AN: By popular demand, the key missions will now be separated into three different chapters from this point on. I'll still be writing them all at once, but as a bonus you'll get them all within the same week on the Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. I'd rather make it easy on myself and write it all together rather than waste time getting content out to you guys.
Anyway, let's have a breather before the next missions, shall we?
Stepping back into Oswald's base, Gabriel took Jasiri over to a nearby couch while everyone else went about their congratulations on a job well done. The raven took this time to note that Jasiri looked slightly different from before; clearly, some time had passed since Hex took over. Her mane and tail were now lightly longer, and her proportions were more in line with the other adult hyenas.
"So did Hex do something to her appearance as well as her memory?" Logan asked.
Poe held up a glowing hand to Jasiri, humming in response. "It appears that Hex tried to corrupt Jasiri like he did with Skylar, but her will let her hold on. In a fight-or-flight response, her own magic 'aged her up' as it were in order to give herself a stronger body to withstand Hex's attacks."
"At least she looks her proper age," Soren said.
"How so?" Marian asked.
"I mean, isn't it weird that despite the end of The Lion Guard taking place right after Lion King 2 that none of the Guard members actually changed in appearance that much, besides maybe Beshte," the Jaquin pointed out. "Heck, Kion didn't even have a full mane by the end of the series!"
"He makes a good point," Adam nodded.
"It was a preschool show…" Rachel mumbled.
Jasiri let out a groan, making everyone stop and turn to her. Gabriel motioned for everyone else to back up a bit and let him take care of the hyena. Kneeling down, the raven carefully ran a soothing hand down Jasiri's back as she awoke from her slumber. "Hey Jasiri. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
The hyena flinched at Gabriel's touch, but quickly calmed down. "Um, I'm sorry, but who are you?"
Gabriel felt his heart break a bit, but he put on a brave face and smiled. "I'm The Dream Keeper, and these are my friends. We saved you from this bad guy named Hex. He captured you and did something to your memory. Can you tell us what you remember about yourself?"
Jasiri nodded. "I'm Jasiri, part of a clan of hyenas that respect the Circle of Life. There's this other clan of hyenas led by a guy named Janja that we're always competing with for food. And, um… That's all I got." She blew some of her bangs out of her face. "I don't remember letting my mane grow out this much, though."
"That's part of your magic," Gabriel explained. "You gave yourself a bigger body in order to resist Hex's attacks against you."
"I have magic?" she asked. "Like the monkey guy in the Pride Lands I've heard about?"
"Something like that," Gabriel shrugged. "Anyway, we're going to help you get your memories back, but we also have to save the rest of the world as well. Oswald, do you think you can help her with that?"
The rabbit gave a solute. "You can count on me, Gabriel! I've got some videos that should help jog her memory, hopefully."
Gabriel nodded and stood up, only for Jasiri to grab his hand. "Wait," she said. "How do we know each other? You seem to care a lot about me."
The raven gave a sad smile. "Let's just say that the two of us have been through a lot together."
Moving over to the rest of his team, the raven pointed to a map of the Magical World on the wall in front of them. "Okay, let's plan where to go next."
"You going to be okay?" Silver asked.
"I'll be fine," Gabriel replied. "If I just focus on the mission, the faster we'll get Jasiri's memories back."
"Don't worry guys, I'll make sure he stays positive," Sisu stage whispered.
"I think we should go to Hollywood Studios next," Adam said. "I've picked up some familiar paranormal signatures around Hollywood Tower of Terror. Looks like the Hitchhiking Ghosts are out of the mansion… again… for the third time this month."
"I think they kept trying to get to Gravity Falls for Summerween, but took the wrong turn at Albuquerque every time," Jake said. "They showed up in the Outback at least twice."
"Those three probably have one of the keys," Gabriel said. "Adam, I'll let you take that one. And Silver, your magic remote will help you guys navigate the faulty elevators the Hollywood Hotel is infamous for having."
"The next anomaly is at the Muppet Studios," Rachel said. "Kermit will be more than willing to help us get the key. But seeing as this is the Muppets we're taking about, there's no telling what antics we'll encounter there."
"Then put me on the case!" Soren cheered. "I'm the prank master of this group, after all!"
"I think we should go with them, my lady," Poe suggested to Rachel. "This little one is going to need all the supervising he can get so that he doesn't get carried away."
"I second that," Marian nodded. "I can only imagine the fun yet destructive pranks that Soren and Fozzie would get into."
"That leaves you and me with Star Wars Launch Bay," Logan said to Gabriel. "They closed the spaceport to Galaxy's Edge, but I'm still excited to get to see some Star Wars characters!"
"Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to run into Kylo Ren again?" the raven sighed. "I don't hate the guy, but it seems that we always run into each other."
"Good luck to all of you!" Oswald said. "I'll get the portal ready for ya."
As the teams split up, Skylar took this time to talk to Soren. "Hey kid, I want to thank you again for saving me," the older Jaquin said. "To make it up to you, I want to help you guys out!"
Soren smiled, but then it quickly fell. "Skylar, I think you should stay here with Oswald and Jasiri," he said.
"Why?" Skylar asked.
"Because…" Soren started to say, tears coming to his eyes. "Because I don't want to lose you again! You're like the big brother I never had. That's why back home I loved watching the adventures that you, Elena, and everyone in Avalor got up to! I don't want to think about what would happen if Hex got his hands on you again…"
Skylar cuddled the younger Jaquin. "It's okay, kid. I'm still a bit shaken about what Hex did to me too. Even if I don't come with you, just know that I'll be supporting you from here." He smiled. "And I'd like to think of you as my mischievous little brother as well."
"I'll protect him as well," Marian said, joining in the hug. "Soren needs a responsible mother figure to keep him in check as much as an older brother to look up to."
Soren blushed at the attention he was getting. "Aw, you guys…"
"We'll support you all the way too, Soren," Rachel stated as the hug broke up. "We're all friends, and friendship is a bond that for many is as strong as family."
"I mean, my family doesn't have the greatest reputation, but I understand the sentiment," Poe added.
Once the portal was ready, everyone jumped into the projector and off to the lights and cameras of Hollywood Studios.
Author's Notes
A shorter chapter this time but one to fill the gap between missions.
Jasiri has a slightly new design now, which is inspired by how a lot of adult Jasiri fan designs keep her looks mostly the same but just with a longer mane. I think it makes sense that Jasiri keeps her youthful appearance, but with a more matured nature about her to show her grown in age. It's also something I wanted to do for a while, as it bothered me that there were only minor design changes to the Lion Guard cast in Season 3 (yet another think Season 3 did poorly…).
As for the next world, we're going to Hollywood Studios, focusing on Twilight Zone, Muppets, and Star Wars! If you're wondering why I'm not doing Galaxy's Edge, it's because Gabriel and Jasiri went there in the first story, and I don't want to retread that idea once more.
Finally, Soren gets a moment with Skylar and Marian. The little Jaquin always wanted a sibling, and now Skylar officially reciprocates those feelings by adopting Soren as he little brother! With Marian as team mom, Soren's got the found family trope going nicely for himself.
Next time will be the first key mission, which will focus on Adam and Silver at the Tower of Terror. I've got plans to advance both of their stories there, so get excited for next week's chapters!