Deep in the Heart of Adventureland, Gabriel and Rachel floated down the many rivers of the world in the Jungle Cruise, with Gabriel acting as the skipper and Sisu his first mate (the dragon was great in the water, after all). Poe kept a lookout for any Cast Bots, but they seemed to be avoiding the water for the time being.
"I am sensing something else, though," Poe said. He waved a hand around himself, walking over to a chest on the boat and pulling out a glowing emerald gem. "Is this what I think it is?"
"It kinda looks like a dragon gem," Sisu said, holding out her own jewel.
"This is something else, Sisu," Rachel stated. "This is part of the Emerald Trinity, a set of three jewels held in high regard on this river. It's said that if you can escape the jungle with one of the gems, you're granted immortality."
"Isn't there some kind of curse that goes along with it too?" Gabriel asked.
"Indeed there is," Poe said. "Luckily we're coming up on the Temple of Immortality, so we can safely return the emerald there."
The boat cruised into an ancient temple, where a giant skull statue waited inside. Poe flew over to the statue and placed the Emerald Trinity in one of the eye sockets before returning to the boat. "There, that should keep any supernatural weirdness from following us."
"Heads up, we have the key in-bound," Rachel said. She raised Fatal Crest as a spooky mist started to rise from the river, and soon enough lightning flashed in front of them as a shadowy figure appeared.
"Looks like you've fallen for my trap," the shadow said in a familiar voice. In a flash the Emerald Trinity was in the figure's hands, with three other gems in their possession as well! "With these emeralds, I'll control this enchanted river, and all will fear the name De Spell!"
"Sister?" Poe asked in surprise.
"Close, but still wrong, losers!" Hex taunted, appearing above everyone. "I have to say, Dream Keeper, out of all of your friends this was the hardest one to break. Luckily for me all I had to do was turn her into the one thing she fears the most."
The fog fell away, revealing that it was Lena holding the Emerald Trinity. However, her feathers were now a corrupted green, with sickly yellow eyes and black hair. She looked a lot closer to how Poe and Magica looked, but it was a far cry from the sorceress of light the gang was used to.
"Lena…" Poe gasped. "I never wanted you to go down the path that my sister and I took."
"Too late for that," Lena said. She cackled like a witch as dark magic started to corrupt the river. "Now then, I'll take control of the curse and make sure the jungle never lets you all out alive!"
Music started to play, causing the mist to return and start to close in on the boat. "Guys, I think we need to move, now!" Rachel said, casting a fire spell to distract Lena.
"Right! Sisu, let's get this thing moving. I'll try to use Fantasia to make this music work in our favor," Gabriel commanded.
"On it!" the dragon said, jumping into the water and pushing the boat at a fast pace.
Poe used his own magic to continue reaching out to Lena, hopefully curing her of the corruption Hex had placed on her.
Lena:
Calling all the monsters
Calling all the monsters
Calling all the, calling all the
Calling all the monsters
Sisu pushed the boat with all of her strength, getting the gang out of the fog as they went through the temple.
(Oh yea aye)
(Oh yea aye)
(Oh yea aye)
Jungle vines started to grow wildly as the curse of the Emerald Trinity activated. Rachel cut down some of these vines with her Keyblade as they exited the temple.
Heart thumps and you jump
Coming down with goosebumps!
You dared to go there
I'ma I'ma get you so scared!
The group came to the campsite, were Lena appeared in a puff of smoke to fire magic at them.
(We're wanting to)
(We're haunting you)
(We're wanting to)
Eh eh
Poe used his own magic, creating a beam struggle between father and daughter.
If you stayed in too late
To be getting afraid
This scene's extreme…
I I I I'ma get you so scared!
The Emerald Trinity glowed as wild vines grew out, attaching to the boat and dragging it towards Lena.
(We're wanting' to)
(We're haunting' you)
(We're wanting' to)
Eh eh
"Lena, seriously!? Fight this!" Rachel shouted, hacking at the vines.
Gonna get your body shaking
Wishing you could just awaken
Here we go…
Sisu managed to get them away, but Lena transformed into a skeletal crow to chase them around.
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
We're coming to get ya!
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
We're coming to get ya!
Gabriel pushed against the dark magic with all of his strength, temporarily returning the jungle to it's normal state.
If you're only dreaming
Why I hear you screaming?
Unfortunately, the Emerald Trinity was more powerful, the cruse activating again and forcing the heroes to move.
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
(We're coming to get ya!)
We're coming to get ya!
Lena reached out to the animals of the jungle, their eyes glowing green as she possessed them with her magic.
Calling all the monsters
Calling all the monsters
Calling all the, calling all the
Calling all the monsters
The animals sang out with her voice, which was very unnerving for the heroes.
You hide or you try…
Kiss tomorrow goodbye!
We thrill to your chill…
B-B-B-Bucking' for a freak-out!
