Chapter 1
May 15, 1942
Friday 11:43 pm
The next thing he knew, the gun men were right behind him. With a gun in his back, he knew things were going to get ugly.
Knock knock knoqunk
"What was that?!" Mordecai exclaimed, jumping out of his chair, his book falling to the floor as Rigby started to bark towards the door.
Mordecai picked up his book and looked towards the door and his dog as the mutt started sniffing at the bottom. "Who could it be at this hour?" He sat his book down on the side table and opened the door only to see a rabbit on the ground at his doorstop, unconscious and burnt.
"Hey rabbit," Mordecai tried, kneeling down to see if he'd wake up.
Still unconscious, Mordecai picked him up the best he could and gently pulled him inside, glad to see his pup helping as he got under the rabbit's legs to aid with the weight.
Mordecai led them over to the sofa and laid him down, being careful of his burn marks covering most of his body. He noticed whatever happened to the rabbit had also destroyed his blue shorts.
"I wonder if there'd be a doctor this late?" Mordecai thought out loud to Rigby.
"Don't call…duh doc," The rabbit murmured, getting Mordecai's eyes back on him.
"Rabbit, you okay?" Mordecai asked, worried as the rabbit moved his hand to his head.
"Give me a minute to answer that….SHOOT!" He sat up fast only for his hands to hold his head straight.
"Whoa! Don't move so fast," Mordecai said, reaching up but not sure if he should touch the rabbit.
"But Benson… ouh."
"You mean Peg-Leg Benson?" Mordecai asked, surprised.
"He's not peg-leged anymore, but yeah," he said, opening his eyes for the first time. "Mordecai? How'd you get free?"
"Free from what?" Mordecai asked, confused.
"Benson, he captured you and Margaret. Last I remember he was shoving me in the professor's defective time machine."
"Time machine!?" Mordecai echoed.
"Yeah, the doc said it didn't work and that got Benson all mad," The rabbit explained.
"I'm not so sure, what year is it?" Mordecai asked.
"2015, why?"
"Two thousand…two thousand…" Mordecai stuttered, holding his own head. "I'd say that time machine worked, and how!"
"What do you mean?" the rabbit asked, eyeing the mouse as he just noticed the differences between the mouse he'd seen last and this one.
"It's 1942," Mordecai said, his face a bit flushed.
"1942?!" the rabbit exclaimed, looking down at himself. "That means I'm still-" his eyes turned to Mordecai as he zipped his lips.
"Still what?" Mordecai asked, eyeing the rabbit.
"Nothing. Nothing important." The rabbit shook his head. "We're in the war right now, aren't we?"
"It's ok, the war's not being fought over here," Mordecai said, letting it go but still watching the rabbit. "What's your name?"
"Finn."
"Any relation to the Finn at Universal?" Mordecai asked, looking the rabbit over.
"Uh, no," Finn said, remembering the Finn Rabbit that would be showing wouldn't even be him anymore. He noticed the clock on the wall and quickly changed the subject. "I'm sorry about it being so late."
"It's okay, you got my nose out of a book and gave me a real adventure," Mordecai said. "Do you need a place to sleep?"
"Yeah, please," Finn nodded.
"It's not much, but I have a spare sofa," Mordecai said, getting up. "I'll get you some blankets and a pillow."
"Thanks Mick," Finn smiled only to cringe as Mordecai eyed him. "You… don't go by that name at all, do you?"
"No, I kinda like my full name," Mordecai admitted. "I'll be right back."
Finn watched the mouse walk away before looking down at himself. His singed fur was already healing but his shorts looked to be ruined. He glanced out the window and whispered to the stars, "I pray you get me out of this jam."
May 15, 2015
Friday 11:43 pm
"Finn?!" Flona called out through the smoke and blaze that was the professor's lab. She tried to fan away the smoke only to cough for a moment. "Finn, say something!"
"Get out of my way, girly," Benson ordered, pushing the cat aside as he worked his way through the mess. Sprinklers started to rain down on them as a cry came from the bound professor.
Flona picked herself up, throwing Benson a look before going back to looking for her love. She noticed the epicenter of the blast had been the time machine and hopefully Finn had managed to escape before it malfunctioned. That was all she could pray.
"Ugh! It's all scrap now!" Benson exclaimed, kicking a piece of debris as the fire was washed out. He picked up the professor by the collar of his lab coat and growled at the monkey, "Make another one, and this time it better work right."
The professor's brows increased but the gag made it impossible for him talk.
"And this time, maybe our guinea pig will have to be a guinea –cat," Benson smiled, throwing the professor to the ground as he turned to look at Flona.
