Epic Hikari

Me: This story is part of 'Cybernetic Blue Blur: Battle!' from the chapter where everyone is training in the Hyperbolic Space/Time Chambers. It's a cross of various anime, manga, games, and cartoons with the primary ones being Epic Mickey and Megaman. You can probably guess about what this is about. Rated T for various reasons.

"Hey, Kage!"

"Huh?" Kage poked his head out of the blanket he was sleeping in to see DaiRyuusei Megaman X approach, "Sonic X?"

"Kage, why aren't you with Ryuu?" the NetNavi asked.

"Oh! Uh…Bed," Kage replied.

"Oh…I get it. Mind if I sit next to ya?"

"Naga."

"Thanks," Sonic X nodded before sitting beside the shadow-like being, "…Kage."

"Ih?"

"Would you mind telling me what Lan did…When we were all training?" Sonic X asked.

"Oh! Uh…One…moment," Kage replied.

He took a deep breath before exhaling. His body began to shift and twist until he took on a new appearance. Standing beside Sonic X was a man around DaiRyuuseiKnight in height in black wizard robes and hat, the hat adorned with silver stars and a crescent moon. He had a large, silver beard and long, silver hair.

"When I am like this, please call me 'Kage-Yen Sid,' my savior's closest friend," Kage spoke, his voice deep and full of wisdom.

"Y-Yeah…" Sonic X nodded.

"Now then…I do not recall much, but I have gone into some of my savior's memories," Kage-Yen Sid explained as he sat across from Sonic X, "Will you promise me that you will not interrupt me until I am finished with my tale?"

"I swear upon my honor as a Kung Fu Master," Sonic X vowed.

"Then let us begin our tale. Years ago, Yen Sid-the man whom I have taken form of-created a home for the forgotten and retired aspects of Disney-Disney being a corporation and also the name of a family's lineage-, serving as a benevolent, albeit unseen creator, watching from 'on high' and enjoying their antics. But one day, his magic mirror opened into the home of one of the oldest 'children' of Disney: Mickey Mouse. When he entered Yen Sid's workshop after he was resting from that evening's work, Mickey played with the magic paintbrush and created a monster, ruining Yen Sid's creation in the process, now dubbed the Wasteland," Kage-Yen Sid told, "Years went by and the mouse soon forgot about the incident. However, the past sometimes comes back when we do not wish it to. It was during this time that my savior was shown a magic mirror to Yen Sid's workshop. And that, my companion, is where things truly began."

Lan Xavier Hikari, age 17, groaned softly as he awoke. The last thing he remembered was Dai, his niece from the destroyed future, showing him a strange mirror she said one of her mentors had given her, telling her that if something like this happened, she had to show the younger Lan it. His eyes widened when he felt something…was amiss. He couldn't sense his Nanites…couldn't activate his Smash Scarf…he couldn't even feel his Soul Cutter. Then he had a happy thought of not hearing Sin anymore before scowling at not being able to hear Lifecalibur either. Then he felt something tight of his wrists and ankles. He looked at his arms and legs as best as he could, paling as he saw his wrists and ankles were binded to a operation table. A whimper got his attention. He turned to his left and blinked. On an operating table beside him, in the same position he was in, was a black mouse with a white face. He wore large, yellow shoes, white gloves with three black marks on the backs with four fingers, and red shorts with gold buttons. A flash of lightning startled them both. They turned to a maniacal laugh and saw a creepy, tall, hunched, mad scientist in a lab coat and black, rubber gloves with black mustache and beard, missing teeth, and a baldhead. He rubbed his hands creepily and stood before a strange contraption. However, what got Lan was that he couldn't sense anything. It was as if nothing there truly existed or was even alive. Not even the man or the mouse.

"The M-M-M-Mad D-Doctor…" the mouse stuttered, his eyes filled with a terror that Lan had seen before in both himself and others.

"Now…Let's see vhat iz in you two…" the Mad Doctor cackled sinisterly.

With that, he pulled a knob that activated a strange device above the two. Lan sweatdropped as he saw it was just a giant Swiss Army Knife. Suddenly, a strange appendage resembling a blue-eyed robotic eye popped out of it, blinking at the two, along with a giant, four-pronged hand.

"Is that it?" Lan asked.

The Mad Doctor sinisterly chuckled as he pulled a level with four images on it; scissors, saw, drill, and a skull and crossbones. The images spun around before landing on the scissors and lit up. Suddenly, a giant pair of scissors emerged from the Swiss Army Knife and began to try to cut the two. Luckily, for Lan, his Haki was still working and the scissors broke on his side while he watched in a bit of amazement as he saw the mouse literally stretching his body to avoid the snips.

"Is that all?" Lan asked.

"Vhy you…" the Mad Doctor growled.

He pulled the lever once more. This resulted in landing and lighting up the drill image. The scissors retreated and two drills spun out. The mouse screamed as his torso flattened so the drill wouldn't pierce where his heart was as Lan used his Haki once more and let the drill try its best at it. He blinked when he saw the drill slump and began to pant with sweat dripping from it.

"Ferget dis. I'm outta here!" the drill complained, "C'mon, Charlie!"

"Comin', George!" the other drill dumbly shouted before the two pulled themselves off the machine and went off, earning a gawk of shock from the half-Dragon teen.

