Back to the DISNEY Future 1.6

Back to the DISNEY Future Part I
Good News, Bad News

   The sky turned dark, the sun having set for the evening.
   High up above, the stars twinkled like diamonds, lighting the way back to the Imagination Institute. As we slowly walked back, avoiding the crowd of homeward bound human cast members, I thought about all the events that occurred after Big Thunder.
   I remember standing outside the attraction, standing back to let the Walt Disney World Police Department do their jobs. Which, of course, was Goofy ands Donald. As Donald dusted for fingerprints with a paint brush, Goofy would wind up making more and making the job harder for the mallard. Which, of course, led to an infamous Donald Duck tantrum. I had to admit, watching those two worked together had me laughing.
   Ironic, huh?
   I find my Laughing Place in Frontierland, the same place that Brer Rabbit found his.
   Yet, I also felt sorry for my two crazy friends. Cause, come late 1989, the WDW Police Department would be replaced with the Rescue Rangers. Which was fine by me, they solved a lot of crimes both here and in their temporary visit in the Wasteland. Besides, Goofy and Donald always found new jobs. They had dozens of different jobs anyway. They could never land just one.
   As the goofball and water bird investigated, Mickey and Figment came up behind me, my half brother wearing a warm, red blanket with yellow polka dots.
   "How ya' feeling?" I asked as I walked up to him.
   "Oh, b-b-b-better," he replied, still a little bit cold.
   "Who on Earth was that guy you were following?" Figment asked, always the curious one.
   "I have no Earthly idea," the animated rodent replied, "He never mentioned his name. He just walked up to me and said he was my new body guard. I'm always getting new ones anyway, and with the serious look on his face, I believed him. So, I followed him to the Utilidoor, thinking he was leading me to Mr. Sklar, when all of a sudden he gagged me ands tied me in the fridge. Thank heavens you guys came and saved me, or else I would've turned into a mouse flavored popsicle."
   "Yuk," Figment said, disgusted by the thought of a mouse flavored popsicle.
   "I dunno Figment," I joked, "Maybe a Mickey Mouse flavored popsicle wouldn't taste so bad."
   "Guys, this isn't funny," Mickey complained, before sneezing, "Someone came close to murdering me. Who was that dude anyway?"
   The question hit me like a baseball bat: Who was that guy?
   That's when I remembered back when he was walking away with Mickey, when he looked back at me and chuckled, his red eyes glowing. It almost seemed as though that scum actually knew me. The idea sent a cold, harsh shiver down my rabbit spine.
   "I dunno," I answered, as we all watched Goofy and Donald tow away the now trashed golf cart the creep used, "But something tells me that this is just a sample of his work."
   "Oh, great," Mickey said, the concern in his voice obvious. Now, he was scared, the bags under his eyes increased even more.
   That's when the small, imaginative dragon looked down at the watch on his wrist that came out of nowhere, and gulped nervously. He rushed next to me and said, "Hey Oswald, we're late!"
   I looked down at his watch, and saw that it was close to ten o' clock.
   "Aw crud," I said. Ludwig would give us some dirty looks if we didn't return to the Dreamport in the next thirty seconds. Quick as can be, Figgy and I rushed out for Epcot, but just when we were close to leaving Fronteirland-
   "WAIT!" Mickey said, "What do I do?"
   "Go home," I yelled out to him.
   "I'm scared to," Mickey
   That stopped us both dead in our tracks. We looked at each other and gave each other a look that meant: With that murderous creep on the loose, I wouldn't want to go home either.
   With that thought, I began to formulate a brilliant plan. But, then I realized that it wouldn't work, so I came up with another plan. A few minutes later, and Figment and I were checking Mickey into Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds. I knew Mickey would be safe here, the lobby alone made ME feel safe. It was rustic, made out of wood and stone, with a magnificent fireplace in the lobby. It felt like home that is if I lived in a cabin.
   "So, why am I checking into a hotel?" Mickey asked as the Cast Member behind the check in desk gave him his room key.
   "Well, here's what I figure," I explained to him as I walked him up to his room, "You can't go home cause you'll be alone, right?"
   "Right," Mickey answered, a curious look beginning to dawn on his face.
   "So, if you're in a hotel, there will be more people around to protect you," I continued to explain as we stopped outside his hotel room, "And that means more witnesses. If someone tries to kill you here, they're practically taking their own mug shots."
   "That's clever," Mickey said, a smile overwhelming his face. It was with that I knew he would be safe. Not to mention, every single Cast Member was aware of the situation, and had scanned the room ahead to time to make sure nothing was in there. Not to mention, a few Cast Members were waiting in the rooms next door, waiting to strike if something funny happens.
