Hey wonderful people! I got a little extra time this week due to the snowpocalypse happening down here, so I decided to make this one extra good, just for y'all ;)

Thanks for all the great reviews! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it!

Enjoy!

Chapter 32: We're All In This Together...On July 29th

December 4, 2358
EPCOT—Norway Pavilion
Malestrom

1:58 P.M.

If he was being honest, the Malestrom ride had always freaked him out a little.

Looking back on this, he probably should have checked here first. But he figured he could delay the inevitable by checking out every other part of the pavilion first.

After his throughout search, he embarked on the ride. He walked along the edge of the water. He figured the boat wouldn't work. He didn't bother to worry too much about the destruction on the inside of the ride. He had too much to worry about when it came to this "Elsa" girl.

He almost made it to the part of the ride where the boat shifted directions, sending riders down a hill backwards, when he heard the female voice.

"You'll never get away with this! I won't let—"

Something cut off the female voice. Finn hoped and prayed that she hadn't been hurt. Hopefully someone had gagged her…or something like that. It'd be much better than the alternative.

He inched forward, trying to stick to the shadows. He kept inching along the wall until he entered the polar bear room. The fake bear was lying on its side across the water, blocking any potential boats from finishing the ride. Finn knew he wasn't going to be able to hide in the white and blue room, so he watched.

Across the river, he saw a pale-skinned woman with bleached white hair and a long, sparkling light blue dress kneeling on the ground. Her hands had chain mittens on them. Finn didn't want to find out why she needed them. It must have been her voice he heard, because there was a bandana gagging her. At first, he thought she was looking right at him...but then he realized she was looking at something behind him.

He realized this too late.

He heard the sound of a sword coming out of a leather sheath behind him—unfortunately, he knew what that sounded like—making him jump.

He turned around to see a man slightly taller than him with brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing jeans and a black hoodie that read NORTH VANCOUVER HIGH SCHOOL in white block letters. The man had his sword pointed only inches from Finn's face.

"Now look who we have here," he said in a sinister voice. "Finn Whitman."

"How do you know my name?" Finn asked, surprisingly without any fear in his voice.

"Jess Lockhart told me all about you." A sly grin grew on his face. "I believe she's your sister-in-law. Am I right?"

Finn felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. Jess had talked to this guy, who was obviously bad. "How do you know Jess?"

"Well see, Finn, may I call you that? She thought I was strapping young lad named Patrick, the widowed janitor with a three-year old daughter back in Canada. She thought I loved her and was ready to run away with her."

He let out a quick laugh. Finn felt the anger boiling up in him. Nobody messes with his friends. He hated it when guys screwed Jess over. He had seen her heart-broken too many times over the years. He wasn't above punching this guy in the face.

"She fell hopelessly in love with me, can't say I blame her, and she told me things," he continued. "Lots of things. It's called spying, Finn. Keeping the enemy close."

"So if you're not Patrick," Finn had honestly no clue who that was. Jess had never mentioned a Patrick to him. "Then who are you?"

"I'm Hans, of course. And I'm here to keep you from going home."

The girl who was tied up tried to scream something, but the gag distorted her words. She was looking right at Finn now, trying to tell him something, but he couldn't tell what that was.

It was moments like this that made him wish he could read minds.

"Hans, huh?" Finn stalled. "And which movie are you from? I've never heard of you."

An evil gleam in his eyes made Finn regret the question immediately. Usually with villains that was the biggest insult. Obviously this guy was no ordinary villain.

"That's my greatest advantage. My movie premiered after you came here. Perfect timing on Maleficent's part, if you ask me."

"So what are you going to do? Kill me?"

"No," Hans smiled creepily. "I have a fate much worse than death I have saved for you."

He lowered his sword, jumped over the river and walked over to the girl. He waved Finn over. Feeling he had no choice, Finn jumped over the river and stood about two feet away from Hans.

Hans leaned forward and stroked her face but she recoiled.

"Oh Elsa, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Hans taunted. "You know what's coming my dear and you know you don't have a choice about it."

Finn's eyes went wide. So this was Elsa? This was the girl he needed. She was the answer to getting home. And she was tied up by the one villain he didn't know anything about.

Great, just great.

Hans stood up and smirked at Finn. "Remember much from that dream you had during your coma, Finn? I believe that was around two and a half years ago now?"

Finn nodded, fearing what Hans knew about it. Maleficent had known about it and if Hans was working for her, this could be nothing but bad for him.

