World of Disney (featuring The Muppets)

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Twenty-Four: Realm Zone – 1977​

The sun was warm and bright as it hung in the sky over the Hundred Acre Wood – it was the warmest and brightest Bella and Michelle had ever seen a sun before, which was saying quite a bit considering how cloudy it was most of the time where they lived. One thing that reminded the two young women much of home was the beautiful countryside they were passing through the area. It was such a wonderfully exuberant atmosphere that neither of the two sisters could help but to soak it all in. At one point in their trek through the land known famous by the Winnie the Pooh stories, Bella dropped to the soft grass and moved her arms and legs around, making an angelic figure in the grass.

“Oh, Michelle! We could stay here forever!” Bella happily exclaimed, her heart glowing dark blue.

Michelle smiled and giggled, her heart glowing a lighter shade of blue. “I know, Bella; but you know how Brandy would feel about that.”

Bella stopped making her angel and sat up quickly with an alarmed expression upon her face. “Oh, no! I totally forgot how she’ll be able to find us! We’re supposed to be in the Jungle Book world.”

A nervous hand went to Michelle’s mouth as she made the same realization. “You’re right! I didn’t think about that! Oh, Bella, what’re we gonna do?”

Bella stood back up and comforted her nervous little sister. “It’ll be alright, Michelle. Brandy is one of the most intelligent girls we’ve ever met. When Sean went missing for days, she was right there ready and willing to help us out. She knew exactly where to find him.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t really him.” Michelle contradicted.

Bella let out a deep sigh, her heart shined a fainted shade of orange. “I know, but you have to believe our real little brother is out there somewhere.”

Michelle smirked. “I will never forget the day he showed up at our doorstep, only a few days old. He was so soft and tiny – I couldn’t stop holding him. I never wanted to put him down.”

Bella giggled. “Me, too. I never held a baby as beautiful as him.”

“When he opened his eyes for the first time, I was the first person he saw. Me…his second oldest sister.” Tears began to fall from Michelle’s eyes; her heart shined a light purple hue.

Soon Bella was tearing up as well, an effect of the same deep reminiscing that Michelle was experiencing. “His first word became my one and only nickname. That little mouth of his opened when he looked at me and said, ‘Bell-uh.’” She closed her eyes, letting the tears stream down faster, and smiled. “Bless his heart. I wish I could see him right now.”

“Me, too.” Michelle quietly uttered.

The two sisters stood together and wept until…

“Hey, you two!”

Their heads turned and spotted Brandy standing a few feet across from them, her black attire a heavy contrast to the bright, sun-filled atmosphere of the Hundred Acre Wood. She did not look very happy at the moment she found the two sisters, although they were quite pleased to see her. Bella and Michelle practically ran to Brandy and gave her a huge hug, much to Brandy’s immediate surprise.

“Oh! We’re so glad you found us!” Michelle joyfully exclaimed.

“We didn’t think you would ever find us!” Bella said with just as much zeal as her sister.

Brandy did not return their hugs; she simply just stood stiffly and factually muttered, “You two have only been here for five minutes.” Of course, this fact completely went over the two girls’ heads, so Brandy pretended as if she said nothing on the subject. “Guess if there’s one good thing to come from this it’s that the headbands can enable subjects to transport to another realm just from thinking of one.”

“We were being chased by Shere Khan.” Michelle informed. “We both thought the best place to be was here in the Hundred Acre Wood.”

Looking around at the cheery atmosphere, Brandy nodded and said, “Excellent choice. But we can’t stay here, ladies. I have some people to save and a timeline to protect.”

Bella curiously looked upon Brandy, seeing a bit of anxiety on her face. “Have you yet to tell Sean that he’s your…?”

“No!” Brandy hastily said. “And neither of you are going to tell him either.”

Michelle shook her head negatively. “But it’s not fair for him to not to know…”

“I’m not going to risk altering the past and ruining my future like that, Michelle!” Brandy retorted. “Now, seriously, can we please stop talking about this and go find…”

She stopped talking when something small, yellow, and obese fell right in front of them and landed in some large bushes near them. It completely took the three women by surprise, and Michelle opened up the bushes to reveal a familiar bear that was “stuffed with fluff” and often described as being “a bear of very little brain,” tangled in branches and looking very distraught – even a little lost in thought. Bella and Michelle instantly let out one long “Aww” upon discovering the Winnie the Pooh in the bushes. Brandy rolled her eyes and moved her fingers through her long black hair in frustration.

Looks like we’re going to be here a lot longer, she despairingly thought.

Realm Zone – 1992​

Sean rolled his eyes and moved his fingers through his short black hair in frustration while standing in Aladdin’s home, where Aladdin was practically flirting with Jasmine, who was still carrying the mask of his sister. He tried not to look at them too much as they sat by the gaping hole in his home that revealed a gorgeous view of the Sultan’s palace. Both Aladdin and Jasmine were reenacting the very conversation they had during their first time together in the film – the only notable difference was Aladdin being enthralled by Ciciley’s appearance and not Jasmine’s. The thought of it all truly bugged Sean, and this was pretty clear to Joie as she approached him.

