Epilogue

Months afterward, Roy E Disney had succeeded in gathering a large amount of shareholders to oust Eisner for good on September 30th, 2005. Never again would he neglect another character or send them away. It was another exciting day for the toons to finally be free of his arrogance and greed that nearly destroyed this company in the first place. On October 1st, Robert A. Iger replaced Michael Eisner as CEO who later began negotiations with leadership of Pixar Animation Studios. On November 3rd, Disney released their first CGI film Chicken Little later followed by the holiday release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. With the deal finalized, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter soon became President of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Other successful films to follow during the next four to five years later were Meet the Robinsons, Dead Man's Chest, At World's End, Enchanted, Prince Caspian, and Bolt. Although both films were successful on their release, the transition to CGI failed to renew interest in Disney Animation; especially when a few of their features where routinely outperformed by Pixar flicks like Cars, Ratatouille, Wall E, and Up. But nevertheless, a few of Disney's films were successful enough to keep the crowds going.

Times sure had a way of bringing unexpected changes every now and then. Even with the surprising and growing number of several teen stars and singers taking the spotlight, it seemed that the public was no longer interested in classical animation anymore. The whole thing brought a great scare upon the toons, fearing for their fate until Robert Iger announced on March 10, 2009, the creation of D23, a program dubbed "The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience". Through all the hard times, the toons managed to stay together, as long as there were still fans who believed.

Then came the most amazing news ever to happen. The Walt Disney Company was preparing to revive 2D Animation with their newest upcoming film The Princess and the Frog. In a change of strategy, Lasseter re-opened Disney as a traditional animation house.

One evening during the month of November, the Disney characters gathered around the Animation Studio waiting. The doors soon opened to reveal the newest characters to welcome into the family. The outside characters cheered and shouted in joy to finally see the face of Tiana in her blue gown. Next to her stood Prince Naveen, pampered Charlotte, Big Daddy, and Tiana's parents. Following behind were Ray the glowing Cajun firefly, the trumpet playing alligator Louis, the scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier, Mama Odie, and several others.

"Hi everyone, nice to meet ya'll," Tiana smiled, waving as she passed by.

Charlotte wove her fancy fan around, smooching at the handsome characters...mostly at the princes, fluttering her eyes at them. The alligator, Louis put his trumpet to his lips and began to make sweet and lively music. The firefly Ray buzzed by with the sparkling trail of all his family following.

"My names Raymond, but you can call me Ray," the firefly said to the crowd. "I hope you're all excited to meet my family. And it's so nice to meet ya'll."

Mama Odie who wore sunglasses waddled by, listening to the shouts and cheers of the crowd. She used her pet snake Ju Ju as a walking cane. It wasn't too hard for her to tell where the rest of the cast was going. All she had to do was listen. Already the Disney characters were starting to adore the new members of the family.

It seemed everybody was happy…well not everybody exactly. At the farthest reaches from the animation studio, one four legged character was watching the whole welcoming, hidden up in the branches so that no one would notice her. In fact, she didn't want to show herself at all while coming all this way to see these new characters. For some odd reason, she just couldn't feel happy like everyone else acted here. Why couldn't she be like she was supposed to? What if she was wrong and selfish for feeling this way? If that was true, then she hated herself for it. Deep in her heart, a slight twist of loneliness, doubt, worry, and confusion mixed together so badly that she thought she would fall any minute, unable to take the guilt any longer. She waited and waited until the welcoming was over and all the characters had gone home so she could climb down and leave without any eyes watching her. With a troubled mind, the four legged character walked inside Frontier Land, all deserted and closed up. She didn't stop walking until she was at Tom Sawyer's Island, staring at her reflection in the river.

Lightening then streaked across the sky, startling her as the thunder roared. The confused character ignored the raindrops that soaked her blond coat and spilled down her face. Why couldn't she let it all go? She wanted to leave the hurtful memories behind, but some negative feeling wouldn't let her. She might act dumb sometimes, but she was not stupid. Staring long at her reflection down below, sometimes she felt that success was treated like a requirement for every single film. So why was she destined for failure in the first place? Was she always meant to be hated and ridiculed to begin with for being different? Would it make better sense if she and her friends never existed?

