It's official. I've become a shopaholic.
Lets do an intervention, shall we?
Galimatias: Hey there, my name is Galimatias, and I'm a shopaholic… of… (holds back sob) geeky things!
Reviewers: Hi Galimatias
Yup.. that't it. I have been freaking obsessed with geeky stuff. Not like I wasn't before. But now the holiday season's coming up! And that means SHOPPING! However, I figure that shopping a bit early isn't a total bad thing, right? RIGHT?
The real issue is how I've been spending my time. The other day I spent half my day with my new sonic screwdriver turning on the t.v., turning off the t.v., turning on the t.v., turning off the t.v., turning on the t.v., turning off the t.v.,…
Day wasted? Well… maybe… but I didn't think so.
And now I'm looking at getting a light saber, a star trek inflatable captain chair, a Dr. Who bathrobe, a red star trek dress and a bunch of other Dr. Who stuff. And whats worse is that all these people close to me (who I'm quickly turning into geeks and whovians) want light sabers.
Alright, I want all of you to help me. This is an emergency…
WHAT LIGHTSABER SHOULD I GET! Aaaaaaah! So many choices!
A) Luke Skywalker (Blue)
B) Luke Skywalker (green)
C) Mace Windu
D) Obi-Wan
E) Kit Fisto
F) Darth Maul (if any of you don't know star wars this is NOT darth vader…)
Aaaagh! So many choices! I'm already getting Anakin's for Hanukah, and Darth Vader's for… IDK, being a great person. But apparently, if I get one more I get the Darth Vader one for free! This choice is harder then it looks… grrrrr… So I consult you, faithful reviewers, WHAT LIGHTSABER IS BEST!?
leave your answer in the reviews! cookies to all who answer that, just cuz I've got shoppers block (is that real?)
Now onto reviews! By the way, the amount of revies I got for the last chapter was mind boggling.
Sssweetie: Thanks so much! I loved 9! I was scared to hear the word "mummy" for so long!
Animeloser: INTERESTING!
Petitprincess: I feel bad too! LOL! Well… you will see here! I cant say but if you read I swear that you'll like it (or maybe you wont… but hopefully you will!)
Rainlily216: Yes… she's the only one… lol! More princes are coming up! In fact, next chapter there will be some great ones coming up!
Guest: SONIC SCREWDRIVER! Can you borrow it… hmmmm… I'll have to think about that one… lol! Thanks for the review!
Guest: Do you have an account? If you do, send me a PM of what this 'moment' would be like! And if not, type it up and put it in the next review!
Whiteling: I'd say lucky. Personally, I'd hate to be in a poison apple coma. Throwing up, while bad, is much better… no stalker guys have to kiss you. In fact, I think they'd do everything in their power not to kiss you.
TheDisnerd: Thanks so much! Yeah… Ratigan and Dawson in a room together… not good. Though I never saw him as being violent towards Dawson… just kinda pissed! LOL, that's just me!
Deadeye517: NO! NOT FROM CHOCOLATE CAKE! I feel so bad for you, I swear. But… I just have to say it. (ahem) THE CAKE IS A LIE! Okay, better now. Stupid cake for ruining Christmas! Get back at it! Set up a chocolate cake by the tree and make it watch you open presents! THAT'LL TEACH IT NOT TO POISON YOU!
VulpineSnow: Thanks so much! Cant wait to get all this started. Oh, and I SWEAR TO GOD I'M UPDATING LOONEY TUNES SOON! I SWEAR!
Cherry-888: HAHAHAHHA! IN YOUR FACE VILLAINS OF DISNEY!
xxxxInu girlxx93839: Thanks for all the reviews! LOL, I'm so glad you liked all the chapters, I can always use more reviewers and love to hear when others like my story! So glad your enjoying it and don't hesitate to give any ideas!
AngelOfDarkness: LOL, she always gets in the way!
Guest: SHE IS A BAD-ASS! I honestly wish I was like her. I'm kinda a wimp. I really do have to bring tinkerbell in!
Ultima-owner: thinkgeek . come (take out the spaces). Let me just tell you how great this place is in my own words… I am an atheist. And this website is God. That's how awesome it is. Check it out!
Guest: Loved the ideas!
MysteryGirl7Freak: I'm actually planning on having your guys be in the next chapter! AND DOCTOR SWEET IS HERE! Though briefly...
Bearybeary:
Lillie: (holding stomach) … Ugh… still throwing up… not happy…
Guess that answers it!
Daydreamer747: Glad that you liked it! I was hoping that people would like that line!
Fionn Rose: I DO! I DO I DO I DO! Now I control all my things in my house while eating lunch out of my Dr. Who lunchbox and watching Dr. Who of course.
Guest: JIMMINY CRICKET TO THE RES- SPLAT… LOL, just kidding! I swear! But he will be showing up eventually! I swear!
PirateWizardThief: Thanks so much! Yeah, don't you ever want to tell a villain to suck it up? I know I wanna! Ratigan is pissed, I'll tell you that!
Guest: Thanks so much! And yeah, the 10th is my fave! TEN IS THE BESTTTT!
Elemental Queen: Thanks so much! DON'T SAY IT! BUT SEE IF IT IS WHAT YOU THOUGHT! COOKIES IF YOU DID… and brownies if ya' don't!
Devonmeeks: WOW! THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!
Guest: So glad you liked it! WOW! REVIEWS! YAAAAY!
