Chapter 5: The Ultimate Nightmare
"Kenai, where are we?" Koda said nervously, staying close to Kenai. "This isn't how I remember Main Street at all. What's happened here?"
"I don't know, but stay close," Kenai whispered as he and Koda were walking down the streets toward Cinderella's castle. "This is just odd. If this is Disneyland, I wonder how long it's been since we went into hibernation. This couldn't have just happened recently. Or could it?"
Koda only shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. Why don't we go see if Mickey is at his house? He's gotta be there."
"Alright," Kenai agreed. "Mickey's house it is."
The curious and confused bears kept going while staring at a few of the buildings now nothing more than moss covered, signboard swinging, old age structures that were wasting away every minute; more like this park has been abandoned for ages. But what could have caused this? And where did all the toons go? They needed to find answers urgently. But they wouldn't know unless they entered Toon Town. Of course, neither of them was aware of a dark shadow passing and stalking them silently from building to building.
When they finally passed through the castle into Fantasy Land, a shocking surprise awaited there as well. The paintings and pictures off Snow White's Scary Adventures, Peter Pan's Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Adventure, and The Mad Hatter Teacups were scrapped, torn, and vandalized in a sorry sight unbearable for any human or toon to gaze upon. Kenai and Koda stood back in a dreadful pause.
"Kenai, the rides, they're completely…completely…" Koda couldn't say what he saw.
"…destroyed," Kenai finished, staring wide eyed at the destruction. Somehow he was starting to feel a sensation of fear and anger to wonder who would ever have the guts to do this to a wonderful, glorious attraction. "Come on Koda, I don't know how this happened but we have to find Mickey." Then he dashed off.
"Hey Kenai wait up!" Koda called, darting after him.
Onward they went running in every direction only to find all the rides and attractions in Fantasy Land from Cinderella's Golden Carrousel to It's a Small World deserted, torn and damaged heartbreakingly. "MICKEY! MICKEY!" They both called out in panic to each character's name. "DONALD, GOOFY, PLUTO, RUTT, TUKE, WHERE ARE YOU?" They shouted until they were hoarse. There was not an echo in answer amongst the ruins of the once glorious park. It was as if the characters that had once roamed this park had suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth, taking the happiness, magic, love, and all beautiful things with them.
"What do we do now?" Koda asked in despair, walking back to Kenai. "Everyone couldn't have disappeared…or moved away. It can't be true. Then why are we still here?"
"I don't know," Kenai shook his head sadly, comforting Koda as he felt him cry.
This moment was interrupted by the swift wind blowing behind them harshly and hung on tight to each other for protection. Their eyes were shut tight as it blew more violently and lasted for thirty seconds. And the moment the two bears opened their eyes, the park had completely disappeared. The buildings, rides, attractions, everything was gone. And now they were surrounded by total darkness.
To make matters worse, Kenai and Koda were apparently not the only ones to be trapped in some mysterious nightmare without an explanation. It started happening to the others who felt left out and forgotten. Jim Hawkins had found himself dashing through a ruined Tomorrow Land in a dreadful panic, wondering what happened to the park and where everyone else had gone.
"MOM, SILVER, DOPPLER, AMELIA!" he hollered at the top of his lungs. "MICKEY!" There was no answer, but that didn't stop him from leaving Tomorrow Land as he starting running in order to get to Mickey's house without stopping, despite the ache ness in his legs. Please someone tell me this didn't happen because of me. He pleaded in his mind as he panted. But as soon as Jim reached the opening of Toon Town, he collapsed on his knees, unable to run any longer. Panting heavily, Jim took a few minutes to catch his breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. How could all this have happened? "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" He hollered as loud as he could.
"Well look whose come crawling back!" A wicked voice jeered from somewhere.
Jim nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice. "Who said that? C'mon show yourself!"
"Fool, why have you come back when no one wants you around?" the voice felt venomous like a spider.
"Scroop, is that you? I said show yourself!" Jim stood defiant. "I'm not afraid of anything you say about me!"
"Everyone says you're a loser Jim," the voice sliced through. "They expected you to be big and important, but a rebellious brat isn't nearly as remarkable as the rest of your little family of other popular heroes. All he's good for is making his mother cry."
Jim was steamed, yet he fought to keep tears of grief from showing. "I'm aware of my own flaws. And I have regrets. But who else doesn't make mistakes in their life!"
"Don't you see Jim? The real mistake is YOU! You can never gain the respect you desire, even if you wanted to. Who'd want a rebellious boy for a role model?"
