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Chapter Text

Not so long ago a brave and mischievous mouse and a lucky rabbit worked together to go through the dangerous obstacles from the many earthquakes in Wasteland as The Mad Doctor attempts to conquer the forgotten world. With their choices, they made him their new ally and the quakes have ended. Wasteland was at peace once again thanks to our heroes.

Our new chapter begins when the seven years pass. The toons of Wasteland continue to live their happy lives. When a miracle with light and darkness shall occur. Our heroes Mickey and Oswald have been the best of pals, or as they like to call themselves brothers. They loved going on adventures and hanging out together just like many siblings do. However, they still have a mystery to solve after all those years, to find a certain missing gremlin.

Currently, the two were in Ostown, admiring the new statue of the both of them, back to back. It was shiny like their bright future, and represented their new relationship status. Hopefully, people would look upon it and be motivated to do their best!

Mickey circled around the statue, a huge grin on his face. "This is amazing! You even got the details on my tail!" Mickey looked over at the gremlin responsible for the statue. "Thanks a lot for this! I mean it."

"Mickey's right! You got a killer talent!" Oswald said as he looked towards the gremlin. "The fountain looks better than ever! We really owe ya one!"

The gremlin blushed, "Ah, don't mention it. I was just doing my job!" He looked over at the statue with pride in his eyes. "It's probably my best work yet! I take joy out of a good well done."

Mickey and Oswald smiled, happy to know that others were smiling as well. Mickey then stopped smiling as he looked over at the Gag Factory. Oswald noticed this, and placed his hand on Mickey's shoulder. The same thought in their head, along with the same regret with the memories of what happened to the previous caretaker of the factory.

"Still thinking about Prescott?" The gremlin asked. "It's been seven years. He probably ran off and exiled himself, or worse. He probably got himself thinned out..." The gremlin shrugged, and waved his hand like he was brushing off the thought. "Less trouble for us, at least."

Oswald shook his head. "I'd say it's more trouble. Especially when all the versions of Pete ran off as well! Not only that, but last we saw of Prescott, he was hypnotized!"

Mickey nodded in agreement. "It would be impossible for him to break out of jail, so that leaves that out of the question."

"Well, I'd hate to interrupt, but I need to get going." The gremlin got his tool box and headed to the factory. "If I was you two, I would give up. However, you're not really toons to give up, are you?"

Both of them shook their heads. 

"I see. Well, I wish you the best of luck!"

"Take care!" 

~~˚˚˚~~

WSince the projectors were down, again, the town had to ride the train. It wasn't that bad, but it left some time to think. Perhaps, think too deeply. 

Mickey found himself remembering when he first stumbled upon Wasteland. It started with a disaster involving thinner, reasonably called the thinner disaster, and a terrifying monster made of paint and thinner. Both of these were caused by himself. He remembered how Oswald always seemed to be there for him. It was a rocky start for them, but despite it all, they became the best of pals.

Oswald, on the other hand, remembered how he came to Wasteland, and how his new home got destroyed. It hurt to know the one who caused the disaster was his little brother, but it was an accident. Oswald remembered how grateful he was when the one who caused him that pain was able to fix it, bringing back everything he lost. To work together again was a happy accident.

The train came to a stop, snapping the two out of their thoughts. A familiar voice calling out, "Now entering MeanStreet Station," as they got off of their seats and walked over to the door. When it opened, they made a speedy exit out of the train.

"Why did we have to come here anyways?" Mickey asked. "You know everyone has given up, so starting a search party won't get us anywhere."

"Well, I'm not stopping the search!" Oswald claimed. "Unless we find something that proves that the search is useless, I ain't stopping it!"

"If you say so..."

~~˚˚˚~~

They mostly had the D.E.C and the train as their main methods of transportation, so some areas were off limits. Of course, they sometimes got lost in the D.E.C, so they ended up in places they had no idea were connected by the tunnels. Like Mickey Junk Mountain, and that place brought back some memories. Like the ones with the Blot in the jug, and Ortensia getting turned inert. The two brushed it aside, and kept looking. 

As they climbed, Mickey had a sudden question. "Hey, Oswald? How do you feel about nicknames?"

"What brought this up?" Oswald asked, one of his eyebrows raised. 

"Well, I just... I always get an urge to call you Ozzie, and-"

"You can call me that."

Mickey blinked a few times, surprised by his answer. "Wait... Really?"

Oswald nodded. "On one condition: not in front of anyone else. Don't want anyone to think I'm going soft."

Mickey rolled his eyes and smiled. "Whatever you say, Ozzie."

The two of them chuckled, then laughed. 

Oswald was able to stop laughing first. "Hey, Mickey! Let's have a race to see who can get to the top first! Ready? Go!"

"Hey! That's not fair! You had a head start!" Mickey shouted as Oswald ran ahead, then ran after him.

~~˚˚˚~~

The both of them were panting when they got up there. They don't know which one of them won, but it didn't matter. They had fun. Oswald sat down, looking across the horizon. Despite it being a junkyard, Mickey Junk Mountain was the tallest mountain in Wasteland, and it offered an amazing view of the land and sky.

"Whoa... Wasteland looks amazing!" Mickey exclaimed. "Wasteland is becoming a better place. We should probably stop calling it Wasteland at some point."

Oswald shrugged. "At this point, it's stuck for us."

A strange whooshing noise was heard by the both of them. They looked around to find where it came from. There was another one. This prompted them to look into the sky, to see multiple shooting stars past by. 

"Whoa... talk about amazing timing." Oswald stood back up. "I never got a good view of this. Even from up here."

Oswald looked over at Mickey, who had his eyes closed. "Hey, Mickey. What are you doing?"

"Making a wish! Why don't you make one?"

Oswald shrugged. "I don't see why not." He closed his eyes, and poured out his desires to the stars. 

Mickey, who had his eyes open now that he made his wish, looked into the sky again. He noticed two stars that weren't moving, but instead were growing bigger. Why could that be? Well, it's really simple. Those stars were heading towards the two. By the time Mickey realized that. It was too late as both of them got hit on the forehead and got knocked down.

"Ugh... What was that?" Oswald sat up, hand on his forehead. "That hurt..."

There was then a light, shining from the stars. The two looked away, not wanting to get blinded. After a moment, they looked and saw that the stars had transformed into something unusual. Around the stars were strange looking cards.

"Well, that was odd... What was that about?" Mickey got up, and went over the stars. "I'm no stranger to magic, but that was out of this world."

Oswald, who was already near the stars, picked up one of them. It was blue, and it gave him a tingling sensation. "My question is, what did they turn into...? And what's with the cards?"

"No idea... But, look! They got the silhouette of our heads on them!" 

"These merch of yours?"

Mickey shook his head. "Couldn't be. Besides, I wouldn't know." Mickey picked up the red one. "They got a funny slot... Kind of like those credit card things!"

"Pardon?"

"Um... never mind."

As if anything couldn't get any more confusing, the stars shined again, and two strange creatures came out of them. Almost like the stars were a portal.

One of the creatures was blue with bunny ears, and the other was red with mouse ears. It surprised Mickey and Oswald, but they weren't scared. 

"Aw, these guys are kinda cute," Mickey said. "They look like a mini version of us!"

"You're not... scared of us?" Said the mini Mickey. 

"Whoa! You can talk? That's a relief." Oswald cleared his throat. "To answer your question, no. We've dealt with worse, and scarier. What are you guys anyways?"

"That's... a difficult question to answer." The mini Oswald blushed. "But basically we're creatures made from your wishes."

"That's crazy, but I'm not in a position to not believe you..." Mickey showed the minis the star. "You came out of this thing. What is it exactly?"

"That's a Card Commune. It-"

The ground started shaking under them, knocking the two off their feet. Across from the mountain, another mountain started rising from the ground. Mickey and Oswald watched as the new mountain grew, and noticed that on top of that mountain was Big Bad Pete. He was laughing loudly, and it even echoed in the air.

"Well, would you lookie here, if it ain't Mickey the Mouse. Long time, no see." Pete laughed again. "Sadly, I got much more powerful, so I hope you have fun eating dirt!"

Pete clenched his hands into fist, then slammed them into the ground. Another tremor shook the ground, and a rumbling could be heard. The two looked behind them, and saw a large cliff grow behind them. As it grew, big chunks of the cliff started rolling towards the two.

"You can't beat him in your current state! He's powered by a wish!" The mini Mickey grabbed a card and gave it to Mickey. "Quick! Use it on the Card Commune!"

"What? How?"

"You have to-" Before the mini Mickey was able to finish, he got hit by one of the rocks. 

Mickey tried to reach for his tiny self, but he couldn't. Oswald got up, and grabbed Mickey by the arm, and dragged him down the mountain. 

"If I had to guess, we have to swipe the cards through the slot. Is that it?" Oswald looked at his mini self as he ran down the mountain. 

"Yeah! That's right! I got your card here!" Mini Oswald looked behind them. "We have to be quick! I don't think the avalanche will stop unless that big meanie is defeated!"

Oswald looked for a place to hide from the rock storm. Over to the side, there was a cave. He quickly went into it, and put Mickey down. Mickey was shaken.

"Hope the little guy is okay..." Let's see..." Oswald took the card from Mini Oswald, and swiped it in the Card Commune. A soft but shiny light surrounded Oswald, as everyone watched in awe. After a while, the light faded and he was suddenly in knights armor. "What just happened? It felt like I went through some kind of transformation!"

"It looked like it, too!" Mickey stood up. "How do you feel?"

"Like I have new instincts, and new strength..." Oswald clenched and unclenched his hand. "I think I understand what I need to do to beat him." 

Oswald looked outside of the cave, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone. Mickey and Mini Oswald looked outside of the cave to see Oswald had roundhouse kicked Pete in the face. 

"Oswald is strong in that form, but he'd be super stronger if you'd transformed as well." Mini Oswald looked over the path, down to where Mini Mickey should be. "I hope he's alright. That was no normal rock."

"How do we get down there?"

"I'll go down there, you keep an eye on your brother."

"Wha- hey! Wait!"

Mickey watched as Mini Oswald went down to find Mini Mickey. Mickey looked and watched as Oswald was jumping around, douging attacks, and attacking back. Sometimes, Oswald managed to kick a rock back at Pete, It was never enough. 

"Mickey! I got him!"

Mini Oswald and Mini Mickey flew up to where Mickey could see them. Mini Mickey then threw the card at Mickey, which he easily caught. He swiped the card, and a light enveloped him like it did with Oswald. When it released him, he recognized the outfit.

"Hey! It's my apprentice outfit when I was with Yen Sid!" 

"Don't worry about that! You need to help Oswald!" Mini Mickey and Mini Oswlald grabbed him by the robes. "We'll get you over there. You just need to use your magic!"

"How?"

"It comes from your imagination! Just think of something, and it will happen! Make sure you focus!"

Mickey nodded, and closed his eyes. He imagined a meteor shower, like the one from before. Yes, it was clear in his mind. The beautiful night sky and the crisp air. It was amazing that something so peaceful started something so chaotic.

Mickey opened his eyes when he heard an explosion. A meteor had struck the mountain, and it had directly hit Big Bad Pete. Oswald was on the original mountain, looking angry.

"Watch where you aim, Michael! I could've gotten hurt!"

Mickey was safely put down near Oswald. "Sorry, Ozzie. I'm new at this."

"Hey, it was kinda odd..." Mini Mickey mumbled. "We should've been in those belts of yours, and there were certain things you were supposed to say."

"Not only that, I'm sure you could only transform at the same time." Mini Oswald pointed out. 

Oswald shrugged. "Not sure how to help you, but if you're talking about calling out attacks..."

"It might be better if we didn't. That way, they don't know what to expect." Mickey laughed. "Anyways, the only answer I could give you is "cartoon logic," because I'm not an expert at Wish Magic."

The two creatures looked at each other and sighed. "Yeah, thinking about it won't get us anywhere." Mini Mickey said.

"Hey, quick question. Do you two have names?" Mickey asked.

The creatures shook their heads.

"Well, we gotta fix that. Let's see..." Oswald booped Mini Oswald on the nose. "I'm gonna call you Ollie!"

Mickey chuckled. "I thought you were gonna call him Oswald #421." 

"Hush you."

"Well, I'm gonna call this little guy..." Mickey booped Mini Mickey on the nose. "Mikey." 

"Okay!" Mikey had a huge grin on him. "Makes sense we get similar names since we look so similar!"

"Ollie... Ollie..." Ollie tones his name by saying it in different names. "I don't have a problem with it. Rolls off the tongue."

Mikey flew around Mickey a few times. "You two were naturals! You're gonna be the greatest heroes in the world!"

Mickey chuckled. "Gosh, thanks fellas, but we've been heroes. We could tell you the story if you'd like."

Mikey and Ollie nodded. 

"We should get home, though." Oswald said. "It's getting late, and Ortensia might start worrying." 

"Right! I hope the projectors are working. It'll take a while otherwise."

They started heading to Ostown, telling the story of their previous heroics to their new friends. Mickey looked backed at the mountain Pete had made and wondered how he got his new found powers... 

And what was that outfit he was wearing?!

Chapter Text

The birds sang as they flew by the blue sky. There in the middle of Mean Street North, Mickey sat on a bench looking down thinking and thinking about the events from yesterday. His question of how Pete got that power racked his mind, along with the question of his power. Will it be permanent? What if it isn't? What would happen if it ran out while other bad folks had such power?

"Hey, Mickey, I'm hungry."

Mickey looked over to see Mikey sitting next to him. Earlier, Mikey and Ollie had said that they might have to hide in the Card Commune, but Oswald was certain that a world filled with cows, dogs, and goats walking on two legs would mind a little creature like them, and he was right.

"I guess you haven't eaten all day, huh? Does ice cream sound good?"

Mikey shook his head. "There's a certain card you have to swipe. It's the Chef's card!" 

"Um... Didn't I leave the card at the-"

"Nope! I got them!" Mikey took out a small deck of cards, and handed Mickey a certain card. "Swipe this one."

Mickey nodded, and swiped the card through the commune.

A bubble popped from the commune. "Bonjour, Monsieur Mickey, what do you crave today?" It said.

"Um.. What do you have, exactly?" 

Anything, and everything, votre cœur le désire." A menu popped up underneath it, with every dish that Mickey heard of, dreamed of, and much more. 

"Geez... I'm overwhelmed, but I'm craving something savory..." Mikey looked through. "I'm gonna get a grilled cheese sandwich... do you want anything, Mickey?"

Mickey shook his head. "I'm good."

The chef made the grilled cheese sandwich. There was no show of it, just a sudden grilled cheese sandwich with the bread crispy, and the cheese melted in as instant. It was as big as Mikey, so it should fill him up. 

Mikey ate the sandwich, getting cheese all over him. 

"You must have been hungry." Mickey chucked. "Then again, I guess we missed dinner..."

"You should've gotten something then!" Mikey said after he finished, then he yawned. "Man, I'm tired. I wanna take a nap... there should be a bedtime card in the deck..."

Mickey looked through the deck, and pulled out a card. "Is it this one?"

"Yeah, that's it... just swipe it..."

Mickey does so, and then watches as a bubble surrounds a sleepy Mikey. Mikey fell as the bubble went to the card commune. 

"Hey! Mickey!" 

Mickey looked over to see Oswald running over to him. They waved at each other, smiling. Oswald slowed down as he got closer to Mickey, then sat down next to him on the bench. "Where's Mikey? Did he run off?"

"He's taking a nap. Where's Ollie?" 

"Exploring. I told him to stay in this area, so he won't get lost." Oswald shrugged. "I trust the little guy, and Mean Street north is a small place. In fact, I see him over at the ice cream shop."

Mickey looked over at the shop, and Ollie was looking through the window. A toon, a harmless toon, had walked over to Ollie, and started talking. 

"I was right. They'd fit in just fine. Nothing to worry about." Oswald looked over at Mickey, to see that his little brother was lost in thought. "Hey, what's up?"

"I was just wondering... If Big Bad Pete came back, and with all that power, will the other Petes come back with just as much power?" Mickey sighed. "What about Prescott? Is he okay? Will he have those powers as well?"

"You seem really concerned about Prescott..."

"I guess I'm on the same boat as Gus... Prescott helped me out big time, I can't believe he's a bad person."

Oswald nodded. "I can understand that. Ortensia told me the kiddos usually bothered him when he worked in the factory, and even before that, but he was always patient with them." Oswald sighed as well. "Even Doc admitted that Prescott was manipulated."

"I hope we can find him. He doesn't deserve what happened to him!"

"Well, ain't that sweet. You two are worried about a gullible gremlin!" 

The two turned around to see Petetronic, leaning over them. He had a huge grin on him. 

"Um, hey, Petetronic! Nice weather we're having!" Mickey nervously chuckled. "How can we help ya?"

"Hmm... Well, I heard ya did a big number on Big Bad, and I was hoping you would pay up before there's any trouble." Petetronic leaned down. "The damage is about a million E-Tickets, but those Communes of yours will do nicely."

"Communes?" Oswald asked, playing dumb. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Petetronic laughed. "Let me put it another way." He grabbed their heads and turned them to look. "Remember what I said about trouble? Either you pay up, or give up before I make a million dollars worth of damage myself. Don't bother playing dumb."

Oswald sighed. "Why do you want these Communes?"

"Simple, the boss wants them."

"The boss?"

Petetronic sighed. "Let's take this story elsewhere. Follow me." 

Petetronic walked off. Mickey and Oswald looked at each other, and gulped. They got off the bench, and followed Petetronic. They walked over to the plaza with the projectors. Two gremlins were there, but fled when Petetronic glared at them.

Petetronic leaned on the statue, and it surprisingly supported his weight. "It started at the Mad Doc's attic. We had gotten someone to look into some outfits we found, Pete was wearing one, if you can recall. He started ranting about something, didn't know nor didn't care what it was about, and a black creature showed up. I can't recall what happened afterwards, but we got these powers. But mister costume man is super powerful, so he's the boss. If you don't wanna meet him, don't bother fighting us, and give us the Communes."

"Sorry, Petetronic, but we can't do that!" 

"Mickey! Oswald!"

Mikey and Ollie exited the Communes. "There's no way we'll get him off our back! Transform and kick his butt!"

Mickey and Oswald as they took out their Communes and their transformation cards.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Petetronic laughed. "You might damage something." 

They hesitated, but Oswald looked at Mickey. "Let me take care of him!"

"Ozzie-"

Oswald swiped the card, and transformed. He leaped at Petetronic, but before he got a hit on him, Oswald got tackled by a Beetleworx.

"Ozzie!" Mickey looked at the Beetleworks. "Impossible... I thought they were on our side!"

Petetronic laughed. "That's my power! I can control electricity and electronics, and make them do things they originally couldn't do!" 

"Oh no! What can we do?"

Oswald got up. "I got this! Let me take care of it!" Oswald jumped around, then back at Petetronic, but got tackled again. "Come on! Let me get a hit on you!"

Oswald kept going after Pete, and failing to get anywhere. Mickey watched in horror, as his older brother was smacked around. He had to do something, but what? If he does the meteor, there would be massive damage! 

"Mickey! You have to help him!" Mikey said. "You have the most powerful magic! Your imagination!"

Wait... It's not just meteors? Let's see... Mickey imagined the Beetleworx being nice again, and not attacking Oswald. Maybe helping them out? It was hard to get a good picture in his head. He closed his eyes, and squeezed them shut, but he could still hear Oswald getting pushed around. Why wasn't it working?

Wait, he forgot to swipe the card.

Mickey, while his eyes were still closed, managed to swipe the transformation card into the Commune, and transformed. He focused on the image in his head. He could make the machines stop moving.

"What da- Why have they stopped moving?" Petetronic noticed Mickey. "Oh no you don't-"

"You don't either!" Oswald said right before he kicked Petetronic in the back of his head. Petetronic fell to the ground, and Oswald did a flip before he landed on his feet. "Hey, Mickey, did you make the Beetleworx stop attacking?"

Mickey opened his eyes and nodded. 

Oswald smiled. "Thanks... I mean it."

Mickey smiled. The both of them suddenly heard applause, and looked over to see a crowd of toons cheering for them.

"That was amazing!"

"I know you could do it!"

"How'd you get those powers?"

Mickey and Oswald blushed. "Aw, thanks guys!"

After the cheers and transforming back to their original forms, they looked to see Petetronic had retreated. There wasn't much they could do, since they had no idea where he ran off too, and they were tired. They had decided to treat themselves to some ice cream.

"Hey, Ozzie. You remember how Petetronic mentioned some outfits, and a guy looking into them?" Mickey looked out the window. "And then that guy got super powerful?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Oswald took a bite of his ice cream.

"Do you think this guy could be... Prescott?"

Chapter Text

What we have seen so far in our story is starting to pick up. As Petetronic told our heroes of a toon with mysterious dark power and a strange creature. Apparently, this happened in the Mad Doctors Attic. With this in mind, our heroes went to investigate the shrouded mystery.

Mickey looked around. "If Petetronic hadn't said anything, I couldn't tell anyone was in here." Mickey lifted some metal up, not finding anything. "But at this point, he could be lying."

"Even so, we could pick up some scrap metal here." Oswald was looking at the props that were meant for the Doctor's broadcast. "Jamface said he needed some more."

"What for?"

"He didn't say, but I'm guessing he just needs to get more on hand just in case."

Oswald and Mickey suddenly heard giggling. They looked over to see Ollie and Mikey, and a prop that looked like Oswald with a recently drawn mustache on it. Mikey held a marker in his stubby hands.

"Having fun over there?" As the two Star Spirits jumped in surprise.

"Um... uh..." 

Mickey chuckled. "It's fine." He walked over to the prop. "Hey, could I see that?"

"Um... sure."

Mikey gave Mickey the marker. They watched as Mickey doodled on some eyebrows. The Star Spirits giggled, until Oswald walked over.

"Let me see it."

Mickey was confused by this, but gave the marker to Oswald.

"If you're gonna give a toon facial hair, at least give him a monocle." Oswald then drew a monocle on the prop version of him.

"Wait! He's missing something! Let me see it!" 

Oswald gave the marker to Ollie, who drew on a little bowtie. The prop looked ridiculous, and the four of them laughed. Mikey looked around, and went over to another prop.

"Look at this one! It looks like one of those Pete guys!"

The rest of them walked over. The said prop did look like one of the Petes. In fact it looked like Pete Pan, and it was very funny looking, especially in that outfit. It kinda looked like one of the outfits Big Pete and Petetronic wore. 

"Wait a second..." Mickey tiptoed to the prop and poked it in the belly. 

The belly jiggled, and the prop giggled. "That tickled."

Oswald and Mickey grabbed Ollie and Mikey, respectively, and jumped back from Pete Pan. Pete Pan chuckled from this, then laughed.

"So you decided to show up, huh? Here's a tip for next time. If you don't want my attention, don't go through Venture Land!" Pete looked over and chuckled. "As if there will be a next time."

"Mikey, Ollie, he's after you guys! Get into the Communes! We got this handled!"

They nodded. "Right!" They then flew into their respective Card Commune.

"Ready, Ozzie?"

"Sure am!"

The two swiped the cards into the Communes and transformed. Despite that the "only transform at the same time" rule didn't apply to them, it was still awesome to them. Especially when they ended it with a pose.

"So you think you're gonna win again, huh? We'll see about that." Pete looks over at a hole in the roof, and whistles. His little sprite friend over, but she looked different. Instead of that light blue aura, it was an eerie purple. 

"Give it to 'em!" 

The sprite flew around them, getting pixie dust on the two. They started floating, and were completely helpless.

"Not very creative of you, Pete!" 

Pete Pan laughed. "You haven't seen the best of it! My power includes an infinite supply of pixie dust, and that doesn't scratch the surface!"

Pete Pan lifted his sword and the sprite covered it in dust. The sword transformed into something more intimidating. It became sharper, and shinier. It also became a golden color. "Say hello to my little friend, the Dust Dagger! Now say goodbye to those Communes!"

Pete Pan swung his sword above his head in a circle. In between them, a tornado of dust appeared. Mickey and Oswald were caught up in it, and were spun around. Not only were they dizzy, but they were occasionally and suddenly slammed into the ground or into the wall. Pete Pan laughed at the hero's suffering.

"Mickey! You got to do something!" Oswald shouted as he was thrown around and slammed into a wall, causing something to fall on him.

"I can't think when my eyes are watering and my stom-" Mickey gagged. "-stomach feels awful."

Pete Pan laughed some more. "If you want this to stop, you better give up!"

"Never!"

Mickey closed his eyes, and squeezed them shut. He racked his brain for an answer, anything that can work. A giant fan? No, that will blow all of them away, and the cycle will start over. A hang-glider? That may stabilize him, but then what? Wings?

That's perfect! He can stabilize himself, and it may help blow away the dust! But what kind of wings? What does it matter? As long as it can help him maneuver in the air, and blow the dust away, it'll work!

Mickey started imagining himself with wings, not sure what kind, but he felt them growing on his back. As if by instinct, he was able to resist the wind, and kept himself from getting tossed around anymore.

"Hey, Pete Pan!"

Pete Pan looked at Mickey, but realized that he was screwed. 

"Flying beats ground!" Mickey created a strong gust of wind from a flap of his wings. The dust, and the tornado as well, were blown back, and Pete Pan was knocked off his feet. He was thrown out of the attic and never seen again. Big maybe on the latter part, actually. 

"Nice one, Mickey!" Oswald walked over to the mouse. "Shame I couldn't get a hit on him." 

Mickey shrugged. "I think you'll get the next one. I'm sensing a pattern here." Mickey took out the Commune from his belt and turned back to normal, causing Mikey to pop out of the Commune. "I defeated Big Bad Pete, then you had defeated Petetronic, then I defeated Pete Pan, and I think you'll get the next one."

Oswald took out the Commune out of his belt as well, turning back and causing Ollie to pop out. "Any guesses on who the next one is?"

"Probably Small Pete."

Oswald sighed. "Please let me kick his butt. He was annoying. Especially at Rainbow Falls." 

"Um.. Have fun, don't get arrested."

"Mickey, I'm the king here, and I would never do such a thing."

Mickey nodded. "That's true."

"Hey, hate to interrupt, but this search was a bust..." Mikey flew between them. "Can we go back to MeanStreet?"

Mickey and Oswald nodded, then noticed something. "Hey, where's Ollie?"

Mikey pointed over to a room. "He went over there. The door broke during the fight, so he went in there." 

Oswald looked at Mickey. Mickey looked at Oswald. They both nodded. 

Mickey looked at Mikey and gave him a soft smile. "We'll give that room a look over and we'll go immediately to MeanStreet, okay?"

"Alright."

The three of them went over to the room that Mikey was talking about. Mickey and Oswald remembered that room, it was the room where the Mad Doctor's diary laid, the room where Mickey and Oswald found out that the Doctor betrayed them. Not only did the Mad Doctor betray them, but the entire Wasteland. 

Speaking of the diary, Ollie was watching as the diary flipped on its own, and listened to the song. 

"It won't be long 'til Wasteland will be destroyed, and soon I'll be a toon..." Seems like they caught him just as it was ending. "Dear Diary, who's the maddest mad doctor of all? Wonderfully evil me!"

The last page of the diary showed five toons in front of Dark Beauty Castle. The Mad Doctor up front and center, to his left, Oswald and a random purple gremlin, probably Jamface or Makus, and to his right, Gus and Prescott. 

Ollie looked back at Mickey and Oswald, the Star Spirit had been crying. "Did you know about this...?"

Oswald nodded. "We did. It did hurt, but in the end, we were able to do the right thing and save Wasteland." 

"What are you two talking about anyways?" Mikey flew up next to Ollie. "Why are you sad?"

"Hang on. I'll show you. Let me see if I can-"

Sudden static came from the diary. The book flipped, but there was nothing on the pages. 

"Is... Is this thing on?" A voice came from the diary. It was oh, so familiar. "Why am I doing this...? No one is going to find this..."

"It's Prescott-" Mickey was shushed by Oswald as the audio continued. 

"Seven years... Seven years according to them... They could be lying. They have to be lying, right? There's no way I was abandoned like this..." Seems like Prescott was crying, since his voice was cracking and a sudden sniff was heard. "No... I deserve this... Why are you crying, stupid gremlin? It won't get you anywhere..."

"He was here the whole time? Why didn't we look here?" 

Oswald shrugged, and shook his head. He didn't say anything, but Mickey could tell rage was boiling inside him. 

"The Pete's brought in some outfits today... quite confusing, really... However, there's a magical aura to them... Gus would know more, but..." Prescott sighed. "I thought they would give up on these plans... I can't build anything they want me to... You're just realizing this now? Of course you can't do anything... This is why you got stuck in the Gag Factory. This is why the Mad Doctor tricked you! You're a fool! A fool and nothing more!"

There was silence, aside from a few sobs. Nobody moved, no one spoke, not a single breath was taken. Even the wind from the many holes had stopped blowing.

"I... I wish... I just..." Prescott sighed, causing the audio to get a bit staticy. "I..."

The audio started glitching out, then cut off. The book shut itself, and everyone stopped holding their breath. 

"He had a lot of wishes on his heart..." Mikey looked at Mickey. "I guess he couldn't choose. I wonder what they were."

"Can multiple wishes be granted?" Mickey asked.

"I don't think so, but at the same time, I don't think anyone has ever tried." Ollie looked at Oswald. "I think this is a pretty big hint. Song and dance aside, you can pinpoint the moment where things went wrong."

Oswald grabbed the diary. "Then we're taking it with us. We have no idea where he went, but we got a few leads." Oswald held up his hand. "First, we need to figure out what those outfits are enchanted with, then, we gotta find out what Prescott's wish, or wishes, were."

"Why should we focus on the wishes?"

"There's a method to my madness. I think the wishes have a link to our power. Also, I think this power will disappear if the wishes are granted, if I had to guess."

Mickey smiled. "Then we need to get started... after we rest up. There's pixie dust in my shoes." 

Oswald nodded. "That stuff gets everywhere."

Then the group left the attic with a new determination in their souls and their steps. The journey won't be easy, but that has never stopped them before, and it won't stop them now.

Chapter Text

Nine o'clock am, a somewhat reasonable time to get woken up by a crash in the kitchen. It was loud, and definitely concerning. If it didn't wake up the whole household, it definitely woke up a certain mouse that was sleeping on the couch. Said mouse was obviously Mickey, who had rolled off the couch and landed on the floor. After sitting himself up, and rubbing the pain out of his face, he stood up and went to investigate the kitchen.

Looking inside the kitchen, Mickey quickly found the cause of the crash. About a tenth of the bunny children were in there, and a few of the dishes had fallen onto the floor and broke. The bunny children had noticed their Uncle Mickey had entered the kitchen.

"You guys okay?" Mickey walked over to them. "Nobody hurt?"

"We're fine," One of them replied, a shameful expression on their face, "but we... we..."

"Oh, dear! What happened here?"

Mickey looked back to the kitchen entrance to see two toons standing there. One of them was Oswald, who looked so tired, and the other was a cat toon known as Ortensia, who had a worried look on her face.

"Just a small accident," Mickey assured her, "No one got hurt. Unless some dishes count."

Mickey let out his signature chuckle as Ortensia walked over to the mess. She sighed and looked over at Oswald.

"Do you remember where we put the broom and dust pan?" Ortensia asked, watching her husband rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"It should be where we last left it." Oswald yawned. "I'll see if I can't find it. Could you make me some coffee in the meantime, please?"

Ortensia giggled. "Of course, Hunny-Bunny."

Oswald smiled, and went to look for the broom and dust-pan. In the meantime, Ortensia went to make her "Hunny-Bunny" some coffee. Mickey, not really having anything to do, sat down in a nearby chair. The calm aura of the household made the recent events seem surreal. The only chaotic thing around were the bunny children, and even they were calm.

"Hey, Uncle Mickey?" One of the kiddos tapped on Mickey's knee. "Daddy said you and him found something."

"Oh, that's right, you did." Ortensia looked over at Mickey. "What did you find?"

Mickey glanced away. "Well, it's difficult to explain, but it's a lead on finding Prescott. It's kinda sad, though."

"Oh, dear..."

A sudden yelp was heard. It was followed by the sound of things falling. Mickey and Ortensia looked out the entrance of the kitchen to see Oswald getting ambushed by the supplies from a closet. After everything fell on the poor rabbit, he chuckled.

"I'm okay!" Oswald struggled out from under the pile. "I found the things."

"You need help over there?"

"No." Oswald realized he couldn't get out from under. "Yeah."

~~~

When it came to cooking, Ortensia was a goddess. If the taste wasn't convincing enough, then Oswald ramblings about it would eventually break someone. Really, it was nice to see a good healthy couple like them, but if the sweet pancakes didn't rot one's teeth, then it would be these two.

Luckily, Mickey reminded them about their findings.

Oswald filled Ortensia of what, exactly, they found. He simplified what Prescott had said, telling Ortensia what she needed to know. Ortensia entered her two cents, trying to help out.

Mickey cleared his throat. "Hate to interrupt, but where's Mikey and Ollie?"

"Um..."

A sudden squeak was heard behind Oswald. They looked back to see that, speak-of-the-devil, Ollie and Mikey were up. Some of the bunny children were bouncing around them.

Oswald chuckled. "Found them."

The two star sprites flew over to them.

"Morning, guys!" Mikey looked over the table. "Oh, those look so tasty! Can we have some?"

"I'm sure we have more left. You two can make your own plate." Ortensia gave a kind smile. "Will you two need some help?"

"I think we got it." Ollie assured, before following Mikey to get a plate.

"Hey, I think you two should tell Gus about this," Ortensia suggested to the two of them. "He's the one who was most devastated by Pressy's disappearance. You should let him know first."

Oswald nodded. "It definitely feels like the right thing to do."

Mickey grinned and stood up. "Then it's settled! We'll make our way to MeanStreet and tell Gus!"

"Huh? Right now?"

Mickey looked over to see Mikey and Ollie coming back over, working together to hold a plate holding enough food to feed the both of them.

Mickey sat back down. "Um... no."

