#acrosss the mouseverse story

[alterworldstudios]

Mouseverse chapter 3:headaches

"Shoot. King. We screwed up." "Yeah ya think?" "What do we do!? Is he alive!?" "No, he looks pretty dead!" "...I don't wanna poke him- AH! he's waking up, c'mon!!" "Shoot! Aeroga!!"

That's all Oswald heard as he slowly woke back up, groaning a bit as he got up. He appeared to be.. Back at his apartment? How was he back here? And did someone leave a window open? It sure was windy in here.. "What the...?" He looks around his small apartment, then sighs.

"I must be going crazy... Probably just a nightmare..." He muttered, as he flops back onto the couch.

He looked up at the ceiling with a tired look, it slowly shifting down to the floor, as tears welled up in his eyes. Seeing Mickey again, even if it was supposedly a dream?...If his guilt has gotten this bad to where he's seeing that dead mouse everywhere, well.. Maybe he really had finally lost it. He shifted his position on the couch, hugging his long ears tightly as if to seek comfort in them.

It was all he could really do at the moment, he didn't want to go back down to Pete's bar and drink till he couldn't stand up or think anymore. Besides, he was on a budget, and next Wednesday was a long ways off..

"what am I gonna do..." He whimpered, as he cried softly into his ears.

That's all Oswald could really do in this moment, crying usually helped him in these cases, but he felt awful for even doing so in the first place. He didn't deserve to cry, in his eyes at least. Not when he was the cause for this entire mess!

His head began to buzz, A headache caused from stress slowly welling up. He couldn't hear anyone, just his cries, and the static filled buzz of his thoughts racing. He couldn't stop crying, even if he tried to. It only made it worse. 'I really am just pathetic' he thought to himself. 'just a pathetic unlucky rabbit that shouldn't even be alive right now. Why did it have to be him? He deserves to be alive more than I do!!! HE SHOULD BE ALIVE!!! NOT ME!!!!' His thoughts were screaming, racing, he didn't even notice, nor care, when his vision was starting to turn green.

Across from his apartment, two mice were keeping watch of him, one with a cloak of sorts on, and another seemingly dripping with ink and paint. "Poor fella..." The inky one muttered, A look of worry in his eyes. "..yea, he does seem down on his luck, that's probably the most depressed Oswald I've ever seen..." "Should.. Should we take him back to the tower?" The cloak ones gaze met the inky ones worried eyes. "Not now. Not until we figure out what's going on, he clearly has the- huh?" "What? What is it?" "His ears..."

The two looked back down at Oswald's apartment, A clear view of Oswald through the window. The two suddenly readied their weapons, while Oswald slowly noticed that his ears.. Were dripping.

"h-huh?" He stopped hugging them, snapping out of his distressed fog, looking at them with a confused and alarmed look. The left ear was slowly melting away, while the others fur seemed to become rough and sharp. "What is-" he suddenly yelped in pain, as his eyes flashed green. 'C'mon..' A voice suddenly rang out. "H- huh!!? Who goes there!?" The voice laughed almost mockingly. 'That is none of your concern. You won't be alive for much longer anyway!' "W-what are you talking about!? What do you mean!?- ACK-" 

he fell to his knees, coughing up thinner. That's strange, where'd this thinner come from!?.. It stang as it forced its way out, he could feel it tearing him apart from the inside, and all he can hear is this strange, mocking voice laugh at his pain.

The world was slowly fading to black, he tried to reach for his phone, to call for help, but the thinner had already melted most of his hand.

He took a few shuffles forward, then fell into a limp pile on the ground, thinner spewing out from his barely open mouth. The mice from across the street looked on in alarm and worry. What do they do?..

All seemed quiet, it appeared as though Oswald had died, as there was no heartbeat in his chest.

The world was dark for Oswald, and silence rang throughout.

But.. That silence was quickly cut by a sharp, gagging laugh, as Oswald..or, whoever was in control of him, slowly got up, spitting out the rest of the thinner nonchalantly. "Took him long enough to crack. I was getting BORED in there!!!"

