The Final Adventure: Disney Crossover Finale Ch.10

The Cold, Hard Truth

“What did you do to her?” Elsa demanded when she stood and looked to Peter for answers.

Pan sneered and answered “I didn’t do anything. I just gave her what she wanted: friends.” When Elsa asked what he meant he continued with “One thing I do best is find kids in need. I found Anna, who felt all alone because no one would play with her. But I was there. I came to her night after night and promised to take her away from her boring home and bring her somewhere she could have fun forever.”

“And what about her memories?” Elsa spat her question at him, her eyes starting to flare with anger. “Why doesn’t she remember me?”

“And Lilo too.” Merida added, the only one between both Pan and Elsa at this point.
He only responded with a shrug and said “Don’t really know. I’ve never thought about it. Doesn’t really matter.”

“It matters to me!” Elsa shouted, a sudden burst of cold air coming through the area. “Tell me what you did, you little…”

“Enough, Queen Elsa!” Mary Poppin

s stepped in to stop her. “I know why this happened.” Elsa, Merida, and some of the others, looked at her confused before she explained “That’s the nature of this place. They call it ‘Neverland’ for a reason. For one, you’ll never age as long as you remain.” She turned to Hook and asked “Isn’t that right, Captain?”

When everyone looked to him Hook nodded and answered “Aye that be true. I didn’t realize myself until ten years passed and never did I feel the days catch up with me.”

“But what about their memories?” Merida asked. “Why don’t they remember?”

“Because that is another enchantment about this place.” She began to explain “You begin to forget the world outside of this island. Whatever life you had before it becomes nothing but a dream, buried in a forgotten memory.” Mary Poppins turned to look at Pan when she said “You offer them friends and games for the rest of their lives, but you fail to mention that they lose their memories as compensation.”

Pan crossed his arms and retorted “Maybe for some of them it’s for the better. Not that you’d know, you…grown up.”

She huffed before giving him a defiant “It’s the very reason I hold onto my memories, good or bad, that makes me a grown up. I deal with responsibility for children. You only want to take it away from them.”

It was then that Merida, looking to Mary Poppins, said “You knew. You knew they wouldn’t remember.”

When she agreed to this Elsa asked “Why didn’t you tell us?”

In response Mary Poppins answered “I did warn you they would not be what you expected.”

Pan then floated and said “Alright. All this talk is getting boring. All of you can leave one way or another. I don’t really care.”

“I’m not leaving without my sister.” Elsa said before taking Anna’s arm and saying “Come on, Anna.”

In response the young Anna tried to pull away and protested “Let go! I don’t want to go with you.”

“Anna! Stop!” she argued. “You need to come home. Now!”

“I am home! Now let me go!” she protested more.

Suddenly Pan drew his sword, which was actually Hook’s old sword, and said “You heard her. Let her go.”

Some of the other Lost Children drew their weapons as well and pointed them at Elsa, making her let go of Anna. The young princess ran to Lilo, who seemed to be her friend, and stood by her. Flynn, Mickey and Hook looked very nervous over the sudden rise in tension while Mary Poppins looked more concerned for what Elsa would do.

Merida, however, tried to step in and say “Easy now. All of you. Let’s not take this too far.” She turned and said “Elsa, think about this. They’re only children.”

“Maybe. But he’s not.” She said, indicating Pan.

Before anyone could say anything the cold air began to pick up to the point where flake of snow could be seen. Many of the children looked confused about the sudden change in weather before the wind picked up, scaring some of the younger ones.

Knowing what it was Mary Poppins yelled “Elsa! Stop this at once!” even getting the attention of Jiminy who poked his head out to see the sudden snow storm rising.

In the growing confusion Hook, seeing the children’s attention taken away, slipped away and ran back for the forest of Neverland. Seeing this Mickey pointed it out to Flynn, who volunteered to go after him and ran off. After that he turned to some of the frightened children and tried leading them into their huts for protection.  Meanwhile the wind and snow had become so violent that Merida and some of the others needed to shield their eyes while Elsa stood angered while looking towards Pan.

“Anna’s coming home with me.” She threatened. “One way or another!”

Merida could see that the snow began to form around Elsa, ready to erupt into a blast of cold. She knew it was meant for Pan but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to see Peter, or anyone else, hurt from it. As Elsa fired Pan flew out of the way, the ice hitting the base of his tree and freezing the bark. This scared more of the older children, making them run for their huts too with Mickey trying to help.

