Magical Memories, by Morpher

Chapter 3
Chapter Three

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Chapter Description: By Morpher

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Chapter Three

Bernard yawns as he awakens the next morning, the little boy rubbing his eyes as he pulls off the covers.

 

And that’s when he remembers what happened the previous night.

 

Eyes full of alarm, he looks down at himself to realize that he isn’t in his shirt and pants anymore. Instead he looks at a set of pajamas based around Mickey Mouse and friends, the boy averting his eyes from the images of the happy characters before they can make him feel funny. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like he’s gotten any smaller, although it’s hard for the boy to tell at this point.

 

Gazing around at his surroundings, Bernard realizes that he’s back in his hotel room, Sophia cuddled up in her own bed a few feet away wearing Belle themed pajamas.

 

Bernard rushes over to his sister’s side and gently shakes her. “Sophia. Sophia, wake up!”

 

“What…” The girl says, rubbing her eyes as she wakes up with a little yawn.

 

“Sophia, what do you remember from last night?”

 

An uncharacteristic giggle leaves his sister’s lips as she opens her eyes. “You fell asleep while I played with Emily and Julia and Marcy! We got to dress up in princess dresses like the ones Nanny Viola got for me, and then we watched Sofia the First! She has the same name as me! And a really nice theme! Wanna hear it?”

 

“No, I don’t.” Bernard realizes that once again, his sister is deep under the princess’ spell, and it’s his duty to break it. “Sophia, we aren’t supposed to be little kids, remember?”

 

His sister frowns. “We’re not little, Bernie. We’re ten! That’s two digits!”

 

“No, we’re not ten!” Bernard says, the boy desperately wishing he could remember how old they should be. “We’re, umm, older than that. We’re getting littler. Remember, these things are involved?” He says, pointing at his sister’s Magic Band.

 

Sophia frowns, the girl not sure why her brother is acting so silly. “You’re acting weird, Bernie.”

 

“Don’t call me that!” Bernard insists as he frowns. “Sophia, you have to remember! We’re older! We went to college!” He said, before blinking. Surely enough, a few of his oldest memories are slowly starting to surface, even though the holes in his memory from ten to nineteen are quite numerous.

 

Sophia gasps, the mention of college seeming to trigger a few of her own memories to surface. She starts to tear up, realizing how close she was to forgetting about everything. “I-I’m sorry.”

 

“I-It’s okay.” Bernard doesn’t know how long it’s been since he’s given his twin a hug, but he pulls her into a tight one as she sniffles. “Just don’t look down at your pajamas, or your clothes later. I think Nanny Viola is making us wear this stuff on purpose.”

 

Sophia nods, even if something in the back of her mind tells her that their nanny is on their side. If only she could remember properly. “I-I think she said something to me yesterday about us getting younger, but I can’t remember.” She admits with a frown. “I know we can’t take off the Magic Bands though…otherwise we’ll be stuck like this. I-I think she told me that.”

 

“You think?”

 

“It’s hard to remember,” Sophia admits as she wipes a few tears from her eyes, her face burning red. “Just looking at the princess stuff makes me feel all happy. And every time that happens, it gets harder to recall more and more.”

 

“I know.” Bernard gives an understanding nod as he lets go of his sister. “That’s why the store was so dangerous. I think we ended up buying a lot of stuff.” For whatever reason, he can’t really recall.

 

“Yeah, my memory is fuzzy about that too.” Sophia says, before going silent as she looks at their closet, a few bags sticking out of the open door. “…I think it’s all in there.”

 

Bernard nods, making his way over to the close as he peeks inside. Surely enough, it is filled with princess dresses, the boy realizing that Viola probably did buy his twin at least one of each dress.

 

But then he sees the bags on the ground filled with Pooh plushies, and his mind starts to fog up again.

 

“Bernie!” Sophia pulls him away. “C-College!” She says, even if her memories of her time as a late teen are very few at this point. “You went to it, remember? You aren’t a little boy!”

 

Thankfully her brother hasn’t been pulled very far into a trance as it breaks. “Right, sorry. Lots of dresses in there. And Pooh stuff. We’d best avoid it.”

