Fantasia Crisis
By Lord Akiyama
Inspired by "Crisis on Infinite Earths" by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez
Chapter Twenty-Two
---
Nala exhaled as she nuzzled up against the mane of the smiling Simba. "I have never felt this comfortable ever, my Simba," she giggled. "You really know how to treat a lady."
Simba chuckled, nuzzling her ever so lovingly. "A king must do what he can to please his queen," he said. They exhaled together as they released all their weight upon the many pillows.
"I guess it was a good idea to let Hercules go out to join the others," Nala whispered. "One less person on the ship and one less person to see us so." They laughed softly. Afterward, they sighed and surrendered to silence. Nothing was said as they nuzzled closer than ever together. Simba on his back and Nala resting her head upon his mane. It was as lovely as it could ever be.
"I really needed you," Nala said, breaking the silence. "I was in such a panic, carrying our cub within and her not being born these past years. I was so afraid that she would never be born."
Simba closed his eyes, filled with sorrow that he could not heal his wife's pain and suffering when she needed it. "I could only imagine," he said.
Nala closed her eyes, almost burying her face in his mane. "I was so scared," she said. "Scared that something would happen and that she would die before having to experience life."
"I here now," Simba whispered, trying to comfort her. "Our cub is not dead. She will live."
"Tell me everything will be okay," Nala said.
"Nala, I don't know if I can make such a promise," Simba said.
"Please, Simba..." she whispered, nuzzling tighter. "For me..."
Simba looked at her before closing his eyes and nuzzling her just as tight. "Everything will be alright," he whispered.
---
"Was that really necessary, Helga?" Hercules asked a now more human looking Helga. "I mean, you were already back to normal and just stepping on him would have been bad enough."
"No, it wasn't necessary, but it certainly made me feel a lot better," Helga replied nonchalantly. "I think I just saved myself years of therapy."
"What was phrase?" Tarzan thought out loud. "How you placed his head to his tail..."
"I just hope he wasn't carrying any diseases," she muttered spitting off to the side again. "That was the first and last time I ever bite a rat."
Tarzan stopped in place and began to sniff. "Smell Beast," he said. "Behind us." They turned to see Amelia, Beast, Robin, and Mulan running toward them.
"You better start running," Amelia yelled to them. "We have some very unpleasant company behind us!" Chasing behind them were an army of warrior Huns.
"Just what the hell did you all do?" Helga shouted back as she began to run.
"You should blame the dragon," Mulan said as Mushu clung on to her shoulder. "This is Mushu. He's supposed to be my guardian!"
"Hey, it's not by fault that turkey tried to peck me!" Mushu yelled. "I'm very sensitive to that kind of thing!"
"I don't care whose fault it is," Helga shouted back. "I'm wet, I'm cold, I need a toothbrush, and now, I have to run from a crazed army! As far as I'm concerned, they can have you if they want you that bad."
They kept running as Beast quickly spotted something. "Head for that moving thing," he pointed at the train that was beginning to move. "We might out run them on that!"
"Well my night is now complete," Helga muttered heading in the direction Beast had pointed.
They all began to ran for it. Very quickly, Beast grabbed some of the others and quickly jumped to the top of the train. Amelia and few others followed before they were all on top of the train as it began to pick up speed.
"Any idea where we're headed, or should we just hope we can eventually find our way back to the ship?" Helga said clenching her teeth to keep from shivering as the increasing wind chilled her damp clothes even more.
Before any one could say anything, a thump was heard. They turned to see Shan Yu in a crouched position with a smile on his face. To his side, some of his warrior Huns emerged.
"We're going to have to split up," Amelia said. "There's no way we can all stand our ground together like this." Immediately, they all began to split up. Some moving further up the train, others slipping inside.
Hercules, Tarzan, and Robin did not get far when Hercules turned and started punching some of the in-coming warriors. Tarzan turned and started leaping into a horde of warriors, fighting them off with his spear. Robin rolled back and started to launch arrows at them.
"Looks like we're stuck up here," Hercules said.