Anna, however, watched with Lilo and Peter avoided another blast of ice that went flying into the sky. The more she watched the woman with ice powers fight the more she began to feel it was familiar somehow.

When she had him corned Elsa readied another finishing ice blast towards Pan. He looked worried, knowing that he couldn’t dodge it, while Tinkerbell flew in front of him to try and block it. He swatted her out of the way, showing he didn’t want her to be hurt, before Elsa fired.

However, before it could hit him, Merida jumped in the way while shouting “NO!”

Elsa gasped when she saw this, Mary Poppins looking shocked, as the ice struck the princess on the right side of her head and shoulder. Elsa covered her mouth in horror as she saw her friend fall to the ground, Pan looking more confused when he saw this. The wind suddenly stopped and the snow disappeared. The children all looked, both those still out in the open while others poked their heads out from their huts to see Merida lying with her face to the ground.

“Merida…?” Elsa said, her body starting to shake.

Mary Poppins ran over, shouting “Merida!” before turning her over with Mickey helping.

When they did they found her shoulder was covered with ice that had frozen over her clothing as well. The spot where the ice struck her head was a little red but they could see that some of her red, curly locks had started turning pure white. When Anna saw this she gasped before looking at one of her pigtails, seeing her own white strands braided around the normal colored ones.

Elsa backed up, saying “Oh no…..what have I done….?” Before running away.

Seeing this Mary Poppins looked to Mickey and said “Bring her back, Commander.” As Mickey tried to protest she insisted “Go!” He stood and nodded before running off after Elsa. Meanwhile Mary Poppins looked to Pan and asked “Do you have medicine? Anything?”

Peter stammered an answer before Tink said something, he replying with “Good idea.” He reached down and picked Merida up, saying “Let me take her.”

Once he had her in his arms he floated up towards his tree-house, Tink following while Mary Poppins watched from below. Some of the other children, including Lilo and Anna, watched as Merida was taken while gossiping about how crazy things had gotten.

Turing to all of them Mary Poppins said “Alright, children. Let’s not let this bother us. Time we clean this place up. A tidy camp is a happy camp after all.”

The fox skinned boy asked “Hey! Why should we listen to you?”

She gave him a cross look and answered “You’ve seen what happens when you anger the ice queen, yes?” She then leaned closer and finished with “Believe me when I say, angering me will be far worse.”

Now frightened as ever the boy, as well as all the other children, scrambled off. In truth Mary Poppins was trying to keep them calm while taking their mind, as well as her own, off the idea of someone dying in their child paradise of a home.

Even Jiminy, who was now on her shoulder, commented “You sound more worried than angry.”

“I am, Mr. Cricket.” She sighed. “But for now, all I can do is pray. Now let’s not dwell on it. We’ve some fixing up to do.”

As Mary Poppins walked off Lilo, who was still looking up towards Pan’s tree-house, said “Wow. I know it sounds funny, but maybe we should have grownups come here more often. What’ you think, Anna?” She looked, realizing no one was there, before calling “Anna?”

Neither she nor anyone else had noticed that Anna slipped away in the confusion and ran off after Mickey and Elsa. Realizing this Lilo had also ran after her friend, not knowing why she did this.

********************

Flynn at one point lost track of Hook as he chased him almost all the way across Neverland.

He began to realize that Hook would’ve had better knowledge of the island since he’d been there for so long. They’d gone through the forest into the jungle again but wound up on the other side of the mountain in the middle, now on the other side they’d not tracked. Eventually, as they came closer to the shoreline, he lost sight of him.

However Flynn soon spotted a lagoon nearby where he could hear someone, likely Hook, calling out. He followed it. He did find a lagoon, one that was beautiful the moment he saw it, but soon he found Hook wandering about. He was at the shore, very close to the water, and looking around for something.

“Where are you?” he called. “Come out, my dears. You’re king has arrived.”

Flynn called “Hook!” to get his attention, before asking “Why did you run off?”

