The spotted dalmatian barked aggressively and his back legs raised himself to the wooden window of the slanted firehouse as he guarded his territory. His eyebrows were slanted down in an angry glower as he pronounced his disapproval of the doorbell's chime to everyone outside. He lingered for a moment as the window scowling and then sunk down and out of sight to await another sound to defy him.

Like all the buildings there and most of the stuff, the firehouse was an odd shape not quite the way it ought to be. Stretched in all the wrong places the structures stood strangely either slanted, bending submissively or very wide, ready to burst from being trapped two long.

Those were the two options, be obedient or fight back. The only problem: fighting back was dangerous.

•

•

•

He had walked away, whoever he was. The man with the keys to unlock their doom, he had gone. Whether just a mere janitor or someone working overtime their discovery of two teens wouldn't have boded well.

Set on edge, Quinn and Kenton didn't move for a good ten minutes after they had heard the man's steps recede down the hall. When they finally did, neither of them were eager to jump right back onto the computer. It was too close a call, even that.

The dusty silence settled slowly, once again on the antiquated computers. A thick loud layer; it was evident, sitting so long, so alone. It never had the power to move by itself, but sadly a person could take charge of it by just whispering a syllable. Stuck inert until the time suddenly came to act involuntarily, how it wished to have some control.

The somber teens, sitting upon the ground thought back to how it was, to how they were. It was so different and very new was the concept of deception to them. Knowing of it, but never experiencing hardly any left them open for the fall.

As most would react, they had been amazed with the fact that they had been chosen. Especially eager, due to their circumstances, it sounded like a miracle; one they'd been waiting for for a very long while.

Gone were the days of roaming and nights of hunger. Not having to scour the gutters for other's loses or beg for other's rightful gains. Restless nights on concrete slabs were to be no more. Away with the harsh life they'd been so cruelly assigned.

If only it were true.

Invited in they were, then came out trapped; to be inside forever even when they weren't. From the inside-out they were affected and no matter how they tried, Kenton and Quinn couldn't get rid of it.

It was when they were 'free' again that they noticed the change, and how they hated that there was nothing to be done about it.

•

•

•

The shiny green lamppost twisted into a knot looked better than they were feeling. Finding themselves suddenly standing up was a shock but it was taken over by the immense pain that came to their senses almost immediately after their arrival.

Skylar and Andrew knew, though distracted with the agony, that they had just discovered another message, or code, whatever they were. The pair was no longer in Tomorrowland at all but instead Toontown.

Unlike most places they were not alone, but were being intently stared at by a variety of animated characters. They had all stopped in mid-action at the sight of the new-comers that had appeared out of thin air.

Not that magic was a new concept to them, but humans using it, humans here was very alarming. One moment they were all standing there frozen, the next, with a flurry of fur, they had scurried and scampered out of sight.

Now Andrew and Skylar's surroundings were revealed to them.

The distorted cartoonish buildings took up most of the area where they were at. A fire department, insurance building, safe company, and gag warehouse were some of them. Behind them was a stone fountain with a Roger Rabbit statue on top of a fire extinguisher that was spraying the water in a rather messy way.

With the land now empty, neither of them quite knew what to do. It was excruciating just standing there but they didn't have anywhere to go.

All the characters had just up and left, leaving them in a daze. Partially due to the shock, and also because the pain was somewhat blurring their vision. Their eyesight only seemed it grow increasingly worse until all they could see was a blur of colors and something very round and purple waddling toward them. What happened next neither of them caught for both had passed out from the pain.

•

•

•

That day, before they knew of Disneyland's secrets, rain had pounded on the small awning that barely covered part of the sidewalk. Quinn and Kenton remembered that day very clearly and it all came pouring back at any given moment.

Both were huddled under the small cover as the sky raged at all who dared to cross it below. The ground took most of the heat but every once in a while a person would challenge the storm, if not for only a moment.

They would get soaked and pummeled by the cruel tempest, quickly being forced back indoors.

Unfortunately the teens didn't get that option. They had no choice but to watch as the desperate people tried their chances in the torrents of water, these people almost looked as bad off as they were.

Alas, Quinn and Kenton knew deep down that they all had homes to go to, with their thick warm pea coats and shiny tall galoshes. They all had places to be and despite the rain, were going there.

