World of Disney 3 - Chapter Fourteen (w/ Commentary Notes from the Author, Sean Livingston)

Chapter Fourteen: Ragtag Rescue

            “An entire universe for our taking. The prospect of it is astounding and certain to please the Emperor to no end. It will be a pleasure to have him here when he and Vader arrive to see that our conquest is successful.”

            Tarkin had only the audience of Yve Ette in the conference room to boast. But she paid no mind to his giddiness, which would have transitioned into childlike exuberance, if he were not such a man of dignity and pride. Truthfully, it annoyed Yve Ette just to be in his presence. She much preferred the accompaniment of Vader or even the Emperor over the anorexic fool she was forced to endure the arrogant absurdity of there and then.

            To eradicate her boredom, she decidedly played along with Tarkin’s interest and even tested his patience for realism. “I’m curious, Tarkin. How does the Empire intend to dominate an entire planet populated by powerful sorcerers? They’ll obviously be foolish enough to defend it, as soon as they see our armada in their orbit.”

            The Grand Moff remained stoic in his demeanor. “It only took a day for the Jedi Order to be brought down. I expect it will take just as long to do the same for the inhabitants of this ‘Fantasia,’ as you refer it.” His attention was suddenly brought to the comlink on the conference table, pressing the “answer” key on its panel. “Yes?”

(Star Wars Note: "Order 66" was an event at the end of the Clone Wars in which the Clones of the Grand Army of the Republic turned against their Jedi commanders and terminated them, bringing about the destruction of the Jedi Order. The Clones were triggered by an order named "Clone Protocol 66," implanted via bio-chip into them by the Sith Lords and Kaminoan scientists who created them. Anakin Skywalker, who had just been christened as Sith Lord Darth Vader at the time, led a brigade of Clone Troopers into the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and killed the Jedi inside. The only known survivors of the massacre were Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Kanan Jarrus.)

            “The Emperor’s shuttle has arrived,” notified the voice on the other end.

            Tarkin’s body stiffened more than it already was; something that Yve Ette noticed right away.

            “Alert all personnel to the main hangar.” Tarkin ordered. “I shall be there to greet His Majesty shortly.”

            “Yes, sir.”

            Tarkin proceeded to straighten up his uniform, checking it for lint and wrinkles, and slick back his salt-and-pepper hair – or what little of it remained. Yve Ette was tempted to ask if he wanted a breath mint. He was so dedicated to the Empire and its megalomaniac of a leader that even the slightest hint of a loose strand of hair on his uniform could create anarchy. It was not like the Emperor would have noticed something as insignificant as that, yet Tarkin convinced himself of the possibility.

            “This day shall be remembered for eternity. We are witnessing history in effect.” He moved to the door but stopped halfway once he took notice in how Yve Ette remained where she was. “Are you not coming to welcome our emperor?”

            Yve Ette sneered. “He’s your emperor, not mine.”

            Her quip did not approve with Tarkin, who scowled at her. “You would be well-advised to reconsider that viewpoint.” He left her with this notion before finally departing the conference room.

            Yve Ette was unfazed, even laughing soon after Tarkin was out of the room. But that laughter subsided the second she experienced a trickling sensation through her spinal column, as if the chill of the wind blew right past her. She looked to the ceiling and smiled.

            “Right on time,” she whispered while leisurely leaving the conference room.

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            Following on Tarkin’s orders, all Death Star personnel assembled within the main hangar, standing in perfectly lined rows. Stormtroopers, pilots, technicians, and engineers all gathered together for the arrival of Emperor Palpatine. By the time Tarkin arrived, the Emperor’s shuttle landed with the front ramp lowered. Thankfully for Tarkin, the Emperor, Vader, or the Red Guards had not exited from the shuttle, permitting Tarkin to take his bow once he was within fourteen feet from the ramp.

            Down on one knee with his head lowered, Tarkin patiently maintained his respectful stature until granted to stand again by his lord and ruler. After close to a minute of kneeling, his patience started to wear thin, but he did not dare show strain in the face of the Emperor. He did, on the other hand, wonder what took his ruler so long to exit. There was the obvious fact that he was old and beyond his years, having lived longer than most men Tarkin knew.

