Summary: What if, this whole time, Dr. Strange had told Gabriel and Logan that there was an easier way for them to return home back to their universe without needing his help? How exactly? By simply leaving the park. Literally. Take place on Chapter 29: The Epic Universe (Finale) from Dream Keeper Chronicles.

Before you begin reading this chapter, I would like to clarify that any original characters (OCs) that appear in this story belong to their respective creators, including my own OCs. I do not own these characters; they are the property of their original owners. My OCs are the only ones that I own that belong to me. Thank you for your understanding.

Enjoy!

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE COULD'VE BEEN HOME HOURS AGO!?!?!?!" Gabriel and Logan exclaimed simultaneously, their voices echoing through the park like thunder on a sunny day.

Dr. Strange jumped, then adjusted his cloak awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with Gabriel and Logan, who stood frozen in the middle of the busy park. "I-I mean exactly what I said," he stammered, raising both hands in a placating gesture. "You two aren't exactly from here. You're from the Magic Kingdom, aren't you? You could just call an Uber to get there. No portals, no spells—just… basic modern transportation."

Gabriel's eye twitched. Logan stood stock still, his face morphing into an unreadable expression that could only be described as absolute betrayal.

"You're telling me," Logan began, his voice low and dangerous, "after everything we've been through... we could've just called a ride?"

Dr. Strange cleared his throat, clearly sensing the building storm. "Well, yes. Technically, yes. But it's not like I knew you didn't know. You didn't ask. I assumed you knew."

Logan's fists clenched, and Gabriel had to physically place an arm on his friend's shoulder to keep him from lunging.

"Let me get this straight," Gabriel said, his voice sharper than one of Dr. Strange's conjured energy weapons. "You assumed that after battling Voldemort, who was trying to enslave a dragon—"

"And," Logan cut in, his voice rising with every word, "and after breaking into Dracula's castle to retrieve the amulet he stole—"

"Not to mention," Gabriel continued, "fighting off Kai and his army of zombie ninjas—"

"Jombies," Logan corrected grimly. "He called them Jombies."

"Jombies," Gabriel repeated with a weary sigh, pinching the bridge of his beak. "After all that—and helping Azrael and Porsha out—you're saying we could've just... left? Like, just walked out the front gate and caught a ride the moment we got here!?"

"Well, yeah," Dr. Strange said, shrugging. "Pretty much."

Gabriel and Logan turned to each other, their eyes wide with disbelief. Then, in perfect sitcom synchronization, they very, very slowly turned their heads to face Azrael and Porsha.

Azrael, sensing danger, raised his hands defensively. "Now, hold on a second! I didn't know! I swear!"

Porsha nodded rapidly, her golden curls bouncing as she backed away slightly. "Yeah, there's no way we could've known that! How were we supposed to know you could just walk out?!"

Azrael gestured helplessly. "And you two said you were from another dimension! That's way above my pay grade!"

Logan pointed an accusatory finger at them. "You didn't think to ask if we could leave?"

Azrael threw his hands in the air. "You didn't think to try!?"

"Fair point," Gabriel muttered, earning a glare from Logan.

Porsha hesitated, then added, "Also... it's not like characters from here can just leave the park. We've got those magical barriers! Guests might come and go, but we stay here. Look!"

At the entrance gate of Universal Studios, the trio of Minions—Kevin, Stuart, and Bob—stood, gazing up at the large barrier that separated them from the "Real World." They had been watching families come and go, some leaving the park with souvenirs, while others, like a family of five, casually exited through the gates and passed the magical force field that seemed to separate this world from theirs.

Stuart, ever the curious one, looked at his friends with gleaming eyes. "Speyda," he said, pointing at the family, who seemed completely unfazed by the barrier.

Bob turned to Kevin and raised his eyebrow. "Blumock?" he asked, looking at Stuart.

Kevin, who had been deep in thought, sighed and shook his head. "Blumock. Don't do it," he muttered, crossing his arms.

Stuart grinned mischievously. "Mmmm… uh-uh," he said, shaking his head back and forth as if he had made up his mind. Without giving Kevin and Bob a chance to stop him, Stuart casually walked toward the gate. He looked back at them, his eyes wide with excitement. "Banana!" he shouted, which was probably his way of announcing that something completely ridiculous was about to happen.

Kevin groaned. "No! To pudum't go kapee bada! to don't cono what's kapee bada!" But Stuart wasn't listening. He was already heading toward the barrier, determined to explore the mysterious world beyond.

As he reached the entrance, he took a deep breath and ran right up to the magical force field. Without hesitation, he attempted to step through the barrier, his arms outstretched like an adventurer stepping into a new world.

However, as soon as Stuart touched the barrier, there was an immediate bounce-back. A loud thwip sound echoed as Stuart was sent flying backward, right into Kevin and Bob, who were standing a few feet behind him. Stuart landed in a heap, rolling on the ground before coming to a stop, looking dazed but still laughing.

"Woah!" Stuart shouted, clutching his stomach, his high-pitched laughter echoing through the park. "Bwahahaha!"

Kevin slapped his forehead with a groan. "Ka was to, Stuart! ka was to!"

Stuart got back on his feet, his eyes wide and filled with excitement. "Bello! Bello!" he shouted gleefully, ignoring Kevin's frustration. He wobbled back to the force field and immediately attempted to try again. This time, he flung himself at the barrier with all his might, bouncing off even harder than before.

