The Imagination Pavilion had closed for the night.

Figment, the purple dragon, flew over to Nigel Channing, the chairman of the Imagination Institute. 'What time is it, Doc?' he asked.

Nigel consulted his watch. 'It's a little before half eight,' he replied.

'That means we have time to watch the fireworks,' Figment said excitedly.

'No, Figment, I'm not watching the fireworks with you again.'

'Why not?' asked Figment. 'Fireworks spark the imagination.'

Nigel sighed. Once Figment got something in his head, there was no letting go of it.

'Is that a yes, or a no?'

'It's nothing.'

'So yes?'

Nigel said nothing.

'Come on, Doc, I hear they're replacing IllumiNations. You know I love fireworks.'

'I do,' Nigel conceded.

'Please? Please please please -'

'Alright, fine. We'll go and see the fireworks.'

'Yay!' Figment cheered.

Nigel turned to Figment. 'Where do you want to watch from?' he asked.

'The lagoon,' said Figment.

Nigel's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'The lagoon? Where-where the people are?'

'Yeah! Why not, Doc?'

'Do you want a list? Because I could provide you with a list. For starters, we aren't supposed to be outside our attraction during Park hours,' said Nigel.

'It'll be fine if you wear your tourist costume,' said Figment. 'I'll just pretend I'm a stuffie! I have a great imagination, you know -'

'Yes, so you keep telling everyone,' said Nigel. 'Fine. Tourist costume. If this fails -'

'Doc, it won't, we've done it before.'

'Precisely. We can't fall on our own hubris,' said Nigel. He walked over to get his tourist costume, hidden in the computer lab scene, behind one of the computers. Then he picked up the Converse from outside the computer lab. And he undressed.

Figment flew over to watch.

'Figment! Do you mind?!' asked Nigel, a little flustered.

'Sorry, Doc,' said Figment who didn't sound very sorry at all.

Nigel emerged from the computer lab, took one look at the excited and smiling happy Figment, fluttering in the air, and hung his head. 'Don't make me regret this,' he said. He walked towards the exit where he knew Cast Members wouldn't be. There would be Cast Members up in the lounge and posted at the entrance to tell guests the Imagination Pavilion was closed. All they needed was to avoid them.

However, after some seventeen years in this place, they knew the ride and the habits of Cast Members pretty well by now. So avoiding them was easy.

Within five minutes, they were outside.

Nigel looked very in place with his cargo shorts, a Figment t-shirt, and Converse. To add to the tourist look, he was also wearing someone's Yankees hat and another person's sunglasses - items that had been lost at some point on the ride. And picked up (stolen) by Figment.

'Alright, Figment, you know the drill,' said Nigel.

'Yessiree!' said Figment as he flew down into Nigel's arms. 'Dreamfinder and I used to do this all the time! Of course, back then we would be mobbed by adoring fans,' he said.

'Yes, well, I'm not Dreamfinder,' said Nigel.

'No. You're Dr Nigel Channing. So should we watch the fireworks?' asked Figment.

In his nondescript clothing, Nigel walked over from the Imagination Pavilion, through the sea of guests. The announcement came on that IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth would begin in five minutes and the light around World Showcase Lagoon would dim.

The same announcement they heard night in/night out.

As Nigel walked though, he got a few weird looks because he just looked like a weird middle aged man carrying around a plush toy. He was also mistaken for Eric Idle. Nigel Channing was not Eric Idle - Eric Idle was Nigel Channing.

Nigel and Figment arrived at the lagoon just as the narration began.

"We welcome all of you to Epcot and World Showcase. We're gathered here tonight, around the fire, as people from all lands have gathered for thousands, and thousands of years before us to share the light, and to share a story."

In Nigel's arms, Figment began squirming.

'Figment!' Nigel hissed in a low voice.

'I want a good view of the fireworks!' Figment whispered back.

Nigel rolled his eyes as the narration continued.

"And though each of us has our own individual stories to tell, a true adventure emerges when we bring them all together as one. We hope you enjoy our story tonight; Reflections of Earth."

The narration ended and the lights dimmed.

Drumbeats steadily got faster until a firework came from one of the barges in the middle of the lagoon, and two more burst behind.

Nigel felt Figment lean forward in his arms, and smiled to himself. No matter how many times the little purple dragon saw the fireworks, he was always awestruck.

Fireworks and fire erupting in time to the urgent music playing (supposed to represent the Big Bang), created a thick cloud of smoke across the lagoon.

The music calmed and out came the centrepiece; a very large, brightly lit, spinning globe - right in the centre of the lagoon.

After oohs and ahhs at the fountains and the images projected on the globe, the music picked up and turned sprightly.

Nigel had to admit to himself, that it was always a beautiful sight - the globe and the images from around the world on it. And the music was touching as well. Though he wouldn't admit it to Figment.

The fireworks picked up again as the globe showed images of important people from around the world on it. Then the music swelled to a triumphant finish, causing Nigel to hold back a tear or two.

By the time We Go On began playing, Nigel was full on ugly crying. Sobbing. The globe opened up to reveal a cauldron and then so many fireworks exploded at one time, it turned the Epcot nighttime temporarily into Epcot daytime.

'Wow! Wow! Wow!' Figment exclaimed. He turned to look at Nigel. 'Doc, are you crying?'

'No,' Nigel lied. 'Let's get back to the Imagination Pavilion.'

A/N:

The Imagination Pavilion closes before the rest of Epcot does.

IllumiNations was the fireworks show until 2019. Then it got replaced by the highly temporary Epcot Forever. The fireworks show now is HarmoniUS. Which I haven't seen.

Eric Idle plays Nigel Channing. But for all intents and purposes, Nigel Channing is real and exists alongside Eric Idle, which explains why Eric Idle doesn't remember filming Journey Into Imagination With Figment, only Honey I Shrunk the Audience - Nigel Channing was already brought to life at that point. So it wasn't Eric Idle that did Journey Into Imagination - it was Nigel Channing. At least that's how it works in this universe.

Nigel Channing may be a stiff, but I dare anyone not to cry at IllumiNations.

And yes, all that does happen during the fireworks show!