He didn't know what went wrong. What had he done wrong?
The moment Small Pete had said that the chattering teeth had been shoved into the pipes on purpose, Gus had jumped to defend Prescott. There was no way that Prescott, no matter how angry he seemed, did it. The blue-dressed gremlin loved working on the projectors. Why would he sabotage them? Since he was young, Prescott had always loved creating things, Jamface loved repairing them. The two had been great brothers...until Prescott was put in charge of the gag factory, and Jamface put in charge of the projectors after Gremlin Markus was injured in the earthquakes. Gus had assumed Prescott would love his job, creating things that made toons grin and laugh.
Prescott's bitter and sarcastic remark to their visit should have set him off.
"Well, well. Now look at who's decided to grace us with his presence!"
I should have known something was wrong! Gus couldn't help but blame himself. Peraphs of he had shown as much attention to Prescott as he did Jamface...but Prescott had always been more independent, Jamface always being dependant on everyone. He had noticed Prescott shove what he was tinkering with into a box. Why hadn't he visited more? Why hadn't that raised a red flag? How had Jamface and Prescott, brothers who had been closer than Oswald and Mickey were now at one point, grown so distant? It tore him apart when Prescott had looked angry after Animatronic Goofy said he would use the pumps how Jamface told him to. He must have been angry that his brother had accidentally and indirectly shown him up. At least no more damage had been done to OsTown. Gus was positive that if Mickey had overcharged a pump, more damage would have been done. Prescott was too reckless.
Gus now stared up at his son in disbelief as he sneered down at them. "Oh, if it isn't the snooping duo. And is that Gus with you as well? Oh how perfect!" Prescott eyes were burning with an emotion Gus couldn't pinpoint. Anger? Jealousy? Hatred? "My talents were wasted in the gag factor, wasted by you, Gus!" Gus visibly flinched, eyes widening. So it was his fault! Prescott floated up to the cliff edge. "But now, here, among these discarded relics, the world will finally know my true genius!" And with that, Prescott fled, leaving Gus to urge Mickey to follow him. He couldn't let Prescott do anything he'd regret. So they went back the way they came, only to find Prescott there first. "So, you made it this far. I'm impressed, but you're too late." Gus's stomach dropped at those words. Were they really too late for Prescott? Prescott chuckled, turning partly to the projector. "Follow me, but only if you dare!" And with that, he laughed, jumping into the projector. Doors slammed closed, shutting the projector away from the trio as a beam of light came from the eye above the door, immediately noticing Mickey and Oswald. A beetleworx burst out of the doors in front of them, and the thinner in its canons nearly made Gus sick. Prescott wasn't trying to chase them away, no, he was too smart to think they'd turn back. The paint thinner seemed to scream the fact that if Oswald and Mickey didn't leave, the cost of following Prescott could be death. Oh, Prescott...what have you done? "We need to follow him!" The green gremlin called the brothers from the air. "Let's try and find some way into that float!" Usually, he would just teleport, but there were some places where not even he could teleport in and out of. Unable to fight, Gus watched helplessly as Oswald and Mickey fought the beetleworx. But they weren't foolish enough to waste their time with it, and Mickey rushed to paint in the control panels so Oswald could reprogram them. It was enough to get some of the old float pieces moving again, allowing Mickey and Oswald to try and jump up on the platform when the doors opened. Unluckily, they entered the beam, and the doors slammed closed again. "That pesky eye slammed the door on our faces!" Gus scowled, trying to ignore the claws of dread the dug into him. "How uncivil!" He put a gloved hand on his chin. "If you want to make your way up to that window, you're going to have to do it unseen." The moment Mickey and Oswald jumped down, the doors opened again. "Hm, the doors are open, but how are you going to get past that all-seeing eye?" There was invisible ink, could it work? Double-jumping could make it slide off...but a regular jump...
It may be the only way!
And so, Mickey painted in the things around the well and jumped in, the invisible ink hiding his black fur from sight. Invisible, he jumped up to the platform, unseen, and slipped into the window. Gus took a breath before asking: "Do you want to enter the projector to Prescott's Arena?" Mickey nodded, jumping through the projector. They found themselves in a room made entirely our of metal. Prescott had his back turned to them, working on something. "You know, Abe told me you were coming." He turned around and floated toward them. "I didn't think you could make it through my defenses. But here you are." Knowing it was time to speak up, Gus got closer to him, almost to the end of the room, forcing himself to be stern. "Prescott, stop these games this instant! Why did you sabotage the projectors?" He asked.
