A Home for Heroes

[Mickey Mouse]

The mouse's feet hit the ground three floors below and he sped with haste into the crowded street. Thanks to a combination of his speed and tiny stature, he managed to avoid too many dirty looks and quickly slipped into a tiny alley where darkness hid him from the begrudged citizens of Nippur.

Back across the street, Mireya burst out of the rickety old door to their makeshift base and glanced around the area, her night-elf eyes searching the crowd for the mouse's trademark ears. Mickey ducked behind a stack of crates, peeking up only after he could be certain Mireya had finished her scan. The night elf, indeed, had disappeared on his second inspection, no doubt to some other area of the city to try and track down one of her missing pint-sized companions.

Good. He would find his own way—for a while, at least. Perhaps without Mireya and Blues weighing him down, he could finally find Minnie.

Though, of course, he had no idea where to start. He took a few minutes and materialized a brown cloak, and pulled the hood up over his head to mask his ears in the absence of the turban he'd sported for a little while. Certainly he couldn't allow himself to be recognized by the citizens of Nippur—how would they react? It was anyone's guess whether they would greet him with disdain or with a hero's welcome. Personally, he didn't feel like finding out.

Once he'd made sure that Mireya was nowhere to be found, he ventured back out into the bustling midday crowds that milled through the streets of Nippur. Voices rang out, shouting politics or demanding products from salesmen. For the first time since coming to this city, Mickey listened to them. They sounded eerily familiar—a chorus of beleaguered citizens, living with a constant, invisible struggle. Invisible, at least, to those who claimed to be working for their good. They were not unlike his own subjects, which, he hated to admit, he himself had accidentally turned a blind eye to in their times of need.

This was the curse of statesmen—even the ones with the best intentions. Sometimes, there were just too many people to protect them all. Mickey had learned this the hard way. He still regretted that so many lived poor and unfed in Agrabah; that the Queen of Hearts ruled Wonderland with just a hint of fascism; that he hadn't seen the shadow creeping upon his kingdom until too late.

And now... he could do nothing, trapped in the Omniverse. He simply had to hope they could make it on their own while he and his queen were absent.

The voices filled his ears. He could hear them all, thanks to both his large, potent ears, and his desire to soak up the struggles of the proletariat. "But—but that's all I have, sir," a young girl's voice said, echoing the pleas of the many impoverished citizens around him. "I can't offer you anything else."

"Then get out of my face, beggar," the shopkeeper barked, spitting in the teenage girl's face. She squeezed her eyes shut and wiped the saliva off her face just in time for tears to start streaming down it. "Hmph," the shopkeeper grunted, "Disgusting."

And with that, the next customer shoved her violently out of the way, sending her crashing to the ground, even more sand mixing with her dirty blonde hair. She couldn't have been more than ten years old—she looked to be about the same stature as Blues—but she had lived the life of someone far more mature. She didn't deserve this, the mouse knew.

Nobody did.

Mickey pushed past the customer who'd shoved her and knelt down on the ground next to the girl, helping her onto her knees. He made sure to keep his face hidden, despite her attempts to catch a glimpse.

"T-thank you," her tiny voice squeaked, blinking the sand out of her eyes. She wiped the tears off her face as Mickey held out a gloved palm.

Rainbow energy began to swirl around his fingertips, slowly coalescing just above his open hand. After a few moments, it began to materialize into a rustic-looking sack of gold coins. Once it had finished forming, it plopped into his glove with a few quick clinks, and he held it out for her to take, not saying a word.

At first, she wore a tentative look, trying once again to peek beneath his hood. When he once again shielded his face from view, she frowned and reached out, grabbing the bag and then reaching out and taking his wrist. She flipped his hand over to see the three small lines etched into the top of his glove, and ducked her head down once again, eyes flashing with recognition. "It's you!" she whispered with a glint of anxiety in her voice.

Mickey's eyes fluttered up to meet hers, fear coursing through his veins. But he wasn't met in kind with fear—instead, a glowing smile crept on the little girl's face. She knew him, and she didn't hate him.

SWOOP!

The clink of the gold sounded in the pair's ears again as the little girl was liberated of her newfound wealth. Mickey's prime eyes zeroed in on the culprit: a chimpanzee scurrying away between the feet of the Nippur citizens. He looked back at the girl, who stared silently after the chimp. And jerking his hand away from her, he took off in a sprint after the thief.

* * *

Trying to help out. Be back soon. Tell Mickey. Gracias.

Mireya growled. She would tell Mickey if she knew where the hell he'd run off to. The little thing had escaped her clutches—honestly something that she'd not thought probable—and, in doing so, set her whole plan off the rails.

Well, not her plan in the strictest sense.

"Great, now they're both gone," she huffed, leaning back in her chair. Across from her, the Queen didn't seem to share the anxiety that had washed over the night-elf. "You're unusually calm," Mireya observed.

"Mickey always finds a way to be exactly where he's needed when he's needed," Minnie Mouse shrugged, swirling her cup of water with her straw. "Just because we've lost track of him doesn't mean everything still won't work out exactly as we planned it, Mireya." She glanced over at the obscure figure sitting in the corner booth. "Isn't that right, friend?"

No response. Minnie, ever smiling, grinned and sat up straight once again.

"I'm just glad you found my husband," she leaned forward, zeroing in on Mireya, "I was worried you'd missed him, what with Berry Blitzkrieg and all."

"He and Blues showed up right after we defeated them," Mireya nodded. "Like clockwork."

"I've noticed that this world works like thar more often than not," Minnie replied. "Perhaps it's Omni's will, but... it's not the most unpredictable realm I've ever lived in. You can usually count on things here. Perhaps not people—nah, Mickey says these Omniverse people are the worst bunch he's ever met for the most part, and I'm inclined to agree."

Mireya wrinkled her nose. The pair of mice weren't wrong.

"But at least you can trust that they're going to do what you expect," the mouse finished.

"Not always," Mireya warned.

Her pragmatism shone through especially in interactions with the majestic mouse queen. While her husband's brand of optimism was often foolish or downright stupid, it at least stemmed from a place of honesty, an endearing hope that the world was just as good as he dreamed. Minnie was inherently a good person—don't mistake Mireya, she believed that wholeheartedly—but she had proven much more calculating than her husband, and her recent brush with royal life in Ambrosia had only served to add to the sort of... regal overconfidence she exhibited.

Just then, the door to the Porcelain Throne burst open and Aladdin entered in a frenzy. Mireya spun around in her chair to look at the street rat, then turned back to Minnie. "Who's the kid?" she asked, a hint of disdain lacing her voice. This plan seemed more cracked every second.

"What is it, Aladdin?"

"He found him," Aladdin smiled, "Abu found the King."

Minnie, too, allowed a grin to spread from ear to ear. "Alright, boys. Do your thing."

In the corner, Shadow Man shifted in his booth and slid into view, joining the eager young thief by the door. "I won't fail you this time, Your Majesty!" the boy promised, and then he and Shadow Man turned and disappeared into the streets of Nippur.

Mireya scowled. She just knew something was about to go terribly wrong.