"Men fight weaker than jungle animals," Tarzan laughed as he kicked a warrior off the train.
"That makes me feel a little bit better, Tarzan," Robin chuckled, shooting another arrow at the warriors.
After getting her sword from the captain, Helga swung her legs through an open window, landing squarely in the middle of the isle. "I hope no one's taking tickets," she muttered. Helga was alone in the train car as footsteps were heard all around from on top and in the other cars. Suddenly, all was quiet. Just the sound of the train moving along the tracks. "What the hell...?" Helga muttered to herself as her eyes roamed around uneasily.
Suddenly, a swift kick knocked her against the walls. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that," an awfully familiar voice spoke. "I know I should be gentler, but it's nothing personal."
Helga's heart literally stopped in her chest as the voice echoed in her head, haunting images of the volcano shaft flashing in her mind. "No," she whispered as she pulled herself up.
Mulan slipped into an open window that was close to the front of the train. She looked around, noticing it was empty. Suddenly, there was a crash. Shan Yu had kicked through the window with a grin. Mulan reached for her sword when she realized she didn't have one.
"Out of ideas, I see," Shan Yu chuckled. "Well then, I guess I'll have to make this as painless as possible." He swung his sword. Mulan quickly reacted, ducking as fast as she could. Mushu fell to the ground and quickly ran for the nearest seat. Mulan started to move about, dodging every swing Shan Yu made.
He had her trapped in a corner and started to laugh. He swung when it clashed with another. He looked up to be met with a punch, causing him to fall backward. Mulan looked up to see the grinning face of Amelia.
"Figured you might need this, Ms. Fa," Amelia said, tossing a sword to Mulan. The two women began to clash swords with Shan Yu. Mushu watched, hidden behind one of the seats.
"Maybe disobeying the ancestors wasn't such a hot idea," he said.
"I really wish it didn't have to come to this," Rourke said in a rather suave tone, "but I was given a deal I just couldn't refuse. And all I have to do is kill you."
"I thought you already did that," Helga hissed as she gripped her sword a little tighter.
"That's what I thought myself," he said, stepping a little closer and pulling out a blade of his own. "Then the balloon just exploded. Who else would be foolish enough to go and do something like that?"
"You conniving son of..." Helga was so furious, she couldn't even bring herself to finish the thought. "All those years of working together, all the time you spent training me, that all really means nothing to you?"
"Like I said, I wish it didn't have to come to this," he said, raising his blade. "But I made a deal, and now I have to honor it. Nothing personal." He took a swing.
"Like hell it isn't," Helga shot back blocking his blade with her own. She then used her free hand to throw a punch into his abdomen. Rourke took a step back from the impact and then began to swing a lot harder, the force knocking Helga into the seats. Helga threw up her sword to block the next blow and used her feet try and push him back. If she had ever doubted it before, there was little doubt now that he really would kill her.
"I'm running out of arrows," Robin said, launching the fifth to last arrow in his quiver. "Do you fellows mind removing some if you can?"
"Wish I could be helpful there," Hercules said, punching four warriors off the train. "These guys seem to keep coming. As though there were an infinite number."
"Step back!" Tarzan called. "Help on way!" Moments later, the familiar roar was heard and Beast emerged from underneath the warriors and started to slash at every one that come within a few feet.
"Go!" Beast said. "We need to know how far until we get close enough to the ship!" Tarzan and Hercules did as they were told. Robin, on the other hand, began to sift through the fallen warrior bodies to find arrows.
Mushu ducked low as Amelia and Mulan continued to clash swords with Shan Yu. The fight was getting rough for all three as there were many near misses. Even with one sword, Shan Yu was able to successfully block as many swings from the women with ease.
"Up top," Amelia said to Mulan. "We need the room." Mulan nodded as the women took some more swings at Shan Yu before leap at the side windows and pulling themselves up onto the roof of the car. Shan Yu followed after Mulan. Mushu thought about going, but then decided to stay underneath a chair.
Shan Yu stood up to see the women in ready position. He raised his sword and grinned. Mulan was the first to charge. Moments later, the three continued their swordplay under the gleaming moonlight.
