One after the other, Oswald, Mickey and Gus landed on the other side of the projector in Ventureland. The first thing all three noticed was the pirates hanging around the buildings.

"Hm... guess Captain Hook still hasn't shown up," Mickey muttered.

"Still, I thought they would have left by now," Oswald added.

Mickey smirked. "Well, remember who we're dealin' with here. Without someone telling 'em where to go, half of 'em don't even move."

Oswald snickered in response. "True. Those poor fellas. Bunch o' mindless flunkies."

Mickey chuckled, then noticed Animatronic Daisy moving around the pirates, her Spatter cameraman in tow. Her eager voice was clear even from this distance.

"And you, sir? Excuse me, sir? What do you think of these recent strange events and the allegations?"

Oswald headed over to Animatronic Daisy as the other two followed him. "Excuse me, what strange events are you talkin' about?" he interjected. Daisy turned and her eyes widened.

"Oh! You're here! So tell me, what does our Lucky Leader have to say about the Blot returning?"

She held her microphone in his face, making Oswald step back as he processed her words. "What are you talkin' about? We blew it to smithereens! It's definitely not comin' back."

Daisy moved the microphone back to talk into it. "But there are new Blotlings causing damage all over Wasteland! And sources tell me that Mickey Mouse is experiencing his old connection with the Blot."

The Spatter cameraman followed her as she turned and held the mic out toward Mickey, who looked stunned and confused. "What about you? What do you have to say about this?"

"Wh... But I don't have a connection! It's just some ink I soaked up."

Oswald stepped in front of Mickey. "Yeah, it's just a... side effect of the Thinner in the Blot he came into contact with. Nothin' to worry about."

"Well..." However, she stopped when she saw Gus and Oswald's glares. Instead, she cleared her throat and turned to the Spatter. "All right, and there you have it, folks! You heard it from Daisy Duck here on DNN... Duck News Network!"

The Spatter turned off the camera and Daisy turned back to the three toons.

"Anyways, do you know why the pirates are back here? Where's Captain Hook?" Oswald asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, no one's seen him since he disappeared during the earthquakes," Daisy replied, then glanced at the pirates wandering around. "They did go back to Tortooga for a while, but then those strange Spatters showed up and overran them."

Mickey stepped forward. "Does anyone know where they came from?"

Daisy gave him an apologetic smile before replying. "I'm not sure... for some reason they don't want to talk to me about it."

"Hmph... that's a mystery," Gus muttered under his breath.

Not hearing him, Daisy went on. "I bet they'd talk to you two, though. Ask around... I'm sure someone has an idea."

Oswald gave a sigh before heading over to one of the pirates. All this asking around was such a pain. "Alright, what are you fellas doin' back here? Aren't pirates supposed to sail the seas?"

The heavyset man snorted and crossed his arms. "An' we 'ould be too, if them red-eyed Spatters didn't chase us out. Nasty devils. Overran us in less n' a day."

Oswald raised an eyebrow. "You let a bunch of rabid Spatters drive you out?"

The pirate looked at them, his face dead serious. "If ye were there, ye wouldn't be askin'."

Mickey cleared his throat before stepping forward. "Well, anyway, does anyone know where they came from?"

The pirate shrugged. "Not a clue. Perhaps somewheres off the southern isle—that's where we encountered the most of the bloody lot."

Mickey frowned a little. "Southern isle? I don't remember bein' there."

"And that's why yours truly is the expert here," Oswald boasted, pointing to himself. "So you just follow my lead, Mr. Leader of the Club."

Mickey rolled his eyes and followed as Oswald headed for the projector leading to Tortooga. He felt eyes on his back, and glanced back. Some of the pirates were watching him, some uneasy, some suspicious. The mouse let out a sigh and jumped into the projector after his friends.

When the trio arrived at Tortooga, it was deserted. There were thinned-out spots on many of the buildings, likely because of the Spatters' attack, but the Thinner had finally drained, revealing the seawater surrounding the area.

Oswald pointed out to sea, where a distant island could be just barely seen on the horizon. "The southern isle should be somewhere in that direction." He then turned to Mickey with a smirk, eyeing the abandoned pirate ships by the dock. "You up for commandeerin' one of these ships?"