"Why?" Prescott asked angrily and in a shrill voice. Though the tone of his voice remained angry, it went back to being lower. "I can do whatever I want, that's why! My brilliance was wasted at the Gag Factory! You wouldn't even listen to my plan to upgrade the projector!" Gus flinched back, watching him with wide eyes as he floated over to Mickey and Oswald, the mouse grabbed the brush. "With the Brush, no one will ever look down their noses at me again! Behold, my greatest creation!" Prescott laughed again and flew back to the machine, which sparked as what seemed to be a cartoon canon popped out from under the ground. The front of it was, creepily in Gus's opinion, shaped like Mickey's head. Cracks spread from the nozzle-like hole in the front. "I know it looks cute..." Not in the slightest. "...but you should probably run in terror, now." Prescott said before flying out of sight and leaving the brothers to fight the machine. Gus's eyes widened as he saw two empty tanks on each side, reminding him of the fight with Petetronic from Mickey's first visit. "Mickey, you need to fill the turret with paint or thinner!" Gus called as Mickey and Oswald ran, trying to avoid the canon. Suddenly. A huge, hot, flaming ball shot at the two, telling Gus that Prescott wasn't playing a game. He was actually trying to hurt them. It tore him apart. Gus nervously watched as Mickey sprayed paint at the turret. After a couple more rocks, the turret turned upwards. "It's recharging!" Oswald exclaimed. "We can get close." Mickey didn't need to be told twice, as he started spraying paint. But this time, when it shot, the ammo was nuclear balls. It shot two before returning to shooting the hot rocks. Watching it was horrible. Knowing that Mickey and Oswald could be killed during the fight was worse. Finally, the fight seemed to end in Prescott's favor. Mickey collapsed, unmoving. Gus was petrified as Oswald ran over to revive him, he pushed the button on his remote, creating a ball of electricity around them and causing the brush to rise up and repaint Mickey, saving him. Then the fight continued.
It had been too close a call. Gus was losing hope that Prescott could be redeemed. "Mickey, if you fill up the tanks we can end this charade!" Gus reminded him, watching him use the spin attack to knock back the rocks, which hit the turret and allowed Mickey to fill more of the tanks more quickly. This process was repeated until the paint tank was filled completely. Suddenly a podium rose up, giving Oswald the chance to reprogram the turret. But instead of victory, the turret rose up and connected to the nozzle in the middle. "Interesting, the contents of the tanks seem to affect the turret!" Gus noticed, watching as an easier second round went by and the process repeated. "One more time and that thing is toast!" Oswald grinned. A third time, the process was repeated, and finally, Mickey and Oswald won. "Mickey! We did it! We defeated the turret!" Oswald cheered. Gus was filled with triumph...until there was a violent shaking. Suddenly, something opened, allowing Mickey and Oswald to jump out and Gus to teleport after them. Oswald's eyes widened as they backed away, staring at Prescott's creation. They had just hopped out of its head, which had the likeness of Prescott with robotic arms and a castle/tower-like body. "Look! We were in that thing's head all along?" It backed away, then gave a friendly wave. It was then that Prescott sprang up, having teleported outside. "No! This is my revenge and you won't ruin it for me!" Revenge...the word made Gus's stomach twist. Had he really wronged him so badly? "And as for you, you big pile of bolts, remember who your master is!" He kicked its nose with a bong. "Ha!" He turned back to the brothers, seeming to ignore that Gus was there. "This is MY creation, not your toy! And now he'll prove it. Attack!" Flames sprouted up behind him as he jumped to the side.
Oh Prescott... Gus didn't know what to think. Was he blinded with jealousy and anger? Or was he doing it because of hatred and with a clear mind? Did he realize what he was really doing? Gus prayed he didn't, watching as Mickey and Oswald were thrown into yet another battle. Prescott's machine began to shoot the hot rocks, or fireballs, that was a more appropriate term, again. Gus could hear the clicking and whirring of mechanical parts under the metal plates that Oswald and Mickey stood upon. "I hear machinery under these panels, we've got to break through!" Gus called. Suddenly, Prescott's machine picked up a hot rock(not a fireball, though there looked to be lava streaked through it) and hurled it at Mickey and Oswald. It happened twice before the projectiles damaged the metal panels. "That did the trick!" He called triumphantly. "The projectile damaged the panels!"
"I'll send you back to Mean Street in a paint can!" Prescott threatened after making an infuriated noise. After a while of knocking back the fireballs with a spin attack, Prescott spoke again, speaking in a pirate voice. "Arrgh, fire the canons, ye bloomin' cockroaches!" Needless to say, Mickey and Oswald didn't look amused, jumping onto the panels whenever the robot would pick up a rock, and jump off before it hit. Finally, a couple panels broke, revealing the familiar outline of parts he knew. "I recognize these gears!" Gus called. "Paint them in and those big doors should close!" He watched Mickey paint them in, but nothing happened. "The gear has no power!" he realized. "Quickly Oswald, use your electricity!" The lucky rabbit nodded, pointing his remote at the panel that had been painted in and pressing the red button to send electricity at it. Mickey hopped over to the middle panel of the far/second row, dodging the rock and destroying the panel, allowing Oswald to use his electricity on the panel that Mickey had immediately painted in. Suddenly, the robot looked behind him. The crane was moving, causing him to cover his head with an arm in fear he'd be hit. When the crane didn't hit him, he turned back to Mickey and Oswald. The process was repeated until all the gears were painted and had power. The large, spiked doors began to close, making the robot look around in confusion. "Huh?" Prescott asked, confused as well. "What's happening? What did you do!?" he demanded. "My masterpiece!" Suddenly he seemed to be spat out. "Noooo!" Gus watched as he landed on the ground with an audible thud. He lifted his head, shaking it with a defeated look. Angrily, Oswald and Mickey approached him as he dizzily began to sit up, only stopping when Gus teleported in front of him. "Oh, Prescott." Gus floated up to him, lifting him by his arm to help him sit up. "I never wanted this to happen." Prescott looked at him, before speaking. "I...don't understand..." He pulled away and hunched over. "He told me no one could defeat me..."
