Tales of the Disneyverse - Tale #25 (w/ Commentary Notes)

The Ultimate Merger
(The Realm of Aladdin)

            Theresa arrived in the Aladdin realm, following on her senses where to meet the others, as they arrived there much earlier than her. With Michael at her side, she managed to transport the two of them directly in the Sultan’s palace – an area she knew neither of them had been to since its destruction. She knew it was not supposed to have existed there in the Disneyverse because of what happened, yet it was there nonetheless – because of the rift, as she thought. However, from the state that she and Michael found the palace upon their arrival, it was clear to her that something else was behind its mysterious restoration. It was not because of a time shift – restored to the point before the interference of Sean Thomas and his friends and family – as Theresa believed. It was like the realm itself was never destroyed but kept “alive” in a desolate state for some reason.

(Narrative Note: As it stands, Theresa and Michael are the only two characters in the series to have manifested in the Aladdin realm from somewhere other than the alley that most others appear within. Here, they arrive first in the palace. This can be due in part to Dawn's absence from it, as opposed to her presence in it in the other cases.)

            She knew her questions would be answered as soon as she spotted Yen Sid, Mickey, Katie, Panda, and the other Guardians – including Mindy, the one Ellison found in the Finding Nemo/Little Mermaid realm, and two others whose names she had not discovered yet – standing around the Sultan’s throne. Theresa figured that the group was getting to the bottom of what had happened to the once-beautiful city of Agrabah and the world around it by speaking with the Sultan. The palace itself was in shambles, and it gave Theresa flashbacks of when she first encountered Dawn, the wicked persona of Joanie Navarro and part of the reason for the realm’s near-destruction.

            Theresa could not see the Sultan from the distance she and Michael stood from the throne, in addition to the collection of bodies that obscured him from their view. They moved in closer to the group and looked over the shoulders of Shelly and Victoria. But they did not see the Sultan sitting there on the throne; instead, it was a frail, old woman with long blond hair and withered blue eyes that stared up at each of them. As she and Michael joined the group, Theresa heard Yen Sid address the old woman as “Genevieve,” the same woman who mentally contacted all of the Guardians and gathered most of the ones there in the palace.

            “What happened?” She asked, surprising them all with her and Michael’s presence.

            There were some negative surprises from Tiffany, Shelly, Marla, and especially Adrienne in seeing Michael standing there with Theresa. “What is he doing here?” Adrienne directly questioned, advancing on Michael.

            Theresa quickly stepped in between them to prevent another confrontation. “Hold up! Hold up! I brought him because he has every right to be here.”

            Her response baffled Adrienne. “Did he kick your butt so bad that you don’t even remember the beat-down he put on you?”

            “I hadn’t forgotten about it.” Theresa clarified. “But I forgive him for it because he wasn’t himself at the time. We’ve all been where he is, but we shouldn’t shun or condemn him for it.”

(Character Note: In the early stage of reincarnation, the Guardian's newly born form suffers disorientation that randomizes between incarnations. Notable cases of this in other installments include Natalie's amalgamated reincarnation in Marvel Mayhem and that of Taryn, Joanie's third reincarnated form, in World of Disney 3.)

            “And he isn’t the threat here.” Buohler stated. “The witch that had me frozen and Yvette chained up – she is the threat.”

            “What witch?” Theresa curiously asked.

            “Dawn.” Yvette told her. “She’s back…and so is that.”

            Theresa saw her point upward and looked to a broken portion of the roof to see the Sphere looming outside the palace. Horrified, she pondered aloud, “How did that get here?”

            “Dawn brought it here.” Genevieve said, redirecting their attention to her as she fought to speak and breathe. “She is the threat…to all that we’ve spent…our lives…to protect. But now…the fourteen of us…must combine all of our strength…all of our intelligence…all of our bravery and skills…to protect the Disneyverse…as each of us have.”

            While Genevieve spoke, her body and those of her previous incarnations all glowed – their hands, face, and other exposed portions of them shining much brighter than before in Neverland/South America. The brightness was so intense that Yen Sid, Mickey, Katie, and Panda had to shield their eyes from it.

            “Channel you energies into me.” Genevieve instructed them. “My body…has to be the catalyst…for the merge…in order for this…to work.”

            Victoria was very worried, looking between her glowing hands and Genevieve. “W-Will you be alright?”

            Genevieve gave a weak smile. “I’ll be fine. We will be fine.”

            Adrienne remained reluctant on the idea. “I don’t know about this. Really, I don’t. Fourteen different people with fourteen different personalities sharing one body? It’s a mental and physical disaster waiting to happen!” Hearing this from her brought some doubt in Mickey, Katie, Panda, and even Yen Sid as well.

            “We’ll be able to control it…together.” Theresa assured. “If Michael was able to control himself, then all of us can as a unit.”

            “Please, Adrienne.” Genevieve pleaded. “The Disneyverse itself depends on this.”

            Fear and doubt still plagued Adrienne, but it was that last statement from Genevieve that gave her what little confidence she needed to go through with the plan. She swallowed hard and reluctantly consented: “Alright. Let’s do it.”

            Genevieve leaned back in the throne and shut her eyes while the Guardians commenced in channeling themselves and their collective energy into her body. They each dissolved into streaks of glowing golden light that traveled right into the center of Genevieve’s abdomen. Her eyelids twitched in reaction to the transference until they reopened, unleashing the glow that outshined them and made it impossible to see their true color. Her mouth opened itself and released the same golden hue that soon engulfed her entire body, turning it into one large radiant beacon of light. Yen Sid, Mickey, Katie, and Panda forced themselves to turn away, having no desire to suffer the possible permanent blindness that could come from witnessing such a spectacular light show.

