Chapter Twenty-Two:
Time Zone – 2010
“So…you two ladies are from Baton Rogue, and you’ve never seen any frogs like Robin and me
there?” Kermit inquired to Joie and Gina.
Joie shook her head and answered, “Nope…not one. And
you’ve never seen people like Gina and me there either?”
Robin shook his head also. “Nope.”
“Well, what does that
mean?” Scooter asked.
“It means that the two ladies are from a parallel
universe.” Bunsen stated. “It’s the only reasonable deduction, considering the
differences between spots. While Kermit and Robin are aware of a Baton Rouge,
Louisiana with members of their family, Joie and Gina are simply familiar with
people who can…er…alter their facial appearances drastically.”
Gina frowned at the Muppet scientist. “Well, you were the one who asked for a
demonstration.”
“Yes, but I did not expect to need a change of underwear
afterward.” Bunsen sheepishly remarked.
“Wow!” Bean exclaimed. “Isn’t this amazing? We have people
from another time and people from another dimension all under one roof. It’s
like a great science fiction movie!”
“Stargate,
okay.” Pepe uttered.
(Narrative Note: That is Pepe's last Stargate reference in the story.)
Meanwhile, Beaker typed a few keys into the computer and
a loud, brief buzzing sound emitted from the Magic Gateway. Once it passed, he
meeped to Bunsen, pretending to dust off his hands.
Bunsen turned to Beaker, seeming a little amazed.
“Beaker, you fixed our radiation issue?” His assistant meeped a happy response.
“Splendid, Beaker!”
“Does that mean ya’ll can fix them?” Clifford asked, gesturing to Ciciley, Kimberly, and Meagan,
who were still acting as if they were Princess Jasmine, The Mad Hatter, and
Cruella De Vil.
(Authorial Note: The choice of Disney characters for the "mind swap" with the World of Disney characters wasn't done at random. Livingston had chosen the characters he felt were specific to Ciciley, Kimberly, and Meagan's personalities in real life as opposed to their characters.)
“And also get Joanie back from wherever she is?” Robin
added.
“Well, yes and no.” Bunsen answered.
The others looked very confused, leading Kermit into
asking, “Yes and no to which parts?”
“Yes, I can bring Joanie back; no, I cannot fix your
friends… not yet, at least.” Bunsen clarified. “I can pinpoint Joanie’s current
location through the computer. Now that Beaker and I have corrected its
functions, finding her and her mother will be much simpler now.”
“Well, she’ll be ecstatic to hear that, once we get her
back.” Kermit said.
Clifford seemed a little offended of how the older Muppets seemed to negate the other
situation at hand. “Now, wait a sec! Let’s try and focus on the here and now,
man! Three of our friends think they’re Disney characters, not to mention Tracy
is lying on the floor over there, still
unconscious! Maybe we can try and
focus on all of this for a minute
before we…”
“Hey, buddy!” Scooter yelled to Clifford. “Our friend is in trouble, too! She’s
probably in bigger trouble than any
of your friends ar…”
“Hey, hey, no need to blow our tops, guys.” Bobo quickly
interjected. “We’re all just trying to do the right thing here.”
“That’s right.” Fozzie agreed with the other bear.
“Standing here arguing isn’t going to help our friends.”
(Authorial Note: Livingston wanted for certain past and present Muppet characters to interact negatively and positively to each other to demonstrate their differences and similarities while evoking some irony in the mix.)
Observing the scene, Joie whispered to Gina, “Weird how
the bears are the cool-headed ones in all of this.” Gina concurred with her
sister’s sentiment with a simple nod. Joie then stepped forward and spoke out
to the Muppets. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Since half of ya’ll wanna help this
Joanie chick, why not send that half
out through this little machine of yours, while err-body else stay here and do
their thang?”
The Muppets pondered over Joie’s idea, finding the
marvelous logic in it.
(Grammatical Note: Livingston's usage of the term "marvelous" when applied to the Muppets is a hidden reference to his "Marvelous Muppets" series written for Muppet Central in the mid-2000s.)
Kermit smiled and stated, “Excellent idea. We’ll take a
vote on who stays and who goes. Everyone who wants to go and find Joanie, raise
your hand, flipper, or paws.” Robin, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter, Kermit himself,
and even Bobo all raised their arms.
Rizzo glanced surprisingly at Bobo. “You wanna go into dah insane machine?!”
“Hey, everybody else gotta chance. Can’t I have one?” Bobo
remarked.
“I want to go, too.” Bean spoke up, raising his paw.
“Going into a world based on Disney sounds pretty cute.”
