World of Disney (featuring The Muppets)

muppetwriter

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Hey, everyone - it's Sean (a.k.a. "muppetwriter"). It's good to be back on the ol' Muppet Central forum, most particularly the fan fiction forum. I figured I would return to post a brand new original story for you all to read titled World of Disney, which features our lovable Muppets with Disney characters and ones based on personal friends of mine. It's gotten a lot of attention on other forums and even has its own Facebook page (see the link in my sig) with plenty of information on characters and places visited in the story.

I'll have it up here on this thread soon. Stay tuned. :smile:
 

muppetwriter

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Prologue – Time Zone: Unknown​

The clear blue eyes of Joanie Navarro finally snapped open after being closed for some time. Gasping for air, the odor of burning metal plagued her nostrils and forced her to cough out the hints that were already in her lungs. She rolled to her side, draining every bit of it all out. Just from that gesture, she felt a throbbing pain at the side of her head, which undoubtedly came from the “fiasco” that occurred earlier. Something happened earlier that she couldn’t recollect completely, and the condition of the room was clear evidence of that.

All of the machinery in Dr. Bunsen Honeydew’s basement laboratory was destroyed, ravaged in flames and twisted into scraps. The Magic Gateway, his reality-bending/time-swapping invention, was demolished in the process, consumed in fire just like everything else and looked to be melting away. But that seemed impossible to Joanie, as the fire was not intense enough to melt the metal of the machine. Then it hit her – she melted it with her evil magic…to prevent Joanie from going after her, once she banished the others into another unknown dimension.

I’ve got to get off my butt and save them, she desperately thought. Of course, that was easier said than done, considering the incredible amount of pain she was in. She was doing all that she could just to keep the room from spinning before her very eyes. There was no way that she would be capable of performing any heroic deed at that time.

And then she heard a familiar moan nearby.

“Dr. Honeydew?” She said with a hoarse voice. Swallowing hard to clear out all the dryness in her throat, she looked to where she heard the moans come from and gathered all the strength she could to pull herself off the cluttered floor. On the way up, she noticed her horn-rimmed glasses lying on the floor – still intact after all that happened – and retrieved them, placing them right back over her eyes. Almost instantly, her vision became twice as good as when they were off.

Bunsen and his assistant, Beaker, were scattered around and lying unconscious over certain areas. However, one particular sight sent her into extreme caution: the young African American male lying near the flaming, destroyed equipment. “Oh, no…Sean!”

She quickly went over to him and pulled him away from the flaming equipment, before checking to see if he was still breathing. Thankfully, he still had a pulse and appeared to be breathing normally. Nearby, Bunsen and Beaker were starting to come out of their unconsciousness and see the damages that were caused to their laboratory. It looked to be beyond repairable, which was a devastating realization for the two Muppet scientists.

“Oh, dear. Oh, my.” Bunsen said, numbing on his fingers in nervousness.

Beaker meeped his displeasure as well.

Realizing that the two regained full consciousness, Joanie glanced back at them briefly while doing her best to keep her focus on Sean. “Guys, Sean’s hurt! I need your help!”

“Oh, Miss Joanie…look what that terrible woman did to our lab! It will be impossible to get all of this re…”

“BUNSEN, PLEASE!” Joanie exclaimed with panic and desperation registered within her voice. “He’s my son, man!”

Snapping out of their moment of mourning, Bunsen and Beaker focused their attention on the young man who was lying on the ground, hurt and unconscious. “O-Of course. There’s a medical kit upstairs that Beakie and I can retrieve for you.”

Beaker nodded and meeped in approval of Bunsen’s offer for help.

“That’s good. That’s good.” Joanie remarked. “Please get it for me. I don’t want to leave him here unattended.” She gently lifted his upper body and rested it upon her kneeling form, checking for any signs of cuts under his short, black, curly hair.

Bunsen nodded and said, “Certainly, Miss Joanie.” Both he and Beaker then climbed up the nearly ravaged wooden staircase that led out of the basement of the Muppet Theater. They crossed the backstage right of the theater, where the med kit box was bolted right against the wall. While getting the necessary medical items out of the box, Beaker meeped a question to his boss. “Why don’t I have this medical kit downstairs in the lab? Well, I hardly ever get hurt during experiments, Beakie. There’s no need for one.”

Beaker meeped a sigh, putting his face at the palm of his hand and shaking his head slowly – it obviously was not the answer he was hoping for.

Just as soon as Bunsen and Beaker got all the items they needed to help their friend, a loud roaring sound emerged from within the dressing room in the center of the three at the upstairs landing. The thing that was inside began clawing at the door, trying to get out. The two Muppet scientists trembled at the noises, knowing full well what was inside and daring not to let it out.

In his fear, Beaker stammered a meep to Bunsen.

“Of course we can’t let him out, Beaker. Without the Disney Princess from his realm, he is just a wild, untamed beast. And letting him out will not only put us in danger, but every other living being in this time period as well.” While he and his assistant headed back downstairs to the basement again, Beaker meeped an inquiry to Bunsen. “I’m not certain of what particular year we’re in. All of the equipment in the lab was destroyed from the previous ‘incident’. The best way to find out would be to venture into the sublevel of the theater, where we’ve housed the generator for the machine.”

Beaker meeped a remark to Bunsen’s statement, as the two finally made it back into the wrecked laboratory and gave the medical items to Joanie to help treat the wounds on her son’s head. Watching her flawlessly handle the treatment, Bunsen and Beaker’s thoughts went to what she said a short moment ago – admitting that Sean was her son. Here this young man was, from a totally different time period than his mother’s, and he was practically the same age as her – yet, in recent days, she was acting just like one to him. It was quite uncanny; and in their field, that would be a phenomenal scientific discovery. If there was one positive thing to come from their experiment, it was bringing this mother and her son together.

“What generator?” Joanie suddenly asked them, wrapping thin gauze around Sean’s wound.

Bunsen barely realized she asked him a question. “I beg your pardon?”

“While coming in, you said that there’s a generator for the machine in the sublevel of the theater. What does it do?”

Bunsen shared a glance with Beaker and responded, “It’s rather complicated, Miss Joanie.”

