Chapter Text
“Baboons. Why does it have to be baboons?.” Jane mumbled while hoping that the house would stay strong.
David looks around in the treehouse and thinks on what to do. “I believe that I have a plan.”
“You do?.” Professor asked in hope. “Why, by all means tell us.”
“You see these baboons are engulfed in the essence of dark energy from a certain evil person that I encounter, called the Forgotten.” David explained halfway.
“Forgotten?.” Tarzan raised his brow in confusion.
“He is a very scary and evil person, who turned Dreamlight Valley into a wasteland.” Minnie answered while trying not to get a scare jump when hearing the heavy banging.
Jane tilted her head. “Dreamlight Valley?. That sounds oddly familiar. It's a place is it not?.”
“Indeed it is, Jane. As I was saying, I strongly believe that the Forgotten has come here and put his negative energy on these poor unfortunate baboons. These baboons are acting out as if they were on extreme rabies.” said David, before looking at the Professor. “Is there an exit door to exit from?. I think I can fix this if I just see the source of it?.”
"We do have an exit door out of the treehouse." Tarzan gets up and guides David to the far inside of his home.
David spots the door hidden behind a large bookshelf. He carefully pushes it aside, revealing the exit. But just as he opens it, he hears the baboons outside becoming louder and more aggressive. Tarzan opens the latch and lets David go through after telling him he will stay behind and protect the others. After crawling out to find that he is on ground level, David quietly went another direction without alerting the baboons as he did feel something dark in the area when he and Minnie had arrived. Taking a few minutes to feel the source getting stronger, he stumbles upon an infected tree as it was glowing like it was exposed to serious radiation material.
"Huh, that's the source that I felt." David used his magical watering can and poured it on the tree. "No results?. Crazy."
David looks at the tree as there must be something that has to fix the situation. He needs to find the source to stop the tree from being sick and uplift the dark energy of the baboons. He looked and looked around the tree until catching an eye on something sticking out inside the tree trunk. It is round with a color of gold and light purple stripes. Reaching at it and pulling the object out with a little force and pulling out the object. Surprise to what came out of the trunk is something that David was not expecting at all. A nice smooth nondented musical instrument.
"A... trombone?." David raised his brow. "Why would he shove a..."
Flashback
David was in the Biome of the Forgotten Lands having a look around his part of the kingdom to go see Maleficent at her house. He finds the all black medium sized castle and rings the doorbell. Seconds later the door opens up as Aurora has answered.
"Hey, sleepyhead." David used her nickname he gave her. "Is your godmother home?. She says she has a gift for me."
Aurora shook her head. "I'm afraid she's in the middle of... redecorating the garden."
"Oh, shoot." David got invited inside. "How long will that be?."
"Shouldn't be too long." Aurora said. "She just had a disagreement with Merlin over the proper placement of enchanted topiaries. Things got... heated."
"How heated?." David looks at her.
Aurora sighs as she closes the door behind him. "Merlin insisted on geometric precision. My godmother prefers... organic chaos. There was fire involved. Mostly metaphorical." She gestures toward the garden doors where distant shouting echoes. "The topiary unicorn may never recover."
"Take me to them." David instructs her.
"Follow me." Aurora leads the way.
The indoor garden was very Halloween as there were lots of thorny black roses and seeing Maleficent and Merlin bickering at each other. David and Aurora walk up to them as they didn't notice or bother seeing them.
"Maleficent?. Merlin?." David gave them his friendly seriousness. "Talk to me. What's wrong?."
Maleficent whirled around, her robes swirling like dark smoke. "This meddlesome wizard insists my garden requires symmetry!" Her voice crackled with barely contained magic.
Merlin adjusted his spectacles, unflinching. "Chaos without balance breeds disorder, my friend. Even topiaries deserve harmony."
Aurora sighs. "Godmother, why do you always have to have an argument with the other neighbors?."
Maleficent glares at Merlin. "Because they always get in my way."
