I kid you not, THIS was the absolute hardest chapter I've ever had to write for this story.
Chapter 23: The Isle of Oblivion
Without a second thought, Mindy manipulated the bullet to whizz past the pirates, and plop into the sea. She gasped as a second shot fired from Jack's pistol. However, much like before, the bullet halted in midair…Silence reigned as Mindy wordlessly tossed it into the ocean with her eyes.
Jack laughed in amusement as he threw the useless weapon away, only to whip out a second pistol from his opposite holster. He fired another bullet aimed for her torso, but Mindy once again stopped it with her eyes, and directed it towards the ocean. She let her guard down for a split-second before witnessing him pull a third pistol from behind his back and shooting her yet again.
Her eyes narrowed as she repeated the motion.
She was beyond stupefied when Jack clumsily removed his right boot, withdrew a fourth pistol, and fired another bullet. Mindy huffed as she flicked her eyes to the side, causing it to immediately be flung overboard.
She waited patiently for him to pull out a fifth weapon, but Jack chucked the pistol in his hand behind him with a half-crazed shout of frustration. He yanked on his ringlets of hair as he crumpled to the floor in a frothing, pathetic, screaming mess, and the spectators could do nothing but watch in silent amazement.
Mindy rubbed her temples as she attempted to calm her throbbing head. "Okay… turns out, I have telekinesis… cause why the hell not?"
She stepped forward to confront the tantrum-throwing pirate captain, when Dakota appeared out of nowhere, and grabbed her by the arm. She yelled incoherent words of protest, but Dakota was undeterred from his task, and dragged her towards the Galley at supersonic speed. Peter zipped after them with both Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hook on his heels. He managed to slip into the room before Dakota slammed the door shut and used the chocolate dining table to barricade it.
"What is wrong with you?!" Mindy demanded, "I nearly had him!"
"What's wrong with me?!" Dakota shot back, "What's wrong with you?! Are youtrying to get yourself killed?!"
"I'm trying to save our lives!" She corrected, "By the way, what in the curse word was that back there?! You can't just spontaneously battle one of the most infamous pirate captains to ever sail the seven seas without any fighting experience whatsoever!"
"Are you kidding me?! Do you even realize how hypocritical you're sounding right now?!"
"I hate to be the bringer of bad news kids." Jiminy interrupted as he stuck out a thumb in the direction of the clanging door behind them, "But if we don't come up with something soon, we're going to be on the receiving ends of two pirate captains with petty grudges and will more than likely get fatally sidetracked from our grand quest!"
"So what's the plan Mindy?" Peter asked.
"Ugh! I don't know!" She threw her arms up before glancing down at the amulet, "Alistaire? Any ideas bud? I'm open to anything!"
Her jaw dropped when a neon arrow appeared on the pendant, indicating that she needed to flip it over. Eagerly, she followed Alistaire's instructions and gasped upon seeing that the text on the back had changed:I am what's left when all is said and done. Everything hangs in me before you have won. Lose me, and you surely will fall. For I am what helps you stand against it all.
Mindy's eyes lit up, "It's the next riddle! We need to get to land, now!"
"We can't." Dakota shook his head, "There're too many pirates on this ship, we need to get them off our scent first."
"And the only way to do that is if we fly out of here." Peter added.
"Which we can't do." Mindy finished, "Gee, it'd be super convenient if we had some spare pixie dust from a source that didn't absolutely refuse to let us use it even though it would make getting out of this situation a heck of a lot easier!" she coughed Alistaire's name sarcastically to which they responded by giving her a tiny electric shock, "Ow! You know there are better more effective ways to get my attention, right? Like the arrow?"
On cue, another neon arrow appeared and pointed to the citrine jewel in the corner.
Desperate, Mindy pushed it and breathed a sigh of relief when a familiar glittering golden substance spilled between her fingers, "Thank you Alistaire."
Simultaneously, the four of them flinched when the bangs became intermittent and started to increase in volume. A monstrous sound emanated from the other side of the door: "PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT YOU BILGE RATS! IT'S MADE OF BLASTED CANDY!"
"Okay, here's what's gonna happen." Mindy turned to her little group and clasped her hands together, "Peter and I will go back to fighting our respective petty grudged captains, and lead all of the miscreants back to the Pearl. At the same time, Dakota will hand Alistaire off to Tinkerbell so that she can use them to cover the ship in pixie dust, and we can get the heck out of here! Does anyone have any objections?"
Dakota twiddled his fingers, "Um, well-"
"-nope, just a comment." Peter cut him off, "If we do this, we're switching partners."
