02-18-2016, 12:47 AM
Rage.
Fury flowed through Mickey Mouse like blood through his veins. Tears blurred his vision as his good eye opened; through the fog, he saw Kopaka’s skeletal form slipping further and further away. A frustrated grunt emerged from his lips as he drug himself off the ground and began sprinting after the Toa.
Kopaka was fleet of foot. His robotic legs lunged much farther than Mickey’s tiny ones could ever dream in one stride. But determination lit up inside the mouse like a wildfire, and it burned into the soles of his yellow shoes.
He ran faster and faster, edging closer and closer to Kopaka as the Toa reached the treeline. For a brief moment, his adversary disappeared into the brush, but the mouse knew he couldn’t have gone far. Surely, once he’d passed into the forest himself, he’d be able to see him again—
“—Mickey!”
An armored arm hooked around the King’s torso, stopping him in his tracks. Proto Man flung him back, stepping between the mouse and his prey.
“Blues, move,” Mickey growled.
“No, Mickey,” the preteen machine shook his head, “He’s not worth it. We can deal with him later. Belle is hurt.”
The mouse glanced back over his shoulder at the girl. She clutched her head wound again—had those sons of guns done something to reopen it? His rage only flared more at the sight of his wounded friend, and he turned back to Proto Man more determined than ever to continue the pursuit.
“But they’ve got it,” the mouse argued, focusing his good eye on his friend, “They’ve got a piece of Teucer’s armor. If you’ll just get out of my way I can get it from them, I almost had Kopaka.”
“No, Mick,” Blues refused.
“Did you hear me, Kopaka?!” Mickey yelled wildly, “Mickey Mouse is coming to get you, you son of a—”
A hand covered his mouth, and he shouted the rest of the syllables into pale skin. He reached up and wrapped gloved fingers around Belle’s wrist and jerked her hand away from him, shooting a look up in her direction. The situation had escalated much too far, farther than it probably should have. He shook his head at Belle and turned his attention back to Proto Man, who remained squarely in his path to the treeline.
Get out of my goshdarn way!
Mickey’s face flushed from anger. Why the heck did Blues feel like getting in his way now? Wasn’t it him that chose banishment for Gilgamesh? Wasn’t it him that chose to whack Jupiter in the forehead with the crowbar? Why did Kopaka and the other two get off so easy? And more importantly, why did Blues get to decide when Mickey exacted justice? The mouse hadn’t tried to stop his friend from taking matters into his own hands either of the other times. So why did he stand in his way now?
Bullies could no longer win. They could no longer get away scot-free. If that jerk had somehow managed to snag a piece of Teucer’s armor, who knew who else had grabbed one? Three pieces lay in uncertain hands and one had fallen into the clutches of that asshole—pardon his language.
Mickey would not allow that any longer. He’d made a pact. Retrieve the stolen piece of the spirit’s armor and return them, safe and sound, to him so he could ascend to wherever-the-heck. And that meant finding them and getting them back from the people who had stolen them in the first place. If Kopaka and his two goons had managed to snag one, what other types of unsavory creeps had gotten their dirty paws on a piece of armor? What types of things would they blackmail Teucer into doing once they’d acquired all six? Only one outcome of this would work.
Mickey, Blues, and Belle had to get them all.
No longer would the mouse be content with just the shield, waiting for Teucer to retrieve it once the other five had been acquired. No; now, for the greater good, they had to find a way to get all six into their possession and deliver them to the spirit personally.
No one could be trusted. Aside from Proto Man and Belle, Mickey now had to assume everyone in this competition was out to get them. Heck, he might as well assume everyone in the whole stinking Omniverse was out to get them. They had already proven their lack of goodness time and time again on multiple occasions, so why did he keep giving them chances? He would find Kopaka, the other two, whomever he needed to find, and he would force them to see the error of their ways.
And he would give them a chance to repent. That was the backbone of his entire philosophy. He would not kill them. He would not send them to unknown verses. He would offer them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and become the people he knew that they could be. That was how he ruled his kingdom and that would be how he lived in the Omniverse, however long he must. But first, he had to find them.
“Blues,” Mickey grumbled, “If you don’t get out of my way, I will force you to.”
Proto Man’s knees bent. “Mickey,” he warned, “Don’t.”
The mouse lunged at his best friend, ramming his shield into the preteen machine’s outstretched palms. The force of Teucer’s relic knocked Proto Man back a few paces; Mickey slid onto the ground, swiping one of his legs underneath the boy’s and sending him tumbling to the ground.
A groan came from the crumpled mass of red armor. Mickey spun around to pursue Kopaka once more, and slammed his face right into Belle’s crowbar.
Little more than an hour had passed when Mickey came to.