"Remember how the Lady Isabel was trapped in a spell for a short while? She drank the potion forcing her to obey all commands from the person who handed it to her? In her case, that was Maleficent. The curse was only broken by true love's kiss, only to kill dear Philby."

Hans glanced back at Elsa with a similar, sinister smirk. "Turns out, that potion actually exists. I gave it to the lovely Elsa here and now she has to do everything I tell her." Hans traced Elsa's jawline with his finger before turning back to Finn. "Funny how perceptive our dreams are?"

Finn froze. He didn't know what to do or say. He never realized his dream would come back to bite him.

Hans snapped a finger and her chain mittens disappeared.

"Stand up," Hans ordered.

Elsa reluctantly stood up, faced Finn. For the first time, Finn could tell she was about to cry.

Hans ripped off the gag and Elsa took the opportunity.

"Finn, I am so sorry for this! I know a way you can go home! You need to find—"

"Freeze him," Hans ordered.

Elsa raised her hand and closed her eyes. Her pale face was the last thing he saw. It was almost as if someone had hit pause on a movie. The cold crept through his body—starting with his heart and moving outward, slowly and very painfully.

And before he knew it, he couldn't move. He couldn't feel anything. He couldn't smell or hear anything. And within a few seconds his mind gave in to the dark abyss, knocking him unconscious.

October 4, 2014
Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Wayne's Apartment

8:26 A.M.

Amanda, Jess and Wanda sat in Wayne's living room in an awkward silence. Wayne was currently in the kitchen finishing up breakfast. Amanda wasn't sure how long it could take to make breakfast for four, but he had been at it for almost an hour now. Either he didn't know what he was doing or he was expecting more company.

As if by magic, Amanda hear a knock on the front door. Wanda immediately walked over to the door, opening it with a smile.

After giving each person a hug, Wanda let the extra guests into the room. To her surprise, it was Willa, Philby, Maybeck and Charlene.

Willa and Maybeck were struggling due to the fact that Philby was heavily leaning on both of them. After setting him down in the closest chair, Willa came over to give each sister a hug.

"What happened to Philby?" Amanda asked.

"He got shot back…there remember?" There was a sad look in her eyes. Amanda could see the fatigue written on her face. Obviously she didn't sleep well last night. Amanda knew she had the same look on her face.

But at least Willa was with her husband. Stop thinking like that Amanda, she chided herself. That kind of thinking isn't going to get him back.

"What about Lizzie?" Jess asked as she pulled Willa off of Amanda for a hug.

"She's with Philby's parents today."

"So they know you're back?" Amanda asked. She could only imagine the worry all of the keepers' parents felt over the past year. She, unfortunately, could not share that feeling. Her parents had died a long time ago…at least that's what she was told.

Willa nodded. "Philby called them last night and we headed over there early this morning."

She gave Jess a hug and sat on the arm rest of the chair that Philby was sitting in. He put a hand on her thigh and offered her a smile—one that she returned.

Maybeck gave both sisters a hug, muttering "we'll find him Mandy," into Amanda's ear.

Charlene, on the other hand, wasn't so optimistic as the others.

She grasped onto Amanda as if letting go meant death. She didn't cry, but Amanda could tell she was holding them back with all her might.

"I hope Wayne has good news. I need some. We all do." Charlene sniffled and moved on to Jess.

Amanda felt confused. What could Charlene possibly be so upset about? She was back home. With her mother. With her fiancée. Amanda didn't have her mother or her husband, but she did have her house and a baby growing in her stomach.

Some people just get all the luck, I suppose.

Amanda sat back down on the couch when Wayne started bringing in plates of pancakes.

"Oh good! You're all here!" As usual, Wayne thought ahead of time and had made pancakes for all of them.

He handed a plate to Amanda and headed back in the kitchen. Willa followed him in there, offering to help pass out plates and silverware.

After everyone had their food, Wayne sat down in the recliner in the corner and started the conversation off with a positive note.

"I'm glad to see all of you back here."

Maybeck took one bite of his pancakes and his eyes went wide with delight. "Dang, Wayne! These things are so dang good!"

Wayne nodded. "Thank you Terry. Now I notice there is one of you missing. Someone want to explain why Mr. Whitman isn't with us today?"

Willa dared a look in Amanda's direction before starting at the beginning. Each keeper took a turn talking about their experiences before Finn had come and found them.

