Chapter 13: The Aftermath
Back over at the Big Thunder Mountain attraction, Kida breathed heavily as she was still healing Grace with everything she had in that blue crystal. Part of her wanted to sacrifice a limited number of her strength and offer it to this fallen comrade who deserved nothing more but to walk again. Grace had still been breathing, even while Kida was at work.
I'm not dying, I'm just too hurt to move, and that's all. Grace thought both worriedly and sadly, feeling Kida's hands. Please let me be alright. I won't believe that this is the end. I just won't. Her eyes remained closed as she thought of these words. She wanted to move, but part of the searing pain still remained, preventing any movement. All this injury made her feel so tired, that it almost made her want to sleep.
The two characters did not notice Mickey race down next to them until Kida heard his breathing. His face was rather pale from the long run from Fantasy Land. He was out of breath and looked exhausted by the time he caught up to them. But as long as Kida felt him close by their side, it didn't matter. Yet another part of her wished that he didn't have to see the pain that Grace might be going through inside.
Mickey watched with sadness in his eyes. It pained him deeply to see any member of his family possibly beyond all help in this condition, no matter what movie title they come from. Please be alright. Mickey pleaded in his mind.
Suddenly there was a sound of rumbling footsteps and thousands of whispering from outside of the attraction. Thousands of Disney characters, curious to wonder where Mickey wandered off to, had recently followed him all the way to Frontier Land. They stopped, frozen with shock at the sight of Mickey standing beside a fallen comrade, struggling with survival. Minnie dashed off to call the Toon Town Ambulance.
Mickey dared not utter a single word, knowing he could do nothing but watch and hope that sweet Grace would wake up soon. A lump formed in his throat as he fought to keep any tears from spilling. Mickey secretly vowed that once she woke up, he'd make sure that she and the rest of the Forgotten Five would be remembered as the heroes who returned to save this Magic Kingdom from being taken over by the villains.
Then the glowing blue light faded, leaving Kida exhausted from all that healing power concentration. She breathed deeply, gently touching the sweet bovine's face. It felt rather cool. Kida shook her head shockingly. It couldn't have failed. Her powers never failed…not like this; unless the coldness was only from her tired fingers. She stared up at Mickey with a heavy heart. With tears in his eyes, Mickey buried his face in his hands in disbelief. This had to be a bad dream. If only he could have done something sooner to prevent this giant battle from ever happening. Not only that, but he wished that he could have been there for the Forgotten Five a lot sooner when Michael neglected and never bothered with them. Now it was too late. The last time he felt completely sad about losing someone was the day when his father, Walt Disney passed away, and the world mourned his death. Kida could only lower her head down in shame, wishing she could have been stronger enough to save this innocent life. The other Disney characters who had been watching, shared this moment of grief altogether. Even for characters like Alice, Merlin, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, Taran, Basil of Baker Street, and all the rest, staring down at the scene below reminded them of how they were once treated as if nobody loved them. It had given them the feeling of being broken and shattered in spiritual pieces, beyond repair. They couldn't help but stare down in understanding.
Mickey then turned his tearstained face to his left hand, still glittering with whatever golden glow remained inside of him. He wondered if it was possible to…
An idea suddenly came to Mickey he placed both hands on Grace's ribs, closing his eyes in concentration. Kida stared in concern, wondering what was going on. The audience stared in awe at the sight of her broken body glowing with a golden light that went on for several seconds. Then it faded away.
Suddenly, their prayers were answered when Grace starting coughing, fluttering her eyes while moving her head slowly and gently. She groaned like a child refusing to get up and go to school. Kida and Mickey watched in amazement. Mickey smiled through his tears. Kida smiled to find that perhaps her powers were enough to help Grace hold on. But just in case, she touched Grace on the cheek again, now warm. Grace was finally able to open her eyes halfway and stare up at Mickey, blinking repeatedly to make sure she wasn't dead. The crowd of characters burst into cheerful applause to see that a member of their family was not lost as they feared. To them and to Mickey, losing a family member in the Disney Studios was just as emotional and painful as a real human being mourning over the death of a loved one. Everyone had gathered and arrived as their way of showing that no one should ever be alone; especially in dark times like this.
