Heroes of Disney #1: Rise of the Firebird

Ch. 18: Someone's Waiting For You

I almost choked.

A war!? On the World of DISNEY!? The words Disney and War don't even belong in the same sentence. Although it's happened before....the Gods vs. the Titans....the Chinese Army vs. the Hun Army.....almost a war between the Indians and the Englishmen.....but still. There's never been a WORLD War. That was scary to think about.

"What do you mean....a war?" I croaked.

Winston looked at me with a grave look. "I mean the Villains teaming up to destroy the World of Disney. Like I said, it's been done before. But that was just taking over a small building. This is an entire world at stake. And based on what I'm hearing from you most of the twelve realms have already been destroyed."

I nodded. "There are only five left. Agrabah was actually attacked a few days ago. By flamingos."

Winston looked confused. "Flamingos?"

"Yeah."

Winston and Jenny looked at each other with Winston looking at her as if to say, Does this boy even know what he is talking about?

I have no idea. Jenny seemed to answer.

But it's ok. I'm on the freaking World of Disney. In the middle of a war. I guess I may be going a bit crazy.

"Do you know who is behind all of the destruction?" I asked the skeptical butler.

He shook his head. "There's no way to tell. But if you want to find out, I suggest you seek out one of the Disney villains who met today. If they cooperate they may be able to tell you something.

"I doubt that." I muttered.

Just then a timer beeped.

"Oh!" Winston sat up quickly. "We must leave quickly! Jenny must go to her ballet lessons!"

"Aw, Winston, do I have to? You know I hate ballet." Jenny whined. Oliver yawned and stretched.

Winston looked at her fiercely. "Now, Jenny, don't argue. Now go get ready."

The girl sighed. "Alright. See ya, Jamie." She set Oliver on the ground and went upstairs to get ready for ballet class. I didn't even know Jenny TOOK ballet. There you go. Something I didn't know about Disney. Are you happy now?

Winston left to do something in the kitchen. "Feel free to explore the city, Jamie. You might as well. You've got several more hours before your friends might wake up. I suggest you make the most of it." Called Winston as he walked away.

And then I was alone in the room with Dodger. Oliver had followed Jenny upstairs.

"Shall we go?" Dodger asked me. I stared at him.

"So you CAN talk." I told him, unimpressed.

He rolled his eyes. (Have you ever seen a real dog do that? It's kind of freaky.) "I'll explain it to you when we get outside."

And with that, and of course the topic of war on my mind, I followed the dog out the door and into the bustling streets of New York City.

Dodger and I trotted down the sidewalk, admiring all the various shops and restaurants lining the streets and walkways. And of course the various outfits people with no respect for themselves walked around in.

"The reason why I didn't respond to you earlier Jamie is because I am not allowed to talk in front of humans. Neither is Oliver, Georgette, Tito or any other animal I know." He explained as we walked past the building Hercules had been brutally thrown into.

"But you talk to me." I told him.

"I know, and it's kind of weird for me. For some reason, you're able to easily communicate with me. Maybe it's because you're from Earth. You seem to have the ability to understand any language on Earth, including Dog language."

I thought about it for a minute. He was right. I was able to talk to Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu. And I can talk to Buck. But it was still confusing.

"But what about Perry? I can't understand him. And Razoul, the chief guard of the palace in Agrabah, as well as the Sultan and Jasmine, could understand Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu. It makes no sense."

Dodger looked up at me. "Obliviously it makes no sense. We live in a world where mice rule, carpets fly, and everyone tends to break out into song and dance every now and again. Not everything is going to make sense."

I guess I couldn't argue with that.

We talked for a few more minutes about different sights and popular places around the city. We were just walking by an alleyway when we heard a gruff voice.

"Well well well, Dodger. New human pet, I see?"

I turned my head to follow the direction of the voice. It was coming from the alleyway. Two Doberman Pinchers stalked out of the darkess. Both were identical in size, shape and color. Black and brown fur, stubby tails, and mouths filled to the brim with sharp teeth. The only difference was the color of their collars. Red and blue. Red for Roscoe and blue for DeSoto, Sykes' vicious pet dogs.

Dodger glared and bared his teeth at Roscoe, the one who had spoken. "Roscoe. DeSoto. What are you doing here?"

They both grinned, their sharpened pearly whites glinting in the sunlight. "Just hanging around in an abandoned alleyway, Dodge. Something wrong with that?" DeSoto asked, smirking.

Dodger glared at them. "Where's your boss?"

The two of them grinned and looked at each other. "Oh he's not here. He's off....aiding the cause."

"What cause?" I asked suspiciously.

Roscoe and DeSoto looked at me with an uncertain glare. "We weren't talking to you, Earthling."

I raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know-"

"We can smell you." Roscoe said defiantly. "And why we're here? We're here to do our part for the cause as well. And our job is simple. Capture the stupid Earthling boy."