PART 4

THE BATTLE IN HEAVEN

The news spread quickly. An attack had been launched on them from the Blot. His troops were already at their gates. It had almost seemed like time had stopped. The general flew up the steps to the white pavilion. "My lord, we are under attack. What should be our course of action?" The angel asked as he bowed before the man with the golden beard.

"I know that he has tried this." The man responded. "I want all angels to report to the battlefield. It is time to test the wings which I have provided."

"But we will need more reinforcements for a full scale attack." The angel replied. "And who will protect you?"

"I can take care of myself." The man said without lifting his head. "I do require the eight though. Please, retrieve them for me."

"As you wish." The angel sped off in a blur of gold, returning with Morcius first.

"What is it?" Morcius asked. "I can get Julius and Pokey in here too if you want."

"No. I do not need them. Leave them to their poker games." The man replied. "I need you to promise me something."

"Anything." Morcius replied tentatively.

"I need you to swear that whatever happened when you were a child does not return to your mind tonight."

"Why would I be…"

"Just promise me. For safety reasons."

"Okay." Morcius promised. The angel returned with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Daisy, Clarabelle, and Pluto.

"You are dismissed Morcius." The man said as he gestured for the seven new members to come forward. Morcius walked past his son and left through the gates.

"You need us?" Mickey asked.

"Indeed."

"What task do you have for us?" Donald asked as he touched the sword at his side.

"You are to be in the line of duty. Do you except this?"

"Of course." Goofy responded. "We would do anything for you."

(4)

The troops met on the great battlefield that lay in front of the pearly gates. The Nightmare was on the horizon. The demons swarmed across the sea of clouds. Morcius looked out at them. "What orders do you have, General Morcius?" an angel asked him.

"Orders?" Morcius laughed. "It's fighting. There are no rules." He gazed out over the field and saw the enemy lines approaching fast. "Wish there were though."

(4)

The man sat in his throne, head bowed in concentration as always. He looked up and gazed around his pavilion. It was stronger. He stood up and walked to his left, into the globe room. He looked at it and saw the fighting on Earth taking shape. He sighed and then he felt it. It was a very small prick but evil just the same. He knew there was something wrong when he noticed random pots of trouble on the Earth. But now he knew. Something was interfering with the globe, keeping him from seeing the start of evil on Earth. "Ha! To think it has gone on this long." He said to himself. He then picked Micro off the globe and hurled him down the stairs. Micro slammed into the hard gates and fell into a stupor. The man turned his back on it and sat back down. Meanwhile, Micro was stirring in his thoughts.

"Um. I've hit a snag. I kind of got spotted and, well, he wasn't really nice to me. Just like you are not nice to me a lot of the…"

"SHUT UP!"

"See! Why does no one like me?" Micro whined.

"When I am done with u, you will have liked my wrath much more. For now, I have bigger fish to kill." Micro shivered and blended with the dark shape which exited him. The Phantom Blot stood up and began to climb the stairs. The man saw him.

"I do not remember saying you could return." The man stated.

"I don't take orders from you now a days." The Phantom retorted.

"Then maybe you'll take them from us." Minnie snapped as she and the others walked out from behind their columns, swords drawn. Pluto growled. The Blot looked them over and began to laugh.

"This is the best you can do?" The Phantom Blot snapped. "Why don't you take me yourself? I know you can. But don't worry. I'll go easy on you." The Phantom Blot withdrew his dual swords. Mickey rushed in front of him.

"Why not take us?" Mickey asked. "I thought you wanted a fight." The Blot growled and attacked. Clarabelle attacked from behind as Daisy and Donald double teamed his right side. The Phantom snaked away.

"Well, if that's how you want it…" the Phantom Blot keeled over and lunged forward, splitting himself into seven different parts. The man looked at the battle unfolding before him and saw the war on Earth blow into a full blown assault.

(4)

Morcius pushed the demon off his horse and quickly slain him. He turned to see the horse morph into another demon and take off after an angel. He turned to see Julius and Clara Cluck in combat. "Any help?" Julius asked.

"Coming." Morcius said as he threw a knife through the demon's head.

"Thank you very much." Clara Cluck said as she grabbed her bow and arrow and took off after a batch of demons. Morcius ran to Julius's side as Pokey and Horace Horsecollar ran by.

"Hope you boys are holding up okay." Pokey added as he and Horace ran onwards.

"Take care of yourself." Morcius replied told Julius as he ran off.

