Fantasia Crisis
By Lord Akiyama
Inspired by "Crisis on Infinite Earths" by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez
Chapter Eighteen
---
Lilo continued to rummage through the various bottles in the galley, hoping to look for something that she could tolerate. She paid little attention to when her arm knocked a small bottle down, spilling the contents within into a bottle of rum. Moments had passed after the spill stopped pouring into the bottle when Helga appeared.
"Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Helga muttered half-heartedly.
"Coffee helps me sleep," she said, her attention still in her search.
"I know what helps me sleep and it's not coffee," Helga replied grabbing a bottle of rum off the table. "Nice of the dearly departed captain to make sure we were fully stocked."
"How come adults like to drink that stuff?" Lilo asked curiously.
"It helps us not think as much," Helga muttered taking a swig.
Lilo looked through some more bottles before turning around to ask Helga something. That question came to halt for a moment. She took her camera, that hung around her neck on a strap, positioned herself on the counter and then took a picture. The polaroid ejected the picture almost immediately and she grabbed the photograph to look at it.
"What in the world did you do that for?" Helga asked rubbing her eyes from the bright flash.
"I like your ears," Lilo said, watching the picture develop.
Helga tilted her head staring blankly at the strange little girl. Lilo hopped off the counter and showed the photograph to Helga as it finished being developed.
"What in the...something's wrong with your camera," Helga muttered taking another drink. "There's something on the lense."
Lilo then walked over and pulled on what became Helga's tail.
"Stop that," Helga said grabbing the tail out of the little girls hand. "Honestly, don't you kn..." her voice trailed off sharply as she did a double take. "What is...just what the..." she bit her tongue remembering Lilo was there. "What has that wizard done now?"
Lilo took a step back and held the camera back up. "It's not everyday you see someone shrinking," she said as she took to the photo.
"What...?" Helga looked around in surprise to see that the little girl was right. Either that, or everything else was growing. Nearly in a panic, she reached out for the table to steady herself, only to be left dangling precariously from it.
"I wonder if the cat lady would like this," Lilo said as she walked off with the photograph in hand.
"Wait!" Helga shouted still dangling after the retreating figure, though it was probably barely more than a squeak at this point. "Great," she hissed trying to pull herself up onto the table top. Several other explicatives also escaped her mouth now that she was at liberty to do so.
"Master of masters or not, he's going down," Helga grumbled ash she carefully picked her way back down to the floor. "If I ever reach him," she added staring up at the tall set of stairs leading on deck. Muttering a few more choice words, she jumped for the first ledge to pull herself up.
As Helga climbed the set of stairs, Lilo had shown everyone the pictures of Helga turning into a mouse. The others quickly went to the doorway to meet the transformed Helga, most of them snickering whereas Ariel and Marian thought she was adorable.
"Out of my way," Helga hissed, "or I'll bite your kneecaps off. Where is that damned wizard?"
"I'm sorry to say," Amelia said in-between her snickering. "But I'm afraid we haven't had a visit from any of the sages since Mickey brought us back to the ship."
"How did you come upon this happening, Lilo?" Robin asked as he chuckled along.
"I was looking for something to drink and then she came down and started drinking this bottle and then she turned into a mouse," Lilo said. Stitch laughed uncontrollably.
"That's it fuzzy," Helga growled launching herself at Stitch.
"Calm down, Helga," Simba said, his paw upon her tail. "You know Stitch would only try to eat you."
"Not if I got him first," Helga murmured trying to pull her tail out from under Simba's paw.
Still snickering, Simba pulled Helga up by the tail. "Look," he said, "since Merlin is not here, we probably need to investigate how this happened."
Helga folded her arms, pursing her lips as she dangled in midair.
"She's just so cute," Ariel said. "I think wearing the pirate costume made her even cuter than when Merlin turned her into a mouse the last time." Marian giggled along.
"I'll show you cute," Helga exclaimed as she reached for her sword, but her hand came into contact with nothing. It was then she remembered she had taken it off before heading down to the galley. "Can this day possibly get any worse?" she muttered holding her head in her hand.
They went down into the galley with Simba holding Helga's tail with his mouth. Through examination, Amelia discovered the empty bottle that had a sticker of a mouse silhouette upon it. "Looks like we found the answer," she said. "Lilo might have accidentally spilled this over while looking for something."
"Would you be so kind as to put me down for just a moment?" Helga asked Simba in the sweetest voice she could muster.
"I think I have a good idea what might happen if I do," he said, transferring her from his mouth to his paw. "Something not very nice to Lilo."
