Sophia's Story
A Disney crossover by talking2myself
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable Disney characters. All original characters are my own creations.
CHAPTER 49. The Valley of Fire
"Mammoths?" Sophia raised an eyebrow. Her voice filled with skepticism.
Innoko shrugged helplessly. "I know how it sounds, but… that's what it looks like."
"The bear tracks are joined by two moose, a series of gophers, hares, and racoons and then suddenly all those tracks just stop and are replaced by MAMMOTHS?!" Sophia exclaimed.
"There's a couple of possums in there as well," Innoko added.
"I can't believe this," Sophia groaned, rubbing her temples.
"That makes two of us," Innoko said scratching her head, "But the tracks don't lie."
Sophia sighed and sat down on a stump. "What do you think happened?"
Innoko shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine but judging by the fact that the tracks have completely stopped apart from the mammoths and there's no sign of anything… eh ahem… unfortunate."
Sophia winced at the implications of the word. It had been a trying couple of days. They had spent most of their time walking during the day and sleeping beneath the moon. They've made it through a field of dandelions which resulted in Elizabeth sneezing for the remainder of the day. This was followed by a day of rain where they had to seek shelter in a hollow tree until it passed. Of course, that meant that the next day was spent trudging through mud and puddles until their feet were icy cold and they were all exhausted.
Today they had forded a river, nearly been eaten by mosquitoes and still had not found anything edible for lunch. This latest revelation about the tracks was almost too much for Sophia to bear.
"I would guess," Innoko continued. "That they either somehow found a why to eliminate their tracks for some reason or they decided to ride on the mammoths."
"Ride?" Sophia asked incredulously.
"You know for someone who has claimed to see the dead walk you are awful skeptical," Innoko pointed out.
"Fine," Sophia said wearily. "They rode the mammoths. Then what?"
"The mammoth tracks go this way," Innoko said. "As the only tangible lead we have, I suggest we continue to follow them."
"Fine by me," Sophia sighed. She pressed her hands to her knees and rose to her feet. "You heard the lady!" she called over her shoulder.
A group groan answered her call. "Oy! And when is the next mammoth shuttle coming for us?" Jack demanded.
"If you want to try and lasso one, be our guest," Will said. He offered his hand to Elizabeth and helped haul her to feet.
"Maybe I will," Jack grumbled. "My aches have aches."
The next several hours were a miserable trudge in cold wet shoes. Sophia was beginning to question whether Yen Sid was worth all of this effort. Maybe they would be better off getting back to the Black Pearl. There were probably plenty of other magical folks that would be willing to join. Maybe Yen Sid would come around?
Even as the thought occurred to her, she dismissed it. Next to Kelsey, Yen Sid was probably the most stubborn person the Kingdom had ever seen. If she wanted him, she had to prove herself and if she didn't have him and his magical book. No one would have faith in the Circle that had already failed once.
"Break time!" Jack announced loudly. He flopped onto the ground dramatically, his legs splayed in front of him. "William, be a dear and chop off my feet."
"I have a sword," Will reminded him curtly. "Don't tempt me."
"Oh quit complaining," Mim snapped. A purple hawk flew overhead and settled on a nearby tree branch. It was Mim. She had been spending most of her time in various bird forms. "It hasn't been all that bad," she sniffed.
"Speak for yourself," Jack snapped. "Not all of us have been blessed with enchantment."
A blue owl with glasses landed next to Mim. It was Merlin. "Sophia, I've scouted ahead and I think we might have a problem."
"Oh good," Sophia groaned. "More problems. What now?"
"Well, if we continue you ahead without changing direction we are going to have to go through, well that," Merlin gestured with his beak at the landscape ahead.
Sophia frowned. They appeared to be at the edge of a strange valley. The sky was reddish orange and strange plumes of smoke seemed to be rising up from the ground. "What is that?"
"It appears to be a minefield of geysers," Merlin said. "They go off at random."
"Innoko, which way did they go?" Sophia asked.
"That way," Innoko said defeatedly. "Of course. They lost the mammoths though. Looks like it's just the two bears on foot."
"Fantastic," Sophia sighed. "Is there any way around?"
"Possibly but we'll lose them if we go around," Innoko said.
"Then, it seems we have no choice," Sophia sighed. "We need to go through."
"We'll fly ahead and keep an eye on things," Merlin volunteered. "Proceed with caution. No sudden movements or else…"
Jackie had inched closer to the valley when suddenly there was a blast of air. Jackie let out a panicked squawk and leapt backwards as the air shot up. She was nearly toppled over. She scrambled behind Sophia. "Well, that…" Merlin concluded weakly.
"Okay," Sophia sighed. "Everyone move slowly. Keep your eyes open. No sudden movements."
The little group gingerly made their way through the valley. The air was hot and thick with steam. Sophia wiped sweat from her brow and slowly took one cautious step after another. Every now and again, they could hear the whoosh of air as geyser erupted nearby followed by a squeak of fear from Jackie.
"It's okay," Sophia assured her godchild. "We just need to keep going."