Slowly, the toon placed her hoof in the water, chilled by its cold touch and took it out frightfully. No, she couldn't do such a thing. How could she? If she even thought about stepping into that river for one moment, then she was out of her mind. Her friends at home would miss her terribly, her fans, even Mickey. But then again, being underrated still made her feel worthless and not special as other humans have always made her feel. Those coworkers from five years back acted like they never cared about her and her friends. So why shouldn't everyone else care what happens to her? How can she even show her stupid face to the new members and tell them that she was nothing but a joke and a failure? After everything she and her companions did to help save this company from evil, other humans still treated her like she was nothing. Why was that so? Why were critics so cruel and snotty? She didn't understand. How could she take living here when this place was so full of painful memories that she couldn't get rid of? Somewhere deep within her mind, a dark voice was telling her that if she ever wanted the hurt to disappear forever, she would have to step into that river and disappear.

Spellbound, she couldn't fight against it. Maybe she could end it all now this moment and no one would ever find her. But something else stopped her from stepping any further into that water. The water was up to her neck by then when a thought struck her. Now she was definitely crazy for what she was about to do. Panicking, she turned around and swam back to the surface, shaking the water off of her. She knew this was wrong, but she just couldn't stand being forgotten, especially by almost everyone. Why did it hurt so much? Unable to handle all the questions messing with her mind, she realized that the only way to solve this problem was to maybe talk about it with Mickey, if he wasn't too busy with anything. She'd hate to interrupt his work time, but she had to talk with someone sooner or later if she wanted her problems to go away. He would understand her, he had to. Mickey did say she could always turn to him when needed.

Later the next day, Mickey sat in his office doing some paperwork, whistling a happy tune. He had been doing this all morning, but would be finished at any minute with only three more papers to go. It might have been tiring, boring work, but someone had to do it. While finishing up the last three, he thought about last night's greeting with the newest cast members from The Princess and the Frog, thinking about how wonderful it was to have 2D Animation back since it has always been a part of their history. CGI wasn't so bad, but for some reason audiences were not too satisfied with the tone. But whatever the reason, Mickey and his pals were still determined to keep this company on track. It was their duty. A knock on the door sounded just after he had finished with the final paper.

"Come in," said Mickey.

The office door creaked open slowly with Grace the cow poking her head in. She entered carefully before closing the door softly with her tail. Knowing that there was no point in hiding her sad face from Mickey, she humbly asked if she could sit down anywhere. But since Grace was unable to sit on the chair due to her heavy weight, Mickey led her over the soft, comfortable lavender sofa where she laid down like a patient in a psychiatrist's office.

"I gotta admit, I could use company myself at this hour," Mickey admitted. Noticing her downhearted face, he asked. "What's wrong, did something happen today?"

"No," Grace answered, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Was it yesterday?" he inquired, now worried.

"S…sort of," her voice cracked, giving away her state of emotion.

"Then tell me what it is," Mickey said gently, pulling a chair up for him to have a seat. "Remember what I said? You can always come to me if you're feeling down on yourself. Besides, it's never good for anyone to keep their emotions bottled up inside."

Grace swallowed, feeling a painful lump in her throat when she didn't know exactly how to begin. This was it, she couldn't back out now. It was too late to walk out the door. Her lip quivering, the room grew blurry with tears forming in her eyes. The pain inside was so overwhelming, that she just broke out crying onto one of the pillows. Touched by her sadness, Mickey asked her what was wrong again, but she went on sobbing. But after two minutes of allowing her to let it all out, she answered.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know if I can take any more of this," Grace sobbed. "Everything here is such a memory that…that I can't let it go. I try, but it only comes back. I don't know how else to say this but…sometimes I feel like jumping off a high building or vanishing into the midst of the ocean. Why, what else can I mention other than I can't stand the thought of being used only to be forgotten and rejected by everyone in the end." She sniffled, her face tearstained and her eyes a bright pink color.