"Let's have common ground." David smiles at the two. "Let's trade flowering. Maleficent you get Merlin's flowers and Merlin you get her flowers. Understand each other's perception of gardening and know that all flowers have few things in common. They need water, rich soil, and plenty of sunlight. Meaning they are all the same but have different appearances."
Maleficent pauses, her green eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "An exchange? How... unexpectedly equitable."
Merlin strokes his beard, intrigued despite himself. "Our king speaks wisdom. Very well, I will accept this horticultural détente."
As Maleficent and Merlin reluctantly shake hands over a thorny rosebush, Maleficent takes David and Aurora to the living room where a nice pot of tea is ready for them. David spots her raven, whose name is Diablo, resting on his bird stand reached into his pocket and sets down a nice sum of dry bits of corn.
"Here you go, Diablo. Fresh dry corn to enjoy." David tells him before seeing happily flies over to eat it.
"Aurora?." Maleficent looks at her godchild.
"Yes, godmother?." Aurora replies.
"Be a dear and fetch that trunk in my room for me." Maleficent tells her while pouring a cup for David.
Aurora nods and heads off, leaving David alone with the Mistress of All Evil. Maleficent slides a steaming cup toward him. "You've a knack for diplomacy, friend. Though I suspect Merlin's begonias will wither in my garden's embrace. Plus, my flowers only need moonlight and not sunlight."
David shrugs. "Thanks for the fun fact." He sips his tea. "Mmmm, wild cherry flavor."
Maleficent nods. "My favorite. Now, I made a gift for you. It's very nice and it's something that you're familiar with back in your school days. Aurora, that trunk should not be that heavy."
Aurora enters the room struggling to carry a large chest. David quickly gets up to help her. Inside, nestled among velvet folds, lies a gleaming trombone. Its gold finish catches the dim light, purple stripes swirling along its bell like captured twilight.
Maleficent smiles. "I recall you mentioning band practice fondly. Consider it... an appreciation for helping me build bridges with my godchild, which her parents have gone back on their deal with me all those years ago when they sought my aid in helping Aurora's mother to be able to conceive..."
"Godmother..." Aurora looks at her with worry. "Don't stress yourself about the past. We're finally together and making up for lost time."
Maleficent waves a dismissive hand, though her eyes soften. "Enough sentiment. David, play something for us. This bass instrument is supposed to remove bad energy from objects or individuals. I used gold ingots and Dreamlight crystals to make it. The magical powers of the instrument can only be activated by you. Sure, anyone can play on it but won't get the full advantage of its purpose."
"Cool." David gets up and licks his lips while can't help being excited. "I'm playing when the saints come marching in." He blows into the mouthpiece as dreamlight magic starts coming out from the bass hole.
Maleficent nods in approval while enjoying the sound. "Perfect."
Aurora couldn't resist dancing to the bass music. "Lovely!."
End of Flashback
David, for whatever reason, blows into the mouthpiece of the trombone and plays whatever song that comes to mind. Something that touches his heart. The magic of the horn blasted out and the dark energy lifted up from the fruit tree turning it back to normal. The sound of the brass instrument echoes throughout the jungle as it reaches the ears of the baboons who got turned back to normal. Everyone in the treehouse heard the playing instrument which was quite nice to hear. They exit the house to find the baboons running off to whatever they came from before seeing David playing the trombone.
"Oh, my, that's the Dreamlight Horn!." Minnie's eyes were wide in seeing that instrument in David's hands.
David stops playing. "Yeah, I found it inside a tree trunk that was engulfed in dark energy. I took care of it by playing Let It Go. I'm assuming that it affected the baboons right?."
Minnie nods. "That horn is infused with purified Dreamlight. It can cleanse corruption... but it shouldn't be here. The Forgotten must have stolen it." She lowers her head. "He is clever. Very clever."
"Tell me about it." David spoke before being patted on the back by Jane.
"Jolly good show, friend. You saved us and saved the baboons." Jane spoke with a warm smile.
"Thanks, Jane." David spoke before going to work in assisting in repairing the damages.
