Thanks guys for the wonderful reviews! This chapter is kind of short, and personally, not my best, but that's okay. Bigger and better stuff is coming. Here's chapter 21!

Chapter 21: Lawrence Finnegan Whitman

November 30, 2358
Animal Kingdom
Festival of the Lion King

10:47 A.M.

Philby opened the doors of the giant circular auditorium. The creaking of the giant wooden doors sent chills up Amanda's spine. She leaned more on Jess' right shoulder as they walked into the pavilion where Festival of the Lion King used to be held. Based off the way the props for the show were strewed around the room, Amanda guessed that a bunch of people had left in the middle of the show...in a hurry.

"Looks like the apocalypse started here," Maybeck blurted out as he helped Philby close the door. "Disney would never leave the place this messy."

Charlene crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Maybeck. Amanda knew a fight was coming on. "Apocalypse, Maybeck? Let's get real—"

"It was Maleficent's curse," Philby finished. "It would make sense that she would want the parks destroyed. Remember how bad off Main Street was when we first got here in October?"

At the mention of Maleficent, the group grew silent. Jess helped Amanda over to a bleacher and she sat down.

Amanda remembered this one time she came here with Finn. He was freshmen in college home for the first time in a month. He had tried to come home every weekend, even though he was three hours away, but for some reason he couldn't that month. She remembered how he waltzed into her apartment and declared they were going to Animal Kingdom, and "there is nothing you can do it stop it!"

She remembered sitting in this very pavilion. His arm was wrapped around her waist, keeping her close. When the meerkats came out and started their routines, Finn leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"When we were here looking for Jess, I slide under that stage. Turns out the trampoline doesn't go that deep, otherwise I would have been crushed." Amanda looked up at him and saw his goofy grin.

"You're proud of that, aren't you?"

"Of course! I'm not very athletic, so it was a huge achievement!"

Amanda held in her laughter for a few seconds, before it became too much to handle. She burst out in a laughing fit, leaving Finn pretending to be offended.

Though it was only a brief moment and a cheap joke, Amanda still valued that memory almost as much as her wedding. She could still picture the way Finn's face lit up when she walked into the chapel. Finn...

She was going to do anything to find her husband. They had been apart for too long, and of course right when she remembered, he was taken away. She would push past the pain in her stomach and find a way to get him back. She had to.

"Earth to Lockhart!"

Amanda jolted back to reality, her left hand subconsciously moving to her stomach—where the pain was still lingering. She looked up and saw four expecting looks staring down at her.

"Can you tell us what happened in Animal Kingdom Lodge?" Maybeck asked her while he sat down on the ground a few foot in front of her. Amanda saw Philby and Charlene do the same.

"What about Willa and Finn?" Philby asked. "Are they still alive?"

"Yes," Amanda felt herself focusing in on the old, abandoned float behind them. It was the same float that had the trampolines on it for the meerkats to jump around on. "They weren't ordered to kill us. She wants us brought in alive." Amanda paused to collect her thoughts. "They really only want Finn. That's why they've been leaving us one by one."

"Why do they want Finn?" Charlene asked.

"Because he's the freakin' hero! Leader of the Kingdom Keepers! That's why!" Maybeck blurted out. If Amanda hadn't known him for years, she would think he was jealous of Finn.

"Maleficent has something special planned for him. That's all I could get out of the guards."

Jess reached over and placed a hand on one of her right knee. "Why don't you tell us what happened when you left Pirates of the Caribbean?"

Amanda took a deep, shaky breath. "Finn and I were taken first to the hotel." She closed her eyes and told the story as her memory replayed the events of a few days ago in her mind.

Amanda and Finn had been dropped into one of the hotel rooms—no handcuffs, gags, or anything else. All the guards did was lock the door and windows. One guard stood watch inside the door, cautiously watching the couple.

Amanda sat down on the bed, waiting for her impending doom. Finn stood up to go to the bathroom. Before he closed the door, he turned to the guard. "There's not any orangutans in there, right?"

Amanda watched on curiously. Orangutans? Why would orangutans be in the bathroom?

If the guard knew anything of what Finn was referring to, he didn't show it on his face. Finn shrugged off the silence and went into the bathroom.

When he came back, he plopped down on the bed next to Amanda. He draped an arm over her shoulders and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Everything will be okay," he whispered to her. "I promise."