"Why?"
"Um, have you SEEN Captain Jack lately?!" He gestured wildly to the door, "Mindy, he's straight-up trying to murder you! Sure, Hook's got it out for you too, but that's mostly because you transformed his ship into a fantastical candy wonderland! We're also switching because I know you can handle yourself when it comes to showing that codfish who's boss, and because I'm a more experienced fighter than you."
"Fair enough." Mindy nodded, "Let's-"
-BOOM!
Their heads snapped forwards as the two captains burst into the room.
"MELINDAAAAA!"
Her heart thumped in her ears as she struggled to unclasp the amulet, and shoved it into Dakota's tremoring hands, "Take Alistaire and go!"
"But Mindy I want to-"
"-I'll be fine!" She interrupted as she snatched her sword back from him and spun around to block the glinting hook inches above her forehead, "Just go, and be careful! And whatever you do, you'd better not lose them!"
With that, Dakota bolted out of there as fast as his feet could carry him.
"YOU CAN NOW SUMMON ANYTHING, ANYTHING INTO EXISTENCE AND THE FIRST THING YOU DECIDE TO DO IS TURN MY BEAUTIFUL SHIP INTO A FLOATING SWEET SHOPPE?!"Mindy turned back to the battle at hand as Captain James Hook glowered down at her, "IS THIS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR RIDICULOUS CHILDISH PRANKS?!"
"What?! No!" She grunted as she thrust him away, "I-I never meant to do any of this! It was all an honest mistake!"
Captain Jack Sparrow pounded into the room, but Peter stepped in and tripped him by sticking out his foot. The pirate released a growl through his teeth as he flopped comically to the floor. He tried to stand when Peter proceeded to kick him in his ribs, knocking the breath out of him, and sending Jack tumbling out of The Galley. Peter then twirled his dagger before zooming out onto the main deck, leaving Mindy and Hook alone to their confrontation.
"HONEST?!" Mindy released a squeak as the captain lashed out at her full force, "MISTAKE?! YOU TRANSFORMED MY SHIP INTO A CHILD'S PLAYTHING WITHOUT ANY REGRETS! IT WAS A CONSCIOUS CHOICE!"
She lost her balance and tripped over one of the pretzel chairs, which caused it to break under her weight. Mindy grabbed onto one of the giant peppermints on the wall and scrambled to her feet before speedily countering the captain's blade. Curiously, he flicked his eyes toward one of the cushions in the other pretzel chair.
"IS THAT A TURKISH DELIGHT?!"
Mindy followed his gaze, "Uh, I have no idea what that is...but let me explain-"
"-WHAT IS THERE TO EXPLAIN?!"
Her breath hitched as he pinned her against the wall, "Look, I made a mistake and Alis-" when she caught the look of confusion on his face, she reworded her phrase, "-the Amulet of Illusions transported us to Fantasia Gardens and Chernabog...Chernabog burnt the ship. We barely managed to escape, and everything happened so quickly that I-"
"-YOU INSOLENT WENCH!" She cried out as he slammed her into the floor, and her rosy glasses were almost knocked off her nose, "RETURN IT TO THE WAY IT WAS THIS INSTANT!"
It was Mindy's turn to be upset, "You think I haven't tried that?"
She stuck out her arm and a shower of sparks roared in the palm of her hand. Her arm shook as she fought to maintain her concentration and attempted to return a section of the wall to its usual wooden material...only for it to turn into paint and start dripping to the candied floor.
"I haven't summoned anything in years, so forgive me if I've gotten a little rusty!" Mindy shouted before restoring it to its original candified state, "This was the best I could do on short notice, alright?! I'm sorry!"
Captain Hook appeared genuinely astounded by her sudden declaration, but she honestly couldn't've cared less. An eon passed before the codfish shook his head, clearing himself from the unexpected daze.
"No...no you're lying you must be!"Mindy swerved to the side as he stabbed the ground where her chest should've been, "You did it on purpose!"
Something told her that this was her time to make a hasty exit, so that's precisely what she did.
Mindy hopped to her feet and made a mad dash to the door. She didn't turn to shut it behind her and after a beat of hesitation, sprinted in a random direction. Turns out, she'd run directly where the action was going down. In the corner of her vision, she saw Dakota flitting about in his search for Tinkerbell and could also see Peter and Jack battling it out on the deck of the Black Pearl.
"I cannot believe you just did that!" Jiminy blurted out.
"You're not the only one who's shocked." She admitted, "But can I let you in on a little secret?"
"Sure?"