Before I start the story I want to give a shout out to all my faithful reviewers! THANK YOU SO MUCH! BECAUSE OF YOU, SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN HAS REACHED THE THIRD MOST REVIEWED STORY IN THE DISNEY GENRE! YAAAAAAAAY! I owe it all to you. And because of this, I have done my longest chapter yet. No kidding. This thing, on my computer, in size 12 font, took up about 24-25 pages. Really really long. And there are more than 9500 words in this chapter alone. So… yeah! LOTS OF WORDS!
Quick extra authors note… There WILL be a prince in this chapter, but our dear prince from before. Yunno… cant stand a dirty shoe… New prince's will start coming in next chapter. And another quick note, I WILL be updating Being Invisible. Very soon. Don't worry, it'll happen.
NOW ONTO THE CHAPTER! I KNOW YOU ALL WANT TO KNOW WHY THE HELL SHE ISN'T IN A COMA AND WAS, WHERE WE LEFT HER OFF, PUKING HER GUTS OUT! WELL, HERE'S YOUR ANSWER!
Jasper's car was old. And not like, your lease expired one year ago old. This car was older then she was… by a lot. In fact, when she spotted it in the parking lot, a black, rusting, heap of junk, she tried to pass it. He gave her a look, climbing into right side of the car. And by climbing she meant simply getting in. The car had no doors whatsoever, and as she looked closer at the design with what little concentration she had she could see that what he was driving was-
"A model T?" Her voice still shook from sickness.
"Yea. So?"
She widened her eyes, backing up a few steps. "I'm not getting in that."
Jasper crossed his arms, gaze harshening. "An' why not?"
"Because it's an original model T! Do you know how old those things are?"
"Course I know, I bought it didn' I? It's safe 'nuf."
"Safe enough? It has no doors or windows, the steering wheel is on a two foot stick and the breaks are little to non existent." She crossed her arms, regretting the too quick motion that made her stomach complain. She shushed it, continuing to glare at the tall cockney man. "I know. I learned about it in school."
He sighed, "Fine, it may have it's… probl'ms. But she's a safe thing, she is. And I'm a fairy good driver, if I do say so me self."
"I'm not getting in that."
"Yes, ya are!"
"No, I'm not!"
She new the man had no magical powers. He was a "regular" person in this world. But what he did have he used to his advantage, and one of those things happened to be his incredible height, helped mostly by the length of his spidery legs. By using those he had strode over to her in less then a second, too fast for her to truly react, bent down and connected his arm with the back of her knees.
She let out a small squeak, which then she later cursed herself for doing, and fell. Her eyes shut, ready to feel pavement on her back. Instead she felt a swoosh of air as he caught her in his extremely long arms, hoisted her up and then plopped her into the car seat. And before anything else could happen he himself had gotten into the driver side, started the engine and rolled out of the driveway.
It took her a moment to process everything. From her strange condition to the fact that a man had just dumped her into a seat like a bag of flower was astounding.
"Wha' the hell?" It finally hit and she swirled towards him, closing her eyes for a moment a praying she didn't throw up. With all the adrenaline moving through her from anger there was more of a chance of that happening. "Why the hell d'you do that?"
"Because, yer a stubborn arse, that's why?"
Her jaw dropped and she glared. "Well, 'scuse me for not wantin' to get into this dino of a motor. And I really don' give an apple pickin' damn 'bout yer insults."
He shook his head, keeping his eye on the road. "I didn' know you had 'n accent."
Whatever she was going to say next shrunk into a corner and she snapped her mouth shut. A hot feeling crawled over her face. "I don'"
"Sounds like ya do, duckie. 'Ell, it's almost 's bad as mine!"
"Is not." She was keeping her words limited.
"I've 'eard of people like ya'. When yer angry the accent comes out, righ'?"
She nodded, glaring. "Yeah." Lillie took a deep breath, allowing the blood that had decided to take residence in her ears stop its persistent roaring. She really did need to work on her temper. "Yeah. That's it." The accent was fading, thank god. "It's when I get really angry."
"'Spose I'm the cause of that, huh!?"
"You sound a bit to proud of yourself," she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, trying to think about the road that was so close to her now that she was sitting in a doorless car. "Oh god, I'm going to hurl."
That got to him, "Please don't."
She wanted to badly to roll her eyes, "well, since you said please…" Lillie closed her eyes tighter, trying to pay attention to anything but the movement of the car and the lurching of her stomach. "We had better get there soon. Or you'll be cleaning your precious car."
They did finally make it to the hospital, in record time for a Ford model T. Looking at the building Lillie saw that, based off her experience of being near hospitals every so often, this one was fairly normal. A large white building with square windows, some lit and other dark, until it looked like a medical Christmas tree. Sighing she got out of the car, walking slowly towards the entrance as to not jostle her insides.
"My love?"
Oh god no. Please, dear lord, not here.
Turning she saw a man of about average height with far more then average looks striding forward. She knew that man. The man from the rain, the one who shared a taxi with her and made her stare at his shoes. Yeah... that was him. Shoe fetish guy. And now he was striding out of a side door towards her.
"I know you! Mickey told me all about you, and I knew from the moment we met the stars were aligned. You're Lillie. The woman from the rain!"
It was Reginald Fitzgerald the Fourth, complete with his shiny shoes, which were now striding toward her.
"What the hell are you doing at a hospital?"
"Why, I volunteer here, shining the shoes of the poor souls who cant do it themselves."
"How very saintly of you."
Reginald beamed at the compliment, obviously not one to register sarcasm too quickly. "I am rather nice, aren't I?"
"Listen, Reginald, hate to interrupt, but I gotta go."
"No! My love, it is imperative that we share a kiss, or a hug at least."
