Minnie sat crying, unable to erase what she had just seen from her mind. She kept seeing him; reeling back, bleeding, falling, lying on the cold floor…
"Mickey…" It hurt just to say or even think his name, knowing that he was gone… that she would never see him again. It was too horrible to believe. She couldn't go on without him; that she knew. She couldn't live without the other half of her heart.
At that moment, the door opened and the cloaked man who had done that terrible thing stepped in, looking down at her with no emotion. The sight of him burned her.
"You… you monster!" Minnie wailed. "You horrible, evil…!" Her sobs cut her off, and after a moment the dark figure spoke, sounding faintly amused.
"How kind; I suppose I must now keep my word. It is most unfortunate that I had to do that, but…" he shrugged. "Dead men tell no tales."
Minnie gasped. She knew that line… Mickey told her about the foe who had told him that. The figure must be him… the Phantom Blot.
At the same moment she put it together, a high, wonderfully familiar voice rang out from the doorway, and her heart almost stopped.
"Yeah? Well, I'm still plenty alive!" The Blot whirled around, and Minnie's heart started pounding.
Mickey was standing there; two red spots stained his shirt, but he was alive and unfazed… and very angry. "And just so y' know…" He tugged at the edge of his shirt. "I really liked this thing."
"W… what…" the Blot choked, stumbling back. Mickey stepped forward and glanced fearfully at Minnie. Still too shocked to speak, she nodded to let him know she was okay.
Satisfied that she was all right for now, Mickey turned back to the Blot just as the shock wore off.
"I don't know what trick you've pulled," he growled. "But you won't be for long!" The mouse braced his feet, noting the discomfort in his left ankle. If he wasn't careful, it could be his undoing.
"So y' gonna fight like a man this time?" he asked, his voice dripping with disgust. With a snarl, the criminal charged at Mickey. Minnie's mind was still spinning, but she watched the fight that followed with fear.
Mickey's agility was serving him well in dodging his enemy's blows, but after a while, she could see him start to stumble and knew his ankle was getting worse. She gasped when he tripped and fell, grunting in pain, and struggled to get to his feet and keep moving. He was clearly losing his advantage fast.
Minnie clenched her teeth as the Phantom laughed cruelly. She felt so useless; she wanted desperately to help but couldn't with her hands and feet tied. She looked around and noticed a heavy pipe not far from her. With some difficulty, she scooted the short distance to it.
"Mickey!" she called, then with a kick of her feet, sent it spinning toward him. Barely dodging another blow, Mickey rolled under the Blot's feet, snatched up the pipe, and brought it down hard on his foe's head with a CLANG!
The Phantom Blot stood there for a while, and then fell over, out cold. Mickey glared at the collapsed figure with pure fury, tossing the pipe behind him.
"That's for what y' did to Minnie!" he snapped. Then he was kneeling beside her, pulling out his pocket knife.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he cut her free, his voice frantic and shaking. Rubbing her wrists, Minnie nodded, her eyes filling with tears. Finally she managed to speak.
"B… but how… you were shot… I saw it…" Mickey's eyes widened, then he sighed sadly.
"Oh, Minnie…" he whispered, then hugged her tightly, rocking gently as she cried. "I'm so, so sorry… if I knew you were watching, I'd have never done that." She sniffled and drew back.
"D… done what?" she whispered. "I don't understand." A small grin crossed Mickey's face as he reached down and pulled off his ruined shirt. Minnie's jaw dropped. Underneath it was a bullet proof vest. Large packets of red liquid were strapped to the chest, stomach and area around them, two punctured.
"Courtesy of the chief," he said as he removed it as well. "Gonna have some nasty bruises, though."
Minnie stared at the vest, then at Mickey, stunned. Then overwhelming joy exploded in her heart and she flung herself into his arms with a happy cry.
"Mickey!" she gasped, tears of joy filling her eyes as she squeezed him tightly. "You're alive! You're really here!" As he drew his own arms around her, a strange sound escaped Mickey's throat and he pulled her closer. She could feel him shaking.