   The Disney company never game me this much protection in 1928.
   Luckily, I put jealousy behind me as I left the hotel, leaving Mickey's lives in the hand of his employees. Now, a few minutes later, the dragon and I were hurrying through the Epcot lot and towards the building with the tall glass roofs. Quicker than wildfire, we rushed through the front door of the pavilion through the vast waiting lobby for the ride, through the whole that led into the ride and into the Dreamport.
   At first, we thought we were off the hook. And, to be honest, we were. But when the two of us got to the Entertainment section of the Dreamport, we saw Ludwig, watching more of the tape. I could feel the pain in my heart when I saw Ludwig's face turn as pale as a ghost on the screen before saying, "Oh my gosh, he found me. I don't know how, but somehow me found me."
   "Who?" I said on the screen.
   I couldn't bear to watch the rest, but luckily for me that's when Ludwig turned around, noticed me, then turned the television on mute.
   He said to me, "Vell, vell, lookie who it is. If it isn't Big Thunder Mountain Skateboarder."
   "Listen Doc, I can explain that," I started to explain.
   "Don't bother," the duck said as he walked towards me, completely missing the part where he was shot down mudurously. He then said, "Hopefully, that von't mess vith the Space Time Continuum, and we'll all still be breathing by the time you return to 2011."
   When he said the word, "breathing," I saddened a bit.
   I then tried to tell him, "Hey Doc, about 2011, there's something I gotta tell y-"
   "NO YOU DON'T!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he covered my mouth, "No one man should know two much about his own destiny. In fact, I probably know too much already. What if the universe explodes because of me? Oh, the shame of it all!"
   "Alright, alright jeesh," I said as I pulled his feathery hand off of my mouth, a bit annoyed. But on the inside, I was hurt a bit. I was trying to save my friend from the disaster that would be his demise, and he wouldn't let me. I couldn't bear going back to 2011, knowing that I really did have nothing but the clothes off my back.
   "Now, vanna see how I'm gonna send you back to the next century?" Ludwig asked, his eagerness obviously showing. This duck was such a science geek.
   "Uh…," I said, "Sure."
   "Cool," he said as he led me to the other side of the room to a table with a tarp on it. He then said, as he pulled the dusty ol' tarp off, "Rabbits and dragons: I present to you… Valt Disney World!"
   The duck pulled the tarp off the table, revealing a miniature scale replica of the Magic Kingdom, made completely out of plaster. Figment and I were impressed, he had every single detail down to a near perfection. He got every single detail in there, from the jungles in Adventureland, to the trash cans in Tomorrowland, even all the faux stones in Cinderella Castle. As I marveled at the plaster castle, I noticed that, leading from the top of the tallest tower, was a long, metal cable that led to a lamp post in Adventureland.
   Ludwig then handed me a DeLorean toy car and instructed me, "Vind in back all de vay to the Haunted House!"
   "Okay," I said, not questioning my friend.
   "So, how is all this gonna send him home?" Figment asked, once again letting curiosity take over.
   "Vell, notice that on the car, there is a long, metal hook that leads into the car," Ludwig said, pointing towards the small model in my hand. Both of us looked to see that there was indeed, a long, skinny hook leading from the car engine.
   "According to my calculations," Ludwig said as he got out a car battery and two large jumper cables, "When the lightning strikes Cinderella Castle at nine o' four pm, the power of the lightning will hopefully be redirected into the long cable here and into the car, thanks to the hooky thing I added there. Add that to a speeding car going at eighty eight miles per hour down a straight path, and VHAM! One rabbit, back in 1982!"
  At first, I was impressed. But then I thought of something and asked, "Hey wait a minute, Doc: I can't drive a car down Liberty Square while there are people there."
   "He's got a point," Figment said.
   "Ah, but that's the beauty of it my small, furry friend," the duck explained, fascinating us both, "Everyone will be over at Epcot while we do this. That way, no vone will get hurt…hopefully."
   "Okay, that'll work," I said.
   "Alright, now set the car down," Ludwig instructed.
   I did as he said, placing the small toy car next to the Haunted Mansion, all the way down at the end of Liberty Square. The car was all ready to go, as Ludwig attached the jumper cables to the car battery. He then said, "Vone… Two… Three… RELEASE!"
   I let go of the car, sending it towards the table. It wasn't exactly a 'speed demon,' but Doc didn't semi to care. As long as it helped him prove his point. It went down the plaster street, past old American trees and the Hall of Presidents, past the entrance to Frontierland, and as it got towards the cable leading from the castle, Ludwig plugged the jumper cables onto the castle cables. When the hook clicked onto the cable, the car suddenly zoomed forward like a horse, crashing through Main Street, catching on fire, than finally crashing onto the floor.
