Tales of the Disneyverse - Tale #3 (w/ Commentary Notes)

The Circle of Life is a Highway
(The Crossed Realms of Cars and The Lion King)

            “Mater, for the last time, it wasn’t the ‘Ghost Light’ that we saw flash in the sky.” McQueen told his tow-truck best friend as they traversed over the outskirts of Radiator Springs together.

            “But we all saw it! You saw it, I saw it, Sally saw it, Doc saw it…”

            “O.K., Mater.”

            “…Ramone saw it, Flo saw it, Luigi saw it…”

            “Alright, Mater. I get it.”

            “…Sarge saw it, Sheriff saw it, Fillmore saw it…”

            “MATER!”

(Authorial Note: No specific point in the original Cars storyline is established from the presence of the world and its characters in this miniseries. This was done purposely to allow readers to determine themselves at what point in Lightning McQueen's time in Radiator Springs this scene could have happened in, although Livingston envisioned it to be sometime between the first and second films.)

            McQueen’s loud exclamation echoed through the heavens and scared a flock of birds that were perched upon the tall grass of the savanna close near the two talking vehicles. As soon as they saw the birds take flight into the skies, McQueen and Mater jumped in surprise and confusion, having never seen such unusual aerial creatures before.

            “What the heck are those?” McQueen questioned. “Are they…birds?”

            Mater squinted as the birds flew across the sunny, cloudless skies. “Shoot. Ain’t any birds I ever saw. Maybe they’re one of them ‘mute ants’ Sarge always keeps callin’ Fillmore.”

(Narrative Note: The word Mater is trying to say is "mutants.")

            “I don’t know, Mater,” said a heavily nervous McQueen. “M-Maybe we should just go back to the town and warn everyone about…” He stopped as soon as he heard strange noises coming further across the savanna. “Now what?”

            McQueen and Mater drove in the direction of the sounds, crossing the tall grass and coming upon a section of the savanna where elephants, zebras, and various other wild animals were crossing in perfect form a distance from the two cars. Of course, to Mater and McQueen, these creatures were entirely alien to them, and their very presence baffled and even horrified them. As soon as they witnessed the large herd crossing the area, the two vehicles screamed in terror, turning around and speeding back in the direction they came in.

(Authorial Note: The merge between the Cars and Lion King worlds was one of Livingston's favorites to create for the miniseries, because of how vastly different the two worlds are. He would have expanded on the story of Mater and McQueen's journey into the Pride Lands, but he knew the focus needed to be centered on Mickey, Anne-Marie, and Katie and their mission.)

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            From the moment Anne-Marie, Katie, and Mickey arrived in the first two worlds amalgamated from the rift, there was nothing but silence among the three of them. Katie and Mickey both felt a little awkward just walking across the savanna and looking for the precise location of the rift. Anne-Marie, on the other hand, was strictly concentrated on her goal, shutting out everything around from the intense African heat – courtesy of the Lion King side of the crossed realms – to the sounds of wild animals in the distance.

            There were, however, two particular noises that broke Anne-Marie’s concentration – engines roaring and men screaming. She, Katie, and Mickey looked to the distance and took notice of dirt clouds billowing in the air. Not before long did they see racecar Lightning McQueen and tow-truck Mater rushing across the savanna with looks of pure horror upon their animated faces. Watching the two Cars characters drive away from whatever it was that horrified them, Mickey scratched his head and said, “Wonder what spooked ‘em.”

(Authorial Note: It was originally planned for the Fantasia trio to separate in their investigating of the merge between the Cars and Lion King worlds with Anne-Marie and Mickey in the latter and Katie in the former. This was abandoned when Livingston had difficulty thinking up a particular vehicle Katie would take form of, as well as which particular Lion King characters Anne-Marie and Mickey would interact with.)

            “Doesn’t matter.” Anne-Marie said in a monotone voice. “Once the rift is closed here, neither of them will remember what they saw.”

            Although Katie felt bad for whatever McQueen and Mater were going through in the crossed realm, their sudden emergence in the savanna helped break the silence amongst her, Mickey, and Anne-Marie. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she said, “So…Anne-Marie…”

            “‘Mistress’ will do just fine.” Anne-Marie coldly remarked.