“Dude, are you okay?” She asked.

His back facing Aladdin and Jasmine, he whispered to Joie, “No, I’m not. That’s my sister he’s ogling over.”

Joie seemed a little confused from his comment. “Can we still say ‘ogling’ in a cartoon environment? ‘Cause there is a few ‘PG’ words I’ve been wantin’ to say since we got here, man.”

Not listening much to Joie, Sean muttered his thoughts out loud, “Where is Brandy? She’s the only one who can fix this problem.”

“Maybe she ran into traffic?” Joie sarcastically presumed, which only got her a cold stare from Sean. Joie innocently raise her hands up and said, “I’m just tryin’ to cheer you up, bro. I can still call you ‘bro,’ right?”

Sean sighed and answered, “Yeah, sure…whatever.”

Joie nodded and smiled. “Look, I’m sure this isn’t as serious as you’re makin’ it out to be. I mean, he’s just a cartoon character. He’s not real.”

“I’m having a hard time believing that, considering how I was almost killed by the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, nearly eaten by Kaa in The Jungle Book, got sand in my shoes while walking on a beach for hours in The Little Mermaid, and almost got my throat cut here in Aladdin.”

Hearing his long, harsh remark, Joie was almost at a lost for words until she said, “Well, at least you’ve still got your health.”

Sean scoffed at her words. “And you want to know what the worse part of it all is?” He turned, faced her, and added, “I’m still trying to figure out how you fit in.”

Joie squinted in confusion at his words and tried to ask what he meant by it until her opportunity was taken by Bobo, who looked out the large hole in Aladdin’s home and shouted, “Hey, it’s Princess Jasmine…or, uh, the real Princess Jasmine, I think?”

Everyone looked out the window along with Bobo and saw the figure that resembled the Sultan’s daughter strolling down the street and wearing a cloak to hide her identity. To Sean, Joie, Bean, and Bobo, she looked like she was repeating the part of the story in which she escaped from her father’s palace; to Kermit, Scooter, Gonzo, Robin, and Fozzie, she was a total stranger; to Aladdin, she was just as much as a sight to behold as the other Jasmine; to the other Jasmine, she was an imposter brought upon by dark magic.

Whomever or whatever she was, Sean was curious enough to know that he rushed out of Aladdin’s home immediately. Within seconds, Sean was on the street and face-to-face with the young woman. At the moment she saw him she smiled and joyously said, “Sean!”

He took a step back, alarmed that she even knew his name, considering how they had never met – not counting the cast members at Walt Disney World.

Seeing how shocked he was, the young woman who looked like Princess Jasmine stated, “It’s me, Ciciley.”

Sean should have been even more confused at that point, but her statement made a ton of sense to him. He suddenly realized that Jasmine and Ciciley had in fact switched bodies – a possible form of reanimation. The only reason that theory came to mind was how he witnessed it firsthand in the realm of The Little Mermaid with his mother and Ariel. If Brandy was there to witness it, she would say how much of an “amazing breakthrough” it was; of course, she was not there, leaving Sean with quite a mess on his hands.

Before Sean could ask what happened to his sister, she rushed right to him and quickly said, “Let’s not start worrying about what happened to me and instead worry about what’s happening to our mother.”

Sean did not like the sound of what she was telling him. “What do you mean? Where’s Joanie?”

Ciciley nodded her head toward the palace. “In there…but, Sean…she’s not herself at the moment. She’s taken on this whole new personality – thinks she’s this sorceress named ‘Dawn’. And she’s going to marry Jafar tomorrow.”

“What?” Sean yelled in shock.

“Who’s Dawn?” A voice said from behind them, and they turned to see Aladdin coming out of his home with Jasmine, Joie, and the Muppets.

Jasmine stormed towards Ciciley and angrily said to her, “A better question is who you are and why you have taken my body?”

Ciciley was slightly taken aback of the fact that she was staring at her own angry face; it had to be just as bizarre for Jasmine to stare at hers as well. She stammered for a reasonable explanation to the Princess of Agrabah, but all that came out was total gibberish. While Ciciley was having difficulty talking to Jasmine, Sean looked to the sky and noticed how much more violent the storm was becoming. The sky was literally exploding with fire; it was no longer plagued with lightning.

“You see it, too?” Joie said, standing beside him and looking to the sky as well. “What is goin’ on up in here?”

“I don’t know, but we’ve gotta fix Cici and Jasmine and get out of here before…” He stopped once he looked down the street, not very far from where all of them were standing, and spotted a dark figure dressed in burgundy accompanied by a large group of palace guards. They were staring directly at the group with devilish grins upon each of their faces.

Seeing them, Joie knew the group was in trouble, yet she still bothered to ask in curiosity. “Who’s the chick?” She was clearly referring to the sinister-looking redhead dressed in burgundy, leading the pack of guards.

