It's been a long time guys! I hope this chapter makes up for it! I personally like this one, not going to lie. Enjoy!

Chapter 8: A Little Sister Returns

October 1, 2358
Forbidden District, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, US
Main Street, U.S.A.

Philby glanced down at his watch. It was 1 in the morning on October 1st, the exact time that he was told to be in the forbidden district by this mysterious "Daniel Wesley" character.

He glanced around him and saw five other people standing with him in an awkwardly silent circle.

To his left, was a young woman with strawberry blonde hair and fair skin. She was dressed in a pair of blue jean shorts and a pink t-shirt, a poor decision on this cold night. Her blue eyes scanned over him quickly before rolling them, as if disgusted by what she saw. Something about her made Philby want to avoid eye contact, as if she could see into his soul or turn him into stone.

Next to her was a young man with dark hair and skin wearing blue jeans and a black Police Academy hoodie. Philby knew there were some massive muscles hidden underneath the over-sized hoodie. This guy was not someone you wanted to meet in an alley at night.

On the other side of him was a beautiful, young woman with blonde hair pulled up in a pony tail. She was dressed in a long-sleeve maroon t-shirt with black leggings as pants with blinding white tennis shoes. Her foot kept tapping, creating a small echo on the cobblestone street beneath their feet. It might have just been Philby, but she seemed anxious and nervous—as if she already knew what was coming, and hated it.

Philby's gaze moved to the next person, who he immediately recognized. At first, he didn't want to believe it, but it only made more and more sense as time flew by. Since their purpose here involved overthrowing Maleficent, it seemed only fitting to have Queen Amanda of the 1st province here. Based off her story, she was the royal that had the most to gain from a change in government. Instead of wearing something elaborate, the queen was dressed in a simple navy blue dress that went to her knees with a black peacoat over it. She glanced around nervously, but Philby noticed the sad look in her eyes.

To avoid feeling depressed along with the queen, Philby moved on to the last person waiting. It only took one second for him to have his breath taken away by her beauty. She was at least a head shorter than her with slightly tan skin. Her brown hair was braided, with the braid resting on her right shoulder. She was wearing skinny jeans and a white V-neck t-shirt. Philby didn't know her, but he already knew he loved her.

He noticed that she was shivering and had the sudden urge to give her his jacket. Just as his fingers wrapped around the zipper, a voice called out to the group from behind him.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Philby turned around and saw Daniel Wesley hurrying down the cobblestone street toward them. This early morning he was dressed in jeans and a bright green t-shirt with a white Northface jacket over it.

"It's about time you get here! It's freezing!" The woman who had rolled her eyes at Philby earlier spat off sarcastically.

"Oh please, Jess," Daniel scoffed. "Get over it."

He stopped when he got up to the group, nudging himself in between Philby and the girl with the white V-neck. He nodded at each person before continuing.

"Alright, let me introduce myself. My name is Daniel Wesley, but we all know that's not my real name."

"We do? What is it then?" The blonde asked. She kept shifting her weight from her right foot to her left, causing Philby to feel uneasy.

"That's what you've got to remember," Daniel said with a cheery smile, as if this was all some kind of sick game.

When Daniel was met with six blank stares, he took a frustrated breath and continued.

"You've all had your memories wiped." Daniel held out his hands to stop any disagreements, as if to say hold on, let me finish. "We've all known each other since we were twelve."

"And how do you know that all of our memories have been wiped? I remember just about everything about my life." The third guy in the Academy hoodie asked skeptically.

"Yeah, but until January of this year, those memories are pretty fuzzy. Right?"

Philby wanted to refute that statement. He didn't want to believe his whole life had been made up, but now that he thought of it, most of his memories were pretty fuzzy.

The minute of silence answered Daniel's question.

"Exactly." Daniel stated. "Now we're here so that you can get your memories back."

"I thought we were discussing overthrowing Maleficent?" The queen asked Daniel in a quiet voice.

Daniel smiled at her. "I'm glad you mentioned that, Amanda. The two things are interdependent on each other."

"How so?" The girl next to Philby, Jess, asked.

"We're the only ones who can defeat her. The only way she can win is if we can't remember who we are."

