to mention the civilians," Robin said. "We have to save everyone and quickly."

"Get them to the palace!" Helga shouted, raising a hand to block the falling ash. "If nothing else, there's a cavern underground that should be able to withstand most of this." Of course, she had no idea how many people could safely fit down there, but they didn't have many options.

As if forgetting all that has happened everyone began to do what Helga said. The Firebird began to run through various regions of the city, causing everyone to scatter. The scattering forced Helga to head into an area deep within the city, which surprisingly remained untouched by The Firebird. For it was here where The Horned King found The Black Cauldron.

"You!" The Horned King said, as he laid his hands upon The Black Cauldron. "The woman of the twelve, I believe. Well then, I shall make sure you do not interfere in my plans." The Horned King then withdrew his sword and aimed it at Helga.

"I could care less about your plans, but I am sick and tired of everyone trying to kill me today!" Helga growled drawing her own sword.

"Oh, do not worry, my dear," he said. "After today, you won't hear another peep about it. You won't even hear anything at all." He swung, clashing swords with Helga.

Helga spun around quickly on her back foot and ducked out of the way of the sword coming at her head. Moving quickly again, she lunged forward trying to take him off guard.

The Firebird continued his rampage of chaos and destruction. The grin on his face as apparent as ever, destroy everything that is life. Suddenly, he stopped in place. He began to motion as though he had something caught in his throat. All turned their attention to see what this could be. A light appeared from his chest and he began to panic. He screeched and dove into one of the walls, putting a stop to his destruction of the city.

The Horned King turned back to Helga and smiled. "We shall continue this, my dear," he said. "I'm not through with you yet. Where ever you go, I shall find you." He laughed as smoke appeared before him and The Black Cauldron. Seconds later, they were gone.

Helga stared after him catching her breath for a few moments before slamming her fist into a large stone pillar. She was so sick of all of this! "No, it's not over," she muttered standing up again. She was through letting fate mess with her life.
She turned back the way she had come to see if she could find the others, of course with her luck, she'd probably get blamed for this, too.

"Look who finally showed up," Ariel muttered. "About time, too. Mickey wouldn't brings us back to the ship until he was sure you were safe."

"Calm down, Ariel," Simba said. "It looks as though Helga had a little run in."

"But of course, you wouldn't be concerned at all about that, would you?" Helga snapped back. "Believe me, I'll be just as glad to leave this place as anyone."

"Come on, guys," Mickey said with a nervous chuckle. "We still need to find the others before Chernabog regains his strength." With a wave of his hand, magical dust appeared before the six and soon they all disappeared from the city of Atlantis.

---

The Firebird breathed heavily before calming down. It wasn't happening. It couldn't happen. Not now. Not when he was so close to killing the others. His time was running short. He need to act quickly. He need to consult his master. The master would know what to do. He would be able to figure how to prevent The Spring Sprite from being reborn.

to be continued...

Thanks to GoblinQueeen, who provided the dialogue and some action for Helga.