Kingdom Keepers III(98)
“If we only knew why the hat is important,” he said.
“Over here,” hissed Charlene.
By the time he and Philby joined her Finn felt they’d already spent too much time in the shop. He also found himself wondering who the traitor might be, and when he or she might turn on the rest of them. He tried to push the idea from his mind, but it wouldn’t yield.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” he pressed.
“So what jumps out at you?” Charlene asked the boys, indicating a shelf of Mickey and Minnie accessories.
“Let’s not make this into twenty questions,” Finn said.
“I want to make sure this makes sense,” she said. “I don’t want to just tell you, I want you to see it.”
“You’re worried we’ll accuse you of being the traitor if it doesn’t work out,” Philby said, picking up on her tone of voice. “Aren’t you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to,” he said.
“Mickey ears?” Finn said. “A Minnie hat?”
“OMG!” Philby said, stepping toward the display. He reached out and took Mickey’s sorcerer hat in hand. He looked at Charlene. “This is what you wanted us to see,” he said. She nodded timidly.
Finn took a good look at the pointed sorcerer’s cap. It was decorated with a crescent moon and several large stars. “You stand under it to get out of the rain.”
“We are so dense!” Philby said. “Where do stars never grow old? These stars are always there.”
“But the Channel!” Charlene said. “The Channel got us here.”
“Maybe by accident. Or maybe there was something else showing that day besides Dumbo. We can check on that.”
“I’ll bet it was Fantasia. I’ll bet we missed it. Mickey wears that same cap in the movie,” said Charlene.
“But the point is,” Finn said, “that the sorcerer’s hat fits the riddle in keeping off the rain, and about it being on your brain, but it isn’t this hat, it’s the one in Hollywood Studios. That is the hat that keeps you out of the rain.”
“Fantasmic!” Philby said. “It all adds up. You see? Mickey’s hat. Hollywood Studios. The sword. Mickey defeats the dragon in the show with the—”
“Sword,” Finn said.
“And the dragon is Maleficent,” Charlene said. “It’s either Chernabog or Maleficent that turns into the dragon. Right?”
“It’s Maleficent,” Professor Philby said. “First Mickey encounters the Wicked Queen from Snow White, then she summons all the baddies—Ursula, Cruella, Scar. Jafar becomes a genie and Mickey accidentally calls out Hercules and Chernabog. It’s Chernabog who summons the dead, and who brings Maleficent. And it’s Maleficent who transfigures into the dragon.”
“Where does the sword come in?” Finn asked.
“It doesn’t. Mickey defeats the dragon with a wall of water. In the movie, Fantasia, it’s the ringing of a bell that drives Chernabog back to his mountain.”
“No sword?”
“Maybe this is a new version,” Charlene said. “With a new hero.” She was looking intently at Finn.
“This is what Wayne wanted us to find,” Philby said. “I’m sure of it. The stars. All the clues. And Fantasmic! is the perfect place for Maleficent and Chernabog to hide. That show is all about them, and it’s virtually deserted twenty-three hours a day.”
“You and I saw her right here,” Finn reminded.
“We did,” Philby agreed. “But the parks are close to each other. She can transfigure herself into a bird. I’m not saying she’s in two places at once. I’m just saying Wayne wants us over at Fantasmic!”
“Not before we find him.”
“We may not have a choice on that,” Philby said. “What if we don’t find him here?”
“We will,” said Finn.
“If only we could go back in time, we could have rescued him from Wonders.”
Charlene’s comment stopped Finn cold. For a moment he faced her as if in a trance. Then he took her by the shoulders and all three of them thought Finn was about to kiss her. Charlene looked terrified; Philby looked surprised; Finn looked out of it.
“We blew it!” Finn said.
“You don’t have to sound so excited about it,” Philby said. Then he added, “Blew what, exactly?”
“‘Go back in time.’ Charlene just said: ‘Go back in time.’” He still held her shoulders; she still looked panicked.
“Yeah? So what?” Philby said.