Chapter 19

Oswald looked down at his feet, the world white now that the sun had risen, and wondered how bad his feet would be once this was all over. He was used to walking around without shoes but something about this ground without color was starting to feel like sandpaper to his feet.

He looked up at the procession, a part of him surprised Jim was keeping quiet. To Oswald, the earthworm/man felt like someone who normally couldn't shut up. The earthworm walked up front with Woody and Mickey, sending Felix back with Oswald and Sadie as the group of fifteen made their way to the old studio.

Oswald doubted he had ever seen the unused building, most of his shorts while being under Universal were filled in the human world. If he remembered his history right, it wasn't until sometime in the late forties or early fifties the studios no longer shot cartoons in the human world. That would've been when the old studio was built, which would make since why by now they would need a new building. The lighting and cameras alone would make that a necessity.

Felix elbowed Oswald, getting the rabbit's attention. Felix pointed with his free hand to their right, turning Oswald to see why the cat looked so excited. In a world with so little color left, Oswald could make out buildings and an antenna tower with blue sky behind. A smile pulled at Oswald's face only for worry to worm its way through. They were almost at the front line: a military term. But this was a battle. Even if they were able to wipe out the last of the blotlings, it would take the toons here a while to recover.

Oswald's free hand gripped into a fist as he realized he was to blame for all of this happening. A part of him knew it wasn't really him, it was another Oswald the Lucky Rabbit but even if he couldn't be blamed that way, he could've stopped Harry after finding him in the Frozen Swan. He had never trusted that dog and to know he was with Putrid Pete again should've got him into action.

Without his realizing it, Sadie moved so she stood next to him and grabbed the hand balled up into a fist. He almost jerked his hand from hers, remembering the White Princess, until he looked into her eyes. He knew this was Sadie and not his wife but the look she gave him was familiar. He let out a breath, trying to let go of the self-blame he knew he had a habit of giving himself, and let go of the fist to take her hand. He mouth the word "thanks", giving her a smile that she quickly returned with a squeeze of her hand. She took her hand back as sounds of blotlings could be heard from up ahead.

"Same as before," Felix whispered to those in the back as it seemed Woody said the same to those around him.

Oswald sent up a quick prayer that this would be the last of the blotlings. Even if it wasn't, let it be most so that the rest could be easily dealt with by those with the remaining Gremlin Guns.

He gripped tighter to the gun in his own hand as they got closer to the sounds of blotling's chatter and the edge of color. The bright color palette almost surprising after a day spent in blank nothingness.

Without another word the group was brought out into a world still clinging to its paint as all matter of blotling raged havoc. Oswald hung back a moment, prepared in case anyone had a problem. He watched Mickey run straight to the closest spladoosh, the mouse pulling the paint brush from his back pocket. The three ghost brothers quickly rose up to shook down the dropwings who seemed to be the biggest culprit against the sky's color. The rest of those who came to fight called out as they rushed forward, guns blazing. Sadie took to the left, quickly wiping a number out into thinner vaper as Oswald went right. He headed straight for the first slobber he saw, shooting it as it threw thinner out onto the side of a building. The slobber evaporated as the siding disappeared under the green substance but Oswald barely noticed it as his attention shifted to the next large blotling. He found Mickey working on the second of the lazy spladooshes as a slobber lumbered close behind the mouse. "Mick! Behind you!" Oswald called out as he quickly took aim.

Mickey turned and dodged to his left, keeping a steady flow of paint on the spladoosh he was working on as Oswald pulled the trigger. The blast hit the slobber in the shoulder as it turned to Oswald's voice, disintegrating it.

Oswald stepped through the remains of the blotling as the spladoosh turned blue to signify he was now mostly paint. Taking a glance around them Oswald asked, "You need me to guard your back while you take care of the last two?"

"Run! Get back!" Sadie's voice cried out, getting the brothers to turn in time to see her picking up the three chipmunks as she ran away from an increasing in size spladoosh. The large blotling exploded in a rain of thinner, melting the sweepers and splatters that were unlucky enough to be close by.