Lillie's head seemed to work on autopilot, shaking 'no' at an alarming rate. Her head spun- that had been a bad idea.
"Sorry, mate, but I gotta take this lady inside." For once she was glad to look up and see Jasper at her side, his presence almost like a shield from annoying man.
Said annoying man simply glared at Jasper. "And you, a simple henchman, can stop me? Please, I've heard better jokes from… from a joke book." Lillie heard Jasper snort, and wished she was up to do the same. "I shall do what I wish with her." With that he strode forward, his intention simply to take her away from the henchman at her side. But as soon as his hand contacted with her body- a very bad idea when a sick person is involved- she felt whatever was left of the apple decide to come up and say hello…
… to the princes shoes.
She heard the prince gasp, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was bent over, choking and gasping and staring at his shoes covered in... well... whatever breakfast had been she guessed, she would have laughed at the whole scene. Even more so when she heard Jasper say from her side,
"Well, that's one way to get rid of'a prince…"
They left Reginald frozen, staring at his shoes, on the sidewalk of Disney Hospital.
They were obviously already expected as Maleficent stood looking rather cross at the desk.
"Your late." Her voice was cool and her point was exact.
Jasper backed down immediately, mumbling his upmost apology and bowing his head in respect. Lillie did no such thing. She felt sick as a dog, blamed it on all of them and was still trying to get over the fact that she had just vomited outside of a hospital in front of people onto a prince's shoes. Sure, she didn't like the guy. But still…
"Well sorry," it came out in a croak, "we were sidetracked."
"Doing what?"
"Being sick." Telling the Mistress of all Evil that she had been busy puking on some guys shoes in a parking lot didn't seem right.
Maleficent seemed to take this as an acceptable answer, nodding and handing Lillie a clipboard. "Fill this out."
Lillie took it and tried to look over the sheet, finally closing her eyes and handing it back. "Not gonna happen. Unless you want me throwing up again."
She swore she heard the green lady sigh in irritation, but she did hand the forms to Jasper. "You, henchman, fill them out."
"I don't know not'tin 'bout 'er?"
"Then ask her." And with a sweep of her cape she had descended down a hallway lined with halogens.
Jasper sighed, looking tired of being the caretaker of choice. Lillie did offer him an apologetic look, but that did no good whatsoever.
"'Right, lets just get this over with. Name."
"Lillie Ayman." She leaned over to look at what he was writing. "It's L-I-L-L-I-E."
"That's a really stupid way ta' spell it."
"Well sorry for the inconvenience."
He scoffed, trailing down to look at some of the other questions. A few he checked off without asking her, others he did the same, writing quick answers with a quiet hum. "Birthday."
"January 29th, 1990."
Jasper turned to her at that one, eyes toward the ceiling, doing the math in his head. When he seemed to have thought of the answer he was surprised. "Your twenty-two?"
"Yeah. So?"
He shrugged, but the number twenty two, she could see, was stuck on the front of his mind. "Reason of visit…"
"Just put food poisoning."
"Fine."
And the questions went on until most of the sheet was filled and a nurse, a short, plump woman, with graying hair and a pink hospital dress came to pick her up. She introduced herself quickly as Flora, taking the sheets from Jasper with a wary eye.
"Come with me, dear. And you… Mr. Badun, I assume you'll be waiting here?"
He shrugged, not knowing what to say.
Flora nodded, looking down at the sheet. "Oh… oh! Well… you should come with us after all Mr. Badun. You are in your right, after all."
Lillie looked at the woman. "What did he do? Bribe you?"
"They don't bribe, dear, they threaten. And if you see a horde of villains in your room, just know that they're there because they did just that." Lillie died a bit inside at that, knowing that she'd be stuck with all the villains in one room. She already spent enough time with them during the day.
"No, this… man… will be coming with you because it says he's in his right to."
"I'm sorry?" Lillie didn't have time to think as she was dragged down the hall.
"I don't see much of a resemblance though, if you ask me. And he's far too old. How old are you Mr. Badun?"
He mumbled something, clearly not one to discuss the subject of age freely. When Flora, like the grandmother figure she seemed to be asked him to speak up, dear, he managed to mumble, "Forty six."
"And you look rather young." Flora looked her over.
"I am." Lillie croaked out, watching as doors went by. Her stomach complained again and she wanted to stop for a minute but Flora told her that they were almost there and that the sooner they arrived the sooner the doctor could see her.
"Yes… I've seen age gaps before. But never so drastic between brother and sister."
"Brother and-" she was steered into a room before she could ask. Like Flora had told her the room was filled with villains, all looking rather bored.
"Finally," Hades leaned back, "you made it."
Lillie tried to imagine throwing a knife at him through her eyes.
"She was sick." Maleficent told him simply.
Gaston, from across the room, wrinkled his nose, "Try not to do that in front of me, got it? It makes you tons less attractive."
"Gee… thanks Gaston."
"OH! FINALLY! YOU DECIDED TO SHOW UP!"
"Pacience, Iago."
"No! I'm done with patience." The bird flew off the shoulder and into her face, making her arch her back to escape his large beak. "You are so slow! You know that?"
"Like Maleficent said. I was sick."
"Not my problem?"
"It will be if I decide to throw up on you."
It seemed she had finally found the off switch on the bird as he reeled back and settled on Jafar's shoulder, now trying to keep his distance.
Lillie sighed. "Okay. I don't know what's going on here, but whatever it is, I just wanna get it over with."
"Same here,"
She looked at Hades in disbelief, "you're not the one throwing up!"