Taking the time to help out in building fences to protect Tarzan and Jane's ape family from being attacked by jungle predators or hunters before heading back to the valley and setting up a new home for them. Jane, Tarzan, and Professor were amazed at the beauty of the valley before starting to remember some things of their time being there. Little memories but effective either way. As for Minnie, she instantly ran to where Mickey is and gave him the biggest hug and kiss that she ever gave him.
"Oh, Mickey, I missed you so darn much!." Minnie hugs him tight with tears falling in her face.
Mickey holds her close, his own eyes misty. "Gosh, Minnie, I was worried sick!." He gently brushes away her tears with a gloved thumb. "What happened to you?."
"It's a long story." Minnie smiled at him. "We will talk about it later. I want snu-snu."
Mickey chuckled softly, his cheeks flushing red. "Okay." He picks her up off her bare feet and heads to their house.
David looks back at the trombone and puts it in a trunk in his house while feeling that big fatigue within him. He was unable to retrieve Elsa and Anna in their realm at all due to the Forgotten messing with him. Too tired to go back to that door, David heads back to his bed to rest despite what Merlin told him that he needs Elsa to help assist him. Meanwhile in the Enchanted Forest which is majorly reduced to pure utter insane chaos as the winds were blowing super hard and the storm isn't calming down for nothing. Somewhere in the very small camp trying to get warm around the campfire, well basically one individual, was trying not to freeze to death while the other one was completely overwhelmed.
Anna pulls out a small pack of crackers and hands them to her sister. "Here. Eat."
Elsa shakes her head, pushing the food away. "Save them. You need strength more than I do."
Anna nods and puts it away. Rubbing her biceps while fighting the harsh winds touching her. "I still don't remember why we're even here."
"Me either." Elsa spoke while watching the water boil in the pot. "I don't remember the purpose of being here."
Anna nods while adding rocks into the boiling pot and fresh pulled grass. "I don't even remember what motivated us to be in this crap hole."
Elsa stares at the campfire as the flames flickered in the harsh winds. "Neither do I. All I recall is we left Arendelle and told the captain to leave us here." She wraps her arms tighter around herself, her breath misting in the frigid air. "I don't even know the purpose of us coming to this...this...this... Unknown."
Anna stirs the pot of the food she is making for them. "I know how long we've been here based on no supply of food. We had tons of food we brought. Enough for twenty-two years."
"Twenty-two years?." Elsa took the moment to process this. "It's been this long?."
Anna nodded slowly. "That's what I counted. We've been rationing, but..." She gestured toward the empty crates. "It is all gone."
"Twenty-two years. I'm very surprised you and I haven't aged physically. We look exactly the same." Elsa said before seeing a bowl of something facing her. She was disgusted.
"What?. It's rocks and grass soup. Kristoff taught me this recipe." Anna spoke before pushing the bowl at her sister.
Elsa stared at the steaming liquid, flecks of green floating in murky water. Her stomach churned. "Anna, I appreciate the effort, but... rocks?" She prodded a smooth grey stone with her spoon. It clinked against the ceramic.
"Hungry people can't be picky." Anna grabs her spoon. "Sipping on the rocks is high fiber and protein."
Elsa watches her sister slurp the murky broth, then sighs. "Fine." She lifts a spoonful to her lips. She took a big sip and spit it back out. "Yuck!."
Anna glares at her. "Don't be wasteful!."
"Anna this is disgusting!." Elsa spoke in high upsetness. "We're literally eating germs and have no idea if those animals were using their business on these rocks."
"I have you know that I washed these rocks before putting them in the pot." Anna shots back at her sister.
Anna’s glare deepened, frost crackling at the edges of her cloak. "Do you want to starve?. Because complaining won’t fill your stomach." She shoved another spoonful into her mouth, crunching defiantly on a pebble.
Elsa looks down at her bowl with disgust. "I wish it did."
Anna rolled her eyes. "You're such a drama queen."
Elsa shoved the bowl away. "And you're turning into a goat."
Anna looks and spots a few crickets and quickly goes stomping on them before collecting them. "Here, eat this."