He looks around the tiny apartment, his eyes glowing a shiny green. "such a horrible environment. Broken windows, ragged blankets, Oh won't it be grand? To suck every last drop of paint in this putrid place? And all while under the guise of this STUPID rabbit too. Oh I can't wait to see the look on everyone's face while I render them INERT!!!....?" his gaze landed on the fridge, and he suddenly feels his stomach growl. "...after I nourish this form. Seems the thinner failed to destroy the stomach. Isn't that just lovely.. I guesssss I can hold off the genocide for now..." He grumbles as he opens the fridge. "...this guy barely has anything. What. Is he a loser? I knew I should've taken that mouses body while I had the chance.. Huh?"

His gaze landed on a slice of homemade pizza. It was cold due to being in the fridge for awhile, but it was better than nothing. Most of the food seemed expired anyway. The rabbit went to grab it, but realized its hand was a nub due to the thinner melting most of it away. Annoyed, he concentrated some thinner and paint to reform his hand, the hand becoming clawed and seemingly dangerous. Smirking, he strikes the pizza, and picks it up with a single claw. "Lets see just how 'good' this supposed normal food really is..."

The two mice from before looked on in shock. "King? Should we?-" "we probably should- wait. Hold on." The inky mouse gave a confused look. "W- why hold on? Isn't he-" "shhh. Look."

He sighed, then looked down to where the cloaked one was pointing, his concerned look shifting to that of total confusion. "What the..."

The rabbit had stopped mid bite, its eyes welling up in tears, the dripping seemingly slowing down.

"T... This.. Food... I hadn't tasted anything this grand in.. ever!...maybe that dumb rabbits good for something after all..." The rabbit thought out loud to himself.

"...no, cmon, stick with the program.. But.. This food.. Is all food like this?..." His gaze shifted slightly to Oswald's wall. The wall was the only decorated part of the apartment, and seemed to be covered with photographs. The rabbits head tilts in confusion, as he gets a closer look at them. "... This rabbit has friends, it seems.. And here I thought he was completely alone... Must be nice.. Having friends..."

The rabbit thought for A moment, and looks back at the pizza slice in its hand.

"...maybe... Maybe ill let this world live for awhile longer. See what there is to see before I.. TRASH it.." There was a slight hesitation in his voice, almost as though he couldn't bring himself to say it.. though he quickly swallowed his pride, and said "yes. I'll let this world live, for now. Better yet, I'll let that dumb rabbit live. Surely the thinner hasn't eaten away at his heart too much..I'll just observe him, yea, that's it... And step out when I want my fun..."

He ate the last of the pizza in one bite, sighs.. And then seems to focus.

The dripping seemed to slow, until eventually.. The rabbit collapsed into a limp pile, the dripping having stopped completely.

The mice could only look on in shock. They were both speechless. It took a moment for the inky one to speak up. "Did... Did that blot just say it was going to let this world live?" "Iiiii.... Think so..." "...sorcerer isn't gonna believe this.. What do we do? Maybe we should-" "no. We aren't taking him back to the tower. You know how sorcerer would react, the second he finds out this rabbit has the blot." 

The cloaked mouse looked back at the sleeping rabbit.

"lets just observe for now. If that blot changes its mind, then we step in..." "...deal.. Though I really hope that Oswald will be ok..." "..me too, epic.. Me too"

The two mice seemed to disappear without a trace, no sign of them once being there anywhere, leaving only the collapsed heap that was Oswald, asleep on the floor.

Though, after awhile.. the inky one returned, and, making sure to not wake him up, carried him over with some kind of butterfly sketch, and wrapped him up nicely in a warm blanket he had conjured up with paint.

"Goodnight, Ozzie..."

[alterworldstudios]

Mouseverse:Chapter 2

It all just happened so fast.

Sirens blaring, the body being carted away, Oswald being flung into the chaos head first.

It was a sea of misery, he couldn't stop crying.

Why was he such a coward. He could've saved him! He could've kept him from dying! Now he had to live with this guilt. This guilt which threatened to tear him apart.

"Y'know, if you keep drinking, we're eventually gonna run out of things to drink."

Oswald blinked, his cheeks wet with tears that kept flowing down, A pile of bottles next to him. He was in Pete's bar, A few miles away from his apartments. When did he get here?..

