03-07-2016, 11:04 AM
Minnie Mouse paced. And paced, and paced, and paced.
“Your Majesty,” her lion lieutenant broke her concentration. Tentatively, he approached her and nuzzled her a little. She placed a gloved hand in his long, red mane and stroked gently. “You must not fret. We will find the King.”
Minnie could only frown. It had been six months since she’d seen her husband—give or take—and she hadn’t heard from him in almost that amount of time. She’d felt bad, leaving Ambrosia and taking her diplomatic skills with her just as tensions rose to a boiling point with Berry Blitzkrieg, but Princess Guu knew how to handle stressful situations. And if things had gone down another, more violent path, well… Mireya would surely contribute in her absence.
The half-Elven girl had visited her occasionally during her time alone in the city; she had, after all, just lost her longtime companion just as Minnie had once again lost her husband. The Queen wouldn’t say that she had grown close with the warrior, but certainly something between them had ignited; they understood each other, if nothing else.
She had thought to stay in Ambrosia until Mickey decided he would come back again. After all, that was always how this had worked before. He would leave with little to no warning, go off adventuring—even when he’d stumbled upon kingly duties, he would often just up and disappear, leaving them unfortunately shirked—and then after a while, realize how much he missed her and return home. She would greet him with a warm hug and perhaps a light scolding for being gone so long and worrying her so much. She never actually worried too much, though; coming home was a foregone conclusion. Of course he’d be back.
Something about this time had always been slightly different, though. The Omniverse was a strange and unfamiliar place. She couldn’t know what types of strange threats awaited him out in the unknown verses. It made the fur on her neck stand up.
And then when Simba had returned without his trusty general—well, she knew she needed to take matters into her own hands.
“This is the city, yes?” she asked, opening up her Dataverse device and browsing the news archives she’d saved. Simba nodded, and a quick search reconfirmed it for her. Sightings of an armored mouse engaged in a climactic battle for control of a city called Nippur, in the Endless Dunes. This was the last place Proto Man and her husband had been seen.
“Perhaps he left, your Majesty,” Simba offered, not wanting to succumb to the natural pessimism of the situation. They had been there for weeks with no sign and not even a whisper of Mickey or Blues.
“If he left, someone will know,” the lady mouse resolved as she stood up from her chair. “Someone on that council must have some idea what happened to them, and if we want information, we need something to trade.” She glanced over at Lieutenant Simba. “He must do better,” she shook her head, “he must get Ea. It’s the key to this plan, Lieutenant.”
“He will, Your Majesty,” Simba assured her.
She remained unconvinced. “He must.”
In the front room of the Porcelain Throne, Aladdin sulked.
How had he been caught? He’d been planning this heist for days; he’d thought of everything. Sure, there had been more guards that he had expected, but he was no ordinary street rat. He knew how to maneuver around tricky situations like that, and yet they’d still managed to outsmart him.
“Can I get you anything?”
The boy looked up. A short, rotund waitress with red hair that rose up like a tower out of her head had sidled up to the table while he’d been lost in thought and now stared down at him expectantly, a pad in her hands. Her too-large earrings clinked impatiently against her cheeks. He didn’t feel up to eating or drinking anything, honestly.
“I’m okay, thank you,” the boy tried his best to force a smile. The waitress stared at him, blinking several times and waving her obnoxiously-large eyelashes at him. Then, she sighed deep and long.
“Fine,” she shrugged, turning around. As she stalked away, Aladdin could hear her under her breath: “Shoulda never left Mudka’s. Damn Omniverse.”
Suddenly, the boy felt a tug on his pants; he looked down to find Abu clamoring up his leg before perching on one of his knees. The chimp gazed up at him, his eyes filled with longing. Pleading. Biting his lip, Aladdin turned his attention back to the waitress.
“Um, excuse me, miss!” he called.
She didn’t speak, but simply turned, placing a hand on her hip.
“…um, can we actually get a little something for my friend here? Maybe a loaf of bread?” The monkey’s eyes grew large, and the redheaded waitress sighed another long, deep sigh before nodding and disappearing into the kitchen. Aladdin glanced down at his buddy and patted him on the head. “You did good tonight, buddy. Better than me, anyway.”
Abu made a noise that sounded something like an ‘awww’ and then snuggled up to his friend. His efforts to comfort Aladdin went a long way, but the chimp’s appearance didn’t resign the thief to accepting his defeat.
No. Rather, he stood up and felt even more inspired than ever to go to the palace and get that sword if it was the last thing he did.
“Abu, I’ve gotta go back,” he muttered. The chimp immediately went into a state of alarm and started babbling incoherently in a language nobody else in the restaurant could fully comprehend. Aladdin ignored him, rushing to the door and barreling out of it before he could change his mind. Trying his best to stop his best friend, Abu followed, leaping across the floor of the Porcelain Throne and slipping through the front door before it shut completely behind the thief.
In the same moment, the waitress burst through the door from the kitchen with a loaf of bread in hand, just in time to see her latest customers ditch out.
“Whatever,” she sighed, and took a bite of bread.
