Of Mice and (Proto) Men [Exemplary]

[Proto Man]

After all the gloom and darkness, it was so strange for Proto Man to find himself once again in the Tangled Green following a detour through the Nexus. As they drew closer to the Tangled Green gate, the preteen machine spotted Shang Tsung and Atelos entering ahead of them, but they were gone before Proto Man was close enough to shout ot them.

Once they were out of the Nexus, the preteen machine and his companion said farewell to their escorts and started away from the gate. As they had agreed to earlier in the month, they had returned to the land of forests and jungles to pay some respects for those who had been slain by the Blight. Before they left, Mireya said they should go meet with her ‘people,’ if only to let them know that the Blight was contained.

Once the Nexus was a few minutes behind them, they encountered an area now known as the Scorched Grove. Too many months ago, Wood Man had perished here at the hands of Mireya, Proto Man, and Snake Man. The sylvan Robot Master, originally in the verse to study its flora and fauna, had become another victim of the Blight when he was attacked by darkspawn. Despite the spreading infection, he had fought against it long enough to learn as much as he could and leave behind a record of everything he knew.

Proto Man had used that information to discover the origins and source of the Blight, which set into motion the series of events that led to Scylla being banished. On their way out of the Green, the group had been confronted by the blighted Wood Man, and after a vicious struggle, they destroyed the former Robot Master. In the process, Proto Man nearly burnt down the entire forest. Now all that remained of the machine so integral to the end of the Blight was a few square arches of blackened trees and soil.

Seeing the look on her friend’s face, Mireya placed a hand on his shoulder. “At least he is at peace. He would be happy knowing he helped to save so many lives. I’m sure Snake Man would feel the same way.”

Because he wore a helmet and a visor, Proto Man was able to hide the handful of tears that stung at the corner of his eyes. “I know...” He mumbled as he walked toward a charred tree and placed a hand on it. “It just sucks that they’re gone,” he added as his hand swung down to his waist. It was moments like these where he wished he was either fully human or completely lacked the near-sapience accidentally ‘gifted’ to him by Wily and Light. If he was a real boy, he could at least wholly understand the emotions he felt, and on the other hand, a machine with a simple AI wouldn’t be bothered in the least. Instead he had to deal with things he didn’t know how to really cope with or understand.

“Let’s keep goin’,” Proto Man finally said to break the silence. As the pair turned, they spotted someone shuffling about among the dead trees. When the figure realized it had been seen, it tried to slide behind a blackened husk. “I know you’re there. We’re not going to attack you.”

After a moment of silence, an anthropomorphic mouse about the same height as Proto Man stepped out from the tree. “Sorry, Fella, I can’t be too sure nowadays who is out to say hello and who wants to throw me in cuffs,” the mouse punctuated the remark with a hearty laugh that reminded Proto Man of a Saturday morning cartoon character.

“Trust me, we both understand what you mean,” Proto Man replied with a smile, and the robot was actually happy when Mireya nodded as well. “Who are you?”

“Me?” The mouse asked jovially as he placed a gloved hand on his chest. “I’m Mickey Mouse.” Seeing that he wasn’t being threatened by the preteen machine and his companion, Mickey strolled over to the pair and offered one of his big, four-fingered hands. Proto Man reached out with one of his own slightly oversized hands and shook with Mickey, who repeated the gesture with Mireya. “Who are you guys?”

“I’m Blues, and this is Mireya Vasquez.”

“I’m from here,” the half-night elf added as she pointed off in the direction of her old hunting grounds.

“Well golly, you probably know this place a lot better than me… I’ve only been here a few hours!” Mickey replied with a smile. “It’s not so terrible here.”

“You mentioned people who want to throw you in cuffs?” Proto Man inquired.