Mindy didn't answer right away as she maneuvered around the cluster of dueling Pirates and Lost Boys. The children were defying the laws of physics by popping in-and-out of barrels that were scattered throughout the deck. They made faces at the pirates as they attempted to whack them flat, only to vanish as their weapons met air. Occasionally, they would whip out their slingshots and shoot rocks at their foes and yell incoherent insults to lower their self-esteem.
She hardly comprehended Captain Hook barking orders for her capture, as Mindy leapt onto the portside railing, gripped a rope, hyped herself up, and swung onto the Pearl. When she plopped onto the deck, she answered the cricket in a tiny whisper:
"I didn't regret it for a second."
"TINK?!" Dakota called, "TINK?! TINK, WHERE ARE-OHHH!" Growing a bit panicked, he hadn't been watching where he was going and stumbled into a fight commencing between the Twins and Pintel and Ragetti."Pardon me, excuse me, nice eye-TINK?!" he bobbed and weaved among them before cupping his hands around his mouth, "TINKERBELL ARE YOU OUT HERE?!"
A faint chorus of clanging bells met his ears, and Dakota immediately followed the sound to the upper deck. He did a double take upon seeing Tinkerbell take down pirates that were ten times her size.
Since when is she able to knock over people like bowling pins? Could she have done this at the battle on The Jolly Rodger, but chose not to?
Dakota shut his gaping mouth to clear the continuity from his mind, "Tink, are you busy?!"
The fairy turned to give him a look that screamed: What do you think?!
"Okay! Okay! Take your time, no pressure, no worry!" He threw his hands in the air, and Tinkerbell instantly spotted the amulet between his fingers.
She dinged something as she stabbed one of the pirates with the sharp point of her wand.
"Yeah." Dakota nodded in confirmation, "Alistaire meet Miss Bell, Miss Bell, meet Alistaire. I'm gonna keep this brief because I don't want to take up much of your precious time, and I really, really, reallywant to go back to helping Mindy because I know she needs my help and..."
He trailed off when he realized that Tinkerbell wasn't even listening to him. Apparently, fairies had very short attention spans as she went back to knocking out pirates left-and-right using her unbelievable brute force.
"...and, you know what? I'll leave you to it and sprinkle this puppy with dust myself lickedey split."
Dakota did a little salute and skipped downstairs all-the-while thinking, Mindy's gonna be so proud of me when she finds out what I did!
Fortunately, The Lost Boys caught onto what Mindy and Peter were trying to do and lured the rest of the pirate fleet (save for a few stragglers she'd spotted on the upper deck that Tinkerbell was currently dealing with) to The Black Pearl and resumed their quarrels there. Unfortunately, this meant that Captain Hook had a perfect view of The Jolly Rancher and could roast her relentlessly for her unusual design choices much to her chagrin.
"Why are the sails colored like that?!"
"Because they're made out of multiple candy wrappers, it was a stylistic choice."
"Yet you kept the flag the same?!"
"That was honestly the only aspect of the old ship that I was able to replicate."
"How did you load those cannons when they're made out of shiny purple candy?!"
"I…actually have no idea. Um, Disney logic?"
"They looks atrocious!"
"Oh you know what, you look atrocious!"
"Why are there specks of green within the exterior?!"
"Everyone knows that green jolly ranchers are the best kind!" Mindy retorted as they circled each other whilst clanging swords, "Sure, they clash with the rest of the colors and therefore ruin the color scheme, but I had to include them somewhere!"
"I thought that those were stray barnacles or bogies of some sort!"
"I DID THE BEST THAT I COULD, ALRIGHT?!"
The captain shoved her into the railing, "WELL YOUR "BEST" WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH! I WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECTLY CONTENT IF YOU'D FABRICATED IT OUT OF ANY-"
The rest of the lecture was lost to Mindy's ears as she turned her attention towards the Jolly Rancher with a deadpanned expression. Her eyes started to widen when she caught sight of none other than Dakota Davenport flinging pixie dust around him in a wild panic. She bit back a smirk as she saw him flinch from Alistaire's shocks, and instead forced a scowl on her countenance.
What is he doing? This wasn't a part of the plan!
"AND ANOTHER THING-"
Mindy's eyes narrowed as she internally fought with herself on what to do...eventually, she settled for doing nothing and hoping that everything worked out in the end. She couldn't abandon her part of the plan and risk the pirates ending up on that ship when it started to rise.
So she swallowed her pride and tuned back in to whatever the codfish was squawking.
"-THE MOST SELFISH, RECKLESS, STUPID, SNIVELING LITTLE METTELER IN-EGAD?!"