"So now I gets ze reaction from ze brat…yet not in the vay I expected…" the Mad Doctor muttered as he stroked his beard.

He pulled once more and this time the saw lit up. A pair of chainsaws appeared and the mouse screamed, his eyes bulging out with his tongue flailing. Lan simply blinked at the chainsaws before letting out a yawn.

"If I had a penny for every chainsaw someone threatened to use on me, I'd be one rich bastard," Lan compared.

The Mad Doctor blinked at Lan before the Mad Doctor snapped his left hand's fingers. The machine's hand pulled out a bar of soap and shoved it into Lan's mouth. Lan spat it out at the Mad Doctor's face.

"What was that for?"

"I don't think he's a fan of cursing," the mouse guessed.

"My machine hates ze cursing," the Mad Doctor explained before sneering sinisterly, "Prepare yourselves! Time to take ze hearts!"

With that, he turned on the symbol of death on his device. The Mouse paled…until another hand popped out with two plungers. The two hands grabbed the bathroom items and put them over Lan and the Mouse's hearts.

"Plungers? You're going to kill us…with plungers?" Lan asked before he began to laugh.

"Kill y…?" The Mad Doctor began before laughing maniacally, "You are ze idiots! Zis is for stealing your Hearts, not killing you! Ze Phantom Blot vill do zat for me."

Lan blinked at that. The Phantom Blot? Who the hell was that guy? As the plungers tried to get their hearts, the mouse managed to break the bindings on his left arm. Lan smirked before breaking his as well. The two took the plungers and threw them at the laughing Mad Doctor, hitting him in the face and nuts. He nearly fell over at the pain the lower one made while pulling the other off. He got them off and saw the two had managed to get free. He proceeded to laugh as a giant blob of…some strange black mixture landed before the two. It rose up and Lan gawked. It was as big of Gurren Lagann and that was saying something. It was dripping with its strange mixture as it had grisly, lime-green eyes and jaws. Something caught the mouse's eye; a paintbrush was at his feet. It was pitch black with a brown tip. He picked it up and aimed it at the monster. It seemed frightened of it before flying off, causing the Mad Doctor to stop and pale. He quickly pulled another lever.

"I'll be back, boy, and especially you, Mickey Mouse!" the Mad Doctor roared before going through a trap door.

"So your name's Mickey Mouse? Lan Hikari's my name," Lan said as he grinned at the mouse.

A whimper caught their attention. They turned to see someone poking out from behind the controls. It looked like Mickey, but with rabbit ears and blue shorts with white buttons while missing the gloves and shoes. His ears dropped a bit in nervous and fear. He ran to the controls and pulled the lever for the trap door…unfortunately, it broke and the machine began to spark. The rabbit screamed as the robot's eye turned scarlet and sinister. It proceeded to attempt to kill the rabbit as he ran about until the rabbit managed to get away in time through a door, locking it on his way out. With no other target, it turned to the two and growled.

"Aw, crud…" Mickey and Lan paled.

"Hey~!" a voice cried.

The three turned to see a short figure on a nearby higher level, floating beside a strange machine. He wore what seemed to be a mix between a red pilot's outfit and a red mechanic's outfit. What really got them was the green skin and white mustache the guy had.

"Over here you bucket-o-bolts!" the figure taunted before the machine tried to get him with his claw, destroying that part of the upper level, before he reappeared beside another machine identical to the other, "Missed me! Over here, Mickey!"

"Look out!" Lan called as the claw nearly hit the guy, destroying another part of the upper floor, before the two quickly ran up the stairs and to the machine just as the green man appeared once more.

"We're safe in this spot, Mickey and, um…"

"Lan, Mr.…"

"The name is Gus, Gus the Gremlin," the man replied, "Now then, this control can be damaged with your Spin Attack, Mickey."

"How did you…?" Mickey began when the Gremlin vanished and appeared before the other machine.

"When that control panel is finished, come take care of this one!" Gus called.

"What a strange guy, but I've met stranger," Lan chuckled, "Want some help with breaking this, Mickey?"

"I don't think so," Mickey replied before performing a quick spin, releasing a bit of energy from it that broke the machine quite a bit.

"Great! One more Spin Move should do it!" Gus called.

Mickey nodded. He performed a Spin Move once more and the machine completely broke down. The robot began to spasm in pain while electricity sparked around it. It slumped for a few seconds before rising back up to glare at them. The two quickly jumped over the gap the robot made and began to run to Gus while avoiding the chainsaws, scissors, and the claw of the robot. The two jumped at the next gap, but Mickey couldn't make it. Lan was about to reach out to grab him when Mickey preformed a jump in midair. Lan slapped himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming while Mickey ran up to Gus.

"Break this control panel, and that mechanical arm will be shut down!" Gus ordered.

"Right, Gus," Mickey nodded.

He preformed his Spin Move twice on the second machine. With its destruction, the robot screaming in painful spasms as more electricity roared off it. He exploded and the eye dropped into a lime-green and black liquid, almost flowing like a river, and disintegrated. Lan and Mickey gulped as they saw what happened to the eye before a secret passage was revealed below them.

"Look, the mechanical arm's destruction revealed a secret room! You may take a moment to explore it, if you'd like," Gus said before he vanished and appeared before a pair of door that began to open, "When you're ready, come to me, and we'll get out of here."

