World of Disney - Chapter Ten (w/ Commentary Notes)

Chapter Ten: Time Zone – 2010 (After Temporal Displacement)

(Narrative Note: This chapter is the first instance where we see past-day characters in the present-day setting.)

            Scooter slowly started to regain consciousness after the wild and crazy incident that just occurred in the basement. He felt more dazed and confused right at that moment than he did earlier when all of the chaos broke loose. Getting to his feet, he realized that he was still standing on the staircase and looking over the disheveled state that the basement was left in. Fozzie, Gonzo, Bunsen, and Beaker were all standing around the computer sitting on the table at the center of the room, while Joanie and the spaceman he had seen earlier were nowhere around. The gofer continued down the steps to join the four Muppets, as they were practically frantic over what just occurred, talking over one another.

            “Bunsen, what happened?!”

            “Where are Kermit and Robin?!”

            “Meep! Meep! Meep!”

            “I know! I know! I am trying to get everything in order right now!”

            “Where did that space guy come from?!”

            “Yeah, who was he?! And what does this machine do?!”

            “Meep! Meep!”

            “Yes, it will take some time to reach them, but I believe…”

            “GUYS!!!” Scooter screamed, instantly silencing them out of their unordered conversation. “Will you all calm down? I’m sure Bunsen has a reasonable explanation for what’s going on.” He then looked hopefully to Bunsen and asked, “Don’t ya, Bunsen?”

 

(Character Note: It is common for Scooter to be the center of reason in the absence of Kermit, even on a few occasions being called to host shows at the theater.)

            Bunsen stared at him awkwardly and stated with the shake of a head, “I…I-I don’t know.”

            “Well, that’s not very reasonable!” Gonzo retorted.

            Scooter let out a sigh, realizing that he would not get to the root of the problem anytime soon. So he instead asked the Muppet scientist, “Alright – well, just tell us what the machine actually does.”

            “We’ve seen what it does, Scooter! It’s a big, scary vacuum cleaner!” Fozzie exclaimed.

            “Really?” Gonzo remarked. “I figured it had to be some kind of weather machine with the huge tornado that blew through here.”

            Between both of their comments, Beaker let out a long string of angry meeps. Fozzie and Gonzo were taken aback from the harsh words he had used – most of which they could not repeat in plain English. Before he could have said much more, Bunsen eased his tension and said, “Beaker, don’t be upset at them. They don’t understand.”

 

(Character Note: Much like Scooter, Beaker is taken out of his element in this scene, displaying an emotion of anger, when he is commonly shown to be anything but.)

            “Understand what?” Scooter questioned. “What does this machine do?”

            Bunsen took a deep breath and explained as calmly as he could, “It opens a portal between our world and one rooted on animated tales out of Walt Disney’s collection of cartoons from the past, as well as those in the future. So far, we’ve achieved in not only journeying into these said worlds, but also bringing one of the characters into our realm.”

            Scooter, Fozzie, and Gonzo were each frozen stiff with bewilderment. It was the most far-fetched idea for an invention they ever heard, which was saying a lot in the case of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker. In response to what was revealed to him, Scooter uttered, “Um…alright…well…that’s a start…I guess.”

            RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

 

(Authorial Note: Deploying "loud sound effects" into a long string of letters that formed a made-up term has been one of the biggest chores of story-writing for Livingston, especially in the case of sounds of objects or creatures that are unique to the story or the source material they are based on.)

            The five Muppets nearly jumped out of their foamed skins when they heard the monstrous howl from within the chamber installed with the machine. Something inside wanted to get out badly, which was evident from the dents he was putting into the steel door of the chamber, each time he pounded into it. And it seemed as if he would get it, as more and more dents were pounded through the door until the point that it was practically bending. Seeing that it was, the five Muppets hid beneath the table, not wanting to be seen by whatever was bursting out.

 

(Authorial Note: Much of the classic TV show Quantum Leap had influence over Disney's Access, the original version of World of Disney before its total revision. The one design of "the machine" that remained in the updated version was the chamber, which mimics the one that Sam Beckett used in Leap.)