"'He' told you?" Confusion and slight anger flashed through Gus. Anger that someone else had known about this, and instead of leading Prescott towards the light, led him closer to the darkness. "Who are you talking about?" All four looked up at the sound of someone entering through the projector. The Mad Doctor, Big Pete and a beetleworx stood there, followed by Animatronic Daisy and her spatter cameraman. "Daisy Duck here. We're following the Mad Doctor, who is on the trail of the notorious Gremlin Prescott." Gus noticed Prescott pointing at the group. "Maybe now we'll find out Prescott's plans, as well as what the Mad Doctor was recently doing in Ventureland." Prescott quickly backed up as the beetleworx, which Gus now recognized as a hopper, jumped closer. Its eyes flashed, easily putting the gremlin into a state of hypnosis, his jaw dropping open and the Mad Doctor strolled over and began to sing. "Prescott, dear Prescott. You shall not be forgotten. I will tell your story, of how it all went rotten..." He grabbed Prescott's chin and made him nod before moving away a moment. "What happened to you, gremlin? How'd you meet this day?" Prescott's head followed the Mad Doctor as he moved around him. "Why'd you turn your back on Wasteland? Why'd it end this way?" He's acting like this is a musical, or a game! Gus thought, rage boiling up. But he kept it hidden, it wouldn't be good to explode.
"I will tell you, all must understand it." Prescott sang, probably not in his right mind, as Oswald, Mickey and Gus watched, confused. "All the things that went so wrong, it was I who planned it."
"Unfortunate toon, your message I will send." The Mad Doctor brought the spatter closer. "Rest and let us be at peace, your evil now will end." The Mad Doctor laid him down before he popped up again. "I know I am a villain-the worst they're speaking of, but please remember this, I only wanted to be loved." he flopped down on his back. Gus wasn't sure if that was entirely a lie. Like Oswald's wife, Ortensia, he still didn't trust the Mad Doctor. "Well dat's dat. I'll take it from here. Let me question him alone and his answers will be clear." The large dog toon picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. "You heard him! He worked alone!" Liar. "His evil met its fate! The Earthquakes are gone! Let's go to Mean Street and celebrate!"
"What will you do now?"
"I'm going to build a magnificent attraction! There will be joy in Wasteland, and much satisfaction! There are Beetleworx and Blotworx, battles to be won! Secrets to uncover! There's so much to be done!" He laughed, jumping into the projector after the reporter and her "cameraman". Oswald and Mickey were quiet a moment before Oswald finally spoke. "I guess Prescott was workin' alone." Mickey frowned, raising an eyebrow. "It seems awfully suspicious to me. Guess we won't know until he wakes up, though." Gus looked away, heading with the brothers to the projector. But instead of hopping in, he teleported to the Gag Factory.
He had to figure out what went wrong.
Almost immediately he went over to his desk, looking at the different blueprints and plans. Most of them were for the machine and canon he build, notes on them, etc. About to leave after sorting through them, he froze at the last one. It wasn't a version of the machine or canon, but instead, some sort of project. This...what is it? Shaking his head and shoving it into his pocket, he teleported to City Hall, where the jail was. When he got there, Prescott was talking nonsense with one finger in the air and a grin on his face. "Welcome to the Wonderful World of..." His expression falter, looking as if he were in pain as he mumbled something incoherent, then he giggled. "This portion of the show is brought to you by...hee hee..." Gus sighed, turning away and floating up to Mickey and Oswald with a sad expression. "Did you hear about the new attraction the Mad Doctor's building? He said it'll boost morale." he sighed sadly. "Wish I'd thought of it."
"Oswald, we have other worries beside the Mad Doctor." Gus said. "While you two were crossing through the underground, I took the time to search though the Gag Factory. I wanted to know why Prescott turned out so..." he cupped his hands together, glancing away. "...so bad..." He pulled out the blueprints. "Digging through the Gag Factory, I found these blueprints. Prescott helped oversee a construction site in Ventureland." He laid out the blue sheet of paper. "He said he was helping the Spatters build homes, but if you look here, you see that it was actually a coverup for something...secret." He glanced around.
"Okay, that doesn't sound good."
"Maybe it'll tell us why Prescott broke the projectors. The Mad Doctor did say there were secrets to uncover...so let's go see if he's right."
From there, they headed to Ventureland, where they were stopped by Daisy and informed that the construction site was closed, spending too much time for Gus's liking there doing tasks to get to the Construction site(this included going to Bog Easy to help Animatronic Donald get to his date with Daisy), Gus was by no means impatient, but he needed closure. He had to know why Prescott was bad.
He had to know...if Prescott could be redeemed.
Prescott...I'm going to fix this...I promise.