Chapter 126: The End?

"The end."

Headmaster Mickey waved with Fantasia. Many of them stayed. Most told stories. Everyone wept. But as the stars turned, Fantasia went to sleep.

And Mickey Mouse, was alone.

"Well. The end. And a very happy ending." Backtracking, Mickey stargazed down Pirate's Point. The constellations outshone themselves. But, something brighter pulled Mickey's gaze from the stars.

"What is that?" Mickey peered. Something flickered on the beach. Something with an icy glow. "What is that magical light?"

Mickey tiptoed from the path. The light flickered again, and Mickey was excited. He imagined it was fairies. Or Will O' the Wisps. Or a rouge star.

But it wasn't.

It was a laptop.

"A laptop?" Disappointedly Mickey poked the screen. "A magical laptop?"

It seemed improbable. Laptops weren't magical. But…stranger things had happened, and most of them quite recently.

Curiously, Mickey settled before the laptop. He searched the monitor.

And then, he knew the laptop was magical. Because strange, hex-ish words filled the screen.

"Fanfiction?" Mickey murmured, scrolling down the page. "PM? Message sent? Message…message…where is the message?"

Mickey leaned. His nose touched the screen.

There was a message. A little box. Addressed to three people.

Mickey read aloud.

"To LadyAnne23, HeartofGold7, and Micatony. Hi guys. Don't get mad – yes I did it. I entered a FF. So now I'm stuck here and need you three to write me out. ty."

Mickey scratched his ears. "Write out? Write who out? And out of what?"

There wasn't a plausible explanation. Sighing Mickey shrugged. "Must be a spell. Better bring this laptop to Merlin."

Then he heard it. His ears pricked. Carefully, Mickey listened.

Someone…was singing.

Leaning, Mickey balanced the magical laptop on his knees.

And suddenly, he saw the singing person.

It was a girl.

Mickey blinked. How strange. He hadn't noticed her before. But there she sat. Cross legged. Just singing.

Mickey gulped. The girl was holding a mouse. A computer mouse.

Guiltily, Mickey eyed the magical laptop. If it even was magical. Regardless, Mickey knew he should leave. Slip away. And bring the possibly-magic laptop to Merlin.

But, he couldn't.

Instead, he listened to the girl sing.

"It's good to see the sun, and feel this place…this place I never thought would feel like home…and I ran forever, far away…and I always thought I'd end up here alone...Somehow, the world has changed and I've come home….to give you back the things they took from you…And I feel you now, I'm not alone…I'll always know where you are. When I see myself I'll always know where you are."

Mickey smiled. He couldn't stop. Just as this girl couldn't stop singing.

So, magical laptop against his tummy, Mickey invited himself to the girl's side.

Plop.

"Hi-ya!"

"Holy crow!"

The girl jumped. Her gazed whipped between the laptop, the mouse, the laptop…and then rest on the mouse.

"…Mickey?"

Mickey was surprised. "You know me?"

"Yeah." she smiled. "Storytellers are omniscient. I know everything."

That surprised Mickey even more. "Huh?"

The girl laughed. A little bashfully. "Sorry. Movie line. I've always wanted to say that."

Mickey curled his tail. The girl watched calmly, but her eyes darted intermittently to the laptop. She seemed to be deciding the safest course of action.

Mickey made his own investigation. Who was this storyteller? This storyteller with a magical laptop? This storyteller with a magical laptop singing to the Fantasian sea on such an… extraordinary night?

Mickey was suspicious. So he took a good, long look.

Unique. That was the only good word for her. A unique look to go with a unique style. The girl's green eyes were just as disorienting as her black tank top – orange sneaker ensemble. Mickey angled the laptop, illuminating different views.

The girl noticed.

"I really need that back." she said, nodding at the laptop. "You know. Fish gotta swim. Birds gotta fly. Storytellers gotta write."

Mickey's tail twitched. "You're a story teller?"

"Not officially. But yeah. I try."

"Well!" Mickey hefted the laptop. The girl cringed as he held it aloft like a waiter. "You're in luck! We're in need of a storyteller! Just finished an adventure and it needs to be written! Come on with me! I'll take you to King Arthur's castle!"

Her eyes glittered wistfully. "You have no idea…but….I can't."

"Why?"

"Just can't.