            Once it finally did, it let out another monstrous howl that vibrated every part of the room including the table Scooter, Fozzie, Gonzo, Bunsen, and Beaker were hiding beneath. The five Muppets peeked over the corners to see what it was that had escaped. What they had seen was something they could barely believe. It was a seven- (or maybe eight) foot tall beastly creature, wearing a long dark purple cape and dark blue pants. Its eyes were bright blue, and it had horns, claws, and razor-sharp fangs. This beast stood over what was once the door to the chamber, lying on the floor in a bent condition.

(Narrative Note: Beauty and the Beast characters appear twice in the series, although Beast only appears physically in this story and is referenced in narrative in The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2.)

            After letting out another fierce roar, the beast situated itself on all fours and began charging out of the basement, moving up the stairs and busting its way out through every door in the theater until making it outside. With the beast gone, Scooter and the others climbed out from underneath the table and surveyed the damage that was caused to the chamber door. Beaker meeped a worried inquiry to Bunsen. “Beaker, this is no time to fret about a door! We have another subject who has escaped from the ‘Disneyverse’!”

            “That thing came out of a Disney cartoon?!” Scooter cried.

            “One from the future, to be precise.” Bunsen indicated. “And we must bring him back here, before he causes any harm out in the real world.”

            Fozzie and Gonzo exchanged a terrified glance, knowing exactly where this situation was going. Before either of their names could be brought up, they told Bunsen and Beaker…

(Authorial Note: Writing Fozzie and Gonzo in this scene, Livingston thought of them as the "Scooby and Shaggy" of this situation. Readers can determine which one's which, but Scooby-Doo fans already know.)

            “Well, good luck with that!”

            “Yeah, we’ll send you a postcard from Fiji!”

(Pop Culture Note: Continuing in its references to Lost, Fiji was the destination of Oceanic Airlines Flight 315 before crash-landing on the Island.)

            The two were just about on their way out of the basement, until Scooter shouted to them, “Hold it, you two!” Fozzie and Gonzo stopped in their tracks and turned to Scooter, looking very afraid. “As much as it scares me to admit it, Bunsen is right – we have to get that thing back here, if we’re going to fix whatever’s going on.”

            “How are we supposed to get something that big and hairy back here?!” Fozzie asked.

            Bunsen pondered hard over Fozzie’s question, thinking of a perfect plan for achieving that task. Then he focused on two words that Fozzie used in describing the creature – “big” and “hairy.” It reminded him of a situation that involved a big and hairy friend of theirs. “Scooter, do you remember last Christmas when Sweetums went on a wild rampage after consuming large quantities of special-flavored ice cream that Beaker and I made?”

            Scooter shook his head in disgust. “Ugh, how can I forget? It took weeks for NASA to find Miss Piggy, after he hurled her up into deep space!”

(Authorial Note: Livingston delighted in making up crazed Muppet backstories like this one, since they suit the norm of the characters and their world and allow readers to imagine up their own "episode" of them.)

            Reaching into one of the table drawers, he pulled out a purple aerosol spray canister and handed it to Scooter. “This is the ‘Mind Control Spray’ that I used to calm him down. Use it on that beast, and he’ll be under your complete control.”

            The gofer took the can and looked down upon it, seeing how much it resembled an ordinary aerosol spray can used to get rid of bad smells in houses or – more accurately – restrooms. “Thanks, Bunsen,” he said before turning to Gonzo and Fozzie and adding, “Alright, guys. Let’s go find that beast!” It was something he could not believe he just said…and – for that matter – neither could Fozzie or Gonzo.

(Pop Culture Note: Bunsen's "Mind Control Spray" is similar in functionality to the "Mind Mist" and "Invisibility Spray" in Muppets From Space.)

(Authorial Note: The "Mind Control Spray" has never existed in actual Muppet continuity and is exclusive to World of Disney.)

Realm Zone – 1991 (After Temporal Displacement)

            One fine morning, a young girl in a blue and white peasant dress with a white apron walked out from her home and headed in the direction of a nearby French village. She had majestic brown eyes and wonderful long brown hair that she wore with a blue bow. Even her name was magnificent – Belle. A beautiful smile was donned over her gorgeous face while she happily waved to the birds flying over her and carried a small basket. If her appearance was not enough to express how picturesque she was, then certainly her voice would, as she began singing upon her journey to the village.

            “Little Town, it’s a quiet village. Every day, like the one before. Little town, full of little people, waking up to say…”

            “Hola!”

