Standing in the Projector Room, the six heroes were getting ready to go, with Oswald setting up the projector to their destination. "You guys will be heading to the Animal Kingdom first," Oswald said. "Hex doesn't have as big of hold over that region, so it'll be easier to clean up first."
"Sounds good to me," Gabriel said.
Silver pulled at his shirt and hummed. "You know, I don't really feel like I'm dressed right for this occasion. Like, this is a big mission we're about to go on, and we're just wearing our regular clothes."
"I get that," Logan nodded. "We need some super-cool new threads, ya know?"
"I think we can do something about that," Rachel said. "Gabriel, you have a clothing spell, right?"
"Oh yeah, I do!" the raven said. "I normally just use it whenever Jasiri and I go to the beach, but I can try giing us all new looks." Gabriel waved his hands and sent out magic sparks. "Hear my call, magical song, and give us a makeover as we go along!"
Suddenly, everyone was surrounded by magic and had their outfits updated. Soren was wearing a fancy scarf (he didn't need a full outfit like the others), Silver had a medieval tunic similar to a royal guard outfit, Adam was wearing an outfit that combined aspects of Han Solo and Indiana Jones together (complete with fedora), Logan had a beach-themed outfit with aspects of wrestling mixed in (though he kept his red baseball cap), Rachel had an outfit similar to Skuld from Kingdom Hearts, and Gabriel now had flowing robes with a star pattern across it, making him look like Yen Sid in a way.
"Oh, this scarf goes well with my fur," Soren said.
"Huh, wasn't expecting this," Silver admitted.
"No this is an adventuring outfit," Adam nodded.
"I can't tell if I'm going to be hitting the waves or the ring," Logan mused. He shrugged. "I mean, I'm good with either option."
"I'll miss my cape, but this outfit goes well with the Keyblade," Rachel admitted.
Gabriel put his headphones on and smiled at his friends. "These robes are what I pictured a Dream Keeper would look like. So, if we're all ready to go… Oswald, start the portal!"
The rabbit gave a nod and turned on the projector, which sucked everyone in as the Animal Kingdom came into view. "Your partners are waiting for you down there!" Oswald called.
[***]
{Song: "Silhouette" as covered by NateWantsToBattle}
As the song starts, we see Hex corrupting the Magical World, before six lights shine down, revealing the title card "Saving the Magical World."
I can see it
We'll book it to the goal line
Still you and me
We don't know
We don't know
Enough about it
Soren smiles as she flies around the Tree of Life, before his infinity-sided dice falls to the ground and creates a sudden explosion. The Jaquin looks sheepish as the scene moves over to Hollywood Studios, where Logan poses for a crowd with his pendant glowing in the light.
We've gone passed it
To the point of no return
No looking back
We don't know
We don't know
Enough about it
Silver paints fantastic street art at Pixar Pier, before a lamppost overhead goes out and his uses his remote to turn it back on. From the light we move over to Adam in Epcot, using his Golden Atlas to quickly travel between the many World Showcases.
We got this
We got this
We got this now
Getting all fired up
We'll let
Sweat drip from
Every pore now
Rachel brandishes her Keyblade, fighting some Cast Bots at the foot of Disney Castle. Slashing across the screen, we see Gabriel standing with Oswald, the raven looking out at his friends as the Dragon Gem resonates with his dragon soul magic.
There's so many things we don't know
We'll remember our journey home
Suddenly, everyone is falling out of the sky, with the six heroes looking surprised before their partners show up to help them out. First, a rope line is shot out of nowhere, with Maid Marian swinging down and grabbing Soren (not that the Jaquin needed saving from falling).
Everyone
Even him
Become silhouettes
Maximus falls and Silver lands on his back, before the human paints them a rainbow bridge to run down to the ground.
You and I we're now growing old
There's some things we can't protect and hold
Jake falls on Adam's shoulder, the kangaroo mouse letting out a whistle to summon Marahute and fly them both to safety.
Don't let go
We both know
We'll never give it up
Destiny falls on top of Logan, but the human quickly flips around in the air and lands on her back, with a bubble spell letting them float at a safer speed.
So many things we don't know
We'll remember our journey home
A raven lands on Rachel's head, quickly transforming into Poe de Spell who casts a levitation spell on both of them.
Everyone
Even him
Become silhouettes
Finally, Sisu flies down and picks up Gabriel, the two of them flying into the screen as everyone lands on a battlefield.
And one last time
Our shadows dance
Within the wind
Hex looks down at the heroes, sneering as he sends his army of Cast Bots to fight them. The heroes all smile at each other before charging forward: Gabriel activates Dragon Soul, Sisu lights up, Rachel summons Fatal Crest, Poe uses his amulet, Logan turns into his jackal form, Destiny rides on a wave, Adam opens up the Golden Atlas to summon Marahute, Jake spins his whip around, Silver points his remote forward, Maximus holds a frying pan in his mouth, Soren rolls his dice, and Maid Marian pulls back a bow and arrow.
Like a leaf we'll all
Just float away
As the heroes and villains clash, we get one last scene of the entire team standing together as they pose heroically for the camera.
[***]
With a cry, everyone fell out of the portal, landing in a pile right at the gate to Animal Kingdom. "Can someone get me the number on that projector?" Adam asked in a daze.