"I will." Julius called back as he began fighting again. Morcius took off running. He knocked into a wolf and quickly defeated it. He turned to see the horizon grow darker.

"Prepare for attack!" Morcius heard an angel call. He flipped the full face mask over his face with one way mirrors on his eyes. He drew his other broadsword and cut down a flank of wolves. He turned again to see all of the angels stopped in combat, as well as the demons. Morcius ran to Pokey.

"What's going on?" Morcius asked.

"The Nightmare." Pokeysaid as he pointed to the horizon. Morcius turned and gawked. The Nightmare was gone. "One moment it was getting stronger and then it just, vanished. You know what that means."

"What?" Morcius replied.

"The Nightmare is going gung ho towards something." Horace answered as he began to run back to the battlements.

"You think its galunium?" Morcius asked.

"I doubt it." Julius responded as he entered the talk. "Galunium is just some stray bits of star powder. It comes in on a meteorite and falls in random places on Earth. It's only good to wizards, who need its other worldly powers for their magic. I highly doubt that's what the Nightmare thinks is so important."

"Yeah. That is true." Pokey reasoned. "I mean, it must be after something thing couldn't kill. It's probably trying to go after whatever made it blow up all those years ago. Remember? Some mouse, whose dad was really powerful, connected with the Nightmare and became immortal for a moment. It didn't kill him fully and it must want revenge for that."

"Oh no!" Morcius cried as he suddenly noticed the mouse. "It was Dustin. After Mickey formed with the Gateway, he still had that power inside of him. It was passed onto his kids. The Nightmare is gong after them! I have to get help." Morcius ran off towards the pavilion at the top of the city.

(4)

The Phantom Blot was now winning the battle. Pluto snapped at him and ran away as the flail began swinging wildly at him. Mickey was the best off of the seven. He was skilled in the ways of the sword. Minnie was close behind him. She defeated her Blot and moved onto help Daisy, who was struggling to keep alive. "You look like you could use some help." Minnie told her friend.

"You would be correct in your assumption." Daisy told her.

"Well, then…" Minnie said. She stepped back and lifted her blade. "Step aside." Minnie and Daisy nodded and both lifted their swords. They sliced through the column like it was bitter. It toppled onto the copy, smothering it completely.

"This is some though fighting." Goofy remarked to Donald.

"You said it." Donald agreed.

"I think its slightly easy." Clarabelle stated as she cut her clone down and moved on to help Goofy and Donald. Mickey and Pluto were double timing their Phantom Blot. He and Mickey were fighting as Pluto snapped at his feet. They moved into the globe room. The globe was alight with small explosions and small spots flying around on top. A large beast was flying down towards the Eiffel Tower. The Phantom Blot leapt onto the globe and slammed down. The globe shattered into millions of pieces. Mickey and Pluto flew backwards as the shards started flying towards them. The clones were gone. The Phantom Blot was standing on the dish that the globe had once floated over.

The Phantom squatted and then straightened up. He thrust his arms out and the shards began shooting out at them. They ducked behind the columns but it was no good. The shards simply passed through them. Clarabelle and Minnie were running in circles as Donald and Pluto ducked to the ground. Mickey, Goofy, and Daisy stood their ground and deflected all the shards that came at them. The Phantom stooped and looked to the one last shard that remained. He stopped and saw it.

The Nightmare was gone from Heaven. It was speeding off towards the Eiffel Tower. He shuddered and then roared. He spiraled out of the dish and began attacking the group ruthlessly. He had them all cornered. "I will not see defeat this day!" he bellowed. He raised his swords to finish them off. Then he heard it. He stopped and turned. The gates at the bottom of the stairs was opening and a great thump sound echoed through the hall. He turned to see the Wandering Heroes inside the dish. Dustin was stirring. "I will not be defeated." He said to himself. "You will." He reached a tentacle out and grabbed Dustin around the head. Mickey was up in an instant.

"Not him. No!" Mickey cried as he ran at the Blot. The Phantom saw this and released Dustin, simultaneously taking Mickey instead. He raised his knife to his neck.

"Your move." The Phantom Blot shouted as the man stood up for the first time since the battle began.

(4)

Morcius reached the top of the stairs and saw the knife pointed at Mickey's throat. He raised an arm to help but saw his grandchildren sitting in the globe room. He stopped to gawk and then looked closely at the knife. He remembered now. That knife. He had seen it before. And then, he returned to his memories from his youth. To the way it was before he had known the Phantom Blot. Before any of this even happened. He remembered the knife.