~~~

Making their way downtown to MeanStreet North, where Gus normally is nowadays. It was a mystery why Gus hung around there, but that's where they normally found the elderly gremlin. It was crazy how things changed over seven years. Like a bridge between the north and south of MeanStreet was built, making travel between the two easier.

The group passed by some toon, but with no time to chat, they waved and ran towards the projectors.

As suspected, they found Gus there. He was talking to a group of gremlins, at least three of them. Mickey and Oswald walked over, curious but not wanting to disturb.

"-And we need to be on guard! I'm not sure you've seen the reports, but the Pete's have been showing up with strange powers and causing mayhem!" Gus pointed towards the gremlins. "Until we know how to combat them, it's your responsibility to report to me when you see them. Any questions?"

"Hey, Gus?"

Gus looked behind him, seeing Mickey and Oswald. "Good morning, you two." Gus smiled, then looked back at the gremlins, raised his hand and a finger to quietly tell them to give him a minute before looking back at Mickey and Oswald. "How may I help you two today?"

Mickey and Oswald looked at each other before Mickey sighed.

"It's about Prescott. We found something." Mickey handed Gus the Mad Doctor's Diary. "In a place we would've never thought to look."

"Isn't this...?" Gus examied it, "But how did you find it?"

"A friend of ours got curious," Oswald explained. "It was pure luck if anything."

"It's past the Doc's old scheme. Not sure how to skip it."

Gus made an eyebrow raising motion. "Have you tried flipping the pages?"

An awkward silence followed.

Oswald started pouting. "In our defense, this is the only time we're showing this to anyone else."

~~~

Hearing it the second time didn't make it hurt less. Mickey and Oswald looked over at Gus and the other gremlins. The others were whispering among themselves, looking like they were going to cry, while Gus had an unreadable expression. Gus closed the diary, and looked at the two.

"So, you came to me first?" Gus sighed. "I'm not knowledgeable about the outfits, but if I could get a sample of the fabric, we would get somewhere."

Gus handed the diary back to them. "We need to go to Gremlin Village. We can get there by train."

"There's a train station in Gremlin Village?"

"Crazy how things change during seven years, isn't it," Gus asked with a smile and a wink, then looked at the gremlins. "If you three don't have any questions, you are free to go."

The gremlins saluted and teleported off. Gus flew off to the train station, leaving Mickey and Oswald to chase after him.

~~~

Not much to say about the train ride, except that, as promised, it was going to Gremlin Village. The craggy mountain area where the village resided passed by their window. When he last visited the village, Mickey remembered that it was really dark, literally. Gus was rambling on about how the village had been changed and upgraded.

"I'm really proud of our Gentrification Team. Having more toons come in and having the rides be used again really has been a pleasant change." Gus had a prideful aura to him, looking probably more proud than he'll ever admit. "But, I can't help but wonder..."

Gus sighed and looked out a window. Mickey and Oswald, while curious, decided it would be better to not pry. Mickey put his hand on Gus' shoulder and gave him a soft smile.

"Now arriving at Gremlin Village Station," A voice over the intercom announced.

"That's our cue. Let's go!" Oswald got off his seat, only to fall over from the train's sudden but inevitable stop. "Today's not my day..."

~~~

Gus wasn't lying, plain and simple. Gremlin Village looked amazing! It was brighter, in color and lighting standards, and simply more cheerful. The houses didn't look rusty and ruined, and looked so lovely.

Gus led them to his house, claiming he had a plan to figure out the mysterious outfits. Apparently, he had a "surprise tool he knew would help them later." Oswald got the joke, Mickey didn't. Gus simply cleared his throat and continued on.

Eventually, the three had reached the house. It was upgraded like everything else, but it was more on the simple side. Definitely a house to be proud of. A gremlin was standing outside, holding something. The gremlin noticed them and put the item away, then went over to greet them.

"Uncle Gus, you're back," The gremlin noted with a smile.

"Good to see you too, Markus." Gus looked around. "May I ask what you were up to?"

"Oh, well... funny story." Markus took out the item he had out earlier, which was a little back of flower seeds. "Someone recommended that some flowers would make the place friendlier looking."

Gus nodded in agreement. "I guess it would." Gus cleared his throat. "No matter, the reason I'm here is because... we have a lead."

"You do? That's amazing!"

"It's pure luck if anything." Gus went over to his house, and opened the door. "Come on in. I'll explain everything once we're inside."

~~~

Once inside, Gus had handed Markus the diary. "Skip a few pages. About eleven or so." He turned to Mickey and Oswald. "You two follow me."

The two followed Gus, over to a wardrobe. At first, it looked normal, with multiple copies of Gus's usual outfit. Except that Gus pushed a few of the outfits aside to reveal a switch. After flipping the switch, the wardrobe's inside went upwards to reveal an elevator.

"After you." Gus stepped aside to let them through.

The two went in, Gus going in after them. Gus pressed a few buttons, the elevator door closing as a result. Then they felt the elevator had started moving downwards.

Gus turned to them. "Do you two have your star sprites with you?"

Mickey nodded, pulling his commune out of his pocket. "They fell asleep after breakfast." Mickey tapped on his commune. "Wake up, Mikey. You slept long enough."

Oswald took his commune out and tapped on it as well. "Hey, Gus. Why exactly do you have an elevator? Can't you easily teleport to your lab?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, you two can't teleport." Gus smiled. "Plus, elevator's are cool."

The elevator finally stopped, and the doors opened. Oswald was the first to walk out, but he tripped.

"Oh, come on!"

~~~

"Why did you wake us up?" Mikey rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes.

"Yeah." Ollie yawned. "I was in the middle of a cool dream, too."

"I have a way to figure out the mystery of the outfits," Gus said as he pulled out a blackboard out of nowhere, "but we'll need a sample. However, Small Pete has been spotted lurking around."

"So here's the plan..."The blackboard suddenly had little doodles of Mickey, Oswald and Small Pete. The doodles started fighting once they appeared. "You two will need to distract Small Pete, while I take a piece of his outfit." A doodle of Gus appeared behind Small Pete. It reached for Small Pete, and ended up stealing his underwear. All of the doodles looked surprised.

The background setup changed into the three in front of a supercomputer. "Then, we take it back to the lab, and scan it." The screen on the doodle computer had a sudden question mark on it. "Hopefully, it'll give us an answer. Maybe even tell us where Prescott is now." At that last statement, a silhouette of Prescott appeared on the doodle computer.

Gus pushed the blackboard away with a sigh. He cleared his throat again. "Any questions?"

"Well, not at the moment, no."

The sound of someone teleporting behind was heard. They looked behind them to see Markus, holding the diary. He had a confused look on his face. He suddenly dropped the book.

"Markus?" Gus flew over to him. "What's wrong?"

"What's going on?" Mikey went to fly over to Gus and Markus before Ollie stopped him.

"You said Prescott was gone, right?" Markus looked around.

"He is currently missing, but why do you ask?"

"I just saw him earlier. He's the one who gave me the seed packet."

A wave of shock overcame everyone. Prescott, a gremlin who was missing for seven years, showed to, what? Give Markus flower seeds?

Before anyone could ask why, the ground started shaking. Above ground, screaming could be heard. Before they could make their way to the elevator, something broke through the roof and grabbed Mickey. The thing, which looked like a vine, pulled him out as a familiar evil laughter filled the air.

Oswald pulled out his commune and his card, and then proceeded to swipe the card on the commune. Once he transformed, he leaped out of the lad through the hole the vine left. He then landed on the ground, on his feet perfectly. He yelped when he saw multiple giant, horrifying plants had suddenly grown. They had wrapped themselves around buildings, street lamps, and whatever else they could.

Toons were running around in a panic. Some toons had been grabbed by the plant's vines, others were trying to get the trapped toon free, and a few were abandoning everyone and will probably sleep on the couch tonight.

Oswald drew his attention to the tallest building, where Small Pete stood. Next to him, Mickey dangled over the mouth of one of the monstrous plants. So they were man-eating plants, lovely.

"We need to get up there." Mikey was flying around in a panic manner. "Mickey's gonna get hurt, or worse!"

"Don't worry," Oswald assured, "This will be a piece of cake!"

Oswald, with his wish power, was able to jump up to the top of the building.

"Small Pete!" Oswald stormed up to the big cat. "You better let go of Mickey if you know what's good for you!"

"Well, if it isn't Oswald the Unlucky Rabbit." Small Pete chuckled at his joke. "You gotta lotta nerve to come up here!"

"You got a lot of nerve to attack Gremlin Village! What are you doing here anyways?"

"Big Boss said we needed the old man here to learn about these bad boys!" Small Pete tug on his outfit. "Apparently, that old lug can tell us how to make these things more powerful, and make us stronger!"

Oswald growled. "And destroy the whole village in the process?! Small Pete, you'll pay for this!"

Oswald jumped up to attack Small Pete, only to get swatted away by vines. He was plummeting to the ground only to get hit on his backside by another vine and shot upwards. Next thing he knew, he was being tossed around like a ball between the plants. Then, he was suddenly slammed into the ground,

"Ozzie!" Mickey struggled in his binds.

Small Pete laughed at Mickey's struggle. "Who knew this would be so easy and entertaining? First, we got that punk to plant some innocent little flowers, then I turned them into monsters!" He looked over the chaos. "We knew nothing would grow here, but I was the only one available. Gotta give the Big Boss some credit. You all look like little jokesters."

"I can't believe you!" Mickey started getting angry, but it was that kind of anger where you start crying because you care too much.

"Don't worry. Once we get your communes, you can join the rest of these folks."

Mickey watched Oswald, hoping he was doing okay. Oswald, on the other hand, was struggling to get up. He had to win. He just had to! Of course they would take Mickey! He had the cool magic!

What did Oswald have?

"Oswald? Are you okay?" Ollie asked, flying out from the commune on Oswald's belt.

"Just barely..." Oswald grunted in pain. "Those guys got a number on me."

"As long as you can stand, we've already won!"

"That's impossible!" Oswald looked back at Small Pete and Mickey. "They got Mickey, and there's nothing I can do!"

Ollie huffed, and then smacked Oswald with his little stubs. It didn't hurt, but the shock of it snapped Oswald out of his fit.

"What are you fighting for?"

Oswald had a confused look on his face. "Excuse me?"

"Why are you fighting?"

"Because we're being attacked!"

Ollie shook his head. "That had nothing to do with your wish. Why. Are. You. Fighting?"

Oswald got up to a kneeling position. "For those who can't..."

"Why are you fighting?"

Oswald stood up, but had a slouch to him. "To protect everyone I care about."

"Why are you fighting!?"

Oswald stood up straight. "For Wasteland!"

With that statement, Oswald felt a burst of power in him. He felt his injuries start healing. His armor turned a light blue color, and he definitely felt stronger then his normal armor.

Oswald examined his new look. "What is this?"

Ollie smiled. "I call it Honor-Bound. That's your wish power." Ollie retreated to the commune. "Now go get 'em!"

Oswald nodded, then he jumped towards the vine that was holding Mickey. He was definitely faster than normal, since he managed to tear through the vine with no sweat. Mickey started falling, but Oswald managed to catch him.

Oswald got someone safe and dropped him. "I got this cover! You get everyone to safety!"

"Gotcha, Ozzie." Mickey pulled out his commune and card, doing the usual swipe ordeal, then running off to help everyone.

Oswald then turned to the other plants, and attacked them as well. Tearing through them was as easy as a hot knife through butter. Why anyone would heat a knife to cut butter is another issue.

Eventually, every plant was annihilated, to put it lightly. Oswald landed in front of Small Pete, who looked scared. He was stuttering, and shaking.

"Hey, Small Pete. Once you can talk again, an apology to the gremlins would be great." Oswald smirked. "Normally, I would have a good one-liner before I punt someone like you to the sun, but I got nothing. So, get owned."

Oswald then proceeds to punt Small Pete into the sun.

After which, Oswald turned back to his normal, non-magical form. He looked over to see Mickey, in his normal form as well, getting carried by two gremlins. The gremlins put Mickey down, and Mickey ran up to Oswald.

"That was amazing, Ozzie!" Mickey cheered. "How did you do it?"

Oswald shrugged. "It's just part of my wish magic. It's called Honor-Bound."

Mickey chuckled. "You named it yourself?"

Ollie flew in, looking offended. "I made up." Ollie looked around. "Hey, where's Mikey?"

"Right here!"

Mikey flew up to them, holding a cloth. "I didn't see Gus near that guy, so I got a piece of the outfit." Mikey looked at the group. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Wish magic names. Have you made a name for Mickey's thing?"

"Um... I was thinking Mind-Works..."

Ollie shrugged. "That works."

Mickey smiled. "I like it."

Oswald snorted. "I sure hope it does..." He giggled at his joke before clearing his throat. "We should head back to Gus' lab."

Everyone nodded, but before they could figure how to get down, a sudden roar filled the air. They looked over to see one of those plant monsters had survived. It roared again, a few drops of it's acidic saliva came out.

"Crud! Ollie, is it possible to go-"

"No! It's only available once a day, or else it'll ruin your physical form!"

"AND YOU'RE TELLING THIS NOW?!"

The plant monsters roared once more, before lunging at them. The group ducked, and looked away. They were fearful about what would happen until the plant suddenly let out a pain filled noise. They slowly looked back at the plant, to see it was on fire.

"What the..."

Before anyone could process this, the plant was burned to cinders.

"Uhhh, what was that?"

"That was wish magic!" Mikey and Ollie exclaimed.

Oswald gasped. "No way...do you think there are more sprites out here?"

Mickey shrugged. "Who knows."

Little do they know that there was a strange small group of individuals that were flying in the sky. Their appearances don't look visible, however. That doesn't seem important, right..?

~~~

After getting down from the building, and back to Gus's lab, everyone started talking over each other. Gus was surprised, and tried to get them to calm down.

"Everyone, one at a time, please. I'm not good at multitasking."

Mickey started first. "Markus was tricked into planting the flowers so Small Pete could turn them into vines!"

Oswald stepped up. "We got a sample, but we got attacked by a plant!"

Mikey flew up to Gus to give him the fabric sample. "And then caught on fire! It was caused by wish magic! I felt it!"

Ollie flew in front of Mikey. "You know what that means, right? That means there's someone like Mickey and Oswald, with a Star Sprite like us!"

Gus nodded, nervously. "That's... fascinating."

Gus took the sample, the one he managed to grab from Mikey before Ollie got in the way, and took it over to a scanner of sorts. After flipping a few switches and pressing a few buttons, the machine started.

"What's the name of this thing, anyways?" Mikey innocently asked.

"The Procrastinator."

Oswald chuckled. "Why's that?"

Gus sighed before looking at him. "I couldn't bother coming up with a name, so Jamface called that."

The computer made a beep noise. The group looked at the screen in awe.

"Amazing..." Gus examined the screen. "It's not the outfits themselves, but the fabric has the ability to double, or even triple the wearer's power."

"I find that hard to believe," Mickey said with a shrug, "Is there anything else we should worry about?"

Gus looked back at them. "Currently, no. It may take me a bit to find something, but I'll let you two know, as soon as possible."

Everyone nodded in understanding. They suddenly heard someone knocking on the wall behind them. They turned to see Jamface there, leaning next to the elevator.

"Pardon, but is this a bad time, Père?"

"Not at all." Gus flew over to Jamface. "What troubles you? Did something happen in Rainbow Falls?"

"Other than the fact we set up a projector to the village, il ne s'est rien passé de mal à cette fin." Jamface sighed and looked away. "My question is, what happened to the village? Pendant mon absence?"

Gus started sweating. "Nothing major, why?"

"I ran into Markus. He ran off, no words exchanged except an apology, et qu'il a foiré."

Everyone gasped. Mickey stepped up. "Why didn't you chase after him?"

"I thought it was "nothing major," but now I need to know." Jamface glared at them. "What happened to Markus? Qu'est-il arrivé à mon cousin?"

Chapter Text

With the recent disappearance of Gremlin Markus, the group ran off to find him. To make sure they didn't miss anything, they made their way to the Mad Doctor's Attic. However, something big was happening in Autotopia. A bunch of Gremlins were super busy, flying around, carrying supplies, and teleporting here and there.

"What are the little guys up to?" Mikey asked, "They look like they're trying to get something done."

"You say little like we're bigger than them," Ollie pointed out.

"There's a difference! They're little, we're tiny!"

"Quite down, you two." Oswald glared at the two Star Sprites. "We don't need any fighting."

Mickey looked around. "Hey, Ozzie, you think these guys have any ideas where Markus might be?" He shrugged. "Just a suggestion. I'm not expecting them to know where he is."

Oswald sighed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Let's go, gang."

They walked over to a group of Gremlins that were taking a break. The Gremlins noticed them, and quickly got up. Well, all except one, but they all saluted.

"Good afternoon, your majesty," The gremlin to the right said, "What brings you to Autotopia?"

"We're looking for Gremlin Markus," Oswald told them, "An incident happened at Gremlin Village, and he ran off. We were hoping if you happen to see him pass by."

The tree gremlins shook their heads. "We haven't seen anything. We were helping Gilda get Autotopia up and running," The gremlin that was still sitting explained, "I ended up spraining my ankle, so I was taking a break while my friends were making sure I was okay. So, we would be the least likely to see anything."

"You might want to see Gilda about it, actually," The gremlin to the left suggested, "She and a group of certain other gremlins have been acting as supervisors. They might have seen something."

Oswald nodded. "I hope so. Thanks for your help."

"Hope your ankle gets better," Mickey said as they ran off to find Gilda.

~~~

After some time, the group found Gilda, who was talking to a group of gremlins. They seemed to be distracted, but that doesn't matter. Mickey walked up to them.

"Excuse me, Gilda," Mickey said.

Gilda turned around, noticing him. "Mickey! And his Majesty himself! It's good to see you again!" She grabbed Mickey's hand and shook it, then went to do the same to Oswald. "You should see the progress we've been making. These guys made it to where the racing course can change at will. It's amazing!"

"It sounds amazing as well," Oswald agreed, "but we're looking for Markus. We were wondering if any of your chosen supervisors saw him."

"Well, I don't think they have. There would've been some word about it, so I don't think he's here."

"I guess that he isn't in the Doc's Attic," Ollie said, "Let's try somewhere else."

"Where do sad gremlins go, anyways," Mikey asked.

"Um... If we knew that, we would've found Prescott-"

"I'll tell you where they go! They get captured by us!"

They look up to see Petetronic, looming over them. He laughed before jumping down. The gremlins hid behind Gilda, but Petetronic was focused on Mickey and Oswald.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you here, but you ain't as dumb as you look." Petetronic smirked. "So you're looking for that poor, gullible gremlin, ain't ya? Well, let me tell ya something, we can strike up a deal. I challenge all of you knuckle-heads to a race. If ya lose, we get your communes, but you get your Markus..."

The star sprites hid behind Mickey and Oswald.

Petetronic continued. "If ya win, you can kiss that gremlin bye-bye!" He followed it up with a laugh.

"That's not fair! You big meanie!" Ollie flew up to Petetronic.

"Well, we're evil! It's fair to us!"

Petetronic laughed, and Ollie flew back to Oswald. "What should we do? We can't let them get away with this..."

"Maybe find a way to get a tie," Mikey suggested.

Oswald shook his head. "We might need to pull something funny..."

The rest of them watched Oswald as he looked uneased, and slowly started smirking. It was almost scary how evil he looked.

~~~

The race was about to begin. The gremlins were quickly trying to get some race cars ready for the two. They work tirelessly, only stopping to get some tools or planning things quickly. Oswald had talked to one of the gremlins, so it seems like they're part of the plan. All Mickey knows is to wait for a signal that he'll get via the cheap walkie-talkie he got.

The gremlins finally let them see their cars. It was nothing too special at first glance, but it was clear something secret lay underneath.

Mickey got in his little car. "So, I'm guessing one of us will get last place, and one of us will get first?"

Oswald shook his head. "I suggest you don't worry about it right now. I got a plan. You just gotta keep Petetronic busy."

"How busy are we talking here?"

"Neither of you should finish until I give the signal. I'll tell you the rest later."

"I'm trusting ya, Ozzie," Mickey said unsurely, "Let's hope it works."

~~~

The race was starting. Oswald, Mickey, and Petetronic were lined up on the startup line. Petetronic's car was finally fit for him, but something was off about it. Oswald noticed that the car was outfitted with weapons, but Mickey noticed that there was an enchantment on it.

"Like what ya see?" Petetronic leaned over to face them, patting his ride with pride. "The Big Boss made it. Drive smooth as silk, and crushes punks like you to dust. Boss mostly wants the communes, so if you know what's best for your gremlin pal, well..."

Petetronic chuckled, not elaborating any further. This left the heroes uneasy. They looked around at the crowd, and noticed that Gus and Jamface were in the crowd.

"How did they get here? Why are they here," Oswald asked.

"It's probably added pressure... Someone told them to be here." Mickey gripped the steering wheel. "I hope this works."

A gremlin with a checkered flag flew in front of them. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Risk Prix! These three racers are racing for the fate of Gremlin Markus, and perhaps the whole world!" He raised the flag. "Racers! Start your engines!"

The cars started revving, getting ready to zoom off at the signal. Mickey started smelling smoke. He looked over to see Oswald's engine smoking. Said rabbit seemed calm about the situation. At the end of the countdown, Mickey and Petetronic zoomed off but Oswald did not.

"Oh, bad start!" The announcer shouted over the speaker. "It seems like Oswald's car exploded, putting him out of commission! What will this mean for the race?"

Mickey winced, then grabbed the walkie-talkie. "Great plan! You ditched me!"

"Put the walkie-talkie down and drive!"

Mickey put down the device, and tried to draw out the race.

~~~

Oswald, on the other hand, had run off to the Mad Doctor's Attic. Why? Because that must be where they're keeping Markus. Yes, Oswald ditched the race to save Markus. Then Mickey can win the race with little to trouble!

Ollie, who was following him, was surprised to hear that the crazy explosion was all part of the plan.

"Why didn't you fill us in?" Ollie started hitting Oswald on the noggin, but it didn't hurt. "They're probably scared out of their minds! That was insane!"

"You guys need to have more faith in me!"

After a bit, they found the projector to the attic, but it was guarded by Big Pete and Pete Pan. Oswald was about to swipe the card to his commune, but he overheard Big Pete start talking.

"I don't get why we're stuck on guard duty. Nobody's gonna look here."

Pete Pan laughed. "They probably got smarter, but Petetronic should've got them distracted! I'm guessing after he's through giving Small Pete an earful, he wants some alone time with... uh..."

"Mark... something."

"Yeah, him."

Big Pete scratched his head. "What kind of alone time? You make it sound like-"

Pete Pan swatted at Big Pete. "The usual villain one! With monologues, and sadness. Honestly, I'm glad I'm not a part of it."

The Petes laughed, completely unaware that Oswald snuck in.

~~~

Mickey did everything he could think of to distract Petetronic. Pushing him into obstacles, getting in front of him abruptly, forcing him to slow down, and more. Unfortunately, the race course was too short. There were no other laps they could go through, so Mickey had to choose between falling behind Petetronic or rushing ahead of him.

Mickey remembered that Gus and Jamface were there. He remembered how Gus looked so worried, and Jamface was glaring in a threatening way. Neither of them want anything bad happening to Markus, and neither did Mickey. But, on the other hand, Mikey was on the floor of the car, looking afraid. They didn't know what they wanted the communes for, but it couldn't be good.

"You better choose, Mouse! Communes or your friend!"

Petetronic started laughing, but stopped when everything around them melted then reformed into new surroundings.

"What a surprise," The announcer exclaimed, "Ladies and Gentlemen, something happened with the system! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

Mickey grinned. With more time, hopefully something good happens.

~~~

Oswald tipped-toed to a room where some commotion was coming from. It sounded like yelling, but it was unnatural.

"Careful, Oswald..." Ollie was visibly shaking. "This isn't normal wish magic... It's corrupted."

"I had a feeling..."

Oswald finally got to the room, peeking in while trying to stay hidden. He spotted Markus, who was caught in those cages that kept gremlins from teleporting, and Small Pete paying no attention to Markus since he was getting yelled at by someone in a dark hood. None of them were facing the door, so they didn't notice him.

"You fool! An idiotic fool! You still don't understand!" A familiar voice shouted. "I told you NOT to destroy the village! Just to grab Gus and leave it at that, but you can't even comprehend that!"

Small Pete stumbled and tried to stabilize himself by grabbing something sturdy. "Go easy on me, Boss. I'm about to go deaf."

"You may as well be deaf, since you can't listen to a signal order!" He growled, then smacked Small Pete. "Now go! I don't want to see your stupid face until you do something productive!"

Small Pete nodded and ran out, not noticing Oswald as he left. Oswald, on the other hand, was clenching his head, trying to make his ears stop ringing. If that yelling could make Oswald feel like his ears are gonna explode already, then he dare not know what would happen if he was in Small Pete's position.

Oswald peeked back in to see the hooded figure take off his hood. It was Prescott, of course it was.

Prescott got down from his little platform and went over to Markus. The captured gremlin was visualby shaking.

"I do apologize about all of that," Prescott said, not really looking sorry with that sly smile of his, "Some people just don't understand simple orders. How hard is 'grab Gus without collateral damage' really?"

"Why did you do it," Markus asked, "What happened to you?"

Prescott faked a look of offense. "Me? I simply grew wiser. Maybe more powerful. How about you? You seem well. Glad to see you're not on medical leave anymore.

"Stop it!" Markus started pounding on the cage. "This needs to stop! Let me go, please!"

Prescott was quiet, "I don't know." He then looked over at the door. "What do you think, Oswald?"

Oswald gasped. He's been caught! Oswald quickly swiped the card on his commune, and stepped out from his hiding stop. Revealing himself while in is Wish Form.

"Let him go, Prescott! I won't go easy on you!"

Prescott didn't say anything. Instead, he starts laughing, maniacally to be exact. "You- Haha! You think that's wise- haha- a wise idea? You fool!" He laughed so hard he started crying. "I'm armed and you don't even realize it!"

"What does that mean?"

Prescott's laughter calmed down. He brought his hand to his face. "It's simple, really. I can easily show you."

Prescott flicked one of his tear drops, causing tear droplets to start floating in the air. He smirked, clearly up to something. Oswald braced himself for whatever was going to happen.

"Leiden!"

The droplets started glowing, then flew straight at Oswald. Oswald dodged the attack, but just barely. One of the tears glazed his cheek, scratching him a bit. It was safe to say it was a laser, but it wasn't a complete mystery.

"What do you think? And it doesn't even scratch the surface! I'm sure you'll be scared senseless if you know what I was truly capable of!" Prescott grinned sadistically. "What now, your 'Majesty?' What foolish thing will you do now?"

Oswald got quiet. He looked over at Markus, who looked super worried.

~~~

Mickey wasn't holding up too well. The racecourse tended to change often everytime they were going to finish. Petetronic had caught on, so what did he do? Attacked Mickey with the car's equipmented weapons. Petetronic threatened that something bad would happen to Markus if someone called the race off, so no one could do anything.

Mickey tried to get Petetronic off his tail. He swerved and changed speeds, and went through difficult obstacles, but nothing worked. Mickey grabbed the walkie-talkie, freaking out.

"Ozzie! Whatever you're doing, finish it up now!"

Mickey waited for a response, but didn't get anything. "Oswald, this is serious!

~~~

Oswald glanced at his walkie-talkie, hearing his little brother's desperate tone. He looked back at Prescott, seeing the gremlin's cocky smirk.

"Well, isn't this a surprise? The "brave hero" Oswald abandoned Mickey Mouse to play the hero." Prescott chuckled. "I suppose you wanted to get the center of the spotlight, didn't you?"

"What? That's not true! Mickey can take care of himself!" Oswald stepped forward, glaring at Prescott. "You got a lot of nerves for someone who lost to us!"

"I might... But I think I can take you easily." Prescott stepped closer to Oswald. "In fact, that mouse of yours is the more powerful one out of the two of you.

Oswald flinched at the words like they physically hurt. "T-that's not true!"

"Oh, but it is. But it can be fixed." Prescott held out a hand to Oswald. "You can easily give us Mickey's Card Commune, making him powerless. In return, you can have your precious Markus. It benefits us both more than you'd believe."

Oswald stopped for a moment. He looked at his walkie-talkie, actually considering it. It would be so easy too. Just tell Mickey to win the race, luring him to a false sense of security, then taking the commune while the mouse wasn't-

"Nrgah! Stop it!" Oswald shook his head, then knocked on it, trying to get the bad thoughts out of his head. "What are you doing to me?"

Prescott started laughing again, his eyes dilated in pure insanity. "The consuming darkness and the sorrow within it! That is my element!" He loomed over Oswald, a threatening aura surrounded him. "Even you can't resist it! Why don't you join us? You're not the only one who hates him... You don't have to be alone..."

"I don't think he will," Ollie shouted while picking up a flashlight, "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Ollie flew up to Prescott, using the flashlight to blind the gremlin. He threw it at Prescott, then smacked Oswald.

"Let's go! Mickey and Mikey are in trouble!"

Oswald nodded, then went over to Markus's cage. Then, Oswald broke the cage, releasing him. The three of them ran out, not looking back. Oswald took out the walkie-talkie and pressed the button to start talking.

~~~

"Mickey! I got Markus! You just need to win!"

Finally, Mickey got a reply. He grabbed the walkie-talkie.

"About time!" Mickey looked back. "But there's a problem! Petetronic's car... It's enchanted with some magic, and it grew a face!"

"It what," Oswald asked in surprise and disbelief.

Mikey grabbed the walkie-talkie. "It grew a face! It grew a face and it's trying to eat us! What should we do?"

"Okay... Mickey, do you see a section in the car that looks like something could fit in there?"

Mickey looked at his dashboard, then the steering wheel. Where the horn usually was, there was a hole instead.

"I see a hole in the steering wheel. What about it?"

"Swipe the card in your commune, then put the commune into the slot. Trust me!"

Mickey looks at Mikey, then to the car slowly closing in behind him. He shrugged, quickly doing exactly as Oswald said. After that, not only did he transform, but so did his ride. It became more sleek and advanced looking, and even the controls changed!

"Let him have it, Mickey!"

"I will! Thanks, Ozzie!"

Mickey quickly looked back at Petetronic, and the car turned around. Somehow, the car practically had a mind of its own! That, or...

"Mickey, focus on attacking him," Mikey shouted from the commune, "I can control the car like this, so kick his butt!"

Mickey nodded, quickly trying to figure something out. He pressed a few buttons, which caused something to shoot out of the car. They were shaped like stars, and they were probably bullets. Petetronic swerved his car to avoid them.

"You got a lot of nerve attacking me like that after what you two pulled!"

"Well, we're the good guys, so it's fair!"

Petetronic looked dumbfounded after his own words, minus the "good guy" part, were used against him.

Mickey kept shooting at the sentient car, and finally managed to do some damage. He managed to pop the two front tires, then got on into its mouth. A dark aura escaped from it, causing the once sentient ride to become normal again.

"Why you little-"

Before Petetronic could finish his sentence, Mickey summoned up a stone wall that Petetronic ran into, putting his car out of commission.

Mickey turned around to face the front, just in time to cross the finish line.

~~~

Oswald, Ollie and Markus quickly ran to the area near the finish line just in time to see Mickey cross it.

"And that's the end, Folks! But what does this mean for Gremlin Markus?"

There was a mutter to the crowd before Oswald got their attention by whistling. Everyone looked over, even the camera used to show the race to the audience at home or in the stands was looking at him. It was surreal seeing the three of them on that big screen.

"Incredible! Of course, our fearless leader managed to save him," The announcer shouted, "Why was there any doubt in my mind?"

Mickey pulled the commune out from the steering wheel, making himself and the car turn back to normal. He saw Markus teleporting off, probably to Gus and Jamface. He saw Oswald leaping towards him.

Once Oswald landed in front of Mickey, he took the commune out of his belt. "Well, we saved the day again. How's that for adventure of the day?"

"Plenty. I nearly died!" Mickey shivered.

Mikey flew up to them. "Yeah, you two had it easy!"

"Hey! That's not true," Ollie claimed, "We ended up fighting the other Pete's! And then there was this-"

"Mickey! Oswald!"

The two looked over to see Gus, along with Jamface and Markus, flying over to them.

Gus stopped in front of them. "I can't thank you two enough. I didn't think you'd managed to do it, but I was wrong! I can't believe I doubted you, but I swore it was impossible!"

"It was almost about it to be," Oswald mentioned, "Prescott was there, and..."

