The spires on the castle pointed upward, as if to pierce the sky. Each star was a prick in the inky night, bleeding silver. The crack of the display overhead ripped through the world, this world all on its own, the world of Disney. Underneath the blue spirals, the shimmering lights, and the glittery stars was not magic…but rather murder.

The Age of Not Believing. Everything was ready – they would strike at midnight, when the fireworks went off, the crowd cheered, and everything came undone. Everything came undone. This is how it went in the fairy tales, wasn’t it? When Cinderella’s coach disappeared, when Ariel turned into a weed, and when Tatiana got her kiss. While nobody’s pumpkin coach was disappearing, the handbag Coach’s™ certainly were, and while there was no talk of being turned into a weed…there was probably some usage going on. As for the kiss, this would not be true love’s kiss, but rather a kiss of death. A happy ever after? That was out of question.

Oh I just can’t wait to be King! His chubby fingers drummed on the disk and he exhaled slowly blowing out smoke in a little “O”. Rolling his Cuban cigar between his ringed fingers, he glared with his yellowing eyes at the boys. “Now, you’re sure that everything is ready? Nothing can be overlooked. If screw up, I can promise you I will screw you over. Capish?” The boys nodded quickly, their nostrils drawn in, their chests tight. “Now get outta my sight, I don’t ever wanna see you again…and you don’t either. Now get out!”

I’ll Make a Man Out of You. They stepped out of his office, and as they did, a burst of fresh air ambushed the boys, and they inhaled greedily. “It smells like Death in his office,” Darren said darkly. “Dude, shut up. He can probably still hear us. I don’t know about you, but I like to keep my insides in,” Alan replied. “If you don’t want to take this seriously, you can back out. If you don’t think you can follow through with this, just leave. I can handle it. “Alan glared back at him, challenging him to go on. Eyebrows raised, he waited, but of course Darren just averted his eyes down at his feet and began to walk quicker. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he mumbled a sort of apology. They knew it was no time to joke around; it was time to get down to business, to defeat…the honey.

He’s a Tramp. Slipping on their heads, their character heads that is, the boys got ready for work. Underneath that mask, nobody really knows who they are. Some of the characters really were creepy old men, but not these boys – just your average teenage hit men. Crinkling his nose from the horrid smell, Darren sighed and consoled himself by reminding himself that there were only a few more days to go. The boys had already given their two weeks’ notice, allotting for time after the plan. It might look suspicious if they disappeared that very night, and they could slip away a few days after the fact. Nothing could go wrong. Darren was Dale, Helen was Chip from Chip and Dale, but nobody ever remembered about them, and they were not to be included in the midnight celebration. Darren was the sly one in a perfect position to slip away. Helen would cover for Alan in his costume. Under the prestigious role of Goofy, Alan had plenty of room in his large head – his costume head that is – to accommodate the radios. He was the brain of this mission after all, but under the lights Goofy would never leave anyone’s sight. Chip and Dale would be getting their costumes dry-cleaned. They all had the perfect alibi, nobody would suspect a thing. Alan shook his head at how perfect everything had to be, but he tried not to jostle his head to much, the wires might get tangled.

Why should I care? It was hot and mucky underneath the mascot head, and Darren was starting to feel his armpits and back dampen with sweat. His sister, Helen in the Chip costume was signing autographs for a pair of twins, giggling and jumping up and down. Autographs, he thought, are the biggest waste of time. It felt like deception, these children thought they were getting celebrity autographs when really it was just a bunch of under-paid high school kids, college dropouts, and bubbleheads, whose sole purpose in life was to smile and wave with a sparkly tiara atop their head. It disgusted him, that these children whose idols they were, were nothing more than plain workers just trying to get their jobs done and didn’t even care about the kids. However, he shouldn’t be one to talk about morals, especially considering what he was going to do tonight. But whatever, it’s not like he was standing up for the kids or felt pity for them. He didn’t even like those kids – they pulled at his costume, scratched at his eyeholes, sometimes even kicked or punched him if they got scared. If the kids are scared, then don’t take them to see the giant animals. He shook his head. Just a two more days.