"So how come you remember who you are?" The blonde asked.

Daniel's shoulders slumped. It might have just been Philby, but it seemed like Daniel was dreading that very question—and had been for some time now..

"I was given a potion that made me immune to the curse."

"Why you?" Jess retorted.

Daniel rolled his eyes at her. "I'm the leader of our group. Apparently I'm the only one that can help you remember who you are, and to do that I needed to keep my memories."

"Fine then, smart butt." Jess crossed her arms and gave him a defiant look. "Who am I?"

"I can't tell you that. You have to remember on your own."

"Wait a minute," Philby blurted out before he could stop himself. Daniel and the others turned to face him. "How can we believe anything you're saying?"

"What will convince you that I'm telling the truth?"

Philby crossed his arms so to challenge Daniel. "Tell me something about myself that nobody would know but you."

"Same with all of us, Daniel," Academy hoodie guy said as he crossed his arms.

Daniel eyed both of them before taking a deep breath. He turned to face the blonde girl.

"Charlene Turner. You crave for the people that you love to love you back, especially with your absent dad. Because of that it takes you a long time to trust someone. But that day at Mt. Fuji, you trusted me. Why?"

Charlene's face twisted in confusion, but soon changed to deep understanding, as if a light bulb had just gone off in her head.

Daniel moved on to Jess.

"Jessica Lockhart. You've been dreaming of the people in this circle here since...uh...January, right? You draw out the scenes you see, like the one from the auction that night I talked to you. Normally, you dream the future, not the past, but they're still detailed. That picture that you sold the day I found you was of me, when I was fighting Chernabog."

"C-C-Chernabog?" Jess stuttered. "That thing has a name?"

"Yeah," Daniel didn't look pleased. Whomever this "Chernabog" character was, it was obviously still giving Daniel nightmares. "It was worse battling it in person."

"So how did I dream of something in your past?"

Daniel shrugged. "Beats me."

He turned to Academy hoodie guy. "Terry Maybeck. Despite the bad boy attitude, you're a nice guy underneath. You'll do anything to save your friends and loved ones. Right before the curse, you had your heart-broken by a girl you loved more than anything. Let me guess, you've felt like something's been missing since January? My guess is you've been feeling that way because you've been separated from her."

Terry's face didn't change, but Philby guessed Daniel was still right. Terry readjusted his arms and waited for Daniel to continue.

Instead of saying anything more to Terry, Daniel moved on to the girl with the white V-neck.

"Willa Angelo. Yes, I know that's not your last name anymore, but you and Spencer are not supposed to be married. Heck, Lizzie isn't his kid! Ever since I've known you, Willa, you've always dreamed of having a knight in shining armor sweep you off your feet. And we both know Spencer isn't anything close to that. You—"

"Stop Daniel," Willa interrupted. Philby noticed that she looked like she was on the verge of tears. He had the sudden urge to wrap his arms around her.

Where are these feelings coming from?

She took a breath to compose herself and continued. "I've heard enough."

Daniel nodded at her, a look of sympathy smacked on his face. Daniel turned to face Philby.

"Dell Philby. All I have to say is that you always need indisputable proof of something before you go along with it."

Philby nodded. "So where's yours?"

"I have everything in an apartment that's walking distance from here. I can take you there when we're done for the night, if you'd like."

Philby studied Daniel. He really wanted to go now, but the words "when we're done for the night" still rang in his ears. Apparently tonight wasn't just a meet-and-greet. As his best friend from college, Hugo, would say. Stuff's about to go down—except he wouldn't have said stuff.

"Sure thing," Philby added.

"Okay then," Daniel turned to Queen Amanda. He seemed uneasy, as if talking to her about her true self made him feel uncomfortable. "Amanda—"

"Ah, I see you're all here! Splendid!"

The seven turned around to see an old man walking up the street toward them. He had pearl white hair, a wily grin that showed he was up to no good, and was using a walking stick—which, for some odd reason, seemed out of place to Philby.

The seven watched in silence as the old man-made his way up to them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we've got sights to see and memories to get back!"

"And who are you old man?" Terry called out.

"Watch your mouth Terrence! My name is Wayne Kretsky. Now if you don't mind, I've got assignments for all of you." He winked at them. "Just like old times."

