Heroes of Disney #1: Rise of the Firebird

Ch. 37: Circle of Life

I woke up to a salty breeze infiltrating my nose. I groaned and sat up, looking around.

I was on a beach. A pretty deserted beach. There was no one there except me and a few seagulls. A bunch of large rocks were strewn everywhere, making the already uninhabited beach look like a desert.

In front of me sat what I guess was the Caspian Sea. It was bright blue, shining in the fading sunlight.

"Where am I?" I asked myself out loud.

I didn't expect to get an answer.

"You're on the Tri-State Area beach. Or at least, on the deserted, back of it."

"Waahh!" I yelled and whirled around, tripping and landing on my butt.

Ariel laughed. She was sitting on a rock overlooking the sea, tail hanging freely in the wind.

"Still on edge, huh?"

I moaned. "Why do all the princesses have to scare me?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind." I stared at the girl. She had long, bright red hair, flapping across her shoulders. She had on seashells in place of a bikini and instead of legs she had a long scaly, green mermaid's tail. "We're you the one who saved me?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yup. I was on my way to my father's palace when I saw the force field break by the power of Monstro the whale. Soon I saw you frantically trying to swim to the surface, so I helped you out. You've only been knocked out for about 10 minutes."

I rubbed my eyes. "Thanks, for saving me. Aren't you supposed to be in human form?"

"Traditionally, yes. But I had my father change me back into a mermaid in order to help protect Atlantica if needed. Eric and Melody are back at the castle." She stared longingly across the ocean. "I can't wait until this war's over so I can go back to them."

"I know how you feel. I left my family too." I sighed and stood up. "So. The Tri-State Area, huh?"

The mermaid princess nodded. "Yep. It was the closest land I could find. I personally have never been to the city, but I some strange things."

I laughed. "Well, yeah. That's a mixture of Phineas and Ferb's inventions and Dr. Doof's -inators."

"Aren't Phineas and Ferb a little young to be inventing things?"

"Why yes. Yes they are."

I looked once more into the horizon. The sun was sinking below the sea line. It was like a backwards "Circle of Life" sort of thing.

"I wonder what happens now." I muttered.

"What?"

"Well, my friends all piled into our submarine in order to escape the downing of the protective shield." I sighed. "They must be freaking out with worry right now. Not knowing where I am. Especially my dad."

"Your dad? Aren't you and Earthling?"

I shrugged. "Well, according to Princess Tiana I'm a halfmagic. Half Earthling and Half Disney Character."

Ariel made one of those "OHHHH" faces of realization. "Then who's your dad?"

"Jim Hawkins. Space explorer, treasure hunter. Teenager."

Ariel made a face. "So basically right now he's pretty much your same age?"

I nodded and chuckled. "Yeah. It's weird and a little bit creepy."

Ariel laughed. "It certainly is."

We both laughed for a little bit more. It felt good to have something to laugh about. I've been doing nothing but worrying my butt off for the past week or so. I deserved a break.

Unfortunately, that break wasn't coming anytime soon. Because then I saw something flying speedily toward us over the Caspian Sea.

"Oh-no." I grimaced.

"What is it?"

Even from this distance I could make out the large fowl form of The Firebird. Wow. Try saying THAT three times fast.

"It's The Firebird. And many of his minions."

Sure enough, I spotted six pink dots flying next to him, as well as what looked like a giant black cloud. Black Triangles.

"It's a Fantasia 2000 party."

Ariel and I watched in horror as the giant bird and his dastardly minions came closer. And closer. And closer.

"I've got to warn my father." Ariel said as she prepared to splash into the salty ocean

"Wait! You can't just leave me here!"

Ariel looked back at me. "Jamie, I'm sure you'll be fine. You are the Hero of Disney after all. Warn the residents of the Tri-State Area. Use that magic ring of yours. I'll be back with some reinforcements.

"But-"

She then splashed into the ocean, leaving me on a deserted beach with a giant bird, six flamingos, and billions of bats to face. I need a zoologist.

But I didn't waste any time. I couldn't do this on my own. I needed help. And I knew exactly who could help me.

I ran up the around the beach until I came to the other side of the island. There were lots of people there. Kids, adults. But I didn't stop to build a sand castle.

They looked at me strangley. No doubt. I looked like a hermit. My hair was all over the place. The bandage that had been applied to my head at The Beast's Castle was long gone, washed away when I was swimming for my life to the surface. And the wound was still there. If I wasn't careful it would reopen. I had scratches and cuts all over my face from the Black Triangles. My once nice jacket was so badly torn and wet I had to abandon it. Plus, here in the Tri-State Area, it was way too hot for it. My jeans had holes in the knees, as well as dried up blood. My shoes had been washed off, but the soles were starting to peel. And on top of all of that I stunk worse than Flower the skunk from Bambi accidentally letting one loose. Not to mention the fact that I was still damp from my underwater excursion and my clothes were shriveled. I was starting to chafe in more places then one, and that was NOT good.

I ran up to the pier overlooking the beach, and ran past it. I wasn't even sure where I was going. The Tri-State Area was just so darn big! I wouldn't know where to look! I soon found myself in the middle of downtown, running out of breath on the sidewalk. I was near about to give up when I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. Up above the city stood a giant monorail system, just making it's way across town. I figured I knew who built it.

But haven't they already built something like that? Well, they DID build the rollercoaster twice. So why not the monorail?

But I didn't think too much on it. I had to get going. So I decided to follow the monorail system, having a feeling that it would connect back with the house I was looking for.