"You're a cat, too, you big lug!" Flona growled, her claws extending as she threatened the man. "Finn better be alive, for your sake."
"For my sake!" Benson laughed, holding his big belly as it rolled. He looked past her shoulder and nodded only for Flona to find herself in a burlap sack.
"Let me out of here!" Flona ordered, clawing desperately to get out. "Finn!"
Chapter 2
May 16, 1942
Saturday 8:34 am
Yawn, I had the strangest dream last night, Mordecai thought as he stretched and got out of bed. He looked down at his dog and saw the bloodhound still asleep in his bed of the rug. The mouse paused for a moment before shaking his head. It had to be a dream, he declared as he grabbed his clothes and made his way to the bathroom.
After dressing, Mordecai walked down to his kitchen, about to wonder what to throw together for breakfast when he noticed on the table laid a plate full of scrambled eggs, a slice of cooked ham, and a piece of toast. A glass of milk ready to drink sat next to the plate.
"I hope you don't mind, but I made breakfast," A male voice said from the kitchen. Finn walked out with a similar plate and a glass of milk for himself and stopped, seeing the mouse staring at him. "What? Is everything ok?"
Mordecai shook his head to clear it before nodding. "I just… um."
"Thought last night was a dream?" Finn suggested as he sat down his food. "Me too, but here I am, still stuck in good ol' 42." He sat down himself and looked at Mordecai. "Come on, eat. I'm not that bad of a cook."
Mordecai sat down at his place and tentatively took a bite of the toast before looking at the rabbit with a smile on his face. "It may look dark, but it's not that bad."
"Thanks," Finn smiled. The rabbit paused for a moment as his ears started to droop before asking, "Mordecai, Walt's still alive, isn't he?"
"Yeah, why you ask?" Mordecai asked, before it hitting him. "Oh, he'd be dead by 2015, wouldn't he?"
Finn nodded his head. "Yeah, he is."
"I could take you to see him," Mordecai offered. "Monday I gotta go to the studio anyway."
"As much as I want to say yes, I have to say no," Finn sighed. "I shouldn't be here right now and if Walt saw me, it might mess up time. Heck, I'm probably messing up enough of it with just me being here."
"Well, it wasn't your idea to come here, right?" Mordecai asked.
"Blame Benson," Finn smirked before going back to his food.
"So, can you tell me a bit about 2015?" Mordecai asked. "I mean, I guess I'm still around since you said I had been kidnapped."
"Yeah, you're still around, so's Margaret," Finn said, only to bite his tongue. He shook his head. "I shouldn't tell you too much, though."
"Yeah, yeah, I already know too much as it is." Mordecai rolled his eyes before smiling at the rabbit. "Hey, I gotta pick up my nephews in a bit, you wanna come with me?"
"Sure, I've never met your sister," Finn smiled. "But, um, can I borrow some pants?"
"Yeah, I should have something that fits you," Mordecai laughed, "Maybe we can find you a full outfit."
"Hey, retro is in in my time," Finn pointed out with a laugh back.
"Retro?"
"You know-" Finn cut himself off, realizing he might give himself away again. "Aw, never mind. What's your sister's name again?"
-.-.-.-
"I'd like to introduce my sister, Amelia Feildmouse," Mordecai said, as the two stood on the older mouse's front porch. "Amelia, this is my friend, Finn."
"How do you do," Amelia nodded towards the rabbit before moving out of the doorway. "Come on in, the boys have just been raving about spending the weekend with you."
"Unca Mordecai!" a high pitched voice called out, the only warning before two mice tackled down the mouse from behind before they'd been able to step a foot inside.
"Oh come on, get off," Mordecai scoffed, trying to find himself under the mice.
"Morty, Ferdie, get off of your Uncle!" Amelia scolded.
"Aw, come on, that was a pretty good ambush, Mrs. Fieldmouse," Finn admitted, lifting one of the kids off of Mordecai and sitting him down as the other one righted himself. "We never saw them coming."
"Thanks Mister, but I know someone couldn't keep his tail still," Ferdie said, rolling his eyes over at his brother as Mordecai finally stood up. He picked up his hat and dusted it off before putting it on.
"You know, if you hold your tail against one of your legs, that helps you keep it still," Finn offered.
"If you don't mind me asking, how would you know about long tails?" Amelia asked, eyeing the rabbit.
"My, um, wife is a cat," Finn admitted with a blush. "Between her and the kids, I seem to be the main object to attack."
"Oh, you're married," Amelia admitted, taking a seat on the porch rocker. "Where's your family than?"