"He was?" Everyone asked in a unison.

"He was." Oswald looked over at Mickey. "And I don't think the two of us alone can face him."

Mickey gulped. "What do you think we should do then?"

"We need to find the one behind that fire Wish Magic! If not now, then hopefully when it's not too late..."

Chapter Text

A new day blessed Wasteland, with the sun shining, birds singing, and another crash in the kitchen. It was bigger than last time and caused a scream from a certain couch-doozer. 

The whole household was awake to investigate the noise. Seems like the culprit was a cabinet door falling off, causing the plates to fall out. Of course, those cabinets were as old as the whole house. 

Oswald groaned at this. "It shouldn't be too hard to fix this. It's the plates that'll be a pain to replace."

"I'm surprised that everything held up for so long." Ortensia picked up the fallen door. "Aw, the paint's peeling off."

"We can always repaint it. Maybe something new, if you wish." Oswald walked over to her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "Let's see if we got a screwdriver somewhere.

The two went off to see if they could find a tool to fix the cabinet. Mickey, and the four hundred and twenty bunny children, were left alone. One of the bunny children went over to Mickey and tapped on his leg to get his attention.

"Uncle Mickey, can we have pizza for breakfast," they asked innocently.

"Um, I'm not sure..." Poor Mickey didn't want to say no, mostly because the kids were vicious when denied something. "You may want to ask your parents."

Another crash was heard from the house. Mickey quickly went over to see what was up, just to find that the door to the supplies closet had fallen off, and Oswald was buried under the contents of the closet.

"The doors are trying to kill us."

"I think everything holding the doors together got knocked loose because of the quakes," Ortensia said as she tried to get Oswald out from under the mess, "Maybe we should see if someone would know how much damage was caused by the quakes."

"Would any of the gremlins know," Mickey asked, "They've been working on their village, and Autotopia, so maybe they can help you out?"

"Gremlin Village got messed up because of Small Pete, and I'm sure Autotopia is still a work in progress," Oswald pointed out, "I doubt they got anyone available to do something about falling doors."

"We should still get someone to inspect the damage," Ortensia mentioned, "I don't want the house collapsing in on us."

Oswald sighed. "Fine. Mickey, go see if Gus has any gremlins free to help us out. I'm kinda stuck."

Mickey chuckled. "Don't worry, Ozzie. I'll be back soon."

Mickey hurried off, hearing Ortensia teasing Oswald about the nickname in the background. 

Once out of the house, Mickey took a breath of fresh-ish air. The scent of thinner made his nose tingle, but there was supposedly work being done to clean the waters of Wasteland. 

Mickey looked over at the yellow house that Oswald had built for him. Sadly, it had been crushed by a stray boulder from the fight with Big Pete on Mickey Junk Mountain, which is why he was staying in Oswald and Ortensia's place. 

Mickey sighed. That house was a perfect copy of the one back in the world Mickey came from. It was crazy how seven years past, but it never truly sunk in until now. He wondered if anyone missed him. His Donald and Goofy? Maybe even Daisy or... Minnie?

Another crash was heard in the house and a lot of yelling. Mickey shook those thoughts out of his head and went back to what he was doing.

~~˚˚˚~~

Hopping off the halted train, Mickey rushed off to Gus's place. Seems like the village is already doing better already, but not ready for tourists. 

Either way, he shouldn't get distracted. After a bit, and a few moments of getting lost, he found the house. It seems like it got decorated with flowers again. However, they were fake this time. 

Mickey went up to the door and knocked on it. A few moments passed, and some strange noises, Mickey heard someone talking.

"What insane git would be bugging us at this hour?" The door opened up, to reveal a very tired Gus. "No, we're not bloody open. "Reopening soon" does not mean "Reopening tomorrow," you- Oh, Mickey, good morning."

"It doesn't sound like it..." Mickey chuckled. "Is now a bad time?"

"No, not at all. We were about to have breakfast, but I can spare a few minutes." Gus looks back inside. "Be quick, though. I don't want anything to burn."

"It's Oswald and Ortensia's place," Mickey quickly explains, "It's starting to fall apart, and we were wondering if anyone was available to check out the damage."

Gus took a moment to process this. "I can't say we have anyone available right now... We all pulled an all-nighter, so we're all tired. "

Someone suddenly cleared their throat, causing them to look. It was Jamface, who, of course, was tired looking as well. 

"If I may interrupt, there's one gremlin who I can think of." Jamface went over to Gus. "Tu sais, le nouveau mec?"

"Him? Jamface, why do you say that? I mean, he's new, and a bit... strange."

"He's the only one who decided that he could slink off and not work like the rest of us. Laissez-le s'en occuper."

Gus was silent, then he sighed. "Fine then." He turned to Mickey. "It seems like we have one gremlin available. Gremlin Patxi. He's new, and a bit overzealous, but he should get the job done. You'd find him at the plaza of the village, or his home... Hopefully the plaza."

"Alright, I'll get on it." Mickey grabbed the door for Gus. "You might wanna get some sleep. See ya, later!"

Mickey closed the door for them and ran off to find Gremlin Patxi.

~~˚˚˚~~

"There! That's the last of it!" Oswald wiped the dust off his hands. "As long as everyone is still, nothing will go wrong!"

"Is that a joke? If so, it's kinda a bad one."

"Oh, hush up, Ollie! I know what I'm doing!"

Oswald and Ollie had a bit of a staring-contest before Mikey got between them. 

"Hey, guys? How long has Mickey been gone," Mikey asked, "You think he's okay out there?"

Oswald shrugged. "He'll be fine. He always has been. Why do you ask?"

"It's just... He's been looking sad lately, and then there's the Pete's and Prescott trouble, and-" 

"There's nothing to worry about. Remember, Mickey's the big hero of Wasteland!" 

Oswald felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Ortensia. She looked troubled.

"Hey, Hunny-Bunny? Can I talk to you real quick," She asked, "Privately?"

"Oh, sure. Right."

The two went off, leaving the Star-Sprites very confused. Oh, and also alone with the bunny children.

Oswald and Ortensia went into the kitchen, and the air around them got tense.

"Alright, Sweetheart, what's wrong," Oswald asked.

"Well, the truth is... I've kinda wanted to renovate this house for a while, ever since the quakes. I mean, not only do things fall apart, but you've noticed the cracks in the walls, right?"

"I have..."

"If it comes down to it, could we-"

"Tear this place and make it better?," Oswald guessed, "Is that it?"

Ortensia nodded. 

"If it comes down to it, we'll do it." Oswald smiled reassuringly. "What do you have in mind?"

~~˚˚˚~~

Out of breath, Mickey finally found the plaza. Why it took him this long, he wasn't sure. Maybe because the buildings were so tall, or maybe everything looked the same. Perhaps it's because Mickey was just generally bad at directions.

Or it was simply because he was not ever going to get used to Wasteland, no matter how long he was there.

Mickey sighed, then looked around. Patxi, if he remembered correctly, should be around here. The question now became, if he was here, how would Mickey spot him? Gus didn't give any clear description, and the gremlins, no offense, had little to no originality on the outfits. Now, unless we're saying Patxi was the only one who is wandering around at this time...

Mickey then heard something creaking behind him. He looked to see one of the iron supports from one of the unfinished buildings started falling. Mickey quickly readied himself and reached into his pocket. Only to realize he forgot his commune at the house.

Mickey started to panic. Sure, he had his brush, but what good will paint or thinner do? He was frozen in fear, the iron was falling, and nothing rationale was coming into Mickey's head. Is this truly the end? Getting crushed while practically frozen to the ground? 

Mickey closed his eyes and braced himself. He then felt himself getting pushed, then heard a crash soon after. He slowly opened his eyes to see the support, and the indent in the road was made, over where he last stood.

"What part of "Under Construction" do you not understand, Prat?" A sudden voice yelled. "You're lucky I, or at least someone, was here, or you'd go back to Mean Street in a bloody paint can!"

Mickey looked over at the yelling individual. It was a gremlin with... unique fashion sense. They wore mostly blue, but the pants were kinda baggy and somewhat ripped, and the shirt was also baggy and had the sleeves rolled up. They also had a red bandana tied around their neck with the knot facing forward, which made the knot look like a little bow tie. Also, they weren't wearing a helmet but had steampunk goggles resting on their forehead.

"Look, we aren't responsible for your incompetence, you sod! We told the conductor to not come here, and the bloody projector had been deactivated!" They continued their lecture. "I don't even know how you got in here, so you... you..."

The gremlin stopped and looked over Mickey.

Mickey chuckled, feeling awkward. "Sorry about that. I was trying to find a gremlin named Patxi." Mickey got up, dusting off the dust on his pants. "Gus said he'd be available since everyone else pulled an all-nighter."

"You're bloody looking right at him." The gremlin smirked and held out a hand. "Gremlin Patxi, at your service. I already know who you are."

Mickey flinched. "Y-ya do?"

"Of course. Who wouldn't know about the great bloody hero, Mickey Mouse?"

Mickey blinked a few times before remembering. "Oh, right. Of course." He chuckled. "You got me there." Mickey then shook his head. "Anyway, Gus pointed me in your direction, since you'd be the only one available. Oswald and Ortensia, you know them right?"

"The bloody rulers of Wasteland, you mean?" Patxi did an eyebrow-raising motion. "What of them?"

"Well... Their place, the one in Ostown, seems to be falling apart... and they asked me to get someone to inspect the damage."

"Well, I was going to get things done here, but if Gus believes my talents are better off... elsewhere, then who am I to judge?" As Patxi said that, one of his eyes started twitching. "I'll meet you at the train station. Though, I'm still not sure how you even got in the first place."

Mickey simply chuckled. "That's a story for another time..."

~~˚˚˚~~

After a bit of making his way to the train station, and some bickering between Patxi and the conductor, they made their way to Ostown. The train, the whole entirety of it, was empty. Seems like Patxi was right when he said that Gremlin Village was practically closed off. The train ride was uncomfortably quiet. Patxi was tinkering with something, and Mickey didn't want to interrupt him. 

Mickey decided to look out the window. He never really got to focus on the craggy area the Gremlins resided, so the view was quite a treat to him. The rising sun over the mountains was a sight to behold. The sky never looked so pretty...

The sky... Where beyond that was home was...  Mickey started to miss it again. He was stuck in this place for seven years! Was Pluto alright? What about the rest of the friends? Heck, the thought of seeing his Pete was appealing! At least he didn't have any unorthodox powers...

"You're tense." 

Mickey flinched and looked at Patxi. The Gremlin hadn't said anything during the whole train ride. Honestly, it didn't feel like it should be that surprising, but being deep in thought can do that to anyone.

Mickey chuckled, nervously. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean what I said. You're tense, uneasy, and I dare say possibly depressed." Patxi tilted his head to look non-threatening, but no clear emotions were currently showing. "May I ask what's wrong?"

Mickey scratched the back of his head. "Well... I was just thinking-"

"Now arriving at Ostown Station," A voice over the intercom announced.

Patxi got up from his seat, putting the thing he was tinkering with away. "We'll talk about this later..."

~~˚˚˚~~

"And you're telling me he's 'new'? He's a gremlin, like the rest of them! He should've arrived when they were all forgotten! How is this guy new?"

They arrived back at the house and explained the situation to Oswald on why it took so long. Also why he didn't recognize Patxi. In all fairness, Oswald had a point.

"In my defense, a bloody good majority of gremlins went missing when the thinner disaster struck, if the thinner hadn't killed them that is. I just so happen to be one of those bloody gremlins." Patxi looked away. "The majority of the records of all the gremlins were destroyed, and poor Gus, as wise as he is, is getting old. I wouldn't blame him for not remembering me."

"You were missing?" Ortensia asked, looking mostly confused. "Where were you this whole time?"

"Down in the dark bloody crevasse of Wasteland..." 

Ortensia let out a gasp. "Oh, that's horrible! We should-"

Oswald shook his head. "Normally, I would be with you, but we got too much on our plate right now... With the Petes, and Prescott, and not to mention, right now we got a collapsing house on our hands."

As if to prove his point, another crash was heard. Oswald let out a sigh of disappointment. Mickey and Ortensia gasped in worry because it was quite sudden. Patxi simply chuckled.

"I guess I should get started then."

~~˚˚˚~~

"I'm surprised this bloody thing is still standing," Patxi mumbled as he examined the place. "A good chunk of the foundation is in ruins... Not to mention how many building codes it doesn't meet up to..."

"Well, what does that mean for the house," Ortensia asked. 

Patxi simply shrugged. "Might have to tear it down, but we're spread thin as it is... I don't think we can just spare anymore gremlins as it is, but I'm not the judge of that."

Patxi continued his work, leaving the three alone. 

"I feel selfish now... I haven't considered how the quakes affected the gremlins..." Ortensia lowered her head a bit. "I wish I could help more often..."

"You mean help the gremlins?" Oswald asked.

"I mean... Yeah, but there's also you, Hunny-Bunny... and then we got Mickey, Gus, and all of Wasteland!" She sighs. "I just feel like I couldn't do anything when I felt like I should've done something."

Oswald was quiet because of this. He wasn't aware that Ortensia felt that way. How could he have not? 

Before he could say something, Ortensia let out a little 'oh!'

"I should make them care packages!" She giggled. "Why didn't I think of it before? Let's see... Oh, I'll need a list."

"A list," Mickey asked, now curious, "What for?"

"Mickey, how many gremlins can you remember," Ortensia suddenly asked.

"Um... at the top of my head, or..."

Ortensia suddenly grabbed Mickey's arm. "Don't worry about that. Just help me out with this!"

"Wha- agh! Ortensia!"

Oswald chuckled as the two disappeared off somewhere. He trusts them enough to not do anything too rash. He looked over at Patxi, who was messing with a mysterious device...  Curious, and feeling a sense of Deja vu, he went over to investigate. 

"Interesting toy there, Patxi," Oswald said, causing the gremlin to flinch. "May I ask what it does?"

Patxi turned to Oswald. "Oh, this little thing? Just a little mobile communicator prototype I designed... No messy wires, no need to find bloody telephone boxes, just enter a certain number, and you can talk to whoever you want." 

Oswald simply nodded. "I honestly know someone who would've loved such an invention-"

"Wonderful! Now could you please be quiet for a bit, I need to see if I can reach Gus with this thing..."

Before Oswald could say anymore, Patxi went over to a corner of the house. He pressed a few buttons, brought the device up to the side of his head, probably where his ears should be, and stood there quietly. The device made a weird noise, until...

"H-Hello," A confused voice spoke through. "Is this-"

Patxi ginned, letting out a little 'yes' before going stoic again. "Patxi speaking. My device is working as assured."

"Y-yes, quite... But the audio volume is quite loud..."

"That will need fixing... However, right now, it's about the assignment you've sent me on..." Patxi looked over at Oswald, before walking off somewhere. "About the house... Seems it needs fixing up as well... Have the gremlins..."

Patxi's voice faded as he left the room, leaving Oswald alone. Alone with the Star-sprites, that is.

"He seems nice," Mikey said, "I feel bad he was stuck in a dark place for so long... Maybe we should help him save his friends in the crevasse."

"I don't trust him." Ollie glared in the direction Patxi went to. "Something about him feels off, but I can't tell what."

~~˚˚˚~~

After a while, Patxi had asked to speak with the three, saying he had something to tell them. Oswald's emotion was unreadable, but it wasn't a good one, Ortensia and Mickey looked worried, and the peanut gallery, as in Olley, Mikey, and the bunny children, was curious. 

"Lady and Gentlemen, I have good news and bad news..." Patxi sighed. "Which one would you like to hear first?"

Oswald sighed. "Let's just get the bad stuff out the way..."

Patxi nodded. "The remodeling process won't be able to start until tomorrow."

Huh?" Ortensia stood up. "That's not even that bad!"

"What's the good news then," Mickey asked.

"The gremlin team that was working on Autotopia has finished their work today." Patxi glanced around. "Since they'll need today to cleans things up over there, I recommend finding somewhere else to stay until then. If we're lucky, we can easily remodel this bloody house... Considering that demands are simple enough."

Patxi looked directly at Ortensia when he said the last part. She seemed nervous, and whatever she had in might was crushed.

"No need to word it like that," She said sheepishly.

 Patxi simply waved it off. "You should probably find out the housing situation for tonight. Gremlin Maroon offered to watch over the bloody children if finding a place to stay is difficult because of them."

"Maroon?"

"Green one. Works at the Gag Factory. Can't miss him. Thank me later."

Before anyone could say anything else, Patxi teleported off.

~~˚˚˚~~

It wasn't hard finding a place to stay. Maroon promised to take care of the bunny children, claiming that it wouldn't be too hard. Oswald was doubtful, Ortensia trusted the gremlin and Mickey simply wished Maroon "good luck."

With this out of the way, they were able to get something situated with Clarabelle. It was surprising to see Horace was there as well, but mostly because Mickey forgot Clarabelle and Horace got married about three years ago. It was almost awkward, but the two assured them that it was fine. Besides, it's just for the night.

Ortensia was about to offer to make dinner, but Clarabelle shook her head.

"Ortensia, you're our guest! Please, let me handle the cooking. You should probably focus on that future house of yours. We'll let you know when the food is ready."

Ortensia nodded and watched as Clarabelle went into the kitchen. After a bit, Ortensia sighed and went outside for some fresh air. It was dark out, but it should be fine. Ostown was a pretty safe town after all. 

She looked up into the starless sky, lost in thought. Sure, she could be thinking about how she wanted the house to look, without asking for too much, but other things filled her mind as well. The past days, which almost felt like months, have been insane. First, it started with a random bolder from Mickeyjunk Mountain, then a news report of the Beetleworx going haywire, then a sudden sandstorm around the Mad Doctor's old attic, the Gremlin Village getting almost destroyed, and then there was the kidnapping of Gremlin Markus. 

"Oh, I don't like this at all... everything has gotten worse..." She sighed. "I don't want to sit around and do nothing..."

She sat a bit more before here hearing something behind her. She turned to see Ollie and Mikey had come out of the house. They looked towards Ortensia before flying up to her. 

"What are you doing out here," Ollie asked, "You don't know when one of those Petes will show their ugly mugs around here."

Mikey sat next to her. "You look sad. Are you okay?"

Ortensia sighed. "I'm fine. I just needed some fresh air, that's all."

Ollie sat down next to her. "Are you sure? You can tell us. Or we can get Oswald and Mickey if-"

"No no. I'm fine. It's just... I worry about those two... They've been working so hard, and after what happened yesterday with Markus... Or the day before that with Gremlin Village. Then there was the Beetleworx going rogue, and the avalanche from Mickeyjunk Mountain, and-"

"Whoa, slow down! I get the picture." Ollie chuckled then sighed. "Ya don't need to worry about them. They survived all of that."

"Didn't you mention that Prescott was super powerful now?" Mikey asked.

"No, that was Oswald who said that! I like to think that we got this in the bag!"

Ortensia giggled. "You two are optimistic... I wonder if I can be like that..."

Ortensia looked up at the sky, suddenly seeing a star in the sky. She gasped, then got up. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

"Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight." She smiled, high hopes of her wish coming true. "I wish to heal Wasteland from its pain... I want to help the land I love..."

Ortensia looked up, waiting. Ollie and Mikey floated next to her, also waiting. Nothing seemed to happen. It was quiet. The star-sprites looked disappointed. 

"It didn't work..." Mikey looked at Ortensia. "I guess wishes can't be granted if you say them out loud after all."

Ollie tsked. "That's a dumb rule... Who made that a thing?"

Ortensia sighed. "It's fine... I should do less wishing, and more action!"

"That's the spirit!" Ollie did a fist pump. "We'll help you out in any way we can!"

Ortensia giggled, pulling them into a hug. "Aw, you two did enough already! Now, how about we go inside. Dinner must be ready by now."

She let the two go, and all three went inside.

~~˚˚˚~~

The next morning, after breakfast, once a group of gremlins had shown up, they were able to plan something out. A few ideas were thrown out, along with suggestions. Everyone had something to say, but some of it was quite out there. Eventually, they had a plan. A two-story house with an open kitchen. Three bedrooms, the master bedroom, the kids' bedroom, and the guest bedroom. At least two bathrooms, and finally a living room connected to a foyer. They also were able to figure out a way to implement a backyard.

With that settled, they started their work. First, they had to tear down the old rotting wall, tear out the cracked foundation, and build up from there. Everyone was rushing around, grabbing and transporting materials, and all other things one would do for remodeling.

However, there was one who wasn't working. Mickey, who smacked his thumb with a hammer while distracted. He claimed he was fine, but Ortensia insisted he sat down somewhere. He resisted until Oswald got involved. Mikey offered to keep him company.

As they were sitting on a nearby bench, Mickey was staring at his replica house. Seeing crushed like that, he could help but wonder how his real house was doing... Considering how long he was gone, it was probably sold off or was torn down like its replica. That being said, what about everyone back home? Was he presumed dead? Was he-

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important."

Mickey jumped from shock and turned around. It was Patxi, who looked tired. Did he always have those bags underneath his eyes?  

The gremlin sat down next to the mouse but kept a good distance between them. "I heard you injured yourself. Hammer to the tumb, I assume?"

Mickey chuckled. "The classic," he said before yelping at a water bottle getting tossed towards him. He caught it but gave Patxi a slight glare before examining the bottle. He didn't recognize the brand.

Mickey opened the bottle. "Ya didn't need to do that."

"If you aren't thirsty, you can give that back-"

"I meant the throwing..." Mickey glanced away as he took a sip of water. "Why are you taking a break anyway? Shouldn't you be working as well?"

"I was part of the bloody demolition team. Not many know this about us, but we were good at destroying stuff. Especially planes." Patxi chuckled, looking away. "Almost as good as you destroying your thumb."

Mickey flinched at that, catching him off guard mid drink. Some of his water splashed out of the bottle.

"It wasn't on purpose! I was... was..."

"Distracted?"

Mickey sighed. "Yeah, I was..."

"Thinking about your world?"

"Yeah, I- Wait..." Mickey realized what Patxi said. "How did you know?"

"It's not hard to guess. Anyone would get homesick when stuck in another bloody world." Patxi looked back at Mickey. "I honestly don't think anything is stopping you from leaving. You can probably go home whenever. The bloody rocket is in Tomorrow City."

That was true. Nothing was keeping Mickey here. He still had his heart where it belonged, and Gremlin Delta and Gremlin Omega could launch the rocket whenever he wanted to go home. However, it just felt like he couldn't... Why was that? 

"Honestly, if I was you, I'd leave." Patxi gestured to the peaceful town. "Look around you! I see nothing but peace... I think Wasteland can take care of itself."

Mickey considered Patxi's words before deciding. A small, yet growing, part of him agreed with that logic, but there was something flawed about it. However, he found himself getting up from the bench, and started heading to the projector that would lead him to Mean Street. From there, he should be able to head to Tomorrow City.

Then, without warning, Mickey notices the unfinished house collapsing in on itself. He snapped out of whatever trance was making his body move towards the projector and ran toward the house. Gremlins were flying around in a panic.

"Mickey! Mickey!" Mikey shouted as he flew toward the mouse. "It's terrible! The building fell! Ollie, Oswald, and Ortensia were inside!"

"They were?! We gotta help them!" Mickey dug through his pocket to grab his commune, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Wha- Where's my... " He looked over at the bench, not seeing it, or Patxi there. "Oh no, oh no!"

"Mickey did you... lose your commune?! How could you?!"

"I thought I had it!" Mickey groaned. "Now what are we gonna do-"

The ground started rumbling, starting even more panic around the town. However, it was weird, considering nothing could start the quakes. Except...

A few vines grew from inside the house, seemingly carrying huge chunks of debris. A gremlin flew away from the chaos, but Mickey wasn't sure which one. All he was sure about was going inside and seeing if anyone was okay. 

"Those vines..." Mickey glanced toward Mikey. "Is this Small Pete's doing?"

Mikey shook his head. "It seems to be an ally, but it seems incomplete! Like a sprite is doing it without its commune being activated..."

"I guess we gotta be quick!" Mickey stopped to look around. "I doubt their help will last long if what you're saying is true."

"Mickey! I see them!" 

Mickey looked to see Oswald and Ortensia on the ground, unconscious. Ollie was pulling on their arms, trying to get them out of there. Ollie noticed them, letting go of the arms and flying over to them.

"I'm glad to see you two!" Ollie exclaimed. "Is this your doing?"

Mikey shook his head. "Not a chance! Mickey lost his commune!"

"He WHAT?!"

Mickey rushed over to Oswald and Ortensia and picked them up. "Let's not worry about that now! We got something more important to work on!"

Mikey and Ollie nodded, following Mickey out of the house. The vines started to wither, and the debris started falling. Mickey had to jump, dodge, and duck to avoid it all. Once he saw the exit, he leaps out of the house. He hit the ground, dropping the unconscious majesties, and started rolling towards the thinner river, but he suddenly ran into something or someone. 

His vision was swirling, but once he stopped being dizzy, he saw Patxi.

Patxi suddenly shoved Mickey and started floating above the ground. Mickey noticed the skidmarks and seemed like both of them were about to take a swim in the acidic waters. Patxi started dusting himself off.

"Well, if I had a nickel for all the times I saved Wasteland's hero, I'd have two nickels," Patxi mused, "Which isn't much, but it's quite daft that it happened."

Mickey nervously chuckled. "Thanks, Patxi..."

~~˚˚˚~~

After that incident, they were able to finish the building quickly. Seems like some rot had caused some forgotten supports to snap, causing the house to collapse. When Mickey had started to head off the Tomorrow City, his commune slipped out his pocket. Patxi had grabbed it, thinking Mickey wouldn't need it. After the vines suddenly appeared, Markus had thought it was Small Pete's doing. He teleported to Gremlin Village to tell Gus and ran into Patxi in the meanwhile. Patxi teleported just in time to be able to stop Mickey from knocking the both of them into the thinner.

That's basically what needed to be said to Oswald and Ortensia, who had woken up a bit ago. After they explained what happened, Patxi gave Mickey his commune back, apologizing for taking it. Markus was clinging to Jamface, who had arrived at the scene along with Gus. 

Mikey and Ollie made a mental note to tell whoever had that vine power to be careful when using it. If they find them, that is.

However, the house was complete. As thanks, Ortensia gave each gremlin a care package. All of them thanked her, except Patxi. He simply mumbled, "She could use this," and teleported off. 

On the other hand, Mickey was getting an earful from Oswald. Mostly for trying to leave without a word, but also for losing his commune. It was kinda unclear what he was angrier about. Mikey, butted in, asking to speak to Mickey for a bit. Oswald begrudgingly agreed and went to the house.

"Hey, Mickey... Are you gonna leave Wasteland?" Mikey asked, looking sad.

"I... I'm not sure..." Mickey crossed his arms. "I guess seeing my friends was tempting, but... I got unfinished business here. I don't think I'm planning to leave yet."

Mikey hummed. "Um... I kinda got an idea... It might not work, but we might wanna give it a shot."

~~˚˚˚~~

Meanwhile, in another world, two ladies were sitting, having a nice chat over, probably, tea. One of them looked concerned about something, and the latter was concerned about the former. 

"Still worried about Mickey, Minnie?"

Minnie sighed. "Oh, Daisy... I know I shouldn't, but he's never been gone this long before. I know Yen Sid said he's okay, but I just can't help it!"

Daisy nodded. "I completely agree with ya, Min. If only we could get something from him..."

As soon as she said that, a light appeared between them. They shrieked, seemingly causing the light to disappear. However, an envelope took that light's place. It floated on to the table. Once it landed, Daisy picked it up. She examined it and gasped once she saw who it was from.

"It's from Mickey!"

"What!" Minnie reached for it. "Let me see it!"

Daisy handed the letter to Minnie, who opened the envelope up. She took the letter out and read it out loud.

"Dear Minne, How have you been? Sorry for not contacting you in a while. Being stuck in another world makes letter sending difficult." Minnie gasped. "Another world?"

"Keep reading," Daisy said excitedly.

Minnie cleared her throat. "This world is quite dangerous, but I've been managing to get by. Of course, I've been missing my home, my friends, and you. We seem to be getting some strange magic, but luckily that's how I managed to send this to you."

Daisy nodded as she took a sip of her drink. "Classic Mickey, always getting in trouble with magic..."

"I suppose so...." Minnie continued. "I hope you and the others are doing okay. How are they doing, anyway? I can guess you and Daisy are doing fine with your boutique, and Donald and Goofy are getting into their usual trouble."

"Oh, how did he know," Daisy joked.

Minnie giggled before finishing the letter. "I hope this letter finds you well. I'm not sure how you can send one to me, but hopefully, we can see each other again. -Love, Mickey."

Daisy giggled. "I wonder if the boys got a magic letter surprise."

Minnie sighed. "I'm not sure... But I'm glad he's okay..."

~~˚˚˚~~

Back at Wasteland, in one of the hidden, dark areas, a lone figure returned to a poor excuse of a home. They lit a candle, light hitting a small creature. A small, sickly creature that laid on a cot. It turned it's head to look at them, gurgling on something.

"It's alright," they assure, opening a bottle of medicine. "You'll feel better soon, little sprite."

"FooD... fOoD..." It chanted like a mantra. 

The figure sighed. They went over to the creature, offering the medicine to the creature. It weakly pushed the hand away, turning its head away.

"fOOd... FOod..."

"Fine..." They start rummaging through a bag, pulling out some peanut butter crisp coated with a thin layer of chocolate. They snapped it in half, eating one half, and offering the other to the creature. It refused it as well.

"You refuse the food I give you, and you refuse the medicine as well. What do you want?"

They suddenly felt something grabbing their neck, but they saw nothing in front of them. The creature turned its head towards them, its eyes and other parts of the body were covered by some purple gunk. Yet, there was something there, piercing into their soul, telling them exactly what they want...

"FOOD... FOOD..."

Chapter Text

With tiring days passed with a tough challenge of reconstructing an old home in Ostown, it was now time to start a brand new day. Mickey was now finally sleeping comfortably in a bed in the room for guests. We can tell by his snoring. Oswald and Ollie were already awake and they seem pretty satisfied with the environment of the house. Not a single crash in sight. They raced around and opened closets, cupboards, every single door.

"What's going on here?" Ortensia asked as she was woken up from the noise. Mickey was also awake.

"We're just glad that we put the pieces of this house back together again," Ollie said.

"Yeah. But it feels like your in a different home," Mickey looked around their environment.

"I'm feeling the same way as you are Mickey," Oswald chuckled.

Despite having Mickey and Ortensia woken up from their doing, they seem happy about it. They can all agree that their new version of Ortensia's house is perfect.

"Well then, let's make breakfast together," Ortensia smiled.

The boys joined in as they all went downstairs.
The three of them help each other out to prepare for breakfast as the bunny children start running around the kitchen. One of them jump on the counters and they accidentally slip on the glass plates, but luckily Mickey's foot stopped the plates from breaking.

"Nice save, Mickey," cheered Mikey. Everyone else clapped for Mickey as well.

"Aw gosh! Thank you," Mickey blushed.

While that was going on, Oswald suddenly remembered about what happened with Mickey when they were rebuilding their home. When Mickey misplaced his commune.

"How could he just forget his own transformation tool?" He thought in his mind. "He can't abandon his own pal like that! He's better than this!"

"Ozzie? Is something wrong?" Mickey asked that made Oswald gasp.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," he responded.

"If there's anything that's bothering you, we're always here for you." Ortensia said.

"Thanks," Oswald scratched his head.

They may not know what Oswald is feeling, but he might want to tell Mickey about it soon enough. However no one was aware that Ollie hasn't gotten over it as well. He decided to bring that up again at the breakfast table.

"So...we need to have an important discussion," Ollie cleared his throat.

"Danger is coming, and we must be prepared. With Oswald's luck, we can triumph evil, with all our courage! His honor bound can kick any villain's butt! And Mickey...can be strong too! With his imagination! And stuff...and not forgetting Mikey."

"Ollie, I would never forget about him. He's my partner. And no one gets left behind, right Oswald?" Mickey asked.

"Uh, yeah. What he said," Oswald started to sweat.

"What's going on you two? I know there's something wrong when I see it" Ortensia starts to see some suspicion on Oswald and Ollie.

"Nothing is wrong!" They both said in unison.

Ortensia gasped. "Are you really sure nothing is wrong?" she asked once more.

The rabbits felt bad for scaring Ortensia and stood up.

"It's nothing. We're sorry for making a fuss," said Ollie.

Mickey and Mikey thought they needed a private talk after breakfast. They don't know if it might end well or not.

~~˚˚˚~~

Later that afternoon, the boys headed out for patrol. Since the Wasteland is in the need of heroes, the toons need some extra protection from the darkness. They are currently at Mean Street South.

"Should we tell them, Mikey," Mickey asked.

"The sooner we tell them the better. We better brace ourselves." Mikey said.

Mickey nods and goes up to Oswald.

"Hey, Oswald? Ollie? Can we talk about something?" Mickey asked.

"Sure, what's up?"

"We just want to make sure you guys are doing okay." Mickey placed his hand on Oswald's shoulder.

"If you're talking about what happened this morning, it's already taken care of," Ollie scoffed.

"Ollie, what's gotten into you?!" Mikey asked.

"No, Mikey. What's gotten into your own partner?!" Ollie talked back.