So together they watched, wrapped in one thin blanket acquired long ago on the damp pavement in front of a closed library, the people go by in a slow trickle, here and there.

Then came one person, one man in his mid-20's, flustered and having almost as bad a day as them. He rushed by them without the smallest glance but as he zoomed by something flew out of his pocket and rode on the wind to the slab of cement in front of them.

There lay on the cold concrete an almost perfectly crisp 100 dollar bill, jumping slightly as the wind passed by as if decided whether to keep going or stay with it's new owners. It quivered with excitement and with a shiver of the unknown. Every second it's heart beat with uncertainty and anticipation, it needed to know.

Without a moment's hesitation for them, Kenton and Quinn called out after the man in a hurry. He turned back peevishly, starting to mumble something that started with "no."

Quinn slipped out from under the slight warmth of the cover and scooped up the money from the floor. She shuddered as the cold pierced her skin and made her eyes burn with tears but continued with her action.

Holding the money loosely but ensuring it didn't fly away, she outstretched her hand with the bill as it fluttered lively. The hundred clung to her clammy hand but she gave it up with no resistance.

The man didn't bother to look at the currency but folded it in half, making two perfect sides and with it slipped into his pocket once more he left.

Quinn resumed her place next to Kenton and the rest of the night they slept through, never giving a second thought to the opportunity they had.

•

•

•

Riding on a hippo had not been their choice. It was a bumpy ride, and trying not to slip off it's slick back wasn't that easy. It toiled around the misshapen buildings, and they looked even weirder upside down.

Skylar and Andrew unwillingly were over the back of the hippopotamus facing the sky while their heads dangled off the side. It made their dizziness worse and even when their vision cleared things made no sense upside down.

They were now inside, where; they didn't know, and suddenly they found themselves being placed into a big green cushioned chair together in very awkward positions. Finally most of the way upright, the pair saw their handlers clearly. The character that had carried them off the street was none other than the hyacinth hippo without of her frilly tutu and ballet shoes. Assisting her was a slithery green crocodile wearing a small red cap with feather sticking out of it.

Both from Fantasia, their style of cartoon was very old and their outlines were hazy like a drawing. After all that's all they were, drawings. Animated, living, and breathing cartoons. Question was: Could they talk?

Repositioning themselves in the armchair, they examined the two characters as well as the room. They couldn't quite figure out who's house they were but it was a living room. Right by the fire place and dancing little radio that had eyes that also was a character of sorts.

Andrew was the first to find his voice. "We're uh-- in Toontown?"

The hippo and crock, both standing on their hind legs like humans stared at them perplexed. The hippo batting her long eyelashes while the crocodile seemed to narrow his eyes turned to each other having some sort of silent conversation.

Then turning back, Andrew got his response.

"Yes Toontown. " Both Skylar and Andrew heard in their heads the soft gentle voice of the hippopotamus.

She had not moved her mouth yet they heard her.

Skylar thought back to the text they'd received while on their not-so-fun car ride. They had said that characters talked, the ones who could.

These characters didn't seem to be able to though and thinking back to Fantasia they never did talk. The dramatic music played as they danced but they never spoke a word. That explained it, since they couldn't talk she guessed telepathy was the other way to go.

"What can you tell us about---" Skylar wanted to ask of the statue; it's inhabitants, controllers whatever, but how do you explain that to a character? "the evil."

"Which do you speak of? Your kind or ours?" The sharper voice of the reptile answered this time.

"Ours, I think." She responded with uncertainty.

"There is much to tell."

"Though we don't know most of it."

"Who does?" Andrew asked eagerly.

"The owner."

"Of what?" Skylar questioned instantly.

"Everything, starting with this house."

•

•

•

The day Kenton and Quinn got out, nothing seemed different. They had victoriously saved the park and that was that. The company that put them up to the task were very grateful to them; wanted to know all about it but they had time.

They also had money, something they had't seen in quite a while. It wasn't much but they were assured by the firm that it was just the tiny beginnings of a big thank you.

They no longer had to worry about anything it was taken care of due to their heroic deeds. With money for a motel room and food for a little while life was simple.

Oh how good a luxurious bed felt compared to a slab of pavement or a park bench. It was very splendid way of living, but soon they were invited back to share the stories of their adventures.