Mickey grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Anytime."

"Then, let's do it," Oswald said, using his helicopter ears to glide over onto one of the ships while Mickey followed on foot. Oswald then picked up a captain's hat that had been left behind and placed it upon his head, standing at the helm. "Alright, hoist the sails and chart a course to the south!" he ordered, pointing at Mickey and Gus.

Mickey saluted. "Aye-aye!"

"Yes, sir!" said Gus.

After a quick scan of the rigging, Mickey climbed the mast and jumped, grabbing one of the ropes. The first sail came down as he swung to the deck, handing it off to Gus to tie up.

"Hurry it up, ya bilge rat!" Oswald shouted at Mickey.

"You're welcome t' come up and try it y'rself!" Mickey yelled back before hoisting the last sail.

Oswald chuckled. "Now hoist anchor and set sail!" he ordered, pointing straight ahead.

Mickey ran across the ship and attempted to wind the crank that lifted the anchor, but try as he might, it wouldn't budge. "It's too heavy!" he shouted back.

"Alright, hang on!" Oswald hopped down to the lower deck and began pushing against another one of the crank handles. Gus zipped over to help as well, and with all of them pushing, the crank finally began to turn, slowly hoisting the anchor chain up to the ship. Finally, wind filled the sails and the ship began to move forward.

"Here we go!" Mickey said, looking excited.

"Yeah!" Oswald rushed to the front of the ship as it moved forward. He stood at the bow and took a nice deep breath of the salty sea air as it blew through his fur, rustling his long ears about. He glanced at the side of the ship and saw that Mickey was leaning out over the water, his eyes wide and shining with excitement. The rabbit couldn't help grinning. The mouse looked like a little kid on his first road trip.

"So, how far's this place?" Mickey asked.

Oswald rested his arms on the railing. "Shouldn't be too fa—ACK!" A large crash shook the ship, knocking them right off their feet.

"Are you two alright?" Gus asked, zipping over to them.

Mickey grunted as he sat up as well, shaking his head to clear the daze. "Yeah."

"I'm fine," Oswald said, brushing himself off. "What th' heck was that?!"

Gus glanced out to sea and gasped, pointing. "Look!"

Another ship was floating alongside them, commanded by a large, red-eyed Blotling and his crew of Blotling minions. The Blotling captain let out a maniacal laugh as he ordered another shot to be fired that shook their ship once again.

The deck shook, almost knocking them over again. Mickey grunted as he grabbed the railing. "Wha... Where'd they come from?!"

Oswald let out a sigh and glanced at Mickey with an unimpressed look. "We can't ever have a peaceful journey, can we? It's always somethin'."

Mickey sighed as he righted himself and reached for the brush, looking just as irritated. "Yep. Please tell me there's a cannon on this thing."

Oswald searched around the ship deck and uncovered some cannons hidden beneath sheets. "Bingo!" Oswald wheeled one of them over to the side of the ship and loaded a cannonball into it. He then pulled out his remote, using a zap from it to light the fuse, and covered his ears as it fired with a 'BOOM!'

The Blotlings let out wild yelps as the cannonball slammed into the side of their ship.

"Yeah!" Oswald cheered, but his grin quickly dropped as the Blotling captain garbled an order and several of the smaller Blotlings leaped off the ship, heading straight toward theirs. "They're boardin' the ship!" Oswald shouted to Mickey as he loaded another cannonball in the cannon.

Mickey already had the brush out and was bracing himself for a fight, but he looked and sounded far more nervous than usual. "There's too many for Paint, I'm gonna have to use Thinner! Watch it, some might come your way!"

"I swear, if ya turn me into a puddle again—!"

"I said I was SORRY!" Mickey yelled as he began fighting the Blotlings. Luckily, their resistance to Paint didn't seem to apply to Thinner. However, whenever he managed to thin out the swarm, more leaped from the other ship to reinforce their buddies, and soon ink was dripping from Mickey's body at a rapid speed. Oswald hesitated at the cannon.

"Mick, you need any..." A loud 'BOOM!' split the air, and a split second later, an enemy shot smashed into his cannon. Oswald felt himself thrown backward, then slammed against the deck. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard Mickey's yell.