She chuckled at his remark. “Dude, this whole experience has been complicated for me. I just want to know what it does. If it means saving the rest of my family – past, present, and future – then I’ll accept whatever weird science you two have got to explain.”

Bunsen nodded in approval and went to his workbench, which was barely still standing at the center of the room. Reaching into one of the drawers, he pulled out a long, rolled-up sheet of paper and spread it out near Joanie, who tried not to move herself in order to keep Sean’s head leveled. It turned out to have been blueprints to the design of the machine’s generator, which looked very funky to Joanie (and even Bunsen and Beaker themselves – they designed it). It was an 18-story geodesic sphere with over a million different components working together to power up one small machine inside of a basement.

“This is the Magic Gateway’s generator, Miss Joanie.” Bunsen indicated. “Its entire structure works as a conduit – or battery – for the machine that used to be right over there.” He pointed the contorted hunk of metal standing at the wall. “Fortunately, the generator is still backing up power to another source…a second gateway.”

It was this point to where Joanie was, as she expected to be, confused. “So…it’s a backup of a backup?”

“Precisely,” clarified Bunsen, before he pointed to the very center of the sphere, where there appeared to have been a room that was the same size and shape of the basement they were in. “In this room is another Magic Gateway machine that has all of the same functions of the one prior. We can use it to find our friends and your family and bring them back to their respective realms and times.”

He skipped ahead of all the technical mumbo jumbo and went right to the solution of their problem, which was exactly the way she wanted it to be delivered to her. Lost in her delight from the news, she almost didn’t hear the young man resting on her lap groaning. As if things were looking up already, Sean was regaining consciousness – a great sign to show that he wasn’t seriously injured or worse from the recent encounter. Opening his dark brown eyes, the first person he saw was Joanie, who was smiling at him – although from his upside-down perspective, it looked more like a frown.

“Something wrong?” he asked her.

Tears began to form beneath her eyelids as she looked down upon him. “No…nothing’s wrong. Everything’s just perfect, man.”

His eyes darted from her to the room, seeing how ravaged it appeared. Memories of recent events began to catch up with him, and he realized what happened prior to his unconscious state. “Oh, no! Where is everybody? Where’s Kim? Where’s Meagan? Cici? Kermit? Gonz…”

Joanie felt him trying to get up, but she quickly settled him down before he could’ve done so. “Shh! Shh! Calm down. It’s okay. We’re going to find them.”

He shook his head negatively. “It’s all my fault.”

“No, no. Don’t say that.”

“It is! Because they wanted to give up on finding your mother – our grandmother – and I just…I couldn’t let it go.”

Joanie sighed, feeling the opposite way; she felt like it was her fault, not his own. “You were just helping me…which I appreciate more than you know. Seriously, man.” Saying that, she took her right hand and grasped onto his.

Sean still felt ashamed, but he was relieved to know that his own mother was proud of him regardless. If she knew the type of relationship they had in the past (or, in her case, will have in the future), she would question her role as a mother more than she already had been since they met through Bunsen and Beaker’s experiment. He didn’t want that, especially considering how close they were becoming. What he did want was to get up and stop feeling so useless.

He made another attempt, which Joanie once again tried to avert. “No, no. Stay down and rest.”

“No, I’m going to help you all find the others,” he declared, finally getting to his feet while fighting the pain that was throbbing in his head. “I heard you three talking about some sort of second Gateway machine.”

Joanie groaned in annoyance – he was definitely her son, seeing how hard-headed and determined he appeared to be. She honestly couldn’t blame him, with all that happened earlier. It was such a devastating blow that they couldn’t just sit around and lick their wounds. With a hint of regret, she admitted, “Bunsen says there’s a generator beneath the Muppet Theater that’s powering another machine – one that will help us find everyone who’s missing here.”

Sean nodded with a hopeful smile. “Great! Then let’s get down there and get to business.”

“It might be a hard process to get to the generator, Mister Sean.” Bunsen revealed to him.

“Well, how hard are talking about?” Joanie inquired.

Beaker meeped a statement to Bunsen that neither Joanie nor Sean could decipher. From the nervous way he delivered it, they knew it couldn’t be good. Bunsen, the only one who could interpret his speech, answered, “It’s the only way to reach it, Beaker. The Initiative never allowed us to have any access to it through the Muppet Theater, because they feared unauthorized personnel would discover its existence.”

Joanie felt like she and her son were completely being left out of the loop. One Muppet was talking in “meeps,” while the other was talking in plain English, although none of what he said made any sense. “Uh, guys? Hello? Wanna explain to us what the heck you’re talking about?”

Bunsen hesitated briefly and finally addressed them about it. “Depending upon the time zone we are currently in…we may or may not have to take a submarine to reach the generator.”

Joanie and Sean’s eyes widened in disbelief at what the Muppet scientist just revealed to them. “It’s underwater? I thought you said it was beneath the theater?” Sean responded.

“No, no. The generator is underground.” Bunsen clarified. “It’s just…it’s part a system that only DHARMA Initiative members can gain access through.”

The eyes of Joanie Navarro shut very hard in frustration; this was, of course, accompanied by a deep, disgruntling sigh. Meanwhile, her son was even more perplexed from her reaction. “What? What is the DHARMA Initiative?”

“A project that consists of a lot of researchers, scientists, inventors…you name it they’ve got it.” Joanie told him. “Bunsen and Beaker registered as members back in 1974.”

“Some of the research we do for them is here at Muppet Labs.”

“Including a giant golf ball-looking thing that’s practically housed in one of their stations,” said the irritated Joanie, “which the rest of us have to obtain membership just to gain access to.”

Hearing about the imagery of the generator’s design, Sean got a sense of déjà vu. He knew he heard such a description before, but couldn’t quite place his finger on it. It wasn’t until his foot came in contact with the blueprints to the generator that he looked down and saw the familiar structure for the first time. With a grin on his face, he knelt down slowly – trying not to bring back the throbbing in his head – to pick it up and gaze at it closely.

“You mean to tell me that the design for your generator was inspired by Spaceship Earth?” He asked a question that garnered some confused stares from Joanie, Bunsen, and Beaker.