"Wait! We knew you before this supposed curse?" Charlene asked Wayne.

"Now, we'll need you to be in pairs." Wayne scanned over the group, completely ignoring Charlene's question. "How about Miss Turner and Her Majesty head over to Tom Sawyer's Island? I believe the ferry isn't in too bad of condition."

Charlene and Amanda shared a brief look that Philby couldn't decipher.

"And how about Mr. Maybeck and Miss Lockhart head over to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride? Yes," he nodded, as if coming up with a magnificent plan inside his head. "That would be great."

Terry glanced over at Jess and winked, causing her to roll her eyes and pull her arms tighter across her chest. Before she could refuse, Wayne continued.

"And Miss Angelo should go with..." Wayne looked between Philby and Daniel for a few seconds, as if deciding who the best companion for her is. Philby found himself wanting to be with Willa so much.

"Daniel. Yes, Daniel take her to it's a small world."

Daniel's face fell. "What?"

"You'll be fine, my boy. They're not here anymore."

Philby wanted to ask who Wayne was referring to, but before he could Wayne turned to him.

"As with you, Mr. Philby, we'll be heading to my apartment to get you that proof you crave so dearly."

Philby nodded solemnly. He wanted to be with Willa, not this old man.

"Now take time to explore your designated area and we'll meet back here around six in the morning."

Wayne didn't wait for any reactions. He turned around and walked back in the direction that he came in. Everyone else shared a brief moment of confusion, even Daniel.

"Well, you heard him." Daniel said in a shaky voice. He gave Charlene and Terry directions to their areas of interest before heading off to it's a small world with Willa.

Philby couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as he watched them leave. When they were far enough away, Philby turned around to see that Wayne was almost out of sight.

Great, the old man's faster than I thought.

Philby jogged down the street to catch up with Wayne. He wasn't about to be left behind by him, especially when he was offering proof for Daniel's crazy theory.

It must have taken Charlene and Amanda two hours to get the ferry operating again. Based off of the surroundings, Amanda guessed this place had been abandoned for some time now, possibly centuries.

The signs out front, most of which contained broken glass and graffiti, claimed that this park, if you could even call it that, was called "Magic Kingdom." And after two hours, Amanda would say this place was anything but magical. She would have called it "Death Trap" or "Sketch-ville" or even "Creepy Town."

Once barely making it to the island, Charlene and Amanda decided splitting up would be the best way to go.

"I'm assuming we each have different memories of this place," Amanda had concluded. "If we walk around together, they might not come back." Charlene agreed and trudged off in the opposite direction of Amanda without another word.

Amanda walked around for at least an hour. She walked over small suspension bridges and through underground mining shafts and eventually ended up in front of a huge wooden waterwheel.

Somehow, in all of this destruction, the waterwheel was still working. Amanda couldn't help but admire the beauty of the water as it was carried over the top of the wheel and back down on the other side.

Amanda caught herself smiling as she remembered her favorite date with her late husband, Finn.

It was about a year before they had gotten married—two years since they had first met. Somehow Finn had gotten a free week in his busy schedule and snuck away to the eighth province. He came in and whisked her away to a cabin that he had rented for a few days. Behind the cabin was a river that contained a similar wooden waterwheel. The sight before Amanda's eyes now was similar to that one.

On the first night there, Amanda had dared Finn to climb to the top of the wheel while it was still in motion. He had joked that she was trying to get him killed. Amanda took that as a no and went for it herself. After a few seconds of brief victory at the top of the wheel, she slipped and fell. Luckily, Finn caught her in his arms.

That moment led to their first kiss. Amanda missed the way he kissed. She missed the way he would hold her when she was upset. She missed his goofy smile when he was up to no good. She missed everything about him.

It's been four years, Amanda, she scolded herself. It's time to move on.

Amanda shook the thoughts of Finn out of her head and continued walking aimlessly for the remainder of the time. Eventually, she found Charlene taking a nap in one of the teepees.

"Charlene! What are you doing?" Amanda yelled so that she would wake up.

"Huh?" Charlene rubbed her eyes and looked up at Amanda. "Oh…uh…I was taking a nap."