Mindy blinked...after a moment she once again glanced over her shoulder.
The saying "a little goes a long way" sprung to her mind as she witnessed The Jolly Rancher steadily float into the air. Panic overtook her when she noticed that a few of the straggler pirates had set their sights on Dakota. With a started yelp, he placed the chain of the Amulet between his teeth, and scampered up the rigging with the fleet on his tail.
Mindy's eyes flashed white for a split-second.
She barely comprehended what she was doing as she socked the pirate captain in his oversized jaw, knocking him out in the process. With that taken care of, she snatched a rope and swung back to the Jolly Rancher. When she landed, she scrambled to her feet and started to scale the rigging.
"Come on fellas, can't we talk about this over cookies and milk?!" Dakota asked as he climbed higher and higher, "Ooh! Ooh! I know, we could sing an upbeat jazzy musical number about how you're all not as bad as you might seem!" He cleared his throat once he reached the top, "Weeeeeeel-"
Dakota's riff was cut short as one of the pirates with an especially bushy beard swiped the Amulet out of his hand and cackled triumphantly as he raised it above his head, "Cap'n will be most pleased with Ol' Salt when he gets his hook on this ere' trinket!"
"Nuh uh!" just then, another swashbuckler snatched it away from him, "Cap'n Sparrow needs this to ensure that the wench'll never curse pirate kind ever again!"
"Hook has a score to settle, and he'll be rewarding me generously for me efforts!"
As the trio continued fighting over the Amulet, they failed to notice the princess creeping up behind them. Dakota was the only one to catch her eye and proceeded to add to the growing chaos by attempting to be the peacemaker. When the pandemonium had reached its climax, Mindy raised a single hand and called the Amulet by name, causing it to zip into her open palm in an instant.
The corner of her mouth quirked upwards slightly. Her eyes flickered white again, but it happened so rapidly that no one had even noticed, "Thank you for keeping them safe for me boys!"
Once she's clasped the necklace properly, she positioned herself between Dakota and the pirates.
"What're you doing?!"
"Saving your ass!"
Mindy withdrew her sword and held off the fleet using every ounce of strength within her petite body. She managed to successfully disarm one of them, causing him to fall back. Her brows knitted together as she advanced towards them, but it proved to be a difficult task as the other two were extremely hesitant to admit defeat. Dakota grimaced as she painstakingly disarmed the second. When she approached the third, he simply tossed his cutlass overboard with his arms up.
She raised a single brow.
Releasing equal screams of terror, the three stooges yeeted themselves into the sea, and paddled back to The Black Pearl. Mindy gasped once the realization of how high up they were sunk in. A beat passed before she snapped herself out of her stupor, then cupped her hands around her mouth.
"EVERYONE! HEAD TO THE OTHER SIDE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"
Peter was the only one who seemed to have heard her.
He winked at Captain Jack before sweeping across the deck of The Pearl and passed the message along to The Lost Boys. Disappointed that their fun was coming to an end, they begrudgingly swung back to The Jolly Rancher. Some of them couldn't make it all the way to the railing, and instead had to settle for climbing up the hull as the candy ship rose higher and higher into the stormy clouds above.
Mindy and Dakota made it back to the upper deck right as Tinkerbell finished disposing of the rest of the stragglers (who weren't conked out but were forced to swim with their tails between their legs back to The Pearl). She slapped her hands with a smile of satisfaction before turning on her heel and landing neatly on Peter's shoulder as he made it the rest of the way to The Jolly Rancher.
Mindy did a quick head count before nodding in affirmation, "Yup, that's everybody! Now let's move!"
Captain Hook and the rest of his crew jeered at their cowardice. When their noises inevitably began to increase in obnoxiousness, Mindy couldn't help but glance down at them from her position at the helm.
"That's right you scurvy brats!" Hook taunted, "Go on and flitter away like fairies!"
His lackeys flapped their arms like wings as they roared with outrageous laughter.
Mindy rolled her eyes and chose not to give them the attention they so desperately craved. And they say that we're the immature ones.
Shifting her gaze to the pirates from Sparrow's side, she quickly came to the conclusion that they weren't as cartoonishly playful as Hook's crew. They were absolutely and unapologetically bloodthirsty. Mindy hastily looked away and tried to focus on nothing but the horizon as Peter leaned over the side of the railing to holler: "Don't miss me too much, you codfish! I'll be back to finish what we started!"
Captain Hook tipped his hat with a sneer, "I have no doubt in my mind!"
