Chapter 22: It is Time

Well, it took a few days, but I was back up and fully functional after my injury. According to the castle doctor, who was also Queen Minnie Mouse, I should be walking normally in another month or two. With pleasantly of physical therapy and a few months' worth of wearing leg braces, it'll be like I never got struck by lightning. Until then, I was wheelchair bound. Not that I was complaining, I was just happy to know that I'll be able to walk again.

On the day my friends and family were supposed to come back, was when my life started to get more interesting. Remember how in the first chapter, you saw that I went on the best adventure in my life, and it ended up having me become the Guardian of Disney. I bet you're still wondering what exactly that means. Well, here, let me show you:

"Frankie, you about ready?" my dad asked me while he was making sure my mom and friends were all ready to leave.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said as I wheeled myself out of the room I was staying in.

"Good morning, Frankie," Mickey greeted me as he walked by. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better, thank you." I told him.

"Listen, before you leave, do you mind if I talk to you in private?" he asked me.

I thought it was a strange request, but much like the request Toaster and her friends asked me when they let me and my companions stay with them during my adventure, I knew that it was the right call to make to accept said offer from the king.

"No. Not at all." I told him.

I let him wheel me back into my room where we could talk privately. I closed the doors once we were in so nobody could hear our conversation, and that's when Mickey started talking to me about something pretty important.

"I just wanted to thank you for all you've done." he started. "You save so many of not only my people, but yours as well."

"It was the least I could do." I told him. "Almost every character I met in Disney was nothing but kind to me. I couldn't let you all hurt yourselves just to save the rest."

"And for that I'm eternally grateful." Mickey said. "But there's something else I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Well, uh, you know just how busy and rough my role as king is. I'm too busy running my kingdom and settling things within the other worlds." Mickey nervously explained before he got to a point. "So, I need someone to look after those worlds when I'm not able to."

I blinked in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I know it's a lot to ask, especially since I kinda waited until the last minute," he offered me. "But if you want, I'll make you the official Guardian of Disney."

"Guardian?" I repeated "What's that?"

"Somethin' me and the fellas worked up," Mickey explained. "It means that you'll be sent to the other worlds when I can't and help all the characters through their journeys before or during their stories."

A Guardian? Protecting people? This was a hero job. This Guardian business was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I was very reluctant about what I'd choose. On one hand, I can only see my friends and family for visits and nothing more, but on the other, I could grow as a person and learn so much more. As much as I had been wanting to go back home, I realized right then and there that I belong in Disney, and that everyone I encountered and became friends with during my adventure saw me as the hero I always dreamed I could be. And it'd be a shame for all of them if I let them down.

"Can I talk to my family first?" I asked Mickey.

"Of course." Mickey smiled.

Later

Mickey and I found my family and friends waiting for me in the foyer of the castle. They were all thanking the characters that had been so kind to let us stay in their home until I was able to be in decent condition. I was a little nervous about telling them all what Mickey had offered me, but I knew I could do it. I just hoped they all understood why I decided to do what I was about to do, especially my mother.

"Dad?" I spoke up.

"What is it, Frankie?"

"Well, we've been talking, and I've given Frankie a really good proposition here." Mickey said before he turned to me to give them the news.

"I'm gonna stay here and become a Guardian." I told them all.

"Guardian?" Alex repeated on everyone's behalf.

"Whenever I'm too busy with other worlds or my kingly duties, Frankie will be given opportunities to go to different worlds of Disney to help anyone in need" Mickey explained to them before rephrasing one detail. "That is, when she's able to walk again."

"You can't be serious." Mom scoffed. "Frankie, your place isn't here in Fantasy Land-"

"Disney, actually, ma'am." Mickey corrected her.

"Whatever," Mom brushed him to the side. "You belong in the real world."

"You mean in the same world my harpy of a mother lives in and berates me and calls me a disappointment?" I snapped a rude remark at her. "This isn't your choice, mother."

"But I'm still your mother, and I think that living in a fantasy world won't give you better opportunities for your future." she tried her best to sound motherly.

"And I'm her father," Dad stepped in. "And I think that if she's given this opportunity to keep being what she wants to be, then we should let her."

"Ed!" Mom scolded.

"You know, I'm starting to think that divorce is not that bad of an option." Dad snapped back at her.

That statement shut Mom up pretty quick.

"You sure you'll be okay without us?" Alex asked me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I nodded.

"Visit us whenever you can." Pearl told me as she gave me back the spell.

"Keep it." I told her as I pushed the spell back into her hand. "You guys might need to visit me someday."

My friends smiled at me, and both gave me one final hug goodbye.

"We'll miss you." Pearl sniffled.

"I'll miss you guys too." I told them.

We broke off our hug, and Pearl recited the spell to open the portal. She and Alex each gave me one final wave goodbye before they left into the portal for their world. Mom slowly followed after them, but without giving me something I didn't even know she was capable of: Kindness.