Jim clutched his head, tears growing. "No, no that isn't true. I don't think only of myself, I…"
Then the voice snarled in loathing. "Selfish, insolent and pathetic worm you are!" Jim buckled and fell back on his knees. These words cut through like a knife. The voice continued mercilessly. "You were never meant to be honored from the beginning. The boss only used you to bring money for himself and never wanted to love you like a real son. And afterward, every lovable character faded out of existence!"
"NOOOOO!" Jim screamed in horror. Was it true that Mickey and all the other characters had disappeared for good? Was that why the whole park was now standing as abandoned and forgotten? Was he just part of some man's greed to take money from honest people and be tricked into thinking that anyone would care about him? As he cowered in grief, Jim failed to notice the park disappear completely and didn't realize he was surrounded in complete darkness until he opened his eyes. Next thing Jim knew, he was trembling with utter rage.
In Adventure Land, the three cows Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway had found themselves transported here mysteriously and were just as shocked at the dreadful condition this area was in. They too had called out for the other character's names and heard nothing. The park seemed deserted for many centuries like a long forgotten city.
"Is it me or has this place aged beyond every century?" Maggie muttered, gazing at the wreckage of the Swiss Family Tree house now broken and battered. "I can't believe what I'm seeing. This can't be the Adventure Land from what it used to be. Somebody get me a calendar."
"Where, in the abandoned gift shop?" Mrs. C spoke sarcastically. "The only thing we'd find there is nothing…nothing but dusty cobwebs and empty shelves."
"But how would a most sensational and wondrous park like Disney Land suddenly turn from happiness to a gloomy abandonment?" Grace said worriedly. "Did something happen while we were away?"
"No," Mrs. C responded, stepping toward the wreckage of The Enchanted Tiki Room where sticks and mechanical tropical birds laid around in bad condition. "This couldn't have happened overnight. What do I make of it? I'm not so sure." Then she inspected the Tiki statues and noticed torn off parts and hacked areas." But it almost looks as if the park was attacked and overrun by who-knows-what." She shook her head dismally, secretly hoping that she was wrong.
"Attacked!" Maggie was stunned and rushed to stare at what Mrs. Calloway was talking about. "But what kind o' varmint would wanna lay waste to a good ol' family park? This is an outrage!"
"Indeed it is," Mrs. C agreed. "But let's head over to Frontier Land. There may be a clue to find the answers."
"Alright, let's go."
Maggie and Mrs. C started a few steps away from the Enchanted Tiki Room, but then looked back to see that Grace was still standing in front of the place in disbelief and sorrow.
"Poor innocent birds," Grace moaned, staring at the broken mechanical birds. "Since when have they done anything to deserve this?"
"Come along Grace!" shouted Mrs. C. "There's nothing we can do for this place now."
"Coming Mrs. C," Grace sighed as she turned to follow her friends to find the path leading to Frontier Land.
Everywhere in Adventure Land, the girls passed through the ruins of the Jungle Cruise ride where the river had dried up completely leaving no drop of water. The robotic hippos and elephants no longer operated and stood lifeless. Caribbean Plaza still stood, but was covered in moss.
And once they had entered through Pirates of the Caribbean, the girls stopped in their tracks when the eerie sound of hissing and growling echoed behind. Whirling around, the pirates had come to life and the girls watched in horror as the grinding, animatronics began stalking toward them, sending the girls back into a corner. The skull-and-crossbones on the wall stared at them in the eye and moaned, "Dead men tell no tales!"
"Dead men…you mean these guys?" Maggie whimpered, cringing at both the sudden movement of the skull on the wall and the pirates with their swords pointed at the girls. "Anyone got an idea outta this?"
"How about you sit on all of them," Mrs. C suggested, shivering behind Grace. "That might help."
"Ha ha, very funny," was all Maggie could think of. She was too frightened to be offended by the remark.
"Surrender yourselves yah scurvy bovine!" one pirate threatened. "We ain't got a place for vermin like you. So be gone with yah; unless ye want your heads rollin'."
"Alright you heard what he said girls," Maggie said in a frightened tone. "Let's get on outta here on the double."
"Wait a minute," Grace interrupted, once scared and then thought of something. "Perhaps…perhaps these guys can be reasoned with."
"Grace no!" Mrs. C protested. "Don't do it!"
But Grace was already moving cautiously and slowly toward the angry pirates, despite the fact that they were still holding their swords. She was still a bit scared, but this had to work. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway remained still against the wall wondering what Grace was up to.
"Boys, boys, violence ain't any way to solve anything," Grace said firmly, staring at the pirates with a serious expression. "We mean you no harm. We come here in peace. You don't really wanna kill us do you?" The pirates stopped moving and gazed at her with curiosity and puzzlement. "Just take a deep breath, let it out, put down your swords, and we'll settle whatever is making you all angry. What do you say?" She gave a nervous grin.