"Huh?!"

"That's right! Mickey Mouse, the hero of Wasteland abandoned his own commune that day when we were helping Ortensia rebuild her home!" Ollie yelled as he pointed at Mickey.

"Whoa! I said I was sorry! You shouldn't be bringing this up again! That was the past. I made that mistake once and I promised that it would never happen again." Mickey claimed.

"Mickey'a right. You have to trust him too Ollie!" Mikey cried.

"No! He has to take responsibility!" Ollie crossed his arms.

"Honestly, I have to side with Ollie."

"No! Oswald! You forgive me, don't you?" Mickey placed his hands on Oswald's arm.

"If you didn't have your powers, you could've died!" Oswald yelled as he aggressively waved his arm that released Mickey's hands.

"How could you be so reckless like that?! Are you THAT useless or something?!"

And at that moment, Mickey stayed silent. Slowly feeling fear. He had a bad feeling that their bond was falling apart. He took out his commune and gives it to Oswald.

"Maybe your right. I do need to take responsibility. Find someone else to trust you."

"Mickey, I'm sorry I-"
Mickey runs off.

"Mickey! Should we follow him, Ollie?"

"No. It's better this way," Ollie said. "I'm sure some other toon can be a stronger sorcerer."

"Ollie..." Oswald didn't want his relationship with Mickey to be over. Without him, he would be a nobody. What will Ortensia say?

Back at Ostown, Ortensia noticed that Mickey isn't here to join the rabbits and Mikey.

"Boys? Where's Mickey?" asked Ortensia.

"Nothing happened," Ollie tried to lie. Oswald had enough and puts Ollie back in his commune.

"Something did happen. We kinda got into a little fight and Mickey ran off. And Ollie didn't want me to follow him." Oswald sighed.

"What? Ollie, is this true?!"

"It was his own fault!"

"Well, we all know that. But-"

"Someone has to replace Mickey!"

"There is no one in Wasteland that can replace my only brother. He's special to me. Sure he made the foolish move of ruining this place, but that was the past as well. And because of you, I made Mickey feel upset!"

Ollie slowly felt some guilt. He regretted everything he did that caused Mickey and Oswald's split-up.

"We're gonna have to wait until tomorrow for Ollie to fix this mess."

"I got it," Ollie said. "I didn't think this was gonna happen. I'm sorry for what I did during breakfast, Ortensia. I didn't realize how important Mickey and Oswald's friendship was so powerful."

"It's alright, Ollie," Ortensia smiled.

The next day Oswald, Ollie and Mikey began their search for Mickey. They had to search at some parts of Wasteland to find their partner. First, they asked Horace Horsecollar, but there was no sign of Mickey. They asked Gremlin Jamface, there was also nothing. Not even Animatronic Donald has seen him. The search lasted for almost the whole day. The sun was already setting as they step foot in Ventureland.

"We've been out here for a long while. Who knows where Mickey is..." Ollie groaned.

"If you didn't make me yell at my own brother, none of this would've happened," Oswald panted.

As they continued to move forward, Oswald steps on a plant that suddenly ties his foot and up he went!

"Oswald!" yelled Ollie.

The plant grew larger as more vines started to form. Then the monster grows a mouth and roars.

"Those vines must be coming from Small Pete!"

"Dat's correct! Hahahahaha!" Small Pete laughed as he makes a landing.

"Not you again!" Oswald facepalms himself.

"Dis unlucky rabbit will make a tasty snack for my sweet little plant! She's all yours!" Small Pete cackled as he vanished.

"I can't transform without you Ollie! Get over here!" Oswald yelled.

"But your commune is covered by the vines! We can't defeat that thing now!" Ollie yelled back.

"Not without me you can't!" A sudden voice shouted.

The voice came from the mouse himself as Mikey sees his partner running.

"Mikey!" Mickey called. "Let's do this!"

Mikey raced to Mickey and looked at Oswald who was still tied up in the air.

"Oswald! Get my commune!" Mickey called.

Oswald grunted "I wish I could if I weren't tied up right now! Can't ya use your magic brush or something?! Hurry! Hurry! Stop dilly dallying!"

"Does it look like I'm dilly dallying?! Heck no!" Mickey yelled as he takes out his paintbrush and uses thinner on the vine that Oswald was tied up on. Oswald starts his helicopter ears as the monster roars again. He throws Mickey's commune to Mikey, and Ollie flies to Oswald. Mickey and Oswald swipe their transformation cards and transformed. After Oswald transformed, he makes a landing next to Mickey.

Mickey turned to Oswald. "I told you I wasn't dilly dallying."

"If you say that, then why didn't ya take out your brush sooner?!" Oswald angrily asked.

"Well, if you weren't asking me so rudely, I would've kindly done so!"

"I was NOT BEING RUDE!"

Small Pete's monster used one of its vines to hit the heroes. Mickey and Oswald dodge it without looking as they continue to argue in midair.

"You we're dying to not be eaten alive by that monster, you could've said please." Mickey scoffed.

"You really are that cold."

"At least thank me. I saved your life." The brothers glared at each other.

"I wish I could get rid of that giant plant creature without you."

"And I wish you guys would please stop fighting!" Ollie suddenly demanded inside of Oswald's belt.

"Ollie..?"

"This was all my fault. If I didn't make Mickey feel bad, your friendship wouldn't fall apart." Ollie sadly claimed.
"Mickey! I'm sorry! Please don't be mad at me for what I did!"

Oswald activated his Honor Bound as he was about to attack, Mickey stopped him.
"I forgive you, Ollie. Remember what I told you yesterday."

"Thanks Mickey! Oswald! Now!"

Oswald headed straight for the monster and finished it off with one final blow.

Mickey and Mikey cheered as Oswald transformed back to his normal form. Mickey does the same.

"Alright! Mickey and Oswald are back together again!" Ollie cheered. "And I promise I won't tear it apart again."

And that was a promise that he will never break. Mickey and Oswald raised their fists up as they touched each other's to claim their victory.

Chapter Text

Just a normal day in Wasteland yet again, and what is there to start a brand new day with the people living peacefully in Bog Easy. As the musical band continues to play the catchiest tune in town, the toons enjoy themselves as they jam to the beat.

All that was really well so far, until a boat was suddenly....floating? And it was wasn't just one but all the boats around Bog Easy were filled with them floating! All the toons were all gathered and confused. They wanted to know who was responsible for this.

"What's happening? Why are the boats floating?" A toon asked.

"My house boat is flying away!" Animatronic Donald cried as he was chasing after his home. However, no one was noticing that and just focused on the bigger problem.

The ghosts then came in and wanted to know what was all the commotion that was going on.

"What seems to be the problem?" Ghost Ian asked. It caught the attention of the folks in Bog Easy. But they all had an angry look as they saw the ghosts for one second.

"You and your friends did this, didn't you?!" An angry toon growled.

"What?! No! We just got here-"

"You better fix this mess this instant!" A lady demanded as the crowd all started chattering in anger. The ghosts we're unsure of how to solve this situation. But, there were only two people that they trust and to find a way to help the innocent gang of ghosts.

"Let's get Mickey and Oswald right away! They'll know what to do!" Ian suggested.

~~˚˚˚~~

Sometime later, our heroes make it to Bog Easy so that they can help the ghosts out and prove that they're innocent.

"Whoa...What is this place?" Mikey asked.

"I'm not so sure Mikey. B-but t-this sure has it's spooky mood!" Both Mikey and Ollie got scared and held onto each other.

"Hello! Mini-Boss Men!"

"AHHHHH! A GHOST!" Mikey and Ollie cried as they hid behind Mickey and Oswald.

Mickey laughed. "Don't worry, fellas. It's just our friend, Ian."

"You're friends with a GHOST?!"

Ian chuckled. "New to this place huh? Welcome to Bog Easy!"

"I'm not so sure about this, you guys. Are you sure he's friendly?" Ollie asked.

Oswald pats Ollie's head. "Of course he is. You two just gotta get used to this place. That's all. Anyways, Ian. What do you need help with?"

Ian tells the heroes of his situation as they walked through the village. As they passed by some angry toons, they saw so many boats flying by, and even noticed that Donald is still chasing after his houseboat. Later, they sat near the Blot Alley projector as Mickey and Oswald fed their sprites.

"So that's pretty much my story. These toons are just being rotten with us today." Ian sighed.
"Things are not looking so great since Wasteland's been getting attacked again."

"Don't worry, Ian. You can count on us to get things right again." Mickey winked.

Mikey agreed. "Mickey and Oswald are the best heroes in town! You always have to count on them!"

"The mini you is right. After all, you have saved us before."

Ollie popped out of the commune. Suddenly, he noticed something glowing on the ground.

"What's wrong Ollie?" Mickey asked.

"Look at that!" Ollie pointed at their first clue. It looked like some sort of pixie dust.

"What is that?"

"Wait! There's more of that stuff over there!" Ian pointed at a trail of the yellow glowing pixie dust.

"I think we're onto something already. Come on fellas!"

The boys follow the trail that suddenly lead to bumping into someone by the train station. They all fell down and gasped. It was none other than Pete Pan!

"Hey! Watch where you're going! Oh, well look what we have here." Pete Pan cackled.

"Pete Pan! No wonder this dust looked familiar. These boats have been flying all over Bog Easy, because of your doing!" Mickey pointed at Pete Pan.

"Dat's right! I was planning to play a little trick on you guys. And here I was making these boats floating with my little pixie doin all the work for me."

"WAKKK MY HOUSE!!!!" Donald yelled as he continued to chase his houseboat.

"And now that you runts are here, let's have some fun!"

"Pete Pan's gonna try something. Be careful, you two!" Ollie said.
Pete Pan started controlling the boats and made them come to him. They all formed like a merry-go-round.

"What the- we can't even get near him with all these flying boats in the way!" Oswald pulled his ears in frustration.

"Don't worry about it, Ozzie. I can try to use my wish magic somehow." Mickey said.

Mikey looked at Mickey. "You know what to do!"
The heroes nodded and transformed.

Mickey jumped. "Okay! Let's do this!"
Oswald jumped as well. They got on top of the boats but they forgot that they were spinning. They screamed as they were moving full speed.

"This isn't the normal merry-go-rounds back at hoooooommmmeee!" Mickey began to feel his head spinning.

"Hahahahaha! That should do the trick!"
Pete Pan laughed.

"Mickey, I'd use your powers like RIGHT NOW!!!!"

Mickey didn't want these boats to be like this forever. He simply can't! He closed his eyes and quickly used his imagination. He imagined the boats still floating but returning back to where they were before.

"Huh?! No! Not again!" Pete Pan cried.

"You know the drill, Ozzie!"

Oswald jumped. "Gotcha!"
He activated his honor bound and aggressively tackled Pete Pan. He then kicked him in midair. Pete Pan growled.

"Now you've ruined my fun!" He yelled as he retreated. As he returned to the dark zone, he stomps his foot down in anger. Suddenly, he heard an anonymous chuckle. It showed only their shadow. It seems like she was watching him the whole time.

"Seriously? That was your master plan? Pathetic. Boss isn't going to be happy about this."

"Quiet you. I already have another plan in mind." Pete Pan walks away in the shadows. However, she was creepily watching.

Back at Bog Easy, Ian happily congratulated the heroes once again. "Awesome as always boys!" Ian clapped.

"Aw, gee. Thanks Ian." Mickey blushed.

"Oh no. Thank you guys for getting everything back to normal." He showed the boys a crowd cheering for them as well. They also saw the battle with Pete Pan as well.

"Wha- where did they come from?!" Mikey asked.

"Ian, we're so sorry for accusing you." A toon said. "You and your friends were innocent this whole time."

"Apology accepted." Ian said. "Thanks again, Mickey."

"No problem, Ian! Ha-ha!"

Chapter Text

Somewhere in the darkness, Petetronic was called over by his leader, Gremlin Prescott. He seems to have made his next upcoming move to try to ambush Mickey and Oswald again and steal Mikey and Ollie. The source of power that he desperately needs. But we don't know why the leader wants them. However, he wasn't alone. There was a black creature next to him. It looked like it belonged to him. 

"We must steal those communes. Even if it costs my life. It is the power that I truly desire. With their power, I will destroy them! With my own two hands." Prescott claimed.

"Yes, boss." Petetronic agreed. "We'll knock those runts out of the park without fail!" He cackled. 

"We shouldn't be too confident about that part." Prescott chuckled as he turned to the black creature. She looked up to him as well.

"Isn't that right, Ivory?"

"Yes, dear guardian." She responded. She sounded just as scarier. Unlike Mikey and Ollie, her voice was more like half girl half blotling. Then, Prescott's evil laugh was heard from a distance from their lair. It sounded like a very creepy villain indeed.

~~˚˚˚~~

Later that afternoon, Mickey, Oswald, Mikey and Ollie continued to look through the Mad Doctor's diary that they brought back from their last visit to his attic. They listened to Prescott's recording again. It was even on repeat multiple times. Mickey and Oswald desperately wanted to know what Prescott's wish really was, and for what purpose. 

While they were doing that, Mickey remembers the craziest mystery that they had to deal with yesterday. The boats of Bog Easy were being controlled by Pete Pan who had his sprite having the ability to do it. All that mattered is that they got through it, and what they're trying to solve was most important.

"There's gotta be something for us to find in this diary," Mickey said as he flipped through the pages. "I really want to know about Prescott's plan."

"We can't give up until we get to the bottom of this." Oswald stood up. "I hate hearing his voice over and over again."

"You guys said that this diary belonged to the Mad Doctor, right?" Ollie asked. 

"Yeah," Oswald nodded.

"When you guys found it the first time that was when..."

"We knew what Doc was planning to do that day."

"I know! Why don't we go find the Mad Doctor and talk to him about Prescott's message?" Mikey suggested. 

"Great idea, Mikey! I'm sure he'll know what to do." Mickey pats Mikey's head.

"After all it is his diary. Let's go see where the Doctor is." Oswald takes the diary as they all started to walk. 

Somewhere around town, Prescott, Pete Pan and Ivory were on top of the train station. It seemed that they were spying on them for a while. 

"The Mad Doctor's diary? Know one told me he had dat!" Pete Pan exclaimed. "What are they doing with it?!"

"Something strange is going on." Ivory said.

Prescott noticed that the diary looked familiar to him. "That diary...Could that be...?" He suddenly felt a flashback in his head.

"I... I wish... I just... I..."

Prescott punched a wall that caused Pete Pan to shriek.

"At this rate, those brats will discover my secrets..."

"Not when we're here." Ivory chuckled.

~~˚˚˚~~

The heroes continued walking around town, wondering where would the mad doctor be right now. Since they have redeemed him in the past, he's been very kind to the toons ever since.

Oswald started to think. "If I was the Mad Doc and I was friendly, where would I be. I would probably be at a lab making inventions."

"Why don't we check it out?" Mickey suggested. "We'll have to go through Rainbow Caverns and Disney Gulch to get there."

Oswald nodded. "Let's go!"

The boys traveled to the direction of the Mad Doctor's lab. From Rainbow Caverns to Disney Gulch. When they arrived, the lab was still empty-looking. They started looking around for the doctor. Suddenly, they spotted a shadow. At the same time, they heard footsteps. 

"Mickey? Oswald? Is that you?" The voice asked. The person appeared to be the Mad Doctor.

"Doc! It's us!"

The doctor jumped in and hugged both of the heroes.

"That's the Mad Doctor?" Mikey asked.

"Oh! Doc, these are our Star sprites, Mikey and Ollie."

"They're so small." The Doctor examined them both.

"They came from the sky and gave us some cool powers, and we've been using them to fight Prescott." Mickey explained. "Speaking of Prescott, we need your help with something."

Oswald takes out the Mad Doctor's diary.

"There's a strange recording from him that appeared to be in your diary. We want to know what he's planning, and what his desires are."

The Mad Doctor looks at the diary. "I don't know anything about the recording, but if I listen to it, I might have a clue."

Sometime later, they go further into the lab. The Mad Doctor opens the diary and started flipping through the pages to find Prescott's voice.

"Are you sure you're not imagining things? I can't seem to hear Prescott anywhere."

"Keep looking. I know we heard him somewhere." Ollie said. "Whatever he is planning, we'll stop him. No matter what!"

As the Mad Doctor, Oswald and Ollie were searching, Mikey felt so much boredom.

"Mickeeeeeeeyyyyy...... I'm borrrreeeedddd."

He turns back into his commune form. 

"Gosh, um... is there any card that can make you not bored?" Mickey looked through his set of cards. 

"Swipe the playtime card! The one that has the picture of toys."

Mickey finds it and swipes the card onto his commune. A bubble appears out of the commune as Mikey stared to stack a tower of blocks. "I'll make the longest tower ever!"

Mickey smiled as he continued to watch.

"You know, Mickey, I wish we had more friends. I think Ollie would want more sprites too."

"There's no reason not to try that."

"Do you mean, there's a possibility?" Mikey excitedly asked. Mickey nodded. 

"You are Mickey after all! You're always wanting to try new things!" Mikey giggled.

While that was going on, a static was suddenly heard. Pages started flipping on the diary.

"Is... Is this thing on?" 

The Mad Doctor and Oswald gasped.

"Why am I doing this...? No one is going to find this..."

"Seven years... Seven years according to them... They could be lying. They have to be lying, right? There's no way I was abandoned like this..." He started sobbing. "No... I deserve this... Why are you crying, stupid gremlin? It won't get you anywhere..."

"Why is he sad..?" The Mad Doctor asked.

"The Pete's brought in some outfits today... quite confusing, really... However, there's a magical aura to them... Gus would know more, but..." 

"We actually talked to Gus about this, but that was when Markus got kidnapped and I had to hear Prescott saying all those lies to me." Oswald tightened up his fists.

"I thought they would give up on these plans... I can't build anything they want me to... You're just realizing this now? Of course you can't do anything... This is why you got stuck in the Gag Factory. This is why the Mad Doctor tricked you! You're a fool! A fool and nothing more! I... I wish... I just...I..."

As the static noises were interfering, the diary closes.

"It's worse than I thought," The Mad Doctor said. "If I'm correct, he might make an attack on Wasteland, but what?"

"No...Prescott wouldn't do such a thing. Right?" Mikey asked.

"I won't let you discover the truth!" A sudden voice shouted.

Pete Pan, Prescott and Ivory made their appearances. 

"So this is Mickey and Oswald you were telling me about?" Ivory asked. 

"Prescott!" Mickey shouted.

"He's not alone," Oswald pointed at Pete Pan. "One of the cats are here, and...wait. Who the heck is that thing?!"

"Oh my. Forgive me for not introducing her. This is...my sprite." Prescott chuckled. "Her name is Ivory."

"WHAT?!"

Ollie took a look at Ivory from above. "That thing is a star sprite?! Impossible! Could this mean that he granted a wish to get powers to? Not to mention that his powers are used for evil. How did you know we we're here?!"

"Simple. We've been watching you the whole time," Ivory said.

Oswald growled. "You little-"

"Now do us a favor and perish."

Oswald points at the villains. "We'll never listen to you! It's on!" 

Mickey and Oswald nodded at each other and transformed. They both posed when they were done. "Doc! Hide yourself! It's about to get nasty!" 

Prescott stared at the Mad Doctor. "Destroy the diary." Ivory shoots out thinner coming out from her arm. It was aiming for the Mad Doctor. 

Mickey took his brush out and blocked it with paint. 

"Head to the Mean Street projector!"

The Mad Doctor makes a run for the projector that will sure be a safe place. Mickey and Oswald sprinted.

"We want you to do us a favor and leave us alone!" Mickey demanded. The brothers jumped all the way up, but enemies dodge Mickey's attacks.

"Don't take us very lightly. I'm not someone who is stupid like Small Pete, you know." Prescott said. He was about to activate an attack of his with his tears.

"Mickey get back!" Oswald shouted.

"Plasma tears!" The plasma tears started shooting in the air. Mickey and Oswald luckily dodged them. 

"What was that?!"

"It's one of his attacks. I've been there before." Oswald glared at Prescott.

"That's right. I won't listen to a single word that you say. Soon, I will take all the desires that I have wanted for the last seven years!"

Pixie dust came from behind. The heroes do notice it. Pete Pan couldn't fool them when they first fought him. Mickey and Oswald landed.

Pete Pan laughed. "There's nothing you can do to stop us once we complete our mission!" 

"We will be glorious conquerors when we have ultimate power!" Ivory added.

Prescott teleported in front of Mickey and Oswald. "With your power, to be specific, I shall take control of this pathetic world!" 

Mickey stayed silent. He was feeling a little scared and was slowly starting to doubt himself as a hero.

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Oswald suddenly asked. "By throwing a temper tantrum just to get what you want?"

Prescott made a confused look. "What?"

"Tough break, Prescott. You'll never beat us. Besides, your servants are always failing, and all you do is shoot out tears from your eyes." Oswald laughed. "I mean, come on. Is that the best you can do?"

Prescott growled.

"Yeah. You know what? He's right. You don't look very threatening to us. All you do is rant about your talents and all the toons you hate!" Mickey also added.

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!!!" Prescott's shouting caused the floor to shake. 

Mickey grunted. "What the-"

"Don't make the boss angry, or else this happens!" Pete Pan said. Oswald did remember this happening during the risk prix at Autotopia. 

"I will get my revenge. On everyone, the gremlins, their precious leader, and YOU BRATS!" 

Prescott jumps and flies. Pete Pan and Ivory follow their soon-to-be leader.

"Come now, you two. We're leaving."

"But, I was getting ready!" Pete Pan complained.

"I have something for them...tomorrow."

They retreated, leaving Mickey and Oswald confused about the last word that Prescott said.

"Huh. That was actually an easy fight." Oswald said.

"Tomorrow? What does he mean?" Mickey asked. 

Oswald placed his arms on his back and started to walk. "It's probably nothin. Come on. The Doc is waiting for us." 

"I have a bad feeling about this." Mikey said. "Don't you?"

Mickey looked down. "I do. We should be cautious."

When Mickey and Oswald de-transformed and returned to Mean Street, they met up with the Mad Doctor. 

"Are you boys alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Doc." Oswald sighed. "We're glad you're safe. It sure was crazy back there. But we still managed to make them go away."

"Hey Mickey! I think we can try to make that wish that I was telling you about!" Mikey said with excitement.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me." Mickey looked up at the sky. It looks like it will be evening soon, and that meant that it was their lucky opportunity for the stars to come out. 

Mikey pointed at the sky. "Look! Stars are already showing up! Now's your chance!"

"Alright!" Mickey began to focus. He was trying to think of how to wish for not just Mikey to have more friends, but for support as well."Stars, if you hear me, please help us! I also wish that my star sprite won't be lonely!"

There was nothing happening. Was it not enough?

"I guess it's impossible after all..." Mikey made a frown. Before anything else would happen, three stars were shining in two different colors. One was pink, the other was pastel green, and the third was yellow. They were both heading straight to Mickey and knocked him on the forehead!

"Ack! Not again!" Mickey fell over.

The stars suddenly began to fuse. It revealed to become a commune in a bigger size! It had an interesting combination of pink, green and yellow on the design. There was a huge star in the middle as well. Mikey was very excited when the sudden poof came along. 

"Ta-daaaaa!!!!!" The sprites cheered. They were dressed in royal clothing. 

The pastel-green and pink sprite seemed like they were the same height while the yellow one looks like a small baby.

"Wow! My friends are here!" Mikey said.

Mickey stuttered. "There's more of them?!"

Oswald scratched his head. "No way...why are they dressed like that?!"

"Boys!" 

"Doc?"

"You all need to see this." The Mad Doctor showed the boys the diary flipping more pages with a sudden static. It stopped flipping as it revealed an image that made everyone gasp.

It was an image of Prescott's mech being rebuilt by Prescott himself. 

"If the diary is showing that picture, that means...it may have reacted to Prescott's presence." They all suddenly heard his voice coming from the diary.

"I... I wish... I just... I...will be loved again. I wish that everyone I hate will be eliminated. I...wish to conquer this world!"

Everyone was silent. The new sprites that were born had no idea what was going on. Meanwhile, back at Dark Beauty Castle, Prescott was trying to bring his creation back to life, while an evil laughter was echoing in the distance. 

"It is almost complete." A lightning strike was heard as two individuals were tied up in a rope together. There was a toon, who appeared to be Ortensia, and the other a gremlin. Another lightning strikes as the light revealed himself. Prescott came up to the individual.

"Why hello, Gus. I've missed you."

Chapter Text

What we have discovered in our story so far is about to get more intense as our heroes weren't taking Prescott very seriously. He is planning an attack to take over Wasteland by stealing the source of power from Mickey and Oswald, recreating his creation from long ago, and getting revenge on the people that he despises.

To make matters worse, he has captured some of those people and that was Ortensia and Gus, and neither of the heroes know that they're missing. Meanwhile, Mickey and Oswald decided to go back to Ortensia's house. They were sitting on the couch in the living room as soon as they got home.

"Prescott really is planning something."

Mickey scooted closer to Oswald. "Does he really want to get rid of Wasteland? What did we ever do to him..?"

Oswald gulped. "He really is a threat, and I made fun of him for it..."

Ollie flew up to the boys. "Don't worry about what he thinks. Focus on kicking his butt!"

"Don't take them lightly, you two. I have a bad feeling that they're up to something. Other than that, I haven't seen Ortensia around since yesterday. She told me that she was gonna get some fertilizer for our garden." Oswald looked up and noticed that they have new sprites in his house. "Oops! Forgot we have Mikey's new friends with us."

Mikey flies to the sprites. "Hiya! My name's Mikey and these are my friends, Mickey, Oswald and Ollie-"

"Hey! Do you wanna play tag?" The green sprite suddenly asked.

"Uh...okay, but-"

Kyle tags Mikey. "Tag! You're it!" He started to fly around the house.

"Hey! I'm not finished here!" Mikey chases after the other sprites that were suddenly following the green one.

"It's good to have someone to play with right, Mikey?"

"You know me?" He asked. 

The green sprite stopped to explain. "We've actually been looking for you all."

Mickey and Oswald gasped. "For real?!"

"When you wished for whatever you desired, we were also brought to life as well." The pink sprite explained. 

"That's right. We flew all around this world to look for you guys." The green sprite said. "Good thing my flaming skills came in handy."

"Flaming skills? Wait! When we were at gremlin village, we saw fire. Did it come from you?" Mikey asked.

He shrugged. "I had to save you guys."

Oswald gasped. "You actually did that?? That's what I'm talking about! We could use some extra support. Thank you...uh...You don't have any names do ya?"

"Well...no." The pink sprite said.

"Well, Oswald, you know what that means! We gotta name those three!"

"You know what? Let's have our buddies pick this time."

Mikey gasps. "Us?"

They started to think. "Hmm. This might be a tough one."

The other sprites were confused.

Mikey snapped his finger. "I got it!" A lightbulb icon also appeared. "I'll call the green one...Kyle, and the pink one Camila."

"We can call the last one Kira." Ollie also added.

"Kira?"

"The yellow fur of hers really suits her for a name like that."

"Gosh, you're right, Ollie! You two came up with some cute names!" Mickey said.

"Then it settled. Well guys, what do you think?" Oswald asked the sprites.

"We approve!" Kyle and Camila jumped.

"Kira Kira!" Kira cheered out her name.

Camila gasped. "Kira's first word!"

"Whoa! Already?" Ollie was surprised.

Kyle huddled up with his two sisters Camila and Kira. "Then it settled! From now on we are Kyle, Camila and Kira!" 

The toons and the sprites enjoyed themselves until the moon was risen. Kyle, Camila and Kira were now asleep in their commune.

"Wow. They passed out really fast." Mickey looked at the sleeping sprites as he gave out a smile. "To think there were five sprites born on the same day. That's crazy." 

"We should get some sleep too." Oswald gave out a yawn. 

The rest of the boys went to bed as well. All the lights were turned off in the house. While everyone was asleep, Oswald still couldn't get Ortensia out of his head. It's been a full day without her since he left to solve his own mystery. 

"This is weird. She's never this late. Ortensia...Where are you?" Oswald struggled just thinking about her, but he eventually got himself to sleep.

Later that night, Prescott was getting prepared as he made the finishing touches on his mech. He chuckled to himself as he was moving his wrench. 

"With my creation almost complete, I will crush that rabbit out of its misery! Ha!"

Ortensia growled. "What do you want from him, Prescott?! You better explain yourself! Whatever you are planning to do, it won't work!"

"If I were to tell you, then it wouldn't be a surprise." Prescott creates an electric cage. Ortensia and Gus gasped.

"I wouldn't touch those bars if I were you. Unless, you want to tell me what Gus is hiding."

"Never! You've gone too far, Prescott!" Gus yelled.

Prescott's mech suddenly malfunctions into making a kind wave. He growled and kicked his own creation.

 "It looks like it still needs some time. But it doesn't matter. With Ivory's help, I will surely get my desires." Prescott does an evil chuckle as he leaves the room. 

"Ivory? Don't tell me he has a sprite of his own too!" Ortensia exclaimed. Gus had a bad feeling about the fact that Prescott's sprite means that something terrible is near.

~~˚˚˚~~

The next morning, the sprites wake up feeling energetic as they wake up Mickey and Oswald. 

They both chuckled as they said good morning to each other. After they got dressed, they ran out of the front door to enjoy their day. When they got to Mean Street, they noticed that people were spreading rumors around town. Not just Mean Street, but every other part of Wasteland.

"Hey, have you seen Ortensia lately?" A toon asked.

"No I haven't. In fact I haven't seen her in three days!" Another toon said.

"I heard rumors that she turned back into stone!"

"You mean when the Thinner Disaster happened?"

"Yeah, that's right. If that's true, then Oswald would be so upset."

Oswald scoffs. "Lies."

Mickey was confused. "Huh? What do they mean? Where did all these rumors come from?"

"They've been going around for three days. It still hasn't stopped yet, and it just...bugs me." He sighed. "I just hope she's okay."

The others couldn't help but feel bad for Oswald hearing all these rumors. They took a look at Horace's place, and thought of an idea. 

"Let's go talk to Horace. Maybe he'll know how to solve this situation." Mickey suggested. 

Oswald nods in agreement. They arrived at the front door and opened it not knowing that Horace was dealing with an angry Jamface.

"I'm sorry, Jamface! I have not heard a word from him for a while!"

The boys were just as puzzled as ever, but they just stood there and watched. 

"What do you mean you don't know where Gus is?! You have no idea how many days I have been searching for him, and he's nowhere to be seen!" Jamface angrily exclaimed.

Oswald and MIckey were in shock! They both ran to Horace and Jamface.

 "No way..! Gus is missing too?! Now that you've mentioned it, we haven't seen him in a while either." Mickey also started to worry.

"What's with these disappearances? First Ortensia, and now him? Something's wrong here."

There was a sudden static. It was coming from Horace's TV. It seemed to have interrupted the current network of a marathon of old Walt Disney cartoons. 

"Why hello, boys. Can you hear me well enough?" Prescott chuckled.

Jamface gasped. "Prescott?! Did he interrupt the network?!"

Prescott has indeed used his power to interrupt the entirety of the network all across Wasteland. He grinned as he began to speak. It has caught multiple attention from everyone with worried looks.

"I can see that you're in need of answers about the rumored disappearance of some people that we know of. If you're wondering why all these pathetic people are worried about your precious friends, I may know where they are."

Mickey and Oswald glared at the screen. They had a bad feeling.

"They're right over here." The camera was facing Ortensia and Gus!

"No! Ortensia!" Oswald exclaimed.

"He has Gus too!" Mickey pointed at the TV.

Jamface gasped! "No...!"

"Oswald! Help us!" Ortensia cried.

"If you want to save them, you'll have to fight me. Enter the Gag Factory...if you dare." He does an evil laugh, along with the static interference of the signal. It caused everyone to gasp.

"Who was that?" Kyle asked.

"That was Prescott, and he has our friends!"

Kira noticed that Camila watched as well. She was still staring at the screen.

"Friends? That cat looked really cute. Maybe I can be friends with her!"

"Yeah, that's Ortensia. She's my lovely honeybunch and-"

"Oswald!" The others yelled.

"Oh, sorry. Now's not the time!" Oswald looked outside. "We need to get to the Gag Factory. Now." 

"Let me assist you both." Jamface requested.

"But, Jamface...That's..."

"I won't let Prescott hurt you or my leader. Please, let me come with you, your Majesty!" He bowed to Oswald.

Mickey and Oswald thought of it. Jamface has known Gus and Prescott for the longest time. It really shows that he could do anything to save his leader. 

"Okay. Then you better follow our lead." Oswald said.

The boys took the sprites and quickly ran off to Ostown where the Gag Factory was located. When they arrived, the first thing that they saw was the Gag Factory, however, the building looks a lot more distorted-looking with a purplish color. 

Jamface gasped. "What's going on with the Gag Factory?!" 

"I don't know, but it can't be good. Let's go!" Mickey took out his commune. Oswald joined in as well.

Mickey and Oswald both activated their communes with a card swipe and transformed. Jamface is amazed with the costumes that the heroes were wearing.

"Alright! Let's save our friends!"

The three toons entered the Gag Factory after the large door made its opening. Jamface looked down to the floor. It didn't seem as normal as usual.