 

“Sophia! Bernard! Do you need help getting dressed? It’s almost time to head out for the day!” Viola’s muffled voice on the other side of the door causes them both to freeze up. Before they can even answer, she enters the room with a smile. “Good morning you two! Still in your pajamas I see! No matter, I’ll help you two get ready for our nice trip to Hollywood Studios!”

 

 

“Nanny Viola, why are we here? I don’t think there’s anyone on our lists we need to meet.” Sophia starts to have vague recollections of her conversation with her nanny from the day prior, even if her mind is still a mess of memories. She knows that meeting everyone on the lists will return both her and Bernard to normal. Something at the back of her mind tells her there’s something else involved with the lists, but right now she can’t remember what. Perhaps in time she’ll remember, she thinks.

 

“Come now Sophia, a visit to Disney World isn’t complete without visiting all of the parks! Besides, we might run into a few surprises here!” Viola smiles as she leads Bernard and Sophia down Hollywood Boulevard as they enter the park, the group able to see the large Sorcerers Hat in the distance. She frowns, part of her wanting to say that it is only a relatively new addition to the park, even though it’s becoming harder for her to remember her past visits to this place.

 

Bernard looks at their map, the boy in charge of picking out their first attraction. “Let’s go west. That way we can go on Star Tours.”

 

Sophia can’t help but smile at her brother’s suggestion. There aren’t any Disney characters involved in that ride, and she’s pretty sure that Star Wars won’t have an effect on her or her brother.

 

“I suppose we could.” Viola says with a shrug. “Although after that maybe we should enjoy Muppet Vision 3D! I have always been a big fan of the Muppets.” She admits, a slight tint of red on her cheeks.

 

 

“Ugh…remind me not to ride that again.” Viola groans as she steps out of the ride, Bernard and Sophia both doing their best to suppress their laughter. Viola clearly isn’t one for rides, the woman rushing over to a trash can as she braces herself.

 

“That was fun!” Bernard says, the boy meaning it quite a bit. The ride had changed since he had last ridden it, the cool space battles and other scenes having really amazed him. Sophia seemed to have enjoyed herself too, even if she looked a bit dizzy from all of the movement.

 

“Clearly we have different definitions of fun.” Despite not puking, Viola clearly isn’t at her best as she returns to the twins’ side. “Alright, now let’s do the Muppets…although maybe 3D isn’t the best for me right now. Hmm…oh, I think I know what we can do!”

 

Sophia and Bernard exchange looks, the two figuring that the Muppets wouldn’t have much of an effect on them either. “What do you want to do, nanny?” Bernard says, frowning a bit afterward. Something about calling her nanny doesn’t sound right to him.

 

Viola smiles as she looks at the two. “There’s always the Great Movie Ride!”

 

 

“See Sophia, that wasn’t so bad! You just had to close your eyes at the scary part.”

 

“Uh huh.” The girl says quietly, a bit embarrassed that she had forced her eyes shut when the titular Alien of the Alien franchise appeared.

 

Bernard is all smiles as he walks next to the two, the boy having found the ride quite cool. Sure, it was slow, but he had been amazed when a robber had taken control of their vehicle for a portion of the ride. Part of his mind tells him that he had seen it before, that it had been all planned out, but that part is drowned out by the much greater part of the boy raving about the ride.

 

“See? A nice slow ride to enjoy without too many special effects!” Viola smiles at the two as they both nod. “Now, I already got us Fast Passes for the Toy Story Mania ride since I know how quickly the line for that grows, so why don’t we head over toward it? We have plenty of time beforehand, so I’m sure we can do some fun things along the way.”

 

“Okay.” Sophia follows after her nanny, the girl still trying to shake off the fear she had felt when Viola had suggested she close her eyes for the “scary” part of the ride. She knows she shouldn’t have been afraid, that she is supposed to be older and braver. But just the breathing sound that creature had made had given her the chills.

 

Bernard frowns, the boy thinking more about what Viola had said. When did she have the chance to get them Fast Passes? Had she already planned this far ahead, planned that-

 

“Look Bernard! It’s Donald and Daisy! You haven’t met Daisy yet, so why not go over there and greet with them.” Viola watches the conflict on Bernard’s face, the ten year old trying his best not to smile as he spots the two costumed characters. “She’s another one you can cross off your list!”