"Mind if I check it out?" Lan asked.

"Not at all," Mickey replied, "Mind if I come with?"

"Nope," Lan replied before jumping down, landing on the wall, and jumped to the ground.

Mickey jumped off and fell to the ground. Lan was about to catch him when Mickey preformed the Double Jump once again. He landed perfectly on his feet.

"Okay, just what are you, Mickey?" Lan asked.

"You don't know me?" Mickey asked.

"Sorry, but no," Lan replied, "Should I?"

"Ever hear of Walt Disney?"

"No."

"Donald Duck?"

"No."

"Minnie Mouse? Goofy? Oh, you must know Pluto?"

"Sorry, but none of those are ringing any bells," Lan replied, shaking his head, "Well, except for Pluto, but that's a 'dwarf planet.' Lousy scientist bastards. I grew up knowing Pluto was a planet, not a dwarf planet…"

"Well, let's start fresh then. My name is Mickey Mouse, the son of the famous Walt Disney, creator of all the greatest cartoons in our history," Mickey introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Mickey. My name is Lan Xavier Hikari, the son of Haruka Hikari and the late Yuchiro Hikari," Lan said before sighing sadly at the last part.

"Miss your dad, huh?"

"Yeah. I never even got to say goodbye," Lan spoke as the two checked out the revealed room, revealing a red and gold treasure chest and a pile of sketches.

"Yeah. I didn't really get to say goodbye to my dad, either," Mickey said, "They made his funeral the same day I got kidnapped by Peg Leg Pete. I was able to make it out, but I was too late for the funeral."

"I see…Thanks for sharing with me, Mickey," Lan said before picking up one of the papers, "What's this? 'The Gremlins?' Hey, Gus!"

"Yes?" Gus asked as he appeared beside the teen.

"Is this you?" Lan asked as he pointed at the pile of papers, one showing the image of a tiny Gus talking with a pilot in a medical area.

"Yes. You see, I was born in the 1940s to be put in here. This, my boy, is the script and rough drafts of the movie we were going to star in. Here, let me read you the summary. Ahem! 'Forced out of their forest home by the construction of an airplane factory, Gus and his fellow Gremlins set out to sabotage the British Royal Air Force's planes in revenge. But after meeting a pilot also named Gus and explaining the plight of his people, they strike a deal. Gremlin Gus will reform his Gremlins and now assist in the upkeep of planes in exchange for free food in the form of postage stamps and an untouched forest being set aside for the Gremlins to live in. When the pilot Gus is shot down and injured, the Gremlins help in his recovery and later help him pass a medical exam later on in his recovery and allow him to take to the skies again,'" Gus read before gently taking all the papers, "I've been looking all over for this. This is the pride and joy of Gremlinville."

"Hey, Gus, whatever happened to you and the others Gremlins? And even this other Gus?" Lan asked while Mickey fiddled with the lock on the chest.

"Well, Lan…We all live in Gremlinville, a part of the Cartoon Wastelands, which we're currently in," Gus explained, "We don't have 'hearts' and are forgotten. So, we live here. And as for my old friend…"

"Oh…I…I'm sorry, Gus," Lan apologized.

"It was because of the Thinner Disaster that all this happened," Gus whispered.

"Got it!" Mickey called as the lid flipped open, revealing what resembled a bronze version of his ears, looking a bit like ink, in pin form.

"Well done! This is a collectible pin, one of many that you may find in Wasteland," Gus explained, become chipper, "Most of them are unique and commemorate specific events or places. You should see how many you can collect while you're here."

"We'll do our best, Gus," Mickey said.

"Gus, you think we could copy that script for, well, Gus?" Lan asked.

"Really?" Gus pondered.

"Yeah. I'm sure he'd like it if you'd take it to where he rests," Lan smiled softly.

"…Yes. You're right, Lan," Gus smiled, "Once we get back to Gremlinville, myself and the others will work nonstop on copying this and taking the original to his grave to put in his casket with him."

"You're going to grave rob?"

"No. We never buried him. We all swore we would when we got this back," Gus replied as they went to the doors, "Now then, what are you two going to do?"

"I hafta get back home," Mickey replied as they walked through the doors, "I got pulled into this place by that ink-monster with Lan…"

"The Shadow Blot!" Gus gasped, "It's a thing made of Paint and Thinner."

"That-uh-Blot seemed awfully scared of this brush," Mickey said as he held out the brush.

Suddenly, a spray of green slime shot out of the tip of the brush. The slime hit a wall and melted a hole in it. Gus and Lan looked through it to see nothing but dark, desolate, seemingly malicious clouds.

"…Wow!" Mickey and Lan awed.

"That's Thinner! It dissolves anything painted," Gus explained, "Thinner can be helpful, but if it's used too liberally, the world suffers. Our land and its inhabitants don't react too well with Thinner."

"Gosh, I wonder what else this brush can do!" Mickey grinned.

He aimed at the hole with the brush once more. This time, a spray of blue slime, seemingly glowing with goodness, emerged. It hit to hole and reformed the wall. Lan applauded at the spectacle.

"That's Paint. It restores things dissolved by Thinner," Gus explained before crossing his arms, "You're quite the artist."