 "You two should be cautious. The floor might be-"

As they stepped foot into the Gag Factory, they felt the floor wobbling around. Mickey loses his balance and accidentally bumps into Oswald and they fall down together in a very long and deep slide. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Their scream made an echo as they slid further down. 

"...Not normal." Jamface sighed as he teleported to the other side.

Everyone else continued to scream. However, Kira thought sliding was fun.

"Wheeeeeeeeee!!!" 

~~˚˚˚~~

As they made it to the bottom, they both felt dizzy, along with the sprites. 

"Oowww..." Oswald groaned and shook his head. "That hurt."

"Oswald! Look!" Mickey was pointing at something. It took awhile for Oswald to look in that direction.

Oswald looked up to Ortensia and Gus, and he made a surprised gasp. "Guys! You're okay! Don't worry I'll get you two out!"

Ortensia was excited to see Oswald running to her, but then she realized that the cage was still untouchable. "Oswald, no! Don't touch-"

It was too late! Oswald got electrocuted after he touched the cage bars, and screamed in pain, and the shock sent him back to the ground.

"Oswald!" They all cried in unison.

Prescott comes in with a teleportation, and the rest of the toons gasp. "Hm. So you did decide to show up after all. Hah. How foolish."

Kyle, Camila and Kira took a look at Prescott. They were all scared of how his appearance looked. He was wearing a blue suit, along with some metal armor for his top, helmet, gloves and boots. He also has a ribbon worn with a purple gem in the middle. The sprites saw him slowly grinning. They saw him turning his head to Jamface. 

"Jamface. It's so nice to see you again after so many years." He sarcastically said. 

"Prescott, I will never forgive you for this! Mickey and Oswald will definitely defeat you! I can guarantee that!"

"Yeah, you tell him Jamface!" Oswald stood up.

"We won against you once, and we can do it again!" 

Prescott scoffs. "I can't stand how pathetic you all are.  Let's see how many seconds you last." He grinned.

Mickey and Oswald looked at Prescott and sprinted to him. A dark aura suddenly appeared. Oswald made a light gasp, but it didn't stop him from running. Suddenly, Ivory made her appearance, which means the dark magic is her doing. Prescott suddenly vanished alongside Ivory!

Mickey gasped. "Huh?! What the-"

There was a sudden attack from behind, but it wasn't visible. Mickey and Oswald are now on the ground. Ivory has an ability to make Prescott invisible. She makes him visible again. 

"What's the matter, Oswald? Why fight? All I want is some answers from your friend Gus over there. I want to know more about our powers. If you won't stop fighting me, then I'll force him to talk to me!"

Oswald growled. "We won't let you do that! Stand still so I can get a good punch outta ya!" He dashed. "I won't let you hurt my sweetheart!"

Mickey joined in with Oswald. "We'll save our friends! No matter what it takes!"

"The time has come. Witness my new power! Ivory!"

Prescott and Ivory are planning to attack. Ivory started to transform into something. Mickey and Oswald noticed that she turned into a dark light. They still proceeded to run to their enemy. Ivory has now turned into a sword! It was also one of Prescott's other abilities. The sword has a black color for the handle, and the blade was purple. It looked deadly by the sound of electricity. He ran to the heroes and shouted out the words needed for the sword's power.

"Phantom Strike!"

Purple lightning comes out as it forms into a ball of electrical light. He swung his sword and the light hit Mickey and Oswald and sent them flying. They hit the wall really badly and were seriously hurt. 

"No! Oswald!" Ortensia cried. She started to tear up. "Oswald, get up! Please!"

Prescott laughed. "How do you like that? I'm much more powerful now!" 

The heroes are on the ground. The sprites were all afraid of losing to the bad guy. At that point, hope is all lost for our heroes. Could this be the end? 

The newer sprites were also crying. They had to do something. But what could they do? Kyle immediately started flying up. 

Camila gasped. "Kyle, where are you going? Come back!"

"It looks like you two are weak for my power. Why not surrender right here?"

Oswald grunted. He was struggling to stand up. "I won't....lose..."

"Ozzie..."

Prescott grabbed Oswald's arm. "Oh, Oswald. I was expecting more from you. To be the strongest and luckiest hero to ever live. But it looks like I was wrong. Instead, you are the most pathetic, powerless, and dumbest loser." He chuckled. "Now your precious people won't see you as the heroic person after I destroy you."

"GET AWAY FROM THEM YOU BULLYYYYY!!!!!!!"

"Kyle...?"

The three colored lights, green, pink, and yellow were all shining brightly, and it covered up the entire Gag Factory. Prescott couldn't see anymore. He doesn't know that he let go of Oswald. Kyle, Camila and Kira have transformed into a strange looking device. It almost looked like some kind of computer. Of course, nobody knows what a computer even is in either of their worlds. 

"I grant you your miracle!"

The sprites sent Mickey and Oswald a powerup. The objects were landing on their arms. They were given magical bracelets! It also seemed that the bracelet's power healed them as well. Camila and Kira weren't expecting this to happen, but they had courage inside their hearts.

"What the-" Oswald looked at his blue bracelet. "Are we...healed?"

Mickey also looked at his red bracelet. "How did we get stronger all of the sudden?"

"We have given you the power of the Miracle Bracelets!" 

"Miracle Bracelets?" Mickey and Oswald both asked in unison.

"Like that will save you." Prescott laughed as he went to attack the boys, but they suddenly vanished.

"Too slow, chump!"

Prescott growled. "I dare you to say that again!" He dashed to Oswald but he dodged really quickly.

Oswald laughed. "Too slow, chump!"

"YOU BRAT!"

An unexpected surprise kick came from Mickey! 

"YOU SON OF A-"

"Biscuit?" Oswald asked as if he was trying to finish Prescott's sentence. 

Prescott growled again. "NO MORE GAMES!" He was about to attack with his sword again, but suddenly, Jamface pushed Prescott away from the heroes! Prescott accidentally let go of Ivory as she turned back to normal. She was now weak and coughing in pain.

"No! Ivory! YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR THIS!"

"You two! Hold each other's hands!" Kyle called out to get their attention.

"What? Why?"

"Don't ask questions! Just do it!"

Mickey and Oswald had no choice. They were running out of time. They held each other's hands tightly. Their bracelets started to glow. 

"Star Sprites, hear us now!”

“Grant us the power of our elements, magic and hope!"

Everyone watched Mickey and Oswald using their new powers. It was a miracle to all toons. Well, only for toons that have courage to keep moving forward. Ortensia mostly believed that her most loved one would come to her rescue.

"Miracle Magical Action!"

A ball of light formed with so many shining stars. It aimed for Prescott and Ivory.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Then, the stars destroyed the cage and set Ortensia and Gus free. It also reverted the Gag Factory to the way it originally was. It was once again another victory for the heroes. This new power that they have will indeed be very useful to them in the future, in case the villains ever become stronger one day, but they don't think it'll ever happen.

As the toons left the Gag Factory, there was a mysterious silhouette standing on the corner of the building. It may have heard the entirety of the battle that happened. Their silence might mean disappointment for Prescott's defeat. The form of the silhouette looked like it was a cartoon rabbit. But how? Oswald is the only rabbit of Wasteland, right? They make their exit.

Later, Mickey and Oswald transformed back. Everyone made it to Ortensia's house and talked about what had happened today. Thanks to their new sprite, the heroes were able to rescue their friends.

"Kyle, Camila, Kira, thank you for helping us get our pals back."  Mickey hugged his new friends. They all giggled.

"Eh, It was nothin." Kyle chuckled.

"Prescott was really forcing Gus to talk about those costumes. But thankfully, you two came in." Ortensia said.

Oswald held Ortensia's hand. "Yeah, we did. With our new powers, we'll be unstoppable!"

"We mustn't get it too cocky. That mysterious power that they have is dangerous. You two have to keep a look-out from now on." Gus explained.

"Right. Mickey and I can go out for patrol, so that we'll get a good punch outta Prescott."

"That sounds like a good plan." Mickey smiled.

Mickey and Oswald's new sprite friends are thrilled to work with their heroes. However, it doesn't mean that they have to think that taking down Prescott was going to be easy. Back at Dark Beauty Castle, Prescott looked at the dark sky as he thought of Mickey and Oswald's power-ups. 

"You two seem to have made this war interesting." 

He gave out a grin as he slowly walked into the darkness. He stopped and stood in front of the same mysterious rabbit from Ostown.

"And you are just who I'm looking for...Fanny."

Chapter Text

Mickey and Oswald have been through many crazy adventures so far. Prescott almost got the victory he always wanted but thanks to Mickey and Oswald’s new sprites and with their new powers that they’ve received, the battles that they’ll be dealing with may be a lot tougher, but they’ll always have each other’s back until the end!

 It was already the next day, and there was no villain in sight…yet. The sun, on the other hand, is blazing hot, meaning that summer has arrived. The sprites were planning on giving the boys some special training, but not under this condition. Right now, Mickey, Oswald and the star sprites are in the living room, in front of a fan as it was turned on so that they can cool off in this flaming heat. Ortensia came in with a cup of tea and watched the rest of them trying to stay cool. She gave out a smile.

“How do you guys get through this heat??!” Ollie asked as he groaned as laid on his back.

“Are you used to this or something??” Kyle also asked.

“Well, summer has just started, and we always deal with heat like this.” Oswald said.

“We’ve been through worse, but this may be the worst one yet.”

Kira tried to crawl her way to a nearby water bottle, but she’s nowhere near that stage yet. 

Mickey sighed. “There’s a beach that I always go to with my friends back at home when it’s usually hot.”

“But you haven’t been at home for seven years.”

“Not helping, Oswald.”

“Oh, sorry.” Oswald sighed. “If only there was some way to keep ourselves cool for the summer.”

Everyone sighed as they continued to sweat. Suddenly, Mickey got an idea. “Ortensia, do you have a water hose in your garden?”

Ortensia looked confused over a sudden question. “Oh, of course I do? Why do you ask?”

“I have a plan, and I know it’ll work. Oswald, go get an inflatable pool from the attic.”

“On it!”

Once the pool was inflated, and the water hose was ready, it was time to fill up the pool with water!

“Turn the hose on Oswald!”

Only a tiny splash of water fell into the pool. The heat was that bad. All the water was drained.

Mickey fell down on his knees. “Dang it… so much for that.

“Don’t worry, bro. At least you gave us an idea for the future.”

“You know what, Ozzie? You're right.” He stood back up again. “Let’s find another way.”

~~~

Meanwhile at Dark Beauty Castle, a mysterious toon was walking through the hallway all the way to Prescott’s throne where he was sitting. 

“You called?” 

“Ah, Fanny. I’ve been waiting for you.”

The toon’s voice obviously sounds like a girl. However, her cape was covering her appearance except for half of her large bang that’s covering her face. 

Back at the halls, Big Bad Pete and Small Pete were walking while they came up with mixed up schemes.

“How about we use my plants to steal all of the ice cream cones so we can cool down all summer?” Small Pete laughed.

Big Bad Pete facepalmed himself. “Dat’s not what we’re after, dummy! We need to get the power of the communes, so we can take over the world!”

“I will be counting on you, Fanny. You have my gratitude.” 

“Hold on. I hear somethin’.” Big Bad Pete whispered.

“That sounded like Boss..!” Small Pete also whispered.

The two hid behind a wall and took a tiny peek. They noticed that their boss was talking to a strange individual. Could it be a new villain? Fanny turned around and left the room.

“I’ll be in my room for a while. Make sure no one disturbs me.”

“Yes, master.”

 Fanny passed by the Pete’s. She didn’t notice that the Pete’s were spying on her…or did she?

“Who is dat girl?” Small Pete asked. “Should we tell the boss?”

“No. He already said he’s going to be in his room, and we can’t disturb him.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

“We should investigate first, and then we’ll try to get some info on her.” 

“Good idea, Pete.”

Prescott teleported to his room a few minutes later, and then he quickly switched to his disguise as Patxi. After a small chuckle, he teleported to Wasteland.

~~~

Later that afternoon, Mickey, Oswald and Ortensia went to try and at least cool off with some ice cream. However, the sun has turned their soft-serve cones into soup. Nobody else around town couldn’t stand the heat either. 

“Geez, this heat is killing me.” Oswald groaned.

“Oswald, it’s not just you. The other toons across Wasteland can’t stand this dreadful heat.” Ortensia said.

Mickey sighed. “Don’t worry, fellas. I’m sure we’ll find a way to stay cool.” 

“I kids wish our sprites could use ice magic too.”

Ollie flew up to Oswald. “Now that you mentioned it, there is a way to do that.”

“Really?”

“There’s a card that can help us out with that. It’s the Ice card.”

Mickey was the first one to take his card out. “This one, right?”

“Yes! That’s right! That card can also be used for battle purposes whenever you two are in a pinch.”

“Wow! That’s really going to be useful someday. Alright, let’s give it a try.” Mickey swiped his card onto his commune.

Nothing seemed to happen at first, until a burst of white snowflakes popped out of Mickey’s commune. It started to fly towards a random toon’s melted ice cream cone and it reverted back to its soft served form in seconds.

“Fellas, I think we’re onto something.”

~~~

Mickey and Oswald requested Paulie , the owner of the ice cream parlor, to help out with a little bit of magic to freeze the frozen treats. Paulie liked the idea, so he let them go all out. With their magic, the ice cream became unmelted in a split second. 

They asked everyone to bring their friends into the shop to enjoy their ice cream in the nice cool building. This is what magic is meant for. To help other people in need. Ortensia was very proud of Mickey and Oswald for what they have done. She will always count on them to make things right. At the end of the day, Paulie thanked the boys for their hard work and hoped that they continue to use their powers for the greater good in the future. Of course, the boys will always do their part to make the toons of Wasteland happy.

~~~

As the sun was setting, Mickey, Oswald and Ortensia were walking home. they suddenly stopped after they heard footsteps from behind. They turned around and saw nothing.

Oswald raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s odd. I could’ve sworn I heard footsteps.”

Ortensia shrugged. “Maybe it was just our imagination.”

They proceeded to walk to the projector to Ostown. The mysterious footsteps were coming from Fanny who was hiding in front of the Walt statue. She peeked her head out as she watched them enter the projector. She was mainly focusing on Oswald and Ortensia. Why was that?

“Found you.”

~~~

Once it was nighttime, the gang decided to call it a day. Mickey, Oswald were the last ones awake. 

“Gosh, I didn’t know we could cast that kind of magic.”

“Yeah, me neither. But we can definitely use it a lot more often in the future.”

“I wonder what other type of magic we can use. Just thinking about it makes me excited!”

Oswald nodded and stood up. “Me too. I think we should call it a night. I hope you’re ready for another hot day tomorrow.”

Mickey laughed. “Yeah. But we’ll face it together.”

Oswald smiled at Mickey and nodded again. “Definitely.”

The boys started walking upstairs and got ready to call it a night.

“Goodnight, Ozzie.”

“Night, Mickey.”

Mickey enters the guests bedroom and tucked in for the night. Mikey was also in the room with him and was already asleep in his commune. Oswald was about to change into his pajamas until he heard his stomach growl.

“I think I got time for a late night snack.”

Sometime later he returned upstairs as he was chewing on an apple. He suddenly gasped as he spotted a toon in a black cape. He also noticed that Ortensia was being grabbed by the mysterious toon, and the sprites were trapped in a cage.

“Ortensia!! Hey! Who are you?!”

“That’s none of your business, for a cheater like you!”

“Cheater?! Hold on! You let them go right now!”

The toon used a staff that had a green diamond on it and created a green portal. She used magic to make the cage float and threw Ortensia and the sprites in.

“Oops! Butterfingers.”

Oswald growled. “Why you..!”

“Well, so long. Byeeeee!” She jumps into the portal.

“Stop! Thief!”

The portal closed as soon as Oswald tried to jump in.

“No!”

Where could she have possibly gone? Oswald thought hard enough to remember that he noticed a bit of old junk of Mickey merch coming from inside the portal. That must mean…MickeyJunk Mountain! Of course! But, why would she go there? Oswald immediately ran for the D.E.C and to find the location.

~~~

The way to MickeyJunk Mountain felt like a bumpy ride from Ostown. It was not a joyful ride alright. Ortensia has never known where Oswald took shelter after she turned to stone when the thinner disaster happened. As she was looking around the room, she noticed the sprites were next to her and they were all shaking in fear.

“Ortensia! I’m scared!” Camila cried.

Ortensia rushed to the cage. “Camila, it’s going to be okay! Oswald will come and rescue us.” She assured.

“Relying on your ‘honey bunny’ to come and save you? How pathetic.” A sudden voice said as she stepped forward to Ortensia.

“You! Who are you?! Show yourself!”

The thief took a few steps forward as she took her cape off and revealed her face. You’d think she’d look similar to Ortensia, but think again. She has a green colored streak at the end of her bangs, and her eyes look extremely tired. The color of her hoodie and skirt also has two shades of green. Everyone gasped.

“A rabbit? She looks similar to Oswald.” Ollie whispered to Mikey.

“I’m Francine Cottontail. Everyone, however, calls me Fanny for short. Back then I used to be Oswald’s lover! Until YOU stole him from me, Sadie!” She pointed at Ortensia. 

“My name is Ortensia.” She corrected Fanny.

Fanny scoffed. “Believe me. I know. Your name used to be Sadie back in the day.” She walked away from Ortensia.

“I had everything. I thought I found a guy who could make my life last forever, until YOU showed up. Oswald disappeared one day when you were created as if I didn’t exist anymore.”

“You poor thing…there has to be something I can do to help.”

“DOES IT LOOK LIKE I NEED HELP FROM SOMEONE LIKE YOU?! A TOON WHO STOLE OSWALD FROM ME?! I WOULD NEVER EVER WANT HELP FROM YOU!”

Ortensia was frightened. She’s never heard a voice this vivid. 

“But right after I deal with you and the sprites, I’m going after him next.”

Ortensia gasped. “No! You can’t!”

“And how exactly are you going to stop me? You are powerless! You don’t have any magic to use against me!”

Ortensia was silent. She couldn’t handle the truth. If she had powers, she would be a good help to Mickey and Oswald, the heroes that she looks up to. What could she do? Fanny took out her staff with a green diamond on it. She then kicked Ortensia and sent her to the wall. Fanny started to charge up with green electricity and pointed it towards Ortensia as the sprites watched in horror. Kira started to burst into tears.

“Farewell, Sadie.”

“Stop right there!” A sudden voice shouted.

Fanny turned around trying to find that voice. “Who’s there?!”

The toon jumps down behind Fanny and pushes her to the ground. It was Oswald!

“Stay right where you are.” He warned Fanny, but he’s unaware who this girl was.

“Oswald!” Ortensia and the sprites exclaimed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll save you all from…Hold on. Who is that?”

“I don’t know! She said she was going after you!”

“Me? I’ve never seen her in my life.”

Fanny gasped and covered her face. She was starting to tear up after what Oswald said about her. She really was forgotten by her first boyfriend for so long. The rest heard her sobbing.

“Is Fanny…crying?” Mikey asked.

Oswald looked at Mikey in question about her name. “Fanny?” He looked back at the crying rabbit. “Whoever she is, I think she needs help.” Oswald took a few steps forward. Ortensia stopped Oswald by grabbing his arm.

“Oswald, no! We can’t trust her. She was trying to get rid of me. We can’t trust someone who would do something that’s so evil!”

“True, but we can at least try to talk to her.”

“Oswald!”

“Trust me. There’s always a solution.”

Ortensia had a bad feeling, but she slowly let go of Oswald and let him walk to Fanny. The sound of his footsteps became louder and Fanny still had her head down. 

“Fanny? Are you…okay?”

Fanny growled. “YOU!” 

She didn’t hesitate to jump on Oswald.

“How dare you…YOU FORGOT ALL ABOUT ME!”

“W-What are you talking about?!” Oswald used his feet to push Fanny away. She landed on all fours, growling like a scary predator. 

Fanny charges up her staff again and desperately tries to attack Oswald as he keeps dodging her moves. “You meant the world to me, Oswald! And you decided to replace me for A CAT?! How could you abandon me?! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE WITH THIS FAKER OF A LOVER!” 

“Whoever you are, you’re wrong! Ortensia is not who you think she is! She’s a kindhearted toon. She loves me, her people, and her kids. Even without magic, deep down she’s still a hero to all of us.”

Ortensia softly smiled at Oswald after that last sentence. “Honey Bunny…”

“SHUT UP, CAT! ONLY I CAN CALL HIM THAT!” Fanny growled.

Oswald managed to get a hold of Fanny by jumping her on the ground. She also accidentally let go of her staff. Without it, she is powerless. Ortensia ran in front of it and picked it up. Nothing happened when she was holding it. She examined the staff and noticed something.

“That staff…It has a diamond on it.”

“It’s just like the ones that Prescott and the Pete’s wear!” Oswald noticed the dark green color on it. “So without that staff…”

“I’m weak without it, okay?! NOW GIVE IT BACK SO I CAN KILL YOU!!”

“You need to calm down, and tell me who you really are! Fanny, please!”

Fanny couldn’t resist any longer as tears started flowing down her cheeks.

“Okay, okay! Fine! I’ll tell you! Just don’t hurt me, honey bunny!”

Oswald lets go of Fanny as she stands up on her own. Ortensia’s eyes widened up.

“He did it!” She thought.

“Just who exactly are you? Tell me the truth.”

Fanny was hesitant to tell Oswald who she is or even worse…how she was brought back. She puts her little hoodie on as she takes a deep breath.

“I was your first girlfriend…”

Oswald and Ortensia gasped! Was Fanny telling the truth? Before Fanny could continue to talk, Big Bad Pete and Small Pete were suddenly right behind her! It caught Oswald’s attention with a blink of an eye.

“Fanny, look out!” He shouted.

Oswald started to make a run for it. Ortensia followed him but Small Pete trips her over with his peg leg, making her drop the staff. 

“Gotcha! Wait! You’re wearing pink! And you’re a cat! Like me!” Small Pete laughed. 

“Not Ortensia, you idiot! We need the rabbit girl!” Big Bad Pete yelled.

Big Bad Pete jumped to capture Fanny, however, the unexpected occurred. She jumps as soon as the Pete’s jumps to the ground. She quickly grabbed the staff and used magic to make them float and sent them to crash into a wall. Oswald luckily found a key that fell off of Fanny’s pocket and quickly picked it up and opened the cage while her back was turned.

Oswald held Ortensia’s hand. “If we're gonna run, now’s our chance!” 

Somewhere in the room, Fanny grinned as Big Bad Pete groaned in pain. “Oww…but how did you…”

Fanny chuckled. “Thought I didn’t see you following my tail eh, Petey’s?” She turned her head back to where she saw Oswald. He and Ortensia were now gone.

“Now look at what you made me do! You let them escape! I almost had them and their sprites!” She glared and growled at them. “I'll have to let Prescott know about this.”

Big Bad Pete and Small Pete evilly snickered. 

“She’s in deep trouble now!” Big Bad Pete cackled.

“Yeah!” Small Pete laughed once more.

“Get over here you two!”

Meanwhile, Oswald and Ortensia made it to the D.E.C. Before they would leave, Oswald took a look back at MickeyJunk Mountain. He stayed silent for a moment as he was thinking about what he had to face today.

“Oswald, what’s wrong?” Ortensia asked.

“Fanny…Could she be working for Prescott? No…she would never! …Would she?”

“Oswald…”

~~˚˚˚~~

As the next day arrived, Oswald exited out the bathroom with a towel on his head. He then was greeted by Mickey.

“Ozzie! There ya are! Gosh, you must be enjoying that shower, huh?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Guilty!”

Ortensia and the sprites all greeted the boys. By the look of Mickey’s face, it looked like he had no idea that Mikey got captured by Fanny. “Looks like everyone’s awake.”

As they were eating breakfast, they decided to watch the news.

“Daisy Duck here! I’m here reporting live at the coastal town of Tortooga! It appears that a group of gremlins have found a solution to clear out the thinner waters!” The camera shows the group of gremlins hard at work, hoping to be able to have normal waters just like how it was before the thinner disaster happened. 

 If it succeeds, toons will be able to enjoy the ocean just like in the past. Let’s wish our fellow friends good luck! This is Daisy Duck, signing off!”

“Wow! Those guys sure are working hard, aren’t they?” Ollie asked.

“Yup. They sure are.” Mickey suddenly got an idea. “What about we throw a beach party if it goes well?”

Everyone liked the idea. Especially Oswald. He chuckled once more. “Looks like there’s no objections! The gremlins could surely use our help too. They’ll definitely love the idea of some relaxation. Let’s go, everyone!”

~~~

At Dark Beauty Castle, Big Bad Pete and Small Pete were worn out from last night, but that didn’t matter to them right now. They were hoping that their boss would give Fanny an unpleasant punishment. 

“Hehe! You’re in so much trouble now, rabbit girl!” Big Bad Pete laughed.

Small Pete also laughed. “Yeah! Once Big Boss shows up, he’ll make you go deaf!”

Fanny ignored the two as she saw Prescott arriving at his throne.

Fanny bowed. “Master…I…I’m sorry. I failed you. If it weren’t for these two idiots I would’ve given you the powers you wanted. Please forgive me.”

There was no response coming from Prescott. The Pete’s were ready for their boss to flip out.

“Don’t worry about it. I know you’ll succeed next time.”

The Pete’s blinked a couple of times after his response. “HUH??!!”

“Thank you, master.”

“You’re not going to even punish her?!” Big Bad Pete angrily asked.

“You two will be the ones punished for making her fail!” Pressed yelled.

The Pete’s gulped. Fanny grinned at them.

“Who even is she, boss?!”

“Fanny is a close partner of mine. She will be helping us out in getting the power of the star sprites. I was in the need of someone who is more independent.”

Fanny smiled. “Why thank you, master.” She turned back to the Pete’s. “I hope I get along with all of you. We will make a great team.”

The Pete’s grumbled. “Yeah. We’re glad to have you too.”

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

The two Pete’s growled. “Thank you! We are honored to have you.” They repeated, and Fanny was able to hear them.

Fanny chuckled. “This will indeed be a beautiful friendship.” She starts walking in the hallway of the castle.

“Where in the world did she even come from?!” Small Pete asked in anger.

Prescott groaned. “If I told you, would you two shut up about it?”

Pete and Small Pete looked at each other and nodded at their boss.

“She came from me.”

“But how?!” Small Pete desperately asked. “ You used your power to make a clone of Oswald or something?”

“I didn’t clone Oswald. That was his first…blech… love.”

The Pete’s gasped, but they let Prescott continue. 

“Years ago, while you Pete’s forced me to build your army, I came across a blotling. It looked like there was someone crying for help. I stepped closer to it, until I noticed it was…a rabbit. It looked exactly like Oswald. She was filled with sadness and always kept saying his name nonstop. I had my powers at the time, so I decided to bring her back to life.”

To picture what Prescott explained, he used his magic to give Fanny back her physical form. He gave her appearance an upgraded version of her old design. She was given a dark green hoodie, a large bang with a green streak at the end of it. Her skirt was also green but with a lighter color. The only thing that was different between her old design and now is her dirty and ripped skirt and tired eyes. She looked like she'd been up all night for Oswald to come back to her for so many decades. 

“Ever since then, she has been a good companion of mine. I promised to help her make his wife suffer and bring her and Oswald together again. She is currently helping me with repairs of my mech that we successfully stole years ago. And so far, she has been a helpful servant than you fools.”

“HEY!” The Pete’s yelled.

“Trust me. You’ll learn a whole lot once you get to know her.”

The Pete’s couldn’t help but growl in anger. It looks like they’ll be bothered by Fanny for a long while.

Fanny entered her bedroom and looked out the window remembering all the moments she had with him for a short amount of time. In her past, she was saved by Oswald when she was close to drowning on a beach from “All Wet”. She also worked as a nurse during the war time period in “Great Guns”. When she tried to find Oswald one day, he was nowhere to be found. 

When she discovered that Ortensia replaced her, she was erased from existence and was lost in the darker sides of Wasteland. Years later, during the events of the thinner disaster, she was one of the Blot’s victims, but no one inside seemed to know that she was there at all. After she was brought back, she was given a lot of work and training from Prescott and begged him to help her get revenge on Oswald and Ortensia. Of course, he couldn’t say no to that. 

“I will find a way back to your heart…Oswald.”

Chapter Text

Yesterday, Mickey and Oswald discovered new cards that can help their fellow toons and new ways to prepare themselves for future battle. Not only that, but Oswald and Ortensia were introduced to Francine Cottontail, or as she prefers to be called Fanny. We've discovered what she had to go through in her past, and now she is seeking revenge on them, especially Ortensia. It looks like Mickey has no idea what has happened on that night nor anything about the mysterious forgotten toon.

As Mickey and his friends arrive at their destination in Tortooga, they meet up with Jamface and the group of gremlins. Since it is summer, they all wore short sleeved jumpsuits. Gremlin Patxi was there as well.

"Mornin' Jamface!" Oswald greeted. 

Jamface smiled at the brothers, Ortensia and the star sprites. "Good morning, leader! And good morning to you all as well."

Mikey flew to Jamface. "We saw you and the gremlins on the news this morning. Something about a solution to getting rid of that weird green water."

"Oui. That 'green water' you're referring to is the thinner ocean."

"And we have indeed found a way to get rid of those bloody waters once and for all. But I suggest we use those magical abilities of yours." The voice came from Patxi as he was flying towards Mickey and Oswald. 

"Our magic?" Oswald asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jamface scoffed. "I forgot Patxi said something about that."

"From what I heard, the magic you use helps toons, does it not?"

"Well, of course it does." Mickey said. "I'm not sure if we have any specific cards that we can use. We used an ice card yesterday to keep Paulie's ice cream from melting."

"I don't think Ollie and I  have a card to clear out thinner. Sorry..." Mikey apologized.

Oswald sighed. "Darn...It would take a miracle to get all this thinner cleared out."

Kira's brooch suddenly glowed and it made her giggle. Then, everyone gasped when a light bursted with magic coming out of her brooch. It was headed directly towards the thinner waters. 

"What's happening?!"

"Everyone, look!" Mickey pointed to the magic slowly removing every single piece of thinner from the ocean. The thinner was now gone and turned the water to a crystal blue color. It was a miracle!

"Whoa! I didn't know Kira had that kind of magic!" Camila looked at Kira's brooch. "Oswald might've said something that made that brooch react to it." 

"Way to go, little sis!" Kyle hugged Kira. She giggled.

"Looks like all wishes do come true." Patxi chuckled.

Oswald happily puts his arm around Mickey. "Well, Mickey, looks like we're having that beach party after all!"

"Awesome! Come on! Let's get decorating!"

~~~

The toons and the sprites continued cheering before they could start decorating the beach for their party. They put up balloons, streamers, and many summer decorations to place around Tortooga. The toons also brought in many inflatable pool floaties, enough for all of them to use. By the looks of things, it's going to be an amazing party that Wasteland will have! 

Mickey continued to look at all the hard work that he and his friends have done, and Mickey suddenly thought of something. "Gosh, I wish I had my swimsuit. All of my clothes are stuck at home." 

"I don't think any of us have swimsuits either. Heck, I don't think I ever wore one!" 

"Boys!"

Mickey and Oswald turned to Ortensia coming from behind with something behind her back.

"Ortensia?"

"I bumped into the Mad Hatter a moment ago, and he told me to give you these." Ortensia shows the boys two pairs of swim trunks. One was red and the other was blue. She first gives the blue swimsuit to Oswald. 

"Sweet! We'll make sure to thank him later." Oswald also takes the red swimsuit and gives it to Mickey.

"Oh, and he made some for the sprites too!" Ortensia showed the boys the smallest swim trunks from her palm. She was also holding three more swimsuits for Kyle, Camila and Kira. 

"Aww! Those will look adorable on them!" Mickey chuckled.

As they were looking at the swimsuits, Patxi was peeking out from behind. "Have fun all you want, fools. But soon, your happiness will be gone before you know it." He said to himself before he teleported back to Dark Beauty Castle. 

Meanwhile, Fanny and Small Pete were hiding behind by the projector screen where the entrance to Tortooga was. Prescott paired them up so that they can come up with a plan to steal Mickey and Oswald’s communes, and to also go after the new sprites that leads to the power of the miracle bracelets.

Fanny groaned."Why am I paired up with the dumbest of those cats?" 

"Hey! I'm not that dumb! You haven't seen my powers yet, runt!"

"I won't bother to stick around just to see what you can do. I can take care of this myself." Fanny jumps away from Small Pete.

