Dark, damp, and dreary. Those were the perfect words to describe this dump they called Discovery Island. Now, dark and dreary Hades was plenty used to. But Florida just had to be so frickin' wet! Every other step he took was in mud or seaweed or gods forbid, animal poop. He'd love to just set fire to the whole place. But noooo, that would draw too much attention.
It just made 'reporting in' all the worse for him. Why did they have to use this as their headquarters again? Something something stealth something, was what Maleficent said. But why couldn't they just hang out at his place? It wasn't like anybody living would be visiting the Underworld any time soon.
"H-Hey," Panic piped up. Oh, wonderful. The little twerp had to open his trap again at the worst possible time. "Maybe it won't turn out that bad. I mean, we still almost got her."
"Won't turn out that bad?!" he snapped back, stopping in his tracks, his scarlet flame instantly drying the swampy ground beneath his feet. "It's humiliating enough that I have to answer to her already! And then you two had to screw up my one chance at getting back at her!"
"Yeah…speaking of which, how did that happen again?" Pain wondered. He was a god, after all. Was Maleficent a goddess too? Not one any of them had ever heard of.
Hades groaned, calming down for now. "I don't know. Something about a poker game a few months back. Borrowed some wine from Dionysus, made some poor choices… It's fuzzy." In retrospect, he really should've that coming from Dionysus of all gods. Never, ever have more of a sip of that stuff, or you're far gone for hours. And the hangover lasted for days.
But if Maleficent considered the snow queen such a threat, he started to suspect maybe he was on to something. Ursula already had a similar idea. Capture the sister, manipulate the queen, and boom! Instant face heel turn. But whereas Ursula remained loyal to the so-called mistress of evil - Ugh! 'Mistress of evil.' How cheesy could you get? - he had much bigger plans for himself.
Never mind that now, though. His minions failed. And when you failed Maleficent, you rarely made it out unscathed. Of course, no matter how powerful she claimed to be, there was no way she could kill a god. But whatever bizarre torture she had in mind as punishment would still set him back quite a ways. And by the time he got back on his feet, Elsa would be gone from the World. Trying to track her down again would take even more valuable time…
Pfft. If Maleficent was really so great, why did she have to stay in this abandoned shack, anyway? Pathetic! What happened to that castle of yours, eh, Mally? Couldn't pay the rent? Economy not doin' it for ya lately? Oh, right, right. Stealth. Gotta be discrete. Yeah, he sure bought that excuse.
Well, here it was. Moment of truth. Couldn't emphasize enough how much he was not looking forward to this. But hades wasn't a coward. He could face this like a man.
…Wait a minute. Where did his minions go?
Hiding in the bush. Of course they were cowards. "I don't get paid enough for this." Whatever. Not like he really needed them. Just tagged around him because they didn't have anywhere else to go. They could be useful…sometimes. Although those times seemed to be less and less as time went on.
And there in the murky room, all natural sunlight blocked out and torches of green flame the only way to see anything, stood the black cloaked figure herself, her back turned to her "guest."
"Hades…" Really? She wasn't even going to make eye contact? Sheesh, talk about disrespect. "I presume everything went according to plan?"
"Ehehe…well, it did…" Okay, how to break this to her lightly and incur the least of her wrath. "Up until the very end. And then they kinda got away."
Oh, now she faced him. Thanks for the bare minimum in terms of common courtesy. Her eyes narrowed, and he braced himself for the worst. But this time, she stayed calm. "I expected better from you."
It wasn't my fault! he wanted to shout, but then, it kinda was for sending his lackeys out to set the trap in the first place. If he'd done the work on that dino himself, it never would have gone down that easy. "Y-You know what? That last bit was just a warm-up! Come sunrise, I'll have everything set to catch her for real."
She had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. Hades held himself to such importance, and yet to see him like this under pressure… It was almost amusing. Almost."You've had your chance. Now away with you," she ordered.
Really? That was it? Well, at least she didn't totally hate his guts. "I'm glad we had this talk. Hey, you a coffee person? We should go out for coffee some time. I hear a Starbucks just opened on Main Street…"
"OUT!"