"Yeah. But I'm the one experiencing defeat 'cuz of it. We need ta know whats up. That's why we're here."
"Not that we agree with it," Ratigan was looking more peeved than usual, sinking into a plastic chair and sulking.
"What's up with him?" Lillie rubbed her forehead to get rid of a headache coming on.
Before she could get an answer there was a knock on the door frame. She turned to see a very tall, very fit black man wearing a blue doctors shirt.
"This Lillie's room?"
She smiled as best she could, sticking out her hand. "That's me."
"Why are you not in the bed?" The man walked into the room, giving the villains warning glances. "It says here you were sick as a dog." He smiled a large smile, "and of course that young man in the parking lot would agree."
"Oh god," she buried her face in her hands, "you saw him? I was hoping he'd leave quickly."
"Nope. He was there. 'Fact, I think he's still there. Looks kinda stunned."
"Shit."
The doctor laughed, "I wouldn't worry about it too much, we get much worse stuff in here. I'm Doctor Sweet, by the way." She nodded. "I just needed to get a blood sample," he held up the srynge, "if you dont mind."
"I guess I dont have much a choice on the matter."
"None whatsoever. But no worries. I'm good with this sort of stuff." She could hear him trying not to laugh as he said that last part. As if she didn't already know that doctors were good at 'that sort of stuff'. God, she could not catch a break today.
Figuring that the best way to respond for the rest of the night Lillie just nodded, allowing him to tie a tight band around her forearm and looking away as he swabbed the skin.
"Are you scared of shots?" Captain Hook leaned forward, looking amused.
"Well, I dont exactly like them."
"Point taken." The sea captain leaned back. "I've just never seen a princess not freak out about it."
There was that stupid word again. Princess. "Well... I've been getting shots forever. It's not really new to m-ow!"
"Sorry," Sweet apologized through a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah. It's fine." She felt the suction of the needle and then felt it pull away. There was another cold swab and then a bandaid was slapped over her skin.
"Right as rain." She looked over at Sweet, who was putting a sort of stopper on the needle just in case. "Oh... and I would make sure your friends are okay." Lillie almost laughed and gaped as she turned to the villains, all of them looking away, and all of them looking uncomfertable and pale.
"What's up with them?"
"Human blood." The doctor explained, writing something down on a small pad. "We dont have that, though I've seen it enough to be used to it. Same with all the other doctors. Villains dont have real blood though. There's nothing to pump it."
"What do you mean nothing to pump it?" Her eyes never strayed from the villains, now focusing all their attention on the ceiling and floors. Hades did not look happy and Iago looked near petrified.
"No heart," he flipped the book closed, pocketing it, "thought that was obvious."
She never got a chance to question him, as he turned and walked out, only stopping to promise that her actual doctor would be with her shortly. Apparently he had to go test out a saw on something, and so had no time on his hands.
Lillie sighed. "Whatever..." Turning her full body to the villains she placed her hands on her hips. Her arm stung and she let her left one fall to her side. "So... where were we? Oh yeah. Ratigan's little hate thing."
Ratigan was still looking rather pale under all that fur, but snapped out of it when whatever sick spell was replaced with annoyance, not too pleased about her not addressing him strait on. He snorted. " There happens to be an old… nemesis working here. Well, more like an association of a nemesis. A doctor from Afghanistan… the man peeves me more than I can describe, and if it weren't for him I believe I would have had a chance at beating my nemesis. And since that doctor that had previously been carrying your... b... bl..."
"Blood."
He flinched, but nodded once, "yes, that. He is preocupied. And so Dawson, my second nemesis will be here. And I am not pleased."
"Who would that be? Your nemesis, I mean." She cocked her head, shifting from foot to foot. God, did she feel like she was going to puke again. That guy shoudln't have taken blood. Not such a great idea at the moment.
"Basil of Baker Street." It was said in a voice that suggested extreme hate. She ignored the voice in favor of the name in question, heart fluttering lightly, her four years of English education kicking in.
"Baker Street? Like Sherlock Holmes?"
"Of course, Sherlock Holmes. That's who he takes after. He's a detective…"
"I've got to meet him…" she muttered it but he heard and gave her a look.
"You are not helping any situations. I thought you had something against hero's."
"I never said I did. I have problems with people who do no work and treat me like crap. I may be a bitch of a boss sometimes, but I'm fair… I never take sides… unless I have to."
"Well, you should take sides."
She sighed, deciding it was better to just go with it instead of fighting any more. There was no way she was going to win an argument with a giant rat while she was sick anyway. Slowly she climbed into the hospital bed, closing her eyes and leaning against the pillow.
"You're way to trusting."
She flinched, but didn't bother to crack open an eye. "Hmmm?"
"I said you're way to trusting." Hades, from his voice, was confused. "We could hurt you at any second, you know."
"Kinda futile," she said, still with eyes closed and form relaxed, "since we are in a hospital."
"I think he means that you are far to relaxed for a woman such as yourself in a room filled with people like us?"
The voice was Maleficent no doubt. Lillie did open an eye, just slightly for that. "Would it surprise you if I said I wasn't scared?"
"Shockingly so, yes."
"You should be scared, chere." That was Facilier. She knew that cool voice.
"Well I'm not. I've already been through it all, and right now I really don't have anything else I can go through."
"Oh, there's plenty more." The darker skinned male moved to stand by her bed and she looked up at him.
"Like what?"
"Like…" he seemed to be searching his brain for something, "like we could… take you somewhere."
"Ooooh. Scary."