(Star Wars Note: Palpatine's true age is uncertain in most continuity, though some have depicted him to have been born 65 years before the formation of the Galactic Empire in Revenge of the Sith, which would roughly place him in his late-eighties/early-nineties by the events of Return of the Jedi.)

            “What the…!” He heard one Stormtrooper exclaim.

            Tarkin detected shifts in movement from several of the personnel. One commanding officer called for the Grand Moff’s attention to what they saw. Answering to it, Tarkin raised his head to see what created the disruption and found someone else exiting the shuttle through the ramp. It was a dark-skinned gentleman with black hair styled in a permanent wave, dressed in a white suit complete with a matching cape.

            Standing again, Tarkin viciously roared, “What is the meaning of this intrusion? Who are you? How have you obtained possession of an Imperial shuttle?”

            The man in white lifted his hands in response to the thousands of blaster rifles aimed at him. “Please,” he said in a soft voice. “My name is Captain EO, and I don’t come here as a threat but in honor of the Emperor himself. He is right inside the shuttle as we speak.” At the corner of his eye, he spotted a few troopers moving in towards the ramp. Quickly, he stopped them by loudly stating, “But first! He wishes us to perform for his most humbled delegates.”

            There was great skepticism among Tarkin and the personnel.

            “H-He has seen our performance while on business in Coruscant.” The Captain averred. “If you only allow me and my band to give you one performance in the honor of His Majesty, we will leave you to him and be on our way back to our next gig.”

            Tarkin considered the request of this strangely dressed man. He was certain of this to be a trap of some kind; however, if there was a chance the Emperor was inside the shuttle that very moment, waiting on this performance in his honor to take place before exiting the ship, then it would undoubtedly be on his head that he disrupted a very important presentation. Although he wished to be notified of such events in advance, he permitted it for his own sake.

            “Very well.” He told the Captain. “You may perform.”

            EO smiled with pleasure, as well as relief. He bought it, he thought to himself as he turned towards the ramp and whistled.

            A group of characters that looked absolutely bizarre to Tarkin departed the shuttle. These creatures were Captain EO’s band – the Ragtags: Hooter, a diminutive green elephant-like alien; Idee and Odee, otherwise known as “The Geex,” a fuzzy two-headed alien creature; Major Domo, a robotic security officer; and Fuzzball, a small orange and red space monkey with wings. Fuzzball flew around the head of Tarkin, briefly annoying the Grand Moff before perching on the Captain’s shoulder.

            Major Domo soon dismantled himself, transforming all parts of his robotic form into various musical instruments for the rest of the colorful backup players. One counterpart to his components, a small robot by the name of “Minor Domo,” ejected out of him and formed into the shape of some type of organ – the musical type.

            Tarkin admitted that it was a show entirely of itself just to see the band setup instruments. He continued to observe with a glimmer of intrigue as the Captain removed his cape to the floor, exposing more of his unusual white uniform. Tarkin’s eyes might have been playing tricks on him when he noticed certain areas of EO’s outfit glow at the instant his band began to play.

            The Captain jumped right into some impressive dance steps – which included a couple of pelvic thrusts – that were quicker than the blink of an eye. If he were not a simple performer, he would certainly be an excellent combatant with those moves, Tarkin mentally observed. His views were soon set aside when the Captain sang to the tune his band played…

We’re on a mission
in the everlasting light that shines.
A revelation
of the truth in chapters of our minds.

So long, bad times.
We’re gonna shake it up and break it up,
we’re sharing light brighter than the sun.
Hello, good times.
We’re here to simulate, eliminate
an’ congregate, illuminate.

(We are here to change the world)
Gonna change the world, hee!
(We are here to change the world)
Gonna change the world, ooo!

(Disney Note: Captain EO and his crew perform this song in the popular 3-D attraction as a gift to the Supreme Leader, a villain played by Angelica Houston in the short film, to unlock the beauty within her, her minions, and her planet. "We Are Here to Change the World" was not released on any of Michael Jackson's albums until 2004, on the Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection box set.)