"Hey. Earth to Oswald. Come in Oswald." Oswald turned to face a rabbit wearing a green dress and eye shadow, A look of embarrassment meeting his distraught face. "Sorry Fanny.." He muttered

"it's fine, but seriously, you keep going on an on about what happened. Just let it go man, I'm worried about ya." Despite her grouchy attitude, she had a look of genuine concern. "The boss even asked me to stop giving you beer, I've been swapping it out for water.." "Huh, that's.. That's why its not so bitter..." Oswald gave a sheepish look while Fanny just, shook her head.

"classic Oswald. The moment something bad happens, you drink it all away.." "Well, what else am I supposed to do!? He's dead! Dead because of me!! If I just-" "let it go."

Oswald flinched, and Fanny gave a small sigh. "Look.. You have a problem with dwelling over things, Oswald. You let one bad thing get to ya, and then before ya know it, you're here, close to getting alcohol poisoning. Just... Let it go, you couldn't have made a difference if you tried. What's done is done, and you may as well keep living while you can.."

Oswald sat there in silence, not knowing what to say. 

"... Just.. Go home. I've already phoned cliff to come and pick you up. Go home, get some rest, just.. Go" "o.. Ok. I- I'm sorry Fanny, I'm A major mess" "it's fine, I've seen you in worse states.."

The drive home was met with silence. Cliff offering support as best as he could.

"Hey, don't worry over it ok? Don't tear yourself apart man.. I assure you, things are gonna be just fine!" "...if you say so..."

He thanked cliff and Fanny as they drove off, then slowly made his way up the stairs, his steps heavy with guilt and regret. The stairs seemed to stretch on and on, almost like it was looping.. It all came flooding back as he made his way up.

Mickey was dead. He's dead. And its likely all his fault.

He didn't even notice his ears dripping slightly, as he fell onto his bed, crying softly into his pillow.

"I'm sorry." he wept. "So.. So very sorry.."

Shadows seemed to dance on the walls as Oswald quietly sobbed, he didn't pay them any mind, if anything he could barely hear anything over the loud, static buzz that filled his ears.

He's had moments like these before, but never this severe.

Not since..

...."..i.. What do I do.." He whimpered softly to himself. Time seemed to be going too fast, yet at the same time, stopped. He didn't know what to do, he was alone.

At least.. He thought he was, until he received a notification on his phone.

His ears perked up at the soft 'ding' sound, and he turned his head to face it.

It was a voicemail. From Ortensia!

'Oswald. Are you ok? Everything's going crazy in town right now, and I wanted to make sure you were alright. I saw your face on the news! Please call me when you can, I'm really worried about you!' Oswald's heart skipped a beat as he heard her voice. With a shaky hand, he dialed her number.. And began talking to her.

It was what he needed at this moment, clearly. What used to be a face filled with misery, slowly bloomed into a soft smile. Ortensia always seemed to have this effect on him, even in his darkest moments, she never failed to bring him back down to earth with a smile.

It wasn't long until they both hang up, and Oswald fell asleep, A comforted grin on his face.

A sweet sight to see, for sure. But a sight that wouldn't last for too long..

Not when a strange, green colored essence was slowly consuming his broken toon heart.

The next day, Oswald got up out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He yawned, stretched, and made his way into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He was starting to brush his teeth, when he noticed something.. Off.

His teeth were slightly sharper, and a greenish tint was seen in his eyes. Confused, he rubbed his eyes, then cleaned the mirror. The green eyes and sharp teeth were still there.

"what..." He muttered to himself. "Why am I..."

He didn't have time to complete that thought, when he saw something outside his window. An all too familiar silhouette.

Alarmed, he did a double take as he looked back outside. The silhouette was gone, and no matter where he looked, he couldn't seem to find the source for it. "Am I going insane? I... I could've sworn I saw Mickey.. Wait no, he's dead.. I'm just.. Seeing things.. I do have a pretty bad hangover..." He muttered as he went back to getting ready.

The drive to his work was uneventful, if anything, the only thing of note was the fact that there were less cars out and about. Then again, understandable, given the mourning everyone was under.

Mickey wasn't just an icon, he was the life of the town, and now that he was gone, the liveliness seemed to have gone with him.

