Dedicated To Disney

27: Delving Deeper

Needless to say, Mom and Mary-Ann wanted to murder me for nearly dying on them. As soon as I stepped over the threshold to the apartment, I was swept into a bone crushing hug by my sister before I could move on to embrace Mom.

"I was so worried!" she said, her forehead creased in frustration as she let go of me to wheel herself back into the kitchen. "Gianna, why would you do something so reckless? And by yourself?"

"I know," I muttered, following after her. "I'm sorry. I thought I could do it."

Mary-Ann leaned against the counter with a deep scowl, but relief prominent in her hazel eyes. "Well, obviously you can't. So don't you dare do it again."

"Okay, Mom."

"You'd better not," Mom warned.

"Yes, Mom." I watched as she stirred the pot on the stove. I stepped forward, pulling her wheelchair away. "No, stop. I'll do it."

"You're supposed to be resting. That's what Zeke said."

"I'll be fine stirring a pot of soup."

Mary-Ann immediately scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You'll find a way not to be."

I frowned, looking between the two of them. "You know, for worrying so much about me while I was gone, you don't seem to show that you care much now that I'm here."

Mom sighed and stroked my arm, rubbing her face with her other hand. "We do. But...I almost lost you, Gianna. You can't do this alone. You certainly can't rush it either."

"I know." I sighed again. "I just...Mom, as soon as this is over, I'm going to be jobless and I won't be earning money to pay for this apartment, and then Mary-Ann could get taken away from you and-"

"Is this why you're rushing into things without a thought?" Mom interrupted a rant that had only just started.

I shifted my weight from one leg to another. Their eyes were focused intently on me for my reply. I could see that Mary-Ann was troubled by my statements, but she was doing a good job hiding it. "I don't know. I guess...I guess I'm scared that if I don't hurry up and send these Disney characters home, I might change my mind and help keep them here so that I can maintain the job that we all need me to have."

Silence fell swiftly, only interrupted by the occasional simmer of the pot. I avoided their gazes as they exchanged looks. Before Mom could speak, Mary-Ann did first. "Gianna, no matter how much I may not be fond of Disney - and how much you need this job - I'd rather help those characters go home and have the possibility of being taken away hanging over my head then the guilt that these poor people - and animals, creatures, whatever - are stuck in fright and confusion forever."

For several minutes after, I couldn't find a proper response. I always thought of Mary-Ann as a child still. Being a minor, it seemed only fitting to put her in that category. But I was beginning to realize that she was more mature than I realized.

With no words coming to mind that would be a good reply, I instead asked as I dragged the pot off of the burner: "Do you guys want to watch a movie?"

My little sister blinked before laughing. "Sure."

I nodded, moving toward the TV in the living room. I could hear Mom chuckling behind me, wheeling herself after us to join. "What do you girls have in mind?"

"The Emperor's New Groove," Mary-Ann instantly said.

I laughed aloud, hands on hips. "I thought you weren't fond of Disney?"

She shrugged. "I can't hate a classic created to steal my heart."

I couldn't argue with that. Since she was little, The Emperor's New Groove was always her favorite movie. I was never sure if it was because she liked the concept, or maybe she just found Kuzco cute, but I couldn't complain because I loved the movie too. So we settled down on the couch to watch. Mom set herself near the arm, leaning back into her seat and locking the wheels in place.

The movie was watched in mostly silence, with the occasional comment on the characters' idiocy or humor. But as the movie progressed, I began fidgeting. There was something familiar. Something...what is it?

"Does anything seem different to you?" I whispered to Mom, knowing Mary-Ann would hate an interruption.

"No, darling. Why?"

"I don't know." The unsettling feeling stayed with me halfway through the movie. The moment I realized what it was, my blood instantly ran cold. "M-Mom," I stuttered.

Both she and my sister looked at me, alarmed by my tone. "What?"

"Pause the movie on Yzma when it shows her this next scene!" I jumped up off of the couch, racing down the small hallway and into my bedroom without further explanation. I could sense their confusion as they paused it moments later. I rummaged through my dresser, searching frantically. My heart pounded fiercely, making my hands shake.

"Gianna, what is it?" Mary-Ann hollered.

"Just...Just hold on a sec!" I let out an exclamation of relief as I found it, curling my fingers around its smooth surface. I hadn't given it much thought what with everything that was happening. Was it fate that Mary-Ann picked The Emperor's New Groove to watch today? I didn't know. But what I did know was that the mystery of the founders delved deeper than them being mere greedy people out for money.

My hands still shook as I stumbled back down the hall. The two of them watched me with a mix of curiosity and concern in their gazes. I got closer to the TV and held the object in my hand up to the screen to compare it with something.

"Oh my gosh," I murmured, my voice strained.

"What?" Mary-Ann asked, jumping up to look more closely. A gasp followed a second later. I felt her move to stand by my shoulder.

I swallowed hard, my eyes flicking between the pink gem on Yzma's hat and the pink gem clutched tightly between my fingers that replicated the cartoon version perfectly. The one I had found in the parking lot when I had first started working at ComplexDisney.

"Ykell is Yzma," I whispered. My heart seemed to drop into a black hole, the darkness wrapping its tendrils around me.

Ykell was Yzma.

•~•~•~•

By far the shortest chapter in this book. When I rewrite, it'll be longer. Did any of you suspect Ykell was a Disney character? :O

Who loves the movie The Emperor's New Groove? ✋