"All right, all right…" Had to stay on her good side while he still could. Try not to arouse too much suspicion. Then when the moment came, the mistress of evil would never see it coming!
Maleficent rested a hand on her face. Hades was one of the strongest out of all of them. Second only to her, of course. If even he wasn't a match for the one they called the snow queen, then she had no choice but to take matters into her own hands. It was at that moment that her raven returned, perching on her shoulder.
"Ah, Diablo. You managed to find them?" His devious smirk told her all she needed to know. He whispered the news into her eyes. "Mm-hm. …Oh, yes. Heading back to the kingdom tomorrow. Perfect." She chuckled to herself as she used her power to project an image of the castle in front of herself, figuring out just the right strategy to take power once and for all…
As the evil fairy plotted and schemed, a sole onlooker was careful to keep himself hidden. One of Maleficent's goons? That's what it might have looked like at first, but upon a second glance, something seemed…off.
Oh, no. This was terrible. The kingdom was in danger! The goblin dashed outside while no one was looking, finding a new hiding place outside in the trees. And he took off his mask…to reveal Donald Duck inside.
"I-I gotta tell Mickey!" But wait. How was he going to get off this island? Sneaking on the boat over here tonight had been hard enough. But he couldn't just take it back. People would notice that. He eyed the shores of Lake Buena Vista nervously…
Oh, if only his artists had made him a better swimmer! It was now or never. He plugged his nose…er, beak. Cannonball!
Ugh! This was some murky water. Definitely not meant for swimming. Nevertheless, he went onwards. It was gonna be a long way to the Magic Kingdom, and there wasn't much time until sunrise…
What an unusual situation Anna found herself in. Her getting up and out of bed before Elsa? That never happened! She must've been more worn out from yesterday than she thought. In that case, it was probably better to let her sleep… But the wait for breakfast would get too long if it got to be too late in the morning.
Oh, she had an idea! Maybe she could surprise her and bring breakfast up here! She just had to figure out what her sister would want… She liked pancakes, didn't she? Chocolate chip pancakes sounded like a safe bet. Maybe some protein on the side? Or would the pancakes be filling enough? No, there was no reason not to get extra. Then it was settled. She got dressed, made the necessary preparations, and made her way downstairs.
Elsa was groggy opening her eyes. Another night of unpleasant dreams… Was she going to have nightmares for this whole trip? It was frustrating, but there was nothing to do but put up with it.
Wait. She looked around. Something was wrong. It was…too quiet. What was missing? Oh, of course! Anna's snoring. Anna… Anna wasn't in her bed.
"Anna?!" She bolted up out of her bed. No, she was just being paranoid. Anna was probably just hidden under the covers… She pulled the duvet from the other bed. No. Nobody there. "Anna, where are you?!" What if somebody snuck in during the night? She had to find her before…
Hm? What was this on the desk? "A note…" A ransom note? Swallowing back her fear, she opened it up to read.
Elsa -
Downstairs. Stay here and rest.
Anna
Oh…oh, thank goodness. Anna was just downstairs. What was she thinking, just leaving like that?! But…she only assumed the worst because she was still half asleep. And she didn't want to give the impression that she didn't trust her sister. Okay, she would stay in the room for now. But if she didn't come back in, say, half an hour, she'd have to follow after her.
It sure seemed like time suddenly slowed down the moment she began to wait. But whenever she checked the clock, only two or three minutes at a time had passed. This was getting ridiculous. She was supposed to be more patient than this! There had to be something else she could do with her time… Well, she'd been worried playing with ice too much could damage the room, but as long as she was careful…
"Surprise! I'm back!" But when Anna entered the room again, she found the air had a strange chill to it. And there was Elsa, amusing herself by making little snow sculptures right there on the carpet.
"Oh." Elsa smiled. "You're back. What took you so long?"
"Ugh, tell me about it? There should not be that long a line just to get fed!" Oh, wait! She wasn't trying to distract her, was she? "But never mind! Don't tell me you're making snowmen without me!"