"Get back here, Ms. Know-It-All!" Small Pete growls. He calmed down and got a good view of Tortooga. He slowly started to grin and gave out a mischievous chuckle. That does not look good.

~~~

And so, the beach party has begun! Mickey and Oswald now have their swimsuits put on and ready to run to the water! They jumped off of the boardwalk and took a dive. Ortensia walked to where Mickey and Oswald jumped off from with her swimsuit being worn as well. She watched the boys swimming together and splashing around in the water. Kyle, Camila and Kira have also put theirs on and followed Ortensia.

"The boys are having so much fun." Ortensia giggled. "Now everyone can enjoy the waters of Tortooga, and it's all thanks to your little sister!"

Kira giggled as well.

"It just suddenly happened! It was almost like a miracle happened." Camila said.

Oswald waved at Ortensia and the sprites to get their attention. "Hey, guys! Join us! The water's great!"

"Coming, honey bunny!" Ortensia hops in the water.

"Take us with you, Ortensia!" Camila flies to Ortensia while carrying Kira.

"Don't forget about me!" Kyle takes a dive.

Ortensia swims to Mickey and Oswald. The sprites proceed to follow her.

"Hey wait for us!" 

Ortensia and the sprites turned around to see Mikey and Ollie in their swimsuits flying to the water with two floaties that were being held by their stubby hands. They all watched the red and blue sprites lower themselves to the water. Mikey puts his floatie down and sits on it, and then Ollie pushes Mikey towards Mickey and Oswald to join in on the fun. 

"Wow! The sprites look so cute in their swimsuits!" Mickey chuckled.

"They really do." Oswald said.

"Does the water feel good, Kira?"

Kira happily squealed as a yes.

"I never thought I'd be able to swim in these waters. This is amazing!"

"It sure is, Ozzie! Everyone's having fun!" 

Everyone was indeed enjoying themselves. Mickey and Oswald saw the toons splashing around in the water, happy to see that they don't have to worry about the thinner getting in their way. Other toons were hanging out with their friends, dancing to music and eating ice cream that Paulie was handing out to on this beautiful sunny day. Everything was so peaceful. So...perfect.

Sometime later, Ortensia decided to take a break from swimming. Kyle, Camila and Kira wanted to come with her. Meanwhile, Mickey and Oswald were relaxing their backs in the water as they had their eyes closed. Mikey and Ollie were also relaxed as they were floating around in their floaties next to their holders.

"Ah, this is the life, eh, Mickey?"

"It sure is."

"I could stay here forever." 

"Me too."

An hour passes and Mickey and Oswald are out of the water and take a break as well. They covered themselves in towels as they were having a picnic with Ortensia by the boardwalk. Kyle, Camila and Kira are sleeping in the Starlight Commune.

"It's so nice that we were able to make this party happen!" Ortensia said.

"Yeah. I never thought we would ever touch this water again ever since the thinner disaster." Oswald takes a sip of water.

"Tortooga sure is looking amazing." Mickey got a good look at the place. The sky was looking pretty. The seagulls were flying by in the sky. Mickey felt like going out for a stroll, so he stood up. 

"I'm gonna go for a walk. Maybe talk to some toons."

"I'll go with ya, Mickey!" Mikey flew next to his partner.

Mickey smiled and nodded.

"Ooh! Do ya think you can bring us back some ice cream while you're at it?"

Mickey chuckled. "You got it, Ozzie."

~~~

Mickey walked around Tortooga and greeted some of the toons that were attending the party. They all gave him and Mikey a warm welcome. Some thanked him for bringing up the idea of a party in Tortooga.

 "Mickey!"

Mickey was surprised by the sudden yet familiar voice. It was Gus who was flying towards him. Like the other gremlins, he was also wearing a short sleeved jumpsuit.

"Oh! Hey, Gus! How have you been?" 

"I'm doing well. My word, Tortooga is looking more fascinating than ever!"

"It sure is! Say, ya wanna look around and see what we've been doing?" Mickey asked.

Gus smiled. "Of course!"

So Mickey shows Gus all the decorations that he and Oswald have put up for the beach party. They even greeted Paulie and gave them some ice cream to enjoy on this sunny day. Mickey just reminded himself about getting some for Oswald and Ortensia. He also wanted to get some for the sprites. All except Kira, since she's still a baby and can't really handle frozen treats yet. Mickey wanted to give the ice cream to his friends real quick before continuing to show Gus around. Afterwards, Mickey felt like going for another swim. Gus just stood and watched him.

"One of our new sprites was able to have the ability to get rid of all the thinner. She's a baby, yet she has really strong magic!"

"That's interesting. The same three new star sprites that gave you and Oswald the Miracle Bracelets?"

"That's right! They're gonna be a great help to fight the bad guys!" Mikey said.

"You're not gonna jump in, Gus?" Mickey asked.

"No no. It's alright. I'm not that much of a swimmer."

Mikey flies up to Gus. "Aw, c'mon! The water's nice!"

"Mikey, leave him be. It's ok."

"Why is he so afraid of water?" Mikey asked.

"It's because he can't swim." Mickey answered.

Gus chuckled nervously and blushed a bit. "It's true. I do have a fear of water."

"I didn't know. Sorry." Mikey apologized.

Mickey turned around and noticed a toon from a distance. "Hey! Is that a toon over there?"

~~~

The three decided to investigate who was standing by the ocean all alone, away from the party. They walked closer and closer. The one that was more curious was Mickey who was stepping the closest. 

"Who...is that?"

It appeared to be a girl.  She had the appearance of a rabbit. She had long hair that was being held with a ponytail, and was also wearing makeup. Her swimsuit was a one piece with a red color. She heard their presence and turned around at them, not saying a single word.

Mickey slowly waved at the girl. "Uhhh...Hi there."

"...Hello."

"I don't think we've seen you around here before. What's your name?"

"I'm...Faith."

"Faith? Well, It's a pleasure to meet ya, Faith. I'm Mickey. This is Gus, and this is my star sprite, Mikey."

Mikey and Gus kindly waved. 

"Why don't you join us? We're having a party here and all, and we don't want anyone being left out."

Faith turned away from them. "I don't know if I want to. This forgotten world...it's all new to me."

"And that's why we're here to help you. It's what friends do."

"...Friends?"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a vine grabs Gus and throws him into the water. Mickey gasped and ran to where Gus was thrown into.

"Oh no! Gus!"

"Those vines definitely belong to Small Pete!"

Faith looked around in the sky and spotted Small Pete laughing while riding on his man eating plants, wearing a girly swimsuit.

"Small Pete?! That idiot!"

"SOMEONE!!! HELP!!!" Gus shouted.

Faith watched him struggle to get to shore. "He'll be alright. Right?"

Gus sinks.

"He can't swim!" Mickey exclaimed.

"It's a good thing I tagged along with you, Mickey! Here! Take this card!" Mikey gives Mickey an Aquatic Card. It had a picture of a mermaid tail on it. Meaning it can give him a pair of fins, and mermaids can breathe underwater. "This will definitely save your friend. Now go!"

"Right!"

Mickey swipes the card onto his commune and gains his aquatic form. Meanwhile, Gus continued to sink lower and lower into the sea and was beginning to lose consciousness. He was out of breath, and hopeless that he'll never make it out alive. After passing out, Mickey swam with such speed as he picked up his gremlin friend, and quickly returned to the surface. 

~~~

"Gus?! Gus! Wake up!" Mickey exclaimed.

Mikey flew next to Gus' chest. Thankfully, he heard breathing.

"He's breathing!"

Shortly after, Gus began to gain consciousness and started coughing up water. 

"Gus! Oh, Thank goodness!"

"..Mickey? Mikey?"

Mickey hugs Gus. He felt surprised. "I was so scared! I thought you were a goner!"

"Mickey, you saved me! Thank you." Gus hugs Mickey back. He suddenly thought to himself how Mickey did it. He looked down and noticed Mickey's red fish tail. It caused him to yelp and push himself away. 

"Gosh, Gus. What's wrong?" Mickey asked.

"Mickey, WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL AM I LOOKING AT?!"

"This?" Mickey showed Gus his mermaid tail. "I used some card Mikey gave me to save you. Now I have turned into a mermouse!" Mickey chuckled. "Isn't this great?"

Gus gagged. "Indeed. I'm very proud of you." He said sarcastically.

Mikey flew up to Gus. "Hey, be grateful that Mickey saved your life. Oswald has that card too."

"You are kidding..."

"No I'm not."

"Hey! That girl! Where did she go?" Mickey suddenly asked as he was looking around to find Faith.

"We can look for her later. Right now Tortooga is in trouble!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Got it!" Mickey dives into the water.

"Why do I find that tail of his disgusting?" Gus asked himself. "Just thinking about it is making me sick."

~~~

Back at the party, toons were running around in panic. The screaming caused Kyle, Camila and Kira to wake up. 

"Oswald! These vines are everywhere!" Ollie exclaimed.

Oswald was already transformed into his wish form trying to slash every vine he could, but more continued growing from the sea. 

"There's too many of them! And toons are getting trapped from them!"

"Hurry, Camila! We have to help Oswald!" Kyle charged up his fire wish magic and attacked Small Pete's vines.

"My vines will help the toons!" Camila uses her wish magic to summon her lovely looking vines on land. 

"Wha- Those are..."

"Those are the vines we saw before!"

"So that's Camila's wish magic. I better use my Honor Bound ASAP!" Oswald dashed to slash all the dark vines. "Guys, grab onto Camila's vines! They're the safe ones!"

The toons nodded and grabbed onto Camila's vines.

"Hurry and climb down! That wish magic is incomplete! They're gonna wither any second now!" Ollie explained. As soon as he said that, the toons noticed the vines beginning to wither, but they were too late to react. They started falling down! Oswald acted quickly, but he needed something to stop time. Sure, a time sketch would come in handy, but it wouldn't last long.

"Oswald! Grab this! This card will stop time without a time limit!" Ollie quickly took out the Time Stop Card. "Hurry and activate it!"

"Thanks, Ollie!" Oswald slashed the card and time has completely stopped, giving him all the time in the world to save all the toons. 

This card will only let Mickey and Oswald run in real time while everything else is slowed down. Once that was dealt with, he quickly destroyed the rest of Small Pete's vines and noticed Small Pete in the sky. He wasn't moving, so he felt like kicking him to the sun again. Once time was normal again, Kira huffed and her bow began to glow, using her wish magic to revert everything back to how it was before. Toons started to cheer! There was no need to use the miracle bracelets since it is Small Pete.

"Yeah! We did it!" Oswald cheered as he transformed back to his toon form. 

"Oswald!" 

Oswald sees Ortensia running towards him. They also heard the sound of a gremlin teleporting. It was Gus who was flying to Oswald and Ortensia. He also had a towel around him.

"Honey bunny, That was incredible! Those powers of yours are becoming stronger!"

"I could've done it without Kyle, Camila and Kira." Oswald suddenly heard panting coming from the three sprites. They were extremely tired from using their powers.

"We showed those plants...Right, girls?"

Camila nodded. "Yes..."

Ollie suddenly remembered something. "Oh, that's right! Camila, you have to be very careful when you're using your magic. You don't have a holder to control it yet! Not to mention that your powers are incomplete. Same goes for you too, Kyle."

"I see..."

"The only thing you guys can do for now is to bring us the miracle bracelets when we need them."

"We got it..." Kyle said before the three poofed into their commune and passed out.

"Did I miss something?" Gus asked.

"Kyle, Camila and Kira used their powers, but they're incomplete. We need to find holders for them, so that we can train them." Ollie said.

"New holders, eh?"

"Gus, why are you wet? What happened?' Ortensia asked.

"Small Pete's vines tossed me into the water."

"Oh dear! Are you alright?"

"Yes. Mickey was the one that saved me."

A splash was heard. It was Mickey who was still a mermouse, but he returned back to having legs once he reached dry land.

"Thank goodness that tail is gone."

"Mickey??" Oswald ran to Mickey.

"Hey, guys!" 

"Did you just have a fish tail attached to your body?!"

"Yeah. It was a card Mikey gave me. You have it too, Oswald." 

Oswald's eyes widened up. "REALLY?? Awesome! I always wanted to be a merrabbit!"

"It looks like you were able to manage taking care of all the damage."

"Yeah. We'll give you the details later."

Mickey frowns and sighed. "Sorry if I couldn't catch up to you. I was trying to find Faith."

"Faith?"

"Who's Faith?" Ortensia asked.

"A girl Mikey, Gus and I met a while ago. We didn't get to talk a lot, but she seemed nice. I hope she's safe. If I run into her again, I'll introduce you all to her."

Oswald nodded. "Sounds good."

Everyone looked up to the sky as the sun was setting. From the top of the building where Fanny was, she watched them from above. Her eyes then turned to Mickey, the toon that she met today. Prescott has also told her about the mouse as well. About how famous he is. But the main focus was to gain control of his strongest wish magic along with Oswald's. She also witnessed the new wish magic from Kyle, Camila and Kira. She needed to report it to her master at once. 

~~~

It was already nighttime, and the party was still ongoing. Oswald was sitting down, lost in thought. He was still not getting over what happened last night with Fanny, or where she is now.

"Oswald?"

"Huh?!"

"Oswald, what's wrong?"

"Oh, It's nothin'."

Mickey smiled at Oswald. After hearing that, there seemed to be no problems for him. He stood up and began to walk. "I'm gonna get some fruit punch. Ya want one?"

"Sure. Thanks again."

Mickey took off. Oswald continued to think in his head...If Fanny really is a villain or not.

"Fanny...who even is she?"

Chapter Text

Wasteland has been covered in white, overflowing snow. Meaning that winter has arrived! Toons have been working really hard to decorate their home with some of the fanciest Christmas decorations to get into the spirit of the most wonderful time of the year. The day where the people of Wasteland receive gifts from their loved ones, but that’s not important. It’s to gather your friends, family and loved ones to celebrate together!

At Ostown, Mickey and Gus helped Oswald and Ortensia decorate their home to prepare themselves as well. Decorating the place wasn’t as hard as they all thought it would be, since they also had the sprites to help out, along with the bunny children. All except Kira, because she was asleep. 

“Ooh! These pink decorations will look stunning with our house, won’t it, honeybunny?” Ortensia asked.

Oswald on the other hand, was not a fan of the choice of color. “Yeah…but does it have to be just pink?”

“Oh, come on, Oswald. I’m sure we can combine the colors somehow.” Mickey picked up some pastel blue decorations. 

Ollie flew closer to take a closer look. “Ooh I love the color!” 

“Maybe we can spice things up with those two colors?” Mikey suggested.

Ortensia thought it was a great idea. “That could work, Mikey. Let’s do it!”

~~~

Meanwhile, the Pete’s back at Dark Beauty Castle don’t have time for holidays when they have a world to rule. Small Pete, however, still wanted to celebrate as he was writing a letter to Santa Claus. 

“Dear Santa, I would like some of those flower seeds for Christmas so that I can grow my lovely plants for my garden…from, Small Pete. Done! My letter is done!”

Small Pete went straight for the exit of the castle until Big Bad Pete jumped behind him.

“Just where do ya think you’re going?” 

“Uhhh…. I was going to send a letter?”

“To whom exactly?”

“Santa Claus! I’m asking him to give me flower seeds for my man-eating plants, cuz I’ve been a very good boy this year!”

And then there was silence. Five seconds later, Big Bad Pete bursted out laughing. 

“You still believe in Santa?!” He continued laughing.

“…Yes? What’s wrong with dat?” Small Pete asked.

“You idiot! Santa’s not real! Bwahahahaha!”

“What?! Yes he is! You just don’t believe in Santa!”

Big Bad Pete stopped laughing. “Does it look like I have time for such things?! We have better things to do like helping Prescott rule Wasteland!…But you just gave me a great idea on how to accomplish our mission.”

Small Pete blinked a few times. “I did?”

Big Bad Pete walked up to Small Pete and placed his arm on his shoulder. “We’ll gather Pete Pan and Petetronic to steal Christmas and have it all for ourselves! And if we successfully steal the communes, it’ll be the greatest Christmas for us villains!” He cackled.

Small Pete’s eyes glimmered with joy. “Ooh! I love this plan already!”

“We only have until Christmas Eve to prepare ourselves! Those poor toons aren’t ready for the worst to come!”

“And maybe Santa will bring me my present!”

“…Uh…yeah…whatever.”

“Can I still go send my letter then?”

“Oh, fine. But he still doesn’t exist.”

“He will bring me my flower seeds! You’ll see!”

~~~

Back with our heroes, they were just about done making adjustments to their decorations. It was an adorable pairing of both pastel pink and blue!

Oswald looped around the house. “Not bad, guys. Not bad. It looks even better now!”

Ortensia also loved the decorations as well. “It’s perfect! And all we need now is to set up our Christmas tree.”

Mikey flew up to Ortensia. “Ooh! Can we help too?”

“Of course!”

The sprites cheered and helped the toons pick up the Christmas ornaments from the basement. Afterwards, it was time to decorate. Before they could even reach it, they heard Kira crying. 

Camila gasped. “Oh! Kira’s awake! All of you can go ahead!” She flew off to the starlight commune to pick her up.

After doing so, she showed Kira around the house. Kira was amazed. Camila stopped where the tree was. “Look, Kira! This is a Christmas tree.”

“Twee?” Kira looked up.The tree was really tall from her perspective. She felt a little scared.

Kyle showed the toons the star, the last piece to complete the Christmas tree. “Let’s have Kira place the star!”

“Huh?”

“It’s alright, little sister. I’ll still have you in my arms while you can place it on the tree.”

Camila flies to the top of the tree. Kira still had the star on her hand. She was beyond confused on what to do with it and was about to put it in her mouth. 

“No no, Kira. On the tree.” Camila pointed where the star should be. 

Kira looked in Camila's direction and placed the star on the tree. Everyone cheered for her.

“You did it, Kira!”

“Way to go, Kira!”

“Bravo, Kira!”

“The tree is complete now!”

Kira giggled from all the compliments and clapped. 

“This is our very first Christmas actually!” Ollie said.

“What else do you guys do besides decorating?” Kyle asked.

“Well, we give each other presents to our loved ones. But Christmas isn’t just about that.” 

Oswald came in and put his arm around Ortensia causing her to giggle. “Celebrating it with your friends and family is what matters the most.” He kisses her forehead. “Speaking of that, Wasteland’s gonna have a Christmas party on Christmas Eve! Hosted by yours truly.”

“Oooh!! That sounds exciting! I think I found my favorite holiday already!” Camila said.

“Me too!” Kyle laughed.

Oswald sighed. “Well, we’re not finished yet. We still have to set up decorations around Ventureland, Bog Easy, and for our Christmas party.”

“But, Oswald, that’s until the 24th.”

“I know, honeybunch, but the time goes by so fast! And Christmas is in two weeks, and I still haven’t bought any presents!”

“You don’t have to worry, Oswald.” Mickey assured. “You got us and the other toons!”

“You’re right, Mickey. We’re all in this together!”

Gus smiled. “That’s the spirit!”

~~~

As the group exited the projector back to Mean Street North, Mickey spotted Faith. 

“Faith!” Mickey started running.

Oswald yelped. “Hey, Mickey!”

Oswald, Ortensia, Gus and the sprites followed Mickey.

Faith turned around and saw Mickey running to her and waving at her.

“Hiya, Faith!”

“Oh, hey there, Mickey.” Faith waved back for a few seconds before she turned her attention to Oswald and Ortensia. She also noticed that they were holding hands. Her mood changed as she growled at them.

“Something the matter, Faith?”

Faith gasped and realized what she was doing that almost made her blow her cover.

“Oh! Sorry. It’s nothing. What's going on?”

"We're just about to help out other toons decorate for Christmas. Say, do you want to help out? We could use more hands. Plus, I really want to get to know you a little more.”

“Uhhh…sure?”

“Great! Let’s go.” Mickey got excited and held Faith’s hand to the projector to Ventureland.

Faith looked back at the other toons and just glared at them.

“Oswald, I don’t know how I should feel about her. It always feels like she doesn't like us every time we see her.” Ortensia whispered in Oswald’s ear.

“Yeah. There is something about her I don’t trust.”

Gus looked at Mickey talking to Faith. “We’ll have to keep an eye on her and see if we can find anything suspicious.” 

~~~

As the decorating process continues, Oswald, Ortensia, Gus and the sprites keep a close watch on Faith. As Gus mentioned earlier, they need to make sure that she isn’t a negative influence on their friend Mickey. So far, nothing has happened yet, but still, they need to keep an eye on her. 

Oswald heard Mickey’s voice from his perspective. He turned around to see him and Faith helping Tiki Sam out with decorating his shop.

“You’re gonna love our Christmas party, Faith. We’ve been working really hard on these decorations.”

“This is all interesting. What else do you guys do on Christmas?” Faith asked.

“Well, Oswald told the sprites that we give out presents to our friends and loved ones, we sing together, and basically relax together…”

"You celebrate it with your friends and family, huh? That's interesting. I don't have anyone to celebrate with. It's always just been me." "Well, now you won't be alone anymore. You have me and my friends!"

Faith turned her attention to Oswald and Ortensia. Her eyes widened as she watched Ortensia accidentally tangle herself with Christmas lights and fall down. Oswald noticed this and helped her up and untangled her.

“You okay, Ortensia?” He held Ortensia’s hands.

“I am now. Thanks, honeybunny.”

“Faith?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been acting strange today. Is something wrong? We can talk about it if you want-“

“NO!”

Faith’s angry tone caused Mickey to flinch. She realized what she did again. “I-I’m sorry! I really am. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

Mickey didn’t say a word, but he looked at her.

“I’m just not into the spirit much…can you help me somehow?”

Mickey smiled. “Of course, Faith. What are friends for?”

“Thank you, Mickey.”

Faith didn’t know what else to say. Besides Prescott being the only friend, Mickey was the second one. She was a little nervous to celebrate Christmas with unfamiliar toons, but as long as she stays in character, she can fit in.

~~~

Meanwhile, Small Pete jumped near the entrance to the post office while scaring a few toons away. As he went inside, he slips his letter to Santa inside the mailbox

“Don’t let me down, Santa! I’m counting on you!” Small Pete said as he skipped out of the building. He makes his return to Dark Beauty Castle.

The toons quickly ran to warn Oswald.

~~~

“Small Pete was at the post office?!”

“Y-yes! The way he jumped out of nowhere scared me and the other toons!” An innocent toon warned. “He was sending a letter to Santa and-”

“Hold on. Hold on. Santa?! But, Santa’s not real!”

Suddenly out of nowhere, a group of kids gasped in shock. “Santa’s not real??!!” They run away in tears.

Mickey facepalmed himself. 

“Boys, this is serious! We have to do something! The Pete’s might do something to ruin Christmas!” Ortensia exclaimed.

“Ah, don’t worry, Ortensia. Mickey and I got this covered. We’ll just tell Small Pete that Santa doesn’t exist.”

“But that’ll make him want to attack us more!”

Gus thought hard as he could. But eventually, he got an idea. A bright idea. It was so brilliant that a lightbulb lit up out of nowhere. He made the most devilish looking face.

~~~

Time continues to pass by with Christmas Day being just a day away. The party was just getting started and toons kept coming in and enjoying themselves at Mean Street North. 

Mickey looked around the party and how incredible it looked. “Oswald, this party is amazing!” 

Oswald chuckled. “Thanks! I could’ve done it without you guys.”

“There you are, boys! Here. I brought some hot chocolate for the both of you.” Ortensia walks to them, giving them their hot chocolate.

“Thanks, Ortensia.”

“Thank you, honeybunch! I hope you’re ready for your present tomorrow.”

“Definitely!” She giggled. “I wonder what you’ll be giving me this year…”

“Say, where’s Gus?” Oswald asked.

“Oh, he told me he would be running late. He said that he had a plan regarding the Pete’s.”

“Aw come on! Him too?! I said everything will be fine.”

Mickey suddenly realized that he forgot about the presents. He started to worry about how his friends would react to it. As he imagined the worst to come, a voice was calling his name.

“Mickey?”

“Huh?? What??” He was so surprised by the sudden voice that he dropped his hot chocolate and the mug shattered into the ground.

The toons gasped and looked at Mickey. Mickey was embarrassed.

“Oh dear!” Ortensia was about to help Mickey, but Faith came behind her and not noticing that she pushed her to the floor. Little does she realize that Oswald spotted her pushing Ortensia.

“It’s okay. I’ll help him.”

“Thanks, Faith.”

Faith takes Mickey to get another hot chocolate, while Oswald helps Ortensia up.

“Ortensia, are you okay?”

“Yes…did you see that?”

“Yeah. What’s her problem?! I knew she couldn't be trusted.”

“Oswald…”

Meanwhile, The Pete’s were split up to the different parts of Wasteland so that they can steal every single piece of Christmas present, trees, decorations and food they can find. They are leaving the communes for last.

~~~

“You forgot to give your friends a present, huh?”

Mickey sighed. “Uh-huh. They’re going to be so disappointed. I could lose my closest friends…”

“I’m sure they’ll understand. Isn’t Christmas supposed to be about…celebrating it with your family?”

“Faith…Yeah…You're right!”

Faith chuckled and nodded. “Of course.”

"...I do miss celebrating with some other friends, and my girlfriend back at home too. I want to see them again. But once my duties in Wasteland are over, I will surely return!" "I believe in you."

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew through the air. It made Mickey shiver.

“Gosh, it's getting chilly all of the sudden.”

“Mickey! Look!”

“What?” Mickey looked up and saw what Faith was putting her attention towards. The Pete’s were flying in the air with Pete Pan’s sprite! 

“Oh no! It’s the Pete’s again! Ortensia was right! They are about to ruin Christmas!”

“Don’t worry! I got this! Let’s do it, Mikey!”

“Yeah! Let’s save Christmas!”

Mickey slides his transformation card onto his commune and changes into his wish form.

"I'll take on those Pete's. Oswald should come help soon." "I know you’ll find a way to stop them! Lead on!”

“Got it! Hold on, Faith!” 

Since Mickey’s miracle bracelet was already being worn. It gave him the ability to do a super jump and closed his eyes to give him wings.

“Stop right there!”

Big Bad Pete heard Mickey's voice from behind and turned around. The rest of the cats turned around as well.

“Do’h! Not that runt again! You’re not ruining my plans this time! Take this!” Pete created an avalanche of rocks. They were going straight towards Mickey and Faith.

“That’s not good.”

“I got this one!”

With Mickey’s miracle bracelet, his wish power is stronger. He can stop the avalanche from hitting them. The rocks fall into the ground.

“Don’t worry, Big Bad Pete! I can take care of him!” Pete Pan’s sprite tried to make Mickey float but his bracelet reacted to her presence and used magic to freeze time on her.

Petetronic didn’t want to summon Beetleworx because Mickey could stop them. And Small Pete needed a grassy field to summon his plants. 

“Let’s flee!” Big Bad Pete ordered.

The Pete’s try to escape but Mickey uses his bracelet to gain control of them. He didn’t notice that they were landing straight to the party. The toons screamed as they ran off in time before they crashed. They all spotted the large amount of bags of all the things the Pete’s stole.

“So, you were trying to steal Christmas this whole time!”

“Mickey!” Oswald quickly transformed and joined him. 

“No wait! Please wait! I’ve been a good boy this year! I can prove it!” Small Pete begged.

“You’re lying! How can you prove that to Santa Claus when he doesn’t exist?!”

“Really?! You too?! Now you’re gonna get it!”

“WAIT!” A sudden voice shouted. 

Everyone turned their attention towards Gus.

“I believe that Santa Claus does indeed exist!”

“Really??? Where???”

“Right over here!”

It obviously wasn’t the real Santa, but it was an angry Mad Doctor who was dressed as him. And Small Pete stupidly falls for Gus’ plan. His eyes glimmered with excitement.

“SANTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Small Pete quickly dashed to Santa and sat on him, squishing the Mad Doctor.

“Santa, I’m so excited to meet you!” Small Pete didn’t get an answer, and looked down and realized his mistake. He stood up and unflattened the doctor. 

”Hello, Santa! I’m so excited to meet you!”

“Yes, it’s so exciting to meet you too…” The Mad Doctor looked at Gus and glared at him. Gus responds with an innocent smile, telling him to be jolly.

“I hate that gremlin.”

“Ho ho ho!”

“Oooh! That does sound like Santa alright!” Small Pete chuckled. “But, enough of that, I was wondering if you got my letter!”

The Mad Doctor raised an eyebrow. “What letter?”

“This letter!” Gus handed the doc the letter. 

“How did Gus manage to get the letter from the post office?” Oswald whispered to Ortensia’s ear.

“He told me! The owner of the place simply handed him the letter.” She whispered back.

“Oh, this letter. It says you wanted more of those flower seeds?” The Mad Doctor asked.

Small Pete nodded. “Yup!”

“I see. But I see you’ve been stealing Christmas.”

“Actually I was going to return this all to you for your sake!”

“Alright then. I have your present right here. You can open it tomorrow.”

“WHAT?!” The Pete’s asked in unison.

Faith couldn’t believe what she saw. “They actually fell for it.” She said to herself.

Small Pete takes the present. “Hooray! Let’s go home, boys!”

“But but but but but-”

Small Pete grabs the Pete’s “Too late! We’re going!”

They return to their hideout.

“Don’t worry, Big Bad Pete! We’ll get the sprites for sure next time! But for now, I can’t wait to open my present tomorrow!”

The rest of the Pete’s growled.

“YOU IDIOT! THIS WAS GOING TO BE OUR CHANCE TO RUIN CHRISTMAS! BUT NOOO! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!!”

“Well I don’t care about that right now! I’m going to bed! I told you Santa was real!”

“No! It was the Mad Doctor dressed as Santa!”

“I don't believe that!”

Back at the party, everyone was still confused about what they had just witnessed.

“That was one of the easiest battles yet.” Oswald said.

“Yeah. Hey, Gus? What was in that box anyway?” Mickey asked.

“You’ll see.” Gus winked and snickered.

“Is this part of your plan?”

“I needed the Mad Doctor to both help me with the present AND to pretend to be Santa so that Small Pete would believe that he was real.”

The Mad Doctor took off his costume. “You owe me big time.”

Both Mickey and Oswald shrugged. “Okay. If you say so.”

So they performed Miracle Magical Action to revert everything that was stolen, detransformed and continued their party. Later that night, they all worked together to clean up everything and returned home.

~~~

As the sun was slowly rising, Mickey was the first one to wake up. He got up from his bed and opened the curtain from the window. This year was a white Christmas. He went up to his commune to wake Mikey up.

“Mikey, wake up! It’s Christmas!”

Mickey’s tiny self opened the commune as he was yawning. “It is?”

“Look out the window!”

Mikey flew to the window and was amazed by the white, flowing snow.

“Wooooooow! Look at all the snow! Can we go out and play?”

“Of course! After all, today’s Christmas! Let's wake up everyone else.”

“Okay! I wonder if we’ll get lots of presents!”

Mickey and Mikey made their way downstairs to the living and were surprised that their friends were already here.

“Morning, Mickey!” 

“Morning, everyone!” 

“You’re right on time! Ortensia’s already opening Oswald’s present!” Animatronic Goofy said.

“Huh?”

“Oh, Oswald! This dress is lovely!”

“Try it on!”

Ortensia goes to her room to try it on. She changed in a split second and showed everyone her pink glittering dress.

“I love it so much! Thank you, honeybunny!“

Mickey was happy that Ortensia was happy with her Christmas present. He looked at Faith and she gave him a smile and telling him to not be afraid of telling his friends. Mickey took a deep breath and braced himself.

“Guys…I’m sorry. I didn’t find the right present for any of you. I was so busy thinking about my home that I totally forgot about it.”

“What do you mean, Mickey? You did bring it!”

“Huh?”

“Mickey, you are the Christmas present to all of us.”

“Fellas…” Mickey started to tear up and hugged his friends with joy. “Thank you.”

The rest of his friends smiled brightly and hugged Mickey tightly. The sprites joined in as well. Kira crawled and held onto Mickey’s leg.

"Told you they'd understand." Faith whispered.

Mickey smiled at Faith.

“Merry Christmas, Mickey!” They all said.

Sometime later, all the toons gathered together around the Walt statue at Mean Street North in their holiday outfits. They were all happy that everyone was there next to each other getting into the spirit of Christmas. The snow continued to slowly fall as they all began to sing. 

Meanwhile at Dark Beauty Castle, Small Pete quickly got up from bed and picked up his present.

“Guys, wake up! I’m about to open my gift from Santa!”

“Yeah yeah yeah just open it already! We don’t have all day.”

Small Pete unwraps the wrapping paper and opens the box to find a Jack in the box. 

“Huh?! I didn’t ask for this! I wanted flower seeds! Maybe they’re inside the box if I unwind it!”

He does so, hoping his seeds will pop out.

BOOM!

The explosion was heard all the way from Mean Street North! 

“Aw, Gus! You and Doc nailed it!” Oswald laughed.

The rest of the toons joined in on the laughter. But others questioned where did the explosion come from?

~~~

Later that night back at Ortensia’s house, Mickey was writing his second letter to Minnie. 

“Dear Minnie, I hope you and everyone else had a blast this Christmas. I’m sorry that I wasn’t around to celebrate with you all. I promise I will come home after my duties in Wasteland are over. Merry Christmas. And Happy New Year. Love, Mickey.”