"What, that last part isn't true and you know it," Mickey said. "If this is about how Michael treated you, don't you think for one minute that you and your friends caused this company's downfall in the first place. It was Michael who did it, not you."

"Humph, try telling that to the humans," Grace said coldly. "You know them; always expecting everything to be a most splendid masterpiece. They don't care how hard you worked or how much you sacrificed. All that matters to them is success and glory. I don't mean to sound selfish or anything, but sometimes I wish we would have been more popular if it wasn't for Michael ruining our one and only chance. Maybe things would have been…different. But look how we ended up now." Her eyes shut tight as more tears spilled down her face. "I hate him so much!"

Grace felt so mad at herself for this kind of behavior that she was even more overcome by uncontrollable waves of tears. How could she ever show her face in public again? She knew that she shouldn't blame herself for what happened five years ago, but for some reason Grace couldn't help but feel partly responsible for it. Mickey had attempted as best as he could to comfort her and telling her that it was never her fault. He patted her shoulder as she sobbed into the pillow, soaking it with her tears. That was a rather expensive pillow, but Mickey didn't care. Grace was in worse shape than the pillow was. It always pained him when someone in his family was this downhearted on themselves. He would have thought that after that celebration back in the summer of 2005, the Five would have already changed their views and opinions about the public. But that didn't mean they would never feel anger or sadness again from their troubled past. Whatever else was bothering Grace, he would help her in any way he can. Then an idea came to his head.

"I know of someone who went through the exact same thing you did," he said gently. "She and her pals had it just as hard as you girls did. Would you mind waiting in here while I go fetch her? It won't take long, I promise."

"I don't mind," Grace answered without protest.

Mickey went out the door, leaving Grace alone to wait. Grace didn't mind the wait though. During this time, she felt cried out, having no more tears left. She never meant to come here and give Mickey a hard time with her troubled feelings, but she just didn't know who else to talk to. There was the Blue Fairy perhaps, but her star could only be seen on clear nights. It had been rather cloudy and rainy for several days. And all the other Disney characters acted too excited about the news of the rebirth of 2D Animation with the new cast members. In some ways, she didn't want to spoil any of their fun and excitement by bothering them. After all, that Tiana gal seemed like a kindhearted and well developed princess character as Grace predicted. She seemed lucky enough to be loved and adored by perhaps by more than a million Disney fans in the world as all the other princesses. But what if the staff at the studios already mentioned about the failure of the last 2D movie to the new members? Then what would Tiana think of her? Grace lay still on the couch in silent thought, wondering at this moment what might await her outside at the studio if she should ever think about showing up there again.

Just then she heard soft footsteps outside the hallway and the turning of the knob. Mickey was back after ten minutes of waiting in here patiently. She turned her head to the door opening slowly and in walked Mickey Mouse with Alice, the girl who fell down a rabbit hole to Wonderland. Grace was a little surprised to see one of Walt Disney's creations in here, thinking that all of the cartoons from the earlier era were loved more and admired than the cartoons of today.

"Sorry to have interrupted your tea party Alice," Mickey apologized. "I hope it doesn't interfere with your busy schedule today."

"Certainly not Mickey," Alice reassured. "It was over by the time you arrived. The next one won't be for another two hours. I've got time."

Mickey nodded, looking at his watch, he slapped his cheek. "Uh-oh, I just forgot that I have five minutes to deliver this paperwork. Think you could stay here and talk with her while I'm out?"

Alice said yes, watching him hastily grab the paperwork and rush out of the office. Sometimes Mickey had a way of forgetting a few things, but he never lost sight of the most important things. Alice took a seat on the chair next to Grace. It was her turn to talk to the sweet bovine.

"Grace, Mickey tells me you've been having a lot on your mind recently," said the English girl. "Is that true?"

Grace could only nod.

"I suppose you heard of me before as one of Walt's creations haven't you?"

"Yeah, I heard of you," Grace answered softly, cracking a small smile. "I loved your movie too. I always wanted to visit Wonderland someday. But Alice is it true what Mickey said about your past? I thought you were popular?"