Mindy could tell that it was taking all his willpower to restrain himself from swooping back to The Black Pearl, but he managed to compose himself, and move to the starboard railing. Mindy couldn't help but continuing watching the Pearl as it gradually became a speck of black amongst the murky blue waters beneath them.
Her eyes narrowed, lost in thought.
"What is it?" Jiminy inquired.
"It isn't over... not yet."
Something struck the hull, causing the ship to wobble side-to-side.
Curious, everyone crept to Port.
Two daggers were implanted into the candied hull, and were attached to two ropes that dangled off the side of the ship… and attached to them was none other than Captain Jack Sparrow. Mindy watched in dumbfounded silence as he climbed whilst gritting his teeth.
She moaned in aggravation, "When will he just give up already?"
"You gotta give him points for persistence." Peter chuckled as he turned to show them the animated bruises and cuts that lined his arms, neck, and upper chest. As he grinned, Dakota and Mindy gasped when they saw that a couple of his teeth were missing.
Dakota put his hands to his mouth in horror, "That was what he could have done to Mindy?"
"I don't have to give him points for anything." She growled, "I'm ending this, right now!"
"No way! He could-"
Mindy didn't let him finish as she swan-dived into the atmosphere.
She refused to listen to Jiminy's earth-shattering screech, and instead focused solely on her destination. Mindy flung her weapon over one of the lines and zipped down at supersonic speed. She then threw her legs out in front of her and aimed for the pirate's torso.
Jack's face fell as he caught sight of her, "Oh bugger!"
Mindy's eyes sparkled with determination as she drew closer, "AHHHHHHH!"
Jack grunted as she kicked him in his collarbone and sent them both hurdling towards the ocean. They screamed as they flailed their arms, scrambling to grab ahold of the lines. Right as Mindy was about to hit the water, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, and hoisted her upwards.
Puzzled, she glanced up, and was relieved to see Dakota Davenport whose own waist was secured by a rope.
Mindy's lips formed into a smile, but it vanished when she caught the unfamiliar glint of silent fury in his eyes. She was a bit shaken but figured that he was too focused on the task at hand to acknowledge her. She looked down to see Jack Sparrow wading in the open water. He sputtered and coughed as he struggled to swim back to The Black Pearl.
She laughed as an idea popped into her head, "My child! This is the day that you'll remember as the day you almost caught… Melinda Maye Singh!"
With that, she did a little salute in his direction. Jack's lip curled into a snarl as he watched them disappear on board. He then looked towards the horizon, and a toothy smile slithered across his face upon seeing the direction the Jolly Rancher was heading.
"That is the satisfying phenomenon known as karma."
"Is everyone okay?" Mindy asked as Dakota set her down.
The Lost Boys and Peter made equal sounds of confirmation as they let go of the rope.
When that was settled, she turned to look the boy beside her squarely in the eyes, "What about you Dakota? Are you okay?"
He paused before taking a deep cleansing breath and his usual bubbly demeanor returned, "Me? Psh, yeah! I'm great, fit as a fiddle and ready for love!" Dakota chuckled as he untied the rope around his waist, then cleared his throat, "I'm, uh, gonna go check up on where Wendy wandered off to."
Mindy reached out to place her hand on his shoulder, but he was already power-walking across the deck all while maintaining his seemingly permanent smile.
"That was weird…right?"
Jiminy made an adorably playful huff, "I wouldn't worry about him. Look, he's even whistling a cheery tune as he's walking away. We managed to escape a potentially life-threatening scenario, of course we should feel accomplished and content!"
"I guess."
But Mindy still wasn't convinced.
Wendy was later found hiding in a barrel located towards the bow of the ship.
No one verbally or mentally judged her for her actions as it was normal for Disney's early heroines to not get involved in hand-to-hand combat.
After some hilarious attempts, Mindy managed to conjure carrots, potatoes, cooked rice, string beans, and water. Dakota then took these ingredients and brewed a simple soup for everyone to enjoy for late lunch early dinner. Throughout their meal, Mindy tried (and failed) to meet Dakota's gaze. Despite the fact that the conversations that evening were full of laughter, she couldn't help but feel that something was off about him, but she couldn't place what. Every time she asked him about it, he would insist that he was alright which greatly unnerved her. Mindy decided to stop pestering him after a while. If there was truly something wrong, he would've told her already…right?
By the time they were done eating, the moon had reached its peak in the gorgeous star-filled sky. Mindy was the last one to leave the Galley and step out onto the main deck.
She started towards the starboard railing, when she heard her name being called. She turned to see Wendy padding towards her with five of the Lost Boys on her heels (Toodles was cradled in her arms, already fast asleep).