Suddenly, black bubbles of strange, blot-like stuff oozed from Mickey and Lan. Gus flinched while backing away a few feet. Then, he looked at the both of them carefully.

"Well, you two are just full of surprises," Gus noted as he popped a blot bubble that came out of Lan's hair, "I guess you two soaked up some of the Blot!"

"But we're still ourselves!" Mickey smiled proudly after checking his face.

"Well then, Mickey, let's do some practicing!" Lan grinned, earning a determined grin and look from the other two, as Mickey twirled his brush.

"From what I've seen, you just need to think about it in order to use either Paint or Thinner," Gus explained as he became tiny and flew into Lan's jacket pocket, "At the end of this corridor is the Courtyard that will take us out of Dark Beauty Castle. Don't worry, I will always be around when you need help, even though you may not always see me."

"Thanks, Gus. You can consider my jacket pocket as a home away from home anytime," Lan chuckled as the two went off.

They came upon a door with two gears not connected to each other above it. Mickey aimed his brush at the two gears and fired Paint at them, creating a third, larger gear. The three gears spun and the doors opened. Soon, they came upon a door with the frame slightly thinned out with a pool of Thinner separating them from it. Mickey fired a blast of Thinner and dissolved the frame, letting the door fall and form a bridge for them to cross. As the trio went on, Mickey and Lan shared stories about their lives. Lan was fairly impressed with Mickey's stardom and his life. Mickey and Gus, though, had mixed feelings about Lan's life. They had never heard of the things Lan had done and seen. Lan, though, was truly surprised when he learned that everyone that lived in Wasteland and Mickey and even some of those that do not live in the Wasteland are all related because their creator was none other than a man known simply as Walt Disney. He couldn't help but smile softly at the stories of each of their experiences with Walt Disney. The group came along a dark, dismal Courtyard and some Blot dripped out of a pipe. It reshaped into an eyeball with legs made of the Blot.

"Uh-oh," Mickey gulped.

"Seers. Part of the Blot's 'Blotling Army,'" Gus explained.

"Are they dangerous?" Mickey asked.

"Well, they're not good company," Gus replied, scowling while crossing his arms, earning a chuckle from Lan, before flying over to a chalkboard while donning a graduation hat and a pointing stick, "Get ready to fight! Point your brush at your target. When aimed at friends, the brush's handle turns green. Over opponents, the handle turns red. You can fight Blotlings in two ways…"

As Gus talked, Lan gawked. The chalkboard was drawing living images of what Gus was explaining. A chalk version of himself (Lan) appeared with the brush aimed at him, turning the handle green. He was then erased and replaced by the Seer, the handle turning red with it appearing. Lan watched as the brush shot out Thinner and turned the chalk-Seer into a pile of green goop before a cube of Thinner and a cube of Paint appeared above it and changed it back into the chalk-Seer. It was then blasted by Paint and turned blue with what looked like blue outlines of Mickey's head floating above its head.

"Hit them with Thinner to thin them out. Hit them with Paint to turn them Friendly. They will stay Friendly until hit with too much Thinner," Gus explained as a chalk-Mickey jumped on the chalk-Seer's head, making it become dizzy, "Many opponents are stunned when you jump on their heads. The Seers are only one type of Blotling. Other kinds of Blotlings are far worse."

"How worse are we talking about?" Lan asked.

"Some could eat you in one gulp," Gus replied before muttering, "Then there's the Beetleworks…"

"The who?" Lan tilted his head.

"You'll see soon enough!" Gus replied before the Seer spotted them and sent out a siren-like sound that made another Seer appear from the pipe, "Look out! That Seer saw us, you two! And it looks like it called in a friend!"

"Great…Hey, Mickey, mind if I see that brush real quick?" Lan asked.

"Uh, well, I guess," Mickey replied.

The brush began to glow. Suddenly, it released two sheathed swords, one in a blue sheath and the other in a green sheath. Lan caught them and pulled out the blue blade. The trio blinked at it. The blade was actually a blue paint brush handle with the brush part of it made entirely out of paint. He put it back in and pulled out the other sword. This blade was the same as the first, but was green and the Paint replaced by Thinner. He took out the other blade and both glowed before transforming. The Thinner blade and the Paint blade resembled a fusion of keys and blades. The Thinner Blade had become longer and pitch black with green, glowing markings. The hilt guard was comprised of two bat-like wings extending downward, the outside of them the glowing green. The 'teeth' of the blade-which resembled the teeth of a key-were in the shape of the Kanji for 'darkness' (闇). In the area that connected the guard to the blade was a glowing, lime-green diamond resembling a kite shape. A chain-like design ran up the length of the blade while it had a long, black chain on the bottom of the hilt, ending with a glowing green charm resembling the head of Lan's Charizard Form. The other blade was gold, silver, and white with glowing blue markings. The shaft displayed two hearts-one made of gold and the other made of the glowing blue-, and its handle bore two angel wings, contrasting the bat wings that comprised the other's handle. The teeth were fashioned in the shape of the Kanji for 'light' (光), corresponding to the other blade's kanji for 'darkness.' The area connecting his guard to his blade was a jewel resembling a glowing, ocean-blue heart. It had a chain as well, though it was silver and thin. The end of it had a charm resembling a hear with the Kanji for 'Maylu' on it.