"I trust you," Amanda replied quietly.

Finn kissed her on the top of her head. They stayed like this through the night and all the way until the door was opened and two guards came in for both of them.

The guards escorted them down the hall, down the stairs to the ground floor, and into what used to be a conference room. The tables were piled up in one corner of the room, blocking the windows, keeping the room dark. A few candles out the room well enough to see three chairs lined up against the wall. One was already full, with Willa tied up in it.

When Willa noticed them walk in, she gave them both a brief smile as the guards tied them to the chairs. The rope burned against Amanda's wrists and ankles.

The guards finished tying up Finn and Amanda and left the room, leaving the three of them completely alone.

"Amanda, we've got to get you to remember." Willa whispered.

Amanda looked and faced her. "What? How can we do that here?"

"They're counting on you not knowing who you are. If you remember, you'll have the upper hand."

"She's right," Finn added.

"How do you two plan on doing that exactly? Nothing you have done has worked so far."

"We'll have to try a new tactic."

"And that is...?"

"The first time I met you Amanda, I knew Finn was in love with you," Willa answered, winking at Finn. "Whether he knew it or not."

"Oh. I knew it," Finn replied, sporting a goofy grin.

"And how did we met, Finn?" Amanda asked him.

"You and I went to the same middle school back in 8th grade, back when all of this DHI stuff got started. I needed somebody to help me sneak into Magic Kingdom and I picked you, since you were the new girl."

"That's why?" Willa scoffed. "It isn't because you thought she was cute."

By the way Willa taunted Finn, Amanda immediately thought they were related. She had remembered Finn mentioning someone having a sister. She just couldn't remember who.

"Oh please Willa. Like you weren't drooling all over Philby the first time you saw him."

Willa started blushing. "That's irrelevant, Finn! Stay on topic!"

"Okay," Finn rolled his eyes and focused in on Amanda. "Amanda, what do you want to know?"

Amanda thought about it. She wished she could just remember so that she wouldn't have to have Finn and her friends tell her about herself. But since she hadn't remembered yet, they were her only source to what she was once like.

"You told me that you and I were—are—married. Why do you love me, Finn?"

Finn's eyes bore on her, giving her a warm feeling inside. "I love you Amanda because of so many reasons. I love that you're beautiful, but you won't ever let me call you that. You're so smart. I hated leaving for college without you, but I knew why you waited. I love that you're so determined to go back on your own terms, and I'm going to be there for you every step of the way when you do. I love you because you've always been there for me, through every crazy keeper thing, every life-or-death situation: when those agents thought I killed Greg, when I was lost on an island for two weeks, even when I was in a coma for two months right after proposing, EVERYTHING! I love you because when I'm with you, everything is better. I feel happier and I can always see the positive side of things. I love you because you complete me. I love every little thing about you, Amanda."

Finn paused and Amanda realized he had worked himself to tears. He wiped them away and continued.

"I love you even though you don't remember me or yourself. I'll always love you, Amanda. I'll doing anything to protect you and keep you safe. That's a promise I will keep with every ounce of my being. I don't care if you ever remember." He took another deep breath. "As long as you're with me, I'm happy."

Amanda took a moment for all of that to sink in. She knew Finn loved her, but she had never heard him say all of this—at least not that she could remember.

Amanda was brought out of her memory by Charlene sniffling.

"Is that really what he said?" Charlene wiped a tear from her cheek. "That's beautiful."

"Yeah," Amanda smiled. "It was."

"So you remembered, blah, blah, blah." Maybeck waved her romantic moment away metaphorically with his hand. "Get to the part where you get taken out of the hotel!"

Amanda, Jess and Charlene all rolled their eyes.

"Finn had been gone for a few hours when they started...interrogation." Amanda said slowly, carefully choosing each word. She glanced over at Philby before closing her eyes. She could tell the truth, or she could lie. Philby deserved to know the truth, but Amanda couldn't give it to him. It would kill him.

"Willa…and I tried to…uh…fight back." Amanda opened her eyes and looked down at the floor to avoid Philby's eyes. She knew he would be able to tell if she was lying. "And they took me away…after they…uh…stopped us…that's about it."

Jess put a hand on Amanda's back and started rubbing it. This small gesture always soothed her. She wasn't sure why, but it always did.

A few silent moments filled the empty pavilion. It was ended by Philby standing up.

