Exit Thread

[Belle]

Belle found herself panting again, wide-eyed as she stared down at the bodies - two more this time. And for what? For what? The frustration threatened to boil over inside her.

Pointless.

The purple-haired guy was dead, that was for sure. The girl, well, she at least looked in a little better shape than Magus had. Belle might've even thought she was cute - if the girl hadn't tried to lop her arm off.

Take it easy, Tits McGee, she thought. Shouldering her neon pink crowbar, Belle followed the others the rest of the way to the temple.

The morning, finally, was quiet. Very little conversation was exchanged during the hike - as cordial as it was, there was still the private fear that one of them might betray the others at the last moment. The men and girl who had joined them were strangely dressed, but that was peanuts compared to the tentacled - she supposed, girl? - that followed them.

There was a brief moment of tension at the door. It seemed as if the yellow-eyed man might actually go for it after all, before ceding to common sense. Belle's white-knuckled grip on her weapon eased as the last of the items went to Blues.

"You know, I never did ask," she said as the half-metal boy entered the temple. "What's his deal?"

"Blues?" Mickey asked. "What do you mean?"

"Like, he's wearing all that metal. Is that armor, or ... ?" she trailed off.

"Oh! Well, more like," Mickey thought. "He's an android?" he finally offered.

"He's a robot?!" Belle blurted. Mickey shrugged and nodded at once. "No way! He's been bleeding and stuff!"

Mickey's face fell. "It's part of the island's magic. That's what he told me, anyway."

"Wow," Belle breathed.

"But that doesn't mean he's any different than you or me," Mickey hastened to say. "He's a good person!"

"Whoa, easy," she held up her hands. "I know."

And of course, she did know.

Belle stared at the mouse, remembering that brief moment when the two had become one being. It had been impossible for some memories, some feelings, to NOT linger after they'd separated. And some of those strongest had been of the mouse king's truest friend.

Poor guy, Belle thought. Trapped away from modern civilization with only leaves. It must've been a hell of a way to experience your first shit.

She couldn't help it - she laughed, only managing to stifle it into a loud snort. Mickey gave her a worried look - probably about the hundreth since the whole shebang had started. She couldn't explain it to him - rather, she didn't want to try. If she did, she thought she might lose it completely.

She regained her composure. "Anyway... I guess we're going home soon." Even right on the edge of it, she didn't want to commit to the absolute. If she was wrong ... "What are you gonna do?"

Mickey scratched a cheek with a huge white finger. "Find Minnie, I think! You?"

"Find Lily. She's probably been out of the hospital for a few days now. Long story." It was the kind of long story that was actually short, but which you didn't want to talk about. "Where do you live, anyway?"

"Just a little place in Ambrosia," Mickey smiled. "I call it the clubhouse. You should come!"

Belle made a face. The Hell was Ambrosia? "Yeah, uh. Sure. Sometime."

Mickey waited. "What about you?" he prompted.

"Me? Oh. Just this little place. Coruscant. Tier Four. Got a job - at least I think I do. Who knows, they might've fired me by this point. I live right across from this place called the Midnight Rose."

"Oh, a flower shop?" Mickey exclaimed, putting his hands together with a smile.

"Strip bar," Belle corrected immediately without thinking.

She needn't have worried. "Ah, a bar? Are you a waitress?"

"Not exactly," Belle mumbled. "I kind of just hand out invitations. My boss says it adds the 'personal' touch. It's fine by me - I don't have to talk to the actual customers."

It felt distinctly strange to be talking about her job after all this, especially to a Prime. Hell, from what she had heard, these guys didn't even need jobs: they just made the Omniverse's money by existing.

She gave the mouse her address. She didn't have a phone - too expensive, nobody to call. "Minnie, huh? Must be nice to have your sweetheart."