“To start my initial campaign, Mr. Rider.” He explained. “I’m taking what’s rightfully mine after all.” When Flynn asked what he meant Hook continued to search the lagoon while saying “I’m supposed to be the ruler of Neverland after all. I’ll need to gather forces. The mermaids might help. If I can find them.” When Flynn gave a confused response to that Hook said “Aye, mermaids. The daughters of King Triton himself! They say they disappeared after the great dispute of the sea, but I know better. They’re just hiding away from me. But I’ll find them and I’ll use them against Pan.”

Flynn gave an annoyed sigh, rubbing his eyes too, before saying “Hook, this is getting ridiculous. Let’s just get back to the others and hopefully get out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Mr. Flynn!” Hook said before picking up a rock, looking ready to throw it at him. “I’ve my destiny to fulfill! The princess told me so. I’m supposed to rule this place. Think of it, Mr. Rider. Captain Hook, the King of Neverland!”

Flynn, who’d took a defensive stance, asked “What? Did you get into the rum or something? You’re talking nonsense.”

“Nonsense? I doubt you’ll say that after I’ve taken this place for my own. I’ll do whatever it takes. And I won’t let you or any children or flying pixies get in my way of….of….”

He trailed off when he, and Flynn, suddenly heard the feint sound of something ticking in the distance. It had started to grow louder before both realized it was coming from behind. Hook’s moustache twitched and his eyes went wide with fear while Flynn began to see a dark green mass rising out of the water. Hook slowly turned to be met by the familiar sight of Tick-Tock the crocodile, giving a hungry smile towards the Captain.

He screamed as the beast opened his jaw and snapped, Hook, jumping away while crying “Smee! Where are you, Smee! Help me!”

Flynn backed away in fear as the lumber reptile splashed out of the water and snapped and snapped, catching Hook by the tail of his coat before ripping it off. Showing how much of a coward he was underneath Hook screamed and cried as he was eventually chased out into the water, swimming for his life, with the croc following behind; his tail twitching back and forth to the rhythm of the ticking in his belly.

After this Flynn, a little shell-shocked, put his hand over his heart and gave the sarcastic comment “Nice knowing you, Captain Hook.” Before turning and saying “I’m getting out of here.”

********************

Merida did not sleep but rather felt herself in a deep daze of unconscious.

She heard the feint sounds of someone, a girl, singing, while feeling the sensation of bright light over her. All the while she’d had a dull feeling of cold numbness in her arm and head while everything seemed to swirl around her.

When she woke she found herself in a small bed made of animal furs and sheets. She was next to a window, looking out over the Lost Children’s camp and most of the rest of the island. When she looked she realized she wasn’t alone, a girl sitting next to her with long blonde hair. In fact, as she began to realize, her hair was so long it grew all over the room and stretched out, possibly all the way through the house as well. The girl wore a dirty pink dress and her feet were bare, and while her age was far younger than she remembered Merida still knew who this was.

“Rapunzel?” she asked, getting the girl’s attention as she was too busy looking at the princess’ shoulder.

She at her and said “Oh good! You’re okay. And…hey! How do you know my name?”

She sat up, groaning a little, before answering “It’s….a long story.” She looked and realized what had happened to her hair, fingering the white locks for a moment, before asking “Did you heal me?”

Rapunzel nodded before saying “I didn’t think it would work at first. I usually fix cuts and bruises the kids get when they play or go hunting. But I never had to fix someone who got nearly frozen before.” Just then the small chameleon Pascal undisguised himself from her shoulder, she saying “Pascal was worried too.” Petting his head a little. “Oh! I couldn’t do anything about your hair though. Sorry.”

Merida waved it off, saying “It’s fine. But thank you anyway.” before looking around and asking “Where’s…?”

Her answer came when Peter, Tink accompanying him, showed himself, pulling back a curtain that cut off the room from the rest of the tree house. Looking past him Merida could see a big chair where his Indian headdress rested along with his sword. There were shelves nearby with a number of knick-knacks and toys that Merida could barely make out. One, however, she saw was a puppet that was originally the would-be-real boy Pinocchio sitting on the topmost shelf.

When Peter had arrived Merida stood, he asking “How are you feeling?” When Merida said she was fine, trying to say more, he cut her off with “Good. Then you can take your friends and go. You’ve already caused enough trouble.”

He turned but she said “Not until I get answers. That’s what I’m here for.”

He crossed his arms while saying “You came here to try and take my men away. And you already know I’m not letting that happen.”

