Hey readers! I'm so so sorry that it took me forever to upload. My schedule was just too much. But whenever I had extra time I would write. It probably won't be as long for the next chapter. Enjoy!
Ostown, Mickey's House
Oswald stood in the corner with Ortensia in awe. "Are you sure about this Mickey?" Gus asked.
"It's the only explanation we have so it will have to do?" Mickey said. He looked at his brother in the corner. Could a forgotten toon really earn a heart? What does a toon have to do to earn a heart?
"What if it is wrong?" Gus whispered so Oswald wouldn't hear. Mickey only shrugged. He pictured a broken Oswald after finding out if he wasn't popular. "Mickey, be happy right now. Oswald is earning a heart." Minnie said. This lifted Mickey's spirits. He hugged his Minnie. "Thanks, Min." he said quietly to her.
Deep Below Dark Beauty Castle
Green eyed toons lined up in straight lines. Waiting for a leader. The Petes wandered around in front of them. "Are you sure the information that gremlin gave is us correct?" Pete Pan asked.
"Well we have half an army of toons. Does that answer your question?" Petetronic snapped. Pete Pan and the toons all flinched. "All we need is a strong heart to raise the Boss."
"Where are we…?" Small Pete started to ask.
"Where do you think we are going to get a heart? The Hero of Wasteland of course!" Petetronic said annoyed with his brothers. They could be so stupid some times. "Then we need a leader. Cause none of us are able to lead an army to victory." Each of the Petes nodded.
Back in Ostown
Oswald walked around the town with a new spring in his step. Almost nothing could ruin his happiness now. Mickey was still talking with Gus. Oswald skipped over to his beautiful Ortensia and Minnie. They were giggling. "Hello ladies. What are you two giggling about?" Oswald asked. He put an arm around Ortensia.
"Why do you want to know?" Minnie asked with a giggle.
"I just feel like talking. Is it about Prescott?" Minnie nodded.
"Can you believe that he did that? He could totally see that Mickey and I are a thing."
"But did you see how Mickey reacted. His face was as red as his pants." Ortensia burst into laughter. Soon everyone was laughing.
Mickey and Gus watched as Oswald and the girls laughed. "At least he is happy." Gus said.
"Yeah." Mickey said. He was glad that Oswald was happy. "What about the toons with green eyes?"
"They were a surprise. From my observations they have blot-like qualities. The green eyes and ink drips."
"Do you think that the Blot could come back?" Gus shrugged. Mickey pushed the nightmarish thought to the back of his mind. He dragged Gus over to Oswald and the others. They were still laughing. "Hey Mic! So what do we do now?" Oswald said.
"I don't know." Mickey said.
"Why don't you show me some of your favorite places in Wasteland?" Minnie suggested. Mickey nodded.
"Where should we go first?" Mickey asked Oswald. Oswald looked to Ortensia for help.
"Why don't we go to Autotopia and have a friendly race?"
"It's on.' Mickey said. The group rushed to the projector. Gus spun the new gear to Autotopia. "Here we go!" Oswald exclaimed. Oswald and Ortensia went first then Gus and finally Mickey and Minnie.
Autotopia
Mickey was the last one to come out of the projector. He landed on Oswald with a thud. The girls Burt's out into laughter. Mickey got up and helped Oswald to his feet. "Thanks Mic. Let's see if we can catch a race." Oswald hopped to in front and led the group to the starting line.
"Hop in!" Oswald said. Mickey and Minnie hopped into the red car next to him. Ortensia rode with Gus. Oswald liked to be the one in control. They waited at the starting line. The lights slowly turned from red to yellow then finally green. The group was off.
Oswald speed forward. Gus and Ortensia were not far behind. But mickey and Minnie's car stalled. "Oh!" Minnie sighed. Mickey got out of the car and checked the engine.
"Press the pedal again, Minnie." He said. Minnie pushed down on the pedal and the car speed forward. Mickey caught hold of the side and pulled himself into the car. "That was close." He said breathless.
Oswald and Ortensia and Gus were neck and neck. Gus fluttered near the engine of his car swinging his wrench. Their car got a burst of speed, passing Oswald by a few feet. "That's cheating!" Oswald exclaimed.
Mickey and Minnie did not catch up to the others. "Are we really that far behind?" Minnie asked. Mickey shrugged.