"What can I help you with, darling?"
Wendy wasn't amused by her pun, "If it isn't too much trouble, and you aren't too tired to do so, could you please construct some bedrooms below deck for everyone?"
Mindy snapped her fingers, "Yeah, I'll get right on that."
Her eyes fluttered shut before she extended her arms outwards.
Once she got to be breathing properly and deeply, it didn't take too long before she felt the familiar tingly sensation of sparks on the tips of her fingers. She painted a picture in her mind's eye of what she wanted the rooms to look like. Obviously, there was a theme and she was going to commit to it. She imagined gingerbread bedframes, marshmallow mattresses, and cotton candy pillows. The floors, dressers, and closets were composed of squares of white, dark, and milk chocolate. Frosted shortbread cookies made up the walls, decorated to look like various animals ranging from bunnies, lions, foxes, and even platypuses.
When she sensed that her work was complete, she eased her eyes open and where there used to be a plain candied wall was a fairly large pretzeled door. Mindy stepped forward, opened it, and gestured for Wendy and co to go inside.
"After you."
Upon entering the first "sweet", the Lost Boys made collective sounds of astonishment as they drooled over the candied décor. Mindy shifted from left-to-right with a half-smile, feeling abnormally proud of herself at that moment.
"See?" Jiminy nudged her, "I told you you'd get the hang of this in no time."
She chose not to respond as she looked down at her hands with a pensive glimmer in her eyes…
That.
Felt.
Good.
"Alright, let's settle into bed and I'll tell you a story." Wendy said as she tucked the snoozing Toodles under the covers.
The boys did as they were told, and piled onto the mattress.
When Mindy realized that there weren't enough pillows for all of them, she waved her hand with her tongue sticking out, and two more poofed into existence. Coincidently, they landed in the laps of The Twins who nodded to her in gratitude. Having nowhere in particular she needed to be, Mindy awkwardly leaned against the doorframe, and listened as Wendy began to weave her tale.
"Peter Pan found himself stranded on Skull Rock…Hook and his crew had tied his ankle to a rusty chest, preventing him from taking flight. That is, until a never bird-"
"-floated along on its nest and handed him a kite." Nibbs finished, "We've heard this one before, can't you tell us a different story? One that isn't about us?"
Wendy frowned, "I thought you liked hearing stories about yourselves."
"It's not that we don't like them anymore! We do! It's just-"
"-We were there! We already know what happened in them." Cubby pointed out.
"And hearing them over and over again gets boring after a while." The Twins chorused.
"Would it hurt to switch it up a little?" Slightly asked.
"I have an idea." Mindy piped up, "Wendy could tell us the story about The Isle of Oblivion."
A weighty silence followed that statement…
Eventually, the Darling girl inhaled. "Very well. Since you can't remember how it was conceived, it would do you some good to know the truth."
"Great." Mindy tilted her head, "So, what is the Isle of Oblivion?"
"When you first created The Dremesphere, you built it so that it automatically knew to produce all of the Disney features ever made into a single land from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to the future films yet to come." She started, "You were pleased with all of the aspects of the kingdom, except for the films that are now a part of The Wartime Era, The Dark Ages, The Post-Renaissance Era, and The Transitional Era. They range from the package films such as Melody Time and Make Mine Music, to The Black Cauldron and The Rescuers. You thought that they were boring, predictable, and dark. But you couldn't simply make them disappear since it would "ruin the creative process". Instead, you banished all of them onto an island on the outskirts of the kingdom, and dubbed it The Isle of Oblivion. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was its latest edition… I think you're more than capable enough to piece together the rest."
Mindy cupped her mouth, "Oh God."
"I remember I told you multiple times to think it through first." Jiminy chimed in, "I told you to think about how the characters would feel about all of this, and what your master would say when he found out. But you didn't listen, and forced everyone out of their homes anyway. I remember the screams of the people as you cast them into that interdimensional rift… they were Earth-shattering."
She buried her face in her hands as she allowed that single sentence to reverberate in her eardrums… "What was wrong with me?"
"Oh Mindy." Her conscience shook his head with a start, "Mindy, you were just a kid… you didn't know any better, okay? That isn't who you are anymore."
"Just tell us more about the Isle Wendy… please."
She hesitated before resuming her narrative, "It was created so that whoever entered it couldn't leave, and time was nonexistent. Most agree that when The Projectionist came, he based the Eras off of it."