"You two just amaze me more and more with each passing second," Gus said, "Your swords seems to be made of either entirely Paint or entirely Thinner, Lan."

"Really?" Lan pondered as he looked at his blades, "Hey, Mickey, dibs on the left one."

"Okay!" Mickey replied before facing the Seer on the right.

With that, Mickey began to fire Paint at the Seer. Lan charged at the other Seer as it rolled at him like a bowling ball. He jumped over it and made a slice with the lighter colored blade, getting it in the back. The Seer cried out as blue cracks began to form all over it emanating from the glowing, ocean-blue cut mark Lan made on its 'back.' The Seer changed into a pure blue one and then into a green, one-eyed character with little horns on its body/head, a mouth, and four limbs. The eye turned blue.

"Ow! What was that about?" the eyeball creature demanded, "And where am I, huh? This isn't Mean Street? And where're Sully and Boo?"

"Uh…Who are you?" Lan asked, getting the eyeball's attention.

"Well, my sword-carrying human companion, I am Mike Wazowsky, top Laugher of Monsters Inc. and the buddy of the boss, Sully," the eyeball replied, "Now where am I? This looks like Dark Beauty's Castle, but more like home-well-former home."

"Mike Wazowsky? He was one of the characters the Phantom Blot…" Gus couldn't finish.

Meanwhile, Mickey sprayed the near-Painted Seer once more, turning it completely blue. The Seer gained the Mickey head outlines above its head before nuzzling into Mickey's side and then rolled off. He turned to the others and saw Mike.

"Mike?"

"Hey, Mickey!" Mike waved.

"Does everyone know who the hell you are but me, Mickey?" Lan asked.

"A guy who doesn't know the biggest star of the world?" Mike gasped.

"Shocked me, too," Mickey replied, "We'll explain later. And why are you here? I thought they were making a sequel to your big box office hit."

"It's because I was…forgotten," Mike replied, "Well, the movie was forgotten enough to cause everyone in it to come here. But what happened, Gus? This place was the king's place and it was much better than this!"

"A long story," Gus replied before seeing a catapult and a giant gate with the rabbits face on it, taunting them, with the rabbit behind the gate, acting all tough before running into a projector screen, "Ah! The exit is through this gate…but we need to hit the two switches on the upper levels out here."

"I'm on it," Lan said before donning a Charizard Mask.

"What are you d…?" Mickey began before the trio screamed.

In place of the teen with two blades of Thinner and Paint, stood a large dragon. Lan chuckled, his voice a bit deeper in this form. He just loved the reactions of when someone saw him change from his half-human/half-dragon self into his special Charizard form. He took off and flew around the area. He landed before a gear as Gus appeared beside him.

"Lucky for me, Gremlins can teleport," Gus said, "Now then, Lan, use your tail and give this a good whack."

Lan nodded. With one powerful swing of his tail, the gear spun at a high speed. The two looked out at the gate to see it open up a bit.

"You knocked that gear loose. See the gate opening? One more gear will do it," Gus explained, "Here in Wasteland, you'll find that gears and machines make all kinds of things happen. Repairing them and starting them will often reveal secrets and treasures."

Lan nodded, understanding what Gus was telling him. Gears and machines were important in the Wasteland and it seemed like the Gremlins had a key part in keeping them maintained. He flew a bit and found the other gear. While looking down, he saw Mickey using Thinner on a stairway and revealed some more papers. He nodded, knowing that someone may need those for something. He used his tail on the next gear and the gate opened up.

"Second gear down and…a Projector Screen! That's our way out of the castle!" Gus exclaimed, "Let's go take a closer look."

Lan nodded. He quickly flew down and removed his mask, changing back to normal. He walked over to Mickey as he was using his Spin Move on a gear, lowering the catapult. It revealed another Gremlin, this time in yellow.

"That's Gremlin Calvin! He'll be so happy to get out of that cage. He looks mad enough to break that catapult!" Gus said before he saw Mickey approaching a crate inside the catapult, "Careful, Mickey. That chest is sitting on a pressure plate that will fire this catapult if it's disturbed. Do you really want to choose E-Tickets over the safety of a Gremlin?"

"No…I don't!" Mickey replied as he walked over to the cage, holding the Gremlin.

"When you see other Gremlins, try to help them. They're sure to be friends!" Gus grinned as Mickey used the Spin Move to break the cage.

"Thank you, Mickey! I feared the worst when the Mad Doctor put me on this thing!" Calvin exclaimed before dismantling the machine and then giving Mickey a gold set of his ears in pin form, "Now it won't endanger anyone else. Take this gold pin for freeing me!"

"See you at home, Calvin!" Gus called as Calvin left for Gremlinville.

"That rabbit went this way. But…" Mickey began as they approached the Projector Screen.

"Portals like this are how we get around. That rabbit is named Oswald. He set them up," Gus explained.

"But…A Projector Screen?" Lan sweatdropped.

"What's so strange? Seems natural for cartoons," Mike replied before jumping into it, "See you at Mean Street if you go there!"

"Well-uh-what's in there?" Mickey gulped.

"Just get ready to jump," Gus ordered.