Facilier furrowed his brow, thinking harder. When he did find an answer his face shifted into something Lillie knew very well from all her time spent in bars. A man with a face slapped on simply to seduce a woman, though in this case, she was certain, it was supposed to disgust her.
Strangely enough, it wasn't quite doing its job, and she was brought back to memories of New York and hot men who flirted with her. It was kind of a relief to see that there were at least a few men who still possessed the male qualities she was used to. And hey, the guy wasn't exactly bad looking either, especially with that face on.
"We could do much, much worse." He purred it out, his silk voice becoming smoother and richer.
Of course she wasn't an idiot. She knew what he was suggesting, and if she was anyone else she would have reeled back; but she wasn't anyone else. She was a woman from New York City, who when needing an escape from life she ventured into the jungle to find drinks and men who acted like he was- except she suspected they actually acted like that. He was just doing it to make her nervous.
Small prickles found there way up her spine and she guessed that it wasn't the reaction he was hoping for. Suppressing the need to tell him to bug off before she did something like get his phone number she decided that, while in the middle of a hospital room filled with villains, sick and bored out of her mind, she'd play along.
Taking a deep breath she put on her 'bar face', relaxed lips, sharp eyes and chin held up higher. It was one that usually came to her before she had a few shots. After she had stomached those, and she was a lady who could hold her liquor, she was even more relaxed, often times giggling, slurring and flirting endlessly with the man behind the counter, earning her a few more free drinks. Her goal now was to act like she did at the beginning of the night- the person she was when she had enough brain power to remember her own name. And how to flirt.
With one hand she lifted herself slightly up in the bed. "And what if I agree to this… this worse thing?" She heard his breath intake sharply and was aware of many eyes on her neck. As an added effect she used her other hand to curl her fingers around the base of his tie, drawing him downward until their faces were close, "after all, a girl always wants a little bad in her life? Am I right?"
A noise bubbled out of his throat, sounding more scared then anything. Point one for Lillie. She released his tie, sitting back on the pillow and letting him breath. Facilier backed up and held onto his head with one hand, watching her smirk. Opening his mouth he got ready to give her a telling off like never before-
The door opening interrupted all that as an elderly mouse walked through the door.
Lillie wiped the seductive grin off her face, burying her back into the pillow as far as it could go and trying not to give anything away with a self satisfied smirk. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Facilier backing up, adjusting his tie with shaky fingers.
"Hello... Lillie is it?" A kindly mouse of a ripe age walked through the door and over to her bed, extending his hand -paw- in greeting. She took it in her own, wondering if she was ever going to get used to Disney's strange obsession with oversized rodents.
"Yeah. It's Lillie." She retracted her hand, sitting up slowly and trying not to jostle her stomach any more. "I'm guessing you're the doctor."
"Dr. David Q. Dawson." The kind man smiled, frowning in a moment of change when he turned towards the African American man. "Facilier? Are you alright? You look flushed? Are you sick as well… because if you are I'll need you to leave-"
"No. N-no… not sick." Facilier had taken off his hat toying with it. "J-just got a shock… tha's all." Even through her sick state she noticed that he was keeping his hat in front of his probably much tighter pants.
She tried to stifle a laugh that threatened to come out of her throat, instead turning back to her doctor.
Lillie smiled, "I've already heard so much about you," her gaze shifted toward the large rat who was paying far too much attention to his nails in any effort to ignore his former nemesis. Or helper of nemesis. Whatever. Dr. Dawson sighed.
"I'm sure you have."
"You don't seem too uncomfortable." Her head tilted. "Most of the people here hate being near these guys!" She jutted out her thumb for emphasis of who these guys were.
"This is a hospital, my dear. We can't turn anyone away, now can we? And, as it turns out, these... people tend to end up with the short end of the stick when it comes to injuries. We're quite used to each other by now."
Looking over she did see that while Ratigan was peeved the Doctor was there he didn't seem to be making any move to dispatch the poor old mouse. Dr. Dawson had it good.
Her thoughts of villainous activities were interrupted when Dr. Dawson began to click his pen, scanning over a clipboard filled with her information, no doubt. She didn't know how it had gotten filled out, but at this point she didn't even care. Hospitals weren't exactly her "happy place", and the less time she spent in them, the better. "So, Lillie, tell me what your symptoms are."
She shrugged, "The usual thing. I've had food poisoning once before and it was the same thing. Dizzy, nauseous, puking my guts out into a toilet bowl," she saw the doctor chuckle at that one, "... and there was this other weird thing." The more she thought about it, there definitely was something off about the whole event. It had been so much like food poisoning. But at the same time, one element was off.
He nodded, "I thought that would be the case. Miss Ayman, let me just first tell you that what you had was not food poisoning-"
At that, Lillie's brow furrowed and three small wrinkles appeared between her eyes. "What are you talking about. Sure, it was off, but what else could it have been? Culture shock? But I'm almost never sick! … Was it just the poison?" At that she glared at the villains. "Because, from what I've heard, there was a good deal of that on the damn thing."
"No."
"WHAT?" The entire room erupted into furious chatter; questions and insults were thrown like a hacky-sack across the room. It wasn't until Hades, who had been sitting in a plastic chair against the wall fuming, burst into flames. The chair bubbled underneath him, morphing into something one would only find in a modern art exhibit.
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"
Everyone, even Lillie, snapped their jaws together, lips forming tight lines. Maleficent was the first one to break the silence, stepping forward elegantly. "Dr. Would you care to explain what this means. I doubt any of us expected the answer."