"Let us through, let us through, excuse us please!" an anxious voice pleaded, trying to get through the crowd of characters.
"Mrs. Calloway?" Grace muttered weakly, rising up halfway on her front two legs. "Maggie…where are you guys?" Her back legs were apparently still in pain from the fall, so Grace didn't want to hurt herself any further by moving so fast. It was hard to hear her friends' voices among the cheering crowd from outside. "What happened, did we win already?"
"Don't worry, we won," Mickey answered.
The anxious voice belonging to Mrs. Calloway, had climbed her way down, followed by Maggie, Buck, Lucky Jack, Jim Hawkins, Milo Thatch, Kuzco (in llama form), Kenai and Koda. Maggie and Mrs. C got to her first.
"Grace, we were afraid we lost you!" Maggie cried. "I mean that hit you took was mighty intense!"
"Tell us Grace, does it still hurt all over?" Mrs. C asked in a worried tone.
"Maybe…a little bit, but at least I'm alive," Grace admitted. "…thanks to her." She pointed her head to Kida. "…and to Mickey."
Both characters had smiled as the Forgotten Five gathered around, hoping that thanking Mickey for standing up for them would be enough to show that they are not useless in any way. Each of them wanted to pour out their feelings to Mickey instead of keeping it all a secret like they did since the start of the Save Disney War. Since there were no administrators around here or Michael Eisner, perhaps it was now safe to talk about it in front of the other classic characters watching.
"Hey Mickey, if it's alright with you…we…" Kuzco felt rather awkward, unsure of finding the right words to say. "…we uh…hope you and your friends wouldn't mind us sticking around here a little while to help clean up…you know until this whole saving-the-company thing is over with. What I mean is…"
"…we're grateful for what you did for us," Milo interrupted, helping a tired Kida on her feet, her arm wrapped around his neck. "But what's going to happen when the public finds out what happened? How do we explain the office incident to anyone?"
"What are you all saying?" Mickey asked uneasily.
The Forgotten Five was silent for a moment, feeling more awkward and shameful of what one of them was about to blurt out. Then Kenai mentioned it. "For the good of this company, it might be best if we stay in our own world afterward…away from everybody. Not forever we mean, just…just until the end of the real war."
Mickey was flabbergasted. "What, and miss out on everything you guys never gave a chance to see. I could care less if Michael is still in office. I can take care of everything, but you won't have to hide from anybody ever again."
"But how can we…?" Jim was about to say something else before Mickey interrupted.
"I know how you all feel about Michael," Mickey replied rather emotionally. "You have every right to be upset at him for what he did. We all do. And Jim was right back over there. Rather than think of taking matters into your own hands, you should have just come to me. Whether you were truly thinking about it or not, vengeance is never the answer to your problems. I could've helped if you gave me a chance."
"We're sorry Mickey," Milo confessed, keeping a firm hold on Kida. "It's not that we don't appreciate what you did for us, we really do. And we thank you and everybody for standing up. Even the fans were a good impression. But the entire public out there…we're not so sure about them." He was referring to the rest of society; uncertain if the humans would accept them that easily, even after this battle.
Mickey's lip quivered, heaving a sigh of sadness. "When I heard that a part of my family had been banished, I felt emptiness inside my heart that became unfulfilled. At first I thought me and the rest of our remaining members could still handle the dark forces, despite the emptiness. But once the villains started overpowering us, I then realized that we couldn't do it without EVERYBODY to put a stop to it. I was about to lose hope that I would ever see my missing family again…until Kida showed up to restore my strength. My confidence had returned, filling the emptiness the moment I saw you guys had come back. Without you, we might have all fallen down at the mercy of Maleficent…or worse." His eyes grew teary. "You can think what you want about the public, but hear me out. All of us here at the Magic Kingdom have been through both good times and bad times. But through it all, we have all found love, hope, and friends who always stood by when things got tough. Each of our films from past to present, success or failure, has built up on what our company stands for; even your own films."
The Forgotten Five stared at him in a rather stunned, emotional manner. For the first time in their lives, those last words from Mickey had touched their hearts in a way they never felt before. But Mickey sucked up his tears, not yet finished.