Willa talked about being "married" to Spencer and raising Lizzie on her own. Philby mentioned being a spy for the rebel army in London and having two brief relationships—one with a girl named Abigail and another with a Lauren. Willa didn't seem too happy about that but said nothing. Maybeck had been a cop and had eaten lots of donuts, which Amanda hadn't found surprising. Charlene had been accused of witchcraft and had been on the run. She claimed that had it not been for Finn, she would have been caught and had "the works done." Whatever that meant.

Amanda spat off her spiel about being queen of the 1st province and having a fake, dead husband named Finn. The others seemed surprised by this, but Wayne didn't.

Wayne hadn't seemed surprised by any of their stories until Jess'.

"And see Patrick would have come earlier, but we got in a train wreck—"

Wayne sat forward in his seat, putting his plate on the coffee table. "Describe this Patrick for me."

"He…uh…had brown hair…and brown eyes…but I think he was wearing contacts…because they didn't look natural. There was this…this weird tint to them. I guess if you had color changing contacts that happens."

Wayne looked ultimately concerned. "When did you meet him?"

"He worked at the school I taught at. He was a janitor…and a hot one too."

"What was his back story? Where was he from?"

"He said he had a wife that had died in the resistance. He also had a three-year old girl, Rose. She was so cute."

"Did she look like him at all?"

Jess seemed taken back by that question. "Uh…well she had blonde hair and blue eyes…so I'd say no. Patrick said she looked exactly like her mother."

"I'm sure she did," Wayne muttered. He exchanged a look with Wanda and she nodded. They obviously knew something none of the keepers knew.

Just like old times.

"So Wayne," Philby coughed. "What can we do about Finn?"

"Storey and Mattie went back and forth between worlds and obviously you did too," Willa began. "How can we do that? We need to go back to get him."

Wayne shook his head. "You cannot do that."

"Why not?" Charlene asked. She seemed way more into this conversation than usual. Amanda decided not to think much of it.

"Because the way has been destroyed. The talisman you received did that."

Everybody looked at Philby. He looked terrified, realizing the error of his ways. Amanda fought back tears. That stupid talisman is the reason they couldn't go find Finn, but it was also the reason that six of them—seven if you included Lizzie—made it back safely.

Amanda didn't know what to think. Things were getting too complex.

Maybeck spoke up, always the skeptic. "What do you mean it's been destroyed?"

"The link between this world and Malefient's was a two-way street. The result of a few years of magic and preparation on our behalf. Those of us who weren't under the curse could come to her world and leave without having to be under the curse. And as we know, all magic comes with a price. That talisman's price was destroying the way back to this world."

"So we can't go to Finn, Finn has to come…to us?"

"There must be something we can do!" Jess protested. "I refuse to believe we just have to wait for the idiot to figure out how to get home." Jess turned to Amanda, offering a sympathetic look. "No offense, sis."

"None taken," Amanda mumbled.

"I'm sorry," Wayne apologized. "I wish I was here to give good news. Finn has to find his own way home."

"But there must be something we can do! Maybe we can get a message to him somehow!" Willa said enthusiastically.

"What about repairing the way back to the other world?" Philby offered. "You can do that again, right? Maybe with more help we could do it faster."

"Finn helped us get our memories back," Charlene added. "We have to do something to help him."

"He can't save our butts all the time." Maybeck concluded. "It's our turn to save his, Wayne."

Amanda glanced at Wayne and their eyes connected. She saw the same sadness in his eyes that she saw in the mirror this morning. There wasn't any way they could save him, he just didn't have the heart to say it aloud. He had been implying it throughout the entirety of the conversation.

Amanda let the floodgates open and the tears streamed down her cheeks. She wiped the first few away, but stopped when she realized it was doing no good.

Jess put a hand on her shoulder. "There's got to be something we can do, Wayne. Please."

He let out a frustrated breath and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Please, Wayne. Let us try something. Something is better than nothing."

"And hey, we might just be able to help out." Maybeck added. "We've got dumb luck like that."

Wayne looked long and hard at each keeper, studying them. He let out a shaky breath and sat back in his chair. He looked like a king who had just ordered an unfavorable war. The sadness in his eyes painted the picture perfectly.

"Willa and I could research Disney. Maybe there is something in the archives that could tell us something." Philby suggested.

Maybeck picked up on his trail. "Charlene and I could search the park for clues. We could ask characters about possible links to the other world."

Jess nodded, a smile growing on her face. "I could search through my dream journal. There have been a bunch of random ones of the past few years. I always assumed they were duds since we thought the OT's were gone, but now that we know they aren't—"

"We'll have to get our jobs back," Willa added sadly.

"And I'll have to get a house or apartment," Charlene sneered at the floor.