"I wouldn't dream of it! Come on and hurry up, then." What sort of snowman could they make this time? After two months, it felt like they had already gone through every kind they could possibly make… Then she'd just have to get a little more creative than usual.
Anna ran over to the snow pile without a second thought. "But wait! We should eat breakfast before it gets cold."
Elsa smirked. "What if I like my breakfast cold?"
She rolled her eyes. "WThat's up to you. But I want my pancakes hot." Chocolate chip pancakes. Mmm. She was so eager she didn't even bother to try cutting it properly, taking a whole pancake onto her fork and biting straight out of it.
Seeing such a sight, Elsa couldn't help laughing, though she probably should've known better. "Anna! Mind your manners!"
"No. 'M un veceshun," she retorted with her cheeks stuffed completely full.
All right, all right. Of course there was no arguing with Anna. "Suit yourself," she shrugged, sitting next to her to eat her own portion. The first bite was great enough that she had to stop and savor it fully. "Mmm! Delicious!"
"Right? Why didn't we get these first thing?" Unlike her sister, Anna was a fast eater. It only took her half an hour to finish all three pancakes.
"Slow down. You're going to make yourself sick."
"Hasn't happened to me yet." She set out her dishes to be picked up. "So where should we go today?"
"Hm…" Thinking about it, what Elsa missed the most was that sort of fantastical atmosphere when they spent time with Rapunzel and Merida. It was like a permanent festival. Maybe that would help with all this built up stress. "What about the Magic Kingdom?"
Anna winced. "Uh, isn't that where we ran into that witch doctor? Do you think they'd attack the same place twice?"
"They're going to attack wherever we go," she sighed. She'd given up trying to avoid it. The best she could do was have fun why she still could. As long as Anna was still enjoying herself. "But I think that's the place I enjoyed the most anyway."
"I feel that way, too." The fancy blue castle, fairies and sparkly dresses and dwarfs and talking animals… It was like every one of her dreams come true! "Are you ready to go?"
"Hold on, I still haven't finished my breakfast." That and she had to clean up this snowy mess. She made all this for nothing…
"Oh, right…the snow." Well, they couldn't let it all go to waste! She kneeled next to her sister and started building a snow body.
"Hey, hey. Don't get too much work done without me."
"Well, then hurry up and finish eating!"
And they got so caught up in their work that by the time their masterpiece was finished, it was almost already lunchtime.
What a perfect day to visit the Magic Kingdom! As Anna and Elsa crowded on the ferry to the park, the sun shone brightly above them, not even wispy clouds in sight. Although…the sky looked a bit darker in the distance. Was it going to rain later?
"Guess we should've brought an umbrella," Anna remarked. "I didn't remember to pack one. Did you?"
"I did, but I left it back at the room… I guess I could try to make one." How were these things supposed to fold again? She tried to visualize an umbrella in her mind…
Before she could actually form anything, Anna had turned her sister around to face the castle. "We'll worry about that when we get to it. Right now, just enjoy the view!"
"Hehe…right." She had to admit, it was gorgeous. Even this early in the day, the park was hustling and bustling with activity, people walking to and fro on the docks like little ants. Looked like just about everyone had the same idea to visit the Magic Kingdom today. She hoped the crowds wouldn't be so heavy that they couldn't enjoy themselves… There were always rides that ended up being less popular than the others, but still, when everybody was going some place or another the streets got too full to even take one step.
Quickly growing bored with the view and looking for something else to capture her interest, Anna turned her head to the side. At the moment they were passing what looked like a small islet crowded with overgrown trees. Huh, nobody had ever mentioned anything about that to them yet. She wondered what they used it for.
"Hey, Elsa." She tapped her sister on the shoulder, pointing to the unusual sight. "What do you think that is?"
"Huh?" Honestly, she hadn't given much thought to it. Just assumed it was an uninhabited forest or something of the sort. But it was strange that it was so close to the kingdom when everything else was more spaced out. "Maybe the staff live there?" she guessed. It didn't look like the cleanest place, but past the trees maybe it was a little nicer.
"Living so close to the Magic Kingdom? I'm jealous!"