"That's it. I'm going back to Animal Kingdom Lodge and I'm getting Willa." He grabbed his gun up from the door and turned to Maybeck. "You with me?"

"Whoa!" Maybeck stood up and held up his hands to stop Philby. "You're not going anywhere!"

"Willa's in there!"

"You don't know that! Amanda even said they might have moved her!"

"You don't know that!" Philby gripped his gun tighter. "I'm going to find her!"

Maybeck ripped the gun out of Philby's hands and tossed it aside. "Get yourself together Philby! We've got to think this through!"

"That's the first time you've ever said that!" Charlene muttered under her breath. Jess snorted and stood up, walking in between the two boys.

"You two just need to calm down. Alright? We'll go after her whenever we get a plan together. Philby, you and Amanda need to rest. The real question is do we risk going back to Wayne's apartment or do we stay here?"

Philby took a step back from the group and crossed his arms, obviously mad that they wouldn't let him go find Willa. "Let's just stay here. We leave in a few hours."

"And go where?" Amanda asked him.

Philby looked over to her. His facial expression was full of anger, but his eyes were screaming heartbreak. Unfortunately, Amanda knew the feeling.

"That's what we've got to figure out."

"I love you too Finn."

Without warning, Amanda was pulled up by a random soldier and stabbed in the stomach from behind. He let go of her and she fell to the ground at Finn's feet, dead.

Finn tried to scream, but found his voice was gone.

The soldier laughed and turned to look for more things to destroy and people to kill. The fact that he was enjoying this sickened Finn.

His vision was almost gone. His hearing was failing. He had lost all of his friends and family. He was going to die in his own throne room.

In the midst of all of the chaos in the room, Maleficent had found her way over to Finn. She grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him close. Finn let out a strangled cry of pain.

Her face was inches away from his.

"This is what happens to those who cross me, Lawrence Finnegan Whitman. You should have never ever become a 'keeper.' Let this serve as a lesson to you. I will be coming back to exact my revenge on you and your friends. And next time, you'll be the first to die.

November 27, 2358
Holding Cell 1
Undisclosed Location

11 P.M.

Finn jolted awake. He strained against the chains binding his wrists and ankles. The only light in the room was a small flame coming up from a candle a few feet away. He couldn't tell how big the room was or even if someone else was in the room with him.

He looked down and saw that the only injuries he had were bruises from the chains. That's good.

He heard a tapping sound to his left, like someone was tapping their foot on the ground impatiently. The room suddenly felt colder.

"Maleficent," Finn muttered under his breath.

"Nice to see you dearie. I was getting worried you weren't going to wake. That would be…tragic."

Her maniacal laugh echoed throughout the room. She stepped closer to him, revealing herself.

"What do you want with me, Maleficent? I thought I killed you six years ago."

"Oh, Finn, we both know you don't think that." She stepped right in front of him and leaned down. She was now inches from his face.

"Now, what to do with you now that you're here." Her long green finger slowly outlined his jaw, lifting his chin up so that she could get a better look at him.

Finn did the mature thing and spat in her face. She recoiled but did nothing. Instead she stepped back and scowled at him.

"You want to play it that way? Fine." She turned around and picked up something from a table Finn hadn't seen before. She turned back to face Finn with an evil grin on her face.

"Let's start by sharing secrets. You might want to sit down for this one." She laughed at her own pathetic joke. She took a step closer and revealed what she had grabbed from the table: a manila folder stuffed with a stack of papers. "Turns out that little dream of yours from almost two years ago had some truth to it. Lots of secrets were revealed to you and you didn't even know it."

She threw the folder into Finn's lap, but he couldn't open it since his hands were chained to the chair.

Maleficent leaned forward so that she was once again inches from his face. "That mind of yours is quite perceptive, savior. I'm going to have fun with you." Her green finger linger underneath his chin for a few seconds before disappearing into thin air.

Hmmm..."that little dream of yours from almost two years ago had some truth to it. Lots of secrets were revealed to you and you didn't even know it." Which secrets do you think Finn already knows (even though he doesn't quite realize it yet)?

What's Maleficent going to do with Finn? Is Philby going to find Willa? Are they going to find Finn before Maleficent gets what she wants? Keep reading to find out-and review, while you're at it! I'd love to read what y'all think! I'll try to update as soon as possible! Have a wonderful week!