Tales of the Disneyverse - Tale #11 (w/ Commentary Notes)

More to the Cause (The Gathering – Part One)
(The Merged Realms of Up and Peter Pan)

            Traveling by dinghy, the pirates arrived on the Jolly Roger in less than ten minutes with their frightened Wilderness Explorer prisoner. The moment his feet hit the deck, Hook demanded, “The wedding will begin this instant! Mr. Smee, you shall be our minister for the ceremony!”

            “I-It’ll be my honor, Cap’n.” Smee consented.

(Disney Note: Mr. Smee is among the most recognizable and popular Disney Villain sidekicks, featured in more Disney productions than any other villain sidekick. Smee is the most popular along with Aladdin's Iago and The Lion King's Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed.)

            “Before we do, my love, I need a moment to freshen up.” Genevieve requested.

            Hook chuckled and smiled, placing his thumb and index finger beneath her chin while gazing upon her lovely face. “My dear, you are already a radiant beauty that requires no ‘freshening up.’” His compliment widened Genevieve’s smile.

            “Oy! Cap’n!” One of the pirates beckoned. “Whadda we do wit dah boy here?”

            Hook moved his attention away from Genevieve and to Russell, glaring at the frightened child. “Take him to the brig! Get him out of me sight until Peter Pan comes looking for him!”

            “Aye, Cap’n!” The pirate acknowledged.

(Authorial Note: When it came to writing the pirates' dialogue, Livingston had to review footage from Peter Pan to ensure he had the voices and accents down. The one pirate addressing Hook in this scene has a notable cockney accent.)

            Just as the pirate was about to lead Russell away, Genevieve rushed over to them and blocked their path. “Allow me to carry the order, love. Since it was my plan to capture this child and imprison him on our ship, it’ll be good form to do the honor of locking him up myself.”

            Hook smiled, stroking at his thin, upward-angled mustache. “Of course – anything for my soon-to-be new bride. But hurry back – I’m awfully anxious to spend our time together as happy newlyweds.”

            Genevieve blew him a kiss, making him act as giddy as a schoolboy when he “caught” the kiss. She then proceeded in grabbing Russell roughly by the back of his collar with one hand while carrying her long, shimmering sword in the other. “Come, boy,” she aggressively told her prisoner while escorting him out of view of Hook, Smee, and the other pirates.

            Russell’s fear intensified as they both went two levels below deck and into a dark, musty old section filled with large cells that stood adjacent to one another on opposite sides of the room. Within the iron bars that made up the cell, there were no other prisoners – except for one in a cell further across the room that sat idly on the floor, consumed by the darkness. The entire room was so dark that Russell could barely see his own hand; but Genevieve fixed this when she sheathed her sword and used the hand she had held it with to light up a lantern.

            Then something happened that took Russell by surprise – the hand that had a firm grip on his collar had let go and rested consolingly on his left shoulder. He then heard Genevieve whisper to him in a very sweet, caring voice, “It’s alright, lil’ fella. Everything’s gonna be just fine.” It was a strong contradiction to the vicious, threatening voice she addressed him with earlier. He glanced up at her beautiful face, which was illuminated by the lantern, and saw how much more beautiful it had become with the warm smile she gave him. It was not a menacing grin, but a kind, loving smile akin to that of a parent.

(Character Note: Certain hints were given of Sean Thomas's past as a father in the mannerisms of his reincarnations, showing that he is still the same person through them.)

            “Y-You’re not g-gonna hurt me?” Russell said, uncertain of what to make of this sudden shift of events.

            Genevieve smiled, shaking her head in reply.

            Russell was still unconvinced. “No! You’re tricking me! You’re making me think you’re nice w-when you really aren’t!”

            “It’s no trick, kiddo. Believe it or not, she just saved your life.”

            The voice came from the furthest cell in the room where the lone prisoner was. Russell and Genevieve walked to it with the lantern illuminating that portion of the room, giving them a good look at the prisoner. It was a woman who looked to be in her late-thirties with messy, shoulder-length dark brown hair with a few hints of gray in it, distinctive cheekbones, bright pink lips, pale skin tone, dark, slightly broaden eyebrows, and a slim yet toned frame. She wore a blue silk sweater that was slightly tattered and hung off the body, exposing her bare shoulders and tight clavicle muscles, as well as a maroon miniskirt with skinny jeans worn beneath and knee-high, high-heeled brown boots.