Quinn and Kenton told them every detail over the course a very planned out week and when they ran out of adventures to tell that's when things changed. At first the niceties were still present but they began to dissolve when the pair couldn't come up with the right answers.

The next few grueling weeks they were held there and it's not like anyone would miss them. They were forced to try and figure out things they could only do if they were in the Happiest Place on Earth but at that point they knew they didn't know the real reason for being there.

They got to see many colors of the company and being separated most of the time each got different inside views. Views they never did discuss and wouldn't for two years.

Finally when the firm got bored they were thrown back onto the streets worse off then they ever had been. They were still poor and homeless, but they had experience; something no man can take back.

The first few days of freedom were disorienting and neither got much sleep or food. The real world jarred them out of the other reality they'd been in then analyzed for the past several weeks. They were glad to been rid of the other world, or perhaps just those other people but it was soon realized by the both of them they were not rid of it.

When they came to this realization it was a sunny day, scorching; way too bright but sunny.

The decision had been made like they made all their agreements: together. It was in their best interest to survive, it had to be done. It's not like it would be hard, they knew how it worked. Being on the street all the time, they'd seen quite a few people do it. Now, so would they.

The pair were on opposite sides of the sidewalk letting people tunnel in between them. They walked in sync and kept tabs on each other's position. Then something; someone's something caught Kenton's eye. He glanced at Quinn across the crowds and looked back at it.

She understood. They lessened the distance between each other closing in on one person. Then with one swift motion in unison, Kenton forcefully bumped into the unsuspecting man while Quinn dived for a bill that was peeking out of his bag.

Then pair sunk back into the teeming crowds, letting people filter around them.

Quinn crumpled the measly five dollars in her hand and shoved it down into the depths of her pocket.

The deed was done and would be repeated for a time.

They both knew very well right then and there when nodding their heads in silent assent that this was no minor accord. Not their entire fault nor the company's, the culpability was hard to place but this made the significance of the change no less.

They were changed and they knew it.

•

•

•

"Yes Mickey knows more than all and this is his house."

"How do we find him?" Andrew asked quickly.

"If you are here, he will be found in Fantasyland, looking." The Hippo responded again.

"Looking?" Andrew questioned.

"For the creator of course."

"Who is--- Walt?" Skylar said tentatively.

"Who else would it be?"

Neither of them knew what to say in response. What is possible the characters here didn't know he was dead?

"And the characters, here are afraid of us?" Skylar said changing the subject hastily.

If they did find Mickey in Fantasyland,they'd have to tell him.

"The only humans to come here are in sets of two but there are others we know of that send you. They are the truly bad ones, are they not?"

"Yes, they are the bad ones but---"

"You, most are uncertain of, but the Originals have found you to be on our side." The croc answered smoothly, not showing notice that he cut her off.

"Originals?" Andrew spoke up.

"Characters as old as us, the early ones in general." The Hippo responded softly.

"And the rest, they think--?"

"They ran, did you not see?" The simple voice rang in their head.

"Yeah." Skylar said shortly. "About the others that have come here, the sets of two, do you remember the last one?"

"Such a sad pair." Came a voice from the other room that they heard with their ears instead of their heads.

In walked Snow White wearing her charming yellow and blue dress with a crisp white collar. Lips red as rose, hair black as ebony and and skin white as snow; she'd just come out of her fairytale.

Holding a light gray duster she pranced toward them in a very happy manner. On her way she dusted the book shelves and then the mantle above the fire place before standing in front of them.

"Hello." The princess greeted with a faint smile.

"Hi." Both Andrew and Skylar said, taken aback.

"She is an Original as well." Commented the hippo.

Skylar began an introduction. "I'm Sk--"

"I don't need to know." Snow White said as politely as possible. "In fact, it'd probably be better if I didn't.

"Oh, ok."

"You see, I didn't know my prince's name for the longest time. Oh he is just charming..." She sighed contently. " You'll see what I mean. Use a wishing well. All you have to do is wish for the one you love." Snow White informed them. "But of course you already know that." She smiled looking between the two of them. "Now, you were asking about the others?" She looked at the two Fantasia characters.

"The ones with heads of fire." One of the animals replied.

"What?" Both said in unison.

"Oh yes." Snow White giggled. "They did have brilliantly vibrant red hair."