“I wish I really knew right now.” Sean responded.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR​

 

[muppetwriter]

Chapter Twenty-Five: Realm Zone – 1977​

“Think, think, think.” Pooh sat and muttered to himself after being helped out of the bush that he fell into while trying to climb up a honey tree. “Oh, bother. There was something or someone that I was trying to think about or think of…but I’m forgetting.”

Bella and Michelle stood before Pooh, observing his moment of pondering and murmuring amongst each other of how “cute” and “precious” the Pooh bear was to them. Hearing of his dilemma, Michelle knelt down to be face-to-face with him and asked, “What was the last thing you were thinking about before falling from the tree?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Pooh said with a chuckle. “It was honey.” He looked up at the tree he had fallen from and pointed to the very top. “I could smell the honey when I was close to it; but, unfortunately, being a bear with very small arms, I couldn’t reach it.”

“Bless your heart.” Bella sadly said. “I’m sure we can help you get it.” She turned to Brandy, who was sitting upon a rock nearby and fiddling with her wristband. “Brandy, don’t you have something that could help Pooh get his honey? With all of the wonderful tools you have, I’m sure there is something you could pull…”

“May I speak with you girls for a moment please?” Brandy looked up and said without giving Bella a chance to finish her statement. From the stern way she spoke out her request, the sisters knew they were in trouble – both of their hearts glowing a pinkish color. They walked over to Brandy as she stopped fiddling with her wristband and heard her give them a strict reprimand. “You two realize that, by interfering with the story of this dimension, you’re not just putting the status of this world at risk, but our world as well.”

“We know, Brandy,” Michelle acknowledged, “but…it’s Winnie the Pooh.”

“We both grew up on the stories.” Bella mentioned. “Our mother used to read them to us when we were little, and we read them to Sean when he was little. It’s sort of a family tradition.”

“So you can understand us being so excited to be here, don’t you?” Michelle asked.

Brandy looked left and right, seeing the great pleasure in the faces of the two sisters. It was the happiest she had ever seen them since discovering them in their realm and involving them in this bizarre expedition of hers. After a long, deep sigh, she got up from the rock that had been stinging her bottom for nearly an hour and walked over to Pooh, who was still in thinking mode. “Uh, Pooh?” she said, feeling just as awkward conversing with a Disney character as she did in the Little Mermaid world. “You still want that honey from the tree?”

“Oh, yes. More than anything.” Pooh remarked. “But I don’t wish to fall from it again.”

Punching in a few holographic numbers on her wristband, Brandy commenced in building a schematic of Pooh’s physique. A holographic readout popped up from her wristband that noted Pooh’s height and body mass index, as well as analyzed the length and width of the honey tree. Once the array of information was inputted into the wristband, a translucent blue beam shot out from the device and placed an aura around Pooh, turning the bear from yellow to a greenish hue. He giggled from the tickling sensation Brandy’s aura gave him as he floated to the very top of the honey tree. Once he reached the hole that he got near in his previous attempt at climbing the tree, Pooh reached right inside and scooped up all the honey he wanted, putting it in his mouth.

Pooh sang with delight as he treated himself to the honey: “Hum dum de dum, hum dum de dum! I’m so rumblee in my tumblee! Time to munch an early luncheon! Hum de dum dum!”

Over the entire time Pooh was enjoying the honey from the tree, Bella and Michelle were watching with delight and feeling proud of Brandy for helping the bear in the way she did. The two sisters then noticed how she was inputting some other information into her wristband, which – from looking at the holographic readout – appeared to be coordinates for another Disney World. Becoming worried of this, Michelle asked, “We aren’t leaving now, are we?”

“No, I am.” Brandy said. “You two deserve a break, so I’ll leave you here until you’re ready to go back. I’ll go and look for Sean and Joanie.”

Bella and Michelle both smiled and unanimously said, “Thank you, Brandy!”

“No problem. Just make sure you catch that little dude in twenty minutes – that’s when the aura will wear off.”

Michelle and Bella nodded in affirmation of Brandy’s warning while she departed from the Hundred Acre Wood in a bright flash.

Realm Zone – 1992​

A dark alley within the city of Agrabah suddenly grew bright as a ball of sparkling gold energy emerged within it. It transfigured into a human form and finally merged into Brandy herself, donning a black, hooded Arabian cloak. She looked at herself, impressed by her new threads, and shut off her wristband to conserve its energy. Gazing around the new scenery, she was shocked from the sight of the unnatural storm that was happening above the city, fiery explosions erupting from inside the dark gray clouds. Something was very wrong, and she had to guess it was because things were happening in the realm that were not supposed to be.

All of the sudden she heard a loud scream close nearby; it was the scream of a young woman. It was soon followed by the voice of Robin the Frog. “Let us go! We didn’t do anything wrong! Joanie, what’s happened to you?”

“My name is Dawn, creature! And you and your companions will keep silent if you know what is best for you!”