There’s something there that wasn’t there before. It was lunch break, and Helen went off to find Alan. Nothing sparks a romance like planning a murder, Darren thought. He shrugged it off, Alan could deal with her, he didn’t want to anyway. He wandered off to grab something to eat, when he heard his name. “Hey Darren- Dale. Hey you,” Tinker bell called. Darren turned around, and saw Tina, who played Tinker bell skipping over his way. Normally, the princesses bothered him, but Tinker Bell was not a princess. She was…alright. He decided that he didn’t especially mind her tinkling laugh, as she smiled up at him. “Gosh, doesn’t it hurt to always keep that smiled plastered on your face like that?” He wondered out loud. . Tink’s face grew very serious, as she knit her delicate eyebrows together. “You mean you like this?” Realizing his mistake, Darren was about to correct himself, and explain what he meant to say, but there was no need – Tink just giggled at his expression. “Wow, you should have seen your face! No, relax, it’s fine.” Darren smiled weakly back at her, wondering why she was still talking to him. Sure, she was cute and all, but really he had other things on his mind…like manslaughter. He was still waiting for Alan and Helen to get back; they were supposed to be getting the assignment today. Pretty short notice, for such a powerful tycoon, he couldn’t help but think.
Where were Helen and Alan anyway? “Daren, are you even listening?” Whoa. Darren blinked a few times. “Uh, yeah totally.” Tink pursed her lips, but dimpled a little anyway, once he responded. Darren felt dazed, he tried to smile back, but he couldn’t really focus. Still, Tink was nice, and he had a short while before it was time to meet up with Alan and Helen, so he figured he might as well sit down and chat for a bit. He liked listening to her bubbly personality, even if he only got to know her for a short while, Tink just had a feel-good aura about her. “So, you were saying…”

So This is Love. Alan and Helen went over to the Tangled Tower, and turned over the rocks by the speakers. Nestled under the third rock, was a little slip of paper. On it was numbers, color coded. “God, what is this, National Treasure? Why couldn’t he have just written the character name on here?” Helen groaned. Ever pragmatic, Alan whipped out the park map. He began to circle rides, as Helen watched exasperatedly. “Okay, honey I know it’s our last day, but we don’t have time for rides.” Alan didn’t even look at her; he just mumbled something under his breath. “And…three is L. Okay, I’ve got our victim.” Helen looked from the map with its tiny numbers next to Alan, understanding slowly dawning upon her face, slowly lighting up her face. “Oh! You’re a genius!” She sprang up, and reached out to hug him, but he held his hand out and started turning. “I need to go show this to Darren.” Helen smile slipped a little, as she drew her arms back. She hesitated for a second, and then followed him.

I won’t say I’m in Love. Something was prickling on the back of his neck; the warm sensation was also spreading to his ears. Darren nervously ran his fingers through his hair again. Was he blushing? That couldn’t be it. When he first began working at Disney, he had wanted to talk to Tink, and he thought she liked him too, but their shifts and stage roles kept interfering. Then this assignment came up and he forgot all about everything else. Now, right when he was about to leave, she found the time and was paying attention to him again. Maybe, he could stay in touch with her. Maybe he didn’t have to quit at Disney. Maybe they would never get the assignment. Maybe… “You’re lunch break was over ten minutes ago.” Wait, what? Darren looked up, but Tink was still talking about the fireworks. About how she had to go and get strapped into them every night, and they would send her up, so it could be just like that little clip before all the Disney movies. She would just wave her wand over the castle, so the magic could begin. Tink rolled her eyes, “I mean, how are they even supposed to know if I’m in there? They could strap a dummy in there, and it would still work just fine. But no, I need to go in there every night, and can’t just go to sleep early like everybody else.” Darren laughed at her animated face as she complained. Tink smiled back, “Don’t get me wrong, I love going up in the sky, just shooting up there, I really do feel like I’m flying, but there’s more to life than just getting an adrenaline rush. You know I actually like coming down on the parachute even better? Everything is so serene, and the floating over all the people and all the lights…it’s beautiful.” Her eyes looked a little glassy, and she had been talking rather quickly. Darren just looked at her, wished he could feel like that too.

Poor Unfortunate Souls. “Dude, I said, you’re lunch break was over ten minutes ago!” Huh, look at that, here was the interruption he was waiting for. God forbid he should get some peace. Darren turned and to see Alan with Helen running up behind him. Alan looked at Darren, to Tink, and back to Darren, with a sly smile creeping up on his face. He was still a good thirty feet away, and Tink couldn’t see him. Darren excused himself, and Tink just waved good-bye. “That’s the girl!” Alan whispered excitedly. Darren didn’t quite process this – he looked at Alan kind of blankly, “Wait, what?”