"OS!"

Frantic garbling from the Blotlings followed, and Oswald pushed himself up, shaking his head to clear it. When his eyes focused, his jaw dropped open. Mickey was shooting huge jets of Thinner from the brush that were burning through the Blotlings, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed with fury.

"Whoa!" Oswald quickly dropped back onto the deck as some of the sprays of Thinner nearly hit him.

Once all the Blotlings were cleared out, Oswald pushed himself to his feet, glancing over at Mickey. "Whoa... I've never seen ya do that before!"

Mickey turned, and his angry look faded to one of relief, but the ink was still dripping rapidly from him and he looked almost afraid. "That makes two of us," he said with a crooked smile.

Angry garbling brought their attention back to the enemy ship. The Blotling captain was drawing a large cutlass, its face twisted in a nasty snarl.

"Let's finish this!" Oswald said to Mickey, who nodded. Oswald then joined hands with Mickey as he leapt and hovered over to the enemy ship.

As soon as the two landed on deck, the Blotling Captain yanked out a revolver with its other hand and fired off a dozen shots of Thinner. As they scrambled to dodge, Oswald saw a shot graze Mickey's side, causing the mouse to cry out in pain. However, before Oswald could ask if he was okay, the mouse let out a sudden yell of fury and charged the Blotling Captain, blasting streams of Thinner as ink churned from his body. Struggling to block the attacks, the Blotling could only squeeze off occasional shots from its Thinner gun.

Oswald joined in, firing shots from his remote to further stun it. Roaring in frustration, the Blotling Captain swung its cutlass. However, Mickey leapt right over the blade and lunged at it from behind, shooting it with even more Thinner to reveal the creature's inner mechanics, then slammed a gloved hand onto the big, red button.

The Blotling Captain exploded in a shower of sparks and purple ink and Paint, leaving the heroes black in the face from the smoke and sprayed with Blot slime.

As the smoke cleared, Oswald stood frozen in astonishment. "Gosh, save some for me next time!" He then turned to see Mickey leaning against the mast, taking deep breaths as the ink continued dripping. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mickey said, taking deep breaths as he struggled to calm his emotions.

Oswald glanced over in the direction the ship was headed. "Hey, it looks like we're almost there!"

Mickey scanned the shoreline. "Uh, so, how are we gonna land?"

"We gotta lower the anchor, of course," Oswald responded, heading over to the mechanism that controlled the anchor.

"Er, yeah... I was just wonderin' about that." Mickey pointed to the water just ahead of the ship, where enormous, sharp rocks were jutting out.

"Huh?" Oswald glanced up where he was pointing and skidded to a stop. "Oh. In that case... Abandon ship!" he shouted as he dove off the ship into the water below. Mickey raced to the edge and leaped in after him as the two ships smashed into the giant, jagged rocks with a crash as loud as thunder.

"Yipe!" Mickey gasped upon resurfacing. "This is cold as the dickens!"

They glanced around; thankfully, the island was close.

"C'mon, let's get to shore!" Oswald called over to him. Mickey gave a nod and they began swimming.

As they neared the shore, a large wave suddenly snatched them up and threw them, sending them flying onto the beach. After a few tries, Oswald finally pulled his face from the ground, spitting out a mouthful of sand. Glancing around, he noticed some legs sticking out of the sand a few yards away. "Mickey!" He scrambled to his feet and grabbed ahold of the legs, pulling until the mouse popped out of the sand, the force knocking Oswald back into a sitting position as Mickey landed in his lap.

"Oof! You okay?" Oswald gave the mouse's back a few thumps, causing Mickey to cough and spit out sand.

"Blegh!" Mickey groaned and thumped the side of his head, sending some water from his ear. "Jeez... why's it always a wild wave?"

"Maybe because our ship just got blown to smithereens?" Oswald motioned to the shattered remains of the ship floating in the water.

Mickey grinned and rolled his eyes as he stood up, brushing sand from his shorts. "Right." He looked around. "Well, at least we're here. Any idea where to look?"

Oswald shook the water from his fur, then pulled out his remote. "Looks like it's... thata way." He pointed into the jungle.

"That thing's still workin'?" said Mickey.

