Chapter Twenty Two
The Things We Do For Our Friends
Dodger stared at the ashes, refusing to believe that I was dead, the others though, had easily drawn that conclusion. Mickey walked up and turned towards him, "Sir" he said, "It's time for you to go" Dodger looked at him with a confused look, "What?" Then it hit him, "A-a-are you kicking me out?" Mickey nodded, "You don't belong here" Dodger was close to knocking Mickey's teeth out, but he held his ground, "You're kidding right?" he was yelling so loud now that his voice began to hurt, "We just saved your asses!" He barred his teeth, but it did little no effect to scare of rouse the mouse up, "On top of that" Dodger added, calming down a bit, "Someone died today"
But even Mickey it seems has a heart that is as cold as stone, for he had The Outcasts thrown out of the building and for the second time, they were forever banned from entering it. Lefou looked at the others, "What can we do now?" he asked, no answer was given, "What we always do" Esmeralda answered, "Survive"
Soon they were all at the back lot as the night fell. Dodger was lying on top of the garbage looking up at the sky, wondering if I was looking at the same stars he was. He refused to believe that I was dead, even if the others accepted it, Dodger never gave up on me. "I'm coming buddy" he said to no one in particular as he rolled over on the makeshift bed.
Standing up and seeing that everyone else was asleep, Dodger had half a mind to set out on his own, even though he knew that finding me alone would be a long shot. Oliver woke from his light sleep and noticed that he was pacing the ground, thinking about what to do. Dodger never paced, and he never thought anything through. "What are you doing?" he asked, Dodger looked up, there was pain in his eyes, "I'm thinking...thinking that somehow he's alive" Oliver rolled his eyes, "Come on Dodge, we saw the ashes. Iago's death was confirmed" Dodger then stared at Oliver, "How many times has a Disney character died and not shown up minutes later?" Silence. "Exactly" he continued, "Heroes never die"
Oliver laughed at this, "But he wasn't a hero" Dodger stopped in his tracks, "Listen kid. Iago is a damned hero. He saved all of our asses back there!" Oliver nodded, "That may be true. But that doesn't mean he'll come back. That's up to Yen Sid"
Yen Sid, the master wizard and judge of life and death in the Disney universe lived at the top of Mickey Castle, a large fortress at the edge of Toon Town. Mickey Castle was by far the greatest architectural feat in the entire Disney universe. The north side of the castle was a tall pillar, at its tip was a large golden obelisk. But the south side was lower and more rectangular, resembling the front of the US Supreme Court. It was an oddity in itself, but it's what made it great.
Dodger climbed up the steps on the south side of the building and went inside. A fountain version of the statue of Mickey and Walt was seen in the middle of the room. To the right and left, a long set of escalators could be seen. Dodger walked over to the right side and began his ascent.
When he finally got to the top of the building, Dodger breathed in heavily, he had never been this high before and wasn't too keen when it came to heights. But he would have to put that fear aside, "Come on" he said to himself, "do it for Iago" he kept repeating this mantra as he opened Yen Sid's office door.
Yen Sid's office was dark, very dark. It was also very small, only enough room for a large desk and a chair when it came to furniture. In the middle of the room was Yen Sid's famous cauldron. Dodger stepped forward and cautiously approached the cauldron that Yen Sid was working over. "I've been expecting you" he replied, not looking up from his book, "You were?" Dodger asked, slightly afraid for his life, Yen Sid was not known for being malicious but Dodger didn't want to be the one to start that streak.
Yen Sid nodded in return, "You seek the revival of Iago?" he replied, "Is that a rhetorical question?" Dodger answered back, not wanting to see if Yen Sid had a bad sense of humor. Lucky he had one of the best in all of Disney, which is ironic. "Yes boy" Yen Sid laughed, "It was entirely rhetorical!" Yen Sid motioned over to the chair, which Dodger sat in awkwardly, for he was a dog and began searching for the right words to say.
They sat in silence for several minutes, "Why do you want to bring him back?" Yen Sid finally asked, this was a good question and one that Dodger didn't really have an straight answer for. He knew in his heart what it was, he was just too embarrassed to say it, for he did have a reputation to keep. Yen Sid raised his eyebrows, hoping for an answer, but none came, "If you do not know the answer" he stated, "Then how do you expect me to help you?" Dodger sighed deeply, "I want him back because I made a promise-" Yen Sid laughed, cutting him off, "Promises are nothing but empty words, until action is taken to fulfill it!" Dodger was offended, but he knew better than to get mad at Yen Sid, the guy could kill him in three seconds if he wanted to, but then he wasn't the kind of guy who would do that.
"Look" Dodger began, "Iago is my brother...we're not related, but we have something stronger than that. We suffer the same problems, have the same dreams and want what's best for everyone." Yen Sid nodded, taking it all in, "It sounds like you have a very strong friendship. Have you known him long?" Dodger shook his head, "That's the thing Sid" he replied, "I've only known for a day, and yet I feel as if I knew him my whole life!" Yen Sid smiled, "Good" he answered, "the friendship will only get stronger. The bonds of blood are nothing compared to the bond of blood"
Dodger was confused, "What does that mean?" Yen Sid walked over to the cauldron, "It's both literal and figurative. The bond of blood, your family, the people who gave you life and the bond of blood, the people you surround yourself with, those who you spill blood for." Dodger stood up and walked towards the cauldron.
Yen Sid drew a small knife, "Give your paw" Dodger wasn't sure where he was going with this but complied anyway. Yen Sid then made a large and deep cut in Dodger's paw and dropped the blood in the cauldron. Holding his paw and in slight pain, Dodger stared at the cauldron and watched as Yen Sid worked. With the wave of his hands, Yen Sid pulled out my ashes from his pocket and put them in the cauldron as well. Then he began to speak, "With this blood, I grant you life. With these ashes, I grant you a new soul." A series of bright green lights flashed deep inside the cauldron, followed by a large cloud of smoke.
It was then that I emerged from the cauldron, I was covered in my own ashes. Dodger looked at me in utter amazement as I stepped out of the cauldron and stood on solid ground once again. "What just happened?" Dodger asked, Yen Sid turned to him, "The bond of blood is now the bond of blood" Using Yen Sid's answer from earlier, Dodger deduced correctly that it meant that we were now brothers, both literally and figuratively.
Staring at me, Dodger smiled, "It's good to have you back, Iago" I smiled, "It's good to be back" Dodger embraced me like a parent would a son that they hadn't seen in twenty years and we continued that embrace for several minutes. It felt good to finally have someone care about you, to let you know that you mattered. At that moment I knew that our friendship would last, to this day I never had another friend like Dodger and I never will.