Dr. Dawson returned to his former state rather quickly, almost unphazed by everything that had gone one. With a quick adjustment of his white coat sleeves and another few clicks of his pen he was facing all of them again. Lillie did see that he seemed a bit more careful when Maleficent was involved. She felt like she was missing out on some huge secret about the order of importance everyone had claimed. Or at least who was scary and who wasn't.
"Lillie, dear, can you answer me a... strange question?"
"How strange?"
"Did you used to play fairy when you were younger?"
Lillie's jaw dropped. She blinked a few times, registering everything he had said. The others seemed to be doing the same.
"What does that have anything to do with her her medical condition?" Maleficent spoke for a now very peeved Lillie, regarding the doctor with a cool gaze. "We came here for answers doctor," her long, green fingers tightened around the staff she held, "and so far we're only discussing a child's play date."
"I can speak for myself!" For the first time, Lillie regretted speaking out, shrinking back slightly under the look given to her by the tall, green woman.
"As I was saying-"
"It is relevant, Miss Maleficent, I promise." Dr. Dawson shuffled closer toward Lillie. "Now, answer the question. Did you play fairy? With other small girls?"
Lillie's facial expressions went through a few changes in under a second as she struggled to figure out what he was saying and how to answer it. "Y-yeah! I mean... I was a kid! No, I was a little girl! At some point I did play 'fairy' with other kids." She made sure to put the word fairy into quotation marks, hoping he'd get her point.
Apparently he did. With a small hum he wrote a note down on a paper. "And did you ever see a fairy?"
A laugh bubbled out of her at that, "Of course not!" She shook her head, tilting her head and regarding him with a look that said isn't that obvious? "Again. I was a kid. That's just what little kids do. They go out and they say they saw ghosts and fairies in their backyard."
"Do you have a sibling?"
"Yeah. An older sister."
"Did she do these things with you?"
"What does this-"
"Answer it, Miss Ayman."
Lillie sighed, finding herself actually looking towards the villains for some sort of scapegoat, or at least an explanation as to what the hell was going on. Hades only shrugged. And if Maleficent had any compassion and patience at all, it looked as if what little there was, was running out rather quickly.
Lillie let out a sigh, turning back toward the mustachioed mouse. "Yeah. She did. But only until she reached a certain age and my parents made her stop. She's older than me."
Dr. Dawson nodded, "all children must grow up, unfortunately. And I assume that you had friends who saw magic and fairies and ghosts as well?"
"Yeah. Down the street." Two other little girls. Neither had ended up meaning anything to her. Annabelle Leemer had been her age and her sister, Lucy Leemer, had lived six houses down in a house that looked exactly like hers except that theirs had a small box of petunias in the window. How they survived in the heat she'd never know; as she got older she wondered if they had been fake. They'd been stable playmates for a few years until they drifted apart, an action that didn't take much persuasion.
What she did remember about them was the fact that they, among many other girls and boys their ages, five to seven usually, were always looking for magic. And often times, they told her, grabbing her arm and pulling on it vigorously, they found it. She played along until she was about seven. After two years of the games she became frustrated with their behavior. Didn't they ever take a break when it was so obvious there had been no magic there? No fairy bouncing off the fake petunias. No sparkles trailing through the grass? No mysterious lady smiling softly from the backyard bench, white dress blowing in the wind and red hair swirled elegantly 'round her heart shaped face; a ghost of a southern belle who'd they'd claimed to be named Giselle.
She had been pushed away from the group when she told them that enough was enough; she wanted them to admit that they didn't see anything. Not the fairy's, not the sparkles and certainly not sweet faced Giselle, always sitting on the bench, waiting for something- most likely a love lost long ago.
They had refused, wanting to know what was wrong with her. Why couldn't she see it all? The perfect world within a world that only the young and special grownups were able to see. It isn't real, she had told them stubbornly, and she should know. She had been creative at that age; it was what helped her write everything she did. It was not a shortage of imagination that blocked her eyes from this second world and so she deemed it nonexistent.
And now this mouse was asking her about it, telling her that they had seen it all? That the fairy's and ghosts and lingering magic had all been real?
"They were just kids." She made her voice as clear as she could, certain that if she showed she was even the slightest bit uncertain then there was a chance she would be wrong. She couldn't have been wrong.
He nodded once more, scribbled on the paper again and then took a step forward. "Miss Ayman, I want you to answer me truthfully. And I don't want you to think I'm crazy when I ask my next question." She narrowed her eyes, uncertain. "Did you ever consider that all these other children really did see the magic?"
Lillie scoffed. "Really see it! Of course not! We were kids! They... they pretended! That's what playing games are. Games. Just... just games that you play as a kid..." looking around the room she saw that the villains were giving her skeptical glances, as if to say poor you or you really don't understand. A few of them looked shocked. "They are just games..." her head scanned the room for some kind of backup. "...Right?"
Dr. Dawson smiled kindly at her, "I'm going to explain this as simply as I can. Alright?"
"...Okay?"
"Everyone alive has what's known as a sixth sense. That sixth sense is a number of things, one of them being able to process anything from the supernatural to spiritual to magical. Children all have it; when you're younger and your imagination is at it's fullest. And when you grow up you keep it, but many people almost shut it down. Others don't let it shut down. These people are the mediums and the fortune tellers and those people who see fairies. It's a sense that allows you to process the 'unseen' that lives in the normal world in very small amounts. And everyone sees it, no matter what. Like I said, some see it clearer then others. But… even grownups. You'll see them turn around quickly because they thought they saw something. Usually they did see something, and that thing is magic being processed through the sixth sense."
"So... are you saying that magic is in my world. I know it exists. Obviously," she motioned to everyone, "but in my world...?"