“Spaceship What?” Joanie asked.

He showed her the blueprints again, circling his index finger over its structure. “In my time, this is all one big attraction known as Spaceship Earth in Disney’s EPCOT theme park. It’s practically the symbol of the park – something everyone who goes there identifies with.”

For a moment, he completely forgot that he was conversing with people who were literally from a different time period as him, as they each exchanged wondrous and perplexed glances. In response to his revelation, Bunsen asked a crucial question, “When did this theme park open?”

Sean, being the Disney expert that he was, thought through his knowledge on the famous company and searched for the exact answer that Bunsen was expecting. Snapping his fingers and closing his eyes, he concentrated hard on it, until he finally discovered the information stored within his mind. “October 1982.”

Bunsen then appeared deeply lost in thought, which Joanie noticed instantly. It was a look that she was all too familiar with in the years that she lived in the Muppet Theater – his thumb and index finger were rubbing along his chin, as he was looking down towards the floor. Trying not to smile at the sight, she asked, “What’re you thinking, Bunsen?”

“Hmm? Oh! Well, I’m thinking that if what your son just said is the truth, then I believe we have an alternative to reaching the generator. That is, and I again state for scientific reasons, depending on the time zone we are currently in.”

Sean shook his head and chuckled at his theory. “Wait, wait, wait! You’re saying that this DHARMA Initiative could’ve somehow transported this gigantic mechanism from underground the Muppet Theater to above ground. That sounds a little implausible, don’t you think?”

“Not for a project like the DHARMA Initia…”

“Shh!” Joanie suddenly demanded of the group with an expression on her face that made it seem as if she was focusing on something other than the conversation Sean and Bunsen were having.

Noticing that expression, Sean curiously asked, “What is it?”

She glanced up at him in surprise. “You don’t hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“The Mickey Mouse March!”

As if he weren’t confused enough already from all that was happening in the past minutes, this was the most puzzling for Sean, Bunsen, and Beaker. The room was absolutely silent to them; and as far as they were concerned, they were the only four people in the theater after the incident that occurred earlier. Sean knew that he suffered quite a head trauma from it, and he began to wonder if Joanie did as well. There she was, unbeknownst to even herself, humming the tune to the Mickey Mouse Club theme song.

It then started getting louder and clearer to her, driving her to the point that she got off her knees and headed up the rickety staircase. Greatly concerned about her, Sean followed suit. He chased her through several areas within the Muppet Theater, from Backstage Right to the storage room. Everywhere, except for the particular dressing room where they were holding the beastly creature inside.

Sean was just about out of breath when he followed her back to the room they started in, stopping near the stage door lobby in the reception area. “Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Are you…are you alright?”

Joanie was out of breath herself, but didn’t care all that much about it. She was on a mission and couldn’t let anything stop her – not even Sean. “That music…it’s bringing back so many memories. I…I can’t exactly explain it. Just…Just trust me, okay?”

She then bolted out through the stage door, with her son following. However, just as he stood in the doorway, something extremely bizarre happened – she vanished. All that he saw was the back alley, which the sunset was slightly illuminating. It was very odd and confusing; and as much as he gazed around to find her, there was not a single trace of where she went.

Where did she go?

But the more appropriate question he should’ve been asking himself…When did she go?


WORLD OF DISNEY​
 

The Count

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Oh how very Kingdom Hearts-esque! And who dat dude? Sean? That guy who got brainwashed by Krassman? Nah, couldn't be.

Glad to have you back among the living and Muppety here where we need you.
BTW: Are you logged on with an account at fanfiction.net also?
 

Bannanasketch

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OH MY GOSH! SEAN IS BACK! Haha! I can't wait to read more of your fics! I've actually been reading the ghostbusters one on the disney dreams boards! Man, I am extremely excited that you're back and I can't wait to write the MARVELOUS Muppets and sesame DC soon. :smile:
 

muppetwriter

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Oh how very Kingdom Hearts-esque! And who dat dude? Sean? That guy who got brainwashed by Krassman? Nah, couldn't be.

Glad to have you back among the living and Muppety here where we need you.
BTW: Are you logged on with an account at fanfiction.net also?
Thanks, Count! And I do have an account on FF.net - my name is RetroWriter2012 on there. :wink:
 

muppetwriter

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Chapter One – Time Zone: 1977 (Before Temporal Displacement)​

Jive Talkin’
You’re telling me lies, yeah
Jive Talkin’
You wear a disguise
Jive Talkin’
So misunderstood, yeah
Jive Talkin’
You just ain’t no good​

The 1975 song from the Bee Gees practically exploded through the speakers within the new brown Lincoln Versailles owned by Joanie Navarro, as she drove it down the same street where the Muppet Theater was located. In the passenger seat of the vehicle was her old friend, Scooter, who was the resident “gofer” of the Muppet Theater and nephew of the theater owner, J.P. Grosse. He volunteered to accompany Joanie and her cousin, Tracy, to their trip in Africa where they got to know about the culture and people. Joanie even met an African representative of the program named Tomas (which was pronounced similar to “Thomas”) and was instantly enchanted by him, offering a visit to the States whenever possible.

It was that reason why Joanie was in such a positive mood on the way back to the Theater. After the plane ride home and dropping Tracy off at her home in Tallahassee, Scooter was just about exhausted. But there was Joanie, as happy as she could be, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to the tune of the Bee Gees. The time was seven o’clock in the evening – just about the right time for Scooter to hit the sack upon his return home.

“Joanie,” he said through a groggily voice, “Could you possibly turn down the music? I can barely focus keeping my head up.”

She glanced at him, seeing how exhausted he was, and turned down the music. “Sorry, Scoot. I’m just so…I just can’t express how enlightening that trip was. Africa is such a beautiful place, from the people to the culture to even the land. What was your favorite pa…?”

A snoring sound filled the Lincoln’s interior, as Scooter finally feel asleep in the passenger seat. Joanie grinned, shaking her head at the tired little gofer. She kept the volume of the eight-track down to a minimum, while heading the rest of the way down to the Muppet Theater. It wasn’t very long when they did arrive at their destination, and she pulled her car into the back alley of the theater, parking it there for the night.