 

Bernard tries to remember what’s so special about the list. If he meets everyone on it, doesn’t he get something? No, Sophia had said that they’d be able to return to normal. He isn’t able to stay focused for very long, his brain seeming to soften the longer he looks at the ducks. A bright smile develops on his face as he walks over to them, the boy oblivious to his sister’s meek little cry of protest.

 

Sophia can only watch as her brother goes up to the two, the girl shaking her head when Viola suggests she go too. She knows that even if she won’t be affected as much as Bernie, meeting the two will make it harder to recall more and more. Even remembering how old she should be is impossible now.

“Did you have fun, Bernie?” Viola kneels down as the smiling boy returns.

 

“Uh huh!” Sophia has to wince at the sound of her twin’s voice, Bernard sounding a bit younger now as he even giggles as Viola embraces him.

 

“Very good! Come along now, we have more to do!” Viola smiles as she leads them into the Animation Courtyard area of the park. It doesn’t take her very long before she spots another character of interest. “Look over there, Sophia! It’s a musical for The Little Mermaid! Do you want to go see that?”

 

Sophia refuses to look at the building that currently has Viola’a attention, her teeth gently biting down on her lip as she gives her twin a panicked look. Unfortunately, Bernie just keeps smiling, Sophia painfully aware that she won’t be able to rely on him for now. She knows that even seeing Ariel will make her act silly, make her act like a little kid which she certainly isn’t. Besides, even as part of her wants to gush about how amazing and beautiful Ariel is, another part wants to rant about her motivation in the movie.

 

However, as Sophia looks past her brother, she finds her eyes settling on a different princess: the very one she learned about the previous night.

 

“It’s Sofia!” She cries out, her mind doused with plenty of fairy dust as she starts to giggle happily. “Nanny, can I go meet her? Please!? She’s really amazing! She has a special necklace that lets her talk to animals, and she’s so sweet and fun and she’s a princess!” She wants to meet the princess who shares her name more than anything, the show having been a huge hit with her the previous night.

 

“Why of course, Sophie!” Viola smiles as she takes the girl’s hand and leads her over to the line. “Come on Bernie!”

Bernie also smiles as he follows after his nanny, even if part of the boy tells him that this is wrong. Isn’t he supposed to stop his sister from meeting those icky girly princesses? Don’t they make her feel funny? Before he can think on it for long, Viola starts to rummage through her tote bag.

 

“Here Bernie, the line for Sofia is a little long, so this should keep you entertained for a bit!” Viola procures the round Pooh plush from the day before, Bernie hugging it to himself as he smiles and nods. He doesn’t stand a chance of warning his sister, not now that Winnie the Pooh is here in some capacity.

 

“So much to learn and see, up in the castle with my new family!” Sophia skips along as she sings part of the princess’ theme song, the girl truly elated to meet the princess. As soon as she reaches the front of the line, she rushes over and hugs the princess. “Sofia! Guess what! My name is Sophia too!” The giggles only come harder as the princess brings her hands to her cheeks in surprise.

 

“How precious!” Viola snaps a few pictures, Bernie oblivious to his sister’s talk with the princess about how amazing and beautiful she is. All that matters right now is the cute Pooh plush in his arms.

 

“I wish I could be a princess too!” Sophie admits, the brown-haired girl giggling harder as Sofia gives her yet another nice hug.

 

“My, what a nice experience that was, Sophie!” Viola smiles as she holds onto the girl’s hands, Sophie oblivious to the fact that she’s gotten a little younger. Her clothes once again seem too large for her now, although no one seems to think much of it.

 

“Oh, what a fun day this is turning out to be! Come on, let’s go meet some other characters!”

 

 

Bernard can’t help but smile as he walks over to Buzz and Woody. Part of him knows there’s something naughty he could do to upset them, but why would he want to do that? They’re both so cool!

 

Sophie is with him, the girl giving both the space ranger and cowboy a nice big hug as she smiles. “Hi Woody! I really like Jessie, because she’s a girl like me! But you’re really cool too!”

