I wonder how Belle and Robin Hood are doing? Well, let's journey back to the Magic Kingdom to see where they're at…
The Zone of the Lost
A special shout-out to Nikolai777 for inspiring parts of this chapter and being an overall great support for this story!
Lotus Forest, Magic Kingdom
Robin Hood led the way of the small group he had formed through the strange environment around them. Alongside Belle and Basil of Baker Street, the fox outlaw trekked through the forest of singing flowers and confusing pathways, seemingly going on forever.
"It's a shame that those fellows having tea weren't of much help," Basil said, perched upon Belle's shoulder.
"And the one ally that has joined us is currently missing," Robin Hood added. Suddenly, a red creature fell from the trees, letting out a shout of pain. "Oh, there he is. Did you find a way out of this forest, Sir Brooklyn?"
"No I did not," Brooklyn said. The gargoyle groaned as he stood back up, flexing his wings before draping them around his body like a cape. "This whole place is nonsense. I follow the signs and I end up back here, and I can't even climb up to see above the trees!"
"Perhaps nonsense is the key to getting out of here," Basil said. "Do you have any unorthodox ideas, Belle?"
"Well, in the stories that I've read, the animals of the forest help the princess find her way," Belle said. "Or maybe there's a magician that might live in these woods that could help us."
"Let's not talk to any wizards, please," Brooklyn groaned. "I've dealt with enough magic to know that it's nothing but a big headache."
"A headache, you say?" said an aloof voice. Everyone turned towards the voice, with Robin Hood notching an arrow and Brooklyn readying his claws. The creature that spoke was a pink-striped cat, an impish grin plastered on its face.
"A cat?" Belle said on confusion.
"If it is your head that is aching, then perhaps removing it is the answer?" the Cheshire Cat said, removing his head and holding it.
"Okay, I'm not dealing with this," Brooklyn said. "I've dealt with this kind of character before, and Puck was bad enough." He walked over to the cat and grabbed its head. "Do you know how to leave this forest?"
"What is the forest but a group of trees?" the Cheshire Cat asked. "If you can't find where you're going, then maybe you should return to where you have been." The cat's head slowly faded away, his smile being the last thing to disappear.
"Wait! What does that even- !?" Brooklyn shouted, only to grab his head and growl in frustration.
"Don't let him get to you, Sir Brooklyn," Robin Hood said, comforting the gargoyle. "It seems it is in the nature of the forest's residents to not give straight answers."
"No… I think the cat meant what he said," Belle stated. "Maybe the way to escape the forest is to go back the way we came."
"That is just what I was going to say!" Basil said. "Great minds think alike, Belle."
The four adventures turned around to go back down the path they were on, only to come-face-to-face with a door. It was just standing there ominously, and when Belle inspected it, there was nothing on the other side of the door.
"Well, that's ominous," Brooklyn said sarcastically. "A door just magically appeared as soon as the smiling cat left. Totally not suspicious at all."
"What if this is our only way out of the forest, though?" Belle asked.
"There's too many factors that we aren't considering, though," Robin Hood said. "As Sir Brooklyn said, this door does seem to be too good to be true."
"Then we are at an impasse," Basil said. "The best plan for now would be to go back to the village and get more allies to help us investigate this door."
"Or you could investigate it now!" said a villainous voice. A portal of darkness appeared, a figure coming out of it and opening up the door.
"That voice…" Brooklyn said. "Guys, you need to run- !"
The figure quickly pushed Brooklyn into the doorway, along with grabbing Robin Hood and throwing him into the door as well. "Well, that was surprisingly easier than I thought," the figure said. "The power that CLU gave me is even greater than I imagined." The figure then removed their hood, revealing a blue-skinned gargoyle with fiery hair and an evil smirk. "Now then, princess, since your all alone, you'll be helping the Organization with a very important task…"
As the gargoyle, Demona, stalked towards Belle, the Cheshire Cat looked on from the trees, silently vanishing from the area. "Perhaps it is time for the wizard to be informed," the cat mused.
[***]
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and imagination. You've just crossed over to... The Twilight Zone."
"I feel like I've heard that quote before," Brooklyn said as the narration concluded. "I think it was on one of Hudson's shows or something."
"Whatever this place is, this 'Twilight Zone,' it is very odd," Robin Hood mused.