"Be careful, Frankie." she told me in probably the nicest way she's ever said to me.

"Don't worry about me." I assured her.

She gave me a soft nod and went into the portal. I'm still furious at her, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate that she's trying to change for the better, even if she gets hit with the threat of divorce if she keeps acting like a bad mom.

All that was left to say goodbye was my Dad and my little brother.

"Thanks for believing in me, Dad." I told him.

"It's a father's job to believe in his little girl." he smiled at me. "And, hey, once you get a place of your own here, I'll even help you move in if you want."

"Can I keep the rotary? Please?" I asked him hopefully about one of the appliances we owned.

"Of course." Dad chuckled as he gave me a group hug with him and Leo.

"By the way, a friend of mine here wanted me to tell you he says "hi"." I told him after we broke off the hug, remembering a promise I once made to Genie.

Dad gave me a smile. "Well, tell him I say "hi" too."

He then handed me my baby brother, so I could say goodbye to him too. This was going to be hard for me because Leo didn't really know what was happening with me

"Leo, I'll see you soon, okay? I'll visit you on every birthday and holiday, but you be a good boy and listen to Daddy, okay?" I told him. "Maybe when you're big enough, you can visit me here."

Leo giggled brightly as he put his tiny hand on my face. "Sissy!"

I smiled at him and kissed his cute little cheek after I heard him say that word. My baby brother's first word was "sissy"; I was his first word. It's every older sister's dream to see her little sibling look up to her, but to be their first word? That's the greatest honor any older sibling can have. And with Leo, I knew that I'd have to make I lived up to his expectations, to make him proud.

I handed Leo back to Dad, and Dad quickly looked over at the king of Disney and his mage and captain of the guard.

"Keep an eye on her for me, okay?" he asked them.

"Yes, sir!" Goofy saluted him.

"She's in good hands." Donald added.

"Don't worry, Mr. Cole," Mickey finished. "We'll take good care of her."

Dad smiled as he and Leo started to make their way towards the portal. But, he only stopped briefly to see my off one last time.

"I love you, Dad." I waved him goodbye.

"I love you too, sweetie." he smiled at me.

A sentimental tear ran down my face as I saw my father and baby brother disappear back into their world and the portal to mine close right behind them.

Several Hours Later

I spent the rest of the day keeping to myself, of course, Minnie told me that we would start my physical therapy and leg braces the next day. All in effort to help me get better and be ready for when I officially became Guardian. It was still pretty weird to wrap that concept around my mind: Me, a former troublemaking screw-up, saves New York and Disney from both a group of villains and an unstable portal and becomes a protector of Disney worlds and characters. It's weird, but in a nice thought sort of way, and I was excited to see more of the worlds as I went out to help others.

"You okay, Frankie?"

I stopped staring off at the sunset when I heard that I had a pair of visitors watching me. Since Pain and Panic's role in their world isn't really needed anymore, Mickey allowed them to stay with me providing that they don't pull off any evil deeds, mean tricks, or do anything to betray my role as Guardian. They promised, which I didn't mind at all. It'd be nice to have my favorite characters as my roommates.

"Yeah, I'm good." I told them.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Pain asked me.

"How everything's gonna be so different from now on." I gave a shrug as an answer.

Panic looked over at Pain for a bit before looking back at me. "You know, we never really did get a real explanation."

"For what?" I asked him.

"Why you saved us from the Styx?" he listed. "Why you care about us so much?"

"Is that what you guys are after?" I asked them jokingly.

"Hey, I had my doubts, but you really are a good kid." Pain said as he and Panic flew over to me. "But that doesn't mean I'm not curious."

"You both remind me of myself." I told them. "Given a bad rep just because of something you did."

Pain shrugged as he landed on the concrete railing. "We've done a lot of bad things."

"I'm aware: Kidnapping, attempted murder, hostage takeover." I began to list out their crimes. "Am I forgetting anything?"

"Well, there was that one time we caused an entire city-state to hate each other." Panic recalled.

I gave him a chuckle. "You two are gonna have to tell me all about your misadventures."

"Yeah, I guess we are." Pain gave a small laugh.

"But I also saw something else in you," I brought back up the earlier topic. "Something that just said that you two aren't as evil as you were supposed to be."

"You saw that in us?" Panic asked me with a hopeful tone. "Really?"

"And after everything we've been through, I can only say one thing about my predictions:" I told them as I gently held their faces in my hands. "I was right. You two are good deep down."

The imps smiled at me and gave me a hug. It felt nicer than the ones before, almost warmer. Which I guess since we're gonna be working together from now on, I'd grow to get used to and appreciate more than I already do. And I really appreciated their hugs.

"So, what's next for us?" Pain asked me as he and Panic sat down on the concrete railing.

"Who knows?" I told them as the three of us watched the sunset over the Magic Kingdom. "There may be other adventures over that next horizon."