The pirates stared at each other for a few seconds. And once they turned back to the cows, their hateful expressions worsened. Grace stared at them in alarm and backed away as the pirates got closer to her in utter fury. Soon one of them had his sword pointed at her throat.
"HA HA, nice try there. But no kind words to us will save your souls. We're here to finish off whatever's a disgrace to this once-glorious company. Now it stands seeped in dark decay!"
Backed against the wall, Grace swallowed in fear, feeling the sharp tip of the sword ready to pierce any minute. "You probably hate cows then."
"SILENCE! Ye don't belong here anyway. Ye never did. Even the boss who once owned this place never cared bout ye. He himself claimed our only motive is to make money…nothin' special. Your disgrace n' stupidity couldn't even save the animation department from shutting down. If you never existed, the characters would still be alive today. Take a look over there."
With those words pierced into the hearts of the frightened girls, they turned their heads to the left to see a sixty acre graveyard of tombstones with character's names. It couldn't be real…but it was.
"No, it can't be!" Maggie shouted.
"How could this have happened?" Grace whimpered.
"Everyone died ye brainless halfwits!" The pirate snapped. "Honestly, what would a bunch o' stupid bovines know bout true magic?"
"What's that supposed to mean BUB?" Maggie asked furiously.
"None of us knows why the executives thought you weren't good enough. The boss only wanted ye outta the way so he could finally do things his own way. He believed that if characters today no longer lived up to the expectations o' bigger Disney heroes, then why bother with ye? What are cows like you good for? Nothing…except to be eaten, skinned, and especially neglected like useless objects. Now everyone who hates ye will be pointin' their accusin' fingers, and tauntin' ye with endless verbs! And soon enough, you'll meet an untimely demise."
The girls froze silently, battered and broken on the inside from someone saying this to their faces. Right now Grace could feel tears preparing to come out of her eyes, and couldn't stop them as they rolled down. This was all too much for her to handle. The girls had thought before that they were never any good to Michael Eisner or any genius director, but they didn't think that someone would say it to their face anytime soon. Why couldn't they see it coming? Their spirits were broken. Maybe the pirate was right. What was the point in pretending to be heroes now?
"FINISH'EM OFF!"
At that command, the pirates surrounded the girls and raised their swords in the air for a strike.
"NO!" Grace begged, cowering on the floor next to her friends.
Rather than be sliced by the heaving swords, the mechanical pirates suddenly disappeared along with the entire Adventure Land Park. And the frightened cows stopped cowering once they opened their eyes to find that nothing but complete darkness encircled everything. Great, now it looks like they might have faded out of existence and cast off into a forgotten realm of misery…if that's what this place was.
Meanwhile in her lair, Maleficent watched the unsuspecting lesser heroes from her staff. Chernabog, from his mountain top, reached his hand out, and his shadow covered her, granting Maleficent his dark powers.
"So, I guess this is how it was meant to be for us," Maggie whispered drearily. "Alone, forgotten, and abandoned…in the dark." A painful lump formed in her throat. Why couldn't they have been humans instead of cows? Would people have accepted them then?
"It doesn't have to be this way you know."
The girls jumped at the sound of a mysterious dark voice somewhere in the dark. But none of them saw anything.
"What are you?" Mrs. C demanded, ready to defend her friends, although the voice sent chills down their spines.
"Have no fear; I'm not here to harm you. I'm just here to warn you. What you have seen before you…was only an illusion. In other words, just a vision of what might pass…in the future. But don't blame yourselves; nobody seems to understand that it's not your fault. There is a way to stop this tragedy from happening." The girls paused before answering. "Think back to it. Who neglected to take care of you in the first place, denying you the love and respect you truly deserved, but never got from anyone? And who was never there to stand up for you when everyone pointed out your flaws? But most of all, who brought upon death and destruction to the most beloved park in America?"
The girls thought about what she said for a moment, then shouted altogether. "MICHAEL!"
"Unless the real cause is stopped, you and all that lies in the Magic Kingdom will cease to exist! And mortals will stop believing. NOW GO GET HIM!"
Within a matter of minutes, each of the five lesser known heroes woke up in their own world with burning anger in their eyes. All of their minds were focused on one thing alone; GET EISNER!!
AN: Sorry this took so long to update. Not only did I have a few problems with my stupid computer, but I've been also starting work on a few short cartoons in production. I will keep my computer hours to evenings each day, depending on how busy I am with housework and preparing for a Halloween party. I'd like to give credit to Yensid365 for helping me with advice, hints and tips. And on her advice, I did my best not to make it sound like the villains referring to the characters as box-office failures too much, but to dress them down as losers. I hope I did just that, and I hope I'm doing alright at keeping everyone in character. If not, let me know.