Oswald smirked. "Rather lucky, huh?"

"Sure." Mickey rolled his eyes good-naturedly, glancing around at the foliage as they walked off the beach and into the trees. He smiled a little. "Boy... it's real nice here."

"Yeah, it is. Wouldn't mind stayin' here for a bit, would you?" Oswald smirked as he held a branch back and let it smack into Mickey behind him.

"Ow! Hey!"

Oswald turned around and smirked. "Whoops." Mickey made a grab for him and Oswald took off running through the jungle.

"Ya gotta go faster than that if ya wanna outrun a rabbit!" Oswald taunted, turning around and running backwards as he spoke.

"Oh, quit showin' off!" Mickey shouted as he ran as fast as he could. Oswald laughed at him and turned forward, then suddenly tripped over a root and face-planted into some mud.

Mickey burst out laughing as he trotted over and pulled Oswald up by his arm. "It helps t' look where you're goin', too."

"Oh, shut it!" Oswald gave him a playful push.

Gus cleared his throat as he caught up with them. "May I remind you two what we're here for?"

They both sheepishly nodded. Wiping the mud off his face, Oswald took his remote out of his pocket and checked it. "Hey, looks like we're gettin' close." He turned and began following the radar again as Mickey followed close behind. "Just a little more this way—AAHHH!" Both he and Mickey yelped as they suddenly found themselves plummeting down into the ground, tumbling down a steep dirt slide.

"Ow..." Mickey mumbled once he reached the bottom, rubbing his sore body and attempting to see through the pitch black. "Oswald? You okay?" he called out. "Oswald?" Just then, he felt something shift beneath him.

"Oomff... get off..." a muffled voice whispered in an annoyed tone.

Mickey quickly leaped to his feet. "Oh! Sorry, Os."

"Mickey! Oswald!" Gus's voice came from nearby. "Are you two all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Oswald replied. "You alright, Mick?"

"Fine, 'cept I can't see a thing."

"Hang on." Oswald pulled out his remote and pressed another button. A light switched on from under its screen, faintly illuminating the space around them. "The generator's this way. C'mon, follow me."

Their footsteps echoed in the corridor as they started down the dark passageway, Gus hovering near the mouse's shoulder. Oswald looked down at his remote, holding it out in front of him. The radar symbol was pinging slightly.

"Looks like we're getting closer. Better stay alert... I'm willin' to bet it's guarded."

He heard Mickey snort behind him. "As Pete would say, that's a sucker bet."

All of a sudden, growling sounds filled the corridor. They glanced all around but couldn't see anything in the dim lighting. Before anyone could move, dozens of menacing Slobbers emerged from the shadows and surrounded them.

Mickey gasped and shot Thinner in an arc, but the Blotlings it hit only roared in anger at the slight damage. At that, all of them began to charge.

Oswald grabbed Mickey's arm and leaped, bouncing off a Blotling's head to land on the other side. He whirled around and shot a bolt of electricity. One Blotling began to short, but the others lunged.

"Run!" Oswald took off down the dark corridor, and Mickey bolted after him.

"Can't ya use a force field?"

"The generator's too close!" Oswald gasped. "We can't risk messin' it up, the Doc needs the data!"

The dark corridor finally opened up into a large, magnificent cavern where gems gleamed in the walls and pools of water shimmered all across the floor.

"Wha...?" Mickey almost stopped, startled. "What's this place?"

"Looks like we hit the jackpot! This must be some secret pirate's hideout or somethin'!" Oswald exclaimed.

"Hey, there's a door here!"

Oswald turned to see Mickey pulling some rocks away from a grated door near the entrance. "Good, we can hide in there!"

Oswald went over and helped him move the heavy rocks. Then, they both pushed the rusty door open and hurried inside, shutting the door behind them. They had barely gotten the door closed when snarling sounds approached from the outer corridor. Oswald motioned with his hand and he and Mickey ducked behind some rocks.

Several tense moments passed until the sounds of the rabbid Blotlings finally grew fainter. Oswald let out the breath he'd been holding and heard Mickey sigh as well.

The room they were in appeared to be a dark and damp jail cell, likely a pirate jail cell, as there were various pirate objects scattered about the room.