Mickey nodded. The trio took a step back before jumping into the Projector Screen. When they emerged from it, they were standing on the leaf of a giant beanstalk. Lan looked down and gulped at the height they were at. They began to quickly climb up it.

"For some reason, I just have to sing this," Lan said as he pulled himself up a vine, "Asante sana, squash banana, we we nugu, mi mi apana…"

"Oh, for the love of…" Gus muttered as the trio climbed up the beanstalk.

Mickey just laughed. Lan didn't know it, but Mickey knew where that came from; his old pal Rafiki the Baboon. He knew it was Swahili and roughly translated to 'Thank you very much, squash banana, you are a baboon, and I am not,' and he suspected that Gus knew it as well and thought it was aimed at him. As the trio climbed, Mickey couldn't help but recall this escapade they were in and how it was about him and his friends Donald and Goofy climbing up the beanstalk, met a giant, and got good food in the end after chopping down the beanstalk. Soon, they came upon another projector with an old film reel beside it.

"That's a Film Reel. You can watch those at the Theater on Mean Street," Gus explained as Lan picked it up and put it into his Hammerspace.

"Mean Street?" Lan repeated.

"You'll see it later," Gus replied.

With that, the trio jumping into the projector screen. They emerged within what seemed to be a well efficient, yet rusting, workplace. Mickey turned to Gus.

"Were we actually in the cartoon?" Mickey asked.

"Yes and no. What we were in right now were film reels. The king and his loyal followers created these long before the Shadow Blot came along, bringing the Thinner Disaster with it…" Gus explained, once more donning his cap and stick, while a chalkboard beside him showed the image of a chalk-reel raising a bit of its strip before that bit was cut off and put into a Projector Screen, showing that clip repeatedly.

'There's that Thinner Disaster thing again. What just happened in it?' Lan thought.

"Film Reels are scenes of cartoons ripped out of their films and put together to make a road from one Projector Screen to the next," Gus continued.

"Neat!" Mickey awed as a green-wearing Gremlin with orange skin appeared.

"Hey, it's Gremlin Tiestow! What are you doing, Tiestow?" Gus asked.

"Hi, Gus! Someone sabotaged this door. It's gonna take Paint to fix it," Tiestow explained.

As Mickey went to work on using Paint to reform the gears for Tiestow, Lan looked around. He soon came upon what looked like Mickey's head, but with one eye replaced by a red optic. The robot head also had eyelashes and a bow on it. It was in a glass case.

"Uh, Mickey? Why is your head in here?" Lan called, getting the attention of the three as the giant pair of doors nearby swung open with the machine fixed.

"What? It…It's Minnie?" Mickey gasped.

"Actually, this is an Animatronic, a robot designed by the Mad Doctor on request form Oswald," Gus explained.

"Oh, Mickey! I knew you'd come here to save us!" the Minnie head exclaimed, startling the two new to the place.

"Minnie, wh…what happened to you?" Mickey asked as he took the head out of the case.

"When the Mad Doctor betrayed Oswald, his Beetleworks, which we used as construction robots, became maverick and one with a twitching head blew me apart," Minnie explained.

"We found her head and managed to repair it," Tiestow explained, "But not a lot of luck on finding the body parts."

"Minnie, where were you when you were blasted apart?" Mickey asked.

"I was just outside the Coliseum, on my way to the bakery I own on Mean Street," Minnie explained.

"There's a Coliseum here?" Lan asked.

"Yes. Right now, we're just outside the abandoned ideas for 'It's a Small World,' which is where Gremlinville resides," Gus explained.

"Not that ride…" Mickey muttered, "I told dad the lyrics would become annoying sooner or later and it was the sooner for me…"

"Lucky for us that Oswald chose to have that place without the song," Gus said, earning a nod from Tiestow.

"Don't you worry, Minnie-sama, Mickey and I will get you back in one piece," Lan said, "You've got a Dragon's Vow on that, and no one who's got Dragon Blood in them can go back on that."

"That explains the dragon you turned into," Mickey said, "For a minute, I thought you were actually Maleficent."

"Mal-who?" Lan asked as Mickey painted him a backpack that had a nice view for Minnie to look through and speak to them from.

"Mind if you carry her?" Mickey asked.

"Mickey Mouse, are you calling me fat?" Minnie demanded.

"Ulp! Uh, no, not at all, Minnie," Mickey began to shake a little while waving her off in fear, "It's just, uh, Lan has two Keyblades with him."

"Keyblades?" Lan tilted his head.

"Those swords of yours," Mickey replied as he pointed at them, "Strange. I thought the Kingdom Hearts fad wouldn't die down. And those two look like Oblivion and Oathkeeper."

"Oblivion and Oathkeeper?" Lan repeated as he looked at his weapons, "Well, I like the names, but I don't think they're these 'Keyblades' you're talking about, Mickey. I'll just call them my brushes. My real sword, Lifecalibur, is somewhere, but I can't find her."

"Lifecalibur?" Minnie and Tiestow repeated.

"We'll explain on the way to the village…" Gus sighed before seeing a Blotling resembling a humanoid, tiny figure with mouse ears, "A Spatter!"

"A Spatter?" Lan repeated before seeing a pipe spewing out steam, "That pipe's been Thinned out, hasn't it?"

"Yes. Remember, things here are made of mainly Paint," Gus explained.