"But we already live in a kingdom, Anna," she pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's not the same…" Arendelle came with responsibilities and economics and all the boring stuff involved with running a real kingdom. She would love nothing more than to rule a place where you could do nothing but have fun all day…
Huh… The storm must've been closer than she thought. Already the waves looked pretty rough. Wait…but only in that one spot? Was that a hand she saw? Two?
"Elsa, I think someone is in the water!" she suddenly exclaimed.
"Wha… Oh my god, you're right!" But what could they do? If they tried to grab him, they risked falling in, too. Wasn't there a lifesaver hanging somewhere around here? There! On the other side of the viewing deck! "Anna, run over and grab that!"
"Right!" Shoving her way through the crowd proved to be difficult. And trying to explain what was going on to the frustrated people being pushed around even more so. Could they even see what was going on? It didn't matter. They had to do something about this.
Finally, she made her way back, livesaver looped under her arm. "Incoming!" She tossed the ring with all her might…and it only few a few feet, not landing anywhere near the victim. "Great…"
"Maybe I can…" Taking the wind under her control for a brief moment, Elsa was able to change the direction of the waves and push it just that much closer to them. "There! That should do it."
With some struggle, finally the person in the water was able to grab on and push himself up. Or rather, the duck in the water. "Is that…Donald Duck?" Huh. She hadn't expected to run into him again like this. "What is he doing in the lagoon?"
"Well, he is a duck," Anna chuckled.
"For a duck, he can't swim all that well, can he?" Couldn't leave him out in the water much longer. Hypothermia and all. She made a rope out of her ice and made it attach to the lifesaver, slowly pulling Donald in.
Donald's breath was heavy, and all his feathers were weighed down and soaking wet. "The…the castle…"
"Ah! No, no, no, don't talk. Just rest," Anna smiled as she pulled him over the gate and onto the deck. "Poor thing… But what were you thinking?! This lagoon is enormous!"
He looked like he was about to say something, but he had to stop and catch his breath. Ugh, that water was freezing… He had to be found by the snow queen of all people. He shivered, trying to shake the water out of his plumage, splashing everyone within six feet of him.
"Yikes!" Wet duck. What an awful smell. Blech! Anna plugged her nose.
"I gotta get to Mickey," he explained frantically. "How close are we?" The ferry moved at the same slow pace as usual, having only made about half of its journey so far. "Come on! Can't this thing go any faster?!"
Anna paused. "Um…am I the only one who can't understand a thing he's saying?" she whispered to her sister. Elsa rolled her eyes. She wasn't having much luck with that either, but the least she could do was be polite about it.
"Er, pardon me, Mr. Duck. May I ask what's so important that you need to find Mickey right away?"
"She, she's coming." Now he was shaking with terror.
"Who's coming?"
"Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma…"
"…Mama? You're mom's in town? Oh, that'll be fun!" Anna answered enthusiastically.
"Maleficent!" He ran over to the girls, desperate to get his message across. "She's on her way tonight! The kingdom's in trouble!"
"Maleficent?" Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent? If she was after this kingdom… Anna didn't wanna think about it. "Not that Maleficent…right?"
Donald was silent for a moment, then slapped his hand on his face. "No, the Maleficent with a summer home in Sarasota. What other Maleficent do you know?! Oh boy, we gotta hurry. We've only got an afternoon to get ready!"
Oh, no… Everyone knew that Maleficent was a serious threat. Without the proper means of defending itself, the Magic Kingdom wouldn't stand a chance, would it? Elsa wondered if this was her fault for coming here today. Were they still pursuing her?
Anna came to the same conclusion. If this was going on, then Elsa could get seriously hurt. She couldn't let that happen! Maybe if she asked Mickey to help out directly… Then her sister would have nothing to worry about. Now all that was left… "Elsa, we need to find a place for you to hide."
"Hide?" Well…it was a reasonable idea. After all, she'd apparently been seeking her out for quite some time. But…maybe surrenduring herself was the right thing to do? If she went and presented herself outright, maybe she would be satisfied and leave the kingdom undamaged. On the other hand, she did still have her own kingdom to worry about…
"I bet Cinderella would let you borrow her castle. There's gotta be lots of secret passageways in there," her sister suggested.