Rourke took a few steps back from the kick. He made a slight chuckle before swing his sword again. Helga rolled onto the ground and under the seats into the next row as his blade came crashing down. "Who ever is paying you to do this is probably just as underhanded as you are," she said moving quickly into a defensible position. "Do you really think you're ever going to see a dime of that money?"
"I already have them," Rourke said, slashing at the seats. "Now all I have to do is fulfill my end of the bargain. And let me tell you, this Chernabog fellow is one generous guy. Who would have thought he was so willing to give me all those riches!" Another slash at the seats, this one close to cutting her.
Helga spun around, throwing up her blade again. More dangerous than he was, what was becoming more and more a hindrance was the realization that even though he was trying to kill her for a second time now, she couldn't shake the memories of the man she had looked up to. As much as it was apparent it was either him or her, she really did not want to have to do it.
"I thought you were smarter than that," she chided. "Chernabog is out to control the world. Do you really think he'd think twice about back stabbing you like you've done to everyone else?"
"Is that so?" Rourke said with a grin. He held his sword down and extended his arm. "Cut me, and I'll show you why such a thought won't ever cross his mind."
"What?!" Helga stared back like he had lost what little remained of his mind.
"Fine, I'll do it myself," he said. Before anything else could happen, he slashed open his forearm. But there was no blood. Instead, there was the familiar glow of blue that emerged. Moments later, his entire arm was blue. As though it was a crystal.
"Lyle..." Helga muttered in disbelief at what she was seeing. "Just what the hell are you?" she suddenly shouted bringing up her sword again, her face a mixture of anger, confusion, and even fear all at once.
"That's the last of them," Beast chuckled.
"You think we should help the girls?" Robin said, spying on the fight Amelia and Mulan were having with Shan Yu.
"Actually, I caught a smell of something foul Helga is engaged against," Beast replied.
"So we should help Helga instead of the others?" Robin asked curiously.
"I think we better," Beast said. "I don't like the smell of this."
Hercules and Tarzan stared inside. There was no one inside, yet it appeared to run smoothly. Well, neither of them were familiar with trains in the first place so they didn't know where to begin.
"What do you think?" Hercules asked.
"Push button?" Tarzan shrugged.
"That could be a good thing or bad thing," Hercules said. The stared at all the buttons some more, often scratching their heads. Hercules shrug. "Couldn't hurt to try," he said before pushing a button. Almost instantly, the train began to pick up speed and forced the two to fly to the floor.
The force caused Shan Yu to loose balance. He swung his arms as he nearly feel off the train. He turned to see an off balanced Mulan fly toward him. He caught her, but he also caught something else. With a slight grunt, he looked down and noticed the sword Mulan held stabbed into him. He looked back up at her with horror before she pulled away. Shan Yu didn't make a sound as he fell off the train and disappeared below.
Mulan breathed a little easier as she dropped to her knees and exhaled out of exhaustion. Amelia stood up and noticed up ahead how quickly they were getting to where the ship was. She turned to see Robin and Beast head for a specific car. "You better hurry up, lads!" she called to them. "We're getting awfully close to the ship!" Amelia quickly grabbed Mulan and made their way to the front of the train.
"You can thank Mr. Thatch for doing this to me," he said, moving the crystallized arm before it reverted back to a more human appearance. "All he did was cut me with a piece of the crystal and then I became one with it. And do you know what is the best part about it? I can never die."
"Oh yes you can," Helga hissed in a low voice before throwing herself at him with a renewed effort. With the same arm, Rourke socked her right in the face. The force was ten times harder than when it ever was. Helga fell back, trying to stay conscious and wiping the blood from her lip. She looked up into that self-confident grin, hatred boiling over in every part of her body, but no idea of how she was going to stop him.
The top of the car began to dent downward until it was ripped open. The familiar roar of Beast was heard when he hopped in. "Get out of here," he said. "I hold him off."
"This isn't your fight!" Helga shouted back.