Bubbles started to come up from the water, and Sisu felt something tugging on her tail. The dragon looked down to see skeleton zombies attacking her, covered in the same vines as before!
(We're wanting to)
(We're haunting you)
(We're wanting to)
Eh eh
Sisu freaked out, jumping back into the boat as the zombies tried to crawl onto the vehicle.
We might just bite underneath the moonlight
More fun if you run!
I-I-I-I'm I'm already chasing
Rachel and Poe fended off the zombies, pushing them back into the water as Gabriel tried to keep the boat on course.
(We're wanting to)
(We're haunting you)
(We're wanting to)
Ehh ehh
"Lena, you know how much I hate zombies!" Gabriel shouted in dismay as he pushed the boat to go as fast as it could.
Gonna get your body shaking'
Wishing you could just awaken
Here we go…
Soon Lena reappeared, with the zombies acting as her backup dancers and minions to antagonize the heroes.
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
We're coming to get ya!
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
We're coming to get ya!
Gabriel reached out with Fantasia once more, summoning the tribesmen of the jungle to defend the boat.
If you're only dreaming
Why I hear you screaming?
Lena combatted this by sending the animals of the jungle after the tribesmen.
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
(We're coming to get ya!)
We're coming to get ya!
"Nothing we're doing is working!" Sisu shouted.
"What we need to do is get the Emerald Trinity away from Lena," Poe stated.
Calling all the monsters
Calling all the monsters
Calling all the, calling all the
Calling all the monsters!
Sisu pointed ahead nervously. "Guys, I think there are some scary river gods up ahead," she said. Sure enough, two giant statues spewing fire and water were coming u, almost guaranteeing the destruction of their boat.
Gonna paint it red
Get inside your head, head, head
"Wait, I think we can use this," Rachel stated. "Gabriel, you got the feel of the song now, right?"
Like a demon choir
Playing with fire, fire, fire
The raven nodded. "Yep, and I think I know what you mean. Sisu, Dragon Gem at the ready!"
(Gonna get your body shaking)
(Wishing you could just awaken)
"Poe, now's our chance!" Rachel shouted. The two sorcerers unleashed a duo of binding spells, catching Lena off guard for just a moment as Gabriel and Sisu bailed from the boat.
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
We're coming to get ya!
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
We're coming to get ya!
Gabriel held his Dragon Gem up to the fire god, while Sisu did the same to the water god. Channeling their power, the two fired their respective elemental beams at the Emerald Trinity, draining the dark magic from them.
If you're only dreaming
Why I hear you screaming?
Lena broke free from her bindings, but Poe quickly flew at her in raven form and snatched gems away from her.
Tonight all the monsters gonna dance
We're coming to get ya!
We're coming to get ya!
Rachel then used her Keyblade to create a beam of light, striking Lena and fully purging the darkness that had corrupted her.
(Oh yea aye)
(Oh yea aye)
(Oh yea aye)
We're coming' to get you!
With the song ending, the Jungle Cruise returned to normal, with Rachel holding Lena as Gabriel, Poe, and Sisu gathered around them. "Lena, are you okay?" Gabriel asked.
The teenage duck shook her head, then smiled and gave a weak thumb's up. "Yeah, I just feel like I had a really bad dream. It's one thing to be like Magica in your dreams, but to be turned into a mini version of her in real life sucks, man."
"I'm just glad my daughter is safe," Poe said, hugging Lena tightly.
"So, what should we do with these?" Sisu asked, holding up the Emerald Trinity. "I mean, we are the end of the river, so are we immortal now?"
"Sisu, you guys are cartoon characters, which means that you're already immortalized the hearts of your fans," Gabriel said with a smile.
"Aw, that's so sappy," Lena said sarcastically. "But seriously, we should get those dangerous artifacts back to their shrine."
"Agreed," Rachel said. She then held up a magic key and gave to Gabriel. "Oh, and Lena had this on as well. I guess Hex used it as a conduit for his corruption."
"We're definitely going to get back at him for this," Gabriel stated. "He took Jasiri from me, then turned my friends against me. Let's not waste any more time and get to Disney Castle, ASAP!"
Author's Note
If you didn't know, this chapter is based on "Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity" which is the Halloween layover at Disneyland Hong Kong. They do a lot more actually spooky things for Halloween at the Asia parks, so I wanted to pay tribute to that here in the week of Halloween (though that was on Sunday and we're now five days into November). Although I haven't seen the Jungle Cruise movie, I did notice some things in the trailers that made me wonder if they pulled some of the Emerald Trinity stuff into that movie, especially the creepy vines and zombies.
The song here is "Calling at the Monsters" from ANT Farm, which is one I always wanted Lena to sing one of these stories. Fun fact, at one point this chapter was going to be in the Haunted Mansion, but I think the Emerald Trinity worked great for the song as well. Corrupted Lena is based the nightmare version of herself as seen the Ducktales episode "Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!"
Next week we'll be using the keys to get into the castle! But is there something our heroes forgot to do first…?