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? “She’s the girl! The girl that we need to target for tonight. We got the information, and she’s the girl that Gavin wants to get rid of.” Darren bit his lip. “Tink? Really? She doesn’t really seem like a blackmailer.” Darren tried to remember exactly what it was that Gavin had said. Drumming his fingers on the desk, and taking a puff of smoke, he had glared at the boys with his yellow eyes. There was a girl, the daughter of another mogul, a potential threat to Gavin’s business empire. He had not researched his summer intern well enough, and mistakenly hired his largest competitor’s daughter. She overheard some secrets that could ruin his career, and she planned to tell her father about it. She was going to be meeting with her father next week, and she refused to listen to Gavin. She threatened to press charges on him if he tried to contact her again. Darren and Alan had looked at each other, wondering why in the world, this business mogul would contact them of all people. Just a few teenagers with a summer job at Disney, the boys were already in close proximity for her, and could manage to get her. If the boys could kill her, Gavin would be safe. He knew Alan and Darren were capable of stealth and he was well aware of their slyness. Darren had begun to chew on the inside of his mouth, but Alan had stared coolly ahead at Gavin. He had always been the brave one. “Sorry, sir, but I don’t think I know what you are talking about.” Gavin snickered, “Don’t try to play dumb with me, boy. I have evidence.” Darren took a sharp breath, felt his chest go tight, and bit down hard, realizing he tasted blood in his mouth. Gavin took out a video tape; he had caught numerous shots of the boys stealing. Darren’s eyes went wide and his tasted salt on his upper lip. “Now if these shots were somehow released, I think there is a lot of trouble that you kids could get in. Lost jobs, fines, even imprisonment – this is theft after all, and not on a small scale either,” Gavin sneered at them. He had them cornered, and he knew they were his pawns now. However, he was not an unreasonable man, blackmail was not enough, he was kind and would offer a reward. “I realize that murder is a step up for you guys, but I’m willing to offer you guys a million dollars…each. However, if you fail to do this correctly, you’re tapes will be disclosed to the police. Now, are we done acting dumb?” Darren felt his throat go a little dry and opened his mouth, but there wasn’t anything to say. Gavin smirked, “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Trust me, I’d rather hire professional hit men, but she has very high end security outside the park, and the guards hopefully won’t suspect you…if you play your cards right.”

One Jump Ahead. Darren shook his head, and looked back at Alan. Their meeting with Gavin had been etched into his mind, and he still felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck prickle at the thought. They had no choice. It was either Tink, or him. If they didn’t follow through, Gavin would no doubt destroy them. It had to be done. Darren swallowed, “I know just how to do it too. In fact, I think we’re ahead.”

Trust in Me. Feeling his heart beating rather loudly, Darren chewed on his lip, and began to walk quickly back toward Tink. He tried to swallow, but his throat felt completely dry – because of what he was about to. He told himself, It couldn’t be because it was Tink, that wasn’t possible…was it? She was getting close now, it was time. He walked up behind her, and she saw the shadow overhead. She turned around slowly, her eyes wide with terror; her body guard was nowhere near her. Then she saw it was simply Darren and she let out a sigh of relief and her forehead relaxed and she dimpled. She trusts me, Darren realized. It was all the more perfect for their plan.

Neither one prepared, Beauty and the Beast. A few hours later, everything was set in place. Darren had a picnic date with Tink, Helen was in Alan’s Goofy costume, and Alan was setting everything up for the dirty work. It was time. Darren couldn’t help but feel happy though. What he was about to do was sinful, wrong, and also exciting. This was the day they had all been waiting for, when he could be free of that looming threat of Gavin. He was also happy that he wouldn’t be doing any of the actual murdering himself, he was just the bait, the distraction. He tried not to think about her pretty face, or the monster he was.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. As he approached Tink, the picnic basket in his hand began to feel heavy. Darren smiled back at her, and suggested that they have their picnic in the castle. Tink looked confused, the moon had just appeared, there was a gentle breeze, and it was pleasantly warm outside, with no clouds threatening to ruin the perfect night. The castle on the other hand, would be dark and cool inside. Plus, it was forbidden to go inside for normal employees. Tink looked at him questioningly, “You want to go in there? When it’s like perfect out here?” Darren looked down at his feet, and said lowly, “Well, I thought it would be more romantic to have a picnic in the castle. I mean you’re Tinker Bell and all, and you said how you always let magic begin over the castle. I thought you might want to see the magic inside too.” He glanced up at her, Tink was glowing, just like he knew she would. She quivered with excitement, seeming ready to take a risk, be as adventurous as the real Tinker Bell. “You’re right, I’ve always dreamed of going in there. Alright let’s head in.” Darren smiled back at her, and pretended to run his fingers through his hair. Behind his ear, hidden underneath his curls, was the small radio. He said very clearly, “Okay, let’s go into the Castle.” He dropped his hand to hold Tink’s. Alan had heard.

Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-Day. My, Oh My, What a wonderful Day. Helen contacted Alan, and who had already acquired the supplies they needed. As it was approaching midnight, he went down to set up to show his face before he “put on the Goody costume”, but really just exchanged it with Helen. He began to pass out the apples to everyone, putting on his jovial face, and socializing for one last time. He had already checked up on the fireworks, everything was set to go. He couldn’t disable the parachute, so Tink would have to be the one to “forget” to activate it. Everyone would just think that she had messed up in the air, and the boys could get off chock free, but Alan was ready to stand by, in case anything went wrong.

Be our Guest, put our service to the test. Darren handed Tink an apple, and took one for himself. They were outside the castle, and were about to go in, but she wanted to sit outside for a while. He agreed, because it was close enough. “Here, you go. “ Tink smiled back at Darren, and took it graciously. She smiled, and took a large bite out of the big fat apple. Darren held his breath, waiting. All of a sudden, her eyes went wide, and her fingers slackened. Darren took a sharp intake of breath, getting ready for her to...”Wow! This apple is delicious. Best apple I’ve ever had!” Wait, what? Why wasn’t she knocked out on the floor right now? Alan said that he had drugged the apple. Suspiciously, he looked down at his own apple, and wondered if he had mixed them up. “Aren’t you going to eat yours?” Darren shook his head quickly, “I don’t really like apples. You can have mine.” Again, he waited for her body to go limp, and drop to the floor. She brought the apple up to her face, and opened her mouth to eat it, when…one of Cinderella’s footmen walked up to her. The royal horses neighed nearby, as it was almost time for the parade to begin. He smiled apologetically, “I’m sorry Tinker Bell, but do you think I could have that apple, for the horse, he’s pretty hungry and the parade is about to begin soon.” Tink quickly gave the apple to him, and patted the horses. Darren’s mind reeled – Alan had only drugged one apple, because it was so hard to get hold of the chemicals. He ran his fingers through his hair again, saying loudly, “Guess the apples are gone now. Say, Tink, you look great! I know the parade’s almost about to start, but do you think you could skip hair and makeup? We didn’t really get that much time. We still need to go through with our plan, remember?” He dropped his hand, Alan knew what he meant. Tink thought she knew what he meant too, and winked at him as she said goodbye to the footmen and his horses. Tink reached out to grab his hand, “I almost forgot about our plan! We haven’t even gone in the castle, and we promised we would. Let’s go now, I’m not in the parade. “Alan, processing this information, quickly found a nearby shovel, and proceeded to the castle.
You know you wanna kiss the girl. Darren placed his hands over her mouth. Her eyes were round and shiny, like marbles to play with at recess. But he was not here to play, or even toy with her emotions. A giggle was trying to escape her lips, her shoulders trembling a little – not only from laughter, but from fear as well. He glanced at her, looking at her puppy dog eyes, the eager lines in her forehead. She thought this was some romantic play. Stupid, stupid girl. She didn’t know what was about to happen, he was going to shatter his heart. However, he could not resist, she looked so pretty and innocent in the sparkling green dress, reflecting the glimmer in her eyes. His fingers swept her hair, and his lips brushed on her forehead for only a second. However, she felt a pressure – something intent in that second. She had closed her eyes, and opened her mouth, realizing it was free. The pressure was gone, and so was Darren.