"What was that?" Elizabeth cried suddenly. Sophia heard it as well. It was a strange cracking sound. Sophia turned slowly. A short distance away, a tall dead tree seemed to be leaning slightly to one side. The cracking sound echoed again.
"Oh no," Sophia whispered as she realized what the cracking sound was. The tree was ready to come down. "RUN!" Sophia cried suddenly. Sophia grabbed Jackie's arm and yanked her along, forcing her to move as the tree toppled to the ground. Jack let out a yelp of surprise, but had the sense to snatch up Innoko and race forwards before the tree crushed them. Will and Elizabeth scattered to either side.
THUNK!
The tree struck the ground and a chain reaction erupted around them. The weight of the tree caused a blast of geysers to release at once. Sophia was vaguely aware of her feet leaving the ground as the force of geyser sent her and Jackie flying through the air.
The two of them struck the ground roughly. Sophia let out a scream of pain as she landed roughly on her already injured ankle. She could hear Jackie's panicked voice but couldn't make out the words. Jackie tugged frantically on her arm struggling to yank her to her feet.
Sophia was trying to get to her feet, but her legs felt like they were made of lead. Suddenly, she could feel herself being hoisted off the ground like a child. Will had grabbed her around the waist and slung her over his shoulder before tearing off through the valley. Sophia could feel the ground rocking around her as Will struggled to dodge the geysers.
More and more geysers erupted around them and it wasn't long before she Sophia was jolted out of Will's grip as the two of them were flung in opposite directions. Debris rained down on Sophia's head and she could feel pebbles pinging off her arms like bullets. Sophia crawled forwards, struggling to see through the steam. Finally, Sophia was able to make out the sight of a tree. Sophia clutched the trunk of the tree and managed to haul herself to her feet. She flung her hands over her head and blindly staggered forwards. "Jackie?!" she cried. "Will?!"
"Sophia! This way!" Sophia could hear a voice from above. It was Merlin.
Suddenly, a purple shape darted forwards and landed besides her. A purple winged Pegasus stood besides her with Mim's green eyes. "Get on!" she ordered.
Sophia flung herself onto Mim's back and they flew off the ground. They hovered above the valley while Sophia choked and coughed. "You okay?" Sophia asked.
"Yes," Sophia insisted. "I'm fine! Where are the others?"
"I see Mickey and Jackie!" Merlin cried. Assuming the same form as Mim, Merlin dove down into the area. Mickey was trying to form a rough magical shield around him and Jackie, but every time a rock bounced against the shield it flickered a little bit. Merlin landed besides them and Jackie scrambled onto his back, dragging Mickey aboard.
Merlin and Mim soared above the steam again. Jackie was crying and clutching Mickey but otherwise unharmed. They hovered there for a few moments before Sophia could clearly see where they were. On the other side of the valley was a cliff and a mass drop. Merlin and Mim flew across to the other side and placed them on the ground. "Are you alright?" Merlin asked Sophia.
"Go get the others!" Sophia cried, pointing back at the cliff.
"Oh! Of course! Yes!" Merlin cried, flustered. Mim and Merlin immediately flew back across the cliff. Sophia struggled to peer through the steam trying to make out the shapes of her friends. Jack stumbled forwards first. He caught sight of Mim and unceremoniously tossed Innoko to Mim. Innoko managed to grab a hold of Mim's tail. Mim let out a yelp of pain as Innoko scrambled up onto her back. Meanwhile, Merlin landed just long enough for Jack to fling himself across Merlin's back before taking off again.
Sophia was searching desperately for Will and Elizabeth. Finally, she spotted the two figures desperately scrambling out of the steam. Innoko also spotted Elizabeth and desperately gestured for Mim to go get her. Mim swooped down again and Elizabeth was able to scramble aboard. Just as Mim took off, a giant geyser erupted. Elizabeth screamed as Will stood on the edge of the cliff. He desperately leapt across just as the geyser blew, flinging him forwards. Sophia screamed as Will flew through the air. Will stretched out his arms as far as he could and managed to snatch at the edge of the cliff. Sophia desperately hobbled over to the edge of the cliff. She lunged forwards, grabbing Will's arm just as his grip failed. Sophia could feel herself sliding forwards with the added weight.
Just in the nick of time Jack sprang forwards and wrapped his arms around Sophia's waist. Sophia let out a yelp of pain as she felt stretched between the two. Elizabeth raced to the edge and gripped Will's other arm. Between the three of them, they managed to haul him up to safety.
For a few moments, they all just lay there collapsed on the grass panting desperately as the adrenaline slowly wore off. Sophia finally forced herself to sit up. She stared at the wreckage below until the entire valley vanished beneath a layer of steam.
Sophia looked at her companions. Jackie was crying. Jack was panting desperately trying to catch his breath. Mim and Merlin had returned to their human forms and they looked like they had both survived a shipwreck. Elizabeth was desperately patting Will's back, begging him to say something. Will was white as a ghost and seemed incapable of speech at the moment, but he shakily patted her hand to indicate that he was unharmed.
They were battered. They were bruised. They were exhausted. But they were alive, and for now that was enough.