Oswald felt the guilt rushing back to him, but pressed on. He went into Mortimer's pizzeria, and was met with a note that read 'you're on cashier duty today' from his boss, Mortimer. "at least I wasn't fired.." Oswald grumbled to himself, as he went up to the front to begin cashier duty.

All seemed quiet, it was a slow day after all.. Though eventually, A mouse toon with soft hair walked in, A sad expression on her face. "A supreme pizza, hold the pepperoni." 

Oswald gave a concerned look, but punched in the order on the cash register. "Tough day?" "..you could say that I guess" "well uh..." Oswald wasn't the best at cheering customers up, but given how he might be the cause of everyone's depression, he may as well try.

"why not take it easy today, its a nice day out, and we can all use some sunshine around here! All gonna die unless we keep on living, right? May as well honor his memory with a smile instead of a frown"

The mouse looked up at him, and gave a small smile. "I suppose you're right, he would've wanted me to be happy and live on any way... Thank you, sir...?" "Oh uh, its Oswald, and happy to help ma'am" he tips his hat, and she chuckled a bit. "Pleased to meet you Oswald, my name is felicity.. I do have to get that pizza to the office as soon as possible, but.." she hands him a ten dollar tip, Oswald's eyes widening in shock.

"O-oh uh, no need-" "take it, you're right after all, and I appreciate your kindness" the mouse said with a smile.

Oswald was surprised, but grateful. "T-thank you" "no, thank you for your words.. Take care, alright?" A- alright- uh- your, pizzas on the conveyer belt, thank you so much!" Oswald watched the mouse leave, A small smile on his face. He really did it, he helped somebody! Usually he fails at that..

His happiness was interrupted by Mortimer, who snatched the ten out of his hands.

"H- HEY!! WHAT GIVES!?-" "quiet Oswald. You know the rules. All tips go to yours truly here! Or have you forgotten." "...r...right... Sorry..." Mortimer smirked, and walked off, leaving Oswald at the cash register with a disheartened look. That lady's nice gesture, going to the hands of that.. That rat. '...why do we even have that stupid rule, he's got enough money as is, he owns fifty of these lotus damned pizzerias everywhere! Some with animatronics!!! Why I oughta- huh?'

He blinked, then felt his ears.. They were melting. Some of the ink was dripping upwards, but a lot of it was seemingly dripping and reconnecting from his ears.

He let out an alarmed squeak, and ran out. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING!? GET BACK HERE!!!" cried Mortimer, but his yells fell on deaf ears.

Oswald was too far away to even hear him, him trying to run away from his own ears, which were starting to glow green at the tips. 'No no no wait, what's going on!? Why are they-' his thoughts were interrupted when a car came barreling towards him. "SHIT!!!"

He braced for impact.. But the impact never came. Confused, he looked up.. And saw one of his ears had morphed into an inky claw, it having grabbed and halted the truck. The truck driver was confused and alarmed, but when he turned to face Oswald, he was already running into an alleyway out of sight. He didn't even catch a glimpse of him, only seeing the green tinted claw. "What the hell was that" the driver pondered.

Oswald on the other hand, was freaking out at the sight of his ear turned claw. He kept scratching at it, trying to get rid of it, but it only lead to pain. It was apart of him, clearly.

"Please let this be a dream, please just be a really bad dream- WOAH" he dodged out of the way as a stream of green liquid hit his clawed ear, the ear returning to normal with a pained shriek. "W.. What was-" "HALT BLOT! YOU AIN'T GETTING AWAY!!!" 

He turned to face.. "Mickey!?" The mouse looked at him in shock. "wait.. An Oswald? No no no this isn't good- wait. You aren't.. Hostile?"

Oswald could only look on, seemingly frozen in place.

"O-oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were- wait how is that even possible!? Blots aren't usually- OH GOSH" he ran to Oswald's side, Oswald having fallen over. "No no no shoot shoot shoot." he pulled out a watch, and seemingly yelled into it. "Back up! I need back up! We have a.. A whatever this guy is!! Hello!? Hello!?"

That's All Oswald heard, as he slipped unconscious, fainting in the Mickey's arms.

[alterworldstudios]

Mouseverse:Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day in Twinleaf city.

The sun was shining, flowers were blooming, and all seemed peaceful and quiet.

But that peace was interrupted by the sound of an alarm clock blaring, causing a few birds to fly away from their branches.