Merida retorted with “Elsa came for her sister. And Mary Poppins came because of me and Lilo. But I came her for another reason. You.” This gained Pan’s attention enough to make him turn before she said “I want to know why you did this. Why you stole these children away from their homes?”

“Stole them?” I saved them!” he defended. Merida gave a confused expression before he said “You don’t know anything. So just go away from here and leave us all alone.”

Rapunzel, who stood now, tugged on Merida’s sleeve and said “I really think you should go.”

Merida, however, said “Give us a minute alone. Please.”

Rapunzel looked up to the princess, seeing how serious she was, before looking back to Peter. As reluctant as she was to do so, she could tell something was wrong and that they needed to settle it. She quietly walked away with Pascal, making for a nearby staircase, and walked up to another level of the tree-house, her hair dragging behind her as she did.

When they were alone Merida said “You saved her from the tower, didn’t you?” Pan not responding. “But why keep her up here, away from everyone?”

“She likes it up here.” Pan responded, still with his back to her. “Says it reminds her of home. And she can go down whenever she wants. I don’t keep them here by force. If ever any of them wanted to, they go leave. But so far no one has.”

“Because they don’t remember their homes.” She retorted. “Staying here it’s made them forget who they are.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just as long as their safe.”

“Safe from what?”

He turned and exclaimed “From everything outside of Neverland! From the world!”

His sudden outburst had frightened Tink so much she zipped away and hid behind a snow globe on one of the shelves. Merida was surprised by this as well, seeing how angered and yet hurt he was for having said that. Neither of them noticed Rapunzel and Pascal peeking from the stairs after hearing this.

“Peter?” Merida asked. “What happened? Why made you like….this?”

He turned away from her before walking over to the shelves. He looked over everything before finding one toy that seemed to affect him the most. It was a simple stuffed bear. Merida saw this too, questioning what it was since she’d not recognized it.

Then Peter began his story with “I other friends before. They stayed with me and we had our fun. They even helped me deal with Hook a few times. But then….they had to move away. They were worried about some war coming because of someone called the Horned King using a big evil pot or something.” Knowing what he was referring to Merida gave a worried look before he continued “So they hopped on a ship to go somewhere else. But….but then the whole problem with the ruler of the sea came. And they’re ship it….it didn’t make it. When I heard I thought they might still be alive….” He didn’t need to finish as he looked back to the stuffed bear, he holding back tears, before he turned back to Merida and said “After that I heard about the all the problems in that place they call the Hun Lands. After that I knew that it would happen to others. I just couldn’t sit around and let that happen. So I looked. I looked for anyone in trouble or in need and brought them back here. Where they would be safe.”

“But why only certain kids?” Merida asked. “Why not try to take all of them?”

He shook his head before saying “Someone once taught me how important family is. And as much….as much as I wanted to keep them safe, I didn’t want to take them away if they didn’t want to. So I let them choose. If they did, then I would take them. If not, they’d never see me again. But even then things weren’t fully safe here. That’s why I drove Hook away. And then the Indians. And then the mermaids ran away and the fairies never came out of their hollow anymore. But as long as the kids were safe, that’s all that mattered.”

As Peter walked over and sat on his chair Merida, taking it all in, said “I…I understand. I really do, Peter. But not all of these children still have families that care about them. That girl, Lilo, has a sister who’s been searching for her ever since you took her away. And Elsa, the ice girl, her whole life nearly fell apart because Anna wasn’t there for her. Even Rapunzel. She doesn’t know it, but her parents, her REAL ones, haven’t seen her since she was just a baby. The woman who locked her up in that tower was just a witch who wanted her for her hair. They have families out there waiting for them.”

“They have their own family here!” he retorted, turning to her. “And this family they can depend on to be there for them all the time. Unlike the others who ignored them or wouldn’t let them have their fun. You…you don’t understand.”

“Yes. I do, Peter. I really do.” She said, walking over and kneeling next to his chair. “You were just trying to help, and you did. But you’re causing more harm than good. Don’t you see that? You can’t keep them here forever. Not like this.” He turned away from her, not convinced, before she said “I knew someone a lot like you, Peter. A LOT like you.” She referring to the Peter Pan she knew from her reality. “He wanted to have fun and adventure with his friends all the time. But when things went sour he did the one thing he never thought he’d have to do.”

Pan turned to her and asked “Wh…what was it?”

She smirked and answered “He had to learn when to grow up.”

