Neil Beck
8-6-02
Save the Day
Chapter 4,
"Human Animal"
Mike Mouse returned home a little after six in the evening. He was tired, but excited about seeing Pearl again. Mike's house was a big one and it included a full weight room, game and entertainment room and an indoor pool. Mike purchased this house from the money he made at Pearl's cat food factory and at WPRL News.
After a light workout in the gym, Mike fixed himself some dinner and headed to the entertainment room to watch some TV, ESPN to be exact. As he watched a baseball game he thought more about seeing Pearl again. He just could not get over that the two of them were back working together. However, he also knew that this time he could not leave her and he would have to let her know about his alter ego.
Just as he started to settle down the lights started to dim and the TV shut on and off. "What the", Mike stated putting down his plate, "I know that I paid this month's electric bill." The doors and windows also started shaking and suddenly the whole house turned black. Fortunately, Mike could see much better than any other mouse, or human could for that matter, and had no difficulty finding his way through the pitch, dark room.
Mike made his way to the door when a light started to make its way through one of the windows of the room and onto the floor. Suddenly a shape started to form and rise from the light. Mike took a defensive stance as the shape grew into the form of a mouse. Just as the strange mouse took a step forward, Mike jumped him and tackled him to the ground. Mike grabbed the mouse by the shirt and held him in the air. "Who are you and why are you here?", asked Mike. "Okay…okay", responded the stranger, "Boy, it's true what I've heard; you sure do have some grip Mighty Mouse." With this Mike's face went pail. "My name is Neil", continued the stranger, "I'm here to help you. You see, I'm one of your biggest fans."
With this Mike dropped the mouse on the floor. As soon as the mouse was down the lights in the house came back on. "What?", responded a confused Mike, "A fan, how did you do the light thing? How do you know that I am Mighty Mouse?" "Well", answered Neil, "I saw all of your cartoons and read all of your comic books; you have some history you know. You see, I'm really a human, a man to be exact, 24 years old. I kind of watched out for you over the last ten years with my Web site devoted to you and with some fan fiction that I wrote about you. I guess I'm kind of your guardian angel…..well besides the whole death thing….I'm not dead. All I know is that one minute I'm falling asleep at my home in Philadelphia, PA and the next I'm here standing in your house as a cartoon mouse….THIS IS COOL!"
"Okay", responded Mike, "So…Neil right?" "Yes", Neil responded. "What is it that you want?", continued Mike, "What are you here for an autograph or something?" "No, but it would be nice", Neil responded, "Actually, I'm here to help you to see the light. You see, Mighty Mouse stopped saving the day for ten years. Mouseville needs its champion and I'm sure it's time for a come back, don't you?" "I left the super hero thing for a reason", responded Mike, "It was very hard on me…and on Pearl. We could not have any time alone due to the fact that someone always needed my help. It was not helping our relationship and I feared that I'd lose her. So, I retired and thought that I could be closer to her as Mike Mouse and Mike Mouse alone. I know that Mouseville and the rest of mousekind needs a hero and I save them when absolutely necessary, but without them seeing me."
"Wow", Neil replied, "That was absolutely…….the DUMBEST thing I ever heard!!" "WATCH IT", snapped Mike, "I mean", continued Neil, "Come on, Pearl would never leave you due to your job as a crime fighter. If anyone knows how important your job as Mighty Mouse is, it's her. Mighty…I mean Mike, the world needs a hero and that hero should be Mighty Mouse. He shows us that no matter who you are, or what you are, you can do great things."
Mike looked out a window. "Besides", Neil asked, "Don't you miss it? The thrill of soaring through the air on your way to defeating evil? The rush you must get using your incredible strength to destroy anything that gets in your way on your missions? The fear that you send through the foe's hearts when they hear your…Here I come to save the Day?" "Yes, I miss it", responded Mike with a tear coming down his eye, "But how do I know that Mouseville still needs Mighty Mouse….that the world still needs Mighty Mouse….that Pearl still needs Mighty Mouse?" "Try them", responded Neil.
Mike looked at Neil with a grin. He could tell that Neil had a good spirit and heart. Neil was a bit taller than Mike, with short, dark fur. He wore a white Philadelphia 76ers shirt and red shorts. He was also wearing a pair of black and gray Allen Iverson shoes. Neil also wore a fitted, red Sixers hat.