Thwip!

He was sent flying backward once more, rolling in the dirt like a ragdoll before bouncing to a stop, giggling like a madman.

Kevin facepalmed. "Ughhh, ba tis gonna be a lugol dia," he muttered under his breath, watching Stuart getting up again, clearly enjoying himself.

"Speyda, Bello! Haha!" Stuart shouted again, running at the force field for a third time.

Bob looked at Kevin, his face lighting up with a smile. "Banana?" he asked, his eyes darting to the food stand just beyond the gate, where a giant banana split sign hung.

Kevin turned his head slowly to see what Bob was pointing at. Sure enough, there was a cart with a massive sign for "Banana Splits, Fresh and Tasty!" Bob's stomach growled loudly, and his eyes shone with hunger. "Matoka!" Bob shouted, rubbing his stomach dramatically.

Kevin sighed and shook his head, but the sight of the banana split stand seemed to pull him in, too. "Banana," Kevin muttered to himself, looking back at Stuart as he once again bounced off the barrier and rolled into the grass.

"Matoka!" Bob repeated, now tugging at Kevin's sleeve, practically begging him to go to the food stand.

Stuart's laughter filled the air as he rolled on the ground once again, his uncontrollable giggling echoing like a maniac having the time of his life. Kevin sighed and muttered something under his breath in Minionese, probably something not fit for children to hear.

"Banana... Banana..." Bob repeated over and over, now practically bouncing in place with excitement, pointing insistently at the cart.

Kevin groaned. "Tem, tem.….. da banana aah. Pelo solo feguin you're cama da linda via mac annoying da ow com asa pem don't."

Bob squealed with joy, clapping his hands, before suddenly darting off toward the food cart. Kevin, shaking his head with a small smile, followed him.

Behind them, Stuart was still laughing, rolling around in the ground. "Bwahaha! Bello!" he cried as he tried once more to launch himself into the barrier.

Porsha then casually turns back to Gabriel and Logan, "See? I told you! We just assumed you were stuck here with us because if you guys did leave, you two would be trapped here."

Gabriel groaned, dragging his hand down his face. "This is absurd. This is absolutely ridiculous."

Logan, meanwhile, marched over to the nearest trash can. Without a word, he shoved his head inside and let out a primal scream that startled several nearby tourists.

One child pointed at Logan, "Mommy, why is that man yelling?"

"Shh, sweetie," the mother replied, hurrying them away. "Let's just…. Let's just leave him alone."

Gabriel sighed, massaging his temples. "Logan. Get your head out of the trash. People are staring."

Logan pulled his head out, his face red and his hair slightly askew. "You know what? Let them stare." He stuck his head back inside the trash, "Let the whole world stare. I've earned it." His voice echoed.

"Okay, drama king," Gabriel said, patting him on the back before Logan finally removed his head out of the trash can. "Time to wrap this up and head home."

They turned to Azrael and Porsha, who were still standing awkwardly nearby.

"Thanks for everything," Gabriel said, managing a faint smile. "You two were... well, you guys were something."

Porsha smiled sheepishly. "You guys weren't so bad yourselves. Uh, except for the yelling. And the trash can thing."

Logan scowled but said nothing.

Azrael gave them a small wave. "Good luck, you guys. And... uh, maybe double-check your travel options next time?"

"Noted," Gabriel said dryly, dragging Logan toward the exit.

As they approached the park's main gate, Logan muttered under his breath, "Twelve minutes. Eight-point-six miles. That's all it takes to get to the Magic Kingdom. Unbelievable."

Gabriel sighed. "You're never letting this go, are you?"

"Not in a million years," Logan replied.

"Great," Gabriel said, flagging down an Uber on his phone as the two fully exited the gate and the barrier as well. "I can't wait to hear about it for the entire twelve-minute ride."

A few days ago, I decided to reread all the chapters of the Dream Keeper Chronicles, and I finally reached the Epic World's Chapters Arc. While I was casually reading Chapter 29, a funny thought popped into my head: "Lol. Would it be funny that this whole town, Logan and Gabriel could have just left the park and gone home this whole time?" It made me chuckle, and suddenly, an idea popped up in my mind that I couldn't shake off.

As I continued reading, that thought turned into an idea. I started imagining all the wild scenarios that could have unfolded if they had just taken the easy way out instead of getting wrapped up in this crazy and universal situation they ended up with. It felt like a lightbulb moment, and I couldn't help but wonder how different the story arc would be if someone told them that they could just make that simple choice. So, in a rush of inspiration, I opened up my Google Doc and started typing everything down. I've definitely got to explore this further because it's just too good to let go!

I want to give a shout out to the LingoJam website because it was super helpful for translating all the dialogue for the Minions into Minionese. I was really struggling to figure out how to write in Minionese that they speak in the Despicable Me movie series as well as the Minion own movies, and I had no idea how to do it. So, I turned to Google to find a website that could translate whatever sentences I typed into the Minion language. LingoJam turned out to be exactly what I needed! It allowed me to easily translate whatever phrases you speak into Minionese, which made the whole process a lot smoother and way more fun.

Anyway, review if you can. I would like to see your thoughts about this chapter so far! The reviews are the best form of motivation! Let me know what you think and see you all for the next one-shots chapter. Thank you. :)