The voice of a character that Brandy was unfamiliar with sounded powerful and sinister, yet it was recognizable to Brandy. Slowly moving down the dark alley, Brandy peeked around the corner to see what was taking place in the area. In the street, a group of palace guards were guiding some beggars toward the palace. Amongst the beggars was Aladdin and Jasmine, but a closer glance revealed Sean, Ciciley, Kermit, Robin, Fozzie, Gonzo, Bobo, Bean, and a woman whom Brandy did not recognize. They were all led by a dark, menacing figure that – much to Brandy’s immediate surprise – was Joanie.

“What the heck…?” Brandy muttered to herself.

Knowing she had to get to the bottom of whatever was going on, Brandy switched her wristband back on; it was a risky move, considering the very little power left in it. What Brandy did next only endangered that small power even more. She activated a “stealth mode,” turning herself invisible in a matter of seconds. Using her invisibility as an advantage, Brandy closely followed the group as they traversed to the Sultan’s palace. Not a single one of them detected her presence, which was good news for her – as long as the wristband was retaining power.

When the group arrived in the throne room of the palace, they were greeted by a surprised Sultan and Jafar. “Jasmine!” He exclaimed with a mixed reaction of joy and worry.

“Father!”

However, it was not the Princess Jasmine that approached the Sultan and hugged him, but rather it was Princess Jasmine as Ciciley performing the action. It generated some bewildered reactions from the others, noticeably Jafar, the palace guards, Ciciley (in the guise of Jasmine), and especially the Sultan. Watching this, Brandy guessed right away that yet another case of reanimation had occurred between Princess Jasmine and Ciciley Thomas. She knew that this had to be a result of Bunsen Honeydew’s primitive machine, much like with Joanie.

Before circumstances became even weirder than they already were, Sean pulled Jasmine away from the Sultan. Free from her grip, the Sultan approached the woman who he thought was his actual daughter, Ciciley. “Jasmine, are you alright? Dawn said she discovered you’d left the palace. Why?”

“Fath…” Ciciley could not longer play this charade any longer; the situation had become too dire to do so. “Look, dude…I’m not your daughter. My name is Ciciley and that…” She pointed to Jasmine. “…is what I look like! Your real daughter has switched places with me for some bizarre reason or another!”

The Sultan glanced back and forth between Ciciley and Jasmine, his head practically spinning from the rapid gestures it was making. “Wh…What? Is t-this…sorcery?”

“Indeed it is, Your Majesty,” Dawn said, “but I can rectify it.”

“You can?” The Sultan uttered.

“You can?” Both Jafar and Iago repeated.

Without saying a word, Dawn let actions speak louder than words. She gestured for the guards to place Jasmine and Ciciley side-by-side with each other and then walked right in front of them. Placing her hands on both of their heads, Dawn shut her eyes and focused long and hard. Brandy, quite the disbeliever of magic, observed the scene with little interest; however, what she had seen next made that interest grow to the point of suspicion.

Both Dawn’s hands and the eyes of Ciciley and Jasmine glowed in an intense white hue. It was not long before Dawn’s eyes started glowing as well. The transaction lasted for only a few seconds, and everyone observing the scene as it took place did so with looks of awe and even fear. After it was done, the glowing stopped and Dawn calmly stepped back from the two women. Ciciley and Jasmine held their heads in hand and groaned, squinting hard.

Sean cautiously approached Ciciley and asked, “Cici…are you okay?”

Ciciley looked down at the marbled floor they were standing on and saw her reflection on its surface. It was the reflection she was used to seeing in the twenty-three years she had been alive. She smiled and looked to her brother as she exclaimed, “I’m me again!”

“Hooray!” Bean cheered.

“Mazel tov!” Bobo yelled with applause.

Jasmine went to her father and embraced him again – this time as her true self. “Oh, Father! I’ve missed you so!”

“I am not sure what has happened, Jasmine, but I am certainly grateful to see you back.” The Sultan then glanced to Dawn and added, “You are in my gratitude for bringing my daughter back to me.”

“You can start by allowing Jafar and I to wed here in your throne room…now!” Dawn requested.

The request was met with much surprise from everyone in the room, including Ciciley, who was part of the conversation that took place earlier on the subject. “You said that you were going to hold it tomorrow,” she said.

“That was a conversation that you had no place in!” Dawn told Ciciley, right before she ordered the guards. “Take them to the dungeon!”

“Oh, this is some…”

The woman who Brandy could not recognize was quickly silenced by the captain guard when he struck her upon the back of her head, knocking her out instantly. She felt into the waiting arms of the guard as he and his men led the prisoners out of the throne room. Aladdin showed some resistance against the guards, screaming to the Sultan, “But we didn’t do anything wrong!”

Hearing his cries, Jasmine quickly told her father, “He’s telling the truth! Father, you cannot let them be committed for nothing like this!”

“They held your daughter against her will, Your Highness.” Dawn stated. “Such action should be met with crude punishment. I am simply keeping your daughter safe from the evil forces we are dealing with.”