Neil looked around the room as Mike took in what he had said to him. Neil noticed that Mike had a large CD collection with all sorts of music styles from: Classical, R and B, Jazz and Blues. However it was the Rock section that caught his eyes the most. Mike had a large section of Rock and Hard Rock that included: Cream, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath, Pearl Jam, The Beatles, Soundgarden, Queen, The Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, OZZY, Neil Young, KISS, Hendrix, The Who, Moby and AC/DC just to name a few.
"Mighty", Neil said looking at a CD, "I can't believe that you listen to this music. This is the type of music that I listen to all the time. "Yeah", responded Mike picking out a KISS CD, "I like this stuff, the rhythm of the music is amazing. They all have their own styles. Did you know that Pearl is a die hard KISS fan?" "She is?", responded Neil. "Sure, she dressed up as one of them for a Halloween party about twelve years ago. I've got a picture of it somewhere. Pearl in leather.…all leather, what a turn on."
"Look Neil….I'm not sure about all of this", said Mike moving to the couch. "Well, just leave this all to me", responded Neil with a grin, "Just sit down and I'll show you something that might help you make up your mind." Out went the lights once again, but this time when they came back on there was a music group standing with their instruments in hand, complete with a lot strange looking candles. Neil stood next to a sitting Mike on the couch. The music group was all male mice, but Mike could tell that they had just been human men, as they looked kind of lost as mice.
"Mighty Mouse", started Neil, "May I introduce the music group TOOL! Okay guys…do your thing." The lights went dim again as the group started to play:
(Guitar intro)
"I am a Mighty one,
who chooses right from wrong.
I am the sound you hear,
breaking through the fear.
One who saves us all,
even if I lose it all.
I am an animal.
I'm an animal.
(music gets louder)
I'M AN ANIMAL!
I'M AN ANIMAL!
A HUMAN ANIMAL!
(music loud than gets quite)
You ask me to stay away,
then you tell me to save the day.
(music starts to pick up)
Why do you torment me?
Why do you try to defeat me?
Why do you say you need me,
then say you hate me?
YOU DON'T KNOW ME!
(music picks up)
YOU'RE NOT FASTER THAN ME,
STRONGER THAN ME,
YOU CAN'T STOP ME,
BEAT ME,
KILL ME,
SAVE ME,
I SAVE YOU!
(guitar solo)
(singer quietly sings)
As I fly, I feel the breath of wind on my eyes,
on my ears,
on my arms,
(rest of band sings: "I'll save the day")
on my back,
on my tail,
(music picks up)
I'm an animal,
(rest of band sings: "But can you save me?")
I'm an animal,
(But can you save me?)
I'm an animal,
(But can you save me?)
I'm an animal,
(But can you save me?)
(music gets louder)
I'm an animal,
(But can you save me?)
I'm an animal,
(But can you save me?)
I'm an animal,
(Save us now!)
(music gets louder)
I'M AN ANIMAL!
I'M AN ANIMAL!
I'M AN ANIMAL!
I'M AN ANIMAL!
I'M AN ANIMAL!
A HUMAN ANIMAL!
(music ends the song as a guitar plays MM's "Here I come to save the day!")
As the song ended the lights came back on. "Wow", said a wide-eyed Mike, "That was different." "That was TOOL", responded Neil thanking the band.
"Hey, how did we get here and why are we….mice?", asked one of the band members. "You're not, I just….borrowed you guys", responded Neil. With that Neil snapped his fingers and the band disappeared. "Where did they go?", asked a puzzled Mike. "Back to the concert that they came from", replied Neil. "So, did you get the point Mighty?" "Yes, I think that I did", responded Mike.
With that, Mike had Neil follow him to another part of the house. This was a secret area, a place where Mike kept all of his secrets. This was a place that Mike simply called "history" (His Story). The doors opened and they walked into a place where no other mouse, besides Mike, had been.
Coming soon,
Chapter 5:
"Here I Come"
P.S. The TOOL song, "Human Animal", was written by me for this story. (so don't look for it in the stores J )