"Don't you understand that each of your films can carry an important message to anybody out there? It doesn't matter how much money or popularity you achieve at the movie theatres, what matters is how the message can change at least one or more viewers' lives one way or another. That's what everybody's films here have been made for. This company has been about opening doors to new worlds and new ideas. Even underrated films have a purpose for being here, and that's to make as many families as happy as they can. So how would those folks know about you if you kept yourselves isolated in the dark? If there is even one family out there who loves you and will watch your adventures, you would show yourself just for them. That's what I would do. The adventures and lessons you guys have shared together in those films aren't just your own, they are lessons in everyday life that people can relate to." He had a short pause, sniffling. "So you might never know if you helped to open a wonderful door for someone out in the real world."
It was then that the Forgotten Five grew more touched with everything Mickey mentioned, understanding how right he was. Kuzco's eyes grew blurry, bursting into tears emotionally. Morph, B.E.N., Mole, Cookie, Koda, Buck, and Lucky Jack soon followed him, as did most of the other classic Disney family members from above who had been watching and listening this whole time. Even the cows were touched by this, unable to utter a single word of protest. Not this time. Now that someone like Mickey Mouse had said something kind to them, they never thought about true family entertainment like that before; about what it means to be yourself and be there for the one family that cares. Maybe there would be no reason to hide themselves if more than one person might be waiting for them out there.
"He's right!" Kuzco wailed. "What were we thinking all this time?"
"Now don't go on blaming yourselves for this mess," Mickey said. "Maleficent just has a way of taking advantage of everyone's feelings and using it against us. But believe it or not, this isn't the first time she's tried to take over things. And I have a feeling it won't be the last we see of her."
Grace stared down at the ground between her front legs, silent the whole time Mickey had been talking. Tears were sliding down her face as she thought about the entire idea of being loved by at least a dozen people instead of not being loved by anybody at all.
"You mean…she might come back at anytime?" Grace asked in a worried tone.
"Don't worry about that," Mickey assured her. "She won't be back tonight. Those villains may be scary and powerful, but as long as we're all together, they won't stand a chance."
If what Mickey said was true, maybe it wouldn't hurt just this once to see for themselves if there are folks who still care. Then they wouldn't have to hide anymore.
"The point is that I love you guys, no matter who you are or how much money you earned," Mickey finished. "You never let me down before. I'm proud of you for making as many people happy as my father Walt always use to do."
The crowd of characters burst into wild cheers. Everyone was about to rush forward to carry them all the way through the park until the echo of sirens sounded in the distance. The characters turned around to see five toon ambulances arrive labeled Toon Town Hospital on both sides of the vans. Minnie jumped out from one of the vans, pointing the way to the railroad attraction ride. However, she was both shocked and relieved to find that sweet Grace was alive and standing, if not entirely. Still it would best to send the toon doctors down there and see how well she could move.
The rest of the vans drove around searching the parks for any more injured characters that might be lying somewhere. One van stayed behind in Frontier Land to check on Grace. When the doctors asked if she was able to stand on all fours, Grace stood on all of them for a second before they wobbled, causing her to lose balance and fall. So the doctors had to help her onto a hospital bed gently and carefully pull her out from the attraction ride to where the van awaited. Maggie, Mrs. C and the rest of her friends were allowed to come along for the ride just to be with her.
"Oh Mickey, Walt would be proud of you," Minnie said, kissing him.
"Thanks Minnie, I know he would," Mickey replied as the two embraced.
AN: I was listening to two songs from Pete's Dragon while writing this chapter, It's Not Easy and Candle on the Water. This story is almost done, so the next chapter will be the celebration. And I'll even add an epilogue or two at the very end. As Pete mentioned, it's not easy to find someone who cares. But you may never know who you find. I miss the good old days when Disney movies were something for the entire family to enjoy, but at least there are still good animated movies out there, Disney or non-Disney. What I had Mickey mention is the truth of what the Disney films are about as my old friend Yensid365 mentioned before. So I will credit her once again for helping me here with the idea before. Stay tuned for the next chapter.