Mickey folded up his letter and put it on the envelope. “Alright, Mikey. It’s finished.”

~~~

At the Cartoon World, a party was being held at Minnie’s home. Everyone was having a great time, while Minnie was outside looking at the stars. She suddenly saw a light that shined, and an envelope appeared.

“Another one!” She grabbed the letter and read the letter to herself. After she was done, she looked back at the stars.

“Merry Christmas, Mickey.”

“Minnie, there you are! Come on! The presents are waiting for us!” Daisy called.

“Coming!”

Minnie went back inside as she continued to believe that Mickey would eventually come home.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Chapter Text

Before Christmas came, our heroes Mickey and Oswald were still at war with Prescott, Ivory and the Pete’s. On the night of the beach party, Fanny returned to Dark Beauty Castle. She walks forward to the main hall where Prescott was sitting on Oswald’s throne. She bowed to him and stood up after. 

Prescott smiled at her. “Fanny. I’m delighted to see your presence again. How may I help you?”

“Those sprites, master. They’re more powerful than we thought. It’s not just the source of the Miracle Bracelets, but they seem to have elements of their own. However…they’re powers seem to be incomplete. They don’t have any holders for their abilities to be stable.”

“I see. There’s something bothering me about the yellow sprite. From what I witnessed at Tortooga, her abilities seem to be… overpowered. It’s like she’s different from the two. Bring them to me, and I’ll examine their powers.”

“Yes, master.” Fanny takes off.

“And while you’re at it, bring Gus to me as well.”

“As you wish, master.”

After Fanny makes her exit, Prescott walks into Ivory’s room to check on her condition. 

“Don’t worry, Ivory. My trusted servant will return with the communes. I promise.”

~~~

The next day at Mean Street North, Mickey and Oswald were on patrol, making sure that the bad guys didn't strike again. They have been searching through the other areas of Wasteland as well, but so far, nothing. The toons seem to be safe as of now, so they decided to stop searching for the day. 

Mickey and Oswald meet up with Ortensia who gives the two some sandwiches and some water after another long day of patrolling. They also met up with Gus who was on break as well. They all sat and chatted while having lunch together.

Mickey took a bite of his sandwich. “Wow, your sandwiches are really good, Ortensia!”

Ortensia giggled. “Thank you, Mickey! I can’t let you two go out patrolling on an empty stomach.”

Mickey, Ortensia, Gus and the sprites watched Oswald gobbling his sandwich while looking at his rosy cheeks and the happiest expression while eating it. 

“Well, someone’s hungry.” Mickey said.

The others were heard chuckling a bit.

“Hey! We’re hungry too!” Ollie exclaimed.

“Okay! Okay! Hang on!” Oswald drank all of his water before picking up his commune. 

“It’s okay, Oswald. I’m sure we can grab some food for the two in this Starlight Commune. Mickey opened the Starlight Commune and looked at Kyle, Camila and Kira on the screen. “Gosh, I wonder how we are supposed to feed Kyle, Camila and Kira here.” 

Gus takes a look at the screen. He also examines the unique design of the device. Right next to the commune was a bag that fits the adorable design. “This device looks like some sort of computer. It seems that the Starlight Commune doesn’t use any cards.” 

He looks closer at one of the buttons and there are icons for each of the colors. The yellow was the icon for The Chef to be summoned.

 ”Let’s try pressing the yellow button.” Gus presses the button, and a bubble pops out of the commune.

“Wow, Gus! You know how to work with the commune already.” Kyle clapped. Camila and Kira also clap.

Kira giggled. “Yay!”

“You’re really smart, Mr. Gus.” Camila smiled.

Gus chuckled and blushed. “Gee, thank you.”

“You know, Camila and I were talking about it this morning, and we want to get to know you and Ortensia better.” Kyle said.

“Really?” Ortensia asked.

Camila puts a baby bib around Kira.. “Of course, Ortensia. I personally think you and I have something in common. I really want to explore this place and you.” 

“And I wanna know you too, Gus! You being the leader of the gremlins sounds really cool! Plus, you guys always get things done!”

Gus chuckled. “It’s not really that easy being a leader, but I enjoy doing my job.” He turned around and looked at the sky. “I just hope Prescott will come to his senses.”

“Gus, you really gotta give up on him at some point. He literally kidnapped you and Ortensia, and I can’t let that happen to you again.” Oswald said in worry. 

“Oswald’s right. Prescott’s trying to take control of Wasteland, and I will do everything I can to protect you guys from him.”

It wasn’t making things better for Gus. He just doesn’t want anything bad happening to the gremlin. None of them want anything bad to happen to him. But they don’t know how Prescott will take over Wasteland and eliminate all toons. All they know is that if he gets his hands on the communes, it’s game over. It most likely has to do with granting multiple wishes.

Gus sighed. “If only I had the courage to stand up to him. Just like you two. But, at this old age…I don’t think I can have an element of my own.”

Mickey placed his hand on Gus’ shoulder. “Who said you can’t have magic at an old age?”

Gus looked at Mickey and Oswald.

“You just have to believe in yourself. Whether you have magic or not, just keep being you.” 

“Mickey…”

“Don’t give up, Gus. We’ll always be there for you.” Oswald said.

“Thank you, boys.”

Ortensia and the sprites smiled at the trio. Then, the chef arrived at the table in the nick of time. The chef serves Kyle and Camila a fancy gourmet meal while Kira is served some warm milk. 

As Camila and Kira were eating, Kyle was not happy with having vegetables with his steak. 

“Hey, chef! Why’d you put vegetables on my steak?! You know I hate vegetables!”

“Sir Kyle, you need to start eating more healthier foods this year. So I suggest trying some carrots. They’re good for your eyesight.” The chef said.

“I don’t think so.”

The chef sighed. “Such a picky star sprite.” 

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING PICKY, BUSTER?!”

Gus tried to encourage Kyle. “Come now, Kyle. Carrots aren’t going to hurt you. Just try them.”

“No! I want off my plate! NOW!”

Gus stuttered. “Kyle…”

The chef stuttered. “But, sir-“

“NOW NOW NOW!!!”

The chef gave in and replaced the vegetables with french fries.

“Now this is more like it! Well Bon appetit!”

Camila sighed. “Kyle…” 

Gus had a bad feeling about Kyle. At the same time, how bad can it be?

~~~

“You think you can handle him, Gus?” Mickey asked. “This is the first time I’ve seen this type of behavior from Kyle.”

Gus nodded. “Of course I can. I’m sure he’ll be fine staying with me.”

“Looks like Camila and Kira are staying with us then.” Oswald said.

Kira clapped and giggled. “Yay!”

Camila flies to Ortensia while holding Kira.“I want Ortensia to show me what she does.” 

Ortensia smiled. “And I’d be happy to show you, Camila.” 

Mickey hands Ortensia a bag that has the Starlight Commune inside. Camila and Kira are now in the device. Mickey then noticed Gus getting annoyed with his boots. They look really dirty and old. Makes sense for how old they are now that seven years have passed.

“Gosh, Gus. Are you okay?”

“Not exactly. I really want a new pair of boots, but I don’t really have the money for them…these have been bugging me for months!”

“Oh no…Well, maybe we can buy you a pair.”

“Oh you don’t have to do that. I can handle it.”

“If you say so.”

~~~

Mickey waved at Kyle and Gus. “We’ll see you two tomorrow then.” 

“Goodbye, Mr. Gus.” Camila waved.

“Bye-bye!” Kira also waved.

Mickey, Oswald and Ortensia waved goodbye to Kyle and Gus and hopped to the projector to Ostown.

“Well, Kyle. Looks like it’s just you and me now.”

“Let’s hurry to your village! I can’t wait to see it again!”

“Again?” 

Kyle nodded. “When Mickey and Oswald wished upon the stars, we were born too. On that day, we felt dark presences left and right. One of them led us straight to Gremlin Village. Mickey, Oswald, Mikey and Ollie were about to get eaten alive by a man-eating plant! And then, I had this flaming aura inside of me. Didn’t know what happened next until…BAM! A burst of fire bursted out of my hand and burned down that creepy monster! It was so cool!”

“Most interesting.”

“I know right? It took us a while to find them. Not long after Mickey called upon the stars that attracted us to them. Now they’re stronger than ever! The bad guys will never stop them!”

“How nice.” Gus sighed. “If only I can be strong like them…”

“Huh?”

“Oh, never mind.”

~~~

After hopping off their train ride back home, Kyle flies up to get a good view of the village.

“Cool! You guys fixed the place! There were a lot of those plant monsters when I first came here.” Kyle looked at the fake flowers that were around the village. “Are those flowers fake?”

“Yes.” Gus sighed. “I still can’t believe Markus was tricked into growing man-eating plants.”

“Prescott, huh?”

“...Why? Why is he doing this?”

“Uncle Gus!”

Markus flew over to his uncle, hopefully Gus’ mood will lighten up with his nephew around.

Gus waved. “Hello, Markus!”

“Hi, Uncle Gus!” Markus turned to Kyle. “Oh, who’s that?”

“This is Kyle. He’s another star sprite.”

Kyle waved “Pleased to meet you, Gus’ nephew.”

Markus chuckled. “Likewise. Gosh, you’re cute!”

“Hey! I’m not cute!” Kyle yelled.

“Huh?”

Gus turned to Kyle. “Kyle, don’t be rude!”

“I’m sorry. Did I offend him?” Markus asked.

Gus sighed. “No no. Kyle’s been acting like this since the afternoon.”

Kyle huffed at Gus’ statement.

“Oookay? Anyway, It’s getting late. We were just about to have dinner. Jamface is waiting for us”

Kyle got excited when Markus mentioned dinner. “Dinner? Oh boy! Good thing we came just in time! I’m hungry!”

The three went inside Gus’ house and Fanny appeared afterwards. She knows where Gus lives, but she must stay hidden, and by doing that, she made herself invisible. She is a master at playing hide and seek after all. She spies on Gus at the window and watches him, Markus and Kyle getting ready for dinner.

~~~

While having dinner, and Kyle complimenting so much about the food being tasty, Markus and Gus talked about how well the reconstruction is going for the village. If it continues to make progress, toons can revisit it again. Speaking of the village, Markus also asked Kyle if he wanted a tour of the village. Of course, Kyle agrees.

Later that night, Gus and Jamface were finding Kyle around the house so that they could go to bed. Markus was already asleep. Eventually, he finds Kyle throwing paper airplanes.

“Kyle, It’s time for bed.”

“But, Gus! I’m not tired yet!” Kyle complained. “Come on! Let me play just a bit more.”

“Come now, Kyle. You don’t want to feel drowsy for the tour tomorrow, right?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Then you need a good night's sleep so you’ll have plenty of energy in the morning.” Gus was about to pick up Kyle but knowing a hyper star sprite, he can zoom around very fast.

“Kyle, come on. It’s time for bed!”

“You have to catch me first!” He tagged Gus. “ Tag! You’re it!” He laughed and flew around the house.

“Kyle! I don’t have time for this! It’s already late!” 

“Just try and tag me! Haha!”

“Oh, Kyle!!”

“You’re really going to play with him?!” Jamface asked.

“I don’t have a choice, Jamface!”

Luckily, Gus is a gremlin and can fly around as well. He does exactly that, but it was quite difficult to find him in the house. From the second floor, to the first floor, to Gus’ bedroom, and all the way to his lab. Kyle had no idea how he found it, so he seems pretty smart, and at the same time, mischievous.

Kyle eventually drained all of his energy and slowed down. “Phew! I’m beat…” 

And with that, Gus finally catches him with his two hands. He laughed a bit as he was panting heavily. “Tag!” 

Jamface sighed. “Oh, Gus.”

~~~

Gus enters his room, now changed in his pajamas. He carried Kyle in a blanket and placed him next to a pillow on the couch.

“Goodnight, Kyle.”

He lets out a yawn and lays comfortably in his bed. He suddenly thought of the stars. He looked out the window. Maybe…he can make a wish…to make himself stronger. He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

“Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight. I wish to have the courage to make a difference…for my friends…everyone! And…to bring Prescott home.

Once he made his wish, He layed back in bed and turned off the light and called it a night.

“Hey! Get your butt off me!”

Gus lets out a yelp and spots Kyle from behind his butt.

“KYLE!!!!!!!!!!”

Just when he thought things could get worse, Gus had trouble sleeping when he tried to get in bed, but Kyle was taking all the space. He had no choice but to sleep on the couch for the night. Even Jamface heard the noise coming from Gus’ house. Outside, Fanny watched the whole time and enjoyed every second of Gus’ struggle.

~~~

After letting out a yawn, Kyle opened the curtains to Gus’ window. 

“Good morning, Gremlin Village!” Kyle jumped out of the bed and flew downstairs.

Gus woke up to the bright sun that irritated his eyes. He gets up and lets out a huge yawn. When he looked at himself in the mirror, his dark circles under his eyes were present. Kyle indeed had not let him sleep. 

“I need to talk to Kyle.”

~~~

“Uncle Gus, are you okay? Did you even sleep last night?” Markus asked.

Jamface was in the house as well. “That star sprite must’ve been in a lot of trouble, has he?”

“Tell me about it.” Gus was about to take a sip of his coffee, but Kyle made a surprise appearance in front of him.

“Hey, Gus!”

The coffee spilled all over Gus’ pajamas and he felt the burn of the hot liquid. He let out a painful scream.

“Uncle Gus!” Markus exclaimed as he grabbed a nearby towel.

Kyle flew next to Gus. “What’s the matter, Gus? You don’t look like you have any energy for the tour today, but I sure am!”

Gus stood up. “There isn’t going to be any tour.”

“What?! Why??”

Gus ignored Kyle and went upstairs to get changed.

“What’s wrong with Gus? Does he have a problem or something?”

“Gus only has one problem. And that problem is you.” Jamface said before walking away from the house.

“Me?”

~~~

Gus wanted some alone time with Kyle outside. He told Kyle that he is getting rather annoyed with his behavior but Kyle kept asking why as if he doesn’t understand a single word the gremlin is saying.

“I don’t understand. How am I the problem? I’ve literally done nothing wrong! I’m only trying to have fun! It’s who I am!”

“Kyle, listen to yourself for once. Think about your behavior towards me and the others around you. Everytime you act like that, they’ll think you’re whiny, spoiled and immature! That needs to stop!”

“I’m not spoiled! I’m a good boy! I promise! I am super strong! I just wanna have fun! I don’t like your attitude, Gus. You’re mean, a party pooper, a know-it-all, and…and old!”

“You’re doing it again!”

Kyle blows a raspberry at Gus, but it’s only making things worse as Gus’ blood is fueled with anger and growls.

“KYLE! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT RUIN MY MENTAL HEALTH SINCE YESTERDAY! NO WONDER I HATED BEING WITH YOU!”

Kyle flinched hard as if the words hit him in his heart. Tears began pouring down his face.

“You don’t love me? Well…okay…I see how it is!” Kyle flies away crying. He does not know where he’s going, but he’s flying away from Gus.

“K-Kyle!” He looked around but Kyle was long gone. Gus groaned. “Oh…What have I done? What have I done?” Gus sat down in shame for what he had done.

~~~

Fanny stood around the plaza of the village, trying to find a lead. She suddenly heard the sound of someone crying. It was Kyle who had his eyes closed and teary eyed. He yelped when he bumped into Fanny’s leg.

“So there it is. The source of the Miracle Bracelets. The key to victory.”

“Y-y-you again?!”

“Hello, star sprite. I see that your sisters aren’t here to protect you this time.” She snickered. “Don’t worry. You’ll join them soon enough.”

Kyle screamed so loud that Gus was able to hear it. “Kyle?”

“I think it came from the plaza!”

~~~

Gus teleports to the plaza and spots Fanny with Kyle in his hand.

“Kyle!”

“Gus? No, get away! She’s evil!”

“What? Do you know her?”

“Oswald’s first girlfriend! She captured me and the other sprites and wants revenge on Ortensia for replacing her! She’s getting help from that bad guy, Prescott!”

He quickly looked up at Fanny again and inspected her appearance. His eyes suddenly widened in realization that he knows who Kyle is talking about.

“Wait…I know her! That’s Oswald’s first girlfriend! Fanny! Fanny Cottontail! But she looks so different. What happened to her..?”

“Prescott told me you’re a big know-it-all. I’m surprised you remember me and not your dumb ruler! Now, I’m taking that sprite of yours. Master’s orders.” Fanny chuckled.

Gus gasped in shock. “Prescott…is your master?! Why are you working for him?! What do you want from Kyle?!”

“Give me the ultimate weapon.” Fanny pointed at Kyle, the source behind the power of the miracle bracelets. 

“Kyle? H-He doesn’t have anything for you. I don’t know what you are talking about. There must be a misunderstanding.” Gus tried to lie, but Fanny obviously didn’t believe him.

“Don’t play dumb with me. I already know where the miracle bracelets come from, so there’s no point in lying.” Fanny took out her staff and charged it up. She proceeded to jump and was about to attack Gus, and he yelped. 

“Now hand him over!”

“Stop right there, Fanny!”

Fanny turned her attention to Mickey and Oswald who were already transformed.

“Get away from them.” Oswald warned. “Or I’m gonna have to teach you a lesson.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, you cheater! Take this!” Fanny casts an electric spell and targets Mickey and Oswald. The two dodged it.

“You tried taking Camila from us, but you won’t take her brother away!” Mickey pointed to Fanny.

Mickey closed his eyes shut and began to focus. He was trying to figure out how to combat her. Meanwhile, Oswald uses his wish power and his armor turns light blue. He and Fanny start tackling each other.

“I will succeed! Once I get your communes and the star sprites, you’ll be powerless like your old man and Prescott and I will have absolute triumph!”

“There’s no way we’ll let you win! Mickey, ya got anything?!”

“I…I…”

Fanny kicks Oswald hard and Mickey was also hit by him.

“Mickey! Oswald! No!” Gus exclaimed.

Mickey and Oswald struggled to get up and they were hurt badly. 

Gus watched in horror. He didn’t have anything to defend himself. He felt useless to the heroes.

Fanny laughed. “Even your powers are no match for mine. Say goodbye to your pathetic wish power.”

“LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE YOU BULLY!!!!!!”

Kyle activated his wish power and aimed for Fanny, however, the rabbit blocked the attack with a shield.

“What?! No! My fire powers are unbeatable!”

Fanny laughed. “You wish.” She proceeds to zap Kyle with her staff. Kyle was sent flying to the floor.

“Kyle!” Gus flew forward to Kyle. “Kyle…why? You know you can’t use your powers! You don’t have a holder!”

“I had to…you were in danger…I’m…” Kyle stopped and passed out.

“Kyle! No…”

“Aw, so now you have feelings for the brat. After all the nasty things you said to him. How pathetic.”

“You hurt him. You spied on me…You should be ashamed of yourself!” Gus yelled.

“Like I care. Look at you. You’re just like Ortensia. Another powerless toon that is dying to play the hero. You are a useless old man that has no respect for my master!” 

Gus looked down in shame. “Perhaps you are right. I am powerless. I’ll never have those cool powers like Mickey and Oswald.” Gus held Kyle tight. “However! It doesn't matter how old I am either! I can still dream! With the gremlins, the toons, Mickey, Oswald, Ortensia, the star sprites, especially Kyle, are always by my side, and that’s what matters the most! So I…I…” Gus stands up with pride and faces his attention to Fanny. “I will get my wish, even if it doesn’t come true!”

“YOU ARE ASKING FOR IT!” Fanny takes her staff out and casts an electric spell. “DIE!”

The green electricity aims for Gus.

Mickey gasped. “NO!!”

An orange burst of light and fire suddenly appeared, causing everyone to cover their eyes. 

“That light…I can’t see!”

“Is it coming from Kyle?” Mickey asked.

“I-I don’t know! I’m getting a tingly feeling that someone next him is…”

A sudden explosion sends Fanny crashing to the ground. Suddenly, two shining lights went towards Mickey and Oswald, giving them their Miracle Bracelets.

“Huh?” Gus looked around and looked at Kyle who was still unconscious. He had no idea that he was glowing in an orange color. Mickey and Oswald noticed it as well. What did this mean?

Fanny struggled to get up. “Impossible! He-”

Mickey quickly looked at Fanny. It was their chance to attack. “Let’s do it, Oswald!” 

Oswald looked at Mickey and nodded. “Right!”

They quickly perform Miracle Magical Action to attack Fanny. She tried to shield herself with her staff, but the powerful magic from the duo was to strong for her that the shield was breaking apart.

“No good! The power of the bracelets is too strong!”

Fanny retreated, and the heroes have won again. 

“What was that light just now?” Mickey asked.

Oswald shrugged. “Beats me.” 

“But we won, and that’s what matters, right?” Mikey asked.

“Right.”

Gus was beyond confused when that happened. It couldn’t have possibly come out of him…right?

~~~ 

While Kyle was unconscious, he was taken back to Ostown. He was also given an earful of his action of using his incomplete wish power again. He promises to not do it again. Especially when Camila heard the news, Kyle’s older sister was crying for 40 minutes. Sometime later, Kyle tells everyone what happened.

“Guys…I really feel bad for what I did to Gus. I want to apologize. But, I don't think he’ll ever forgive me after all the trouble I caused.”

“I’m sure he will, big brother. You just need some courage.” Camila said.

Oswald then thought of Gus’ boots. “Hey, I heard Gus needed a new pair of boots. The ones he’s been wearing were lookin’ a bit old.”

“Let’s head to the Haberdasher’s shop and see if there’s a pair that he might like!” Mickey suggested.

“Yeah!”

~~~

“Hmmmm…” Kyle was mostly keeping his eye on a pair of gray colored boots. “Do you think he’d be interested in these?”

“Whoa! Those will look great on him!” Ollie said.

“Definitely!” Mickey chuckled.

“I hope so.” Kyle keeps looking at the boots.

After Mickey Oswald Ortensia and the sprites hopped off the train, they arrived at Gus’ home. 

~~~

“You yelled at Kyle?” Markus asked.

“You didn’t have to go that far. Yes, he did annoy you, but you hurt his feelings.” Jamface said.

“I know. I said awful things to him. I want to apologize to him.”

A sudden knock of the door was heard.

Gus opened the door shortly after. “Everyone! Hello.”

“Hi, Gus.” Mickey waved so did everyone else.

“What brings everyone here?”

 “Kyle wanted to tell you something.”

“So do I.”

After Gus let everyone inside, Kyle took a deep breath and gulped nervously.

“Gus…I really messed up big time. I’m sorry. All I wanted was to get to know you and the other gremlins. You guys are amazing. However, I really look up to you the most. I will do everything to protect you. Please forgive me.” 

“Kyle…I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just want you to work on your behavior.”

“I know. And that’s why I want to be just like you. You’re a really great guy. And you get things done. I admire you for that.”

“Thank you, Kyle. That was very sweet of you.”

They both hugged. The rest of the toons and sprites smiled.

“I promise I’ll behave this time! Don’t you worry!” Kyle lowered himself as he picked up a gift box, but the weight was too much for his size. Mickey helped him with the box and placed it on the table.

“Ummm…I got you a little something.”

Gus opened the gift box and it revealed the new pair of boots. 

“Kyle, these are…”

Kyle nodded. 

“Try them on, Mr. Gus!” Camila said.

Gus swapped his old boots with the new ones, and he was loving his brand new look already.

“Soooooooo, what do you think?” Kyle asked.

“I love them! Thank you, Kyle!”

Oswald got a closer look. “Wow! Your boots are lookin’ good!”

Kyle had a huge and proud smile on his face and hugged Gus. The gremlin laughed a bit and hugged Kyle back. Everyone was relieved that they patched things up. This has been the start of their beautiful friendship. 

However, the question about the sudden power that came out of nowhere remains to be a mystery…for now.

Chapter Text

We seem to have two separate perspectives of Kyle and Camila. To summarize previously, Kyle and Gus were having a hard time getting comfortable with each other's personalities and interests. Fanny was this close to reaching her goal, but in the end, Gus managed to save his friends with an unexpected burst of light. We also know that she went after Kyle's sisters, Camila and Kira, but we will get to that later. Since we've already seen Kyle form a bond with Gus, it is now time to see Camila find her place with Ortensia. 

During lunchtime, and after Kyle begging for his vegetables to be removed from his plate, the group decided to separate for the day. Kyle tagged along with Gus, while Camila and Kira stayed with Mickey, Oswald and Ortensia. Kira was a bit confused and let out a small whimper.

"Don't worry, little sister. You're staying with your big sister, okay?" Camila rocked her.

Kira quickly smiled."Okay!" She giggled.

Just as long as she stays with one of them, she'll feel comfortable hanging out with her new friends.

~~~

Somewhere in the waters of Tortooga, Small Pete was lost in the middle of the ocean. He's been floating around the water for many hours. He was starving, and desperate to go home. Luckily, Fanny spotted him while she was on a boat with the ability of her staff, which can shapeshift. 

"Fanny?? Oh thank goodness! I'm saved! Get me outta here so I can make more plants!"

"So this is where you were. You are pathetic. No wonder why my master calls you the dumb one of the group."

"Hey! I'm not that dumb! Why do you have to be so mean?!" Small Pete cries.

Fanny groaned and picked him up with a fishing rod. She then swung Small Pete and threw him to the beach along with the rod. He was screaming until he landed onto the sand.

Fanny laughed. "That idiot really thought I was going to save him." She proceeded to leave.

Small Pete groaned in pain, struggling to stand up. "Ouch...I hate that girl..." He teleported back to the castle. 

~~~

After Mickey, Oswald and Ortensia hopped off from the projector, they arrived at their peaceful area Ostown. As they walked to Ortensia's house, Camila flew out of the purse and got a better look of it. 

"I don't think I've ever seen a house this beautiful! You and Oswald are so lucky to live in a luxurious home."

"Thank you, Camila. Thanks to Patxi and the gremlins, they gave it their all into rebuilding it!"

"And if I remember, you're the one who casted a vine spell to lift the debris from the construction of the house, right?" Mickey asked. 

Camila nodded.

"Just remember that your powers are incomplete, and you and Kyle are going to need holders like me and Oswald. You have to find someone who you trust the most with your wish magic." 

Ollie scratched his head. "Still, something about Patxi feels off. He reminds me of someone we know..." 

"Oh, Ollie. We don't really know much about him. So there's no need to make any assumptions." Mikey said.

"Mikey, wasn't he the one who stole Mickey's commune? He was obviously going to use it for some evil purpose!"

"That's silly! He would never do something like that!"

Mikey and Ollie's argument started to make Camila upset that she started crying as waterfalls of tears flowed from her eyes.

She flew next to Mikey and Ollie. "Mikey, Ollie, please stop!! Why...why are you two fighting?? I don't even know much about Patxi, but please stop! What if he can hear you??!!" She wailed.

The toons were shocked to see all the tears flowing from Camila. Ortensia quickly picked up Camila and gave her comfort. Mickey and Oswald also picked up their sprites and tried to break up the fight.

"Come on, break it up you too." Mickey said.

"Yeah, let's not bring Patxi into this now." 

Mikey and Ollie looked down with guilt. 

"Patxi did apologize to me when he gave my commune back to me, so there's no way he would try to steal it again." Mickey said.

"Camiwa..." Kira was about to cry too.

Ortensia looked down to Kira who was worried about her big sister crying. Camila was already calming down. 

"Oh, don't cry, Kira. Look! You're big sister's not crying anymore." Ortensia smiled.

Camila wiped her tears and turned to Kira and gave out a smile, which also made Kira feel better as well. 

"I'm sorry, everyone. All I want is for all of us and the star sprites to live in harmony. I don't want any sadness and anger to get to any of you...or to myself."

"And we'll make sure it doesn't happen, Camila." Mickey winked and gave out a chuckle. 

Oswald nodded. "Yeah! Let's all fight those bad guys together, with a smile!" 

The rest of the group cheered, and went inside the house.

"Umm, Ortensia? After dinner, can we go see your garden? Just the two of us?"

Ortensia giggled. "Of course, sweetie."

Camila was surprised to hear what Ortensia just called her. The word "sweetie" made her cheeks turn pink. 

~~~

At dinnertime, Ortensia began to serve everyone their meals. Camila insisted on making Kira's milk, but Ortensia's kindness couldn't keep her from resisting. So, Camila lets her do the process of making the milk. Once Ortensia was done, she brought the pink star bottle of milk to Kira as she was sitting on her high chair. The yellow star sprite was feeling hungry, but got excited when she saw Ortensia bringing her bottle to her.

"Mil!!" She giggled. 

Ortensia gave Kira the bottle and smiled. "Here you go, Kira. Enjoy!"

Kira happily drank her milk. She enjoys it when either Camila or Ortensia makes it. It doesn't matter who makes it best for her. 

Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard. Ortensia goes to open the door. Faith's eyes widened when she saw Ortensia after she let out a light gasp. There was nothing but silence.

"Ortensia? What's wrong?" Oswald's voice was heard from behind as he was running to the door. Mickey and the sprites followed him as well. Camila picked up Kira before catching up to the others.

Once Mickey saw Faith, he was excited to see her. "Oh my gosh! Faith! Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Hold on, you know her?" Oswald asked.

"We saw her all by herself at the beach party!" Mikey exclaimed.

"It's true." After Faith spoke, they all gathered their attention to her. "I met him and a few of his friends at Tortooga a while ago.

"I'm glad you're doing alright, Faith. I've been trying to look for you after Small Pete attacked us at the beach party. Come on, guys. Why don't you all introduce yourselves to her?"

Everyone slowly nodded. Oswald was the first one to clear his throat.

"Hi there, Faith. I'm Oswald. The ruler of Wasteland."

Ollie flew to Faith. "The name's Ollie. And I'm pretty sure you know Mikey already."

"That's right." She answered.

"My name is Ortensia. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Everyone faced Camila. Camila noticed and began shaking. She became even more frightened when she saw Faith glaring at her. 

"I-I-I-I'm C-C-Camila..." she said quietly.

"Uh, can you guys hear her?" Faith asked.

Everyone but Kira shook their heads. 

"Camila, can you repeat that?" Ortensia asked.

Camila nodded. "I-I-I-I'm C-C-Camila..." she once again said it quietly.

"Sweetie, you need to speak louder, okay?"

Faith was annoyed, but she tried to stay in character. "What's gotten into her? She's so quiet."  

Kira stopped drinking from her bottle when she noticed her sister looking afraid. 

"Oh, she's never acted like this..." Ortensia started to worry.

"My name is Camila! And this is my baby sister Kira!"

Everyone was surprised to hear that sudden tone of voice that Camila let out. It caused Kira to cry.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Kira!" Camila quickly rocked Kira to calm her down. Kira began to cry harder. 

"I'll help you, Camila."

"Please do, Ortensia. I don't think she likes me right now." She passes the crying baby to Ortensia. 

"Shh. It's alright, Kira. Camila didn't mean to yell." Ortensia slowly rocked Kira. 

And with that, Kira calms down. 

Mickey thought of an idea. "Say, Ortensia, is it okay if we let her in? She can join us for dinner."

"Oh, of course! I still have plenty of food for her. Come on in, Faith. I'd be happy to show you around our home."

"Uh...sure. Okay."

After Ortensia put Kira down for her nap on the Starlight Commune, she raced back to the kitchen. 

Time passed after dinnertime, and the day was almost over. Ortensia shows Faith around the house. She goes on how the house was before remodeling. She also talks about how things have been ever since both Mickey and Oswald have been battling the Pete's and Prescott with their wish powers.

"Ever since the quakes hit, our house has been damaged badly. I have no idea how we managed to live in such an almost demolished home for the past seven years. Oh, I'm just so grateful that we have our new and improved home! I thank the gremlins everyday for their hard work." They know how to get things done!" Ortensia giggled.  "And I got to help them out by giving the gremlins a helping hand, and I provided some care packages, and they all thanked me except..." 

She suddenly thought of the only gremlin who did not thank her for the care package that day. And that was Gremlin Patxi. Just him alone made her so upset. She could've sworn she heard him mumbling to himself that day. 

"Ortensia?"

"Huh? What?"

"Is something wrong?"

"...Oh, no it's nothing."

A sudden voice was heard. "Ortensia?"

Camila was peeking out of the staircase and flew to Ortensia, and went to her ear.

"Are we going to see the garden now?" She whispered.

"Oh, yes of course, Camila. We'll go right away."

"A garden?" Faith asked.

Ortensia nodded. "Camila wanted to see it. Did you want to join us?"

"Uh..." Faith turned around to see Mickey, Oswald and the sprites playing a card game. 

"Draw four!" Oswald puts down a card with a picture with four cards to Ollie, meaning that the opponent has to draw four.

Ollie angrily yelled. "UGH!! NOT AGAIN!!!" 

Mickey shushed. "Quiet! Kira's sleeping!" The starlight commune was next to the couch. 

"Calm down, Ollie! It's just a game!" Mikey tries to calm Ollie down. 

Faith turned back to Ortensia. "I'd much rather go with you."

Just when they were going to see Ortensia's garden, there was a sudden loud rumble. Everyone was startled.

"What's happening?!"

Everyone went to a nearby window and spotted Small Pete growing man-eating plants that grew in an instant. 

"Small Pete?! Again?! Mickey, Let's go!" Oswald ran outside while taking out his transformation card and commune.

"Right!" Mickey took out his card and swiped it onto his commune and transformed. "Girls, stay inside! We'll take care of Small Pete!"

"Okay." Faith nodded.

"Mickey..." Ortensia looked worried. 

Mickey couldn't just ignore it. "Ortensia, it's going to be okay. You've been a really good help to us. Don't forget that."

Ortensia nodded in response and Mickey went on to follow Oswald. As the door closes, Mickey takes out another card with an image of a protective shield. He swiped it and created the shield to protect Ortensia's house. He then closed his eyes to vision more shields for the other houses and the Gag Factory to be protected from Small Pete's plants. 

"Nice one Mickey!" Oswald gave Mickey a thumbs up.

"Your turn, Ozzie!"

Oswald activates his Honor Bound and goes after the man-eating plants one by one.