“Trust me, amigo. Once jou go in, it won’t seem so
‘cute’.” Pepe warned.
Kermit nodded and lowered his hand along with the others.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll go and find Joanie, while the rest of you take care
of things here.” He then turned to Bunsen and asked, “Can you send us to
Joanie’s exact location?”
“Not precisely, Kermit,” Bunsen elucidated, “but I can
place you within the closest proximity of the world she’s in.”
“Well, that’s good…I think.” Kermit remarked.
Joie smiled upon witnessing the vote amongst the Muppets.
“I might get in on this myself. What about you, Gee? You gonna chill here or go
with us?”
“No, thanks.” Gina cautiously answered. “I’m happy
stayin’ right here ‘til ya’ll get back. I’ve got no problem holdin’ down the
fort while you’re gone.”
“Suit yourself.” Joie acknowledged before walking to the
Magic Gateway and observing it. “So how do ya’ll work this thing?”
Bunsen pressed the button on the computer that activated
the newly repaired door to the Magic Gateway’s chamber. Joie reflected from the
surprising action, as were Clifford, Bobo, and Bean. In response to Joie’s
inquiry, Bunsen instructed, “You simply step inside and the machine takes you across
time and space to your requested destination – in this case, an area called…”
He slightly adjusted his glasses while gazing upon the computer screen.
“…Agrabah.”
The ears of Ciciley (Jasmine) perked when she heard the
name of the location. “Agrabah! That is my home!” She went to Joie, grabbing
her arm and pleading, “Take me with you! I must
get back to my father – I’m all he has left!”
Joie was not entirely sure of what to do; she gazed
towards Bunsen, hoping for some type of suggestion.
“Let her go with you.” Bunsen recommended after careful
thought. “Perhaps actually being in
the world could snap her out of this persona.”
Shrugging with an uncertain grin, Joie told Ciciley
(Jasmine), “Sure…of course you can come.”
Ciciley (Jasmine) smiled and appreciatively said, “Thank
you.”
“C’mon. Let’s go.” Robin anxiously beckoned. “The longer
we spend time here, the more danger Joanie could be in.” The little frog sighed
and added, “I really hope she’s alright.”
Realm Zone – 1992
The Sultan’s palace stood majestically at the center of
the enchanted city of Agrabah, its structure practically glistening under the
bright morning sun. In the back section of the palace was a beautiful garden,
complete with an equally beautiful fountain that had sparkling water flowing
through it. Sitting by the fountain was a young princess named Jasmine,
daughter of the Sultan, who stared long and hard at her reflection in the
water. However, Jasmine was not staring at herself in admiration of her
magnificent beauty, but rather because something was entirely amiss. Even
though it was Princess Jasmine in the reflection, the thoughts and feelings she
possessed belonged to Ciciley Thomas.
(Disney Note: One of the biggest body-swap stories done by Disney is the 1976 live-action comedy Freaky Friday, starring Jodie Foster. The film was based on the novel by Mary Rodgers, in which mother and daughter switch bodies and get a taste of each other's lives on Friday the 13th. It was remade twice by Disney - as a made-for-TV movie on ABC in 1995 and another theatrical film in 2003, featuring different means for the switch such as magical necklaces and fortunate cookies.)
Ciciley could not figure out how it happened. One minute,
she was standing in the basement of the Muppet Theater and hearing a weird
buzzing sound; and, in the next minute, she was standing in the Sultan’s palace
as Princess Jasmine. Undoubtedly, the strange occurrence was courtesy of Bunsen
Honeydew’s machine, which experienced yet another “hiccup” that sent Ciciley
not only out of her own dimension, but out of her own body as well. Not that she
was carrying any serious qualms over it; she actually enjoyed being one of her favorite Disney princesses…for the time
being.
A low, heavy purring sound was heard close to her, and
she quickly noticed Rajah – Princess Jasmine’s pet tiger – slowly moving toward
her. To Rajah, Ciciley was Jasmine
and treated her as the princess. Ciciley did her best not to fear the tiger,
since he had to be Princess Jasmine
for the sake of those in the world she was trapped in. Doing her best not to
hesitate, she softly stroked Rajah on the head, which encouraged the gentle
tiger to purr even more.
(Authorial Note: Livingston originally intended for Rajah to react negatively towards Ciciley/Jasmine, sensing that she was not the princess he cared for. This idea was dodged in favor of the real conflict to be established later in this scene.)
Ciciley smiled and said – in Jasmine’s voice, “Good
tiger. Nice tiger.”
“Jasmine!!”
It was the Sultan.