Contrary to what he had hoped, one of his eyes remained swollen shut as the life surged back into him. The sun peered overhead, its orange glow forcing his eyes down to the two individuals sitting just a little ways away. Belle and Proto Man discussed things in hushed voices a few yards away. Mickey suspected they had taken to speaking about him and his outbursts during his bout with unconsciousness, especially since Belle’s face became immediately alerted when he sat up.
He didn’t think he’d been out of line. Bloodlust had not urged him after Kopaka, justice had. The Toa had threatened Mickey and Belle from this ordeal’s beginning, and he had finally made good on his threat no more than an hour ago. The two had squared off in single combat and Kopaka had tried to cash in on the mouse’s Empire bounty. Mickey could not bear to see one of the spirit’s relics in the hands of anyone who would ally with such a creature.
Belle stood from her conversation with Blues, rushing over to Mickey. “Are you alright?” she asked, seeming concerned, “I’m really sorry, you were just going crazy—”
“So you smacked me with a crowbar,” Mickey huffed.
“She had to,” Blues stepped in, “You were gonna get yourself killed. You were gonna get us all killed.”
“Nuh-uh,” Mickey crossed his arms, looking away from them. He let out a deep, defeated sigh. “I just can’t stand to see people like him taking advantage of good people like Teucer. You know what I mean, Blues. Like Gilgamesh.”
“…who?” Belle interjected.
“Gilgamesh is gone,” Blues shrugged, “maybe forever.”
Mickey frowned. No matter how much he fought for justice, that still unnerved him. He longed for Gilgamesh to pay for his crimes, but not in some unknown verse that he may never escape from. No… he wanted the man to see the damage he’d done, to right his wrongs, or at least acknowledge him. A terrestrial prison would have done, but the preteen machine had banished him instead.
Perhaps that’s why he’d run after Kopaka so intently. To serve justice the right way. His way. To beat the Toa fair and square and show him his wrongs, and give him the chance to right them. And if not, at least he would see them.
Mickey didn’t know if Gilgamesh understood the depths of his crimes. That disturbed him more than anything.
The mouse and his boy shared a look fraught with conflict. For the first time since he had laid eyes on the Proto Man, Mickey did not know if he could trust Blues to make the right decision. The boy shared his same distaste for killing, but his version of justice walked a much harder line than the mouse’s did. That would be a bridge they would cross when the time came—and the time looked to come much later than Mickey hoped, thanks to his friend’s inconvenient intrusion.
For the moment, though, the trio agreed on at least one thing:
“We’ve got to get those relics.”
Fury flowed through Mickey Mouse like blood through his veins. Tears blurred his vision as his good eye opened; through the fog, he saw Kopaka’s skeletal form slipping further and further away. A frustrated grunt emerged from his lips as he drug himself off the ground and began sprinting after the Toa.
Kopaka was fleet of foot. His robotic legs lunged much farther than Mickey’s tiny ones could ever dream in one stride. But determination lit up inside the mouse like a wildfire, and it burned into the soles of his yellow shoes.
He ran faster and faster, edging closer and closer to Kopaka as the Toa reached the treeline. For a brief moment, his adversary disappeared into the brush, but the mouse knew he couldn’t have gone far. Surely, once he’d passed into the forest himself, he’d be able to see him again—
“—Mickey!”
An armored arm hooked around the King’s torso, stopping him in his tracks. Proto Man flung him back, stepping between the mouse and his prey.
“Blues, move,” Mickey growled.
“No, Mickey,” the preteen machine shook his head, “He’s not worth it. We can deal with him later. Belle is hurt.”
The mouse glanced back over his shoulder at the girl. She clutched her head wound again—had those sons of guns done something to reopen it? His rage only flared more at the sight of his wounded friend, and he turned back to Proto Man more determined than ever to continue the pursuit.
“But they’ve got it,” the mouse argued, focusing his good eye on his friend, “They’ve got a piece of Teucer’s armor. If you’ll just get out of my way I can get it from them, I almost had Kopaka.”
“No, Mick,” Blues refused.
“Did you hear me, Kopaka?!” Mickey yelled wildly, “Mickey Mouse is coming to get you, you son of a—”
A hand covered his mouth, and he shouted the rest of the syllables into pale skin. He reached up and wrapped gloved fingers around Belle’s wrist and jerked her hand away from him, shooting a look up in her direction. The situation had escalated much too far, farther than it probably should have. He shook his head at Belle and turned his attention back to Proto Man, who remained squarely in his path to the treeline.
Get out of my goshdarn way!
Mickey’s face flushed from anger. Why the heck did Blues feel like getting in his way now? Wasn’t it him that chose banishment for Gilgamesh? Wasn’t it him that chose to whack Jupiter in the forehead with the crowbar? Why did Kopaka and the other two get off so easy? And more importantly, why did Blues get to decide when Mickey exacted justice? The mouse hadn’t tried to stop his friend from taking matters into his own hands either of the other times. So why did he stand in his way now?