 

Bernie smiles as he walks over to Buzz, the smiling space ranger giving him a hearty handshake.

 

“Alright everyone, time for pictures!” Everyone quickly complies with Viola’s orders, the twins standing before the pair as she snaps several pictures. “Perfect!”

 

Bernie smiles afterward, the boy feeling rather clever. After all, the characters from Toy Story aren’t like Mickey or Pooh, so they won’t make him younger. Even as he adjusts his shorts a little, he knows that he won’t be changed too much.

 

 

It is a few hours later after lunch when Bernie begins to realize he might have been more effected than he had thought. A frown crosses his face as he remembers all that has happened, all of the silly things he and his sister have done.

 

The three of them had had a fun time on Toy Story Mania, and even though both kids were sure they would win, Viola had scored the highest out of their trio. He and Sophie had found it harder to aim for whatever reason, as if their minds were a bit too slow to keep track of the various targets.

 

After that, they had seen The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow show. Bernie remembered having enjoyed it, even though part of him felt he shouldn’t enjoy Jack Sparrow. He wasn’t sure why though; the pirate always made him laugh a lot with the funny way he talked and walked.

 

They had seen the Muppets, which had also been really funny, and they had also gotten lunch at Mama Melrose’s. Bernie’s frown deepens as he remembers that both he and Sophie had gotten spaghetti sauce all over their faces. But that was something only little kids did, and Bernie knows he isn’t a little kid. He goes to school like a lot of big kids!

 

Luckily for him, he now seems to remember that he shouldn’t act so silly, although Sophie remains super giddy as she dances around in her change of clothes: an Ariel dress purchased at one of the gift shops. She seems delighted to be wearing it, the girl currently parading it before an excited Viola. Bernie doesn’t even look down at his own change of clothes, a part of his mind telling him that it will only cause problems.

 

“You look just like a little princess, Sophie!”

 

“Thanks nanny!” Bernie frowns. For some reason, it doesn’t seem right for them to be addressing each other the way they are.

 

“Now, what should we do next?” Viola asks, Bernie realizing that she is addressing him; Sophie is far too lost in her own little happy princess world to care right now.

 

Bernie thinks, trying to choose something that will help him and his twin remember that they’re big kids. Something that only a big kid would want to go on.

 

As he studies the map he’s still in charge of, he has to frown: a lot of the words seem bigger and more complicated than he remembers. At least he has the pictures to go off of.

 

His eyes first fall upon the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, although just the sight of it unsettles his stomach. Even though he vaguely recalls riding it in the past, it just seems too fast for him. And he wants to remember more, not throw up.

 

He continues to study the map, before his eyes settle on the perfect attraction.

 

“Let’s do the Tower of Terror!”

 

Viola gasps, the woman clearly not expecting that. “The Tower of Terror! My, that’s quite a scary ride, Bernie! Are you sure you’ll be able to handle it?”

 

“Uh huh!” The eight-year old says with a grin. He remembers that he’s gone on it before, even if the details surrounding his past ride are incredibly blurred. It had been a blast last time, so he’s sure that this time will be no different.

 

“How does that sound to you, Sophie?”

 

“O-Okay.” Bernie frowns, the boy able to tell that his sister is obviously scared. She doesn’t remember that she’s supposed to be older like he does, because right now she’s acting like such a silly little girl. Hopefully the ride will help her remember.

 

As Viola leads them along, Bernie moves to his sister’s side and whispers into her ear. “Remember that you’re supposed to be a bigger girl, Sophie. You shouldn’t be afraid of this.” His sister only gives a meek nod as she follows after her nanny.

 

From their current position in the park, it doesn’t take the group long to reach the imposing tower. The sound of screaming from up above causes Sophie to flinch even as she lines up behind her twin and nanny, her little body trembling. Luckily for her, Viola seems to notice this.

 

“Now Sophie, if you don’t want to ride, we don’t have to.”

 

“It’s okay.” She says, obviously lying as she looks over at Bernie. Her brother really seems to want to go on it, so for his sake she will.