Joanie took it upon herself to carry the sleeping gofer in her arms while heading through the stage door. In the reception area, she was greeted by the elderly Muppet known as Pops, who worked as the stage doorman at the Muppet Theater. Due to his failing eyesight and poor memory, Pops asked the young brunette in the bright tie-dye t-shirt and bell bottom pants, “Who’re you?”

“Pops, you remember me. It’s Joanie…Joanie Navarro…the daughter of the Muppet Theater’s background artist, Diana Navarro?”

Pops appeared to have been drawing a total blank. “Er…you sure that you ain’t that little girl from Little House on the Prairie?”

“Melissa Gilbert?”

The old Muppet then glanced down at the guest list, reading all of the names and searching for the one that Joanie uttered. “Nope. Don’t have a ‘Melissa Gilbert’ on here. Gonna hafta make a reservation with the frog, missy.”

“Pops!” There came the voice of an older woman who approached the area and Joanie and Pops turned to see that it was Joanie’s mother, Diana. She was dressed just as hip as her daughter, wearing a silk white blouse and bell bottom jeans. “Are you givin’ my little girl trouble again?”

“For the fifth month in a row, he is!” Joanie remarked in aggravation.

Pops glanced at Joanie again, adjusting his glasses. “Oh, is that you? Heh! Didn’t even recognize ya.” He then glanced at the guest list and confirmed her admission there. “Yep! Right here at the bottom of the list – right beneath Beauregard and Gonzo.”

Joanie flashed a sarcastic smile. “Gee, thanks.”

She walked off a little peeved at the absent-mindedness of the elderly Muppet, with her mother following at her side. Diana whispered to her daughter with a smile, “Don’t worry about him. He’s just old.”

“What was that?” Pops asked.

“I said that you’re gold, Pops.” Diana fibbed.

“Thank ya!”

Mother and daughter laughed on their way through the backstage right area. Diana noticed Scooter being carried in Joanie’s arms, sleeping and snoring away every second. “Aww, is Scooter all tuckered out?”

“Yeah.” Joanie confirmed. “The trip practically exhausted the poor little fella. Mind taking him into one of the dressing rooms? I’ve gotta talk to Kermit about something.”

As she took Scooter off her hands (literally), Diana informed her daughter, “Might have to wait a while, ‘cause he and the band are performing on stage right now.”

“They are?” Joanie remarked, just as she heard the audience in attendance for that night’s performance roar with applause for an onstage act performed by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem band with Kermit the Frog.

“Yep. They’ve been performing for an hour.” Diana said. “It’s a packed house tonight, too. We hadn’t gotten this many since Raquel Welch popped in last year.” She noticed the look of displeasure on her daughter’s face and asked in concern, “What was it that you wanted to talk with Kermit about?”

Joanie shook her head and responded, “Nothing that can’t wait ‘til later.”

Diana stared at her for a brief moment and nodded before going upstairs to the dressing room at the center, carrying Scooter along with her. For a short time, Joanie was left alone backstage, lost in thought, which was evident from the way she was staring off into space. It wasn’t until Kermit’s nephew, Robin, arrived in the room did she snap out of her trance. “Heya, Joanie! Nice seeing you again! How was Africa?”

“Hey, Robin,” she responded. “It was groovy. Got to see a lot of great stuff, meet a lot of wonderful people, and learn some terms.”

“Really?” Robin said, genuinely intrigued. “Tell me something in African.”

Joanie smiled. “Uh, okay…lemme see…” She thought carefully, searching within her mind for that current knowledge she achieved on her trip. Without even realizing it, she spouted out, “Wewe ni zuri frog, Robin.”

Robin was clearly spellbound from the way she delivered the speech so fluidly. “Wow. What did you say?”

“I said, ‘You are a beautiful frog, Robin’ in the Swahili language.”

“And you learned all of that in one week?” Robin asked, and Joanie nodded with a grin. “That’s amazing.”

“Yeah…it is,” she uttered, not sounding all too impressed.

Robin could see how depressed she looked and, just like her mother, he asked in concern, “Everything alright?”

She realized how obviously down she was making herself look to everyone and quickly did her best to cover it up. “Oh, yeah. Of course. I’m just…” She let out a phony yawn. “…I’m just tired. That’s all.”

Robin shook his head at her. “Joanie, this is me you’re talking to…not Gonzo.”

Joanie saw no use in getting by the smart little frog – he was definitely Kermit’s nephew, not just from appearance but intelligence as well. So she came out and admitted, “It’s just that I feel so darn useless around here.”

The tiny frog was surprised to hear that from her. “How do you mean?”

“I mean that while I was in Africa for that one week, I felt like I was doing something…magical. It was like I belonged there and not here, watching my life pass me by.”

“You mean that you’re not happy here?” He sounded a little sad as he asked her that question.

Immediately she comforted him and clarified, “No, no. I love it here. I love you and everyone who I work with. It’s just…” She let out a depressed sigh. “I don’t know what it is I’m looking for in my life. I just wish there were some way I could look ahead in the future and see what kind of destiny lies ahead.”

Robin could see how distraught she was about this, and it made him feel really bad for her. But when it came to down moments such as this, the little frog was always good at bouncing back to the positive side of things. He cheerfully asked her, in an attempt to change the subject, “Hey, did you check out that cool new space movie that came out last week?”

Joanie smiled at him, seeing what he was doing and blessing him for his attempt. Although she still felt a little distraught, she put on her best performance (one that the smart little frog couldn’t see through) and made it appear as if it worked to keep him satisfied. “Yeah! I saw it! Had to have been the best sci-fi movie I’ve seen since…well…ever! What about you?”

Robin shook his head. “Nuh-uh. But Uncle Kermit got me two tickets for a showing tonight.” He showed the pair of tickets to her for a showing close to the time it currently was. “Though I think Uncle Kermit will be too busy to see it with me, on account of tonight’s very special performance.”

She felt really sorry for him and a little upset with Kermit for forgetting his promise to take him. It seemed like the good host was too busy to take care of anybody nowadays. Without even a second thought, she offered her friend, “C’mon, I’ll go with ya. Got nothin’ else better to do tonight.”