********************

Mickey had followed Elsa all the way back to shore, using the trail of ice she’d left behind with each step as a means of tracking.

When he stopped he found her sitting on a rock on the beach where they’d landed. He’d half expected her to try and use the boat to make for the ship, but instead she was just sitting their crying into her hands. Seeing this he sighed as he slowly walked over to her.

He only came a few feet behind her before she said “Don’t come near me.... Please. I don’t….I don’t want to hurt you.”

Mickey stayed where he was and said “I know you won’t. What happened back there it was an accident. Nothing more. Merida, she….”

“No. It was my fault.” She cut him off. “I lost control and…” she held her head while shaking and crying before saying “Oh god! What I did to her. I’m…I’m a monster.”

Mickey tried to comfort her by saying “No. You’re not, Queen Elsa. You made a mistake and lost your temper. I know what that’s like. And sure, you hurt someone, but you’re only making it worse by not learning for this.”

“Learn? What’s there to learn?”

He smirked and said “How not to do it again.” She looked back and, seeing his smirk, couldn’t help but laugh a little herself, before he took another step forward and said “One thing I learned as a commander is that you can’t expect everyone to get it right the first time. Maybe not even the next. But the only way you really fail is if you don’t keep trying until you finally get it right.” He’d managed to come close enough to touch her shoulder before saying “Merida did the right thing by stopping you. But now it’s time for you to do the right thing.”

“Which is…?”

Before Mickey could answer they’re attention was taken away when they heard someone exit from the jungle. They both looked and saw little Anna, Elsa gasping and standing when she saw her little sister.

“What are you doing here?” Mickey asked, Anna looking towards Elsa the whole time.

“How did you do all that?” she asked the ice queen. “That stuff with the ice. And the way you changed that girl’s hair. Where did you learn that?”

Elsa, trying to answer as best she could due to the whole situation, said “I…I was born with it. I’ve always been able to do it.”

“Fibber!” Anna pointed. “You know it’s not right to tell lies like that. How did it really happen? Did you get kissed by a troll? ‘Cause that what I thought happened after I dreamed about it.”

Mickey tried to answer by saying “Look, you seem upset about something. Why not just tell us what it is?”

“I told you already. I want to know where she learned to do that.” She answered, pointing at Elsa. “I remember a friend of mine doing that before. Or at least….something like that. I…I think. It’s a little hard to remember actually….like a dream or something.”

“No.” Elsa said, stepping in front of Mickey. “It’s not a dream. It was real, Anna. I…”

Before she could finish someone from the jungle called “Anna!” everyone seeing it was Lilo who came running out. She took her friend’s hand and said “Get away from them. That woman’s dangerous. And kind of in a neat way because she has super powers. But still!”

Anna tried to move her away while saying “No, Lilo. I need to find something out first.”

“What? Do you want her to freeze you or something?”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Elsa stated loud enough to make Lilo stop. “I could never do that to you, Anna. Ever.” When Anna gave her full attention back to Elsa her sister smiled and said “Tell me about this friend of yours. What do you remember about them?”

It took a moment for Anna to think before she answered “Well I remember we always used to have fun together. We always played in the snow. We were so close until….until she was gone. I mean I always knew where she was but….but then she never came outside anymore. I never really saw her again. It’s like she was upset with me or she didn’t want to be my friend anymore. So I started to get upset…wondering what I did wrong. That’s around when Peter found me and brought me here. It’s funny actually….I didn’t really think about her until now.”

Elsa had tears rolling down her cheek she tried to ignore while saying “Anna, you didn’t do anything wrong. Your friend she…she was just scared about hurting you. She wanted to tell you so many times but she was too afraid to ever let anyone know what she was dealing with.”

“How do you know?” Anna asked, looking a bit anxious to hear the answer.

“Because that was me, Anna. I was your friend. But I’m more than that. I’m your sister.”

Anna shook her head and said “No….no you’re not. I never had a sister. My only sisters are my friends. Like Lilo here.”

“Anna! Please!” Elsa pleaded. “Just try to believe me.”

“Why?” she asked, looking upset now. “Even if you were my friend, why should I trust you? You left me alone. I didn’t have any friends until I was brought here. If I had a sister she wouldn’t have done that.”

