The Destroyer of Worlds
(The Realm of Aladdin)
(The Realm of Aladdin)
Genevieve
and Buohler were roughly shoved into the Sultan’s palace – or what was left of
it. They were both reminded of how it looked when they first arrived there in
their original life as Sean Thomas. It looked the way it did in the Aladdin film: beautiful, majestic, and
colorful. But the condition Genevieve and Buohler both found it in upon their
return was the complete opposite. The pillars had cracked, crumbled, or gone
completely missing; chunks of the floor had been torn off; sections of the
floor were risen and lowered; chunks of debris were scattered all over; half of
the massive gold elephant face above the throne was lost; and a large portion
of the roof was absent, exposing the Sphere that loomed menacingly over the
palace.
(Authorial Note: Livingston personally redesigned an image of the Sultan's palace for this setting in the miniseries to make it memorable and evident for readers. The end result of the image gave more of a nightmarish scenario than depicted in the story.)
From the
left of the massive main entrance, they spotted a battered and bruised Yvette
chained by her wrists and ankles to the wall. Her wonderful beauty still shined
through the heavy bruises on her face with her long raven hair, bright blue
eyes, and luscious peach-colored lips. Her Arabian cloak was tattered, exposing
much of her tanned skin and tight muscle structure. Genevieve attempted to aid
her, but the guards kept her restrained. “I’ll be alright,” said the hopeful
Yvette, her English accent as profound as Buohler’s. Genevieve always admired
how optimistic this incarnation was when she spent a life cycle as her. Yvette
smiled at her two future reincarnations, prompting Genevieve to smile as well.
“I highly
doubt that.”
The smiles
suddenly faded as they all heard an elderly woman speak from the throne.
Genevieve and Buohler instinctively looked once they heard her and saw an old
woman with dark red hair and donned in a heavily recognizable burgundy outfit with
a midriff and a belt buckle of a unique skull design. This attire could only be
connected to one woman: Dawn.
(Character Note: "Dawn" is an evil alternate identity of World of Disney's first main protagonist, Joanie Navarro, inspired by a cosplay done by Joanie Mars, the inspiration for both Joanie and Dawn. In reality, the Dawn cosplay was based on the titular character of a comic book series created by Joseph Michael Linsner. At the time Livingston incorporated her as Joanie's alternate persona for the first World of Disney installment, he had not realized who the character was. After researching her and the connections to immortality and resurrection, two main themes in the WOD series, he was amazed in how much the non-Disney character suited the series.)
Genevieve
could see her sitting at the throne and looking much like Joan Navarro-Thomas
in her elderly form. “Welcome, Sean,” she said, looking directly at
Genevieve and hardly acknowledging the presence of Buohler or Yvette in the
room. “Welcome to the new
Agrabah…where I rule as the new
Sultan.”
“How is it
that you still exist?” Genevieve asked, staying calm as she addressed the
sinister figure. Despite being a senior, she was still just as dangerous as
when Genevieve last encountered her. “You were just a persona of my mother –
Brandy’s headband erased you from her mind.”
Dawn’s weathered
face smirked. “I found a loophole when Joan’s body began to deteriorate on her.
I purged my spirit from her old body, which left me an opportunity to finally gain my own. Unfortunately, because her body grew old and feeble, mine just
had to be in the same condition. Go figure.” She took a wheezy breath before she
continued: “My power…has grown as weak as Joan’s…because of this state. I’ve
tried to siphon reserve power from where I could…including from that.” She pointed upwards, directing
their attention to the Sphere as more black lightning flashed all around it.
(Authorial Note: Livingston decidedly returned Dawn to the series through Tales of the Disneyverse to establish her position as a primary antagonist in Marvel Mayhem, the World of Disney spin-off, and the third installment of the series in 2014. He loved writing for the character, as she represented a capable physical and mental threat and worked well for teaming with well-known villains out of Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars. She is planned to return in the fourth story, The Disney Access, albeit in a minor antagonistic role that mimics the one from the first tale.)
“You
brought it here in the Disneyverse.” Genevieve observed. “Do you realize what
you’ve done? The Sphere is a real world object; it wasn’t based from here. It’s what’s causing the rift. It was
never meant to be kept within the
Disneyverse itself. And because you’ve brought it here, the Disneyverse is
imploding. There will be nothing left but
it.”
“And that
is the reason why I brought it to the one realm that will remain untouched from
the implosion.” Dawn said with an ominous grin. “As far as the Sphere is
concerned, this world doesn’t exist anymore.”
It was then
that Genevieve, as well as Buohler and Yvette, came upon a startling
realization in Dawn’s plan: “If you can’t rule all of the Disney Worlds, then you’ll just rule one.”
“You will
end several precious lives,” said an openly disgusted Buohler, “women, children,
families, and friends!”
“Things
you’ll never have.” Yvette boldly uttered.
“What I only
care to have is unlimited power, which I now realize I can get from all seventeen of your reincarnations. There’s
enough power in each of you to grant me millions
of years in immortality!” Looking to Yvette, Dawn added with great admiration,
“This one backs strength in magic with physical
strength! She withstood hours of torture at the hands of Captain Razoul and
his men!”