The clock kept beeping and beeping, until it was promptly thrown at a wall by a grumpy, exhausted rabbit.

"...don't keep beeping..." He quietly muttered. But just as he turned over to try and get more sleep, it continued beeping moments later.

He groaned, and slowly got up out of bed. "Alright. Alright. I'm awake..."

He stretched, and got ready for the day ahead, putting on a pair of blue overalls, A red shirt, and a cap with a pizza logo on it. Before he left however, he grabbed a necklace with a moon charm on it, putting it on with a hopeful sigh. "Surely today would be a good day... Wait- shit is that the time!?" He took a closer look at the clock, it reading 7:45am. "I'M LATE!!!!!"

He raced down the steps, waving a greeting to the many residents of Fairview apartments, and hopped onto his scooter. He was about to speed off, when-

"Mister Oswald!!! You forgot your pin!!!" A bunny kid hopped over, carrying the pizza shaped name tag. "oh shoot- thanks kid, almost forgot about it!!!" He grabs the pin, and steps on the gas, speeding away to his workplace at Mortimer's.

He weaved in and out through traffic, only having a few minutes left to get to work on time. He knew how Mortimer would get if he was late...

A truck suddenly pulled up in front of him, and with a yelp and some quick thinking, he slid under the truck. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING COTTONTAIL!!!!" yelled the driver. "sorry!!!" Oswald said as he raced out of view.

After some trial and error, he pulled up at Mortimer's, just one minute left on the clock.

Without a moments hesitation, he raced in and clocked in, resting on the wall with a tired sigh.

"OSWAAAAALD" Oswald jumped, and turned to face his boss. "You're an hour late!! Do you realize how much time has passed!?" "Wait what? But- my clock says-... Oh.. Daylight savings?"

Mortimer glared, then nodded. Oswald snapped his fingers with a small "d'oh". "just get to work. We have costumers to greet!!!" "On it" Oswald said with a mock salute, then raced to gather the pizzas he had to deliver.

"And Oswald?" "Huh?" "MAKE IT SNAPPY!!! the pizzas are getting cold!!!" Oswald's ears went down from the shrill voice, but quietly nodded, and sped off, looking at the pizza boxes for addresses.

"lets see.. This one has to go to main street north, that one has to go to blot alley, and that one...! To the house of mouse!?" He had to slow down when reading that last part. The mouse? He wanted pizza!? From MORTIMER'S of all places!? No wonder his boss was in a rushed mood.

Oswald kept rereading it, over and over, but quickly snapped back to his senses when he heard the roar of oncoming traffic. Alarmed, he breezed through it with the pizzas in hand. His scooter sputtered slightly from the tension, but seemed to recollect itself like he did.

He eventually made it to main street, delivering the pizza to a museum head who was on break.

"took ya long enough, ay rabbit? Aren't ya supposed to be fast!?" Oswald winced at the comment, but replied "sorry sir, bad traffic! Here's your pizza though!!" "You'd better hope its not cold, else ill have a word with your manager!!!" "G-got it" Oswald muttered as he raced off to blot alley. He was, unfortunately, used to this kind of treatment from people.

"always the rabbit stuff" he grumbled as he delivered the pizza at blot alley.

Despite coming from a family of supposed "lucky rabbits", Oswald seemed to be the most unlucky rabbit Twinleaf has ever seen. always getting into trouble, or messing up dates, its a miracle he wasn't dead yet from his blunders. Due to his infamous bad luck, toons never really paid him any mind, unless it was to snap at him for his clumsy mess ups.

Thinking about this started to worry Oswald. What if he messed up the order from the mouse?

The mouse, otherwise known as Mickey, was adored by the entire city.

He was famous for the movies he starred in, And the parks he built, his popularity never rivaled by anyone!

If Oswald messed this up, it'd probably be in the papers! He'd have to be careful..

Shaking a bit as he stepped off his bike, he looked up at the looming mansion in front of him, pizza in hand.

The mansion was adorned with decorations, Mickey ears lining the podiums, alongside beautiful glass stained windows that lined the house in front of him. A garden stood in front of the mansion, with a marble fountain resting in the middle of it, flowers growing all around it.