"Why am I always on the bottom of these?" Logan asked. With a grunt, he pushed everyone else off of with little effort.
"Woah, when did you get that strong?" Soren asked.
"Must be the amulet," Gabriel pointed out, seeing Logan's pendant glow slightly. "It augments his natural strength."
"Shouldn't we be focusing on our mission?" Rachel asked. "And where are these partners for us?"
"Make way for your backup to arrive!" called a cheerful voice. Jumping out of the nearby water was Destiny the whale shark, whom was quickly enveloped in a magic light before landing in Logan's arms, the young man barely able to hold her.
"Not again!" Logan said, quickly putting Destiny down. Looking at her, he gasped. "Destiny, you're human now!?"
The whale gave a laugh. Her human form was large and tall with white hair, with her outfit being that of a diving suit patterned after her whale shark form. "I picked up this trick after I kept accidentally crushing you with my size. Now we don't have to worry about that."
"I didn't really mind it if it was you," Logan said, a blush coming to his face. He shook his head and quickly added, "Because it was just your sign of friendship, but now that you can be human there's so much more we do as friends because that's what we are!"
'He's so in love with her,' everyone thought at the same time.
"I'm glad that Destiny was able to escape Hex," Gabriel said. He looked beyond the gate and smiled. "And here's the rest of our new team as well!"
Sure enough, a triumphant call was heard as a group of characters came racing towards our heroes. First was the horse Maximus, who came to a stop in front of Silver and gave a bow. "Oh, hey Maximus," Silver greeted, bowing back in response. "Glad to see you here."
A raven flew in front of Rachel, before transforming into the dark sorcerer Poe de Spell. "Lady Rachel," the duck said. "I hope you've been keeping up your magic lessons."
"Of course I have, Poe," Rachel said with a smile. "And you're a gentleman all the same, even with the darkness that you hold."
Soren was then picked up by Maid Marian, the fox smiling as she nuzzled him. "Aren't you the cutest little kitten I've met," she said with a laugh.
"Maid Marian, please stop. I'm not a little kid anymore," Soren wined. He dropped back to the ground and looked at her confused. "Where's Robin Hood?"
"Sadly, he had to stay behind and defend Nottingham with the Merry Men," Marian sighed. She gave a wink and pulled out her own bow and arrow. "But don't think I'm just some damsel to be saved. Robin wasn't the only one that could fire a bow."
"It's true," Gabriel nodded. "In the original story, Marian was just as skilled a shot as Robin was."
"Huh, I don't see anyone for me," Adam said.
"I'm down here, mate," said a voice with an Australian accent. Looking down, Adam saw a kangaroo mouse wearing a snazzy hat with a whip at his side. "The name's Jake. I'm friends with Ms. Bianca and Bernard."
"Okay then," Adam shrugged. "What can you do?"
"As part of the Rescue Adi Society, I'm trained to help any person in need, big or small," Jake said, hopping onto Adam's shoulder. "Plus I can help read that fancy book of yours."
"And that leaves me," Gabriel said. He looked at his Dragon Gem, before it glowed and shone a bright light. When it faded, a dragon now stood near the raven. "Sisu?" Gabriel said in surprise.
"That's my name!" the dragon said with a laugh. "So, you're the Dream Keeper everyone's talking about. Nice to meet ya!"
Gabriel shook her hand. "Glad to meet you too. So, now that everyone is here, let's free the Animal Kingdom from Hex."
"According to the Atlas, the main hold Hex has is surrounding the Tree of Life," Adam said, looking though his book. "However, to get here we'll have to free the surrounding areas first, those being the Pride Lands, Himalayas, and Dinosaur Institute. Once we break those, the defenses around the tree will be easy to get past."
"Then let's split up to cover more ground," Rachel suggested. "Adam, the two of us will go to the Dinosaur Institute."
"Silver, you're with me, buddy," Logan said with a smile. "Let's climb Mount Everest and take on the Yeti that lives there."
"Oh joy," Silver said with a sigh, Maximus matching his unenthusiasm.
"That leaves Soren and me to go to the Pride Lands," Gabriel noted.
"Maybe Jasiri will be there," Soren said.
"It's wishful thinking," the raven nodded. "Alright, once you're done, meet back up by the Tree of Life so we can break Hex's hold!"
Author's Note
Everyone's got a new outfit to go along with the adventure this time! Also, the song "Silhouette" is originally from Naruto, completing the trilogy of these stories having anime openings (though Naruto is the only one to ever actually heir on a Disney channel in America).
As for the partners, Logan with Destiny is an obvious paring, with Logan being more flustered than ever with the whale shark now having a human form. Rachel with Poe is also fairly normal, as the two are powerful mages. Silver having Maximus goes along with his princess theming, while Soren with Maid Marian acts as an unexpected pick but gives the young Soren a motherly figure to work together with. As for Adam, Jake from the Rescuers movies gives him another ego to play off of as well as an experienced adventurer that he can gel with. Finally, Sisu will be able to help Gabriel master his Dragon Soul magic since his normal Fantasia magic isn't as strong as before.
One last announcement: I'm going on a vacation next week! That means that I'll be having some family bonding time, so there won't be an update for this story til I get back. Until then, I hope you all look forward to how our groups will face new tasks in the Animal Kingdom!