Alice sighed, knowing what she was about to explain. This wouldn't be easy for her to explain. "Well…I am known as one of the finest works in Disney History today. But it didn't start out that way more than fifty years ago. Because as far as I can remember, humans have hated me. And for some reason they had accused Disney of Americanizing a great work of English literature. All my film received was hostile, impolite reviews saying I had no heart. All we gained was lukewarm enthusiasm at that time." Then Alice frowned, crossing her arms. "But not even Walt himself could be pleased with my performance. You know what he did? He blamed the whole thing on me alone. It's hard to say other than I was no Snow White or Cinderella. I was different, but never ashamed of being myself."

Grace looked up at Alice, a little shocked that a genius like Walt from long ago could ever think that way of someone like her. Alice continued on with her story.

"What's worse, he apologized for my movie."

"That's awful, why would he do that?" Grace asked.

"It had a little something to do with my character as all the inhabitants in Wonderland," Alice replied. "We would hear things such as no heart, no feeling, or whatever Walt expected out of us. But most of it had something to do with the fact that our movie lacked the imagination of Lewis Carroll."

"But I think it's wonderful."

"And I'm glad of that," Alice smiled. "For the both of us, it's nice to hear a praise of gratitude from more than one person. But not everyone hated me that's for sure. And you know such critics. I see them as nothing but a pack of cards...even to this day. But I suppose you can't be everybody's cup of tea now."

The two characters agreed on their own ideas of movie critics in today's generation. Grace listened as Alice then went on to explain how she got angry with Walt after that apology, yelling at him and saying that she would never speak to him or have anything to do with him ever again. She and all the creatures of Wonderland thought there was no use pleasing him in any way; other personal details she left out, not wanting to go overboard in case she might accidentally offend Grace. Alice had never felt so angry, hurt and disappointed in her life around that time. Ever since then, she ended up not talking to Walt for a long period of time. She and the others remained in Wonderland, refusing to attend parties and celebrations; except for their one and only appearance during Disneyland's first opening in 1955 where she was asked to introduce the tea party ride before going back into Wonderland. It wasn't until sometime in the 60s when humans asked that Walt bring her film out for a reintroduction which he agreed to. Although Alice and her friends were unsure of this, she decided this once that she would give society another chance. Just when Alice thought nobody would ever accept her, she later found out how wrong she was when the humans started to adore the inhabitants of Wonderland, despite the rudeness and craziness. When Walt later grew ill with cancer, she soon learned the reason behind his apology for the film, not wanting anyone to know of his real love for Alice, only wanting those critical attacks off the company's back with such ridiculous accusations. He only said it because he thought it was what those people wanted him to say. In truth, Walt had been aiming more for family audiences than critics as he did with every one of his films. If Alice wouldn't talk to him, he would ask Mickey to do it several times to try cheering her up in some ways. All this time Walt really cared for her and she was too busy being angry and upset to give him a chance at explaining. Even before his death, she made amends with him at the hospital saying how sorry she was for what she said to him years back. Walt mentioned that he had already forgiven her, even when she refused to speak with him. Now he asked that she forgive him. That she did, attending Walt's funeral with the other Disney characters, Walt's family and friends. It was a sad day for everyone, but mostly for Mickey Mouse who had always viewed Walt as a father figure. It pained Alice as much as it pained all the characters to see him so heartbroken like that, making her feel responsible for this. Like all other humans, he too had made mistakes in his life with a lot of things besides what had gone on with his relationship with his toon family. So often Alice would question herself (even to this day) on why she gave herself very good advice, but very seldom followed it.

Grace noticed tears welling up in Alice's eyes when she thought about the times she never spoke to Walt and still regretted it. Yet she understood that his death was not her fault, only wishing that he were here now so she could express herself to him better than she did before. A little stunned by what she saw, Grace used her tail to softly rub Alice's left hand, knowing it was all she could think of.