Elsa shakes her head. "No. I'd rather eat my own hair than eat that."
"I heard eating your finger and toe nails has a lot of fiber." Anna munched one of the crickets.
Elsa's nose wrinkled. "That's disgusting, Anna." She pulled off her boot and sock and went to work on peeling the nail of her big toe off with her teeth.
"So you are going to eat them." Anna chews more on the crickets.
Elsa pulls off the nail with a wince. "It's my nail. It's clean." She pops it into her mouth. "Tastes like... nothing." She chews slowly. "Just... keratin."
"More like toe jams." Anna tries not to crack a laugh.
Elsa spits out the half-chewed nail, gagging. "That's... foul." She glares at her sister, ice crystals forming on her knuckles. "Why must you ruin everything?."
"I wasn't." Anna takes another sip of her broth. "Just keep eating your nails."
Elsa didn't hesitate when looking at her fingernails to see if any nail was long enough to safely bite off. "Eww, I taste dirt in the pinky nail. I need to stop scratching my head."
"Your hair is awful." Anna munched on her pebbles.
Elsa’s eyes narrowed. "Says the woman eating gravel." She flicked an ice shard toward Anna’s bowl, freezing the broth solid. Anna yelped, dropping her spoon as it clattered against the sudden glacier in her hands.
"Hey!. That was dinner!." Anna spits on her sister's nails as a get back.
Elsa recoils in disgust. "You are vile."
"And you're a glacier." Anna retorts, rubbing her hands together.
The howling wind bites through their threadbare cloaks, and the campfire sputters against the onslaught of snow-laden gusts. Ice crystals form on Elsa's eyelashes as she glares at her sister, the silence between them colder than the storm. Anna shivers, her breath fogging the air, and looks away first, staring into the guttering flames.
"Sorry." Elsa spoke in sadness.
Anna sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Me too." She nudged the frozen bowl with her boot. "We're just... tired. And cold." Her teeth chattered.
"The cold doesn't bother me..." Elsa sees a glare in her sister's eyes.
"Don't finish that line." Anna warns her.
Elsa watches the frozen broth in Anna's bowl, regretting tightening her throat. She extends a hand, letting warmth pulse from her palm until the ice melts back into murky liquid. "Better?."
Anna picks the bowl up. "Thanks."
After eating either a meal of rock broth or nails, the two Arendelle sisters decided to call it a nap. They couldn't tell if it was day or night since everything was very dark and cloudy with raindrops pouring everywhere. They shared the same large tent since the day they arrived on the lands of the Enchanted Forest. Laying together as sisters, Elsa and Anna just stare at the ceiling on their tent with their minds just wandering randomly and speak whatever that comes through their mouths.
"Wherever Kristoff and Olaf are, I hope they are alright and safe." Anna spoke.
"Me too." Elsa had something on her mind. "Is there a man out there for me, Anna?."
"Of course, Elsa." Anna smiles widely. "There's every guy for every woman. You just have to look for him, that's all."
Elsa sighs as she breaths deeply. "It's just that in my mind it is doubtful and foggy in memories of recalling if I ever did have romance. But my heart on the other hand...it says yes I have a man in my life."
Anna shifts onto her side, her eyes searching Elsa's face in the gloom. "Your heart knows things your head forgets. Especially here." She gestures vaguely at the howling darkness beyond their tent flap. "I don't know what is eating our memories like hungry wolves but I do know it has to be some serious black magic."
"There is nothing ever good when it comes to black magic." said Elsa, before wrapping her sister's waist and pulling her closer to be warm.
Anna snuggled into Elsa's side, seeking warmth against the relentless cold. "I feel very cozy."
Elsa tightened her embrace. "Sleep, Anna. Tomorrow... we will find the answers to our questions." She closed her eyes and into the darkness, her breath misting in the frigid air.
The wind's mournful howl seemed to whisper secrets she couldn't grasp. She slept well as something had triggered something in her mind. A voice of a combination of familiar and unfamiliar went into her mind. An advice given to her.