Needless to say, Robin was quite taken aback from her offer. “W-What about Uncle Kermit?”

“Eh, I’ll pay him back. I owe him one anyway.”

Even though he was still unsure about the idea of seeing the movie with his best friend instead of his uncle, Robin graciously accepted her offer, mostly because he couldn’t take another second of his uncle’s inability to provide him with the attention he wanted. So he followed her out through the stage door and into the back alley where the Lincoln was still parked. Joanie opened the passenger door for Robin, allowing him to hop inside. After that, she headed over to her side – the driver’s side – and was about to get in, until she heard Robin point someone out to her.

“Hey, Joanie, who’s that?”

She followed his gaze and noticed – at the end of the alleyway near the collection of garbage cans – was a cloaked, shadowy figure. The face was obscured heavily, making it practically impossible for Joanie to make out who (or what) it was. “May I help you?” She asked the figure curiously, as well as cautiously.

“Huwezi kuzuia kwepeka.” The figure responded with a feminine tone and in Swahili – a language that Joanie had become familiar with, but not as well as she admitted to Robin (the “beautiful frog” compliment she gave was something she had been practicing with during her time in Africa). Although what the woman just told her, and the way it was delivered, almost came clear as a bell.

Robin looked back and forth between the two women. He heard what the shadowy figure said and did not understand a word. However, aware of Joanie’s recent study of the African language, he asked her, “What did she say?”

Joanie wanted to answer Robin, but she was too spellbound to utter anything. But it was especially difficult when…

BOOM!

Everything practically shook at the loud noise, which came from within the Muppet Theater. Alarmed, Robin hopped out of the Lincoln and dashed back inside. Joanie looked away from the shadowy visitor and followed her gaze on Robin. She called out to him, “Robin! Wait up! I…” Looking back at the end of the alleyway, she was surprised to have seen that the dark figure had vanished without a trace.

It was a bizarre occurrence to Joanie, and as much as she wanted to spend more time trying to figure it all out, she was too concerned of what happened inside of the Muppet Theater. Yes, of course, an explosion here and there in a chaotic atmosphere such as the one there was no big deal; but it was still better safe than sorry to check to see if everyone was alright. She bolted back inside the theater and ran right into the smoke-filled backstage right area. Coughing and waving her hand in front of her to clear the smoke from her nose and eyes, she realized that Robin had walked right into it and couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Robin! Where are you?” She called, but there was no response. Remembering that Pops was still in the room when they left, she turned to his desk and saw that he was absent from the scene. The elderly Muppet must’ve high-tailed out of there as soon as he heard the boom. She suddenly realized how the smoke was starting to clear a little, allowing her to see where it was coming from. Apparently the source of the chaos was none other than the basement – or “Muppet Labs,” a more appropriate name for the two characters inhabiting it, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker.

Joanie headed towards the basement and, upon entering, she was consumed yet again by pillars of smoke. It was hard to see anything while she was down there, and because of this, she had taken careful precaution going down the stairs. She called out to Bunsen, Beaker, and Robin (whom she guessed had to have been down there, as soon as he noticed the smoke seeping out). There was no answer, which led her to believe that something was wrong.

Then, out of nowhere, Joanie felt her foot connect with something that threw off her equilibrium and caused her to fall forward and let out a large shriek. Joanie didn’t know what part of the basement she had fallen into; but when her body connected to the floor, she was surprised to feel how cold and metallic it was – as opposed to it being warm and cemented. There came a loud noise, like a huge door coming shut, and Joanie got scared.

Between the smoke and darkness, Joanie had absolutely no idea where she was or how to get out. It wasn’t until a light switched on from overhead when she was given some information on her current location. Apparently, she was standing inside a chamber with vanilla-colored walls, ceiling, and floor. It looked like something out of Star Trek to her, which the giddy, geeky side of her was enjoying more than her terrified, realistic side.

With the light shining in the room, she could see the door out of the chamber; however, there was no doorknob. It was one of those automatic sliding doors that could only be opened from a computer, which meant that Joanie was in extreme danger of losing air. Panicked, she pounded her fists against its metallic structure, screaming for her mother or anyone else that could hear her. She didn’t know if her voice could be heard from outside the chamber or not; but she at least hoped for a miracle.

Of course, no miracle happened; but something bizarre did. Joanie started hearing an unusual buzzing sound that accompanied the growing intensity of the light shining over her. It became brighter and brighter, until she was forced to shield her eyes from it. She felt a weird tingling sensation through every section of her body, from her clothes to her skin.

It was as if she were transforming…but into what exactly?


END OF CHAPTER ONE​
 

Bannanasketch

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All I can say is that this is AWESOME! Action, drama, supense! Oh and bonus points for addding my favorite show ever in there, LOST! Dr. Honeydew and Beaker are part of the DHARMA Initiative? That's amazing! I can't wait to read more of this! Thanks, Sean! :smile:
 

muppetwriter

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All I can say is that this is AWESOME! Action, drama, supense! Oh and bonus points for addding my favorite show ever in there, LOST! Dr. Honeydew and Beaker are part of the DHARMA Initiative? That's amazing! I can't wait to read more of this! Thanks, Sean! :smile:
Thank you! It'll actually be nearly a year since I started on this fic. It's been my favorite to work on since, incorporating all my knowledge of Disney and the Muppets into it. Glad to bring it here to Muppet Central. :smile:
 

muppetwriter

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Chapter Two: Realm Zone – 1995 (Before Temporal Displacement)​

Darkness – that was all Joanie could make out after the flash from the chamber. She felt as if she were placed in a completely different one at the moment, only she could not move a muscle in her body or even feel anything. It was a very frightening sensation; she couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead. And as much as she wanted to scream out, she couldn’t feel herself doing that either. What was going on?

Then her question seemed to have been answered (somewhat), when she heard muffled voices – one was from a young boy (she guessed he was about six years old) and his mother.

“Andy! I’ve got a surprise for you!”

“Okay, Mom. Be right down.”

“Alright! But don’t take too long!”