"What ever makes you say that?" Helga feigned an innocent tone.
"Call it a hunch," Simba chuckled.
"Look at what she did to me!" Helga shouted completely frustrated. "Just what am I supposed to do now?"
"Guess we'll have to wait for ol' Merlin to arrive," Robin chuckled.
"That's right, laugh it up dog boy," Helga glared.
"That's fox boy, mouse girl," Robin laughed.
"That's mouse woman to you," Helga said, once again struggling to pull her tail free.
"Whoa, take it easy, Helga," Simba chuckled. "I'll put you down in a minute. But not while you're surrounded by those you would love to hurt badly."
"I wouldn't say 'hurt badly', per say," Helga grumbled. "More like maim... just a little."
---
"I present to you, The Black Cauldron" The Horned King announced, laying the object before Chernabog. "The Firebird and I have recovered this magnificent prize in tribute to you and your destined claim to rule all."
"A fitting tribute, indeed," Chernabog said. "You shall command The Cauldron Born and prepare them for battle. In the meantime, I want the twelve dead. And why has this not been so, Maleficent?"
"It is getting rather difficult to just simply kill them off," she answered. "The six released from my possession have done well to avoid death, as the princess has proven against Ursula. If what The Horned King described is correct, your servant shall need to be focused if he is to prevent the rebirth from taking place."
"And what of the five under your possession?" Chernabog said. "Why have they not been killed yet?"
"It has to do with their surroundings," Maleficent said. "It is causing a little bit if disruption with my concentration. Jafar said he would look into one involving the thief, though I have yet to receive word from him. What exactly he is doing I am not sure."
"All it takes is a simple death and yet you say it is complicated?" Chernabog said, irritated. "All you simply have to do is push them off a cliff into a river of sharp rocks. How could that be so difficult?"
"You try convincing a tiger that his brain-captive should be dead and not kept as a living trophy?" Maleficent said. "Or how about that Queen of Hearts and her ridicules shows of self-tribute."
"Just get rid of them," Chernabog said. "I may be growing stronger, but they continue to remain a threat. Just kill one of them for all that matters. Without all twelve they shall parish. I am frustrated, Maleficent, that you have yet to deliver on your assurance to kill at least one."
"I am working on it," she hissed.
---
"Are you sure about leaving Ariel and Stitch on the ship?" Robin asked.
"We don't really need Ariel for the most part," Simba said, "especially in this kind of environment. And Stitch would only destroy everything that walks into his path."
"And for a creature like him in a jungle like this, we don't want to take such a chance," Amelia said. "Any more questions, Robin?"
"Yeah," he said. "Why is Helga along for the ride?"
"I'd like to say it was for the scenery, but I think it was more because the overgrown house cat was afraid to leave me alone with them," Helga muttered back. Actually it worked out well for her. It got her to dry land and first chance she got, she was out of there and going to track down that wizard on her own.
"Well, it seems rather convenient to have a path," Amelia said. "It might actually take us to whomever it is we run into."
"The sooner the better," Simba said. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."
"Well, you're not exactly a jungle cat, Simba," Robin chuckled.
"Just because you're a forest creature doesn't mean you're an expert in the jungle yourself," Simba grinned.
"Well I do know about jungles and this is too easy," Helga muttered looking around with a cautious eye. "The only paths are between villages, ports or bases, not just into the middle of the jungle for no reason."
They continued to walk down the path until they saw a very large opening surrounded by water. They looked to see that in the center was a cage. Inside the cage was Tarzan.
"Well, this might be easier than before," Amelia said. "Hello! Tarzan!" No answer. "Can you hear me?" Still no answer. Amelia narrowed her eyes. "Robin, I think there's something wrong with Tarzan."
Robin took a step forward and looked. "He doesn't appear to be moving," he said. "He's alive, I think. He's just... drooling."
"Drooling?" Simba said. "What does that mean?"
"If you ask me, I think the possession is leaving him brain dead," Amelia said. "We're going to have to get him out of there." Amelia and Robin immediately jumped into the water, which was up to their waist, when a fence shot out of the ground before Simba.
"Should have seen that coming," Robin said. "A nice little trap to keep us inside and not let us out. Normally I'd scale it, but that thing is littered with various spikes both big and small. I wonder why there's a keyhole, though. Simba, do you think you can break it down?"
"I doubt it," Simba said. "It came out of the ground, so I'm guessing it's connected to the roots. Guys, you're going to need Helga for this one."
"Just great," Robin said. "She just so happened to be small enough to fit through and possibly mess with the keyhole."