The Sultan seemed at a loss for words. “B-But…they don’t appear evil…especially not those two bears and frogs.”

Dawn moved in closer to the Sultan and Jasmine, glaring into both of their eyes with a hypnotic gaze that plagued hers. The blue hue of them began swirling rapidly, causing Jasmine and the Sultan’s to do the same. Brandy watched closely and carefully, along with Jafar and Iago, as another display of magic (albeit dark magic) took place before them. “There is nothing to worry about here. You will focus on the wedding for Jafar and me. Is that understood?”

“The prisoners are no longer our concern.” Jasmine mindlessly said.

“Your wedding is more important.” The Sultan stated in the same manner. “We shall hold it here in the throne room without any further delay.”

Seeing what just occurred, Jafar and Iago grew scared and cold.

“I think your new ‘girlfriend’ has surpassed your level of freakiness, Jafar.” The parrot commented.

Jafar swallowed hard and admitted, “I fear you are correct in your presumption, my friend.”

The situation had the same effect on Brandy; but, unlike Jafar and Iago, she intended on doing something about it. As quickly as possible, she pursued the guards and followed them as they took Sean and his friends to the palace’s dungeon. If she was going to set things right in this world, she was certainly going to need their assistance to do so. With power from her wristband fading fast, she would need to resort to “old school” tactics…something she did not take much excitement in doing.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE​

 

[The Count]

Hmm... And here I thought Brandy would bring Bella and Michelle with her into Aggrava uniting all parties.
At least Jazmin and Cecily have been switched back, that's 1 down... And a whole other mess left to go in the desert dunes before even thinking of going back to 2010 to then delve into 1961 England and/or Wonderland for the others.

We're getting to that point when Jafar freed Aladdin to get to the Cave of Wonders, wonder how that little escapade will work itself out given that there's a black betrothal to bust up beforehand.

Oh yeah, more please!

 

[muppetwriter]

Hmm... And here I thought Brandy would bring Bella and Michelle with her into Aggrava uniting all parties.

I was going that route until I realized that the reason they're in the 100 Acre Wood was to get away from danger and to go back into it in the Aladdin realm would make their reason for being there in the first place kind of pointless. Plus...I have a bit of a surprise for you Muppet Central readers in the next chapter. Bella and Michelle aren't quite done in the world of Winnie the Pooh yet.

 

[The Count]

*Presses button for Charlie Sheen soundbyte... "Bring it."

 

[muppetwriter]

Sorry, folks. It'll be some time before I get another chapter up, so bear with me if you can.

In the meantime, if you're checking on the official Facebook page for the story, you'll see news of a sequel that I'll be writing this summer; unfortunately, I don't have any plans to bring back the Muppets, mostly for the reason that the sequel takes place within an entirely different continuity from this story.

Of course, this story isn't done yet, so you have plenty more chapters to enjoy your favorite characters (and I promise more familiar ones will be showing up in upcoming chapters).

 

[GonzoLover85]

We eagerly await your triumphant return....

 

[muppetwriter]

We eagerly await your triumphant return....

Thanks, GL! I'll try to get a chapter in this week if I can.

 

[muppetwriter]

Been a long time - great to come back to this story after a LONG hiatus! Sadly, this one ends on a sour note, so brace yourselves...

Chapter Twenty-Six: Realm Zone – 1992​

Joie woke up with a snore, saliva trickling down from the right side of her mouth; she was heavily groggy, but she was able to recall what happened before losing consciousness. In an attempt to move her arms, Joie quickly realized that they were pinned to the wall that she was sitting against. Her arms were held above her head, forcing her to glance up to see her wrists shackled to the wall. Joie tried to budge through them, but she did not have enough strength to break through, still feeling very groggy.

“It’s no use.” A voice near her said, and she found Sean and the others sitting around her, shackled to the wall in the same matter – with the notable exception of Robin, Bean, and Abu, whose small bodies were shackled from the neck down. “They’ve got us clapped good in these.”

Joie seemed rather furious to find herself in such a position, using that fury to free herself with another mighty attempt to break through the restraints…still no avail. “Argh! This is my worst nightmare, man!”

“It’s like a dream come true!” Gonzo enthusiastically said.

Joie shot a puzzling stare to the weirdo and his statement.

“We’ve got to get out of here.” Ciciley uttered. “We’ve got to stop that wedding!”

“What does it matter? It’s just the Sultan’s royal vizier and some strange girl.” Aladdin remarked.

The street urchin’s depiction of Joanie greatly offended both Sean and Ciciley. “That ‘strange girl’ happens to be our mother, dude!” Ciciley retorted, much to the sudden disbelief of Aladdin, who said not another word afterward.

“So, uh…how exactly are we getting out of this dungeon?” Fozzie asked.

No one answered immediately because no one was absolutely certain.

“I wish Sweetums were here.” Robin said. “He would just break through our shackles and get us out of here in no time.”

“If Animal were here, he would eat through them in less time.” Scooter added. “Then again, Animal would eat through the whole palace!”