Ciciley turned her head at the moment she heard his voice
to see him enter the garden area, looking very giddy at the moment. Once he saw
her sitting with Rajah by the fountain, he exclaimed upon running to her, “Oh,
Jasmine! There you are! There’s something I must tell you!”
She smiled, knowing exactly what she was going to say
before he even could say it. “I know, Father.
I know. You have another suitor for me to choose to marry. But I’m not going to choose him, because I’m not
truly in love with him, and Rajah will just scare him off.” Rajah seemed
delighted by that last part, smiling as Ciciley said it. “So you can just send
him away, because I know my true love
is still waiting for me out there…somewhere.”
The Sultan stared at her with a perplexed look upon his
face. “Erm…well…I s-suppose that would be one thing to tell you, if there was a
suitor coming today…but I’m afraid there isn’t.”
The confusion then turned to Ciciley upon hearing what
the Sultan told her. “Really?! Then what did you come to tell me?”
“I’ve come to tell you about Jafar and the woman he is courting.”
Ciciley reacted with surprise and worry. Events were not
transpiring at all like they originally had in the story, which left her to
believe her involvement in it was altering things. Then again, Ciciley was only
involved as Princess Jasmine…not as herself. Something was definitely wrong –
that much was certain to her.
“Uh…who did he
choose, Father?”
“Someone quite magnificent.”
All heads turned to the doorway leading into the garden
to see Jafar (Iago perched upon his shoulder) with a figure standing close
behind him in the shadows.
“Princess Jasmine…Your Majesty…I present to you, my new bride…Dawn!”
Out from the shadows appeared a young redheaded woman
wearing a burgundy outfit that was very alluring yet intimidating in nature,
complete with a midriff and a belt buckle with a unique skull design. She
looked like nothing Ciciley had ever seen in the Aladdin mythology before – and she literally was not. This “Dawn”
character was completely new to the story, and she was the very reason these
new events had transpired. However, Dawn was not an unfamiliar figure to
Ciciley; on the contrary, she knew exactly
who she really was.
Dawn was Joanie Navarro!
(Character Note: The twist with Joanie's transformation into "Dawn" is inspired by Joanie Mars's cosplay of the same name, which itself is inspired by a comic book series by Joseph Michael Linsner featuring the character. Ironically, Dawn is the goddess of birth and rebirth, a guardian, and takes on multiple appearances - all traits that are depicted later in the World of Disney series for the Guardian of the Disneyverse, a title that Joanie holds following the events of this story.)
“Greetings, Sultan.” Dawn said with an empowering voice
that Joanie was never known for carrying. “It is a pleasure to be in the
presence of you and your beautiful daughter.” She looked to Ciciley and bowed
to her.
Ciciley gazed upon Dawn/Joanie in total disbelief, seeing
the shocking appearance and persona that her mother was taking up. Whatever
Jafar had done to her, it was far from pleasant.
Realm Zone – 1989
Brandy stood in one place and fiddled with the
holographic displays projected on her wristband, while Sean paced back and
forth on the beach, trying his best not to scream out anything offensive to
her. Noticing how distraught he was, Brandy told him, “She’s alright, Sean.
Really, she is. She’s only lost maybe seventy-eight percent of her brainwaves,
while the other twenty-two percent is still technically Ariel’s.”
“Oh, wow. Thanks. Makes me feel a lot better.” Sean said in great sarcasm.
“Hey, I’m not seein’ you
come up with any ideas, Da…!”
She quickly stopped herself before she uttered something
that she was not supposed to. Sean caught her mid-blunder and stopped pacing
long enough to curiously glance at her. There was an awkward moment of silence
between them, and then Brandy calmly changed the subject.
(Narrative Note: Brandy's near-slip-of-the-tongue is another hint to her character.)
“Look, the best part is that we know where she is. All we need to do now is go there and find her, which
is what you’re about to do right now.”
Sean reacted to her instruct with confusion and offense. “Wait!
Wha…? Me?! What will you be doing?!”
“I’m going to get Bella and Michelle.” Brandy informed
while reading some information from her wristband. “According to my readings,
they’re in the Winnie the Pooh realm.
Why they are, I have no idea; but I’m going to get them, and you’re going to
find Joanie.”
“Wait a minute.”
“We don’t have
a minute, man! Every second counts!”
With that established, Brandy pushed in bits of
information onto the small holographic keypad above her wristband. Before he
could try to say another word, Sean’s form engaged in reanimation and vanished
from the beach. Once he was away, Brandy keyed in another bit of information on
the display and deployed herself to the same process, disappearing within only
seconds.
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