"They're back home. We wanted to move but not until there was a place for us and a job for me," Finn said, remembering the story he and Mordecai had come up with on the way over.
"Can we play now?" Morty asked, sounding board.
"No, go and pack your things," Amelia ordered, eyeing the boys until she watched them walk slowly into the house. As soon as they were out of eyesight she called after them, "The quicker you pack, the quicker you get to head over to Uncle Mordecai's." She turned back to Finn, who was now leaning against a post holding up the awning and asked, "How many kids do you have, Mr. Finn?"
"Just Finn, please." The rabbit blushed as he started picking at the sleeve of the sweater Mordecai had lent him. "Four hundred twenty."
Mordecai whistled at the number, surprised.
"That many children, how do you keep them all straight?" Amelia asked, clearly surprised.
"A lot of luck," Finn admitted.
"We're ready mother," Morty called as he and his brother appeared with a small suitcase between the two, hats already on their heads.
"Alright, let me see what's in your bag," Amelia said, standing up so she could go over to the two and open their suitcase. She nodded in approval before quickly kissing both of them on the heads and standing up. "You two listen to your Uncle Mordecai and do what he asks, alright?"
"Yes Mother," The two said in unison.
Amelia turned to Mordecai and smiled, "Thanks Mordecai."
"No sweat," Mordecai smiled back before leading the way back to his car. "Come on you three."
"I got'cha!" Finn called out just before scooping the two mice up and positioning them on his shoulders before reaching out with a foot and kicking the suitcase up into the air to grab with his ear.
"Wee! This is fun!" Morty called out, holding onto Finn's neck as the rabbit carried them over to the convertible.
"Opps! I'm gonna drop you!" Finn mock panicked, leaning to one side and then the other only to twirl around. He stopped just as he was about to hit the side of Mordecai's car and smiled.
"Are we going to spend the weekend with you too!?" Ferdie asked as the rabbit lowered them into the just opened rumble seat.
"Yeah, if you want," Finn smiled, taking the suitcase from his ear and putting it in the truck that Mordecai had opened for him.
"Hey, you're going to take my place as favorite uncle," Mordecai joked as he closed the truck lid.
"You'll always be our favorite uncle, Unca Mordecai," Ferdie said as the two took their seats in the front.
"Yeah, cause you're our only uncle!" Morty finished.
"Their only uncle," Finn murmured just in time to be drowned out by the start of the engine.
"You say something?" Mordecai asked, turning to the rabbit only to be surprised at his smile to be gone.
Finn shook his head and smiled again. "It's nothing."
"Okay…" Mordecai eyed the rabbit a moment longer before putting the car into first and driving off.
Chapter 3
May 16, 1942
Saturday 5:43 pm
"You're very good with kids, aren't you Mr. Rabbit?"
Finn wiped the sweat off his brow before looking at who was sitting in the living room next to Mordecai on the sofa. The rabbit dropped down in the recliner in exhaustion and said, "Oh, hi Margaret. I didn't notice you come over."
"I'm not surprised, you and those two rascals have been outside playing nearly all day. It's almost dinner time," Margaret laughed. "So how much of me has Mordecai told you?"
"You didn't tell her?" Finn asked, pulling his head up enough to look at the mouse.
"I figured you had more of a say on who knew," Mordecai defended.
"Tell me what?" Margaret asked.
"I'm a time traveling rabbit from the year 2015," Finn said, laying his head back. "I've known you both in person for almost ten years."
Margaret sat still for a moment, speechless before asking, "2015? How?"
"I really don't know," Finn admitted as he sat up right in the chair. "I mean, I was helping the professor build the thing, but no matter what we did in the tests, it never worked."
"You're an inventor?" Margaret asked.
"Sort of," Finn shrugged. He turned to Mordecai as an idea appeared in his head "Hey, do you know where I could get a radio for parts? I've been thinking I might be able to recreate a version of the time machine that sent me."
"Goofy might have an old one," Mordecai shrugged. "Though now you might have to wait until after church tomorrow to even ask around."
"Oh right, I forgot about when I was," Finn admitted.
"Speaking about church, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us since Mister and Mrs. Disney wanted us to spend the day with them," Margaret offered.
"No, thank you," Finn shook his head. "As much as I would love to, I shouldn't."
"Unca Finn! Come back and play with us!" Morty called out as the two ran back into the living room.
"Morty, you should call him Mr. Finn, not uncle!" Margaret exclaimed.
"Aw, it's alright," Finn smiled as he got back up.