A light suddenly emerged before Joanie’s eyes, overshadowing the darkness that had shrouded her. She would’ve shielded her eyes from it, with her hands or eyelids. But she surprisingly found herself unable to. It was also a surprise that her retinas weren’t even affected by it in any way, especially with the absence of her eyeglasses (where were they?). However, the greatest shocker of them all was the gigantic human hand that reached down and grabbed her, pulling her “tiny” body out from what appeared to have been a chest.

Joanie was suddenly face-to-face with the six-year-old boy named Andy, who she heard from inside the chest. He was quite adorable to her, regardless of the fact that he was ten times bigger than she was. Smiling at her for a second, he set her down upright by the foot of his bed, while he returned his focus to the inside of his toy chest, which had a bit of a cowboy theme on it. As his attention was there, Joanie could see the room she was suddenly in; it was the bedroom of a child, complete with cloud wallpaper that gave the impression of a sky and drawings done in crayon of a cowboy figure hung throughout.

That’s when Joanie heard a baby cooing and realized that this wasn’t just Andy’s bedroom, but one that he shared with his baby brother or sister as well. She wished that she could turn her head to clarify the gender of the child, but had great difficult trying to do it. Her head was only pointing in one direction, and that was straight ahead to where Andy was pulling out toys from his chest. Watching him perform this activity, it dawned upon Joanie why she had appeared to have lost all motion function in her body – she…was…A TOY!

How the heck could this have happened to me? Is this some sort of joke? What were Bunsen and Beaker doing in that basement?

One-by-one, Joanie could see each of Andy’s other toys: a Mr. Potato Head doll, a ceramic piggy bank, a porcelain figurine of Bo Peep, a slinky toy modeled after a dog, a plastic tyrannosaurus rex, and – last but not least – a pull-string cowboy doll. Andy greeted the pull-string cowboy in a way that could only be described as if he was acknowledging a real person. “Rise and shine, Woody! There’s a town that needs saving today!”

He set Woody down beside the toy chest and commenced in pulling out a few more toys, before he closed the chest shut and gathered all of the other ones (including Joanie) together. Andy carried them over to a row of moving boxes lying on the floor, drawn up in crayon to look like a miniature western town. One of them had an illustration done by Andy himself of Mr. Potato Head on a “wanted” poster taped to it. Joanie could only guess what kind of scene this was going to be, as he placed her and a few other toys together in front of a “bank” box.

Taking Mr. Potato Head, he held him over in front of the bank with plastic toy guns held in his hands and pointed at Joanie and the other toys. “Alright, everyone! This is a stick-up! Don’t anybody move! Now empty that safe!” He was imitating Mr. Potato Head’s voice in a devilish way, which Joanie admitted had the makings of a talented actor. Andy picked up the piggy bank with his other free hand and emptied out a pile of coins over the floor in front of Mr. Potato Head. “Ooh! Money! Money! Money!”

Andy brought Bo Peep into the scene and imitated her voice in a high-pitched, feminine tone. “Stop it! Stop it, you mean old potato!”

“Quiet, Bo Peep…or your sheep get run over!” He had Mr. Potato Head threaten her in such a “violent” way, clearly making him the villain of this performance.

The porcelain sheep that accompanied the Bo Peep figurine were placed upon the center of a Hot Wheels track loop. “Heeelp! BAAAA! Heeelp us!”

“Oh, no! Not my sheep! Somebody do something!”

Andy suddenly brought Woody into the picture, positioning him opposite of Mr. Potato Head and pulling the ring in the center of Woody’s back. An electronic voice then emerged from within the toy that said, “Reach for the sky!”

“Oh, no! Sheriff Woody!”

“I’m here to stop you, One-Eyed Bart.”

Andy pulled out one of Mr. Potato Head’s eyes, giving him the appearance of a one-eyed bandit (like his character). “Doh! How’d you know it was me?”

“Are you gonna come quietly?”

“You can’t touch me, Sheriff! I brought my attack dog with a built-in force field!” He placed the “Slinky Dog” in front of Mr. Potato Head and stretched his slinky mid-section out.

“Well, I brought my dinosaur, who eats force field dogs!” Following that line from Woody, he brought out the plastic T-Rex toy and had him stomp over the Slinky Dog, “defeating” him. “You’re goin’ to jail, Bart!” Picking up Mr. Potato Head, he placed him in the crib of his one-year-old sister, working as a “jail” (even with a crayon-written cardboard sign taped to bars showing that it was). And, as if on cue, Andy’s sister came in and picked him up, sucking on him and pounding the toy repeatedly against the rail of her crib, which resulted in him loosing some parts.

Caring less how his sister was ruining his toy, Andy put on a cowboy hat of his own and picked up Woody, smiling at his plastic face. “You saved the day again, Woody!”

Once again, he pulled on his string and Woody responded in his electronic voice, “You’re my favorite deputy!”

Joanie watched with interest as Andy played with Woody in such a zealous manner that it could only be described as a boy playing with his best friend. It didn’t matter whether that friend was an inanimate object or not; Andy treated him as such, and it really touched Joanie’s heart (that was, if she still had one). She never owned a toy that she loved as much as Andy loved Woody. The playtime was taken outside of the room, leaving Joanie and the other toys to witness the “destruction” of one Mr. Potato Head at the hands of the baby girl.

While standing in a room that was filled only with the excitable cheers of a baby, Joanie began to wonder just exactly how she got into this mess, becoming a twelve-inch tall toy in a sort-of “cartoonish” type of environment. The only explanation for it could’ve come from that new invention she and everyone else at the Muppet Theater heard Bunsen and Beaker were working on. Not too many details were revealed from the two Muppet scientists about it other than it could only be invented in the basement area. It would appear at that very second that Joanie was getting a firsthand experience of what the invention was capable of doing. The only question that remained was: how on earth were Bunsen and Beaker going to get her out of this?

After what felt like a long time, Andy and Woody returned to the room, approaching the crib of his baby sister. He tipped Woody’s hat to her and said, “Howdy, Little Lady!” From there, he went to his bed, which had western-themed bed sheets donned over it, and placed Woody onto it. Pulling his string one last time, he made Woody say, “Somebody’s poisoned the waterhole!”