"Knock it off, Robin," Amelia said. "Helga are you up to this?" Simba turned to face Helga, when he noticed she was gone.
Helga pulled herself over the large roots in her path. "This would be a lot easier if I was my right size," she said to herself as she stopped under a large leaf to catch her breath. She took a second to try and get bearing on her direction before striking out again. A little of her felt bad for just leaving the others, but they would be better off in the end. At least they wouldn't be fighting amongst themselves.
Just then, a paw slammed upon her tail. "Damnit, Simba, just let it go, alright?" Helga growled as she turned around, but the purring breath wasn't coming from Simba.
"My, my, what have we here?" the tiger said with a grin. "A rather feisty little thing, isn't she."
Helga held her breath. even as a human, a tiger was nothing to sneeze and from this angle... it looked a lot more problematic. "Look, I'm not really in the mood, so I would suggest you just move your paw right now and we'll just pretend like this didn't happen," Helga tried, stretching up to her full height which unfortunately at the moment, wasn't much.
"Well, now," the tiger chuckled. "Aren't we the brave little thing. A mouse telling a tiger to just let her go and pretend it never happened. Especially when she asks a tiger who is not only hungry, but rather enjoys the tasty meal of mouse a la carte." He chuckled some more as he picked her up by the tail.
"When I get to my right size again, I'm going to come back here and make a throw rug out of you!" Helga shouted.
The tiger began to laugh. "Oh my, that tickles very much," he laughed, refusing to release her. He waved her about, causing her to release her bite. "You're not a mouse. That's the biggest laugh I had ever had in quite a long time, missy. Now, before I quickly put an end to your little pathetic life, allow me to introduce myself. I am Shere Khan, ruler of this jungle. Whatever I say goes, whether you like it or not. And you, my dear, shall be sleeping very comfortably in the confines of my stomach."
"When I get to my right size again, I'm going to come back here and make a throw rug out of you!" Helga shouted.
Shere Khan continued to laugh. "Oh my gracious, my dear," he said, "you truly are the great comedian. Your right size," he laughed some more, rolling on his back and still gripping on Helga's tail. "I must say, my dear, I wish I could keep you just for my pure amusement. But I'm afraid I'm getting rather hungry and there's nothing more satisfying than a mouse." He opened his mouth and began to slowly lower her into it.
Helga scrambled trying to find something to grab hold of. After everything she had been through, she was not going to die as an entree for some circus reject. Unfortunately, the more she struggled, the more she came to realize there was nothing she could do about it.
Suddenly, a force slammed into Shere Khan. Through his rolling, his grip on Helga was released. Helga rolled onto her shoulder as she hit the ground and jumped to her feet to see what had happened. "Simba..."
"I'll trade you for him if you deal with the predicament I left," Simba said with a grin.
"What are you talking about?" Helga asked as she ran to stand behind him.
"Amelia and Robin got themselves in a bit of trouble back at the pond where we found Tarzan," he said, watching Shere Khan slowly get to his feet. "There is a fence that's keeping them from getting out. Robin can't scale it because it's got a lot of spikes. I couldn't break it down because it's deep within the roots. But there is a keyhole and you're small enough to get to it and mess with it."
"And I should help them why?" Helga returned. "Let fox boy get himself out of his own mess. He'd do the same to me given the chance."
"Not when they're being chased around by two alligators," Simba added.
"I'm still not impressed," Helga sighed checking her nails. "He would have given throw-rug over there the steak sauce to wash me down with."
"Helga, please," Simba said as Shere Khan got to his feet. "I did a favor and saved your life. The least you could do is help me out by helping them in return."
Helga narrowed her eyes. "Fine, for you then, not for him. Which way are they?"
"Go straight behind me and find two dead trees," Simba whispered. "Turn left onto the path and you'll find the fence. And hurry, I don't know how long I can hold him off before he comes after you."
Helga picked up the pace after that last remark. "Two dead trees," she muttered to herself as she ran. "Like I can see two trees at once at this size." She finally found her way back to path and pushed herself even faster now that she didn't have to crawl over things in her way. "I guess this must be the place," she said coming to a dead stop in front of a large and intricate obstruction. "Anyone alive in there?" she called out.
"I told you she would come," Amelia yelled. "Helga, climb the fence and unlock the keyhole, quickly. We're having a hard enough time dealing with these alligators!"
"She actually showed up," Robin muttered. "I'm impressed. But where's Simba?"
"Simba's taking care of a throw-rug," Helga called back as she began to climb.
"A lion and a mouse," Shere Khan said, circling Simba. "Sounds to me like some ridicules story those humans tell their children. Now why would you go and place yourself in a dilemma you cannot possibly escape from."