            Belle stopped as soon as she noticed two peculiar strangers standing in front of her – one was a young woman who was not much older than her with black hair and red highlights and the other was…well…she was not quite certain what it was, but if she had to guess, she would say it was a king prawn. But was it her imagination or was the king prawn actually talking to her? Taken aback, she stammered a response, “Uh…m-may I help y-you?”

(Spoiler Note: Ciciley's dimensional counterpart in The Marvelous World gets to rescue Belle from Dr. Facilier's evil army, albeit not directly.)

            Seeing the exasperated look on the face of the young woman with the strange hair, Belle heard her whisper to the odd creature, “I told you that you should’ve hid in the bushes while I handled this.”

            “Oh, like jou are any more normals than me, okay?” The king prawn whispered back to her.

            “Oh, don’t even start with me you little fish, I’ll…”

            “Excuse me!” Belle spoke up, clearly hearing the whispering between the two getting louder with each retort. “Where…did you both come from?”

            Neither the young woman nor the talking king prawn knew how to respond to that question. But the young woman did her best to explain anyway. “Well…we definitely come from somewhere that’s a lot far from this place. We…uh…” It was certainly a lot harder than she imagined it to be. However, she found an easier approach – this was, of course, Belle she was talking to, someone who loved reading fantasy tales. She told the Disney Princess, “We’re mystical beings from another land.”

            “Say what now?” Pepe uttered in surprise.

(Authorial Note: This is the only other time the phrase "Say what now?" has been used after the previous chapter. It is a favorite expressive phrase of Livingston's to be used, next to "You've got to be kidding me" and its variations.)

            Belle almost seemed amused by what she heard from the young woman. “Mystical beings from another land? Oh, my!”

            The young woman nodded with a smile. “Yes. My name is Ciciley, and this is Pepe. We’ve come very far to find a couple of friends of ours.”

            Pepe began to see where Ciciley was going and added, “Sí, okay. One looks just like me, except he’s ugly and talks funny.” He noticed how Ciciley was giving him a cold look and said in his defense, “What? He is!”

(Authorial Note: Livingston paired certain human and Muppet characters together in order to determine who had the best chemistry or comedic effect for readers. As far as chemistry, Joanie and Robin were his favorite pairing. As far as comedic effect, there were equal matches among many other pairings.)

            Before the conversation could go on any further, the three of them suddenly heard commotion happening within the nearby village. They turned their heads to see a large crowd of villagers gathered around a fountain in the center of the village. From how they were shouting and screaming amongst themselves, it was evident that it was more of an angry mob than just a simple crowd of villagers. In realization of that, Belle, Pepe, and Ciciley ran into the village and approached the angry mob.

            Looking over a few shoulders, they could see what had to have been the strangest standoff ever. A tall, very masculine, extremely muscular, blue-eyed, and handsome man in a red shirt with a golden collar, a brown belt, black pants, and heavy-action boots was aiming his large gun directly at the most bizarrely dressed stranger Belle had ever seen. Ciciley and Pepe, on the other hand, were well-acquainted with the stranger, as well as the “lively” frog accompanying him. They recognized them both as Kermit the Frog and Buzz Lightyear.

            “Gaston?!” Belle exclaimed, her eyes directed to the man aiming the gun at Buzz, who was aiming the laser on his right arm at Gaston, a huge red dot shining at the center of his forehead.

(Character Note: Like with all the real world characters or characters from other Disney realms, Buzz's appearance can be imagined by readers as "blending" with the animation style of Beauty and the Beast, which makes him something close to Gaston in a spacesuit.)

            Pepe, witnessing the standoff between the two characters, voiced his amusement. “Ay caramba! Now dere’s something jou won’t see every day, unless it’s on one of dose Ditz-see fan forums, okay.”

(Editorial Note: Pepe's jab at "fan forums" is a direct reference to Disney-Dreams.net, which was the original source of publication for World of Disney before its sudden closure in 2011.)

            Kermit, who was shielding himself behind Buzz, tried his best to ease the incredible amount of tension coming over the area. Clearly, the crowd of villagers was not used to the likes of a high-tech spaceman and a talking frog. “Everyone, please! We don’t mean any harm! We’re just two strangers from a very far place!”

            “They’re bewitched! They’ve come to cast a curse upon us all!!” One of the villagers exclaimed, frightening the crowd even further.