Joie grunted again, clearly on a mission to break through the shackles entirely by herself. Noticing her futile attempts, Sean told her, “Knock it off, Joie. You’re going to hurt yourself doing that.”

“Shows…what…you…know!” Joie exclaimed between grunts. “If…you were…my real…brother…you’d know…how strong I am…under…PRESSURE!”

SNAP!

After one intense tug, Joie’s shackles popped loose, much to everyone’s surprise. With a hearty chuckle, the heavily confident young woman told her companions, “Lesson Number One – never doubt mah skills!”

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

Soon after Joie made her confident statement, the shackles holding the others popped loose just the same without a hint of budging from them. The high confidence in Joie quickly dropped. “Okay…so I’m not the only one apparently.”

Within seconds, a figure suddenly materialized at the center of the room, shocking everyone. Sean’s shock subsided, however, as soon as he noticed that the figure was in fact Brandy. Trying to control his frustrations with her tardiness, Sean exclaimed, “Where have you been? I ought to kick your butt right now!”

“What did I do?” Brandy innocently inquired.

Watching how calmly Sean addressed the woman who just appeared in the dungeon, Kermit asked, “You know her?”

“Yeah, this is the ‘Almighty Brandy’ whom I’ve been blathering on about for hours.” Sean replied.

Brandy waved to the group with half of a smile. “Nice to meet ya’ll.”

Ciciley glanced carefully at Brandy’s face, seeming to have recognized it a little, even though she had never met the young woman; she reminded her much of someone that she already knew. She continued staring at her face while Sean helped her up and said, “We’ll share intros later. Right now, we’ve got a wedding to stop.”

“There’s a secret entrance over here.” Brandy indicated as she moved to a section of the cold stone walls of the dungeon and pressed against it, opening a secret passageway. When the others saw a grassy plain beyond the opening, they knew that Brandy had just revealed a secret passageway out of the dungeon.

Watching Brandy show the way out, Joie grinned with amusement. “Oh, I’m lovin’ this girl already.”

As the group followed Brandy out of the dungeon, Ciciley pulled Sean aside for a moment and quietly asked him, “Sean, does your ‘friend’ remind you of anyone we know?”

“We don’t have time for a chat, lil’ sis.” Sean remarked. “Maybe we…”

“She looks exactly like our mother…and even a little like you!” Ciciley exclaimed, still keeping her voice down so that the others could not hear.

Sean’s focus went away from their current situation to what Ciciley just told him, raising a curious eyebrow. “What?”

Before the conversation could have gone any further, the main topic of the conversation – Brandy – stepped up back into the dungeon and beckoned the two siblings. “Hey, c’mon, y’all! Get a move on!” As she summoned them, Sean got a good glance at Brandy’s face there and then, and he realized that Ciciley was right – Brandy had features that were a combination of himself and Joanie, but mostly the latter. Since meeting her in the ice cream parlor in Orlando, he had never really noticed until that very moment.

Refocusing on their task, Sean did his best to take his mind off the subject and follow Brandy outside of the palace with Ciciley. The group ended up near the front staircase leading to the Sultan’s throne room, which had a more beefed-up security with at least seven guards standing at attention near the doorway. Kermit’s face cringed once he noticed the guards. “Well…so much for taking the front door,” the frog disapprovingly said.

“Can’t we go in the same way Brandy came into the dungeon?” Robin inquired.

Brandy checked the power levels in her wristband – a red holographic “Warning” display projecting above it. Shaking her head, Brandy informed the others, “We’ll have to go into this one cold, I’m afraid. I’ve barely got enough juice to get us back to reality.”

“Great.” Scooter said. “Easier to get out, but harder to get in.”

Joie smiled while coyly popping her fingers. “Ya’ll have gotta start takin’ initiative!” She then moved away from the group and headed towards the staircase. Joie was as fast as a cheetah, climbing up the gigantic staircase in less than a minute. Once she reached the top, she confronted the palace guards head-on, taking each one down with a marvelous display of Muay Thai hand-to-hand combat. The others could barely keep up with her moves because they were so quick; not even Bruce Lee could match them.

All of the guards were down in a few seconds, and the entrance to the palace left a clear path for the group, which Joie gave the “O.K.” on with a smile and wave. Having watched the unbelievable moves that Joie displayed, Sean turned to his sister and the Muppets and said, “Where did you find her?”

“Don’t look at me – I just met the chick.” Ciciley said.

The team moved swiftly up the staircase and joined Joie at the top before entering the palace. Moving further and further into the complex, the redder and hotter things started to look and feel. Arriving in the throne room, the group was met with a startling sight – Jafar and Dawn standing side-by-side near the Sultan’s throne with the Sultan himself acting as a minister and Jasmine, standing close nearby, acting as a bridesmaid. There were torches lit all around the room, granting an intensely hot atmosphere that made even Jafar sweat; however, it was more fear into his sweating than heat.

The sight made Sean, Ciciley, and especially Robin very unsettled. “Please tell me someone has a plan,” Sean said through gritted teeth.