"Maybe it is because of who I am," Simba said. "Someone who is willing to do just that for a friend."
"Friend, eh?" Shere Khan laughed. "Well then, I'll just have to pass on what a dear friend you are just before I eat her." With that, he leaped at Simba. The two began to fight, clawing at one another and pushing at one another in the hopes of gaining the upper hand. Very early, Simba knew the tiger was stronger than him. But he couldn't let that weigh on him heavily. He needed to move with his feet and find a way to outsmart his opponent.
"I usually don't have a problem with picking locks," Helga called out in frustration, "but I've never had to do it from the inside!" She sat with her back pressed against the casing of the lock, her feet pressing with all or her strength against one of the gears. She pulled back and with a last effort, kicked the gear with everything she had left, causing it to fly loose.
"Grab Tarzan!" Amelia yelled to Robin, who was on the other side of the pool and closest to Tarzan. "I'll attract these gators! Helga, I will be indebted to you if you would so kindly as to perform a deed for me."
"What's that?" Helga asked warily.
"I see a rope hanging from the door you just opened," she called. "Get to it and when I reach land jump for me so I can pull on the rope. If we can time this right, we can use the door to trap these gators!"
Helga caught sight of the rope the captain was talking about. "I'm on it," she called back.
Simba slammed hard against the ground. He coughed as he slowly pushed himself up. Shere Khan was breathing just as heavily as he paced slowly around the lion. "You're a very worthy opponent indeed, lion," the tiger said. "But my patience has been wasted. It ends now."
Simba caught sight of Shere Khan making for a lunge. Simba fell back and timed it just right to push his feet into the tiger's gut, flipping him over. Shere Khan slammed against a tree. As he feel to the ground, his head crashed upon a rock. Simba rolled slowly, groaning a little from all the scars and pain upon him to look at his fallen opponent. The tiger was not moving.
"Three..." Amelia said through her teeth as she ran at full speed. "Two... One... HELGA, NOW!"
"Here goes nothing," Helga muttered as she jumped, rope in hand.
Amelia leaped and grabbed the rope. With all her strength and weight, she pulled as hard as she could as she slid upon the ground. Her hands to each side of Helga. The alligators crashed into the door with so much force that they bent it. When the dust was cleared. The gators had knocked the door off, only to be wrapped completely around it. They couldn't move an inch even with all their might.
Amelia laughed a little. "Well now," she said. "That is certainly something I hope not to do again."
"Believe me, there's a lot of things I've found I'd rather not do again," Helga sighed. She tried to dust herself off and looked up suddenly. "Simba's not back yet..." she realized aloud. "We have to go back for him..." As she turned, Simba slammed against the ground right in front of her and groaned in pain. "Someone get over here!" she said as she hurried over to him in a tone of concern that surprised even herself. He was very much worse for wear, that much she could see.
"My God, Simba what happened?" Amelia said. Robin appeared on land with Tarzan on his back, but slowly laid him down upon seeing Simba.
"Just... just get me on the ship..." Simba managed, cracking a grin. "I'll... I'll be fine..."
"You heard him!" Helga insisted. God, what she wouldn't give for Sweet right now. She looked around realizing they were going to have to carry Tarzan, too. If they couldn't figure out something quick and that was too much for just Amelia and Robin.
Amelia looked at the others. "Robin, get Tarzan back to the ship," she said. "You're the fastest and he doesn't seem to be hampering your speed. I'll do as much as I can carrying Simba. When Tarzan's on the ship, get back here and--"
She was cut off upon the sound of a tiger's roar. Everyone looked in the direction to see Shere Khan running toward them one second and then pushing off the ground the next. He was inches away from Amelia when a force knocked him sideway and the screams of a man was heard. Shere Khan slowly shook himself back up to see Tarzan standing before him with a stick in hand. The man growled like the tiger as they began pacing one another.
"What the hell just happened?" Helga looked around confused.
"It... it appears... Tarzan's... awake..." Simba smiled.
Tarzan and Shere Khan leaped into action with Tarzan connecting blows against the tiger. The tiger growled as he leaped for the man. Tarzan grinned as he caught Shere Khan and held him up. The tiger slashed at the man to no avail before Tarzan threw him. Shere Khan let out a scream upon getting impaled against a broken fence post. Shere Khan slowly looked upon his foes before all became blurry. He dropped his head into the water before life was taken away.
Helga let out an involuntary shutter. It wasn't as if he hadn't deserved it, but still, it wasn't the most pleasant of sights.