"I'm sorry," Alice sniffled softly, rubbing her eyes. "Well I guess what I'm saying is whatever happens to this place; don't make the same mistakes I made. Never isolate yourself from society like I did and never give up on life. I don't know everything in this world of logic and nonsense, but I do know that Mickey loves us both for who we are and not for our popularity. Even if one of us became worried over new members arriving, none of them will ever take our place in his heart or in the gallery. I've been here for more than fifty years now and still Mickey has not forgotten me." Alice gently touched Grace on the cheek with her left hand. "I know I'm not perfect in every way…and I'm known to be prissy at times, but Mickey once taught me that all the good I've accomplished opened doors to humans out there. Every little bit helps to make a difference in this world. I have faults, you have faults. We all do at the Magic Kingdom. But we must never let our own faults stop us from being the best we can be. That's what's more important. All I can be is myself."

Grace stared thoughtfully at Alice's black shoes down on the floor for a moment. Then she found that she had more tears left after all when she thought back to the memories of tourists praising them, admiring them, and respecting their background. Her movie and Alice's really had opened doors to humans out there. Whether the crowds were in large or minimum numbers, it was still enough to make a difference. A small smile crossed her face when she also thought back to when she and the rest of the Five went into hiding soon after their failure, but never realized how much they were only hurting themselves and others by doing that, holding a grudge against the world plus Michael. She didn't even want to think anymore what would have happened if they left on the boat to the Island of Forgotten Dreams.

"Now…is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Alice inquired.

Grace suddenly turned her attention back to Alice, unable to stop the tears from dripping down her face. Then she lifted herself up off the sofa and in her own way of hugging, she rested her head on Alice's lap and cried some more. Although she was not much good with comforting, Alice held her close, rubbing her neck and back.

"Oh Alice," Grace began softly. "It's just…me and my friends…have been going through a hard time with all these changes. It made me scared. I mean...I never meant to hurt anyone. But I feel no one understands us after all we've been through. Why is that?" A few more tears slipped down, but that was all.

"I don't know," Alice responded, unsure of how to answer that question. "But don't you go on believing whatever rude word is thrown at you. You are who you want to be. The same words Mickey taught me about myself. Everyone is different. That's what makes us special. And as for the changes happening, there will always be good times and bad times. But as long as we're together and help one another in a time of great need, nothing will tear us apart. I know things were hard for both of us at the beginning, but we must move on instead of dwelling too much on the past and what could have been. You have us now...and Mickey too."

It felt good for Alice to try her best at comforting someone who wasn't acting impolite to her, but only needed someone to talk to and help her heal those wounds from inside. The young English girl never forgot how it felt like to be hated, underrated, and ignored. And when Alice recalled the memory of how Grace almost lost her life five years ago, she pictured herself in that position as a broken body with a broken spirit, no love or kindness from anyone. She was glad to use the same words that Mickey gave her when she was still on earth for no more than her first ten years. While still comforting, Alice let Grace know that she was truly a good character with a good heart as well as all the other characters in the park. Mickey will never forget her and never stop loving her. And no new character would ever take her place in his heart. Not even in the Magic Kingdom. It was everyone's responsibility to treat each other with kindness and respect. When Grace had questioned why Mickey planned all that celebrating for her and the rest of the Forgotten Five, Alice said that Mickey told her himself that the Five were his family, no different than any other successful film. Whether their stories were big, important, or simple, they were all built up on what the company stands for. He didn't only love the Five just because he felt sorry for them, but that he believed no family should be left behind or forgotten, not even her or Alice.

Feeling a little better, Grace sniffled one last time and let Alice wipe away her tears with her fingertips. Even though nobody could promise that no one would ever criticize her and her friends again, Grace would always remember that she already had friends, fans, and a family to turn to anytime she needed a friend. Some people in this world were cruel, true. But the only way to make it stop was to stand up for yourself and others by not giving in to the harsh criticism and never letting it bring you down in life. All Grace had to do was believe in herself and be the best she can be. To think that a character like Alice rumored to have "no heart" would be here right now speaking words of kindness to her. Then again, she was glad to have this all talked out and thanked Alice for everything. Even if the Forgotten Five had succeeded in getting revenge on Michael Eisner, they'd be no better than Maleficent. All the underrated characters at the Magic Kingdom had ended up doing things that the other successful characters couldn't do. Then the two heard the door opening as Mickey returned from delivering the paperwork.