Walking up to his sister’s crib once again, Andy picked her up and walked out of the room. Before leaving, he gave one parting comment to his favorite toy, “See ya later, Woody.”

With Andy and his sister’s departure from the room, everything fell completely silent. Joanie always wondered what the life of a toy was like, and she was finding out from just standing there – motionless – in the middle of the play set that Andy made. Needless to say, it was quite boring for her. She already desired to escape from this nightmare and return to reality.

That was until she heard Woody talking (outside of his voice box) and saw him actually moving (without the aid of Andy) to the side of the bed. He said to Joanie and all of the toys, “Okay, everybody. Coast is clear.”

And with that, the bedroom suddenly came alive, with toys emerging from the toy box, the closet, the shelves, and in other places and engaging in a flurry of activity. Even Joanie suddenly felt herself coming to life again, moving all of her limbs and her face; but she still couldn’t feel herself doing all of it. She felt so synthetic, like a real toy; and as freaky as it was to her, it was also enlightening in a way. Of course, regaining her movement again, she wondered if she could possibly get some answers as to where she was and how she could get out.

Before she started walking forward, she was suddenly confronted by the T-Rex toy as he asked her, “Do you think Andy made me scary enough? Be honest, please. Was I scary?”

Joanie wasn’t entirely sure of how to respond. So she just smiled and told him, “Yeah…you were like Godzilla to us.” She gestured a thumb up and added, “Way to go, Rex.”

“Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” He took her plastic hand and shook it so feverishly that Joanie almost felt it come off her body…literally. “You don’t know how much that means coming from you, Princess!”

As he walked off excitedly, Joanie gazed at him in confusion. Did he just call me ‘princess’? She became very intrigued of exactly what kind of toy she became, looking down at herself and seeing how she was wearing some type of white dress that looked very familiar to her. When she started to get an idea, she reached up at her hair and felt the “buns” at the opposite sides of her head. She closed her eyes real tight and thought in despair, Oh, man! I’ve become a Princess Leia doll!

“Is there something wrong, Princess?” She heard someone address her, and she opened her eyes to see Woody next to her, looking a little concerned.

“Uh…n-no…everything’s fine.”

You liar! Everything is NOT fine! You’re a toy for cryin’ out loud!

Woody seemed a bit relieved. “Well, that’s good. The last thing we need is more bad news.”

“Bad news?” A voice with a country accent exclaimed, and Woody realized all too late that it came from Slinky Dog, who was passing right by while he was conversing with Joanie.

All of the toys in the area suddenly fell silent, hearing Slinky’s alarmed voice. Woody then whispered to the toy, “Slink, just gather everyone up for staff meeting and be happy.”

“Got it,” acknowledged Slinky, who began shuffling off, much to Woody’s chagrin.

“Be happy!” Woody demanded, and Slinky faked happiness as hard as he could, even going as far as laughing hysterically.

Panic began to come over Joanie, and she was heavily anxious to get out from wherever she was, worried about her mother and friends. She must’ve been pretty worried as she even heard Robin’s voice addressing her. “Joanie! Joanie!”

However, it was not her imagination. Robin was actually there, standing somewhere very close. She turned her head and noticed him caught under the lid of the toy box. “Robin?” Excited and surprised to see him all at once, she quickly went to his aid and lifted the lid off his body, allowing him to clear from the box and join everyone in the “outside world.” Joanie noticed that he was wearing his “Frog Scout” uniform and had a very action figure-like appearance. “You poor thing. Are you okay?”

“I am now that you’d rescued me,” he said, before gazing around at the bizarre scene in front of him. “Joanie, where are we? Is this some sort of dream?”

Joanie shrugged and said, “I don’t know. But it’s got to be some result of Bunsen’s newest invention. One minute, I was trapped in some sort of chamber, and then the next…I’m in some weird remake of Babes in Toyland.”

Robin looked up and down at her in confusion. “Nice costume. Who’re you supposed to be?”

“A character from that space movie you and I were going to see before all of this happened,” she answered with a sigh, before noticing the way he was dressed. “What about you? How come you’re in your Frog Scout uniform?”

The tiny frog shook his head and remarked, “I’m not sure. The last thing I thought about when I was trapped inside the chamber myself was the day Uncle Kermit and I went on that Frog Scout excursion a year ago. It was the only thing that kept me calm before I ended up here.”

Listening to him, Joanie realized the same thing happened with her, only she thought about seeing that sci-fi space flick for the first time recently. She enlightened her friend with a scientific theory, “The invention must’ve recognized our thoughts and decided on what type of beings we would become in this…place.”

Joanie and Robin gazed around at the area in awe and confusion, still wondering where they possibly were. Was it really some sort of dream? Or was it some type of simulation? If it was indeed the latter, then it certainly felt beyond realistic to them. Nothing in science could ever create whatever this place was – unless it came from Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker.

“Come on, you two.” They heard Slinky address them and looked down to see him gesturing for them to follow him. “We’ve got a staff meeting to attend.”

Robin and Joanie exchanged a puzzled glance and then followed Slinky to where all the other toys were gathered. Woody was standing by some sort of makeshift podium, while a toy tape recorder waddled its way up and allowed him to take its microphone. “Hello? Check? Better? Great! Okay, first item today…Has everyone picked a moving buddy?”

The toys all moaned from his inquiry, whereas the confused little Robin turned to Joanie and asked, “We’re moving? To where?”

Joanie wanted to provide an answer for him to calm his nerves; but all she could do was politely shush him, expecting their answer to come in the conversation happening before them. “Moving buddy?” The ceramic piggy bank (appropriately known as “Hamm”) said from atop a drawer. “You can’t be serious!”

“Well, I didn’t know we were supposed to have one already.” Rex said, sounding just as concerned as Robin.

Mr. Potato Head, who put himself back together after his “attack” from Andy’s sister, waved his arm out of its socket. “Do we have to hold hands?” This, of course, got quite a humorous reaction from the other toys (with the obvious exception of Joanie, Robin, and Woody).

“Oh, yeah, you guys think this is a big joke,” said the disgusted Woody. “We’ve only got one week left before the move. I don’t want any toys left behind.”