“Plain and simple…crash the wedding!” Joie boldly stated while smacking her right fist into the palm of her left hand.

Joie rushed into the throne room, running directly toward Jafar and Dawn. Sean tried to call her back, but she was already within a few feet from the “couple” before it was too late. When it seemed as if Joie’s brash plan would have worked, Dawn – appearing to have sensed her presence long before she made a move – turned her sights away from the Sultan and focused on Joie with an outstretched arm. Joie suddenly froze in place and then hovered six feet in the air before Dawn; with one slight gesture, the wicked shield of Joanie Navarro sent the young woman flying across the throne room and smacking her into a wall.

Once Joie was out of the way, Dawn soon noticed her companions standing at the entrance to the throne room. Briefly turning to the Sultan with a cold stare, she uttered, “Pause.” And on that single word, the Sultan froze from his duties as minister, standing where he was and staring off into space. Dawn then briskly strode her way to Sean, Brandy, Ciciley, Aladdin, Abu, and the Muppets in a manner that was clearly threatening.

In a panicked state, Brandy handed something over to Sean and said, “When you get the open opportunity, put this over her head!”

Sean glanced at the object she had given him and noticed it to be one of her headbands – the same one, in fact, that they got Joanie to wear when she took the persona of Ariel. Remembering the consequences to having the device worn by Joanie last time, Sean negatively shook his head. “No way! That’s what got us into this mess in the first place!”

“You’ve gotta trust me on this!” Brandy pleaded.

“LOOK OUT!”

Fozzie’s warning came just as the group noticed Dawn tearing away a chunk of the floor telepathically and hurling it towards them. In just the nick of time, the group dodged out of harm’s way, letting the chunk of marble and earth wedge into the entranceway and blocking any possible exit. While in the process of saving his own life, Sean lost his grip on the headband and let it rolled across the floor, stopping near the unconscious Joie. As he got to his feet to retrieve the item, he heard the screams of Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Bobo, Scooter, and Bean nearby. Turning his head, he noticed Dawn using her telekinesis to juggle the six Muppets in midair – the only Muppet whose screams were of joy turned out to be Gonzo’s.

“Ha, ha, ha! This is so cool!” The weirdo shouted.

“Glad to see one of us is having so much fun!” A disgruntled Scooter cried.

In the midst of her “fun” with the other Muppets, Dawn was soon confronted by Robin, who begged with teary eyes. “Joanie! Please don’t do this! This is not you!”

Unfortunately, Dawn did not answer to the name of her true self; however, she did take notice of the tiny frog’s presence in the throne room and used more of her unimaginable power to send him into the air just like the other Muppets – except he went even higher. Robin’s small frame floated forty feet into the air and practically touched the ceiling; he cried for Kermit the entire time he was in the air, unable to move or stop himself from going any higher. It seemed in Dawn’s mission to try to get the frog higher than he was, as Robin’s form repeatedly smacked against the ceiling until the small frog fell unconscious from the blows.

Seeing what Dawn was doing to Robin, Brandy grew very angry; she turned to Aladdin, who was picking himself off the floor after having dodged the chunk of floor, and made a command. “Follow my lead!” The two then worked together in running towards Dawn, who was distracted from the Muppets she was controlling, and tackled her to the floor, pinning her down.

Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, Bobo, Scooter and Bean – who were all only a few feet from the floor – fell and landed atop of one another. Robin’s unconscious form fell its forty-foot distance from the ceiling of the throne room, his body moving lifelessly through the air. Ciciley, quickly taking notice of the tiny Muppet’s plight, had positioned herself beneath his falling form with her hands cupped. Within a flash, Robin fell comfortably into Ciciley’s hands like a catcher with a baseball. “Gotcha!” Ciciley said with a smile, but that smile soon faded once she realized that the small frog was not moving at all. “Robin?”

Meanwhile, Brandy and Aladdin were forcibly keeping Dawn pinned down to the floor. In doing so, Brandy cried to Sean, “Get the headband! Do it now!”

Sean went to the object as it continued sitting beside the unconscious Joie; unfortunately, before he had a change to grab it, someone else got their hands on it first. To Sean’s dismay, Jafar was the one who had retrieved the item before him, glancing upon it curiously. While watching Jafar with the headband, Sean heard two heavy thuds and turned to see Brandy and Aladdin lying far away from Dawn at opposite sides of the throne room; he could only assume that she hurled them aside with another display of her remarkable power. The powerful woman then stoically got back on her feet as if nothing ever happened.

Sean’s attention was redirected back to Jafar when he heard the character address him in a very desperate manner. “Tell me…will this device stop her?”

It came as a surprise to hear Jafar ask such a question, but seeing how terrified him and Iago were on Dawn somehow made sense to it. Sean nodded his head in response to his question and uttered, “Yes…it will.”

Jafar wickedly smiled, gazing upon the headband once more. “That’s all I need to know.”

