Work Text:
Mecha Raccoon disappears into his mech, following his nose as Ghost King watches absently. Engineering and sciences have always bored the king, but his stout right hand man is always engrossed in his own work, admittedly endearingly so. So when Mecha Raccoon approaches him with some new gizmo or gadget, Ghost King sets his disinterest aside and indulges him, far more interested by proxy of his furry friend. In all fairness, the King had not been expecting something of this scale. A large prototype for a garbage can mech sits in the middle of the workshop, surrounded by a terrible mess of tools he couldn't be bothered to know the names of. Mecha Raccoon seemed absolutely enthralled with his creation, his excitement managing to rub off on Ghost King who had to admit this development was impressive. But as they toured its features, Mecha Raccoon had smelled something strange, and the lid of the mech shut with a metallic clang behind him. Now Ghost King leans lazily against a work bench, letting his eyes wander over the rest of the workshop.
“Hmmm… looks like… need a 5/16… leaking…” Mecha Raccoon’s quiet musings reverberate out of the can, apprehensive. The walls are lined with tools and supplies of all sorts, hung up on racks, taking space on shelves, propped up in buckets and against workbenches. Maybe one day he’ll let Mecha Raccoon explain it all to him, Ghost King chuckles to himself, he’s always itching to show off his impressive collection.
“Hang on…” Ghost King mulls over their upcoming tasks in his head. It seems like this upcoming week is going to be pretty busy, but this mech might make things easier for his assistant to pull off jobs on his own. At least they’re fortunate enough to have a short break from the action after their most recent venture. Ghost King knows Mecha Raccoon has been desperate to work on this project, and now he can see-
“SHIT!!” Ghost King snaps to attention when he hears the loud clang of the mech’s lid bang open. Mecha Raccoon scrambles to hoist himself out of the hatch, shouting at Ghost King. “COVER!! COVER!! SHE’S GONNA BLOW-” there’s electrical popping noises coming from inside the mech as Mecha Raccoon finds his footing and hops from the ticking time bomb of a trash can. Ignoring his warning, Ghost King pushes off of the table and runs, catching Mecha Raccoon before he can hit the ground and turning on his heel to make some semblance of distance between them and the can. “ARE YOU INSA-MPH-” Mecha Raccoon starts before he’s cut off, Ghost King crouches down, bracing himself and pressing Mecha Raccoon’s head into his chest just before the trash can explodes.
Fire and metal shrapnel are flung in every direction, the flames from the initial explosion lick the backside of his cape and wash past him for a moment before dying down, confined to the smoldering pieces of the can strewn about the workshop and any other debris it was able to hold onto in the fleeting inferno that engulfed most of the room before calming down. Ghost King hesitates for a moment as the shock dies down, he can feel Mecha Raccoon’s claws digging into his collarbone, his fur standing on end. With a quiet sigh, Ghost King relaxes his grip on his right hand man, sitting back and running his hand over the back of his own head, picking out any pieces of shrapnel that had settled themselves there. Mecha Raccoon worms his way out of Ghost King’s arms to look over his shoulder, staring dejectedly at the red hot remains of his ruined mech.
“Gah… my beautiful mech…” He whines, clawing pathetically into Ghost King’s shoulder. He hardly notices the small ember that ignites the end of his tail, which was now smoking slightly. Ghost King chuckles lightly, putting out the sputtering flame trying to eat away at his tail with his thumb and index before petting him on the head.
“Don’t mope, if it was your best work it wouldn’t have exploded.”