"In very small amounts. And almost everyone can process it. Adults, teenagers, children especially. Only a very, very small percentage cannot process any magic-"
Lillie felt her stomach clench at his sentence. "Are you saying..."
She didn't have to finish for him to know what she meant. And his not confirmed it. "You are one of the very, very few percent that cannot process magic through your brain. You can't see it as it is presented in your world. You couldn't see it as a child, quite a shame might I add, and you can't see it now as an adult-"
"But-"
"I know, you can see us," her question died on her tongue, "but we are extreme amounts of magic. In fact, that's all we are. Anyone with an impaired sixth sense could see us."
She let her head fall into her hands, processing all the information. For a moment she just breathed deeply. This was too much to take. She was in the hospital learning about fairy dust from a rodent that was somehow a doctor. Just saying that sentence and she could hear doctors everywhere begin to weep. Oh the sanitary laws they were breaking.
"But..." she finally raised herself back up, the heel of her hand making small circles on her right temple, "what does that have to do with... yunno... the reason I'm here."
"Well, Miss Ayman, it seems as if you are somewhat of a different case. Actually, far different than anything I've ever seen." He shrugged and scanned the paper, "I've seen other people who have an impaired sixth sense. Not many, as I've said, but a few to know that it does exist. But it seems, Miss Ayman that you are the exception of the exception."
"Pardon?"
"Well... we got the results of your blood test back."
At that all the villains leapt up. "Can we see it?" "Is it mortal?" "Is she gonna fall asleep yet?"
The doctor took a step back and the villains calmed down. Hades stepped forward, acting as the villains representation. "So lay it on us, doc. Why didn't it work."
"Well, it would seem as if, like I said, Miss Ayman here is the exception of the exception."
"You already said that."
"Oh my. Did I? Terribly sorry." he fiddled with his pen. "I'm getting too old... where was I, ah!" Finding what he was looking for he underlined something on the paper, showing it to Lillie. "Do you see that? That is the results of your blood test. We see everything that's in your blood and can track what your body is doing from what we see. And what we do see is, well it's quite extraordinary if you ask me. You see, your body today ingested pure magic. Isn't that right, Majesty?"
The Evil Queen nodded, glad to be called by a respectable title. "That's right. My own potion. Meant to put someone under the curse of sleep until true love's kiss."
Dawson nodded. "And for that you'd need powerful magic."
"Of course," the queen folded her arms, looking slightly peeved, "how else would you put someone underneath such a curse without powerful magic?"
"Exactly. And you, Miss Ayman, ingested it. Not an enormous amount of it, as you can see here, but enough." He took another form from the clipboard, handing it to Lillie who looked at it curiously. "We've been trying to come up with a prescription to reverse the effects of the curse without all this kissing business. And so far we've had little success. Magic isn't something you can reverse with a few pills. However, we could accurately track the flow of magic through the bloodstream, as you can see here," he pointed to some numbers on a chart. "The magic is ingested and then absorbed by the bloodstream, traveling through the rest of the body at an alarming rate. You can see we have the BMC, blood magic content, right here." Another number was pointed at.
Lillie shook her head, putting the papers down on the bed and closing her eyes. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"Well, you see Miss Ayman, based on your BMC, you didn't actually take in all too much magic. But you did take in enough where the effects should have worked. Very quickly in fact. You should have been down and out by the first bite. However, we're seeing a pattern in how your body works." She stared at him, watching as his eyes began to gleam with amazement that only a doctor with a new discovery could have. "Your body has a defense mechanism."
"Doc, I think you're losing everyone here." Hades crossed his arms.
"Yes. Of course. Let me see… how do I explain this?" He thought for a moment before continueing. "It's like having an immune system. You said you don't get sick often, correct."
She shook her head. "Almost never."
"Exactly. That's because your body is set up to protect itself from a germ or virus that enters. Well, it's the same here. You did swallow magic, ingest it, I mean, but you never did absorb it. Before that could happen your body began to work up it's defense system and, well, got rid of the foreign substance."
"The apple," she glared at the villains again as she said it.
"Well, more of the magic, really." He was looking more excited now. "This is why I said that you were the exception of the exception, Miss Lillie. It's because not only can your brain not process magic, but your body cannot as well. You are literally intolerant to magic."
Hades was up in a second, always the first one to talk. "That's impossible. No one can be intolerant to magic!"
"Well, she is."
"No... no no no. That's just... that's..."
"Ridiculous!" Iago voiced his opinion rather loudly from Jafar's shoulder. "She's in Disney fer cryin' out loud! Magic's everywhere!"
"Yes, that is rather strange isn't it." Dr. Dawson tilted his head. "It would seem, though, that you'd need direct contact with this magic. And it would have to be in pure or at least somewhat pure, form."
"What about the barriers?" Maleficent asked. "Those are transfers into out world. Those are magic."
"Those are also full body changes. It's the same as, lets say, getting hit by a bus. Her body couldn't defend itself like it does a germ for a high speed vehicle. Her entire body is literally being shifted into another form."
"That's still not right," Facilier said, making sure he was heard. He was keeping his distance from her.
"I don't believe it." Jasper stood closer to Lillie, looking down at her. Lillie found herself shrinking down into the pillow. It was so strange, Lillie thought, as Jasper did just that. With Hades she flinched, Maleficent made her jump once in a while, and the rest of them... well maybe they could give her a shock every so often. So why then could a very tall man with a big nose and no powers make her cower? Jasper glared at her and she could feel a blush crawl up her neck in embarrassment, like an elder telling the young person that they'd done something wrong. "What in the 'ell is wrong with ya'?"