Stunning for most, absolutely terrifying for Oswald given the circumstances.

" he really is well loved..."

Oswald gulped. How was he going to handle giving a pizza to the mouse?..

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a cry from out back.

A cry of pain.

Alarmed, Oswald dropped the pizza, and raced out back, seeing none other than Mickey mouse himself fighting against.. A monster made of ink.

The air reeked of paint thinner, and Oswald had to hold in a gag.

"Mouse!? are you ok!? What's going on!?"

Mickey turned to face him, alarmed that someone was there. But before he could say anything, the monster lunged at Oswald with a shriek. "RUN!!! NOW!!!"

Oswald hesitated, he didn't want to leave the mouse hanging, but when the monster landed inches away from him, instinct took over, and he ran away.

The monster roared, and gave chase, it flying into the air after Oswald.

Oswald didn't see that it was just inches away from him, he also didn't see the monster grin in delight as it chased him, all he could hear were the snarls and roars.. Until a new sound met his ears.

Alarmed, he turned, and saw that Mickey had rammed into the monster, A scuffle taking place.

Mickey was fighting against it with a cane, the monster shrieking with each jab thrown at it. "What did I tell you before, boy!? Get out of here!!!!" "But-" "go!! Quickly!! Please!!-" Mickey was cut off when the monster suddenly pinned him down, it snarling angrily at the mouse.

With a panicked yelp, Oswald didn't know what to do.

This monster would surely kill the mouse if something wasn't done! But at the same time, the idea of doing anything scared him.

He was stuck at a standstill, time seemed to freeze as he tried to figure out the best course of action.

Surely helping the mouse would be a good idea.. At least, to a normal, heroic person.

To Oswald, however, he instead found himself.. Running away.

He snapped out of his fog, and saw that he had ran far far away from the mansion, right into one of the outer gardens. 

He cursed at himself for his cowardice, and was about to try and head back.. When he saw it.

The ink monster was looming over him, holding a lump in its claw.. The lump being the soon to expire Mickey mouse (thanks Vylin)

Oswald looked on in shock and horror. "No.. W.. What have you done... What have you done!!?"

The monster only laughed, and tossed the poor mouse around like a pair of hot potatoes, as if mocking Oswald for being such a cowardly rabbit.

"h-hey, hey!" The monster looked down at him with a growl, and Oswald squeaked A bit from fear. "I-i- ill call the cops if you don't leave him alone!!!"

The monster laughed, almost mockingly, and Mickey could only look on with a tired gaze. Oswald felt his face burn from embarrassment, he didn't know how to handle this situation without freaking out or messing up..

But, seeing the mouse barely cling on to life, ignited something in the poor rabbit, and before he knew it.. The monster shrieked in pain, and promptly exploded from a swift jab with a pizza cutter Oswald had under his hat.

The explosion sent him and Mickey flying, Oswald slamming into the wall with a thud.

Covered in the strange mix of ink and thinner, he yelped in pain as he tried to wipe it off, the thinner stinging him. Brushing it out of his singed fur, he gagged a bit as he spat out the remnants of the ink and thinner, then turned his attention to Mickey, who was barely conscious.

Alarmed, he ran to him.

"Mister mouse!? You ok!?" "N.. No need for formalities, I think we are p-passed that..."

The mouse spoke with a shaky voice, almost as though talking was taking a toll on him. Oswald gasped, alarmed by the mouses weak stature, but before he could say a thing, the mouse spoke.

"What is your name, boy?..." "I.. I.. Uh... O.. Oswald?" "Oswald.... Such a... Nice name... Nostalgic.. Reminds me.. Of an old friend..."

The mouse held his paw, and Oswald was fighting back tears.

"P-please, just hold on! I-i can call an ambulance!!!-" "no.. It's... Too late, boy..." "I.. I'm sorry, i, I shouldn't have run, I was so scared..." "Its... Fine, Ossie... You... You killed it... That... That takes a good heart.. You have a good heart Ossie... I... I know.. I can trust you..." "W... What are you saying?"

A small chuckle.. Followed by a calm smile.. the mouse said.. "I.. Know I can.. Trust you.. With everyone's safety...."

That was the last thing the mouse said.

Before he closed his eyes for one final time.

And never opened them back up again.