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream. He stepped out of the shadows, a silhouette was now visible. “Wait a minute, I – I know you. You’re that man that…” Bang! The flash of metal whipped through the air, and suddenly everything went dark for Tink. She dropped the floor, with her face looking colorless, and her eyes staring straight ahead. The look of horror had almost left her face, yet it was mingled in with a bit of calmness. Alan walked over to her, smiling with his yellow teeth grinning wider than the Cheshire Cat. “Night, night, Sleeping Beauty.”
You can Fly! Alan helped hoist Tink onto Darren’s back, piggy back style. Darren carried her over to the Firework center, where they strapped Tink in. By the time the director came, over, Tink was all set to go, she just was staring straight ahead. The Director looked at her, noticing the absence of a smile, but didn’t have time to talk to her or check up on it. Her light was on, so she was ready to go. She released the firework, and Tink shot up. Everybody oohed and ahhed at the display. Jenna, the Director looked up in the sky, waiting for Tink’s parachute to come down, but it didn’t.

Alan smiled posing with the group of little kids, and gave them each a hug. “Hu, Hu, Hu” The children squealed with delight at Goofy’s signature laugh. “Buh-bye now! Hu, hu, hu.” Bouncing around, the children ran back to their parents, showing off their newest addition to their autograph books – Goofy’s signature. His shift was done, so he blew some kisses and walked off toward their changing room. On the way, he saw Tim, the manager, who smiled as he strolled over to Alan. “You know, you’re one of the best Goofy’s we’ve ever had. You’re a natural at this; it’s too bad we’re going to have to say Good-bye to you soon.” Alan laughed, “Well, thank you sir. I really liked being here, but I need to go and pursue other options.” Tim’s smile was elastic, and he nodded slowly, his eyes crinkling a little. “Right, right, well, do you think that you could sign one last autograph, for my niece perhaps? She loves Goofy.” Alan smiled, his fingers itching to just sign the book and leave. Darren was waiting for him by the golf carts, probably wondering what was taking so long. If they leave soon, they could miss their flight leaving this pit wailing children, broken dreams, and false magic for good. Quickly, Alan grabbed the pen, and signed “Goofy” on Tim’s book, adding his signature loopy-de-loop G and the laughing smiley face at the end. Tim smiled, “A leftie, that’s right. The smart ones are lefties. Well, anyway I wish you would’ve gotten a chance to meet my niece – she is stopping by later today, but you won’t be here.” Alan smiled, shaking with anticipation for the old man to just stop talking. He didn’t want to miss that flight, and besides everything was history now. They had gotten away with it and nobody suspected a thing. “Yes, sir, it would have been real nice to meet your niece. I’m sure she is a lovely girl. Well, I need to go now, there’s somewhere I need to be.” Tim’s face twisted, and Darren felt coldness, a literal cold piece of metal. A screwing noise came, and a sharp pressure strained Alan’s hand. “Yes, you do have plans. Plans in prison. You have the right to remain silent,” said the Officer as he led him away.

How do you know? With a puzzled look on his face, an associate manager approached Tim. “Sir, if you don’t mind my asking, was that Alan who just got arrested?” Tim looked at the employee and slowly smiled, “Yes, that’s what happens when you get out of line. He was lying to me – he wasn’t in the Goofy costume last night. He must’ve found a replacement.” The employee raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth, than closed it. “See, my niece was here last night, and I specifically told Goofy about it. He said that it was an honor to meet her, and wrote in her autograph book. However the handwriting looked completely different, the “a,” “r,” “s,” all were written in an awkward style, nothing like Alan’s signature signature. And I videotaped the whole thing – he was writing with his left hand, and the camera was still on when I shot the fireworks. As I was showing all of this to the police the Chips started to fall in place.” Tim began to chuckle, “Chips – like Chip and Dale, who are also being arrested as we speak. They were accomplices in the murdering and recently counts of thievery have been uncovered as well. Those chipmunks had been slipping jewelry into their costumes. However, it was the glitter from Tink’s dress on all of their employee cards which helped pin them down. Glitter and some blood were found in the castle. There was also a shovel which is being tested for fingerprinting right now. As you can imagine, the department went nuts.” As Tim chuckled some more, the employee looked concerned. He said hesitantly, “Sir, don’t you think that this could be a major lawsuit? And not to mention the fact that you’ve lost almost half of your character crew? How can you laugh about something like this?” Tim looked at him, his eyes genuinely crinkling this time, “Son, you’re on the Happiest Place on Earth. How can you not smile? It’s our job.”