Zora Catone and the Fountain of Youth

Introduction


I don't know where this trek may take me, but if I want to stay in Disneya , I'd better act quickly. It's all a test, I think. But of just what, there may be many options. Endurance, courage, loyalty. It could be any one of those. Or all three. Or more. I'm not sure. But as soon as I set sail, I'll know. You see, once the nightly visits stop, I want to stay in Disneya. Permanently. When dead I mean. Of course death is (hopefully) far, far from now. But one can only hope.
In all honesty, I was scared as hell when I heard of the tiny chance of not returning. How could that happen? Leave all of those I had come to know and love? Impossible! Donald, Goofy, Mickey…all of them. And what of Alice? Or Peter? What about them? How could I leave THEM behind? When I croak I'd be leaving one world behind, I sure as hell didn't want to leave another one! SO I did the only thing I thought I could do; arrange to find the Fountain of Youth. I know, it sounds crazy, it sounds stupid and it sounds weird. And what makes me think I could do it? Clearly, no one has ever seen or heard the tales of what ol' Zora Catone has been through! I want to at least document this one, and THAT is EXACTLY what I'm going to do!

Arranging the voyage was just half of the pre-hectic process. First of all, I would need Master Yen Sid's blessing. He is the one to go to if you want to do something like this. (Of course, I'm one of the only people who would actually WANT to do this,) so I guess it was easy for Yen Sid to want to see me. Toons can't age or die, so they have it made. We human visitors on the other hand, that's different. Thankfully, the wise sorcerer gave me his blessing to travel forth. He even said he respected my decision to go. (As foolhardy as it may be.) Well, he didn't say THAT part, but it's what everyone else has been thinking.
Next came the maps. You wouldn't believe how much research I had to do. Thankfully I had some help. My friend Jess found a few of Professor Porter's charting books. So with the help of my friend Jane, (Wendy's daughter) they were able to forge a map to our destination.
Meanwhile, I had my crew to worry about. They say a Captain's only as good as the crew behind him. And I had one of the most promising crews planned...unfortunately, most of them showed little to no interest in the voyage. As I said Toons can't die, so why would they? But, at least I had two of my closest friends coming along, and if I may add, the most important roles in the crew. If there was any man that knew how to manoeuvre a ship, it was Peter Pan, co-captain of the voyage when I would be in the real world. And then of course there was Melody. She was probably the most important part of the voyage. She had come to Disneya ahead of her time and was needed for a vital role in the Fountain's ritual. True that the ritual changed everytime the Fountain was rebuilt, but one part still remained; the mermaid's tear. And that's where Melody came in. I needed her to supply the tear I needed for the spring. (I didn't mean to use her like this, but as long as she's here, I should've let her come along for the ride.) But three kids couldn't handle a ship. (Well, we could, we just shouldn't.) So, I got in touch with a pirate I once knew.
His name was Mullins, once a crewmember on the Jolly Roger. He was the one who helped me and Peter take down Hook one time, so he's the only pirate I'll ever trust. He was also the one who Peter and I met with for a ship. Mullins was able to get us one from Blackbeard's old armada, The Rumrunner. The vessel wasn't exactly a Queen Anne's Revenge, but it was still slightly bigger than a merchant ship, so that was good enough for me. He also supplied us a crew. Most of the men were from Captain Hook's old crew, so I had to buckle down and interview each and every one of them. A few passed under average but there was one man who claimed he had seen the Fountain with his own eye. Blind Willy they called him. He told me "Three days north and one day east of Tortuga. It was no question that we had to bring him along.
So now I was all set. With my cutlass in my scabbard and my bandana wrapped around my head, I was ready to feel The Rumrunner's deck under my boots and set off to sea…to pass the test that was the Fountain of Youth…..