To the Fantasia characters their hair had seemed like fire, such a bright red that flickered like flames much like the fire in the fireplace next to Skylar and Andrew. The flame ate away at the brown log, slowly devoured the wood, turning it into nothing by black ash. By and by there would be none left at all if the flame wasn't extinguished.

•

•

•

It was increasingly hot in the room as their heartbeats rose out of their chests. The air thick and dry just hung there not circulating the least. They were trapped in that room, and there was no way out. It was as they feared and had know the risk of.

Sitting in the computer room of their's and knowing what they were capable of could have alone been enough to drive anyone insane but just the waiting, the waiting and knowing was agony.

They knew what was to come, what was to become of their future that was: it was nonexistent.

There he stood, the man they hadn't set eyes on in two long years, it hadn't been long enough. Kind and cruel, generous and egotistical, a psychopath with two sides both which they had seen, the latter being the worst or perhaps maybe the facade was even scarier.

Quinn and Kenton were both paralyzed in fear, he had tortured them for a reason they still did not completely understand. If only they knew why.

They both were hidden for the moment being. Quinn just within the door, just concealed from it's view as she hid beside it. Kenton was across the room behind the farthest row of ancient technology which is where he discovered a second door.

Blending very well into the faded white wall he wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't been right next to it. Where it led was another mystery but he was most definitely not thinking about that right now.

That man could touch her if he knew Quinn was right at his feet, crouching flat against the wall. Kenton could do nothing but observe, nothing but wait. He watched intently to see what Quinn was doing, if only he could talk to her.

She caught his eye and they stared at each other. Kenton gestured to the door and Quinn nodded with understanding.

"Go!" She mouthed urgently.

"Not without you." He mouthed back.

"You have to, for me." Quinn relayed back.

Their connection was the only reason they understood each other in this way. Mouthing words across a room would be hard for anyone to read but they knew each other so very well.

She looked away from him and found herself typing on the phone once more; they had to know something else.

"So, the two strays have come back to their pound?" The man took a step into the room with a malevolent smirk. "That's the thing about dogs, they will always be loyal."

Quinn breath quickened silently.

The man's other foot joined his first as he took a second step. "Be good little mutts and come to me." He patted his leg mockingly.

Quinn had sent two messages by then to two different receivers; Skylar and Andrew, and someone else. Then deleted everything, everything she could possibly wipe off of the phone.

"Do come out, bring back what I sent you to fetch." The man taunted them with acid dripping from his every word.

Quinn was now technically behind him as he took a third step into the old room.

Still pressed against the wall she connected her gaze with Kenton once more pleading for him to escape and then she finally made a decision by herself.

Quinn gave a last look across the room and bolted out the doorway.

The man swung back and caught her tightly by the arm. She yelped in pain as his strong hold pulled her back into the old room, once more.

"Now where's your other half?" He said in a vile threatening way and then changed to have a poisonous sing-song cadence. "Got-to be-around here-some-where."

His eyes traveled to back of the room as Quinn struggled under his arms that were squeezing the life out of her.

"No!" She cried, breaking away from him only to attempt to attack him.

At this very moment and the one before Kenton knew what he had to do. He had to leave.

As much as it pained him to act he knew it was the only way to save her. If they were both held captive there they would have no chance. He had to do it for her. He would get her out of there and they would never come back.

They would burn this firm to the ground in an array of hot flames and Kenton knew this hope, this pipe dream, as his dearest wish when he slipped out the door.

•

•

•

"I believe in wishes don't you?" Minnie's light happy voice echoed up to them from the well.

Neither of them knew what to believe in anymore, reality and whatever they were in, it all blended together now.

They were in-between  Minnie and Mickey's houses and in Minnie's yard there was a pink-stoned wishing well. It was a nice little piece that sat unnoticed half the time, hidden from the street's view.

"Make a wish then, go ahead." Snow White coaxed them to the edge of the cobblestone well, where they looked down to the penniless bottom.

"Wouldn't know what to wish for." Skylar remarked softly.

"I know what you mean." Andrew agreed.

"Your heart's desire." Whispered the princess behind them.

"Hard to pinpoint just one." Andrew said in a rascally manner, a smile rising against his will.