"I'm guessing you didn't find anything then?"

"Well…" Charlene stretched. "This place seemed familiar, but I can't put my finger on it."

Amanda glanced around the giant teepee. She wasn't sure why a teepee would seem familiar to Charlene, but she decided asking wasn't worth it.

"What about you, Your Majesty?" Charlene asked bitterly.

"Please call me Amanda. I hate being called Your Majesty."

Charlene glanced up at her with a skeptical look. "Okay…what did you find, Amanda?"

Amanda shrugged. "Nothing." She knew Charlene didn't want to hear all about her dead husband and how he looked just like Daniel Wesley.

Charlene glanced down at her watch. "It's 5:39, do you want to go back to meet the others now?"

Amanda nodded and offered a hand for Charlene to help her stand up.

Willa and Daniel walked side by side all the way to the attraction called "it's a small world." Willa couldn't help but notice how uneasy Daniel seemed and immediately thought they were being led into a trap of some sorts.

They walked into the building and snaked through the waiting line and came up to the loading dock. Before them was a dull green boat that could probably fit twenty or so people. The waves slowly lapped against the loading dock impatiently, as if it craved more victims.

Willa glanced over at Daniel. "I guess we get on the boat?"

His gaze was still locked on the boat, but he nodded. Together they stepped into the green boat and took a seat. Daniel's foot started tapping immediately.

As if by magic, the boat slowly lurched forward, but for some strange reason Willa wasn't surprised—as if this happened to her all the time.

Willa glanced back at Finn and noticed how with each passing second he was freaking out more and more. She reached over and placed an arm over his shoulders.

"It's just an abandoned ride, Daniel," Willa said in a comforting voice. "Nothing's going to hurt us."

Daniel glanced up at Willa and nodded. "Yeah, I…I'm being stupid."

As they went through it's a small world, Finn couldn't help but remember the last time he was here. All five of the keepers stood in horror as the dolls unhinged themselves and attacked them. It still gave him nightmares, even though it was twelve years ago.

As the boat slowly made its way through the ride, Finn noticed how nothing was working right. The song wasn't blasting. The dolls weren't moving. It was a miracle the boat was moving.

He glanced over at Willa and noticed how she was looking at everything, as if she was remembering some kind of memory.

Yes! Finn wanted to give himself a high-five. If he could get Willa to remember who she is, then he wouldn't be all alone anymore. The past nine months had been absolutely miserable. When he was traveling around trying to find his friends, he wanted to give up and just go home. He didn't want to be all mysterious with them. He wanted to give each of them a hug and tell them about how much he had missed them. But he couldn't. He had to stick to the rules of the game Maleficent had put them in.

But that didn't mean he wasn't trying to find loopholes.

When the boat went back to the loading dock, Finn got out and offered a hand to Willa. She took it and got out of the boat. Finn turned around and started walking out when Willa doubled over in pain and cried out.

Finn turned around and hurried back over to her. She stumbled backwards and almost fell back into the boat, but Finn caught her in time.

"Willa! What's wrong?"

At first she said nothing. Her body was shaking slightly. She slowly wiggled out of Finn's grasp and stood up on her own. He watched with confused and anxious eyes as she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Something was different about her.

Willa glanced up at Finn and a few tears made their way down her cheeks.

"Willa?" Finn asked in a quiet voice.

"Oh, Finn, you found us." She ran to him, wrapping her arms around him.

Finn was so shocked he didn't know what to do. He slowly wrapped his arms around Willa.

"Willa? What's going on?" He whispered into her ear.

She leaned back and looked into his eyes, giving him a caring—almost motherly—smile. "Finn, I remember everything."

Finn had never been so happy in his life. He picked her up and twirled her around. He placed her back on the ground and hugged her again. He never thought he would be so happy to have Willa back in his life. It was great having his little sister back again. Having her remember who she is gave Finn hope that he wasn't failing at his job. He could still save them all.

Hmm...so Willa remembers who she is now? What's the deal with Amanda and the "dead husband" aka Finn? Any ideas?

Please review! I love reading them! If y'all have any suggestions or ideas for the story I'd love to hear them! I'll update as soon as I can! Enjoy the rest of your day! :)