Chapter 11: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

While Finn was questioning her loyalty, Helper glided over the wide walkway that lead up to 'small world'. This time, however, it took her much longer than it typically would. Had anyone asked her what's wrong, she would say that carrying Mickey weighed her down or she would avoid the question in general. The truth? She was preparing for the worst.

She was she was taking him, wounded, to his family; The King, The Mascot, The Brother...The Mouse.

She landed halfway up the path, out of the Clock's range of sight (no need to get the children of the World upset) She glanced at the giant crack where she had caused Benny to crash. She walked along the hedge line and steeped onto the 'hidden' path behind the huge bushes. Ever so carefully, she laid Mickey onto the ground and crouched down on the balls of her feet. She took a deep, shaky breath and took a long look at him.

He seemed quite unimpressive, and not because of his wounded state. She had been told many stories of a brave knight, a dashing hero, a powerful sorcerer, a wise king...This was all about this little guy? He was small; about three feet, give or take an inch. He was scrawny; his arms and legs could be mistaken for garden hoses. And he looked...peaceful, like he couldn't harm a fly even if he wanted to (let alone seven in one blow!)

She stared at him awhile longer, watching the steady, but frighteningly slow, rise and fall of his chest. Very slowly, she reached out her hand, and flinched backward, unsure. Cautiously, even slower (if that was possible) she reached out again and placed her hand lightly in his chest. Instantly, she felt the brilliant warmth and dull throbbing of his heart. After a few moments, she breathed a sigh of relief. She sat all the way down and stroked him, whispering, telling him that things would be fine.

Something happened that moment that she would share with no one, not even Oswald. When she felt his heartbeat, it wasn't only that. It was almost like a soft spark, it traveled up her arm and landed in her chest. It felt almost like that painful moment before your stomach growls, but colder, and concentrated on her heart. It was incredibly painful and it lasted only moments, long enough that she couldn't dismiss it as an odd chill or something. Afterwards, the same spot felt like it was being gently prodded with needles. Like her foot being forced awake.

She tried to find some cause for the strange event. It was frightening and painful...and probably what he's experienced these past months when he was missing. She breathed a sigh of relief; being a sorcerer, he probably tried to tell her he was frightened subconsciously, or he was having a nightmare or something. Through magic, of course.

She whispered softly, telling him that he was alright, things would be okay, and that he was almost home. She smiled, still not fully convinced, and carefully lifted him once again, heading to ToonTown. She still felt that pricking sensation, but she pushed it down, weekly convincing herself that it was just strong magic.

He's hurt is all, she thought to herself, Just subconscious magic. Everything will be fine.

She was deadly mistaken...

She swooped under the train's bridge into ToonTown. She juggled herself and Mickey in midair, trying to reposition him so that she could see down and so Mickey was still comfortable. She did all this while hovering, which was rather difficult for her. A minute later, still tangled in up the sky, she heard another shriek below her.

"AHHH! Mickey!"

"No, don't-"

The voice, which she recognized as Oswald's, cut off. Next thing she knew, a hard projectile hit the back of her head. She was stunned for an eternity of five seconds; the world spun around her in slow motion. In the confusion, her grip on Mickey slipped. That was enough to bring her back to her senses. She shook her head to clear it and dove for him, but he was falling too fast towards the concrete. She used her wings to speed downward, and pushed The Mouse into the pushes at the side of the road moments before he crashed. Still speeding down to earth, she crashed so hard onto the street that she bounced up and slammed into the concrete planters. She heard the loud thud of her head colliding with stone and her vision blurred. She looked up to see two fuzzy silhouettes looming over her, and thought dully, This is NOT my night! The she blacked out.

The last time she had a dream, it was the night she escaped; it was the scary one with the Dream Man. Then, dreaming was only scary because she wasn't used to it. This dream was horrifying, and it stayed that way.

The events were similar to those of earlier of that night. But these were much worse; she was causing them! Benny was out of control, chasing down Finn and his friends. But his eyes were their normal yellow, he was trying to stop...and Helper was driving. She had a dark, evil look in her eyes as she ran one of the teens over. As Benny fought for control, she gladly rammed him into the planter. The nightmare shifted over to the castle scene. As Maleficent raised her hand and lit it on fire to finish Finn off, Helper was laughing and supporting her! Next, she was high in the air with Mickey in her hands. She dove down to the cement road and dropped him on purpose.

He next scene of her nightmare did not happen that night, and she hoped it never would. She was in a large room of Dream Castle, and she was on top of Oswald, pinning him down onto the cold floor. Her left hand was on his shoulder, and her right one was raised out of her line of sight. Her fingers weren't normal; they were still in her gloves, but they were longer, thinner, and sharp like claws. He was badly wounded and her claws cut into him as he squirmed in her grasp. She grinned evilly, but in her mind she was screaming to let go, sobbing inside; she had no control over what was happening. With each internal plead, the pricking pain in her heart sharpened ten times over, threatening to tear her apart. Her right hand faltered, and she broke through the thick layer that held her captive, gaining enough control to release her friend. She brought her hands up to her face and watched as they returned to normal.

Then Oswald looked behind her and shouted out. Helper turned around and saw a small figure swinging towards her on a golden rope with something silver in its hand. The pain became so great that she shouted out...

And sat up in a panic, panting hard. Her eyes weren't all the was open yet and she ended up hitting someone.