"Oh, look, CLU sent more people in here," said a voice. Robin Hood and Brooklyn turned to see a group of creatures standing in front of them: a sheep in a dress, a purple chameleon-like creature, a duck wearing a pilot outfit, a star-nosed mole with goggles and a boy with blonde spiky hair and glasses. "Let me guess, CLU tried to recruit you to his team, or you did something that made him mad, so he banished you into this place?"
"Who is CLU?" Robin Hood asked.
"He's a crazy computer program that's trying to take over the Magic Kingdom," the boy in glasses said. "Oh, we should make introductions. I'm Cornelius Robinson, but you can call me Lewis."
"I'm Della Duck, pilot for my Uncle Scrooge," the duck said. She let out a sigh. "To think, just as I reunited with my boys, I was taken away from them…"
"I'm Dawn Bellwether, former Mayor/ Assistant Mayor of Zootopia," the sheep said. She looked at Robin Hood and scowled. "You remind me of one of the animals that ruined my career."
"The name's Speckles, tech genius of G-Force," the star-nose mole said in a nasally voice.
"Are we really doing this?" the purple creature asked. "Fine, my name is Randall Boggs, the best Scarer in Monstropolis."
"My name is Robin Hood, and my ally here is Brooklyn," the fox said.
"And to answer your question, it wasn't CLU that sent us here, it was Demona, a villain from my world," Brooklyn said.
"Oh, she's on the list," Lewis said.
"'The List?'" Brooklyn repeated.
"Before I was sent here to the Twilight Zone, I was able to figure out about CLU and his plans," the boy explained. He gestured to the computer that he had with him. "CLU wants to use the power of the princesses to open up the barrier around Disney Castle, and to do so he's recruited villains to form his own organization."
"And those who refuse get sent in here," Randall scowled.
"Well, is there any way to get out?" Robin Hood asked. "Lady Belle was left in peril last we saw her."
"We're still working on that," Speckles said. "Lewis and Randall have been helping me invent a way out of here, but we're having trouble finding materials."
"And how do you we can trust them once we get out of here?" Brooklyn asked, eyeing Randall and Bellwether. "Aren't they villains?"
"Honestly, once we get out of here, I'm done trying to be mayor of anything," Bellwether sighed. "If this is where being bad get you, then I'd rather just go back to jail."
"Same here," Randall said. "But I'll just slip away once we leave, and you'll never see me again." He muttered to himself, "And the fact that I've been banished three times now really makes me question my life choices at the moment."
"I was bad guy once," Speckles said. "If I can change, then they can as well."
"Alrighty!" Della shouted. "We won't get anything done just standing around! I'll go search for more junk with the new guys, and we'll be out of the Twilight Zone in no time!"
As Della ran off, Brooklyn couln't help but hesitate. "But why does CLU want to get into the castle so badly?"
"Whatever it is, I want to be far, far away from when he gets it," Dawn said.
[***]
Disney Castle
He wasn't sure where he was, but there was one thing he was certain of: this wasn't where he was supposed to be. There looked to be various objects around him, along with a jar of black ink with evil eyes. He was sure that the thing in jar was definitely bad news. He reached out for his powers, but he couldn't feel any imagination nearby. He would have to hope that someone would find him. That a new Dreamfinder would come and save him.
Author's Note
The plot marches on! CLU is using the Twilight Zone as a prison of sorts, and we got to meet a bunch of new guys this chapter! Will they get out of the fourth dimension, and what does CLU want exactly? And who was that at the end with the Phantom Blot? I hope Belle is safe as well...
Anyway, I'm really excited to introduce Lewis into this story. "Meet the Robinsons" is one of my top Disney movies, and Lewis is a very relatable character for me. Speckles is also an obscure character that I'm glad to show off here. "G-Force" isn't a great movie, but as a kid I enjoyed it. Brooklyn is another one of my favorite characters, so this chapter is a dream come true for Disney crossovers for me!
Next time: Oswald's Team enters a new land, and Nick learns about his mysterious powers.
Don't forget to leave a review on what you thought of this chapter!
Characters that premiered this chapter:
Mad Hatter, March Hare, Door Mouse (Alice in Wonderland) mentioned only
Brooklyn, Demona (Gargoyles)
Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)
The Narrator (The Twilight Zone) Original Version, voice only
Cornelius "Lewis" Robinson (Meet the Robinsons)
Speckles (G-Force)
Randall Boggs (Monsters Inc)
Dawn Bellwether (Zootopia)
Della Duck (Ducktales) 2017 Reboot
Scrooge McDuck (Ducktales) mentioned only