   "Great Scott!" von Drake yelled as the car set into flames. He tried to stomp it out with his webbed feet, but he soon quit do to foot burn.
   While he blew on his foot, trying to cool it down, I pulled out the fire extinguisher and doused the fire out. The white foam came out fast, and soon the small tin toy was covered in puffy white stuff. It looked like a marshmellow exploded all over the toy.
   I gave Ludwig a look that meant: Are you trying to kill me?
   "Let me worry about the car," he said as he threw the toy away.
   But as he did that, I turned my attention back to the television screen. Now, it was showing me, hiding the car near the Indian Encampment. I realized then I had left the camera on, and I had left it behind the seat of the driver's seat.
    "Man, I'm surprised the batteries lasted this long," I marveled to myserlf. I then said to Figment, "Hey Figgy, can you believe-"
   But when I turned to face my friend, his jaw was halfway to the floor, and his large yellow eyes bulged from out of his head.
   I asked him, "What? What is it?"
   He pointed towards the screen. I turned to see part of back bubbling like hot water, then spilling out of the car. When it got out, the black stuff transformed into a tall, black figure that looked like a ghost version of the Phantom Blot. He turned towards the camera, his red eyes glowing, smiled, then transformed into the creep from earlier. That's when the horror rushed through me, when I realized what I had done.
   "Vhat in the name of Albert Einstein is dat?" Ludwig asked, his eyes bulging as well.
   "The Shadow Blot," I said, the panic in my voice beyond clear, "I brought the Shadow Blot to 1982!? OH MY-"
   "What's the Shadow Blot?" Figment asked.
   "A shape-shifting brother of the Phantom Blot," I explained, "I heard about him in the Wasteland, but I never actually thought he existed. He's supposed to be a living shadow and can turn into anything he wants. And I brought him here to 1982! He could've killed Mickey hadn't I stopped him."
   When Ludwig heard that, he commanded me, "Give me a picture of you and your wife, hurry!"
   I did as told, pulled my wallet out from my pocket, and then pulled out a nice picture of Ortensia and me. It was back in the Wasteland, her and I were overlooking a majestic paint waterfall in Ventureland. We looked so happy toge-
   That's when I noticed it.
   Ortensia, the cat that I loved, was faded. I was clear as the day, but Ortensia almost blended into the jungle fall backdrop behind us.
   "What's happening to her!" I yelled, concerned for my darling's safety. Even though I may never see her again, I was still concerned.
   "Just as I suspected," Doc explained, "The Blot was trying to get rid of Mickey. If he succeeds, Disney will cease to exist."
   Not to mention, if Mickey didn't exist, he would've never come to the Wasteland, and hence he would have never rescued either Ortensia or myself. I felt like I was then going to throw up, I had brought the Blot back to 1982, and now he was out to kill my little brother? Gosh, what an awful sibling I am. I felt miserable. But then I remembered something:
   A hero dosen't sit and mope.
   If Mickey could defeat a Blot, then so could I.
   "I have an idea," I said as I got up boldly.
   The next morning, I knocked on Mickey Mouse's door bright and early. He opened the door to find me, wearing a WDW Security outfit.
   My plan was simple: Keep Mickey safe while Ludwig found a way to destroy the Blot. Since I didn't have Yen Sid's magical paintbrush, Ludwig and I would have to find another way to destroy this Blot. Besides, I wasn't sure if Paint or Thinner could defeat a shadow.
   "Hello Oswald," Mickey said, "Can I help you with something?"
   "No, but I can help you bub," I said jokingly, "From this moment on, I am your new bodyguard. I will be watching you like a hawk!"
   "Really?" Mickey asked, "They let a rookie take on a dangerous job."
   "Please," I said as I puffed out my chest and extended my fists, "I once took out five guys with one blow to the jaw! I make King Kong look like an average day chimp! I can take on any threat that comes my way, believe me, I can do this."
   "Well, alright," Mickey said, "Just give me a second to find my day planner and we'll get out on our way."
   "You got it," I said as he closed the door.
   Yet, as I waited for him outside, a large, dark shadow began to overlook me. At first, I thought it was the Blot, here to kill both Mickey and me. But when I turned to see, I saw that it was the ol' fat cat, Pete again!
   "Hello, Petey Boy," I said.
   "So, you made King Kong look like a chimp, eh?" the cat laughed as he cracked his knuckles.
   Me and my overactive imagination.