"D'oh! Come on! Stop ruining my garden!" Small Pete keeps pouring more from his seed packs.

"Give up, Small Pete!" Oswald said. "Your nasty plants are no match for my Honor Bound!" Oswald continued slashing the plants.

~~~

Faith looked out the window again. She suddenly touched something. She looked down at the couch and noticed the Starlight Commune. "Looks like the boys can handle it."

"They need me."

"Huh?"

"Mickey and Oswald need me. What if Fanny might suddenly show up out of nowhere? She'll somehow take the sprites and Prescott will take control of Wasteland and-"

"That won't happen."

Ortensia let out a light gasp.

"Whatever's going on right now is new to me. But, with those powers that they have, I can trust them with my life. If you want to help them, I'd say go for it. I'd trust you too."

"Faith..."

Camila was surprised to hear what Faith told Ortensia. 

“And Camila, I’m sorry if I upset you.”

"Does she really mean that? Maybe she isn't a bad person after all." 

"You think so?" Ortensia asked. 

"I do." Faith smiled.

She was given a sudden hug from Ortensia. "Thank you, Faith! When you get into danger, I'll come rescue you too." 

Faith was surprised to hear those words. She couldn't let anything out. Ortensia let go of Faith.

"Let's go, Camila!"

"Alright!"

Ortensia and Camila run upstairs to the attic to find some things to fight the man-eating plants, while Faith looks back down to the Starlight Commune. 

"You're mine now, pest."

~~~

Ortensia and Camila looked around for some heavy material. Ortesnia then asked a sudden question.

"Hey, are we missing something?

Camila came into sudden realization that they were missing something. She let out a frightened gasp.

"KIRA!"

~~~

As Faith was about to get her hands on the commune, Kira suddenly woke up from her nap. The device opens and Kira crawls out of the commune and yawns. She looks to see Faith and stares at her.

"Uh...hi?" Faith awkwardly waves.

"KIRA!"

"Camiwa?"

"Oh, my precious sister is alright!"

"Thank goodness!" Ortensia sighed in relief. "Faith, thank you for finding her!"

"Huh? But-but-but-"

"Hurry, Ortensia! We have to help the boys!"

Ortensia picks up the commune and Camila picks up Kira and the two go back to the attic.

Once they are gone, Faith growls and lets her anger out as she reverts to her regular form.

"DAMN IT!!!" Fanny screamed and breathed heavily. She calmed down eventually and teleported to Small Pete.

"AH! Fanny?! What are you-"

"Move it, fat cat! They're mine!" 

Oswald gasped "Fanny?!"

"Hi, boys."

"Who?" Mickey questioned.

"Oh my. This is the first time you see me,huh? Well allow me to introduce myself to you, mouse. I'm Fanny. Fanny Cottontail."

"Fanny Cottontail? With Small Pete next to you, that means...you're working for Prescott!"

"Bingo."

Oswald gasped. "No...it can't be...why? Just when we were going to set things right..!"

Mickey looked at Oswald’s worried look. “Oswald, do you know her?”

“I can’t keep this from you, huh? But, yeah. She captured Ortensia and the sprites including yours while you were asleep that day. That’s how we first met.”

"Also correct. Now, how about a deadly zap from yours truly?" Fanny already had her staff on her hand. She was ready to charge up until she was suddenly hit by a random plant that sent her to the ground.

"Control your stupid plants properly, Small Pete!"

"I'm not doing anything! Something hit my plant!"

"Yo-hoo!"

Small Pete and Fanny looked over to Ortensia carrying a bag of soil. With Kira's power, she was able to open the shield and close it on their way out.

"Ortensia?! What are you doing?? You're gonna get yourself hurt!" Oswald exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Oswald. I may not have a wish power like you two, but I still want to help you! Besides, I have the star sprites by my side to support me."

Camila hugged Ortensia. "That's right!" 

"Oh yeah? Let's see how long that will last when I take your precious little sprite off your hands!" Fanny's staff strikes lightning towards Ortensia and Camila. The pink sprite screams as tears flow from her eyes.

"Don't worry, Camila!" Ortensia held on to Camila. "We will live in harmony together. That's what you said, right?"

"...That's right."

At the last statement, a pink light flashed everyone's eyes.

Fanny tried to get a good look at where the light was coming from. She sees Ortensia, but the light is making her vision blurry. "What the- how did...no...NO! How is this possible?! She's supposed to be powerless!" She covered her eyes. "You won't be holding on to your sprites for long, fools! I will find where you're hiding the green one, and I know where to look first!" She grabbed Small Pete and retreated.

"Hey!!! Fanny, you're pulling my hair!!!" Small Pete cried.

Kira's wish power reverts everything back to normal.

"Whoa..." Oswald looked at Ortensia who was still glowing pink. "Don't tell me that..."

Mickey had a bad feeling about what Fanny said, and immediately thought of the potential danger Gus might face.

~~~

"Wooooooooooow! It's so beautiful!" Camila flew around the garden. She looked through the pink flowers, roses and all the variety of fruits and vegetables grown in the garden. "You grew all this? That must've taken a long time!”

Ortensia nodded. "It sure did. But it took lots of time and patience, and love of course." 

“Say, I was thinking about Faith just now, and I think I misunderstood her. She doesn’t look like a bad toon. When we see her again, let’s thank her.”

“Good idea.” Ortensia suddenly thought about the pink light that came out of her. "Camila, why was I suddenly glowing pink a while ago?"

"I'm not sure. I feel like we're both getting a little connected to each other. Somehow, I feel like something magical inside of us will awaken soon."

"Awaken?"

~~~

Later that night, Mickey couldn't help but think of Kyle and Gus. It is a very good chance that they are Fanny's next target.

"Oswald, I have a really bad feeling that Fanny might strike again. Kyle could be next."

"I've been feeling the same way, Mickey. To make matters worse, Gus might be in danger." Oswald looked at the night sky. "It might not be a good time to head out now, but tomorrow, we'll head straight to Gremlin Village!"

Mickey nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Chapter Text

Another new day begins in the peaceful area of Ostown with a peaceful breakfast at Ortensia’s house. The last two days have been tough for our heroes and the new star sprites, as they encountered Fanny those two times…and Small Pete once. However, they successfully kept them safe thanks to their supporting friends Ortensia and Gus. 

But then brings up the unanswered questions: Why was there light shining on them? Does it mean an awakening will occur like what Camila said? And when will it occur? Could those two be the potential holders for Kyle and Camila? It’s a peculiar mystery for Mickey and Oswald to figure out. They have been discussing what had happened the day they confronted Fanny at Gremlin Village where the light shone upon Gus, the same way that happened to Ortensia. She was surprised that she wasn’t the only one.

Oswald let out a frustrated groan. “Prescott just doesn’t know when to give up. He’s gonna keep relying on Fanny to do his dirty work for him, and she’s okay with it!” He slopped his head on the table.

“Oswald, calm down. We have the power of the Miracle Bracelets to fight back, thanks to Kyle, Camila and Kira.” Mickey placed his hand on Oswald’s back.

“Mickey’s right, hunny-bunny. You two always win at the end of the day!” Ortensia giggled. 

Oswald sighed weakly. “You’re right, guys. If Fanny or Prescott come to bug us again, we’ll teach em’ a lesson.”

“Oh, speaking of Kyle and Camila, I wonder if they’re awake yet? I made plenty of food for everyone, and Kira’s milk is already warmed up.

At the guest’s room, the Starlight Commune was on the desk where Mickey writes his letters to Minnie from the Cartoon World. Kira was the first to wake up from her crib and let out a yawn. 

“Kywe! Camiwa!” She called her two big siblings to come pick her up, but there was no response.

She tried calling them again, but no response was given. “Kywe…Camiwa…”

She began to cry. The noise can be heard from the dining room.

“Uh oh. That sounds like Kira! I’ll see what’s wrong.” Mickey ran upstairs.

Mickey entered his room, and heard the crying baby in the commune. He opens it, and Kira’s head pops out of the computer screen.

“Kira, what’s wrong?” Mickey takes Kira out of the commune.

“KYWE!!! CAMIWA!!!”

“Kyle and Camila? What’s happened to them?”

“ACHOO!”

“Huh?”

That sudden sneeze came from Kyle. Kira stopped crying after hearing that familiar voice.

“ACHOO!”

Another sneeze was heard. It came from Camila. The two popped out their heads from the screen, but they looked really weak with runny noses, boiling hot heads, and red cheeks. They were coughing hard.

Kira, on the other hand, was happy to see them awake. “Kywe! Camiwa!” She giggled. 

“Oh no. That’s why they haven’t come down for breakfast. You guys are sick!”

“Huh?”

~~~

Meanwhile, in the dark sceneries of the Floatyard, Fanny was camping out there during the past two days. She has been frustrated to even figure a way to defeat Mickey and Oswald and capture the star sprites, and even the new ones that appeared. She was sitting on her stool thinking nonstop, while staring at the campfire.

“Those powers. The miracle bracelets… They’re just too strong. How am I supposed to get those sprites, when I can’t even defend myself?! And those two…”

Ortensia and Gus came to mind. “Why did they have light shining on them?! They don’t even have wish magic! So why…?! WHY?!”

“I'll tell you why. You’re just as weak just like the Pete’s.”

“Huh?! Who said that?!”

“It was me.” Ivory flew down to Fanny.

“Ivory? Aren’t you still sick?!”

“I’m slowly recovering, but I don’t feel as bad now.” Ivory chuckled.

“What are you doing here?!”

“I snuck out to find the appropriate food for me to eat. Prescott’s offerings just make me sick.”

“You are sick. Why’d you sneak out?! Prescott’s going to be furious if he finds out! You should be back at the castle.”

“Not happening.”

“Why’s that?!” Fanny angrily asked, looking stressed.

“ I still need to find the food I’m dying to look for.” Ivory kept looking at Fanny’s stressed face. “My, you look stressed. You must be having a hard time capturing the sprites.”

“None of your business.”

“You definitely need my assistance.”

“I can handle it myself. Prescott is counting on me to help him get his wishes. And he promised me the future I desire. I don’t need you! ” Fanny huffed as she crossed her arms and turned away from Ivory.

“I can provide a power-up for that staff of yours. Consider it as a gift from me to you. It can help you defeat those heroes.”

Fanny stopped and looked back at Ivory. “A power-up?”

~~~

Back at Ortensia’s house, Mickey brought the starlight commune to the living room after breakfast.

“Kyle and Camila have been sick all morning. It looks like Kira’s just happy to see them.” 

“Oh dear, they need treatment and fast!”

“Ollie, isn’t there some kind of doctor in this commune?” Oswald asked.

“There’s gotta be. If your commune has a card to call a doctor, then so should this commune.”

Oswald took out the Medical card for a clue. The appearance of the Medical card has an image of an injection needle.

“Let’s think. Which button color would we press for medical assistance? We know that the yellow button is to summon the chef from Gus’ lucky guess.”

Mickey took out the Chef’s card out of curiosity. 

“Mickey, why’d you take that card out?” Mikey giggled. “We just ate breakfast!”

“I’m just curious.” Mickey inspected the card. It had a yellow background. “Hey! The color of this card is yellow, just like the button!”

“Hey, you’re right, Mickey! And Oswald’s card has a light green color on it!”

“So, do you think that’s the button we have to press?” Oswald asked.

“Let’s find out!” Ollie said.

Oswald nodded and pressed the light green button. A bubble appeared and a nurse was summoned. The nurse has the appearance of a cat.

“It worked!”

Mikey and Ollie cheered. “They got it!”

“Greetings, everyone.” The nurse bowed. “It seems this is the first time you call for my assistance.”

Ollie flew close to the bubble. “Seems so. But anyway, we have some star sprites that need your help!” 

“Who are my two patients?”

“They’re on the commune.”

The nurse got a quick look at Kyle and Camila. “Oh my. They look like they have a high fever. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of them. They will need a lot of rest and warm liquids.”

“But…what about Kira? We have to take care of our little sister.” Camila coughed.

“Don’t worry, Camila.” Oswald assured. “We’ll take care of her. You two focus on resting.”

“Oh, thank you, Oswald. We’ll be counting on you. Kira, be a good girl now, okay?”

“Oh?” Kira doesn’t know what was going on. She hopes that her big brother and sister don’t separate from her.

“Gosh. This is actually going to be our first time looking after her ourselves.” Mickey realized. 

“I will need the device locked so that I can focus with no distractions.” The nurse said.

“Right. You got it.” Oswald closes the commune and the device becomes locked with the Nurse’s magic.

“Kywe?? Camiwa??”

“We might as well put this commune somewhere quiet.”

Oswald takes the commune upstairs to his room and places it on the bed. Once that was dealt with, he returned downstairs to Kira whimpering and began to scream and wail. Fountains of tears flooded out of her eyes.

“Oh boy…”

~~~

“Oh, don’t worry, Kira! Your brother and sister will get better real soon!” Ortensia assured Kira.

“I guess she’s not used to being apart from Kyle and Camila. Why is that?” Mickey wanted to find a way for Kira to stop crying, and get a clue on what to do to get at least an answer from her. He doesn’t want to give too much pressure since she is a baby.

As Kira cries, Oswald gets an idea. He zooms to the nearby telephone and dials a number.

“What is Oswald doing?” Mickey asked.

“Hello, Gus? Can ya give us a helping hand here? We got a crying baby in the house!”

“Oswald…” Ortensia face palmed.

“Is Gus even that good with handling kids?” Mickey whispered to Ortensia.

“Not really when it comes to ours.”

“Then this will become a bigger problem.”

~~~

Once Gus arrived at the house and rang the doorbell, Oswald zoomed over and answered the door.

“Hey, Gus! Boy, we could really use your help right now. Come on!” He swipes Gus’ arm and into the living room.

Gus sees Kira wailing as he is getting dragged over to Mickey and Ortensia.

“Oh! Hi, Gus.” Mickey waved along with Ortensia.

“How have you been this morning?”

“Doing well, thank you. So, Kira has been crying this whole time?”

“Unfortunately.” Oswald sighed. 

Gus tried to pick up Kira, but her brooch suddenly glowed and a pile of bottles appeared and landed on Gus.

“Gus!” Mickey and Ortensia helped Gus out of the pile of bottles.

“Oh, Gus. Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you both. Gee, she might be a lot more work than the bunny children…”

“That’s why I called you for some help. You know to get a baby star sprite to stop crying, right?”

“Uhhhh…”

“Great! Let’s go! Mickey, you come too!”

“What?!”

Oswald grabs Mickey and Gus and runs upstairs.

Mickey and Gus yelped. “WAH! Oswald!!!”

Ortensia watched Mickey and Gus getting dragged with worry. “Oh dear…I have a bad feeling this won’t end well.” She goes to pick up the crying star sprite. But she was afraid that the same thing might happen with her like with Gus. “Oh, please stop crying, Kira. The nurse knows what she’s doing.”

Kira cries harder!

“Aw phooey…”

~~~

"Oswald, what exactly are you doing?" Gus asked.

Oswald picks up some red curtains. “Trust me it’ll work. This works on my kids all the time! It’s all about bein’ a fun dad!”

Mickey was holding a broom. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

~~~

A few minutes have passed leaving Ortensia to stress out over Kira’s wailing. Even the bunny children are fed up with it as well. Some even tried to get her to laugh by making funny faces, but it easily failed. Ortensia then finds Camila’s diaper bag with Kira’s everyday needs on the floor. She looks through the bag and the first thing she finds is a pacifier. She then puts it on Kira’s mouth and she slowly stops crying and begins to suck on the pacifier. Ortensia sighed in relief.

“That actually worked. I would’ve been a goner without that pacifier. I better tell the boys that it’s alright now.”

Ortensia tried picking up Kira again, and this time there were no bottles. “Boys! I got Kira to stop crying!”

Oswald quickly zoomed to the dining room to get the curtains set up, he also brought the broom, a drum and a symbol.

“Don’t worry, Ortensia! We got this in the bag!”

“But-”

“Alright, guys! It’s showtime!” Oswald placed Gus by the drum and gave him some drumsticks, and brought a beanbag chair for Ortensia and Kira. And finally, Oswald brings Mickey next to him with the broom in his hand. Mikey and Ollie sit by Ortensia. 

Oswald leaned the end of the broom like a microphone. “Good afternoon, everyone! Wow! We got a lovely audience here today!”

It was silent. Oswald turned to Gus and pointed at the radio. Gus quickly presses play and a sound of applause plays.

Oswald points at Kira. “Hello there, little sprite! How’s your day been so far?” He lowered the end of the broom to Kira, who was about to eat it. Oswald quickly moved it away from her. “Well that’s great! Cuz I got something that will make your day brighter!”

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Ollie said.

Oswald cleared his throat. “So, what do you get when you combine a T-rex and fireworks?”

“I don’t know. Oswald. What do you get?”

“Dinomyte!” Oswald laughed.

There was silence. Oswald and Mickey look at Gus cringe. Gus gasped at Oswald’s glare and hit the drum and the symbol.

No one in the audience was laughing. 

“Ozzie, Kira’s not amused.” Mickey whispered.

“Maybe this one will work!” Oswald whispered back.

“Why did the banana go see the doctor?”

Mickey shrugged. “I don’t know, Oswald. Why did the banana go see the doctor?”

“Because he wasn’t peeling well!” He laughed again.

This time Gus hits the drum and symbol after Oswald’s joke. Ortensia couldn’t help but giggle a little. Mikey and Ollie were also laughing a bit. However, Kira was whimpering for a few seconds before wailing again. Her pacifier falls out. Ortensia picks it up and tries to put it back on Kira’s mouth but she throws it. 

“Oh, Kira! Oswald, she was doing just fine, and now look what you did!” 

“Hey, this was all Mickey and Gus’ idea!” 

Mickey and Gus didn’t expect Oswald to make up that sudden lie. “HEY!!!” They both yelled. 

“Oswald, you are a liar! You planned all this! Kira was fine!”

Gus flew up to Oswald. “Until your cringy jokes made her cry!”

Oswald gasped, looking offended. “How dare you call my jokes cringe!” He jumps Gus and begins to rumble.

“OSWALD!!! THAT'S ELDER ABUSE! STOP IT!!!”

The set up gets taken down by the fighting and they both get hit by a storage closet in the kitchen. Mickey, Ortensia and the sprites run to the kitchen. Kira was still crying.

Oswald rubbed the pain on his head. “Ow…huh?”

A bag of flour falls to Oswald and Gus. They were too late to realize it and they were both now covered in the white flour.

Everyone else gasped at the scene. Kira suddenly stopped crying when she saw Oswald and Gus covered in flour and began to laugh.

“There? See? I am a jokester.” Oswald chuckled.

Gus groaned. 

“Let’s get you both washed up.” Ortensia said.

~~~

Mickey uses a card that is used to bathe the star sprites, but all they need is two buckets of water for the both of them to wash the flour off and a blow dryer to dry their clothes. Gus’ mustache and Oswald’s fur was drenched. As Ortensia dried off the boys, Gus was combing his mustache, while Oswald’s fur turned extra fluffy and poofy from the drying. Everyone including Kira laughed at Oswald’s appearance. 

Oswald crossed his arms. “Hey, as long as Kira’s entertained.”

Kira giggled. “Fwuffy bunny! Fwuffy bunny!”

~~~

It is now lunchtime for the baby star sprite. Oswald uses the Chef’s card on his commune, and the chef provides some mashed sweet potatoes. And to drink, a warm bottle of milk. 

Oswald serves her food. “Here you go, Kira.” He then puts on her pink baby bib and puts a spoon on her hand.

“Huh?”

Mickey was opening a storage cabinet and taking out a box of cheese crackers. Kira was watching him pour some into a bowl. Her eyes glimmered.

“Cwacker…”

Mickey walks to Kira’s high chair and looks at her food. “Oooh, those sweet potatoes look yummy!”

Oswald was also preparing a snack for himself. He had a plate of strawberries, carrots and blueberries. “Alright, Kira. Go ahead and eat your food.”

Kira was confused. She didn’t know how to eat with a spoon. It was her first time eating solids. 

“Like this!” Oswald digs his spoon and picks up some blueberries and eats them.

Kira looks at Oswald’s plate and uses magic from her brooch to make his plate come to her.

“What the-”

Kira grabs the plate and eats the berries, while the vegetables fall to the floor.

“Hey! That’s my plate! You have to eat yours!”

“Yummy bewwy!”

Mickey chuckled. “Looks like Kira’s enjoying the berries. 

Ortensia sighed. “At least she’s eating. But still, she has to eat her vegetables too!”

“Ya hear that, Kira? You gotta eat healthy!” Oswald picks up some sweet potatoes from Kira’s spoon. “Mmm, smells good, doesn’t it?”

Kira turns her head away. “Meh!” 

“Oh.”

“I think she got influenced by her brother.” Gus said. “Come on, Kira. Give it a chance.”

Kira shook her head. “No!”

“Just try it. It won’t bite.” Oswald tries to get the spoon near Kira’s mouth but she keeps on turning.

“MEH! MEH! MEH!”

“Kira! Eat your sweet potatoes NOW!”

Kira was startled by Oswald’s loud tone of voice. She bursts into tears and throws her food. 

“No! Kira! I’m sorry!”

“Oswald! You made her cry again!” Ortensia angrily exclaimed.

“I can fix it!” Oswald grabs another bag of flour and dumps the flour on himself. “Achoo!”

Kira stopped crying and started laughing at Oswald.

Ortensia did a face palm. “Great, You made more of a mess.”

Oswald chuckled nervously.

~~~

After cleaning up the kitchen and preparing another plate of sweet potatoes and milk, the group went outside to wash off Oswald. The sprites are in charge of looking after Kira to make sure she eats her sweet potatoes.

“Come on, Kira! Sweet potatoes are really tasty!” Mikey shows Kira the plate of sweet potatoes.

“Kiwa wan cwacker!”

“Not after you eat your sweet potatoes.”

“Meh!”

Mikey groaned. “She won’t even try it! She’s so picky!”

“And Kira can’t even reach the bowl Mickey left at the counter, so she’s got no other option.” Ollie said.

Kira huffed and her brooch glowed again, and this time she gained the ability to fly!

“Cwacker! Cwacker!”

The two sprites were in shock. The baby sprite was full of surprises. 

“Yay!” Kira makes it to the counter and eats from the bowl of Mickey’s cheese crackers.

“That brooch of hers…”

“Ollie?”

“There’s something about it that’s making her use such powerful magic. Like when she managed to get rid of the thinner waters. And making objects appear. It’s like her feelings react to it…”

“Kira!”

The sprites reacted to Ortensia’s sudden voice.

The group quickly ran back to the kitchen after seeing Kira at the counter. 

Ortensia came in and picked up Kira. “How did you get over here?! Let’s get you back into your high chair. You could’ve gotten yourself hurt!”

“No! No! No!”

Ollie points at Kira’s brooch. “It’s Kira’s brooch. Her magic reacts to emotions!”

“Her brooch?” Ortensia looks at Kira’s brooch that’s attached to her pink bow. She reaches for it.

“No! NO!”

Ortensia manages to take the brooch off of Kira. Without it, Kira cannot cast any magic with her emotions. Ortensia puts the brooch in her pocket.

Kira cried again while reaching for Ortensia, begging for her to return her brooch.

“Kira, It’s too dangerous to use magic at such a young age! You can’t control it!”

Kira whimpered. “My bwooch…”

“Let’s calm down and eat some sweet potatoes, okay?”

“But…Kiwa wan cwacker…”

Oswald came up to her. “You can have crackers after you eat your sweet potatoes.” Oswald raised the spoon of sweet potatoes. “Now open wide!”

Kira turned away from Oswald. “Meh!”

“Oswald, you caused enough trouble for today!” Ortensia scolded.

“But I’m just trying to help!”

“Well your awful jokes certainly didn’t make her smile!” Gus added.

“And you’re literally forcing her to eat!” Mickey also added.

Oswald stuttered. “B-but-but-but-”

“No buts this time! Get out! We’ll deal with her ourselves!” Ortensia yelled.

Oswald glared at Ortensia and turned away. He leaves the kitchen and goes upstairs.

Ortensia sighed. “I think I went too hard on him.”

Gus placed his hand on Ortensia’s shoulder for support. Ortensia smiled at him.

“Kiwa…scawed…”

The three toons and the sprites looked at Kira whimpering again. She was frightened of Ortensia’s yelling and the argument that she had just witnessed. 

“Kira, no. I wasn’t yelling at you…” Ortensia was about to reach out to Kira, but the yellow sprite flinched in fear, afraid of getting yelled at or worse.

Ortensia suddenly remembered the day Camila raised her voice so loud that it made Kira cry as well. She also remembered that she hates seeing her friends fight.

“Ortensia, what’s wrong?” Mickey asked.

“I…” Before she could answer, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Ortensia goes to answer it, and sees a panicked gremlin. Mickey also comes in to check.

“Your highness, Fanny is attacking Mean Street North! We need Mickey and Oswald, quickly!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll get him!” Mickey runs upstairs

~~~

Upstairs, Oswald was sitting on his bed, thinking about what he did. Perhaps he was making things worse for Kira. 

Mickey looks through the other rooms. “Oswald? Oswald, where are you?”

“Mickey?” Oswald gets out of his room. “What’s going on?”

“Fanny’s back. We have to stop her!”

“Let’s go.”

Mickey and Oswald run outside. 

“Ortensia, Gus, protect the starlight commune! We’ll be back soon!” Mickey was about to run to the projector, but Ortensia stopped him.

“Wait! Let us come with you!”

“No way. It’s too dangerous. You and Gus don’t have anything to defend yourself.”

“Well, Camila and I found our way of helping you two.”

“And I felt useful for once. You boys encouraged me to believe that I have the potential of being a hero.” Gus added. “Mickey, Oswald, you need us. And we need you.”

Mickey couldn’t help but smile. “Okay. Everyone, let’s go!”

~~~

Toons were running in panic mode as they were trying to hide from Fanny as quickly as possible. Mickey and the group quickly arrived at the scene.

“Fanny!”

Fanny stopped to see Mickey and Oswald running to Fanny and transforming into their wish forms. 

Gus watched Mickey and Oswald running. “You can do it, boys.” He didn’t notice Ortensia running off.

Kira also watched.

“He he he…” Fanny waved her staff around and green sharp diamonds appeared in the air.

 Mickey noticed something unusual. “Huh?”

The diamonds started flying towards the boys to get a hit on them, but Oswald was quick to react and activated a shield with one of his cards.

“Thanks, Ozzie!”

Oswald looked at Mickey and smiled.

“That power of hers. It’s like it's powered up or something!”

The last of the diamonds shatter and the shield fades.

“Nice try, Fanny! You won’t be getting a hit on us this time!”

“That was only a warmup. I’m just getting started!” Fanny waved her staff again, but this time a combination of green electricity and chunks of ink appeared.

Mickey gasped. “What the-“

But Mickey was too late to react and the ink hit him and Oswald to the ground. They were now getting electrocuted by the green electrifying ink.

“Mickey!” Mikey cried.

“Oswald!” Ollie also cried.

Kira started to whimper.

Fanny laughed. “You like what you see? Ivory gave me this little present. I’m much stronger now! Now surrender your communes, and bow down to my master!”

Oswald grunted. “NEVER!”

“We will never…give up…”

“To the likes of you!” They both said together.

“As if.” Fanny controls the electricity to make it more painful for the heroes.

“Mickey! Oswald! You can win this!” Gus cried out.

Mickey and Oswald can hear their gremlin pal cheer them on. They can’t lose hope yet…not ever. 

“It hurts…but I’m still gonna give it my all…” Mickey said weakly.

“Mickey…”

Fanny heard Gus’ voice. ”When will you learn, old man?!” She charged her staff.

Suddenly, she gets jumped by Ortensia from behind, causing her to drop her staff. They started pouncing on each other, until Fanny shoved Ortensia to the ground. The brooch from Ortensia’s pocket falls out.

Ortensia gasped. “Kira’s brooch!”

“What?” Fanny looked at the brooch and suddenly remembered how much power it holds from the baby sprite. 

Ortensia attempts to grab it, but Fanny traps her in the electrifying ink. She proceeds to pick up the brooch. Ortensia let out a painful scream. The boys and Kira gasp.

“ORTENISA!!!” Oswald yelled.

Tears started to flow from Kira’s eyes as she saw Oswald’s tears flow down as well. She turned to Fanny holding her brooch. 

“With this, I’ll be even more powerful!”

Gus noticed that Fanny was distracted. It was his turn to attack.

“She will pay for this! It’s now or never. We’re getting your brooch back! Kira!” Gus started to fly towards Fanny. He takes out his wrench from his backpack.

“Gus! No!” Mickey cried.

Gus throws the wrench to Fanny’s hand and she drops the brooch. Gus quickly grabs both the brooch and the staff. He quickly attaches the brooch onto Kira’s pink bow back in its place.

“Yay! Zoom zoom!“ Kira clapped.

“Kira…please…lend me your strength!”

“Okay!” Kira glared at Fanny.

The brooch glowed and the light captured Fanny. She also used her magic to free Mickey, Oswald and Ortensia. And finally, she restores the town back to normal.

“Bad wabbit, GO AWAY!!!”

The light shoots Fanny into the sky. She was now gone.

Ortensia was the first to stand up. “Kira? Did you do that?”

Kira nodded.

“Thank you.”

Kira giggled.

“Kira, I’m really sorry for the yelling. I just wanted to get to know you more, but…I went too hard on Oswald. Can you forgive me?”

“Yeah!”

Ortensia was relieved to see that Kira forgave her.

“Ortensia!”

Oswald and Mickey run to the others.

“Are you guys okay?” Mickey asked.

“Yes.”

“We’re alright.”

“Oswald, I’m sorry.”

“No. I’m the one who should be saying sorry. I was making things harder for Kira to get used to being around us. Kira, please forgive me for what happened.”

“Kiwa sowwy too. I fowgive you, Owal.”

Oswald gasped. “Did you say…”

She nodded and turned to everyone else one by one. “Miki! Owal! Otencha! Gussu! Mikey! Ollie!”

Everyone was touched by Kira saying their names for the first time.

Oswald jumped for joy. “Yahoo!! She said our names!” 

Ortensia chuckled. “Even though she can’t pronounce them well, it still counts for us.”

“It looks like she trusts us now.”

“I’m so happy for her.” Gus said.

“Me too, Gus.” Mickey smiled.

The smile quickly faded away and the brooch came back in thought. 

~~~

“Kywe! Camiwa!”

Kyle and Camila were feeling a bit better, thanks to the nurse. They weren’t fully recovered, but the fever was cooled down.

“Hey there, Kira!” 

“How’s my ray of sunshine been? Have you been good?”

“It wasn’t easy, but she managed.” Oswald sighed. “The only thing we tried to make her do is eat. The vegetables are the only thing that’s making her not eat.” He turned to see Kira in her high chair.

Yup. The group tried to get Kira to eat again since she hasn’t eaten at all. But they found a strategy. Kira watched Mickey, Ortensia, Mikey and Gus eating a bit of the sweet potatoes.

“See, Kira? These sweet potatoes are really tasty! It’s always fun to try something new.” Mikey said.

Kira picks up some sweet potatoes with her spoon and starts to eat.

The group cheered for Kira.

“Not bad, you guys. Kyle should learn from her little sister.” Oswald said.

“HEY!” Kyle yelled.

Mickey wanted to ask Kyle and Camila about the brooch. “Hey, Kyle? Camila?”

“Huh?”

“I need to ask you something…about Kira’s brooch. Why does Kira wear it, and why does it contain so much power? Who gave it to her?”

“Gee, that’s a lot of questions. But…Kira was already born to have it.”

“Remember when I said that we were brought to life from the stars?” Camila asked.

Mickey nodded.

“The stars have formed us a home for all star sprites that are born from all granted wishes called…Starlight Kingdom.”

“Starlight Kingdom? So that means…”

“Kyle is the prince of the stars, and I am the princess of hearts. Our queen, Starlight entrusted her with a power that will protect both our home and Wasteland. It’s a mystery as to why, but I believe that she will be a true hero like you and Oswald.”

"Queen Starlight...?"

"I don't know much about this Starlight Kingdom, but do you think we can check it out?" Ortensia asked.

"I don't know. It sounds too risky. Especially with Prescott around..."

“Oh dear. If Prescott finds out about your home…and with all the star sprites living there…” Gus gulped. “He will hurt them for the sake of his wishes.”

"No pressure. But we would love to see it someday." Ortensia said

"Why not tomorrow morning?" Kyle asked.

"Really?" Everyone asked together.

"I'm sure we'll be better by the next day." Camila said.

"It settled then! We'll give you all the grand tour of our kingdom first thing tomorrow morning!"

Everyone cheered. Mickey was mostly excited to meet the queen and see what Starlight Kingdom would be like. He really wished Minnie could see it, but he still had things to focus on in Wasteland, by protecting it from the darkness. Regardless, he'll make sure to write to her about it.

~~~

Meanwhile, Fanny returned to Dark Beauty Castle. Her hair was messed up and her clothes were dirty from the crash landing. She gasped when she saw Big Bad Pete standing in front of her.

"Had a nice trip?" He cackled. "Well, I wish we could chat more but I have to help the boys out with somethin'." He walks away from her.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Fanny gulped.

"Boss wants to see you."