“Your Majesty,” her lion lieutenant broke her concentration. Tentatively, he approached her and nuzzled her a little. She placed a gloved hand in his long, red mane and stroked gently. “You must not fret. We will find the King.”
Minnie could only frown. It had been six months since she’d seen her husband—give or take—and she hadn’t heard from him in almost that amount of time. She’d felt bad, leaving Ambrosia and taking her diplomatic skills with her just as tensions rose to a boiling point with Berry Blitzkrieg, but Princess Guu knew how to handle stressful situations. And if things had gone down another, more violent path, well… Mireya would surely contribute in her absence.
The half-Elven girl had visited her occasionally during her time alone in the city; she had, after all, just lost her longtime companion just as Minnie had once again lost her husband. The Queen wouldn’t say that she had grown close with the warrior, but certainly something between them had ignited; they understood each other, if nothing else.
She had thought to stay in Ambrosia until Mickey decided he would come back again. After all, that was always how this had worked before. He would leave with little to no warning, go off adventuring—even when he’d stumbled upon kingly duties, he would often just up and disappear, leaving them unfortunately shirked—and then after a while, realize how much he missed her and return home. She would greet him with a warm hug and perhaps a light scolding for being gone so long and worrying her so much. She never actually worried too much, though; coming home was a foregone conclusion. Of course he’d be back.
Something about this time had always been slightly different, though. The Omniverse was a strange and unfamiliar place. She couldn’t know what types of strange threats awaited him out in the unknown verses. It made the fur on her neck stand up.
And then when Simba had returned without his trusty general—well, she knew she needed to take matters into her own hands.
“This is the city, yes?” she asked, opening up her Dataverse device and browsing the news archives she’d saved. Simba nodded, and a quick search reconfirmed it for her. Sightings of an armored mouse engaged in a climactic battle for control of a city called Nippur, in the Endless Dunes. This was the last place Proto Man and her husband had been seen.
“Perhaps he left, your Majesty,” Simba offered, not wanting to succumb to the natural pessimism of the situation. They had been there for weeks with no sign and not even a whisper of Mickey or Blues.
“If he left, someone will know,” the lady mouse resolved as she stood up from her chair. “Someone on that council must have some idea what happened to them, and if we want information, we need something to trade.” She glanced over at Lieutenant Simba. “He must do better,” she shook her head, “he must get Ea. It’s the key to this plan, Lieutenant.”
“He will, Your Majesty,” Simba assured her.
She remained unconvinced. “He must.”
* * *
In the front room of the Porcelain Throne, Aladdin sulked.
How had he been caught? He’d been planning this heist for days; he’d thought of everything. Sure, there had been more guards that he had expected, but he was no ordinary street rat. He knew how to maneuver around tricky situations like that, and yet they’d still managed to outsmart him.
“Can I get you anything?”
The boy looked up. A short, rotund waitress with red hair that rose up like a tower out of her head had sidled up to the table while he’d been lost in thought and now stared down at him expectantly, a pad in her hands. Her too-large earrings clinked impatiently against her cheeks. He didn’t feel up to eating or drinking anything, honestly.
“I’m okay, thank you,” the boy tried his best to force a smile. The waitress stared at him, blinking several times and waving her obnoxiously-large eyelashes at him. Then, she sighed deep and long.
“Fine,” she shrugged, turning around. As she stalked away, Aladdin could hear her under her breath: “Shoulda never left Mudka’s. Damn Omniverse.”
Suddenly, the boy felt a tug on his pants; he looked down to find Abu clamoring up his leg before perching on one of his knees. The chimp gazed up at him, his eyes filled with longing. Pleading. Biting his lip, Aladdin turned his attention back to the waitress.
“Um, excuse me, miss!” he called.
She didn’t speak, but simply turned, placing a hand on her hip.
“…um, can we actually get a little something for my friend here? Maybe a loaf of bread?” The monkey’s eyes grew large, and the redheaded waitress sighed another long, deep sigh before nodding and disappearing into the kitchen. Aladdin glanced down at his buddy and patted him on the head. “You did good tonight, buddy. Better than me, anyway.”
Abu made a noise that sounded something like an ‘awww’ and then snuggled up to his friend. His efforts to comfort Aladdin went a long way, but the chimp’s appearance didn’t resign the thief to accepting his defeat.
No. Rather, he stood up and felt even more inspired than ever to go to the palace and get that sword if it was the last thing he did.
“Abu, I’ve gotta go back,” he muttered. The chimp immediately went into a state of alarm and started babbling incoherently in a language nobody else in the restaurant could fully comprehend. Aladdin ignored him, rushing to the door and barreling out of it before he could change his mind. Trying his best to stop his best friend, Abu followed, leaping across the floor of the Porcelain Throne and slipping through the front door before it shut completely behind the thief.
In the same moment, the waitress burst through the door from the kitchen with a loaf of bread in hand, just in time to see her latest customers ditch out.
“Whatever,” she sighed, and took a bite of bread.
![[Image: 2agonyw.png]](http://i68.tinypic.com/2agonyw.png)