Bullies could no longer win. They could no longer get away scot-free. If that jerk had somehow managed to snag a piece of Teucer’s armor, who knew who else had grabbed one? Three pieces lay in uncertain hands and one had fallen into the clutches of that asshole—pardon his language.
Mickey would not allow that any longer. He’d made a pact. Retrieve the stolen piece of the spirit’s armor and return them, safe and sound, to him so he could ascend to wherever-the-heck. And that meant finding them and getting them back from the people who had stolen them in the first place. If Kopaka and his two goons had managed to snag one, what other types of unsavory creeps had gotten their dirty paws on a piece of armor? What types of things would they blackmail Teucer into doing once they’d acquired all six? Only one outcome of this would work.
Mickey, Blues, and Belle had to get them all.
No longer would the mouse be content with just the shield, waiting for Teucer to retrieve it once the other five had been acquired. No; now, for the greater good, they had to find a way to get all six into their possession and deliver them to the spirit personally.
No one could be trusted. Aside from Proto Man and Belle, Mickey now had to assume everyone in this competition was out to get them. Heck, he might as well assume everyone in the whole stinking Omniverse was out to get them. They had already proven their lack of goodness time and time again on multiple occasions, so why did he keep giving them chances? He would find Kopaka, the other two, whomever he needed to find, and he would force them to see the error of their ways.
And he would give them a chance to repent. That was the backbone of his entire philosophy. He would not kill them. He would not send them to unknown verses. He would offer them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and become the people he knew that they could be. That was how he ruled his kingdom and that would be how he lived in the Omniverse, however long he must. But first, he had to find them.
“Blues,” Mickey grumbled, “If you don’t get out of my way, I will force you to.”
Proto Man’s knees bent. “Mickey,” he warned, “Don’t.”
The mouse lunged at his best friend, ramming his shield into the preteen machine’s outstretched palms. The force of Teucer’s relic knocked Proto Man back a few paces; Mickey slid onto the ground, swiping one of his legs underneath the boy’s and sending him tumbling to the ground.
A groan came from the crumpled mass of red armor. Mickey spun around to pursue Kopaka once more, and slammed his face right into Belle’s crowbar.
* * *
Little more than an hour had passed when Mickey came to.
Contrary to what he had hoped, one of his eyes remained swollen shut as the life surged back into him. The sun peered overhead, its orange glow forcing his eyes down to the two individuals sitting just a little ways away. Belle and Proto Man discussed things in hushed voices a few yards away. Mickey suspected they had taken to speaking about him and his outbursts during his bout with unconsciousness, especially since Belle’s face became immediately alerted when he sat up.
He didn’t think he’d been out of line. Bloodlust had not urged him after Kopaka, justice had. The Toa had threatened Mickey and Belle from this ordeal’s beginning, and he had finally made good on his threat no more than an hour ago. The two had squared off in single combat and Kopaka had tried to cash in on the mouse’s Empire bounty. Mickey could not bear to see one of the spirit’s relics in the hands of anyone who would ally with such a creature.
Belle stood from her conversation with Blues, rushing over to Mickey. “Are you alright?” she asked, seeming concerned, “I’m really sorry, you were just going crazy—”
“So you smacked me with a crowbar,” Mickey huffed.
“She had to,” Blues stepped in, “You were gonna get yourself killed. You were gonna get us all killed.”
“Nuh-uh,” Mickey crossed his arms, looking away from them. He let out a deep, defeated sigh. “I just can’t stand to see people like him taking advantage of good people like Teucer. You know what I mean, Blues. Like Gilgamesh.”
“…who?” Belle interjected.
“Gilgamesh is gone,” Blues shrugged, “maybe forever.”
Mickey frowned. No matter how much he fought for justice, that still unnerved him. He longed for Gilgamesh to pay for his crimes, but not in some unknown verse that he may never escape from. No… he wanted the man to see the damage he’d done, to right his wrongs, or at least acknowledge him. A terrestrial prison would have done, but the preteen machine had banished him instead.
Perhaps that’s why he’d run after Kopaka so intently. To serve justice the right way. His way. To beat the Toa fair and square and show him his wrongs, and give him the chance to right them. And if not, at least he would see them.
Mickey didn’t know if Gilgamesh understood the depths of his crimes. That disturbed him more than anything.
The mouse and his boy shared a look fraught with conflict. For the first time since he had laid eyes on the Proto Man, Mickey did not know if he could trust Blues to make the right decision. The boy shared his same distaste for killing, but his version of justice walked a much harder line than the mouse’s did. That would be a bridge they would cross when the time came—and the time looked to come much later than Mickey hoped, thanks to his friend’s inconvenient intrusion.
For the moment, though, the trio agreed on at least one thing:
“We’ve got to get those relics.”
![[Image: 2agonyw.png]](http://i68.tinypic.com/2agonyw.png)