"Don't worry, Unca Mordecai, you'll always be our favorite," Ferdie reminded, looking at the mouse.
"Hey, you wanna hear a tale about a big bad mad doctor and a blot that wanted to destroy the world?" Finn asked, leading them out of the living room.
"Is there action?" Morty asked.
"Of course," Finn said, surprised that would be a question.
Margaret waited until the three had walked far enough out of earshot before turning to Mordecai and saying, "That rabbit looks so familiar, but I can't seem to place him."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure, I just feel…" Margaret found herself lost for words before shaking her head. "He belongs here. Somehow, he belongs here with you and me and those two."
"Maybe you're right," Mordecai nodded, glancing up as Finn's ears caught his attention through the windows to show they'd moved outside with the rabbit's tale. "Come on, we need to go ahead and cook dinner." He stood up and glanced out the window only to stop and stare at the rabbit as he told his tale. He couldn't quite make out the words, but the way he moved reminded him of something. He just couldn't put his finger on what.
-.-.-.-
"-that's when they shot the Moonliner, only for the blot to shoot tentacles at them, stripping the ship of its-"
"Boy's dinner's ready," Margaret called out from the door way of the kitchen to find Finn and the two mice had moved their story to the living room.
"But he's just about to tell us how Unca Mordecai and Gremlin Gus defeated the Phantom Blot," Morty whined.
"Come on, I'll tell you the ending after dinner," Finn said, standing up from the floor.
"Can you take us to Wasteland?" Ferdie asked, following the rabbit with his brother to the living room.
"There's no such thing as Wasteland," Margaret informed. "It's just a story, right Finn?"
"Yeah, just a story," Finn nodded with a blush.
The five got around the table and after blessing the food, dug in.
"I know I shouldn't be asking you too much, Finn, but I am curious how you handle so many kids," Margaret admitted. "Mordecai told me you had a lot."
"Well, where we used to live was kinda a small town so they kinda ran around and we'd see them when they wanted to come home," Finn admitted, studding his food out of embarrassment of how that must sound. "Everybody in town helped us take care of them and watched out for them so it worked out pretty well. Right now though, we've moved and we're all learning how to live under one roof. Chief O'Hara's already gotten after me about how they like to get into mischief."
"Oh, Chief O'Hara's still around?" Mordecai asked, clearly happy.
"Don't you ever get together and have fun as a family though?" Margaret asked.
"Well, a while back we'd have bowling night," Finn smiled at the memories. "And recently we've started having game night once a week, though dinner can be an event in itself sometimes."
"When do we get to meet your kids?" Morty asked as he and his brother turned to look at the rabbit.
"One day, I hope," Finn admitted.
"We're not around when you are friends with Unca Mordecai, are we?" Ferdie asked, looking down at his food.
"What makes you say that?" Margaret asked, surprised at the child.
Ferdie looked across the table at his brother for a moment before Morty's frowned face nodded. The two turned back to looking at the adults as Ferdie admitted, "We know about Finn being a time traveler and all, and as good of an actor he is, he always slipped up when we asked him about you, Unca Mordecai, or you, Auntie Margaret."
"But we'd ask him something about our Mom or something about ourselves and he couldn't come up with anything," Morty finished.
"You kids are smart," Finn complimented before his ears slumped. "No, I've never seen you two before today, though the Mordecai from my time talks about you a lot."
"What happens to cartoons that disappear like that?" Morty asked on the verge of tears.
"Aw, kid don't cry," Finn stood up and walked over to the mouse, kneeling down to be eye level with him. "Don't worry, you don't get forgotten. I've been there and you're not there. You're still with your Mom and Dad, living here as always."
"Then why don't you know us?" Ferdie asked, getting Finn to look over at the other mouse.
"I…" Finn found himself lost for an explanation. He turned to look at Margaret and Mordecai only to see their confused faces watching him. He turned back to the younger mice and said with a determined face, "You know what, when I get back I'm going to find out. I never pushed it with Mick before, but now I will." He quickly hugged Morty before giving a hug to Ferdie. "Come on, you need to eat."
-.-.-.-
"They in bed?" Finn asked, pulling out his borrowed pillow and blanket from the hall closet. He turned to look at Mordecai as he shut the boys' door behind himself.
"Yeah," Mordecai said, stopping in the hallway. He turned to look at Finn and asked, "What did you mean by being where cartoons are forgotten?"
Finn turned back to the closet as he closed it and looked at the bedding in his arms to avoid looking at his brother's eyes. "Walt created a world not too long ago," Finn admitted, wanting to tell Mordecai. "A world for those cartoons that the humans no longer want to use or for those whose purpose has changed for some reason or another."