Robin couldn’t take much more of the confusion and spoke out to the pull-string cowboy doll. “Where are we moving to?” All glances suddenly focused directly on Robin, much of them displayed odd reactions.

Woody shook his head in aggravation at his question. “Oh, come on. Please don’t do this to me, guys. Ya gotta keep up with me on this stuff. You think it’s any easier for me, especially with Andy’s birthday moved to today?”

The toys suddenly panicked at this news, moving their stares away from Robin and back on Woody. “What’s going on down there? Is Mom losing her marbles?” Hamm questioned.

“Well, obviously she wanted to have the party before the move.” Woody indicated.

Robin’s confusion seemed to have grown each second of the discussion. “I don’t get it. Why’s everyone so afraid of a birthday party? Aren’t they supposed to be fun?”

The toys glanced oddly at the tiny frog again, and it was even Mr. Potato Head who voiced his irritation over all of his ridiculous questions. “Geez Louise! Where the heck has this kid been for the past century?”

“I’d say he’s been cooped up at the bottom of the toy box for too long.” Hamm uttered, creating uproar of laughter from the other toys.

Joanie, taking offense to how they were all laughing at the poor confused Robin, stepped forward and addressed them. “Okay, that’s enough! Yeah, he’s a little behind on what’s going on – but it’s for good reason.”

“You mean he has been cooped up at the bottom of the box all this time?” Rex inquired, inadvertently creating yet another upheaval of laughter amongst everyone.

Woody became aggravated over how the subject seemed to have veered off-course, as well as how his friends were picking on the smaller toy. Immediately, he took command of the situation and told everyone, “Alright! Like Princess said, enough’s enough! The little guy is just worried about his future, okay? I mean, yeah, there are some of us who aren’t thinking straight on this. But that doesn’t mean we’re just going to insult each other for it. We just have to relax and know that everything is going to be just fine. How different can this be from every other birthday we’ve been through?”

“Uh, pardon me. I hate to break up the staff meeting, but…THEY’RE HERE!” Hamm frantically informed. “Birthday guests at three o’clock!”

At this update, the toys panicked and stampeded over Woody, heading toward the bedroom window, leaving him alone on the floor with Joanie and Robin. While they were crowded around the window and trying to get a peek outside, Joanie pulled Robin aside and hid under Andy’s bed as Woody wasn’t looking. She whispered to her little friend, “Look, Robin, we’ve got to get out of here. I’m certain we’ve just been transported away from the Muppet Theater, hopefully a few blocks or so. If we leave now, maybe we can get back before sunset and have Bunsen and Beaker switch us back to our normal selves.”

“But, Joanie, I don’t think…”

She didn’t give him much time to say what he wanted to, as she took his hand and pulled him out from under the bed along with herself, exiting out the other side. Woody and the other toys were distracted with whatever was happening outside, giving them the perfect opportunity for escape. They dashed through the open doorway leading out of the bedroom, moving into the upstairs hallway. Before going any further, Joanie looked around to check and see if the coast was clear. She wasn’t certain of why she did it, because she couldn’t care less if they were spotted by anyone; but it seemed important to her nonetheless.

Once she realized that it was, she led Robin down the staircase (which looked like a series of cliffs to Joanie and Robin) and moved to the downstairs hallway. Seeing the front door straight ahead, Joanie was thrilled to discover that she and Robin were only a hop and a skip away from freedom. But before either of them could move towards it, they both suddenly froze in place, just as Andy’s mother passed through, rounding up Andy and all of his birthday guests.

“Okay, c’mon, kids! Everyone in the living room. It’s almost time for presents.” And as she passed through, she spotted Joanie and Robin at the foot of the stairs and glanced at them in confusion. “What on earth…?” She sighed, picking the two of them up and setting them down atop a shelf in the living room. “I’m gonna have to remind him to pick these things up, or else I’ll have to…”

While she walked off and continued murmuring to herself in frustration, Joanie and Robin unfroze, surprised to have discovered what just happened to them. “How did that happen?” Robin exclaimed.

“You’ve got me…I was just about ready to bolt through the front door, before my whole body just shut down.” Joanie glanced down over the edge and saw how far down it was from the top of the shelf. She groaned at the height, which would’ve taken several minutes for two small figures like them to get down. “Alright. So attempt number one has been foiled, but I’m sure attempt number two will turn out better. C’mon, Rob…” She stopped and noticed the amazed look on her friend’s face. “What? What is it?”

Robin pointed straight ahead to the pile of brightly wrapped gifts sitting atop the living room coffee table. “Look at all those wonderful presents! This Andy kid must be the luckiest one on the planet!”

Joanie shook her head and grinned. “Don’t get distracted, little buddy. We’ve got to boogie, before…” The sound of kids laughing and running into the living room stopped her cold, and both she and Robin remained where they were, as Andy, his mother, and the guests showed up in the room. Again, Joanie groaned – another attempt foiled. “Perfect!”

“Relax, Joanie.” Robin said. “At least we get to see what all he got.”


END OF CHAPTER TWO​
 

The Count

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Ha... Toy Story... Disney's attempt at bringing The Christmas Toy and Secret Life of Toys into their own self-controlled universe. And to think, that was Pixar's first venture, grabbing something Jim Henson had already done nine years before.
You mentioned Babes in Toyland as a crack by Joanie... And yet, that movie isn't rully a fair comparison to use against Toy Story. The version of Babes in Toyland I fondly remember and would sooo love to watch again is the one with Annette Funicello as Mary Mary Quite Contrary and Tommy Kirk as Tom Tom, the Piper's Son.
Robin in his Frog Scout uniform? Okay, that's the first temporal disruption sign. FS Robin wasn't released until S7, and that was in 2004. Still, better you included Robin in his Frog Scout uniform as that's the version that actually has articulated joints to allow him movement. The normal/signature version of Robin was just a solid sculpted figure that was released with Rainbow Connection Kermit and could be considered as S10 in the range of singularly-released exclusives in 2005.
Also, the whole fact that Joanie and Robin have been turned from living beings into toys is similar to this Power Rangers story over on fanfiction.net called Not Just Action Figures I'm plugged into. Find it and take a read if you're interested.

Thanks for the update, eagerly awaiting more.
 
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