Hearing that Elsa hung her head in shame before saying “You’re right….she wouldn’t have. But she did.” She looked back up to her and said “And she’s felt guilty about it ever since. If she could…she’d take it all back and tell you how sorry she was. How much she missed playing with. How much she wished she’d opened that door. And how much….how much she wanted to help you build a snowman.”

At that Anna gasped a little. She knew she’d never told anyone outside of the Lost Children about building snowmen. No one else had known, aside from the girl she always built them with before. She slowly started to walk over to take a closer look at the ice queen, Elsa dropping to her knees into the sand in order to be at the same level as her.

As Mickey and Lilo watched Flynn had come out of the jungle. He walked over to talk with Mickey but the mouse commander stopped him, indicating for him to be silent as they watched. Flynn, not fully knowing, only looked as Anna had stopped right in front of the ice queen and looked at her with tears starting to build up.

As she slowly began to remember, Anna tried to hold her tears back and say “….Elsa?”

Elsa had started shedding tears of joy as she opened her arms and cried “Anna!” embracing her.

The two sisters, finally reunited, began to cry in each other’s arms as Anna now fully accepted the truth. It had all come back to her in that moment and she was so happy and yet so sad after everything that had happened. Lilo looked a little confused before, seeing how happy Anna and this ice woman were, couldn’t help but smile herself. Mickey had done so, sighing with relief that they were back together. Flynn smiled so much that tears were building in his eyes to where he was whipping them away and sniffling.

After a moment Elsa had held her sister at arm’s length, ready to say something, but was stopped when the sound of cannon fire went off in the distance. Everyone looked out to where it was coming from, Cannibal Cove, where those on the shore could see what had caused it.

The only response was Flynn saying “You’ve got to be kidding me….”

********************

From the Lost Children’s camp everyone, both Mary Poppins and Jiminy who were working with the children to Merida, Peter and Rapunzel up in the treehouse could hear the cannon fire from the distance.

As everyone questioned what it was Pan had flown out the window, Tink following, before peering out into the distance towards the source. It was coming from Cannibal Cove where he could see two ships waging a battle in the middle of the cove itself. Surprised by this Pan flew back down and hovered in front of the window where Merida was waiting.

“Pirates!” he exclaimed. “More of them. One of them looks like Hook’s ship.”

“What?” Merida asked in confusion before realizing “It’s Pete! He followed us here.”

Tink said something to Pan before he answered “I know, Tink. Don’t worry. We’ll deal with them.”

He turned to fly off before Merida grabbed his ankle, saying “Wait! Let me come with you. Those are my friends out there.” At first he protested before she said “Please! They’ll need my help. Besides, if you do it’ll mean I’m out of your hair faster.”

Hearing that he sighed before taking her by the arms and saying “Hold on!”

With that Merida gave a small yelp as she was lifted up into the air by Pan. She looked down, seeing how high she was from the ground, before giving an enthusiastic laugh as she could see the forests of Neverland below her feet.

From below Mary Poppins called “Princess! Princess will you…” she groaned as Merida didn’t hear her before commenting “Why does she never stay still?”

Jiminy, hopping up and down on her shoulder, said “C’mon! Let’s get after them.”

She nodded before gathering her things and telling the children to either keep working or follow her. At that many of them dropped what they were doing and started following her as she marched her way through the jungle.

Meanwhile Mickey and Flynn were debating, the pirate saying “We’ve got to get out there and help.”

“How? You really think the two of us will make a difference in a fire fight?” Mickey retorted.

“I don’t know. But we have to try! Those are my crew mates out there.” He looked to Elsa and added “And they’re your men.”

Elsa gave a worried look to Anna, who was standing by her, before asking “What can we do?”

Suddenly from above someone called “Elsa!” Everyone looking to see Merida being lifted down by Pan onto the shore with them. As Elsa was surprised to see she was alright Merida said “Never mind that. You need to get out there and stop them.”

“Me? How?”

“How do you think?” she asked in a coy manner. Elsa seemed ready to protest before saying “Forget about what happened to me. Some hair change color, so what? Are you really going to stand there and start second guessing yourself now? When they need you? Stop worrying about what you could do and start thinking about what you can do!”