            Both lyrics and rhythm sounded astounding to Tarkin. He could now see how the Emperor came to love the music of these unique performers. Though he would change a few words in the lyrics to provide more of a suitable anthem in the name of the Empire, Tarkin appreciated the song. Much to his obliviousness, his left foot tapped along to the catchy beat.

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            The distraction provided by Captain EO and the Ragtags was just what Adrienne, Taryn, and Mickey needed to infiltrate the Death Star battle station unobserved. The story fabricated about the band being chosen to personally escort and honor the Emperor’s welcome was entirely Adrienne’s idea. She knew with the Emperor expected to show up at the Death Star, it would be a piece of cake to go in, rescue Yen Sid, kill Yve Ette, and – as an added bonus – destroy the Sphere all before Palpatine arrived.

            To ensure the speediness of their infiltration, Adrienne separated herself from Taryn and Mickey, setting out on her own to search for Yve Ette. Teleporting from inside the stolen Imperial shuttle, Taryn and Mickey arrived at detention block AA-23, the brig located within Detention Block AA on the fifth level of the Death Star.

(Star Wars Note: Fans will note this being the same detention block where Princess Leia was kept prisoner on board the Death Star in A New Hope, inspiring another rescue by Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca.)

            At the moment they appeared in the detention area, before an audience of security officers, they were on the verge of being blasted away until Taryn’s eyes lit up and she whispered, “Sleep.” Right on this command, all security personnel in the area drifted into unconsciousness, their bodies drooped over their consoles and collectively snoring.

            There was one other matter that had to be dealt with – the surveillance equipment. They knew if their activity was caught by the security that patrolled from the other levels of the Death Star, their presence would be alerted to the other personnel gathered in the main hangar. With the wave of his right hand, Mickey enchanted the equipment, conjuring images thru them that told a story different from the one taking place there in the room.

            With business taken care of in the detention area, Taryn and Mickey advanced in through the cell corridor. “It’s good to have ya back, Joanie,” Mickey told Taryn, making conversation along the way. Despite knowing the other name she went by in this new reincarnation, it was a habit of his to still address her by that of her original self.

            “It’s good to be back, Mickey.” Taryn remarked with a smile that accentuated the friendly face of her new form. “I just hate how I acted in those first hours after reincarnating. They were so…embarrassing.”

            “Well, are ya feelin’ one hundred percent now?”

            Taryn grimaced in deep consideration. “Just about ninety-two percent…maybe eighty-nine…yeah, definitely eighty-nine.”

            The two rescuers continued through the cell corridor, aided by their “sorcerer senses.” If they detected Yen Sid’s presence within at least one of those detention cells, they would both know it.

            And Mickey appeared to have gotten a whiff just as stopped eight cells to their left. “He’s here!”

            Taryn activated the cell door from the panel to the right, opening it to permit herself and Mickey inside. On their entrance, she valiantly said, “Yen Sid! We’re here to rescue yo—” She stopped once she and Mickey caught on to the baffling sight before them. “What the…!”

            Who they hoped to be Yen Sid sitting in the cell was in actuality someone Taryn knew from her past as Joanie Navarro-Thomas.

            “Walter?”

            The Muppet looked up from his miserable position and noticed the two characters that entered. He had no recognition of the caramel-skinned redhead, but he did with the anthropomorphic mouse that accompanied her.

(Authorial Note: Walter was another last-minute addition to the story, after I had much fun writing him in Marvel Mayhem, particularly alongside Natalie, who has formed something of a partnership with the Muppet character after their "marvelous" adventure together.)

            “Mickey Mouse?” He muttered with confusion. “What’re you doing in the Death Star? And why’re you dressed like a Jedi?” He then shook his head frantically and yelled, “Oh, w-what am I saying! Get out of here! Now! I-It’s a trap!”

            Alarmed at his warning, Taryn and Mickey cried, “What?”

            The would-be rescuers suddenly heard labored, mechanical breathing directly behind them. Turning around impulsively, they discovered the dark, ominous form of Darth Vader standing at the doorway with Yen Sid beside him. Normally a figure of such imposingly powerful posture, Yen Sid seemed weak, shriveled, and frail next to Vader. He looked to be drained of much power that the Empire strong-armed him into using for their greed. It saddened and even angered Taryn and Mickey to see him in such a state.