"Of all the places to hide, ya had tah pick this lovely dungeon?" Oswald commented sarcastically.

Mickey glared at him. "Me? You were the one who said to hide in here in the first place!"

"Well, you're the one who found it!" Oswald countered.

Mickey grumbled to himself and stood. "Anyhow, we better try n' figure out another way t' the generator... the main way looks kinda dicey." He stepped out and began looking around, then all of a sudden his eyes went wide and he hurried to the back of the cell. "Os," he called softly, "ya better come look at this."

"What is it?" Oswald came over, his eyes widening in shock as he saw the small object on the ground that Mickey was pointing at. "Captain Hook?!" The small robotic head didn't respond, so Oswald picked it up. "Looks like he's been powered down. Hang on..."

The rabbit pulled off one of his ears, morphed it into a wrench shape and unscrewed the screws on the back of the head, causing the back panel to fall off. He then stuck his hands inside the panel and fiddled with the circuits and wires until the head finally jolted to life, nearly springing up out of his hands.

"Blast! What do you slimy swabs want now?!"

"Captain Hook? What happened to ya?" Oswald asked.

The robotic head gave what could pass for a glare before speaking. "What do ya think happened! Those scurvy beasts dismantled me!"

"The Blotlings tore ya apart? But why?" Mickey asked.

"Blast, how should I know?" Hook growled. "All they left was me head, then next thing I know I'm switched on in this cursed hole!"

"Do ya remember seein' a generator around here?" Oswald asked.

"I've been switched off! Although..." Hook narrowed his robotic eyes. "When I came through the secret back entrance to check me crew's booty, I heard something through the tunnel wall. I thought it was one of them gremlins clangin' around so I moved on. Then those blasted quakes hit and sealed off the tunnel. By the time I got out me crew had run back to Tortooga, the cowards! I was stuck here for days till the quakes stopped, and then those slimy beasts showed up and pulled me apart!"

Oswald frowned and glanced at Mickey before looking back at Hook. "Do ya think you can help us find that spot where ya heard the noise?"

Hook grumbled. "Of course... I know these caves like the back of me hand. Out of this cell, turn right and the back tunnel is that way."

The group stepped out of the cell, Oswald still carrying Hook's robotic head. When they reached the back of the gem-filled cave, Hook's eyes whirred as they moved to a specific area.

"Just move that rock there, and the tunnel is behind it. It will lead to a small cavern with a stalactite that almost reaches the floor. I heard the sounds through the left wall."

Oswald nodded. "Got it." He turned to Gus, who was hovering nearby. "Gus, can ya take Hook back and see if ya can fix him? Sparks probably has some extra parts at his workshop."

"Right away, Oswald!" Gus saluted him and teleported away with Hook's head.

The two toons then worked together to push the heavy boulder out of the way. They then headed through the opening, which led them through a small, dark tunnel. As they got farther away from the entrance, the tunnel became darker and darker until it was pitch black. Oswald pulled out his remote and the small screen dimly illuminated the tunnel.

"Any ideas how to get through this wall when we find it?" Mickey whispered as he followed. "Don't know if there's any fireworks down here."

"Well, we could always ram it with your big head," Oswald teased.

"I'm bein' serious here," came an irritated reply.

"As am I," Oswald responded, the glow from his remote illuminating the smirk on his face.

"Oh, forget it... guess we'll have to figure it out when we get there. Besides, yours is just as big."

Just then, the dim glow from the remote lit up a widening gap in the corridor. A column-like object was just visible past it, its width shrinking as it ran from the ceiling.

"There it is!" Oswald exclaimed. He hurried toward it with Mickey close behind. "Okay, he said it was on the left side..."

The mouse nodded and stepped up to the left wall, his ears twitching, almost like a satellite dish. After a bit, he picked up a faint rumbling sound. "Yeah... I think I hear somethin'."

"Now we just gotta figure out how t' get through." Oswald knocked on the wall, testing its thickness while Mickey looked around.

"Hey, look up there!" Mickey suddenly exclaimed.

Oswald looked up where he was pointing. A dusty ray of dull light was poking through near the ceiling. "All right, toss me up there," Oswald ordered, standing in a ready stance.