Her mouth, almost involuntarily, mouthed the word sorry, and she quickly stopped it halfway.
"Nothing is wrong with her, Mr. Badun, and I'd advise you to please stop scaring my patient." He huffed at the doctor's orders but backed away. "In the meantime, I'm going to give you some charcoal pills. It's usually what we give to people with substance abuse, but it will do the same. All we want to do is soak up as much leftover magic as we can so we can be positive you won't have any more reactions to traces of it."
"Okay."
"And you wont be going to work tomorrow."
She snapped up at that. "But I need to go to work! I... I kinda have to go!"
Dawson looked amused. "You know, I have a friend whose just like you. Well... your not a mouse. Or a detective. But, if I'm correct in my assumption, I'd guess that you were a workaholic. Am I right?"
He was. She just wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a verbal response. Her silence was more than enough to prove it and he chuckled. "You may work from home. Read or something. But relax and try to only eat light food. I don't know what you usually eat, most people stick to diets around here."
"Oh. Yeah... not me. I don't eat as often as I should, but when I do I eat a lot."
"Well try to keep that a lot as light as it can be, understand?"
"Mmhmm."
"Perfect." He tore off a page from his prescription pad. "Keep this with you in case you need more in the future, but for now we'll give you what you need at the front. And if your ready you can leave now. I assume that your... brother can give you a ride."
Lillie was ready to protest, but this was the second time she was hearing that in a day. Looking over toward Jasper she gave him a confused look.
"Your brother was the one to fill all this out. You don't need to do anything else." She looked at Dawson, seeing once again the gleam in his eye. He knew, just as well as she did, that this 'brother' was in no way related to her. He knew that she wanted to go out. And to do that she'd need a ride. And for that she'd need a family member. And being alone there, the only option was to go with the flow.
"Oh... yeah," she took her papers, already filled out in messy handwriting, "my brother... whose name is... Jasper Badun."
Jasper cleared his throat, uncomfortably. "Yeah. That's me," his cockney had suddenly become gruffer. "I'll take her... home..."
"Yeah, we'd all better get going anyway." Hades shrugged, and for once she was glad for his voice. It was breaking any and all awkwardness that hung thick in the air.
"I second the motion!" Iago chirped. "I think we've all had our daily dose of disappointment for the day."
"For once I agree with you bird," his walking perch began the trek out the door, snake staff in hand, "I feel worthless."
Facilier nodded, stepping past her as he left. Before she could realize what he was doing he had leaned down, pacing his face right next to her ear. "You tell anyone about what happened here," he told her, voice low, breath tickling, "and it wont be pretty."
She smirked through the threat. "Embarrassed?"
He shot her a look, retreating quickly and hurrying out the door before anyone could realize what he had done. Behind him he left a smell of incense and something like coffee and chocolate.
And after that, one by one they all began to leave, with the last one being Maleficent who gave Lillie such a cold and curious glare that she almost felt nervous. Almost.
Finally it was just her, the doctor and Jasper Badun, all in once hospital room together.
"Mr. Badun, I assume that you realize that you've taken responsibility for your... sister, by signing this? Correct? At least just for tomorrow."
Jasper nodded. "Yeah. I got it."
"Good." The doctor handed him her pills. "Make sure she takes these. Every three hours until bed, and then tomorrow as well. I assume that she'll give you the day off." Both eyes turned to her and she felt the blush again. Without answering she simply nodded. "Perfect. Well, I'll be going now. And please, Miss Ayman, may I advise you not to eat random pieces of fruit?"
And with that he left, leaving just her and Jasper in the room.
There was silence, then...
"Well come on, don't be lollygagging!"
She scoffed at him. "Really, now you're telling me what to do?"
"I did claim responsibility for ya'. So lets move it."
"Responsibility is not bossing around." She crossed her arms.
"In my language it is," he pointed to the door, "move it."
She sighed, swinging her legs over the bed. When her bare feet touched the floor she shivered slightly, finding her footing on the cold surface. Her stomach complained, but she ignored it. Not now, she told it, don't you dare make me throw up, you stupid magic hating body. Don't. You. Dare. Her threats seemed to do the trick as her aches died down.
"You alright, duckie?"
"Fine." She grabbed her shoes, shoving them onto her feet and avoiding any eye contact with the man.
"Good."
She nodded. Finally she looked up at him. "Before we go, because I know you're so anxious to leave, I have to ask you one thing."
"Make it quick," he tapped his wrist, "I have things I could be doing, yeah?"
"Why?"
With that his face shifted to that of a defensive one. "Why wha'?"
"Why'd you say that I was your sister?"
"Because I just did, that's why?" He huffed, leaning on his heels. "If you haven' noticed, poppet, we henchmen don't got many options when it comes to what decisions we choose. I had to do it. It was 'n obligation."
She nodded. He sounded like he was lying but at that point she could have cared less. All she wanted was to get out of the hospital and back into her apartment. "Find. Whatever. Can we leave now?"
"I thought you'd nev'ah ask."
Thanks so much to all my reviewers! I hope that you liked this chapter and loved how it turned out. The idea of being intolerant to magic… I dunno… it seemed sort of sad. I decided that would be the best way to get to the villains but also leave her stuck. After all, she is living in a place where magic rules. How can she live with that?
BTW! DID ANYONE LOVE THE FACILIER FLIRTING! I JUST… GAH! COULDN'T RESIST! All the princesses cringe when villains do it but no one plays along! I swear, if they did it would work a whole lot better!
R&R!