            “I’m sorry,” he said in a dry, croaky voice. “Yve Ette warned them of what Adrienne planned.”

            Mickey’s face lit with fear. “Then that means…Oh, no! She’s walking into a trap of her own!”

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            Adrienne moved slowly and cautiously into the command center. The room was empty – too empty for her suspicions. There were blood stains on the dry, marbled floor. The only person that came to mind in seeing them was Jacqueline. This is where it happened, she thought in rage. Her eyes transferred from the stains to a more unsettling scene just past the viewscreen that took up much of the wall space. There, looming in plain view, was the Sphere. Behind the geodesic structure was an armada of Imperial Star Destroyers and TIE fighters of all types. Adrienne eyed all of it venomously. This was the Emperor’s invasion force for Fantasia.

            Her head sharply turned to a shadowed corner of the room, disengaging her two lightsabers from her belt and activating them in battle stance. “I know you’re there,” she said to the shadow. “Show yourself!”

            Yve Ette materialized, brandishing a smug demeanor. “You caught me,” she said, mockingly laughing. “Is it your intention in coming here to kill me?”

            “You damn right it is!”

            The corrupted reincarnation moved closer to her armed adversary. “And could you bring yourself to kill one of your own? Kill the real Yvette?”

            “Yvette died the second you took control of her body! I can still hear her soul – our soul – begging to put an end to it all!”

            Yve Ette momentarily looked to the floor, a hint of despair in her face. “I…I can hear it, too.” Her despair swiftly transformed into aggravation. “It’s a nuisance…a flaw in the design of this form that I’ve claimed over the years!”

            “Then do us a favor and just walk yourself right through my blades!”

            Yve Ette cackled at her challenge; the desperation in it amused her. “That trick won’t do either of us no good.” She held out her hand, summoning her special lightsaber into it from nowhere. She did not choose to turn it on. “This is the only thing in the universe that can kill what we are.”

            Adrienne stared at the deactivated weapon in the hand of her enemy, her body growing tense. Again, she challenged, “Turn that thing on. Come at me.”

            Yve Ette scoffed. “I’m not the one you want to defend yourself against, dear.”

            A sudden jolt shot through Adrienne’s body. She felt intense pain engulf every part of her, paralyzing her to the blood-stained floor. Her lightsabers fell from her grips and switched off, skidding several feet away. The pain then ceased, leaving her suffering body in a smoking mess. She managed to see the cause of her unexpected agony to be none other than Emperor Palpatine himself, delivering a blast of his Sith-powered force lightning from behind. The electric spark in his crooked fingertips said that much.

            The hooded ruler entered undetected. Yve Ette was merely a distraction to allow him to enter unnoticed.

(Authorial Note: This chapter is the only one in the story to contain a scene that was deleted in the final draft. It picked up minutes after the hangar scene, with Tarkin and all the Death Star personnel caught up in the music of Captain EO and the Ragtags, dancing like fools. Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Yve Ette would arrive to the festive activity, restoring order as they announced the capture of Adrienne, Taryn, Mickey, Yen Sid, and Walter. It would then transition to a more serious tone with the brief torture of Adrienne and Fuzzball by Yve Ette and Palpatine.)

            “You’ve done well, Yve Ette.” Palpatine praised.

            His commendation clued Adrienne in on the fact. “You knew,” she hissed. “You knew we were coming!”

            “You’re so damn predictable, girl.” Yve Ette said. “It was predictable for you to come and rescue Yen Sid.” She then added with disdain, “Not to mention that I was once you, idiot – obviously I knew what you were thinking, ‘cause I remember it!”

            Adrienne’s fists clenched. Her eyes glowed in correspondence to her growing rage. “I promise you – both of you – the Empire will be stopped from taking Fantasia and the rest of the Disneyverse! And I will kill both of you to make sure of that!”

            “Young fool,” Palpatine chided. “You and your people will die before you give any sort of resistance to us.”

            The lightning once again shot from his fingers and struck Adrienne. She contorted in agony, smoke rising from every portion the bolts seared in cloth and flesh. All she could do was scream from the unbearable pain, even though no one would come to her rescue.

(UP NEXT: No Butts About It...But Maybe A Couple.)