"Great!" Jiminy hadn't anticipated Mindy's sudden outburst, and nearly toppled off her shoulder as a result. "I'm flattered that an all-powerful malevolent sociopath based his hostile takeover off of my hostile takeover."
The cricket was appalled, "Mindy! Don't say these things about yourself! You're nothing like him!"
"What's the difference?" She demanded, "I imprisoned millions of Disney characters on a deserted island, and forced time to stop for my own personal gain…"
"Look… I won't lie." He sighed, "You weren't always so innocent, but then again nobody's perfect right? What you choose to do from here is entirely up to you, and your past doesn't define you as a person… alright? As long as we don't go near the Isle, we won't have to worry about anything concerning your… unpleasant past."
"Wait…if Jack and the others were able to escape, does that mean that the barrier keeping the characters inside is down?" Mindy questioned, "But how is that possible?"
"It doesn't matter that you're the creator of this world." Wendy said, "The Projectionist can control it also in his own unique manner. Hence, why he is able to lower the shields of our worlds in his search for you, and cause our stories to repeat over and over again."
The puzzle pieces fit together at supersonic speed in Mindy's head, "The loops."
"Uh huh." Jiminy nodded, "Ya see, The Projectionist doesn't know how to control the imagination like you used to. He can create things sure, but they don't keep together particularly well… he relies on what he can see with his own two eyes, and his strength comes from the manipulation of those things."
She thought back to the potted plant in the Dreamscape, and shuddered, "That makes sense…but why is he even doing this? There has to be some kind of reason…as far as I know, I haven't done anything to him. I don't think he wants to kill me, but he basically wants to drain me of my personality…what is he planning to do with me if he ever catches me?"
"I may have a theory."
"Which is?"
Jiminy bit his lip, already regretting his previous statement, "Mindy I…I suspect and-and keep in mind that I'm going out on a limb here-"
"-Get on with it cricket."
He took a deep breath, "I think he wants to put you in The Room."
"What's The Room?"
Everyone went deathly silent and avoided making eye-contact.
"Well?" Mindy placed her hands on her hips as she waited for an answer, "I am your leader so I have the right to know."
"Uh, that's just it." Cubby spoke up, "We aren't allowed to tell you."
"What do you mean you're not allowed to tell me?" She quirked a brow, "What you guys are doing to help me is considered to be treason in The Projectionist's eyes, and you don't seem to be-"
"-No you don't understand." Wendy interrupted, "We physically aren't able to tell you."
"Why not?"
The characters exchanged questioning glances before coming to an agreement, "All I can say is that just because The Projectionist can't enter our worlds, doesn't mean that he can't enter our minds."
Mindy's stomach churned at the mention of his abilities, "Oh I see… that's… that's unfortunate… but can you at least tell me why-!"
Just then, Dakota burst into the room, causing Toodles to snap awake. "-WE NEED TO TURN THIS SHIP AROUND, NOW!"
Wendy was caught off-guard by his tone, "Whatever for?"
Instead of answering, he dragged Mindy out onto the main deck, and the others followed close behind…. The girl's heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach at the sight that met her eyes.
"Uh…Jiminy?" She asked in a high-pitched voice, "What does the Isle of Oblivion look like?"
Catching her drift, the conscience proceeded to describe it albeit reluctantly, "Well, for starters, the Isle itself is a tiny, gray, and crowded land that contains over millions of characters that you deemed to be unworthy for your Disney Kingdom. Looming over the island is an enormous, intimidating, cluster of storm clouds."
"So…I don't know if it's the sleep deprivation taking its toll on me, but if I'm not mistaken, that appears to be a rather enormous, intimidating, cluster of storm clouds heading directly towards us!"
"It would certainly appear that way!"
"Um, alrighty then." Mindy whispered, "I suppose all that's left to do is TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE AS FAST AS WE CAN!" she spun around to face her crew, "Wendy, help Peter in any way you can in order for him to steer us out of here as quickly as humanly possible! Everybody else, get sprinkled in pixie dust, head to port, and push the ship with as much strength you have in your puny little bodies! Any questions?! No?! Good! WE HAVE TO STAY CLEAR OF THAT STORM AT ANY COST!"
Wendy sprinted to the upper deck to join Peter (who was rapidly cranking the helm). Wasting no time, Mindy pressed the golden jewel on her amulet, gathered a handful of pixie dust, and sprinkled it onto herself and the boys.
She turned towards Dakota who put a finger to her lips.
"Which is faster, hot or cold?" When she gave him a blank stare, his mouth curled into a mischievous smirk, "Hot because you can catch a cold!"