            In the meantime, Gaston and Buzz were not once taking their eyes or weapons off each other. Buzz aggressively told the huntsman, “Lower your weapon, humanoid! I repeat that I come in peace!”

            “You lower yours, monster!” Gaston demanded while he glanced at the laser device being aimed at his head. “Whatever it is…lower it, before I blast you to smithereens!”

(Authorial Note: It was easy for Livingston to play off the extreme paranoia of the town villagers after their reaction to Beast in the film. This also made for an interesting twist in a faster progression of the original story as it is retold in World of Disney.)

            Belle turned her attention away from the altercation and focused on Ciciley and Pepe, pointing to Buzz and Kermit. “A-Are those two strangers the friends you were looking for?”

            Ciciley was at a loss for words. As much as she wanted to tell Belle that they were not, she could not help but to wonder if Kermit and Buzz were in fact who they were looking for, albeit unexpectedly. If they arrived there in the same fashion that she and Pepe had, then they would have to continue convincing Belle of their story. In response to Belle’s question, she told her, “Uh…yes! They are!”

            Again, Pepe was surprised by her remark, but he kept telling himself that it was all part of a plan that she seemed to be making up as she went.

            “Then I must stop Gaston before he hurts them!” Belle exclaimed, right before she pushed herself through the crowd of angry, scared villagers and approached the huntsman. “Gaston, stop! You can’t shoot them!”

            Gaston refused to take his eyes off Buzz, even as he addressed Belle. “Stay out of this, Belle! This is no place for a beautiful girl like you!”

            “But they mean us no harm.” Belle told him.

            “You don’t know that for certain!” Gaston snapped. “They’re witches! Demons! Evil beings sent to destroy us all! And I am the only one who can stop them!”

            Ciciley and Pepe pushed their way past the crowd as well to get closer to Kermit and Buzz. When some of the villagers took notice of their presence, they instantly became more alarmed, standing very far away from the two. It was not until they all became aware of them when Pepe told Gaston, “Jou should really chill out on dose horror flicks, okay.”

(Authorial Note: Pepe the King Prawn was one of Livingston's top favorite characters to write in World of Disney, taking enjoyment in developing Pepe's unique dialogue and reaction to the events around him in typical "Pepe Fashion.")

            Gasps sounded all over when Gaston and the villagers stared at Ciciley and Pepe, whose appearances shocked them more than Kermit and Buzz’s. “Egad! There are more of them!!” Gaston quickly aimed his gun at the two other strangers, which forced them to raise their hands indistinctively.

            “Yo! No need for all that, homey!” Ciciley cried.

            Gaston raised an eyebrow in confusion at the one word uttered in her exclamation. “H…Homey?!”

            Noticing how distracted the huntsman was, a short, chubby man with a big nose named LeFou – who was Gaston’s biggest “worshipper” and “friend” – shouted to him, “She’s trying to curse you, Gaston! It’s a curse word!”

            “Homey isn’t a curse word.” Pepe clarified.

            “No, but if he shoots that gun at us, I’ll have a whole lot of them to spew out.” Ciciley stated.

(Authorial Note: Livingston sometimes depends on wordplay like this when integrating the comedy of the story, since it takes more of a narrative approach in creating "sight gags" that readers can only interpret by imagination.)

            Kermit gawked at the two of them, seeming a bit enthralled by their appearance for reasons that differed from the villagers surrounding them. He was somewhat relieved to see another Muppet – one whom he had never met before, of course – there and then. “Who are you people?”

            Pepe was a little surprised by his question. “Kermin…it’s me, Pepe. Jou know…de King Prawn?”

            The frog looked long and hard at the Muppet and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never met you before my whole life. Are you a new addition to our Muppet Show cast?”

(Pop Culture Note: Pepe the King Prawn - full name Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales - made his first appearance in the Cindy Crawford episode of Muppets Tonight on April 5, 1996. He served as a companion to Seymour the Elephant, working at KMUP studios as elevator operators in the first season and commissary chefs in the second season.)

            Pepe glanced over to Ciciley, who looked just as surprised as he was. “I don’t believe dis. Have I entered De Twilight Zones or something?” He then looked over at Gaston, who was still aiming his gun at him and Ciciley. “And jou? What is up with jou, okay? Shouldn’t jou be going after dat Beast guy who lives in dat castle?”