"Lan, let's help them out," Mickey said.

"You got it, big cheese," Lan nodded before placing a finger on Minnie's head, "But first, I want to check something."

"What do y…?" Gus began.

Suddenly, the area glowed before changing to a dark-skied area resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eifel Tower, and the Roman Coliseum. The four watching gawked as they saw Minnie in her full body, resembling a more feminine version of Mickey's in a yellow blouse and blue skirt with blue heeled shoes, walking beside a yellow dog with its hind legs mechanical and an eye being a red optic.

"Come on, Pluto," the other Minnie said, "We're going to be late in opening the shop."

The dog barked happily before pausing and raised an ear. Minnie looked back at Pluto. The dog began to look in a direction and began to growl.

"Pluto, what's wrong?" Minnie asked.

Suddenly, a figure jumped into view, just a few meters from the two. Its legs were actually metal crab-like legs while it had two white and red blasters for arms, Paint and Thinner connected to each blaster. Its torso was a red car's front part while its head made Mickey shudder. It was a midnight-blue, somewhat sinister and twitching/sparking head, with blue flames roaring out of it like hair. It looked at Minnie and blasted her. The scenery changed back to where they were before and Lan removed his finger from Minnie's forehead.

"Wh…What was that?" Mickey asked.

"That, my cheese-loving friend, was my Dimensional Shriek," Lan explained, "It lets me look into the past or future of things I touch. Cute dog, by the way, Minnie."

"Oh, that was Pluto. Oh no! Oh, I hope Pluto is okay," Minnie spoke as Mickey painted a pipe to stop the steam.

"So just who's here that's Animatronic?" Mickey asked.

"Well, Mickey, there's Pluto and I, then Donald, Goofy, and Daisy. Oh, and I heard that the Mad Doctor was making one more, but none of the Animatronics are sure what he's making or if it's done."

"There's an Animatronic Donald here, too?" Mickey asked.

"Oswald didn't know the real Donald," Gus explained as Mickey fixed another pipe.

"Second," Lan agreed.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know me," Mickey said.

"You don't know who Mickey is?" Minnie gasped.

"Nor you, nor anyone else Mickey's asked me about. Never even heard of his father," Lan said.

"How can you not know Walt Disney?" Minnie shouted.

"Well, excuse me from coming from a Zone where the man never existed…I think," Lan replied as he tapped his chin.

The five soon entered a large hallway with a door on the other side. The door behind them suddenly slammed shut. They quickly turned around to look at it.

"Wait! That's not suppose to seal unless there's an emergency!" Tilestow gasped.

"Is this…a trap?" Gus pondered as a Spatter appeared form the pipes…the same Spatter from earlier, "It is a trap! Someone shut the door, and now a Spatter has leaked in here!"

"I've got it," Lan said as he slashed the Spatter with his white blade.

The blue gash in its stomach began to crack like it did with the Seer. The Spatter choked before twisting, turning, and then turning into a little boy. He was chubby, a bit of a bully-like look on his face, and wore a bear pajama outfit with a tuff of orange hair sticking out.

"It's one of the Lost Boys!" Mickey gasped.

"Huh? Hey, where am I?" the Lost Boy demanded as another Spatter appeared, "What?"

"As I thought! Spatters are rarely solitary creatures," Gus frowned.

"I'm on it," Mickey said before dousing the Spatter with Paint, turning it good like the Seer he sprayed earlier.

"Hey you Spatter! Beat it or Mickey and Lan will give you what for!" Tiestow ordered.

As Minnie, being held in Mickey's arms, explained to the Lost Boy what was going on, Tilestow and Gus went to work on opening the doors. They managed to get them open and the one going outside had a surprise for them. Oswald peeked out of one side before glaring at Mickey. Lan tilted his head when he saw Oswald pull up the circle of his belly and made it seem like he was stronger as he began to do a silly dance in place while raising and shaking his fists.

"Hold on now! That's Oswald!" Gus gasped.

"Could he have…set this trap?" Minnie pondered as Oswald ran off.

"I found this in the pipes," Tilestow said as he held up…

"Lifecalibur!" Lan gasped as he sheathed his brushes and took it from the Gremlin, "Thanks for finding her."

"Hey! What about me, 'king?'"

'You can go to hell for all I care, Sin,' Lan thought.

"You named your sword?" Gus asked.

"What's wrong with that? You two named Oblivion, my Thinner Brush, and Oathkeeper, my Paint Brush," Lan argued as he put the bound sword on his back, "Trust me, she wouldn't look like this without her name. She's like an older sister in a way."

"Aw, Lan-sweetie, thank you!" Lifecalibur giggled.

'No prob.' "C'mon, let's go Rabbit Hunting," Lan said as the five left, Tilestow teleporting to Gremlinville at the order of Gus for a 'big surprise' for everyone there.

"Well, kid, looks like you're going to be with us until we get you back home. Uh, where is your home?" Lan asked.

"Ventureland," the Lost Boy replied as he took out a club, "I'm ready for those Spatters."

"It looks like Gremlin Tim is trapped in the ticket booth by Blotlings!" Gus examined as he saw Spatters and Seers surrounding a desolate ticket booth that had an orange Gremlin with a yellow suit in it.