"Yeah, Walt told me about it… last year?" Mordecai said, not sure about the time.
"What!?" Finn's eyes shot up in surprise to look at the mouse.
"What I meant to ask was about you saying you'd been there," Mordecai explained, his confusion clearly printed on his face.
"You just haven't met me yet, that's all," Finn said, still getting over the fact that Mordecai knew about the world and yet forgot. Finn was about to say good night and head off to the living room only to stop himself and asked, "Any chance Walt told you who was in charge of Was-uh, that world?"
"No, I always assumed Walt did really," Mordecai shrugged.
"Oh, okay," Finn nodded, turning towards the living room to say he was done with this conversation. "Good night, Mordecai."
"Night, Finn," Mordecai offered as the rabbit disappeared from the hall.
Chapter 4
May 17, 1942
Sunday 9:36 am
"You going to be alright?" Mordecai asked as he checked his shoes real quick before picking up his hat.
"Sure, I'll probably slip in the back of church and catch the sermon before I slip back out," Finn shrugged from behind the newspaper. "Really, the less people who know I'm here, the better.
"Why aren't you coming with us to grandpa's church?" Morty asked as he and his brother looked for the comics.
"Time traveler and Walt Disney doesn't exactly make the best combination," Finn pointed out as he handed them the comics.
"Sorry boys, you'll have to read that after church," Mordecai pointed out as he checked out the time. "We've still gotta pick up Margaret."
"Yes, Unca Mordecai," Ferdie nodded as he placed the comics back on the kitchen table.
"You got the house keys, right?" Mordecai double checked only to see them hanging from Finn's ear as the rabbit took a sip of his morning milk. "Alright, we're off. See you sometime in the afternoon."
"Bye Unca Finn." Morty and Ferdie said in unison before the three walked out of the house.
-.-.-.-
The car came home a little after five in the afternoon only for Mordecai to find the garage was filled up. The mouse parked his car in the drive way and walked up to the rabbit whistling a tune he didn't recognize working on what he assumed was the time machine.
"How's it coming?" Mordecai asked, seeing Finn's big feet sticking out from under a section being held up by sawhorses.
The song cut short as Finn worked his way out. He grabbed a rag and wiped the oil from his hands before nodding. "Surprisingly well. I've had to work around not having a few items, but hopefully this will work. Where's Morty and Ferdie?"
"I took them home after we got back to Toontown," Mordecai admitted, sticking his hands in his pockets for two reasons at the moment. "Speaking of them…"
"What'd they do?" Finn asked, knowing that tone with the mouse.
"They ended up mentioning you to Walt, and now he wants to meet you tomorrow," Mordecai admitted.
"They did what!?" Finn exclaimed, grabbing his ears and pulling them out of frustration.
"At least they didn't mention about you coming from the future," Mordecai tried.
"Great, now I've gotta figure a way out of this mess," Finn said, his ears popping up as he started to pace. "Walt's a man that no matter what, he gets what he wants. There's no way of getting around that. If I…" his voice trailed off as he stopped and looked at Mordecai. "You can't be there. It's as simple as that."
"What do you mean?" Mordecai looked at the rabbit as if he had lost his mind.
"Let's just leave it as wibely wobby timey wimmy, ok?" Finn shook his head. He picked up a wrench and turning back to the time machine. "I've gotta finished this thing before anything else gets messed up."
May 17, 2015
Sunday 10:24 pm
"Come on, Professor, it's been long enough," Benson said as he walked into the lab that had turned into the professor's prison. "Where's my time machine?"
"Here Benson," The professor admitted as he flicked a switch to turn on the circuits. "Just tell me if Mordecai, Margaret, and Flona are alright?"
"Just fine and dandy," Benson nodded as he looked at the device. "Good, but I don't wanna be in it when it blows up so we need the test cat."
"One test cat coming up," a weasel laughed before calling to his comrades. A moment passed before a sack was thrown in the room with an ouph heard coming from within.
Benson untied the bag and was happy to see the cat inside was gagged and restrained, allowing him to dump her out onto the floor without worry. Before she could try and righten herself, he grabbed her tail and pulled her up so that her upside down face was eyelevel with himself. "That's a good Flona, now go into the machine so that we can see if it blows up or not like last time."
A murmur of muffled words came from the girl as she fought to be released was her response.
"Don't worry, if it blows up, you'll get to see your hubby again," Benson laughed before throwing her into the seat and shutting the glass door. Before she could do anything she found herself floating through nothing but a black space.