"Ouch! Watch it!"

She cleared her eyes and was met with pink. The walls and furniture were all pink. If her head didn't feel like it was exploding with every pulse, she probably gag. She sat up on the bright pink couch and looked to her right, where Oswald was gently touching his redding nose.

"Oh! Oh my gosh! I'm...I'm-" she burst into sobs "I'm so sorry!"

She hid in her hands and turned away. She was tense and shaking like a leaf. Oswald was bewildered. The last time she reacted like this was when he first found her.

"What happened?" He asked.

"It was horrible! I couldn't stop, but I wanted to! You have to believe me! I would never try to hurt you, I swear!" She pleaded, her hands on his shoulders.

"Hay, I believe you." Oswald thought she was talking about his nose. "It's no big deal!"

Before she could respond, a new toon stepped into the pink living room. She wore dark pink, almost red heeled shoes, skirt and hair bow. Other than that, she looked like a female version of Mickey. More importantly, she had hot coco and icepacks on a tray.

"Is everything alright?" She asked sweetly. "You took quit a fall..."

Helper sat there for a moment, recognizing Minnie Mouse, the Queen of the Kingdom. She opened and closed her mouth at a loss for words. Then she fell to her knees.

"I'm you sorry your majesty." Helper cried "It's all my fault, I shouldn't have dropped him. Is he alright?"

"Oh there's no need for that." Minnie gently lead Helper back onto the couch "And if you mean Mickey, he's fine. You saved him, ya know."

"Are you sure?" Helper asked nervously "I swear, I didn't mean to drop him."

"Oh...it's fine" Minnie shuffled a little awkwardly "I'm the one who hit you. I thought you were one of the Villain's goons, so I threw my shoe. I didn't know you were saving him. I'm sorry"

Helper sat there a moment before turning to Oswald. "I'm dead, aren't I?" She asked

Oswald laughed "Why would you think that?"

"Because the Queen of the entire Kingdom just apologized to me." She responded flatly.

He laughed again as Minnie handed him some hot chocolate. She gave Helper an ice pack, which was cautiously accepted. Helper carefully placed it on her throbbing forehead.

"Uh...my head is killing me." She moaned

"There ya go!" Oswald said, still laughing "you can't kill something that's already dead."

"Okay, okay. But I'll double check with the ghosts later." She laughed.

"How're you feeling? What happened after you rushed off?" Oswald asked seriously.

"Okay, I remember meeting that other rabbit-" Helper started. She put the ice off to the side and sat up.

"Roger" Oswald informed her.

"Right, Roger. Then we were looking at Benny's mess and I found a piece of paper."

"What was on the paper?" Minnie asked.

"I don't know. Before I could look at it, someone screamed and I rushed to out help."

"Well, how's about we find out?" Oswald suggested.

Helper reached into her pocket and pulled out a basic piece of lined paper, folded in half twice. She looked to the others and unfolded it. Once she saw the scribbled image, she gasped and dropped it. Curious, Oswald picked it up and shared it with Minnie. It was a rough pencil sketch of Benny's back end, with Matterhorn in the background. In the drivers seat was Helper, turned around looking towards the viewer.

"Not a very good likeness." Oswald mumbled.

"I don't understand." Minnie said "What's so upsetting about the picture?"

"I picked up that paper before I rushed off." Helper explained "Benny was about to run this kid over, so I dove for her, but I ended up crashing into the drivers seat. When I looked back, the kid was fine, but she looked like she recognized me." She gulped "I think that's what she saw when I turned around..."

"So your saying that someone, maybe that kid, drew what happened before it happened?!" Oswald confirmed. Helper nodded uneasily. "But that's not possible!...is it?"

"Actually..." Minnie started, deep in thought "It might be from what I've heard. What happened next? Was that kid with others?"

"Uh-huh. Her and the other kids looked...different. Not toon, ya know?" Helper continued her story "They all left while I, uh, snapped Benny out of it. His eyes were green when he was chasing the group. He went back to ToonTown and I was going to follow, when I saw the explosion...The Hub's gone...that witch Maleficent destroyed it. I called the Disney Air Force and used my MultiTool to tap into the speakers and stall for time...and give her a price of my mind! Gus and Tink are watching the group now."

"How did you find Mickey?" Minnie asked.

"While I was taunting that slime if a character, she summoned him like that." Helper answered "When the Air Force came and attacked her, she left so quick that she forgot about him, I guess."

"Seams suspicious to me." Oswald commented.

"Well, I'll go check in on Mickey," Minnie said, getting up. "If he's awake I'll send you two up to see him, alright?"

"Okay" Oswald responded "I'll take care of this one."

Minnie grabbed he extra icepack and headed up stairs. Oswald made sure Helper was comfortable before plopping down in the nearby comfy chair. Moments latter, he was snoring, and Helper watched him peacefully before she unwillingly fell asleep.

A/N: Alrighty, sorry for the wait. I had a small case of writers block and a busy schedule. Big thanks for all of the suggestions. (I won't name names). I'm working on a mini story request, and hopefully will be done sooner than latter. Not many, but here are the References...

- the black and white versions of Mickey are sometimes referred to as 'rubber-hose' design.
- "seven in one blow" from Brave Little Tailor, a familia Mickey Mouse short
- "the ghosts" means the ones from the Haunted Mansions.