"Hey! You over there! Help me!" Tim cried out in fear, "Deal with these creatures that have me trapped in here! Please!"

"You two get the Seers while I get the Spatters?" Lan asked.

"Deal," the Lost Boy said as he charged at a Seer.

"Okay," Mickey nodded as he gave Minnie's head to Gus.

"Go get 'em, Mickey!" Minnie cheered.

Lan took out Oathkeeper and began to slash at the Spatters. Gus and Mickey teamed up to take care of the Seer. The Lost Boy swung his club and bonked the Seer on the head, dazing it. Mickey quickly turned it into their ally with Paint. Lan sliced each of the four Spatters. They cried out before changing into more boys in animal pajamas. Two wore raccoon pajamas, the tallest wore fox pajamas, and the smallest-possibly the youngest-wore skunk pajamas

"The entire Lost Boy Gang," Mickey gasped.

"Not all of them," Gus said, "You're missing Nibbs."

"On it," Lan said as he sliced the Seer with Oathkeeper, turning it into a boy in rabbit pajamas.

"Whoa…" the Lost Boys awed before tackling Mickey and Lan, giving out cheers of thanks.

"This must be Ichigo Ichie!" Lan grinned while laughing.

-Itchy go Itchy?- the skunk Lost Boy asked on a handheld chalkboard.

"It's Japanese, Toodles. It means 'Once-in-a-lifetime encounter,'" Mickey explained, thankful for learning all those languages due to his career being worldwide.

"Man, this place is one sorry dump," the bear Lost Boy scoffed.

"Oi, Chubby, that's our home you're insulting!" Tim snapped as he popped out of the ticket booth before the boat ride nearby started up, "I'll start that boat ride up for you. You can jump in them at any time."

"Oh my. You've both attracted a Guardian, Mickey, Lan," Gus said as he saw blue little sprites resembling cubes of Paint before he flew over to a chalkboard that showed a chalk-Lan with a Guardian floating around him and three doors, donning his hat and stick, "The Guardians you attract can help you in several ways. Look at your Guardian and hold up your brush or one of your blades for a moment and one of them will draw its knowledge of Wasteland to show you the way forward. Follow a Guardian and you will always be going in the right direction."

"Smart little guy or girl," Lan chuckled as the chalk-Guardian floated to the middle door and opened it, letting chalk-Lan walk through it.

"Lan, the sword that you hold up will depend on the Guardian. The Paint Guardians-Tints-are connected to Oathkeeper while The Tint Guardians-Turps-are connected to Oblivion," Gus continued before it showed chalk-Mickey with a chalk-Tint and chalk-Turp against two Spatters, "Flick your paintbrush or your swords and one of your Guardians will race to your nearest opponent."

"That seems simple," Mickey noted as the chalk-Turp flew at a scared chalk-Spatter.

"But wait! There's more!" Gus called as the chalk-Turp stopped and returned to chalk-Mickey, letting the chalk-Spatter sigh in relief, "Make a punch towards an opponent with a flick of your paintbrush, Mickey, or flick both your weapons, Lan, to launch all your Guardians. Turps unleash Thinner on contact. Tints do the same, but with Paint. A Guardian used in either of these ways will disappear."

"So they're connected to how we interact with this world, right? We can attract more by Painting or Thinning the world around us?" Lan asked as the chalkboard showed a sketch of their current area being hit with Thinner first and then Paint.

"Correct! Your tools show your progress in attracting Guardians," Gus explained as a chalk-Paintbrush, chalk-Oblivion, and chalk-Oathkeeper appeared on the board, "The type of Paint or Thinner on your brush or the glow from one of your swords attracts a new Guardian. The more Paint on your brush or the light the glow on Oathkeeper means you attract more Tints and vice-versa. The Guardians exist to help you two, Mickey and Lan. Why is anyone's guess…"

"Um…Could you mind helping me get this place back up and running?" Tim asked, motioning to the broken rides.

"I think I can help," Lan said as he stretched his arms while cracking his fingers, "I bet a little Alchemy will do the trick."

"Alchemy?" Tim repeated.

Lan walked over to a ride with elephants with long ears for seats. He noted the various cracks and rusted parts it was made of. He clapped his hands and slammed them on the ride. Instantly, blue lightning roared out of his hands and began to easily mend the damages while removing the rust.

"Since this place seems to have been cleaned of the majority of its Paint, the stuff left is actual materials I can transmute with Alchemy," Lan smirked, "Yo, Mickey! Apply the Paint to this. I'll handle the other rides."

"Just who is that boy?" Gus asked.

"I have no clue," Mickey replied, "But it's nice to know him."

"Back at ya, Mickey!" Lan grinned, startling the two, "I've got the hearing of a dragon. You'd need sign language to not let me hear ya."

"He's a dragon?" the fox Lost Boy asked, "Cool!"

"He's no dragon, Slightly!" Chubby argued.

"He doesn't have…" one of the twins began.

"…dragon body parts!" the other finished.

"Trust us, he's a dragon," Mickey and Gus paled, recalling Lan's Charizard Form.

"Hey, Mr. Dragon, where…"

"Are your wings and tail?"

"Oi! Get offa me!" Lan shouted as the Lost Boys were all over him, trying to find his wings and tail.

I decided to put this as a separate story because of how long it would take.