Tarzan looked down upon the injured Simba and then slowly lifted him up, making only a minor gorilla grunt. "Got your back, Simba," he chuckled.
"Yeah..." Simba chuckled back. "Thanks..."
"We better hurry," Helga started to hurry as much as her tiny legs would allow.
"That I can agree upon," Amelia said, scooping Helga up in her hand as she made a run for it. Tarzan and Robin followed, with Tarzan showing amazing speed while lift Simba on his back. They quickly made their way to the ship and Simba was brought into the stateroom. Soon, they were off sailing again and Simba was being treated to.
Moments passed and Robin stared out into the distance. He noticed Helga near by and then sighed. "Helga," he started. "Whether or not you helped us on your own free will... Thanks..."
"Don't flatter yourself fox boy," Helga replied glancing at the door to the stateroom. "You had nothing to do with it. I did it as a favor for Simba."
"Even still," Robin said. "Guess I kind of judge you a little too quickly. I mean, you're not all that bad. You still have a heart."
Helga glared back. "You're kind of new at this compliment thing, aren't you?" she muttered. "Besides your wrong, it's nothing like that, I just owed him a favor and I don't leave my debts unpaid."
Robin grinned. "If you say so," he said. He got up and walked down to the galley with the grin still on his face.
Helga went back over to the door of the stateroom and sat down to wait for word. It wasn't that she was worried really... no, she just wanted to make sure he hadn't been seriously hurt on her account.
"Don't even think about going out there on the next one, Simba," Amelia said with a light laugh. "I'd hate to think you would get yourself beat up countless times just for the sake of saving everyone."
Simba chuckled. "Yeah, well, I'm that kind of person," he said. "Guess you can say I'm making up for the time I spent thinking only of myself."
"Any one would have reacted the same way in that kind of situation, Simba," Amelia said. "You were only a cub."
"I know, I know," Simba said. "I should stop beating myself up for my actions. What's done is done."
"Well then, fearless leader," Amelia said. "Since you're staying on the ship for the next one, who is going to stay with you. I'm sure Ariel will be one of them."
"Probably," Simba sighed. "Well, Tarzan would be a perfect replacement in terms of strength. See if you can ask Helga if she could stay on board."
"Just so she won't run off again?" Amelia asked.
"Nah, just for the company," Simba said. "As much as I like the others, I rather enjoy talking to someone who gives it to me straight and simple, even if most of what she says isn't positive."
Helga watched the sun dip in the sky a bit as she waited by the door. It didn't matter, it wasn't as if she had anywhere else to be and at least here, she wasn't likely to get stepped on.
---
Jafar smiled as he looked upon what was once the proud city of Agrabah. He was now the ruler of the city, thanks to the balance disruption. This was exactly what he wanted and he could not ask for anything more. He laughed as he seated himself in his throne. His mood was interrupted for a moment upon hearing heavy breathing. He then saw the figure of Iago appearing, his feet clutched to an object.
"Ah, Iago," Jafar said. "So nice to see you. It has been two years, I believe."
"Yeah, two stinkin' years!" Iago yelled as he landed on the floor, breathing heavily. "But I delivered, didn't I? I got you the stinkin' lamp!"
"Oh, what a shame," Jafar said. "I figured you would have known by now. I rule Agrabah now. And I did it without some lamp. I have no need for it now."
Iago dropped his jaw upon hearing this. "What?!" he said. "But, I flew what seemed like half-way across this stupid world and I deliver the lamp to you only for you to say, 'Oh, I have no need for it now.' Just because you rule Agrabah?!"
"Exactly," Jafar said. "Toss it somewhere, for me. Probably in some bottomless pit, for all I care. In fact, I have no further service for you."
"But Jafar..."
"Enough, Iago," Jafar said. "I am the ruler and I have made my command. And my command is final. I don't need you any more. Away with you!"
Iago opened his mouth, but didn't say a word. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, grabbed the lamp and flew off. Once outside the presence of Jafar, he began muttering explicative words.
"Lousy Jafar..." was among his mutters. "Served him all these years... spent two years find this dumb lamp... doesn't want it any more..." He was outside the city when he finally landed.
"Well this is just peachy," he said aloud. "You'd think the guy would take it as a trophy as opposed to just throwing it away. I spend two years finding you so that you could have this stupid lamp, you selfish bastard!" He stopped and then slowly turned to the lamp. "Say... he doesn't want the lamp any more. That may actually be a good thing. Because now I can make three wishes of my own. Jafar, you're going to wish you never got rid of me..."
to be continued...
Thanks to GoblinQueeen, who provided the dialogue and some action for Helga.