 

As the line starts to shorten and the group enters into the hotel lobby themed area, however, Sophie starts to change her mind. She’s scared by all of the creepy things around her, scared of what might happen to her if she goes on the ride. She hears the screaming, louder this time. And that’s when she starts to lose it.

 

“N-Nanny, I-I don’t want to go on it.” She says meekly at first as she tugs on Viola’s arm.

 

“But Sophie, I thought you just said that you were okay with riding it.” Viola says with a small frown, even as Sophie’s face starts to turn red as she breaks out into a full tantrum.

 

“I don’t wanna ride it! It’s scary!” She says, the tears starting to fall as she realizes what a scary place she’s in. She doesn’t want to be here any longer, and luckily for her Viola is there to bring both her and Bernie out.

 

“There there Sophie, it’s okay. See? We’re out of the scary place.”  Caught up in her nanny’s warm embrace, Sophie can only nod as she sniffles. She sees that Bernie looks upset, but she’s upset with him for suggesting such a scary ride in the first place.

 

“I-I don’t wanna!” She says, the girl’s dress now a little looser on her as she shakes her head again and again. She’s in full tantrum mode now, Bernie frowning as he realizes that his sister’s mind really is that of a kid again.

 

“Oh dear…so much for a happy day here. Come on Bernie, we’re leaving.” Although part of Bernie should be thrilled to leave, another part of him wants to stay, wants to see the show late at night where Mickey battles against a number of villains.

 

“But-”

 

“No buts, young man. Your sister is in no state to be here right now. Come on, let’s get back to the hotel. Besides, it’s starting to get a little late anyway.” Bernard can only grumble as he’s led out with his sister, Sophie sobbing the entire way.

 

 

“Way to go, Sophie.” Bernard crosses his arms as he sits on his bed, the boy only a little tired after their day at Hollywood Studios.

 

“It’s not my fault you wanted to go on the dumb scary ride!” Sophie says, her eyes still a little red from all of the crying. She knows she shouldn’t be so afraid and upset, but right now she just can’t help herself.

 

“Now now you two, stop fighting.” Viola’s stern voice is enough to make the two go silent as the blonde enters the room. “Bernie, you need to apologize to Sophie right now for scaring her.”

 

“But I didn’t do anything!” Bernie frowns, truly meaning it. For some reason he thinks he sounds childish, but he certainly isn’t as childish as Sophie is right now.

 

Viola’s stern side continues to show itself as she places her hands on her hips. “Bernie.” Just hearing his name alone causes the boy to gulp, the brown haired boy still looking upset as he says “sorry.”

 

“Now Bernie, you have to mean it.”

 

“Fine. I’m sorry!” He says, the boy still upset that his day at the park was cut short because of his sister.

 

“Well, I suppose that will have to do for now. It’s getting close to your bedtimes you two, so I thought since we’re back here, maybe we could watch a movie or so.”

 

“Nanny, can we watch Frozen?” Sophie recalls how much Emily and Julia and Marcy had raved about the movie being the best thing ever the previous night. Maybe seeing a movie about princesses will help her calm down.

 

Viola goes from stern to sweet in an instant as she smiles. “Of course we can, Sophie! You’re lucky I picked up a copy of it yesterday at the store!” She says, leaving the room for a moment only to return with the movie.

 

“I don’t want to watch it.” Bernie frowns, something in the boy’s mind telling him that it’s a dumb movie that too many people like too much. He doesn’t quite get the logic behind it, but right now he wants to listen to that voice in the back of his head.

 

“Now Bernie, it’s a very good movie! There’s a reason children all around the world are in love with it!”

 

“I don’t care!” Bernie says. Viola simply shrugs as she puts it in, Sophie all smiles as Viola sits next to her on her bed.

 

Bernie doesn’t want to like the movie, but as soon as it starts he can’t look away from it. The cool ice men start to cut away at the ice, and there’s a cute little boy with a baby reindeer who gets several laughs from him. Soon enough, he’s drawn into the movie as much as his sister is, the twins paying attention from beginning to end. And by the time the movie ends, both kids are so tired that they can no longer remain awake as they drift off into slumber land.

 

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