Everyone was a bit surprised by such a quick outburst she’d given, even to where Flynn had given a small “Whoa…”

Elsa, however, took all of it in and, after looking to Anna who was giving her a positive smile, she nodded before standing and walking towards the water of the cove. Everyone watched as she reached her foot out into the water, it freeing under her step. Even the ice queen herself took a moment to take it in before taking another step, more ice forming underneath. Now sure of her ability she gave a brave face as she could see the two pirate ships coming closer to each other, before starting to run with the path of ice helping to support her way.

Merida looked, seeing the surprised faces of Mickey, Flynn and even Pan, before saying “Well what are you all waiting for? Get out there already!”

With that all of them ran out to help. Pan and Tinkerbell flew while Mickey and Flynn used the ice path Elsa had made to follow her towards the ship battle.

After seeing this Lilo stood near Anna and said “Wow. You’re sister’s….cool.”

“I know, right?” Anna said with enthusiasm.

Hearing this Merida looked to them both and smiled, not only for the comment but that fact that Anna had now remembered her sister. She turned back to watch as Elsa and the others had arrived into the fray of the pirate battle taking place.

As the fighting had begun Jack had kept spouting orders, along with comments about people “blowing holes” in his ship, to the men about taking arms and firing all cannons at will towards the Jolly Roger. Apparently the cannon firing was a means of keeping the Black Pearl in disarray long enough for them to come along the port side where, once they were close enough, Pete ordered his men to board the Pearl to try and take it by force. The men who boarded were met by the armed forces of the Arendelle soldiers along with the waiting Jack, Mulan, Aladdin and Abu.

While Pete’s men were tough the crew of the Black pearl had skill which had helped keep them alive long enough until the reinforcements of Elsa, Peter, Mickey and Flynn had arrived. While the three young warriors helped to fight some of Pete’s crew off Elsa had done the greater job of freezing the ship, even managing to sink ice into the inner hull, while blocking the cannons and stopping them men where they stood.

Amidst the confusion Pete had tried to slip away on one of the life boats of his ship, but was stopped when a pillar of ice had formed around the tiny boat and forced it up and out of the water. The fat pirate king flopped onto the deck of the Black Pearl where the heroes all stood, his crew defeated and his ship now frozen solid in a block of pure ice.

As everyone looked to Elsa, giving her eager smiles for her overall success, Jack had commented “We did have everything under control, just for the record. But your help is appreciated nonetheless.”

Mickey stepped forward, pointing his blade at Pete, and declared “You may not be the brightest, Pete, but even you should’ve known you’d lose like last time.”

Suddenly Pete began to laugh at this, everyone looking concerned, before he said “You don’t get it, do you runt? We weren’t trying to beat you. This was all just one big distraction. And you played into it like the bunch of chumps you are.”

“A…distraction?” Aladdin asked. “For what?”

Finally relaxing what it was for Mickey gasped before stating “Merida!”

********************

On the shore of Neverland’s cove Merida, Lilo and Anna had watched as the battle was over almost as soon as it started.

The princess smiled and crossed her arms while the two young girls were cheering and commenting how amazing Elsa’s powers were. Merida chuckled at some of them, mainly at how enthusiastic the girls were about telling the other Lost Children, before her attention was taken aback by something she heard in the jungle. She looked, hearing the sound of someone approaching, before walking over to try and see who it was.

At one point, as she came closer to the tree line, she called “Mary Poppins?” before she was answered by something far worse.

Bursting from the jungle was, to Merida’s horror, the Headless Horseman. She screamed at the sight of him mounted on what seemed like a similar yet slightly different black phantom steed he rode the last time she’d seen him. She then realized how she’d forgotten about him, making her curse herself in her mind for not doing so.  As she backed up, however, Merida realized that this new horse had great wings like an eagle, making the Horseman more frightening to know he could now fly.

Lilo and Anna, seeing the Horseman appear, screamed at the sight while Merida told them to run. The Horseman, however, didn’t show interest in them and instead advanced towards her. Before she could run his horse trotted towards her and, in one quick motion, the Horseman grabbed her by the back of her collar and hoisted her into his saddle. With the princess now secure he cackled before kicking his horse to move. The beast spread its wings and soon began to fly high into the air.

A moment later Mary Poppins, Jiminy, and the other Lost Children had arrived, only to see the Horseman already carrying her up and away from Neverland. Even from the Black Pearl everyone could see the flying demonic steed and its headless rider with Merida struggling to be free.