(Pop Culture Note: Dawn's plan of stealing the immortal power of the reincarnations mimics that of the Master, one of the villains featured on Doctor Who and another of the show's influences for both the World of Disney series and the "Dawn" character herself. In one of the show's stories, the Master intends to rob the Doctor of his remaining regenerative energy, also with hopes of prolonging his lifespan.)
Yvette
glared at the old woman, her chains rattling in response to her growing anger.
“And yet here I am…still standin’!”
Dawn
smirked over Yvette’s resentment towards her before refocusing on Genevieve.
“But you…you are my main point of
interest. You have everything that I
need in my quest for unlimited power: strength, knowledge, and – most important
of all – youth.”
“So I’m the
special one, right?” Genevieve said
with a witty grin.
“You are
the last Guardian in your line of reincarnations, Sean,” Dawn told her, “and that makes you highly valuable to me.” She looked to the two guards near Genevieve
and commanded, “Bring her up here.”
(Character Note: The idea of Dawn addressing Genevieve by the name of her original identity in a condescending manner is based from her disdain of her good-natured counterpart, Joanie, and all that spawned from it, which includes Sean Thomas and his reincarnations. This trait carries into her form as "Yve Ette" when confronting Adrienne in World of Disney 3.)
As soon as
she felt a mighty grip come over her left shoulder, Genevieve acted fast. She
swiftly grabbed the hand gripping her and pulled with all her might, flipping
the guard over and forcing him to hit the marbled floor hard. Once this guard
was dealt with, she turned her attention to the other beside her, kicking him
square in the stomach before he made a move on her. The two other guards went
for her, only to have vanished from thin air, courtesy of Buohler’s magic.
Witnessing
the demise of these men, Dawn rolled her eyes in disgust. “You want something
done, you’ve got to do it yourself,” she muttered. She proceeded to use what
limited power she had to deliver one spell that she cast by saying “Pause.” And
from that one word, Genevieve and Buohler froze in place – their bodies locked
into the last position they stood in. The two women found it greatly difficult to
fight against her magic, which made it just that much harder on Genevieve.
Movement returned to her body, only it was not under her control.
(Narrative Note: The "pause" spell is Dawn's greatest and most powerful magical defense. She has used it in World of Disney when under attack during her wedding to Jafar and later in Marvel Mayhem during her confrontation with the amalgamated reincarnation "Natalie.")
Stiffly,
Genevieve headed for the throne, where Dawn gestured her arms and hands like a
puppeteer with invisible strings. Yvette helplessly watched the whole ordeal,
tugging hard on the extremely durable chains that restrained her and attempting
to break free to help her future reincarnation. But it was no use; Genevieve
had already reached Dawn, forced to kneel before her. Yvette endured the
horrifying sight of Dawn taking her shaky, crooked right hand and pressing the
tips of her ringers firmly against Genevieve’s forehead.
Genevieve
felt a jolt come over her forehead that reverberated through the rest of her
head and down her body. Every part of her suddenly went numb. She detected a
bright red glow just above her field of vision; it came from Dawn’s fingertips,
which Genevieve felt poking into the skin of her forehead like tiny knives.
Soon everything appeared red, obscuring her view; she could sense herself
growing weaker and weaker by the second. After a few minutes, Dawn released her
hold on Genevieve, who slumped to the floor at an instant. Every muscle in her
body ached and took a great effort to move. Her hands shook uncontrollably
while she fought to prod herself back up.
She saw her
face reflected in the marbled floor and discovered what Dawn had done to her
when she saw a frail old woman with her hair, eyes, and clothes looking back at
her; the face was wrinkled and malnourished – totally differing from what she
looked like just mere minutes ago. There soon appeared another face beside
hers, one that belonged to a young woman who looked much like Joanie Navarro,
circa 1977. To her immediate horror, Genevieve realized this young woman was
Dawn, back to the powerful figure she remembered from their first encounter. A
sharp pain struck the back of Genevieve’s head – Dawn roughly jerked her head
up by the hair and forced her eyes to stare directly upon Dawn’s rejuvenated
face. The sinister woman’s eyes glowed in a dark reddish-orange hue; there was
immense joy in her demeanor.
(Pop Culture Note: This move by Dawn is yet another idea inspired by Doctor Who from the episode "The Sound of Drums." The Master had used his "laser screwdriver," the Doctor's version of the sonic screwdriver, to age the Doctor beyond 100 years into the state of a crippled and helpless old man.)
“How does
it feel, Sean?” She asked in her
youthful, energized voice, staring Genevieve straight in the eye as she gripped
the back of her head – it was the only thing that kept her fragile body up.
“Doesn’t feel all that great, does it? Let me help you with that.” She let go
of Genevieve’s head, letting her body slump down again but only for a short
time. Dawn then picked her up by the hood of her cloak and threw her down on
the throne, allowing her to sit there while she stood proudly over her. “You
just make yourself comfortable, while I have a little fun with your power. You
want to know the great part about having it? They come with all the knowledge
and memories of your previous lives, the Disneyverse, and your grand ‘master plan’ for saving it. I can sense where the
other Guardians are, and I’ll siphon all their
powers one-by-one, saving these two last.” She gestured to the still-frozen
Buohler and the helpless Yvette. “Enjoy your last moments of existence, Sean.”
Once her
gloating ended, Dawn vanished from the throne room in a spark of black
lightning, leaving behind a despondent Genevieve.
(UP NEXT: The Ultimate Merger Begins!)
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