"I was worried sick," he choked. "I thought… I thought he was gonna…" He started shaking even harder. Momentarily forgetting her own distress, Minnie gently rubbed his arms, trying to calm him.
"But he didn't," she murmured. "I'm all right. You saved me." The two mice held each other for several minutes, each comforting the other. Then Mickey drew back.
"We'd better get outta here. Are you okay?" Minnie stretched her stiff legs and nodded. Mickey stood, took her hands and pulled her up.
He clenched his teeth in dismay at the throbbing in his ankle; he knew he'd strained it too much, but hopefully it would hold up if he could just tough it out.
But he had no such luck; once he took a step, pain shot through it and it gave out.
"Unh…!" he groaned. With a gasp, Minnie quickly looped his arm over her shoulders to stop him from falling.
"Easy, Mickey… let me help you." He looked at her sadly.
"After what you've been through, I can't make y' do this, Min." Minnie shook her head firmly and started walking him out, relieved that he could walk on both feet.
"You're hurt, I'm not," she replied. "So you need it more than me." Mickey sighed as he tried not to limp so heavily.
"Thanks, Minnie, but I…" She smiled and helped him sit on a metal table nearby.
"It's all right," she said gently, then hurried back to the storage room where she'd been imprisoned and turned the lock. "Now I have to find a phone and call the police." Mickey grinned again, reached into his pocket, pulled out a small device and pressed a button.
"Done." Minnie just stared, then giggled and kissed his cheek.
"And here I was worrying that you'd come charging in unprepared," she teased. Mickey stayed silent as he rubbed his ankle.
It was probably better not to tell her how close he came to doing just that. It would just upset her more, and she'd been through enough already.
In record time, O' Hara and his men reached the abandoned plant and hauled the extremely dazed criminal off.
Medical personnel took care of Mickey's injury, which luckily had sustained no further damage, and also checked Minnie over at his insistence. But once the excitement was over, he was strangely quiet as he drove her home.
Inside, he was aching horribly at the thought of what she had gone through… because of him. And this wasn't the first time. How could he expect her to keep doing this? Minnie's growing concern at his silence finally brimmed over when he walked her inside.
"Mickey? What's wrong?" He turned and looked at her, shame and heartache filling his eyes.
"Min…" He took her hands. "I…" He closed his eyes, and a tear trickled from one. Very concerned by now, and a little scared, Minnie laid a hand on his cheek and wiped away the tear.
"Mickey, please…" she said softly. "Tell me what's wrong." He took a deep, shaky breath, looked directly into her eyes, and asked the question he both dreaded and needed to hear the answer to.
"Do you… do you want to stay with me? If you don't, I'd understand."
Minnie drew back with shock, not believing what she'd just heard. Had he just asked her… if she wanted to break up?
"W… what? How could you… even say that?" she gasped. Mickey let go of her hand and looked away, unable to bear the hurt and betrayal on her face.
"I… I…" His throat closed up and he couldn't go on. A few moments later, he heard Minnie's footsteps retreating from the room, quick and angry.
Mickey closed his eyes tightly and dropped down on the couch, burying his face in his hands. Hot tears dampened his gloves, and his heart felt like a stone in his chest. He'd had to ask her that, but now he was wishing with almost every fiber of his being that he hadn't.
I've lost her.
He had never felt such deep despair in his life… the kind that makes you wish that your heart would stop beating right then and now, because its reason to is gone. He pressed his face deeper into his hands as the tears came faster. His sore ankle was nothing compared to the pain in his chest.
Everything was dark and shattered. Just like his heart.
Yes, another cliffhanger; sorry, but I'll update with the final chapter soon. Just some fun facts… the bulletproof vest gimmick was inspired by an episode of Law and Order SVU and the "I'm still plenty alive" line is taken directly from the 1939 comic Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot, which was the villain's first appearance. Sorry if I didn't do a very good job with him, but I did my best. My original idea for the villain was The Rhyming Man, but I think more people know the Blot and I decided I didn't want to try rhyming everything he said. See you soon with the conclusion!