Feeling helpless as the Horseman flew off into the distance, Elsa shook her head and cried out “MERIDA!”

********************

Without really knowing how much time had passed, Merida had found herself imprisoned inside what she would soon discover was the hideout of the Master of Worlds himself.

She was brought into the Master’s study where she was chained to a brace on the wall with a long link binding her arms together. The Horseman, being the one that had brought her, had made sure she was secure while both waited for the arrival of the Master. It wasn’t long until the doors to the study opened, however someone else had arrived first.

“Arawn.” Merida stated in an angered voice.  “Let. Me. Go.”

“After all the trouble to bring you here? Not a possibility.” He retorted. “You should, however, consider yourself lucky my Master wishes to speak with you at all. No one has riled my Master quite like you, princess.”

“Lucky me.” She sarcastically added. After that she said “At least it’s good to know I’m making a point by being a thorn in his side.”

“Such arrogance.” He huffed. “You act as though we do not share the same goals.” When she asked what exactly they were he stated “Why to save the world of course.”

“Save it?” she blurted out. “You and your master captured innocent people and then used them in some spell to push all the worlds together. And now look what that’s done. You’ve changed everything, and you think it’s for the better?”

“It’s what’s best for everyone!” he declared. “You just fail to understand it as I and my Master do. Others may follow for the sake of power, like the Horseman. Even your friends follow you for their own deeper purposes.”

“They follow me because they trust me.” She tried to say.

He ignored this and continued “But I believe in my master’s goals. Sacrifices had to be made, but it’s all for the greater good.”

“I’ll show you sacrifice for greater good when I get out of here!” she threatened while pulling at her chains.

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back against the wall before saying “Don’t be a fool, Merida! My master has great power. More than you can imagine. You need to stop this foolish crusade of yours and cooperate before…”

Arawn was stopped when the Horseman had walked up and grabbed his shoulder. At first he was confused by his action before the Horseman pointed towards the doorway. Both he and Merida looked before seeing who was standing there, a short cloaked person who Arawn seemed to stand at attention to after seeing them. At that Merida knew who this was. She’d finally found the Master of Worlds.

Arawn began to say “Master, I was just…”

He was cut off when they spoke, saying “Leave! Both of you.” In a raspy, whispery voice. Arawn and the Horseman bowed before exiting the room, closing the door behind them, at which point the Master walked over in front of Merida and asked “How do you still remember the worlds from before?”

Merida, trying to stay brave in the face of her enemy, gave a witty retort “You’re…shorter than I thought you’d be.”

“I’m in no mood for games!” the Master spat in the raspy voice. “I want answers.”

“So do I!” Merida retorted. “And I’m not playing any games either. I’ve been searching for my own answers. And some of them I’d hope would eventually lead me to you. Well here we both are, and I’m done stumbling around. I want to know who you are right now. Otherwise….you might as well finish me off now and be done with it.”

The Master, surprisingly, recoiled and walked to the other end of the room where it was hard to see because of the poor lighting. As Merida watched the Master suddenly began to laugh, their voice changing to where she realized the raspy voice they’d used was a fake. She could see the Master had turned but the shadows made it hard to see what they were doing.

“I commend you for act so heroic, princess.” The Master said.

Merida, hearing the real voice now, stated in surprise “You….you’re a girl?”

“Now really, Merida.” She said from the shadows. “Should you really be that surprised? If so, then you’ll want to brace yourself for what comes next.”

At that Merida could see the Master had removed her hood from the shadows before slowly strolling out into the better light for her to be seen. Merida had held her breath as she finally stepped into the light, only for her heart to skip a beat when he face was finally revealed.

At that moment the princess realized what Master Yen Sid had made in her dreams about not truly remembering. There was someone she’d gotten, not just from her list but nearly altogether. His words and warning had been on her mind for so long and yet she the answer was practically in front of her face the whole time. She’d just somehow forgotten.

The Master now stood in front of Merida, revealing that under her cloak she wore a familiar blue dress. He black shoes had tapped against the wood while she’d been walking. And now, with her head free from the hood, her long blonde hair fell down around her shoulders. Even her black hairband was still as Merida remembered. The only difference were her sweet blue eyes now with a sinister tinge to them.

“You…?” She said in a breathless tone. “….Alice?”

The little girl, smirking at Merida’s reaction, replied “Curious. Isn’t it?”