Mindy stifled a laugh as she started hovering a couple of inches off of the floor. Once everybody was floating in the air, they nodded to each other before swooping to portside. As soon as they arrived, they got to work on pushing the ship with every fiber of their beings.
Their faces scrunched up in concentration as sweat beaded down their foreheads.
"Come on, that's it!" Dakota shouted words of encouragement, "I think I can feel it moving!"
To Mindy's astonishment, she could in fact feel the ship steadily moving to the right in a half circle so that the stern was directly facing the thunderstorm. "I think we just might make this!"
SNAP!
Her once radiant beacon of hope defused in an instant. "Uh, Peter? Everything okay up there? What's going on?"
He ignored her question, and instead hollered for his fairy, "Tinkerbell, I need you!"
"Why?! What's going…oh." Mindy trailed off as she tilted her head upwards. She winced as she caught sight of the detached steering wheel in Peter's hands, "What ha-"
"-Miss Bell?!" Wendy cut her off, "We could really use your tinkering expertise here!"
The pixie's head perked up before she zipped onto The Jolly Rancher, and rapidly began inspecting every inch of the helm.
"Look on the bright side." Dakota chirped, "Things couldn't possibly get any-"
"-Don't you dare finish that sentence." Mindy growled.
There was a beat… "Worse."
The moment the cursed word passed between his lips, lightning flashed behind the group. They turned to glare at him simultaneously as the rain started to pour.
Dakota rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle, "My bad?"
"Back onto the ship!" Mindy ordered.
No one protested, and swooped upwards. The raindrops clung to the lenses of her glasses, making it nearly impossible for her to see where she was flying. Everyone huddled underneath an overhang on the upper deck in an attempt to shield themselves from the storm. Peter held a quivering fairy in his cupped hands. Her wings were soaking wet, and her light was glowing dimmer by the second.
Dakota's eyes clouded with concern, "Are you alright Tinkerbell?"
The pixie jingled something that was unintelligible to Mindy's ears, but Jiminy, Peter, and Dakota seemed to understand and collectively sighed in relief. Mindy attempted to reattach the helm using her powers, but it wasn't working for some reason or another.
"Come on!" She tugged her hair as she addressed the Amulet, "Really Alistaire?! Do you like watching us suffer?! Do you want us to freaking die?!"
Jiminy started to bite his hat, "If the Amulet of Illusions can't even save us, what're we gonna do?!"
An ambitious idea formulated in Mindy's mind, and she gingerly placed her conscience on Dakota's shoulder, "Even though I have little to no experience concerning what my amulet can do, I know that there's only one way to find out… everybody stay back; I'm not sure what's going to happen."
She tried to wipe her glasses with the sleeve of her shirt, but all she accomplished was making them wetter. She was about to step out into the open when Dakota grabbed her arm and yanked her back. However, she managed to slip out of his grasp this time, and rushed into the midst of the storm. She struggled to maintain her footing as the salty breeze whisked her backwards into the railing. Mindy breathed heavily as her hair blasted into her face, and the violet lightning flashed before her eyes.
"Mindy!" Dakota shouted, "What're you doing? Are you insane? Get back here!"
She shook her head and returned to the task at hand. Mindy proceeded to scramble up the stern much to her spectators' displeasure. She stumbled a bit, but was able to catch herself before she could hit the ground and positioned her body to where she was facing the thunderstorm head-on.
Mindy gathered her nerves, and closed her eyes.
She concentrated on the whirlwind of emotions reeling inside her mind. Waves of fiery passion, fierce determination, and intense fear reverberated throughout every fiber of her being. She decided to only channel her fear since it was the most prominent sensation she had been feeling when she had first unlocked her newfound ability.
Mindy lingered on the things that made her terrified: getting stuck in an elevator, being vulnerable, clowns, and her current situation. When the fear had reached its peak in intensity, her eyes burst open and she threw her palms out with a shrill cry.
Nothing happened…
Puzzled, she glanced down at her amulet and her face fell when she saw that it wasn't glowing. "What?! Come on no! No! No! No! No! NO! You have to work! I don't have any other options here! Please Alistaire! Please help me out just this on-AHHHH!"
Another bolt of lightning crashed directly behind her.
Her feet slipped and she tumbled over the landing with an ear-piercing shriek. Before she disappeared amongst the clouds, she caught sight of Peter's panicked honey-colored eyes as he swooped in to save her. Despite it being too late for him to do anything, Mindy still reached out in a blind attempt to grab his hand. She wasn't surprised when she missed, and didn't scream as she barreled through the sky at supersonic speed.
Here we go again.