Mickey stepped forward and tossed Oswald up toward the chink in the wall. Oswald caught the edge of the wall and hoisted himself up. One the other side, he could see a large, glowing machine.

"How's it look?"

"Jackpot!" Oswald called back to him, then got on his stomach and reached down toward Mickey. "C'mon!"

Mickey jumped up and grabbed his hand, using his feet to climb up as Oswald pulled. Once he was up, they dropped down to the ground on the other side.

"Think there's any of those Mecha-Blotlings around?" Mickey whispered.

"There will be in three, two, one..." Growling erupted from the dark corners of the hidden room and dozens of glowing red eyes appeared. "Called it."

Mickey yanked out the brush. "Get to the generator! I'll hold 'em off!"

"On it!" Oswald shouted back as he ran over to the generator and began the long process of hacking with his remote.

Mickey scanned the room and was slightly relieved to see only a small group of Blotlings, but they were still huge. If he was going to hold them off long enough, he'd need an advantage. With a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes and let his emotions begin simmering inside him as he remembered everything these creatures had tried to destroy, what they had done to the toons he now saw as friends. Thinner shot from the brush, the jets growing larger and larger as his anger grew.

However, the large Blotlings were strong—unnaturally strong, and while the Thinner slowed them down, they continued advancing toward the mouse. As some of their ink dripped off, mechanical parts were revealed underneath.

"Ahhh!" Oswald suddenly cried out. Mickey glanced over to see Oswald flailing in the grasp of a Blotling. "Hey! I thought you were supposed tah be takin' care of 'em!"

"Hang on, I got it!" Mickey quickly shot a wave of Thinner that knocked back the other Blotlings and charged toward the one holding Oswald. Leaping, he smashed his feet into its face, making it yelp and drop Oswald as it stumbled back.

"Thanks," Oswald said, getting up. "Not too shabby a move either."

Mickey didn't answer at first, bracing himself as he held the brush out. A green glow began growing at the tip. "Keep going!"

The fury in his voice startled Oswald for a moment, but he shook it off and turned back to the generator, restarting the process of hacking and copying data.

Mickey gritted his teeth and focused all his anger into the brush. "Get... back!" Thinner shot out from it, engulfing the Blotlings. They began slumping into puddles, screeching wildly as it burned through to the wiring underneath.

Oswald stayed fixated on the remote's screen until it finally beeped, indicating that the data transfer was finished. "Got it!" he shouted to Mickey. He then turned the button on his remote like a dial and aimed it at the generator. The generator began flashing red and a robotic voice announced a warning that the self-destruct function had been activated.

"Time to blow this joint!" Oswald exclaimed as he scooped Mickey up and leapt through the air, bouncing off one of the large Blotlings and using the trajectory to glide through the hole that they had entered through. No sooner had they landed than a loud explosion was heard through the wall behind them.

"Whew! Well, that's one down," Oswald said, smirking.

"Yeah... one..." Panting, Mickey slumped against the wall, rubbing his head.

"Gosh, ya sure fight hard, don't ya?" Oswald teased. "Don't wear yourself out too fast. We still gotta get to those other generators."

Mickey nodded, but when he straightened up, he looked almost afraid. "It... it's never done that before."

"It?"

At that moment, Gus suddenly warped in. "Ah, there you are! I suppose the generator is taken care of?"

Mickey smiled and nodded, his strange mood suddenly gone. "Yep! That mess isn't gettin' cleaned up anytime soon!"

"Good show! Hook is at Sparks' shop now... he's not sure if he can restore him 100%, but it should be enough to get him up and running."

"Good. Thanks, Gus," Oswald said absentmindedly, giving Mickey a worried look before deciding to drop the subject. "Well, I guess we should head back now."

"I'm all for that," Mickey said, cracking his neck. Gus nodded and pointed down the tunnel, in the opposite way they'd come.

"There's another exit this way, and I found an old projector in the jungle. It was pretty run-down, but I got it working, it should take us back to Mean Street."

"Swell, let's go," Oswald said, heading back the way they came.

Mickey followed, trying to push what had happened to the back of his mind. It was fine. I didn't lose it, nothing bad happened. Just don't push it that far again.