            It was seconds before the light finally dissipated, allowing Yen Sid, Mickey, Katie, and Panda to look to the throne again. Genevieve and the other fourteen Guardians were gone. Sitting in her place on the throne and wearing her robe and clothes, as well as Adrienne’s gun belt, was a grayed, middle-aged Sean Thomas. His eyes were closed for a moment but soon opened to expose a ghostly white glow. He opened his mouth, breathing out a puff of white smoke. The glow from his eyes disappeared after a few blinks, and their dark shade of brown was shown. Standing from the throne, he gazed upon the shocked faces before him.

(Authorial Note: The merger was originally intended to result in Genevieve's rejuvenation of her youth, but Livingston desired to bring back the Sean Thomas character in a manifested form that combined the traits of all his reincarnations, as well as to depict the character in a state that would give readers an inclination to how he must actually look beneath his reincarnated appearances. By definition, it is not the real Sean Thomas but merely a shell containing the merged reincarnations.)

            Mickey, almost afraid to talk to the man, managed to ask, “H-How do you f-feel?” The mouse was not certain what name to address him as; he knew that it looked like Sean Thomas, but he had fourteen other personas running through him.

            “Sean” gazed at his hands; seeing that they were not only the hands of a man but his hands with his skin color, he smiled. “It’s me,” he said in his voice. “I’m me again!” He laughed hysterically as he joyously moved his hands across his limbs. “My arms, my legs, my hands, my feet…” They then went upward to his head. “My nose, my mouth, my eyes, my ears, my hair…” And, finally (and more surprisingly), they went inside the robe he wore, going around his waist and moving across one area of his body that brought much joy to him. “Oh, my go—that’s my butt! I’ve got my butt back!”

            “Not sure how to respond to that.” A bewildered Panda muttered.

            “Sean” once again went into a hysterical fit of laughter before shouting so loud that his voice echoed throughout the throne room, “I’M ALL ME AGAIN!”

(Narrative Note: The fusion of the reincarnations of Sean Thomas is not all too dissimilar from his alternate self and the reincarnations amalgamated with him, as depicted from Marvel Mayhem.)

            “But why…how are you…you?” Katie inquired. “Wasn’t Genevieve supposed to be the one Guardian left from the merger?”

            “I dunno.” “Sean” remarked before tugging on the brown waistcoat he wore. “I’ve still got her clothes, if that means anything.” He then snapped his fingers in realization. “Oh! Maybe they’re like a memento of her!”

            Yen Sid looked at him in surprise. “Memento? I must remind you that you will eventually have to divide the Guardians once Dawn is stopped.”

            “Sean” reacted in a mixture of anger and shock from the master sorcerer’s warning. “What? No way! I’m me again, Yen Sid! After I’ve stopped Dawn and saved the Disneyverse, I’m going on to protect it as me this time! Not as Theresa, not as Marla, not as Shelly, not as Adrienne, not as Michael, and not as Genevieve…but me!”

            Katie, Mickey, and Panda all backed away in fear of this man who looked like Sean Thomas but certainly did not act like him. Yen Sid remained standing where he was, remaining ever so stern in his address: “The rift is all that is keeping you in your original form. Once it has ended, the Guardians will divide and return to their respective points in time.”

(Narrative Note: Though the rift brought together the reincarnations of Sean Thomas, it has not stopped them from entering into each other's timelines and realms in subsequent World of Disney installments, such as Genevieve meeting with Mindy in Marvel Mayhem and Adrienne forming alliances with past and future incarnations in World of Disney 3.)

            “They’ll divide, but I’ll conquer it.” “Sean” proclaimed. “Just like I did while I was on the battlefield during the Clone Wars!”

            Yen Sid raised a curious eyebrow. “That sounds like something Adrienne would say.”

            Mickey and Panda both noted the uncharacteristic statement from “Sean” as well, but Katie noticed another oddity in the man’s actions: his right hand touched one of the saber hilts on the gun belt like Adrienne normally did when angered. “The personalities are clashing,” she said.

            “I’m…FINE!” “Sean” angrily screamed – and, for a brief moment, the faces of Adrienne and Michael flashed across his own, distorting his features. Between that bizarre display and his screaming in three different voices, Katie, Panda, and Mickey reacted in terror. Yen Sid, on the other hand, remained fairly calm, having foreseen this issue. Then, all of the sudden, “Sean” doubled over in pain, clutching his sides. “ARGH! F-Feels like…Feels like my ribs have…shattered!”

            Katie moved from being scared to having concern for “Sean.” “Maybe this merge isn’t such a good idea.”

            “I agree.” Yen Sid acknowledged. “Sean, listen to me. You must divide the Guardians again.”

            “No,” said Sean, who appeared to have overcome his agony and regained composure. “I can control it.” He stood upright, seeming to be completely himself again. With a confident smile, he told them, “Now then…it’s time for me to go and stop Dawn.”

            “Do you know where she is?” Mickey queried.

            “I know exactly where she is.” He answered. “Thanks to Yen Sid teaching me—I mean, Victoria how to hone in on the other Guardians, I know wherever they are, Dawn will surely be there.”

            “Just be careful.” Panda requested.

            “Sean” smiled warmly at Panda. “Aww! You’re so sweet to worry over me!” In saying this, he walked right over to him and wrapped his arms halfway around his large body, hugging him. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had in the afterlife!” He then planted a kiss right on the side of his head, a gesture that not only surprised (and unsettled) Panda himself but Katie and Mickey as well.

            Letting Panda go and moving away, “Sean” waved goodbye to the group and vanished on sight. As soon as he was gone, Panda immediately told the others, “Now I know for certain he isn’t in control.”

            “How?” Mickey asked.

            “Because that was Ellison who kissed me goodbye.”

(UP NEXT: Guardian Versus Destroyer - Round One!)