            Hearing this from the king prawn, Gaston lowered his gun slightly and asked, “Beast? What beast?!”

            Ciciley realized what was happening and whispered to her Muppet friend, “Uh, Pepe? I think you’d better…”

            “De one dat lives in de castle outside dis village? Dios mío! Am I de only one who can remember de movie?”

            Gaston and the villagers were heavily startled by the information that Pepe had given them all. Some of the women screamed, while others either fainted or gasped. The men began murmuring over each other, already formulating a plan of action. One of these men boldly yelled, “This beast must be their leader! If we kill it, then we should rid ourselves of this curse placed upon our beloved town!!”

            All of the men in the crowd then chanted in bloodthirsty manner, “Kill the beast! Kill the beast! Kill the beast!”

            The chant brought a fire within Gaston that he never felt before. It was a fire that only a true hunter like himself could experience when he was fully aware of a prey – a formidable foe – that he should confront to prove himself. The huntsman stood upon the base of the fountain, so that all of the villagers could see him, and declared, “I will lead a cavalry of men to this castle! All women and children stay in your homes, lock your doors, and bar your windows! You each have my word that by dusk, this beast’s head shall be ours!”

(Narrative Note: The placement of the "The Mob Song" sequence within what was supposed to be the one for "Belle" follows with the overarching theme of the original stories being told out of sequence with the interference of real world players. Much of the action remains the same; it is only the setting that's changed.)

            Every male villager roared with zeal over Gaston’s enthusiasm. Ciciley lowered her head in despair, realizing that events were happening completely out of sequence with the original telling of this story. Gaston and the villagers were not supposed to have known of the Beast’s existence until after Belle had met and fallen in love with him, not before. Even as she glanced over to the Disney Princess, she could see how alarmed she appeared to be over the news of the Beast. It was a definite chance that she would not fall in love with him in the same way she had in the original storyline.

            “And you accursed beings!” Gaston exclaimed, pointing to her, Buzz, Kermit, and Pepe. “You all shall be locked away, until your leader falls at my hands!”

            That, of course, was highly unacceptable to Buzz Lightyear. No innocents, including him, were going to be falsely imprisoned for crimes that neither of them committed. As Gaston gestured for a few male villagers to subdue them, Buzz’s hand went to the left side of his suit where he pressed a large red button that activated a pair of large wings from the back of the suit with blinking red and green lights. Everyone stood back and stared in awe at what Buzz’s high-tech spacesuit had just done, while Buzz knelt down on one knee and turned to Kermit, Pepe, and Ciciley. “Grab onto my wings!”

            “What?!” Ciciley remarked, a bit stunned by his proposal.

            “They are a terillium-carbonic alloy and will support each of your weights! Now grab on!”

(Pop Culture Note: Toy Story fans will know that "terillium-carbonic alloy" are what Buzz Lightyear believes his wings to be made from.)

            Ciciley, Pepe, and Kermit each looked very perplexed, but they eventually got what Buzz was asking them to do. They grabbed onto his wings and hung on tightly, just as they began to feel a strong vibration and a loud humming noise from the space ranger’s suit. Streams of white smoke poured out fast and heavy from the bottom of the wings, where the boosters were located. This was certainly something new that Ciciley was witnessing from the Toy Story character, who – as she remembered – was not a real space ranger. But, apparently, from the way his wings were igniting, he was!

            “To infinity and beyond!!!”

(Pop Culture Note: Buzz's popular catchphrase is a variation of the line "Beyond the infinite" that appears as a title card in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey as "Jupiter Beyond the Infinite.)

            Buzz exclaimed his often repeated catchphrase as he lifted right off the ground and away from the crowd of startled villagers, soaring high into the morning sky with Kermit, Pepe, and Ciciley clasped onto his wings. The three “passengers” were screaming frantically as they were soaring fifty feet across the air. Ciciley’s bright blue eyes were shut tight during the entire ride. Kermit and Pepe, on the other hand, had theirs wide open – as they always seem to be – looking all around from the white clouds they had flown through to the lusciously green trees passing below them.

            Kermit expressed a mixed reaction of fear and joy as he shouted, “He can fly! He can fly! He can fly!!!”

 

            “Wrong Ditz-see character, Kermin!!” Pepe informed through his immense trepidation.

(UP NEXT: The Evil Queen makes her move!)