Tales of the Disneyverse

New Plan

            The most challenging thing for Sean Thomas as he lived in his "Jacqueline" reincarnation was her hairstyle. The bangs of her bob style, as they hung there on the opposite sides of her face, practically robbed her of any depth perception. Because of this, Jacqueline could not detect in time the hard slap that Joan gave her. It came from the left, sending Jacqueline's head swiveling to the right and nearly knocking her off balance – there was quite a lot of strength left in the old woman!

            "GET OUT!" Joan furiously screamed.  

            "Mama, just listen for a se—"  

            Another hard slap came in from the right, creating the same effect that the last one had on Jacqueline; again, because of her long black bangs hanging ever so close over the corners of her eyes, she failed to detect it when it came.  

            "My son would never be such a coward, letting an entire universe die just to save one person!" Joan yelled. "You are not Sean! You are NOT my son!"  

            "I am your son!" This retort from Jacqueline earned her yet another slap from the right side. Her aggravation finally hit a boiling point: "STOP THAT!"  

            "I want you to leave this realm! If your only purpose here is to make sure that the Disneyverse gets wiped out and not saved, then you take your butt back to wherever you came from! The title of 'Guardian' is a promise to every single being here in the Disneyverse – a promise to protect the worlds with every power you have! I made that promise thirty-six years ago on Christmas Day, and here you are breaking it now! What kind of legacy are you carrying?"  

            Jacqueline frowned over Joan's scolding remarks. "This is not legacy! Family is our legacy! Family is what matters more than anything...even the Disneyverse!" From her "tunneled" vision, Jacqueline saw Joan's body grow tense as she made a gesture. Knowing what that gesture was, Jacqueline brought up her right arm and caught Joan's left arm by the wrist instinctively, avoiding further punishment to her reddened face. "You know that I'm right."  

            She suddenly saw how Joan's eyes glowed white for a split second. There was a quiet gasp from Joan – the glow from her eyes extinguished, their clear blueness exposed for a moment and then closed. There was an expression on her face that registered discomfort, but it had passed quickly. Jacqueline felt her tense wrist go limp, along with the rest of her body, which slumped right into Jacqueline's arms. Kneeling down to let Joan's limp body rest upon her lap, Jacqueline panicked.  

            "Mama? Mama!" She cried, giving Joan's body a slight shake in an attempt to wake her out of the unconscious state she surprisingly fell into. There was no response from Joan, prompting Jacqueline to check her pulse from the same wrist that she had been holding onto. Jacqueline's body stiffened when she discovered that Joan no longer had a pulse. She placed an ear to Joan's chest – there was no heartbeat. "Oh, no...no, no, no, NO!" Jacqueline did not know what to do; she had no idea what had happened to Joan that put her in an unresponsive state. All that she could do was use a resuscitation spell, placing her right hand over Joan's chest and kick-starting her nervous system – starting with her heart.  

            "That won't work."  

            Jacqueline's head turned immediately once she heard a voice that eerily sounded just like Joan's – only much younger. Her eyes got large upon seeing something that she could not make sense of: her mother standing across the room – twenty-four years old again. Donned in a rainbow-colored tie-dyed shirt, bellbottom blue jeans, and beige sandals, the younger Joan Navarro-Thomas (or "Joanie" – a name that best suited her in this form) looked upon Jacqueline with a grin.