            Katie’s body grew tense on her unyielding request. “R-Right…Mistress Anne-Marie…”

            “No. Just ‘Mistress.’” She clarified, not once looking to Katie upon correcting her. “You must earn addressing the first name of your superiors. Isn’t that right, Mickey?”

            Mickey hadn’t expected to be brought into the conversation that Katie started. He admired her bravery for talking directly to Anne-Marie, who was a very imposing woman to him – more so than Yen Sid. For that reason, he answered her almost instantly: “Y-Yes, Mistress. It’s absolutely right.” He glanced over to Katie, who seemed a little unnerved – possibly feeling that she might have challenged Anne-Marie by addressing her through first name.

(Narrative Note: Since Tales of the Disneyverse takes place prior to the events of The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2, the relationship between Katie and Anne-Marie is far different from when readers were first introduced to them in WOD2. This miniseries explains exactly how the two grew close as friends and Anne-Marie's much looser personality.)

            But Katie was bold enough to continue the conversation, despite the slight tension between her and the superior sorceress. “Mistress…I’m only curious about your life before you became a sorceress. Is it true you come from the same world as the Guardian?”

            Anne-Marie stopped dead in her tracks, prompting Katie and Mickey to do the same. Even with her back facing them, Mickey could determine how frustrated Anne-Marie was from Katie’s question. Uh-oh, the mouse thought as he saw the sorceress turn around for the first time since they arrived and look at Katie straight in the eyes. She gave her a stare that was intense enough to send chills down her spine – it certainly sent one down Mickey’s, despite not being at the receiving end of it.

            “My life is here in the Disneyverse.” Anne-Marie declared. “Here and nowhere else. Is that understood?”

(Authorial Note: By this tale, Livingston had figured on giving backstories to both Anne-Marie and Katie, with Anne-Marie's going much deeper into the World of Disney mythos. As usual with characters that have a mysterious history, certain clues were provided for readers to come up with a deduction on who the character truly is.)

            Katie could only acknowledge with a nod. She was so petrified from Anne-Marie’s stare that it left her speechless.

            The mistress sorceress then looked skyward and, without pause, told Katie and Mickey, “We’re here.”

            Mickey and Katie looked up as well, but they only saw the clear blue sky above them. “I don’t see a rift.”

            “Oh, it’s there.” Anne-Marie confirmed. “It’s just hiding.”

            She reached high up and made a gesture that was as if she were pulling apart large, heavy doors, her face showing much strain while doing so. At first, Mickey and Katie were confused on what she was doing, but they soon saw what appeared to be some type of invisible shield breaking apart and exposing the part of the sky that they were actually standing beneath. It was grayed and distorted with an enormous shimmering “crack” that would have looked as beautiful as the northern lights had it not meant the end of the two combined Disneyverse realms there.

(Pop Culture Note: The physical description of the rift is based on one seen in the Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums" when the Master uses a "Paradox Machine" to bring several deadly machines from the future.)

            “Gosh!” Mickey exclaimed in surprise.

            “Wow!” Katie also shouted.

            “Yes. It is impressive…but also deadly.” Anne-Marie said before looking away from the tear and towards her companions. “Now then, we mustn’t waste time gawking at it. The longer it stays up there, the harder it will be to close it.”

            “How do we close it?” Katie inquired.

            “Follow my lead.” Anne-Marie instructed. “Lift your arms up high…Open your palms…Look to the rift…Slowly close your palms into a fist while imagining the rift closing.”

            It sounded simple enough to Katie and Mickey, even after Anne-Marie demonstrated it for them. They both did as the mistress sorceress instructed and concentrated hard on the rift, using their shared magic to close the crack in the sky. It sealed shut just as slowly as Katie and Mickey closed up their fists. The grayness retreated into the tear as it sealed, and the blue returned to the sky, bringing it completely back to normal.

            Mickey smiled over their success. “We did it!”

            Katie giggled. “That was awesome!”

            Anne-Marie scoffed, specifically at Katie. “Soak in that pride while it lasts, because it’s only going to get a lot harder from here.” Her words negatively impacted Katie and Mickey, whose smiles and giggles ceased instantly.

(UP NEXT: Trouble back home!)