"I see you're feeling better now ain't yah," Mickey smiled.

Grace nodded. "Never felt better Mickey. But I still hope this visit hasn't caused any delays."

"Nope, everything is just perfect. As a matter of fact, I was just on my way over to the Animation Studio to welcome the cast from The Princess and the Frog. Would you two like to come?"

"Oh I'd love to Mickey," Alice beamed, sitting up from the chair.

"Count me in," Grace agreed without protest. "How would I know what new folks think of me if I don't introduce myself to them? So lead the way."

And so the Disney characters started their walk to the studio, meeting and welcoming the new characters with friendly greetings. None of them thought badly of Alice or Grace, returning the same friendly hello. For Grace, it felt splendid to spend the day getting to know Tiana, Naveen, Ray, Louis, and all the rest, even by listening to the lyrics in Mama Odie's song teaching how what you need is more important on what you want. It made Grace understand that she already had what she needed here at the Magic Kingdom and from fans who loved her movie. She didn't need to be all the way at the top to be big and important after all, as long she and her friends were making others happy. She couldn't wait to fetch her friends from Patch of Heaven later tonight and bring them down here. Why, because a new and exciting day was about to get on December 11th. And once it did, the Magic Kingdom couldn't have been more magical, especially around the holidays. The Patch of Heaven Gang soon became friends with the characters from Alice in Wonderland. To Grace, Alice acted a little like Mrs. Calloway due to her personality, but she was still a sweet kind hearted girl, not caring what her other faults are. From that time on, the Forgotten Five didn't care anymore what other people thought about them. Mickey loved them, all the Disney characters loved them, even their fans loved them and that was more than they'll ever need. They would always be ready to turn to Mickey and his buddies the next time a new chairman ever neglected them.

The End

AN: Well that's the end of the Forgotten Five. I hope you all enjoyed the story and thanks for the reviews. As for the epilogue, the reason it took a little long to update was because I was a little stuck on three choices deciding on what's the best idea for the epilogue. And as for Alice's appearance, I wanted to use someone from the Walt Disney era who has been around longer than the Forgotten Five. I've been doing some research on Alice in Wonderland as I was writing this chapter. According to that apology statement, it was something I learned from a review page on years back and couldn't believe it. But then again, I don't truly know how Walt really feels about Alice in the end since I couldn't find anything so I had to write something. And I always believed that HOTR fell in the same bad situation as Alice in Wonderland did. That's why I put her in here. Plus I think the characters from both movies are charming and spirited. Take that movie critics! Anyways, this story was not written to make readers like the Forgotten Five mentioned, but to maybe show that they had a different purpose for existing but not failure. I doubt that Mickey would have the heart to treat the Forgotten Five the same way society did...that I'll never truly understand, but I guess it doesn't matter anyways. It's not that I don't respect people's opinions about things, but I don't like the way they say it sometimes in a rude, arrogant, know-it-all manner. And as for Grace being worried at the beginning, it's kind of like when a family member becomes worried over a new sibling and will take time getting used to them. She fears being left back in the dark all forgotten. Her feelings represent how it feels when a human begins to feel worthless and thinking that maybe life is better off without them, when in reality they are unaware of how important their lives are and how huge a difference life would be without them. I must credit Yensid365 for helping out a bit with this epilogue last year. If anyone was ever interested in making their own version of a Disney Universe story, they can as long as they don't copy this story. So they're not allowed to do that. I hope Alice's story made enough sense, even though I don't know the whole background story of what happened, only what I read in articles in stuff. Thanks for all the reviews. They're what kept me going all this time to finish the story. Also I have been listening to "Anytime You Need a Friend" while writing the last few paragraphs. I forgot to mention that I don't own any of the Disney or Pixar characters mentioned in this story.