'So, you want to go back to your realm and check in on your people in Arendelle, but you are worried about not being able to return to your one true home?. Don't worry my special Snowflake, I will tell you how to get back here. Simple. Just close your eyes and imagine one of your favorite places in the valley. You can choose Frosted Heights, which is your personal favorite Biome. But if you're in a rough stressful situation, just think about Peaceful Meadows and remind yourself what you did there.'
Elsa wakes up with her eyes awake and lifts up. The voice was telling her something important. She has been hearing this exact voice and having that foggy dream for a good while now. Whatever reason they both were getting aggressive as if they are just more than just losing her marbles.
Elsa shakes Anna. "Anna woke up. Wake up."
Anna groggily opens her eyes. "What?."
"I heard that voice again." Elsa tells her.
Anna sat up, rubbing her eyes. "The one that comes with those foggy dreams you've been having?." She shivered, pulling her thin blanket tighter. "What did it say this time, Elsa?."
Elsa's voice dropped to a whisper, her breath misting in the frigid air. "It said... 'Just close your eyes and imagine one of your favorite places in the valley.' Frosted Heights. Peaceful Meadows." She paused, her blue eyes wide in the gloom. "He called me his special Snowflake."
"Special Snowflake?." Anna looked interested.
Elsa nods, her gaze distant. "Yes. The voice felt... intimate. Protective." She shivered, not from cold, but from the weight of forgotten affection. "What if this 'valley' is real, Anna? What if we're meant to be there?."
Anna chewed the inside of her right cheek. "Then how do we get there?. Close our eyes and wish real hard?." Her tone was skeptical, but a flicker of hope sparked beneath it. She reached for Elsa's hand, her fingers icy. "Let's try. Right now. Together."
Elsa nodded with her heart beating in hope. "Close your eyes and imagine Peaceful Meadows." She closes her eyes and tries to imagine such a place. "I see flowers."
Anna squinted, trying to conjure the image. "What kind of flowers?."
"Daises...red, white, and yellow." Elsa shut her eyes tightly. "Green and Purple Rising Penstemon."
Anna frowned. "I don't remember seeing those." She squeezed Elsa's hand harder. "What else?."
"Fishing." Elsa spoke.
"Mmmm, fish...bass...brim." Anna started to remember something about fishing in a very clear spot somewhere. "The stall."
"What kind of stall?." asked Elsa.
Anna's eyes flew open. "Goofy!." She gasped. "A blue cart with fishing rods. He sold worms in a little bucket... and he laughed like this." Anna attempted a high-pitched "hyuck-hyuck," the sound jarringly familiar yet alien. She stops herself when seeing their surroundings that isn't the tent. "Uh, Elsa?."
Elsa starts hearing crickets chirping and opens her eyes to see that they are no longer in the Enchanted Forest. "Where are we?."
Anna gets up and looks around. "This...This must be... Peaceful Meadows."
Elsa looks around to see the flowers that she imagined but barely sees in the dark. "We're in Peaceful Meadows."
Holding each other's hands the two walked forward on the pathway that was halfway ruined and not complete. They headed towards those beautiful steps before spotting someone coming down. David wanted to buy himself two small boxes of raspberries to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to go with a glass of cold milk.
"I hope Goofy is still up." David steps down on the last step. "Because I most certainly..."
In an instant, David and Elsa locked eyes with each other like a nasty unwanted fly going towards a bug zapper. The two stare at each other like they were looking into a mirror. Neither making a move. David's eyes were strongly all over Elsa's gorgeous pale face. Her sweet lips that were covered in rosey red lipstick that were begging to be kissed. Elsa can't turn away from that masculine black face. His eyes felt like they were a pick and a hammer that would break her like a thick fat ice. Looking at each other had triggered a big memory that was much larger than any memory they have been experiencing. Their minds ran on those foggy memories.
Ignoring everything or anyone around them. Anna tries to break her sister's trance but fails. Mirabel, who just left Scrooge's shop with a new dress, tries to get David's attention through waving her hand in front of his eyes but no results.