            Sitting lotus style on the floor of her cell, the woman appeared to be meditating.

            “Have you been meditating the whole time you’ve been there, Adrienne?” Genevieve questioned to her.

(Biographical Note: "Adrienne" is based on and inspired by actress Adrienne Wilkinson, recognized for her role as Eve/Livia in Xena: Warrior Princess, which Livingston drew much inspiration for her character from. Wilkinson is the very first known celebrity that Livingston has incorporated into his work. For this reason, he had to treat her involvement differently than most others he has written and developed. Upon announcement of her character's debut in Tales on the World of Disney Facebook page, a complaint was issued by Wilkinson's agent over the character, believing her to have accepted a role in an actual Disney project. This has led to limited promotion of the character on sites such as Twitter and Facebook to avoid misinterpretation among Wilkinson's fans.)

            Adrienne slowly opened her piercing light blue eyes, which were brought out more from the heavy eyeliner she wore. “I was for the first few days…but then my butt and legs got so numb that I’m locked like this now.”

            Despite the deadpan delivery of it, Adrienne’s joke made Russell giggle. “That was a good one.”

            A small smirk grew on Adrienne’s hardened face – it was the first time she could remember making anyone, most especially a child, laugh.

(Character Note: Adrienne is one of Livingston's personal favorite characters to write in the World of Disney series. Drawing much inspiration from John Hurt's "War Doctor" in Doctor Who, Livingston envisioned her character to be the battle-weary warrior, having spent a prolonged duration of fighting in the Star Wars universe. Her backstory is explored fully in World of Disney 3.)

            Genevieve was delighted to have seen Russell warming up to Adrienne so quickly; the boy seemed to have forgotten that he was on a pirate ship for that short moment. “Russell, I’m sorry about how I treated you. I’m really not that horrible woman you saw me as in front of Hook and his goons. I hope that you can trust me.”

            Russell continued to be skeptical of her. Noting his skepticism, Adrienne told the Wilderness Explorer, “It’s O.K., lil’ man. She’s on our side.”

            Trusting Adrienne’s judgment, Russell smiled at Genevieve. “I’m glad you were faking it – you make one scary pirate.”

            Genevieve snickered. “I’ll take that as a compliment. It was the only way I could protect you.”

            “I understand.” Russell said. “Those are some crazy pirates up there.”

            “She doesn’t mean the pirates, kiddo.” Adrienne clarified. “She means something much worse: a dimensional rift that’s opened and merging your world with another. You’re not just in South America anymore – you’re in a Never Land combo of it.”

            It all started to make sense to Russell. “I knew it! I knew something weird was goin’ on when I saw those pirates!”

            “You’re taking this news a lot easier than expected.” Genevieve said.

            “I watch a lot of sci-fi.” Russell remarked. “I’ve often wished for something cool like this to happen.”

(Disney Note: Russell's love for science fiction is emphasized from a photo shown in the credits sequence in Up.)

            Adrienne frowned and her eyes squinted as she gazed at Russell in disbelief of what he had just said. “Cool? Did you just say ‘cool’?” Her voice turned intense all of the sudden, and she stood up to her full 5’5” height, glowering at Russell. “The destruction of worlds and lives of billions of people is not cool! You wouldn’t find it so ‘cool’ after it happens to your world, would you? WOULD YOU?”

            “ADRIENNE!”

            She snapped out of her fury once she heard Genevieve slam her fist against the iron bars of the cell to get her attention. Adrienne looked to Genevieve at first, seeing the intense stare the young woman had given her, and then she looked to Russell, who was clinging to Genevieve’s side in fear of Adrienne.

            “I’m sorry,” Adrienne whispered to him. She repeated these words multiple times as she then paced back and forth in her cell; the repeats of her apology then turned to rambling over things Russell could not begin to understand.

(Character Note: Adrienne was initially designed to be the "unhinged Guardian," experiencing emotional relapses brought on from her previous life, which is noted as a "warped reincarnation," due to the way in which it was conceived. This idea mellowed some during Adrienne's character development in Tales, as well as through her appearance in World of Disney 3.)

            Russell’s perception of Adrienne had quickly changed. “What’s wrong with her?”

            Genevieve sighed – old memories of another life practically playing out in front of her. “She’s just been through a lot, sweetheart. She doesn’t mean half of what she says sometimes.”

(Narrative Note: Much of Adrienne's life in the Star Wars universe is depicted in World of Disney 3, but an upcoming miniseries titled "Tales from the Battlefront" will center on her inner and outer conflicts from the far, far away galaxy.)