"Correction, last one?" Oswald added as he made sure no one was injured in the explosion.

"Thanks," Mickey said with a nod. "Come on."

Oswald followed his brother, watching the mouse shoot with both gun and thinner. Oswald quickly took care of a seer rolling their way as they got within safe distance for the last spladoosh in sight. Oswald quickly turned around, pressing his back to Mickey's, and continued shooting at the various blotlings that got close. He kept an eye on the toons he could see, glad to find them holding their own.

A large blotling turned his attention to his right in time to find another slobber about to inhale. Mo and Oz were in its line of sight, fighting a small army of sweepers. "Mick," Oswald said, hoping the mouse understood he was losing his back guard. He quickly ran off towards the rivals he had lost his job to and the purple haired lady. Getting to their side, Oswald pointed the gun up and pulled the trigger, shooting a blast straight into the large monster's mouth. As the slobber disintegrated into thinner vapor Oswald turned his attention to the sweepers trying to close in on them. He struggled to keep count as he shot down the sentient brooms who were readying to throw thinner first when he felt a familiar burning take over his left side. He wiped away at the pain, transferring the feeling to his hand, and looked past his ragged ear to see Oz in a similar state while shooting their attacker.

"Go find Mickey!" Oswald ordered as he reached into his back pocket and took out his remote. Shooting a quick burst to stun as many as he could in front of them, he turned to see the brown rabbit and the determination visible through his melting paint.

Oz opened his mouth, as if in protest, only for his brown paint to run into his eye. Wiping it away he conceded, saying, "Keep an eye on Mo."

"I will," Oswald promised, throwing a look over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the woman holding her own against those in front of her. He turned back to the monsters coming out of their daze and started shooting them down before they could fully recover. "Go get fixed up!" Oswald ordered, shooting out another dazing blot to give Oz a chance to leave. "He was over at the spla- that fat one," Oswald offered, pointing with the remote the way he had come. Oswald stepped back to have his back closer to the purple haired woman, the sweepers taking his attention from watching Oz make his retreat. He wished he had been able to make more of Sadie's large gun, or at least knew where the girl was but the fact that they had any guns was more than how they had come prepared to his own Wasteland.

"How bad was Oz hurt?" Mo asked, keeping her eyes to her own enemies.

"It got him in the head, but I've seen toons recover from worst," Oswald offered, wiping black ink from his eye as his ear melted. He turned more to his left, it becoming a blind spot now as he realized a fresh wave of pain and fire took over the splattering he had felt from the sweeper that had damaged Oz. He clenched his teeth tight against the pain as he shot the sweeper that had attacked him, getting quick revenge. He wiped at his left eye, trying to see only for his hand to come away covered in marbled ink. He closed his mouth, a moan escaping him without his consent, as he sent out another electric shock. He shot down the sweepers as they closed in only to realize they were slowing down. He shot as many as he could, unsure if the blotlings were where he thought he saw them or the thinner in his paint was starting to affect him.

Mo's voice called out, the words unrecognizable, as splatters joined the closing group.

Oswald sent out as long of a burst of electricity he dared, hoping to give them a chance, as he turned to the woman he promised to protect. His slowed down perception of time gave him all the details to something he hadn't witnessed since the 40's, the very thing that gave his children the idea to eat the blotlings.

A splatter came up to Mo with visible anger on its face. It stretched itself upwards, extending its jaw, and consumed Mo's form as the woman held her gun in both hands. She pulled the trigger, the purple beam cutting through the back of the splatter as it closed its mouth around her. The splatter disintegrated into a cloud of purple, leaving a statue of a determined Mo in its place.

Oswald realized the inert statue was tipping over, getting his instincts to reach out and protect her to fire in his brain only for the ground to hit him in the uninjured side of his head. He looked up at Mo's form as a large black dot took over his vision.