"All right! Let's get started here. First, we'll need to find out what it is and where it's from. Well, what ride it was originally from, that is."
The Doctor and the Ponds were standing next to the Carousel in Fantasyland. River and Amy had changed out of the princess dresses, and Rory had gotten rid of his hook. The Doctor, however, was still in full pirate costume.
"Sweetie, do you really need to wear that? Or is your normal outfit not ridiculous enough for you anymore?" River quipped.
"River! I'm a pirate, and pirates are cool! Besides, it's not even conspicuous since other people are wearing them too!"
River rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Not the adults..."
"Anyway, so we need to find information on the rest of the rides. Rory, does that guidebook say anything about any rides with aliens?"
Rory flipped through the pages. "No... Wait... Here's one. Stitch's Great Escape... Do you think that's it?"
Amy looked over his shoulder to the book. "No, that can't be right. I've seen the movie Lilo and Stitch, and Stitch can't do any of the stuff that other thing just did with perception filters and stuff... And he doesn't really look anything like the thing we saw either."
"Maybe it's something from an older ride? One that hasn't been in the park for a while... Or maybe it's from a ride in one of the other parks?" River suggested.
The Doctor shook his head. "Perhaps, but because it's in the Magic Kingdom right now, I think we should just keep the search here for now. If we could get ahold of an old guide book..."
At that moment, a brunet teenage girl walked by, reading and walking. However, the Doctor caught sight of the title of the book in her hands: Birnbaum's 2001 Walt Disney World: Expert Advice from the Inside Source (the official guide).
"Like that!" the Doctor exclaimed happily as he rushed over to the girl. He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Hello! Would you mind telling me if there's anything in that book about rides with aliens?"
The girl looked slightly taken aback but nodded and answered, "Yeah, but it's not here anymore. The ride closed at the end of 2002 or 2003. I mean, there's still Stitch's Great Escape, but there used to be another alien ride (well, it wasn't a ride, it was really a show) in the same building. It was called The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. They had to close it though because apparently it was just too scary, and there was this live video part at the beginning that had an actor in it who got into a lot of trouble for something, so Disney didn't want to have the ride anymore. Basically, it was the same as the Stitch show is now, just with a really nasty, hostile, homicidal alien."
"Wow, she..." River gestured at the girl. "...rambles as much as he does!" She gestured at the Doctor.
"Hostile and homicidal? What could they have possibly had it do that they were permitted to have this ride, but it was still that scary?" the Doctor asked.
"Well, here this is what the show was." The girl handed the book to the Doctor. The passage read as follows:
"The premise is this: The Convention Center is hosting X-S Tech, a mysterious company from a distant planet. X-S Tech's objective is to impress earthlings with its high-tech products... Guests are shown to a circular auditorium with a large teleporter in the center. Screens around the theater display a live transmission from their planet. Restraints are suddenly lowered onto guests' shoulders. Just then, O-S Tech's Chairman Clench volunteers to be teleported to the Magic Kingdom.
Special effects abound as guests await the arrival of Chairman Clench. But something goes wrong, and an angry alien is transported into the audience as the theater goes black. Next comes a series of creepy sensations designed to convince everyone that the monster has found its way to the their side. And, no, you are not imagining it-something really is breathing down your neck."
The Doctor closed the book and looked at the girl. "Did you ever ride the ride... You look old enough to have ridden it while it was still here..."
"No, I never rode it, but I know people who did. They said that it really did feel like something was breathing down your neck or licking you, and even in one part, apparently the alien "kills" a worker who tries to fix the lights, and his blood runs out of the ceiling. Really creepy stuff, and I've seen pictures of the alien. It was really freaky looking too."
"What did it look like? Tell me as much as you can remember!"
"Uhh, okay... Um, it was kind of like a dragon? It had wings, and claws, and its body was segmented kind of like an insect's. I think it had red glowing eyes too. If you don't mind my asking, why do you care so much?"
"OH! Um, well, you see... My friends were looking for a ride that may be a bit more frightening than many of the ones we've ridden so far... And we heard about a scary alien ride and wanted to ride it!"
"Well, I'm sorry, mister, but you're about nine years too late!"
"That's quite alright... where is the Stitch ride, by the way?"
The girl made a face. "It's across from the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland, close to the walkway to the Central Plaza in front of the Castle. But really, you don't want to ride it. It's really lame, and it smells bad."
"Oh, well... alright. Thank you! Oh, here's your book, and I didn't catch your name..."
"Katherine."
"Well, thank you very much, Katherine." The Doctor handed Katherine her book and walked back over to the three Ponds.
"We have a description and location for our alien. Let's go."
Short chapter, I know, but it's still important.
Bonus points to anyone who knows or can guess who Katherine is. :)
Here's a link to a website with a story on scary rides and attractions in Disney parks around the world. www*inside the magic*dot*net /2011/10 from-halloween-to- alien-encounter-disney-themeparks -vary-scares-worldwide -as-cultures-collide
Just take out the spaces and stars (and replace the "dot" with a "."). It has a picture of the alien, but you have to scroll down a bit to get to it.
As always, reviews are appreciated and encouraged, and suggestions are welcome.