"No, I think I got one." Skylar announced defiantly. She bent over the rim of the well about to say her desire but then decided against it. "I can't simply say it, not aloud."

"You must make it echo somehow, for that's how you'll know it will come true. Here." Snow White handed each of them a shiny copper penny.

"You pick one yet?" Skylar asked Andrew.

"Yeah, I think so." He answered pressing the cold metal penny with his finger.

"Together then." Skylar held her coin out over the hole and Andrew did the same.

Then, with both wishes hoped for in their heads, they let the cool coins slip out of their grasp and plunk down into the small well. The sound echoed as the water made small ripples from the disturbance and then the water was settled a moment later. The two pennies sat side by the side under the water, the outside of the well hazy through the liquid's lens, and it would be a long time before they moved again.

•

•

•

Kenton arrived home, or what they called home. It wasn't much or anything really that actually belonged to them but it was the only place they had.

Pushing open the double doors and entering the lobby of the hotel, Kenton barely felt alive at all.

It looked deteriorated as ever with its battered peeling walls and dusty dull curtains. Most of the furniture was taken when this place was gutted out for whatever reason but there still were a few sofas on the cracked marble floor and a long counter that once served as the front desk.

It had all once been part of a grand hotel, one of the finest with glistening chandeliers and sharp uniformed bell hoppers. There never was much of a vacancy at the Roosevelt, it was the place to be. Up the velvety crimson stairs were an array of rooms all awaiting a resident with a space bereft of any mess.

Kenton tried to imagine that as he stared out into the almost empty room. He just stood in a daze for a moment, then suddenly walked in a few quick strides behind the counter. Behind the former front desk, he kept on going; right into a little side office hidden from the public's view.

There wasn't too much in there either. A small broken down desk and a bookcase that held about three books that he believed he saw. They blended into the wood of the bookcase for it was all the same color, a dark insipid gray; the color of dust.

He took a deep breath and in the process inhaled a lot of the dirty particles. Coughing profusely he turned, trying to rid himself of the soot now caked on his lungs, which was extremely arduous work. After a minute he regained normal breathing patterns despite the fact that Kenton did not get all of it out.

Stepping out of the effete office Kenton looked with a thousand-yard stare at those dull red steps leading up to the rooms. He couldn't bear to return there tonight, and opted to stay down in the stuffy reception area instead; it would be easiest.

Still behind the counter he felt around underneath it until his hand felt the cool touch of a key. Taking the tape off of it and therefore removing it from it's hidden spot he fit it into a hole of a drawer and forcefully turned it enough so he could take it out again.

The rusty sliding mechanism made pulling the drawer out even more challenging as Kenton gripped the metal handle that was heated to his touch. Then with cautious movements he slipped into the dark space he'd just opened and brought into the light a phone.

It was a simple track phone that's only use was to call and text but they had done more with it than most people ever could. Not yet turning it on he flipped it over in his hand a couple of times and shut the drawer closed with a slam.

Kenton came out from behind the counter and sank into a cushion of the nearest sofa. Dust rose all around him, clouding his vision. The thick sheet of motes swirled in the air with their own vigor to keep in the air but eventually they all settled motionless anew, covering Kenton in a thin layer of grime in the process.

He sighed, a very long poignant sigh, that rid him of a few more particles.

Then breathing in, he flipped open the tract phone's small black cover and pressed the power button until it lit up with a red screen and a logo. As it came on, he seemed to feel it warm up little by little and finally he saw the home screen.

Just as he had predicted, a little pop-up told him there was one new message to read.

Extremely hesitant, Kenton clicked on it and the message box filled the screen.

You did the right thing. ~Q

He thrust the lid of the phone closed, but it still got increasingly hotter in his hand. In fact, the whole vast lobby was rising quickly in temperature, baking him alive from the inside out. The heat sucked out all the air, everything breathable, and circulated the dust to inhale instead.

That's all Kenton had left dust and heat. That ugly soot that filled the world would burn, fundamentally everything could be demolished by fire, they just had to find the right temperature.

•

•

•

"So all the characters reside in Toontown?"

"Some travel. Having a home of my own I am there most of the time."

"That's right, Snow White's Scary Adventures."

"My what?" The princess said, slightly alarmed.

"Oh, nothing."

"So, we'll find Mickey in Fantasyland?" Andrew asked.