"Do you think they took that other turn?" Mickey wondered. They cruised down the road, hoping that the roads would come back together.
Oswald finally passed up Ortensia and Gus. The finish line was in their sights. Oswald pushed his lucky foot down on the pedal. His car gave a sickening lurch forward. "NO! NO! NO!" Oswald's car slowed to a stop. "Stupid car!" Ortensia and Gus flew by. They crossed the finish line with a storm of lights.
Ever since Autotopia was rebuilt every race was treated like the Grand Prix. The winners were showered in pictures and confetti. It's like a parade. Ortensia and Gus were lifted onto a stage. They both received a certificate and a special pin. Oswald stood at the edge of the crowd, jealous
Mickey and Minnie turned down another road. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Minnie asked.
"No, but we can only hope." Mickey answered. They drove over a hill. The car stalled at the top.
"Hold on!" Mickey yelled as the car started to roll down the hill. It gained speed. Mickey stomped on the brake. "No use, its offline!" The car raced down the hill. Its riders held each other tightly. The car swung around a sharp turn, forcing Minnie from Mickey's arms. "Minnie!" he yelled as he reached to grab her.
"Mickey!" she yelled as she flew out of the car. The car raced on with Mickey inside.
Ortensia and Gus where finally able to leave the stage and meet back up with Oswald. "Hunny Bunny! That was a great race." she said as she threw her arms around Oswald.
"Yeah, I guess it was. You guys did well." He said looking at the ground.
"Don't be a bad sport Oswald." Gus said. Oswald's ears hung in shame. They waited at the line for Mickey and Minnie.
"Where they really that far behind us?" Ortensia asked. Gus and Oswald both shrugged.
Mickey raced down a tunnel. The car came to a sudden stop. "Hello?" he squeaked. Mickey got out of his car. He had no idea where he was. The car started back up and drove back into the tunnel, mickey rushed to follow. A waterfall of Thinner flowed over the edge. Mickey skidded to a halt. No way out. He slowly turned around. There were two tunnels for him to choose. Mickey approached both. The right one let out a soft breeze. But the left one had a light at the end and if Mickey strained enough he could hear soft laughter. "That might be the girls." he said as he headed down the left tunnel.
"We need to go look for them!" Ortensia worried. Oswald nodded in agreement. Gus was fluttering around the crowd looking for them. "Their car probably stalled and they are still on the track." Oswald said. Both of them got cars and drove slowly down the track. "Here's the first turn. We went left." Oswald pointed to the right, "they might have gone that way." The road only went on for a bit.
"Ozzie, this is a dead end. What if they are stuck further up the road?" Ortensia said.
"No. I know that this road goes on. Someone must have closed it." Oswald hopped out of his car. He looked around the cars. All the walls were solid. Gus appeared near their cars. "No sign of them at the starting line. I can't teleport to either of them." He said.
"They might have turned this way." Oswald said. Gus looked around.
"Someone closed up the tunnel." He fluttered near the wall. "Solid." He came back to Oswald and Ortensia. Ortensia sighed and sat on a toon rock. A part of the wall opened. "Fireworks! We can blow up the wall." Oswald said. Gus helped him drag the bucket of explosives to the wall. Oswald pulled out his remote and shocked it. The dust cleared and the tunnel was open. Oswald, Ortensia, and Gus got into the cars and took off.
Minnie woke up on the side of the road. She sat up and looked around. NO cars and no Mickey. A small movement caught her eye. Minnie slowly walked over the quivering bush. She pushed aside some branches and found a small brown creature. The creature ran out of the bush terrified. "Hold on little guy, I'm not going to hurt you." Minnie said sweetly. The creature tepidly approached. "See I'm a nice mouse." The creature stood next to her. It was about waist high with familiar, green eyes. The creature took her hand and started to pull her away from the road. She followed.
Waiting Down, Deep down the Tunnel
Petetronic sat in a makeshift throne waiting for good news. Sweepers stood on either side of him. A knock of the heavy toon door brought him out of his thoughts. Blotlings stood to attention. A Spotter walked in shyly. It walked up to Petetronic and gave him a report. "Good, good, we separated them!" He exclaimed. The room burst into inky cheers.
"Shh, Shh!" Petetronic put his fat finger to his lips. The tunnels magnified ever sound. The crowd shhhed. Petetronic sat back down on his throne. "Finally."