At first, Sean expected Jafar to throw the headband to the floor and smashed it with his staff, or something to that extreme. Instead, the royal vizier hid the item behind his back while approaching Dawn, who turned to face him with the same emotionless face that she had been masked with the entire time. “My love…seeing the way you have disposed of these cretins has allowed me to see how much we really are meant to be together. With our combined powers, I believe we shall rule Agrabah and possibly even the world!”

“I am pleased you see so, my love.” Dawn said.

“Of course, a ruler such as you deserves her own crown.” On that cue, Jafar revealed the headband in his hand and easily placed it atop of Dawn’s head. Dawn did not make any sudden moves; she kept herself open to the trap without even knowing it to be one.

Brandy weakly sat up just in time to see the transaction take place. As soon as Jafar had placed the headband over Dawn’s head, Brandy touched a section of her wristband that activated a function with the headband itself. Once activated, Dawn began screaming immensely in agony, falling to her knees while clutching the sides of her head. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, exposing total whiteness in her eyes. The headband electrically sparked gold all around Dawn’s head, making it unsafe to be touched even by Dawn herself – who made that attempt only to send sheering pain to her fingertips.

Soon the painful action ended and left Dawn collapsing to the floor; however, she did not fall unconscious afterward. She rapidly blinked, her eyes searching for some sort of familiarity, and finally found the lifeless Robin lying in the hands of Ciciley. A look of terror appeared over her face – the first sign of emotion that she had displayed for some time – and her eyes even welded up with tears. A remorseful voice emerged from within the young woman upon uttering the name of the tiny frog. No longer was she “Dawn;” she had reverted back to her true persona of Joanie Navarro.

BOOM! BOOM! KRACK!

Flashes shined through the windows of the palace before a chunk of the ceiling broke free and fell to the floor, scattering debris everywhere; thankfully, no one was in the way of it. The Sultan and Jasmine awakened from their hypnotic states, looking around to see the palace crumbling around them. Tremors soon emerged and sections of the floor had risen and lowered unexpectedly. Jasmine had nearly fallen victim to another piece of the ceiling that had fallen until Aladdin rushed to her aid and saved the princess.

“Are you okay?” The street urchin asked her.

Enthralled by his heroism, Princess Jasmine said with a smile, “Yes…thank you.” Her lovely smile made the street urchin equally charmed; unfortunately, the chaos around them brought the moment they shared to an abrupt end.

“Brandy! What’s going on?” Sean asked.

“It’s coming from Bunsen’s machine.” Brandy responded. “It’s ripping this reality apart because of the instability!”

Her explanation on the occurrence greatly confused Sean. “Instability from what?” He then seemed to figure it out for himself before she had a chance to answer. “From us? We’re causing this?” He shook his head negatively and added, “This has never happened before! I mean…”

“Nothing can ever happen the same way as before when we interfere.” Brandy stated. “That should’ve been the disclaimer to Bunsen’s machine.”

Hearing Brandy, Sean turned to Joanie, whose experience in the realm was the greatest of the changes created within it, becoming a character that was not supposed to have existed there. His eyes then shifted to Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, Sultan, Jafar, and Iago – each of whom would never witness their fates happen the same as it had in the animated feature. Even though they were fictional characters, their genuine fears made it feel as if they were real people watching their lives come to an end altogether.

“Is there anyway to stop it?” Sean asked Brandy with a sense of hope for the characters.

Brandy shook her head in response. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.”

She then punched some holographic letters and numbers projected from her wristband and engaged the reanimation sequence, taking her, Sean, Ciciley, Joanie, Joie, and the Muppets out of the realm. As he watched all of their bodies beginning to disappear amidst the chaos that was unfolding in Agrabah, Sean watched the Aladdin characters hopelessly watch their world crumble around them. The experience gave a new insight on what it was that Bunsen had created – a machine that creates life from fiction…and is also capable in taking it away as well. The notion brought a great deal of fear and anger over Sean as he and the others disappeared from a world that ceased to exist after their departure.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX​

 

[The Count]

Yay! New chapter!

Okay, so let's recap...

1 Joanie turned back to her own self.
2 Brandy, Joie, Sean, and the Muppets reunited with Joanie.
3 The Muppet party returned to reality... Right?
4 Aggraba dissolved into nothingness.

Yep, the Kingdom Hearts feel's still present. Worlds that have been dissolved into nothingness, I'm thinking that side effect might have something to do with the fact that the Evil Queen has both Diana Navarro and Snow White and Belle as hostages. The only little detail is that Jazmin's another Princess of Heart. Maybe she'll be spared the fate of the others only to rematerialize as a prisoner as well?
And let's not forget that Sean and the Muppets have to use Bunsen's or Brandy's inventions to go back to the Hundred Acre Woods to pick up Bella and Michelle, and then trek into 1960's London as well as Wonderland to help his other two sisters revert back to their normal selves.

Thanks for this, hope for more soon.
BTW: I read your Ghostbusters fics and anticipate Dead End. If you need a Beta to help you with 'em, LMK.