"One can only hope." She sighed reminiscently.

"Guess that will be our next stop." Skylar concluded. "As to how to get there, that's another question."

There was a high-pitched ding and everyone was startled at the sudden noise that brought them completely out of their thoughts. Snow White believed it to be some kind of bird chirping, the Fantasia characters didn't know what to quite make of it, and Skylar and Andrew knew exactly what the sound had come from.

Three things you should never break: promises, trust and someone's heart.

This was the last message they received from their mysterious helpers and it made absolutely no sense to them, maybe later it would.

In response to the dilemma Skylar had mentioned no one had an answer.

Andrew and Skylar found their way to the front of Mickey's house from the well and stood there looking out into the vast cartoon land that was empty except for a few animated objects.

Talking to the Snow White and hearing the Fantasia characters voices had done them no good. As usual, the more information they found out, the more puzzled they were.

Regarding the two "with heads of fire" that were allegedly sending them messages, the characters only commented how somber their demeanor was. The most recent text from them had been out of the blue and referred to nothing in particular that they could think of.

The only thing that sort of made sense was Mickey. They had to find him, which was at this point a burden, and try to figure out from him what was going on.

All this put them in very low spirits and made the chance of getting back to the regular world look slimmer and slimmer. They wanted out badly, they wanted it to be a dream, most of it a dream.

"I told you I wasn't crazy in Jungle Cruise." Skylar reminded Andrew. 

"Yes, okay, you were saved by the hippo. Fantasmic waters must run through the Jungle Cruise." He answered apologetically. "But I never did say you were 'crazy.'"

"Your face said it all."

"I was relieved you hadn't drowned!" Andrew shrilled, getting defensive.

"Uh huh." She clucked her tongue reproachfully in a joking way.

"By the way, how the heck did we crash an Autopia car of all things?"

"We? You were the driver!" She laughed although reminded that her whole body hurt.

"I don't know how to drive!" He protested. "Besides what were you doing? You didn't see we were about to crash."

"I saw something in the woods beside us, I was trying to figure out what it was and I'm pretty sure it was a beaver. The only Disney character that I know as a beaver was the one In Lady in the Tramp and he was cutting down trees out there. It was the weirdest thing." Skylar finished telling her story, slightly afraid he'd think her deranged.

"It is weird but characters here seem to be all over the place." Andrew shrugged it off.

Walking down the street toward the firehouse again they passed a mailbox that was swinging slightly from left to right dancing to an unheard tune. It stood maybe three and a half feet tall with four short blue legs and a red top and had a handle saying "pull open."

Hoping to brighten their mood the least bit, Andrew ambled over to the box and pulled down the yellow handle, opening the door. It only gave a little leeway in opening it and did't allow anything to be seen on the inside.

A woman's gravely voice called out from inside. " 'Ey close that! I'm sortin' mail 'in 'ere."

Andrew let go of the handle tepidly and sauntered away from it.

Skylar then stepped up and gave the yellow handle a heavy yank, remembering how it always resisted being open.

This time a male's slick voice seeped out. "Oh yeah I like that." He said as if receiving mail. "Does it come in your size?"

Vexed already Skylar huffily slammed the heavy door closed, she didn't have time to be bothered by the opinion of a mailbox. Her closing of it made a loud enough sound to upset the dog up in the firehouse and he began to spastically bark again.

Andrew turned back to the mailbox at the comment it had made to Skylar.

"We going to need that." He said as she looked at him confused.

They were going to mail themselves out of there because physical limitations just weren't the same there. Everything was a cartoon.

So, the dalmatian howled restlessly  out the window like it was helping to put out a fire as they disappeared into a mailbox. 

•

•

•

And that is the end of a very long chapter! It took me like 4 weeks, but it is finally done.

Hope i didn't lose anybody, I jumped around a lot, it made sense to me, that's all that matters right? :P

RIP to Tower of Terror, you are amazing. (This is where my inspiration for Kenton and Quinn's hotel came from if you didn't notice.)

So, yeah give it a like, comment, tell your friends, or your enemies which ever you prefer. Maybe you don't know who really is on your side, and I'm sad to say you'll just have to wait and to find out the truth! (Possibly a long time.)

~ Happy Reading, Disneyfanaticforever