            Listening to Genevieve’s explanation, Russell took notice in the gun belt that Adrienne wore. Holstered to the belt were two guns that looked a lot like the ones he had seen in Star Wars; adding to this were the lightsaber hilts Russell saw attached to the belt as well. His interest in Adrienne returning, he excitedly asked her, “Are you from a world where Star Wars really exists?”

            Adrienne’s rambling and pacing ceased the moment she caught his question, her piercing light blue eyes centered on him again. She realized that he was gawking at her gun belt and the weapons holstered and attached to it. She made an attempt to conceal them by folding the fabric from her miniskirt in over them and remained mute on her response to Russell’s question. She instead focused on Genevieve and coldly told her, “You can’t keep all of them safe, ya know.”

            Genevieve smiled. “With ten more versions of us out there, I know that I can. Carl and Dug are already out there with the other four.”

(Character Note: In Tales and subsequent stories, Genevieve is proven to be the most powerful of all the Sean Thomas reincarnations, attributed to her experience through her previous fifteen life cycles and the fact that she is the final incarnation of the Guardian. One of the amplifications of her power is her telepathic connection to her previous lives, which she uses to gather them in this miniseries.)

            “Other four?” Adrienne reacted with surprise. “What other four?”

            “Ellison, Allison, Tasha, and Anne-Marie.” Genevieve answered.

            Adrienne frowned on the last name mentioned. “Anne-Marie? Which one is she?”

            “What’re you guys talking about?” Russell inquired.

            Noting his confusion from their exchange, Genevieve took a breath and explained: “Adrienne and I are sorceresses known as ‘Guardians,’ Russell. We watch over worlds like the ones you and the pirates come from. We’re also the same person – or, I guess I should say that we used to be one person altogether – a guy by the name of Sean Thomas.”

            An odd look came upon Russell’s face. “You used to be a guy?”

            “I think you’ve completely lost the poor fella.” Adrienne told Genevieve.

            Genevieve chuckled. “It’s reincarnation, Russell. You see, when I died, I was reincarnated into over two dozen lives. The ‘pirate girl’ you see me as now is my seventeenth life and Adrienne over there was – or, in her case, is – my eleventh one.”

            Russell glanced over to Adrienne, who gave a wave and half of a smile. “Hello,” she jokingly said to him.

            The Wilderness Explorer smiled large and wide, finally understanding. “I get it now! You’re like Doctor Who!”

            Genevieve grinned over the amusing analogy. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

(Authorial Note: Livingston threw in this open reference to the British sci-fi show that has been a huge influence in the World of Disney series moving forward from The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2 as a way to assess to readers that his ideas are in fact purposely based on the show. Much like most of Disney's animated films, they are based on cultural material relating to books, film, and television, and World of Disney is no different.)

            The thunderous sound of approaching footsteps interrupted their conversation and alerted Genevieve of the lengthy amount of time she had spent down in the brig. She could hear Hook’s furious voice asking where she was. “Oh my goodness. I think I hear my wannabe husband coming.”

            “They’re onto us!” Adrienne exclaimed, unhinging the lightsaber hilts from her gun belt and igniting them – one blade glowing orange, the other glowing green.

            Seeing live lightsabers for the first time in his life brought a thrill over Russell. “Wow!”

            “Adrienne, do not engage with them!” Genevieve advised, sounding almost like a war general.

            “You think I’m scared of these cutthroats?” Adrienne snapped. “I kicked Hook right where it hurts – that’s what got me locked in here in the first place!”

            “Yeah, I know.” Genevieve recognized. “But fighting them won’t be necessary. We’re leaving this ship and this merged realm to get Russell to safety.”

            Hearing this, Russell panicked. “But…Mr. Fredricksen and Dug! We can’t leave without them!”

            “They’re with our other reincarnations.” Genevieve said. “They’ll be alright, Russell…I promise.”

            Russell had no other choice but to accept her promise once Hook and his band of pirates had finally barged into the brig. Just as they arrived, however, they found that Genevieve, Russell, and Adrienne had all disappeared. But the one sight that Hook found to be the most unwelcoming was Genevieve’s engagement ring lying uselessly on the damp floor. Fueled with heartbroken rage, the pirate captain bellowed from the top of his lungs, “BETRAYAL!”

(UP NEXT: Genevieve takes on a new face!)