"It's our fight whenever one of us is in danger," Robin called from above. "Come on, we have to get out of here fast!" Robin stuck his arm down as Beast began to engage Rourke. Helga looked at the hand, then looked at Rourke for what seemed like it must have been a full minute before clenching her teeth and taking it.
Robin pulled her up. "We have to get moving," he said. "We're coming upon where the ship is."
"Right behind you," Helga muttered holding her throbbing head.
A crying roar was heard when Beast was tossed out of the car and just behind them. Rourke began to emerge from the car, completely crystallized. It appeared Beast did everything from slashing to biting him.
"What in the world is that?" Robin said with widened eyes, shaking as he slowly raised his bow and arrow.
"I don't know what it is now, but it used to be a man," Helga replied almost a little remorsefully. "Don't waste your arrows, they won't do any good," she added placing her hand on his bow.
"Believe her," Beast grunted as he got up on all fours. "It took everything I got and he's still walking."
"You got that right, you excuse for a throw-rug!" Rourke yelled as he reverted back to human form. "I will say that I am definitely going to get my money's worth tonight."
Helga looked around, her head still spinning in all directions from Rourke's blow. Robin was right, she could see the water glistening beside the train tracks. The ship had to be near by... it was a risk, but there didn't seem to be any other options. "Jump," she whispered to Robin.
"What about the others?" he whispered back, noting that not everyone has seen this man before them.
"Alright, get them, then jump, but we don't have much time," Helga hissed. "I'll try to keep him busy and get to Beast. I'm the one he was after anyhow," she added almost as an afterthought.
Robin did as he was told and ran off to get the others. Beast stood on his hind legs, determination on his face as he looked at the man before him.
"Rourke!" Helga shouted forcing herself up. "This was between you and me, remember?"
"I doubt you could stand five minutes against me," he grinned. "Besides, my contract said to kill any and all of the twelve I come in contact with. I could sure use a trophy to mount in my soon-to-be-bought retirement home."
Helga's features froze. "So you could have killed anyone and you still came after me?"
"Why not?" he said. "Of all the twelve, you were the most predictable. After all, I trained you."
"I don't care if I only have five minutes," Helga growled, "it'll be worth it!" Without a second more of hesitation, she threw herself at Rourke. "Beast, jump now!" she called to him.
Beast roared as he did what he was ordered. It was a complete double team. All Rourke did was laugh as he just as easily threw them off of him. Both landed hard against the tops of the train cars.
Everything seemed to be blurring in front of her, Helga could see Rourke was now a full car back. Unfortunately, she could also see the small pool of red that had seeped out of the wound on her temple. "Beast," she muttered hoping he was more alert than she was. "We can't beat him like this. We have to get off of this train..."
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant," Rourke said as he placed his foot upon her neck, "but no such order was ever given. Now being quite the gentleman that I am, I let you say whatever last words you wish before I honor my deal. What do you say?"
"There were a lot of things you were to me," Helga glared trying to push his foot off but with very little result. "A gentleman was never one of them."
"Sorry to hear that," he said. "Too bad it couldn't be anything nicer. See you around, Helga." Just then, there was a thunderous bam. Rourke grunted as he clinched his shoulder and took steps back toward the edge of the car. He looked up at his shooter. "You..." he whispered before several more shots were fired forcing him off the train and crashing down upon the tracks. There was a shattering sound, but it was faint as the train moved away.
A figure slowly crept up to Helga and a familiar face appeared with one eyebrow raised. "You look like hell, kido," he said. Helga looked up painfully to see the ghost standing above her before losing consciousness entirely. He sighed with a grin and pulled out a canteen of water, pouring nearly all the contents upon her face. Helga sputtered a bit, instinctively throwing a fist at whoever had dumped the water on her.
"Glad to know that hook of yours is still effective," he chuckled, rubbing the mark on his cheek.
Helga blinked a couple times, still not really sure of what she was seeing. "Chris..." she whispered at last.
"Afraid so," he grinned. "You look really nice with these pirate clothes. It's a natural for you, kido."