"No, no…it's fine." But if she told Anna about her plans, there was no way she'd approve. In fact, she'd try to restrain her in every way possible. As much as she hated keeping secrets from her… Was Anna even ready to take on the throne in her absence? Certainly not. But would this person target Arendelle as well if she drew things out too long?
Anna let out an exasperated sigh. It was always awful when she couldn't prevent Elsa from worrying, even if it was something she was justified in worrying about. "Elsa, try not to think about it right now, okay? You've been trying so hard to make things fun for me… This time I'll take care of it. It's your turn to have fun."
Elsa smiled. That was Anna; such a sweetheart. Always looking out for her even in the most perilous of predicaments. "T-Try not to take on too much. I don't want you getting hurt, Anna." Or worse… She tried to shake off the thought. Of course it wouldn't come to that again. Right?
"Of course not. I know what I can do." Though she was getting tired of Elsa underestimating her… Maybe this was her chance to really prove herself! Wait, wait. She couldn't be too reckless… No, she had to think this through carefully. Be completely prepared for whatever happened. Now what option might work best to beat an evil fairy?
Everybody was so deep in thought, they were all completely quiet by the time the ferry docked. Yes, even Donald. Though that didn't last for long. "Finally!" he exclaimed as they made their way to the ticketing gate. "I thought that ride would never end!"
"Where would we go to find Mickey, anyway?" Anna wondered out loud. It seemed could be just about anywhere…although Fantasyland was a very likely option.
"At Town Square Theater, of course!" It could be hard to remember they were still new here. It seemed like the most obvious thing in the world to him, but they had no way of knowing, did they?. Except if they actually looked at the map. Tourists. "Come on, this way!"
Passing the crowd waiting in line to get into the park, they arrived on Main Street immediately. Sure enough, it was advertised right there on the theater on the biggest banner either of them had ever seen. Meet the Master Magician Mickey Mouse! A master magician, huh? Then he'd be their best source for information.
Anna also happened to spot another sign. "Wait time: fifty minutes?!"
"We don't have fifty minutes! It's an emergency!" Paying no attention to the long line outside the door, Donald went ahead and shoved his way in. "I'm a close, personal friend of Mickey's. They gotta let me in!" And seeing as Anna and Elsa were with him…they just followed along.
Even among shouts of "Hey, watch it!" "Wait your turn!" "We have FastPasses for this, jerk!" they managed to continue making their way forward. And after what felt like forever, they reached Mickey's 'backstage dressing room.' Trunks and hangers adorned with all kinds of magic act items filled the place. In the center of the room was Mickey, sending off another family of guests as was routine.
"See ya later! Have a fantastical day at the Magic Kingdom!" he waved at the leaving group with enthusiasm. "All right, now who's up next? …Oh, Donald! Funny running into you here. How are ya, pal?"
"Terrible," he responded without hestitation. "And so is everyone else if we don't do something right now."
"Aw…well, gosh." Sure, Donald could be a bit of a scaredy cat…er, duck, sometimes, but seeing him this frazzled hardly ever happened. Something had to have gone really wrong. "What's all the trouble, then?"
"Ma…" Just as he was about to reply…he realized he was still surrounded by people. He didn't want to cause a panic, then they'd really be in a mess. "Um…" Then he had no choice but to whisper it. He leaned in closer just to be safe. Mickey read his body language easily and put a hand to his own ear to make sure he got everything.
"Uh-huh…yeah… You did what?! Why would you… Oh, okay…so…she said… What?! Oh…oh, no!"
"So…what do you think would be the right action to take?" Elsa asked as the conversation seemed to end.
Time to get serious. Once Mickey had his serious face on, you knew "Well, first of all, we'll need to come up with a solid plan," he stated, pacing around the room. It really was terrible that it had to be on such short notice, but they had to try to put something together with the time they did have. Now, who knew Maleficent better than anyone else…?
Of course! "I know just the people to talk to! We better get to Fantasyland, and fast!"