"But why? We've got – "

"Mickey!" the girl sighed, catching the mouse off guard by using his name. "Mickey, I can't. They're writing me out."

Mickey remembered the message. He referred back to the screen. "Who?"

"LadyAnne23, HeartofGold7, and Micatony." She said impatiently. "So long as Micatony doesn't go all Spartan and leave me here."

Mickey frowned at the screen. "Hmm. Well. I don't understand that. Nope I don't. But…it looks like you have messages?"

"From whom?"

"LadyAnne 23. HeartofGold7. Micatony."

"What did they say?"

Mickey read. "HeartofGold7 says 'That is SO cool, SUPER excited! I'm having a heart attack' with a whole lot of exclamation points."

The girl nodded. "Yeah she's cool. Okay, next?"

Mickey cleared his throat "LadyAnne23 says 'Are you okay? Sure I'll write you out. But why didn't you take me too?'"

The girl grinned. "And Micatony?"

Mickey raised his eyebrows. "You want the profanity?"

"Skip it."

"Then no message."

"Tuh. Figures. Is he gonna write me out?" she asked halfheartedly.

Mickey reviewed. "Looks like it. But…write you out to where? Is it magic? This seems like magic."

She shrugged. "Sorta. Fantasia is a different dimension than mine. I need three points of contact – three storytellers – to write me out of this time and into a different one."

Mickey blinked. "I don't get it."

The girl held up three fingers. "Three points. Think of a circle. You can find any coordinate on a circle using three points. Or think of a box. All you need are measurements for length, width, and height to find exactly where you are. Well, traveling between real and…fictional worlds…" she lowered her hands. "…it's the same principle. The same thing. Make sense?"

Again Mickey blinked. "So…it's magic?"

She grinned. "Yeah. Magic."

Mickey tried to clarify. "So, where are you going?"

The girl sighed. She rose. "Back."

"Back?" He followed the girl as she walked away. "Back where?"

"My world."

"Where's that?"

"Second star to the right and straight on till…." She smiled. "Oh holy crow. I really need to stop. Swear I don't know how to say anything original."

Mickey opened his mouth. Suddenly the laptop screen flickered. He squeaked. It vibrated.

The girl turned. Urgently she took the magical laptop, brushing Mickey's gloves.

"They're doing it…." she murmured. Blue reflections stripped her big eyes and snub nose. "…they're writing me out. Any minute now. And I'm back home."

She looked over the screen.

"Well. Thanks, Mickey Mouse. Tell everyone I said hi."

She turned, orange sneakers turning the sand.

"Wait!" Mickey waved at the girl's back. "Storyteller, wait! What's your name?"

She stopped. Her fingers probed the keyboard. Mickey thought it strange she found the simplest question so profound.

Finally, the girl spoke.

"I'm sultal."

"Sultal?"

"No. sultal. Lowercase s."

Mickey blinked. Lowercase s? Ridiculous! That made absolutely no sense, but somehow….

Mickey shook his head. Somehow he knew that…he had said her name capitalized. And somehow she knew it too! Weird. Mega weird.

"When…." Mickey asked, "…when will you be back? We need a storyteller! To tell our story."

"The story's not over."

"What?"

"It's only just begun…" she turned, excited. "Just you wait. Just you wait and see! Trained dragons, green ogres, fern gullies, swan princesses, risen guardians, quests for camelots, bad sins, …"

She sighed. Almost dreamily. "….once and future kings."

Mickey's jaw dropped. "Ogres? Swans? Gullies? Dragons? Are you….you're not…are you talking about…the Otherworld? Oh no don't do that! Fantasia needs a story teller and – "

"— Fantasia will be there too."

"—but the Otherworld is bad!" Mickey begged, gesturing beyond the horizon, "—it's full of messy magic and – "

"Mickey…" she turned. "Don't worry. I'll make sure everything turns out all right."

"What turns out all right?"

"The story."

"What story?"

She smiled. A wide, happy smile.

And before she disappeared, Mickey swore that sultal turned and winked…as if people were watching her through an invisible screen.

"The sequel. Giving Fantasia."

sultal's note: I drew a picture of this scene. It is on my DA page (sultal-wf) and is entitled "Mickey and the Fanfictioner"

Thank you LadyAnne23, HeartofGold7, Micatony and all of you that have stayed with these characters.

keep writing.