"And we'll have to deal with press. They'll want to know what happened to us for a year," Maybeck added.

"We've come up with a few good alibis," Wanda added, the smile plastered on her face made Amanda seem foolish for crying.

"I can help with the press," Amanda said just loud enough for everybody to hear here.

Wanda nodded. "Keeping busy keeps your mind off of things. I think this plan would be very good for all of us."

"I'll talk to your employers about getting you back in the field. Charlene and Maybeck, I hear you have a wedding to plan."

"Well, we didn't want to have it without Finn," Charlene looked almost guilty.

"Planning the wedding would keep our minds off of things," Wayne reminded. "We will have Finn back before then."

Amanda didn't want to think this way, but she had a feeling that he wouldn't be there to see their wedding or his child. Amanda swallowed the lump in her throat, hoping the bad thoughts would go with it.

"We'll get him back, Amanda." Philby said, giving her a smile so bright. "We're all in this together."

Finn felt warmth. For the first time in what seemed like forever he blinked his eyes. At first, he saw nothing, but then he blinked again and a fireplace appeared to his right. It had appeared almost like magic.

Slowly but surely he began to gain feeling in his fingers and toes. It took a minute or two, but he finally un-froze completely, collapsing on the floor.

He pulled himself toward the fire by his arms. The fireplace gave off warmth and Finn was so, so cold. He craved the warmth.

He got into a sitting position with a lot of difficulty, placing his back to the fire. Every muscle in his body ached. His head was swimming with all kinds of questions, causing him to feel a little bit disoriented. All Finn heard was his heavy breathing and the cracks from the fire. He scanned the room he was in.

It was a small underground room. The use of rocks and dirt to make the walls and the wooden beams holding them in place made the underground part a dead giveaway. Beside the fire, the room was ice-cold. He couldn't see a door, but he assumed there was one in the shadows, on the far side of the room. The shadows made it hard to see how long the room actually was.

The last thing he remembered, he was frozen by Elsa, who was under a curse given to her by Hans, who got it from Maleficent, who got the idea from a dream of his over two years ago. And if that wasn't confusing enough, Finn was now in some random underground room with no idea of where he was, when it was, or which world he was in.

From the shadows came a dry cackle that made his now warm body freeze all over again. He knew that cackle. It belonged to one person.

"Maleficent," Finn muttered under his breath. He gathered his courage and raised his voice. "Show yourself."

Sure enough, out of the shadows stepped the evil fairy. She was back in her traditional attire: black dress and cape with purple trimmings. Her green skin looked even more sickly in the light of the fire. Her horns cast creepy, crooked rabbit shadows on the floor behind her.

"Finn Whitman, it's been a long time."

Finn crossed his arms. "Where am I?"

"That's not important."

"Then what is, Maleficent? Why are you watching me right now?"

"Because it is time for you to join the world again. As much as it would be to my enjoyment, I cannot have you frozen for the rest of eternity. You serve an unfortunate purpose."

"How long was I frozen?"

She smirked, which gave Finn the impression it had been a long time.

"You thought you had won. But oh, dear, lost savior, how you were wrong."

She laughed maniacally for a few brief seconds before disappearing in a column of green smoke.

The green smoke illuminated the room fully long enough for him to see the door. He stood up and hurried over to it, despite the pain. To his surprise, it was unlocked.

He closed the door as quietly as he could, noticing something taped to it. He ripped it off and immediately noticed it as a calendar.

The picture on top of the monthly calendar was of Maleficent. Go figure, Finn thought to himself. He glanced down to the calendar and saw one date circled—the 29th. Every day before that had been crossed out. The 29th had a big star on it.

His gaze moved to the side of the paper, where the month was displayed.

It said July.

He ripped the calendar off of the door and stared at it some more. He didn't know what year it was, but the last day he remembered was December 4, 2358. He had been frozen for seven months. He dropped the calendar in shock.

Seven months. Just like that.

Gone.

Duh...duh...DUH! Talk about intense. Please review! I don't have a lot to do, so I'd love to read reviews! Even if they're just one word! Or blank...is that even possible?

I have one quick question I'd like everybody who's going to review to answer. Without Finn back in the real world, who do you think is going to take charge in the group? Somebody's got to be the leader, right? I want to see what y'all think. Whoever gets the most votes in the reviews will be the main leader in the next upcoming chapters and have a huge role-which I can't tell you, obviously ;)

Anyway, so please review! Have a wonderful day. Those of you stuck in snowpocalypse (like me), be safe and enjoy all the snow! I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible! :)