"I'm really dead this time, aren't I?" Helga muttered back still in a daze.
"If you are then we must've hit something and were totally unaware of it," said a voice behind Chris. They looked to see Amelia along with Robin, Mulan, Tarzan, and Hercules. "Though we're very curious as who this gentleman is, Ms. Sinclair." There was a grin on Amelia's face.
"I don't know," Helga shook her head vigorously which cause a great deal more pain than she had realized it would. "That is, I know who he's claiming to be, but that's not possible..."
"And I wouldn't disagree with her," he said, raising his hands in the air. "Under normal circumstances, I should be dead. But I'm here and I found my wife--"
"Wife?" Mulan said. "Wait a minute. You got married, Helga?"
"Yes I did, but..." Helga looked angry and confused at the same time, "I don't know what kind of cruel trick this is, but my husband is dead!"
"I think we could all talk about this later," Amelia said, still grinning. "Mr. Hercules, can you stop the train for us. I doubt Mr. Beast is in any kind of shape to be jumping about with people in hand." Hercules nodded and walked off to stop the train. "So, you're Ms. Sinclair's better half."
"More or less," Chris said. "If nothing else, she's the only woman who could successfully break all my bones willingly in a public place and forcing me to readjust them myself."
"Ewwww," Mulan said.
"How do I know it's really you," Helga insisted. "How do I know you're not some illusion conjured up to take us off guard?"
"Well, you did punch me in the face," he grinned. "And if I wasn't me, I wouldn't have that witty personality you fell in love with in the first place. That and my liver is still damaged from that kick you gave me during our little spar for the rookies back in Manila."
"Witty personality?" Helga raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Oh... you mean that annoying stale humor that makes me want to strangle you?" She looked into his eyes, desperately trying not to hope, but... "It really is you, isn't it?" she finally whispered.
"You better believe it, kido," he whispered back with a grin.
"And don't call me, 'kido', junior," she murmured before slumping over into his shoulder.
"If you say so, ma'am," he chuckled.
"If we're done here," Amelia said, who grin was much wider now. "I believe the train is coming to stop. We should be able to get on the ship shortly." Mulan was giggling while Robin's grin was just was wide as Amelia's.
"Tell them all to take those ridiculous looks off their faces," Helga muttered to Chris without even looking at the rest of the group as she tried to push herself up into a standing position.
"You mean you want me to wave around my gun that still has a few bullets left?" he grinned.
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," Helga rolled her eyes, successful at getting to her knees, but the standing was still posing some difficulty. "If you're going to hit any of them though, aim for the fox..."
---
"OH MY GOD!!!" Genie and Iago nearly went deaf from the the loud scream from Jasmine's voice. "What in the world am I wearing?! Where am I?!"
"This turned out better than I thought," Iago said, though he was no where near convincing himself.
Jasmine turned down to see Iago. She picked up the bird and began to violently shake him. "You're Jafar's servant, are you not?!" she yelled. "What have you done?!"
"Whoa, whoa, easy!" Iago cried. "I just brought you back to normal!"
Jasmine thought for a moment. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. "Why did you do that?" she asked.
"Because I need you," Iago said.
"What?" Jasmine arched her eyebrows. "What could you possibly need from me that I could possibly give to you?"
"I need you so that there would be a royal family in Agrabah when I get that scumbag Jafar overthrown," Iago said.
"What?!" Jasmine cried. "Just what in the world happened?"
Iago explained pretty much everything. The Genie of the Lamp, Aladdin using the Genie, the balance disruption, Jafar taking over Agrabah, Jafar firing him. He laid it all out. It was tough for Jasmine to take it all in, but she had to. From what Iago was telling her, there was little time to second guess.
"So how exactly do you plan to overthrow Jafar?" she finally asked.
"I got one wish left," Iago said, rubbing his feathers together. "Get ready to reclaim your throne, Princess. Genie, my final wish is for the royal family of Agrabah to retake the throne thus overthrowing Jafar for good!"
to be continued...
Thanks to GoblinQueeen, who provided the dialogue and some action for Helga.