EM: It's a mad world after all

Chapter 5: It's a mad world after all



Mickey walked through the dank, rusted queue of 'It's a Small World' Mickey couldn't help but shiver, it looked rather scary. Gus peaked out of his pocket, as if looking for something.

"So Gus, how do we get under the ride?"

"There are many entrances around here, but the problem is that their all too small for someone your size, you'll have to take the maintenance entrance, which is at the halfway point of the ride" Replied Gus.

"Couldn't I just erase the floor and jump down?" Asked Mickey as he held up the brush.

"Oh no! This place is already structurally unstable as it is! Who knows what could happen…best not to risk it…"

Mickey soon approached the boats that would take them into the ride. Mickey looked at the beaten up control panel.

"Hey Gus, can you get this thing working again?"

"The boats are a bit slow though…maybe we should just run along the sides…FAST"

"…Is there something your not telling me?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you…" Gus sighed as he got to work mending the controls.

Soon, the lights were back on, though they were dim and the boats began to flow.

"Perfect!" Mickey jumped into one of the boats and Gus flew in after him, though he looked rather scared. As the boat passed into the ride, a mysterious figure approached the control box.

"…Mickey…" It hissed bitterly as it watched Mickey and Gus vanish into the ride.
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Mickey looked on as the boat slid through the ride. The dolls were completely mangled and half broken. Their speakers were ripped out and wires hung everywhere. Despite this, the dolls still did their little dance as the signature music echoed through the ride.

"Oh…" Mickey sighed sadly. "If Walt saw this…"

"How IS Mr. Disney these days anyway?" Gus asked.

"…News must not come here in the Wasteland…Walt…died a long time ago…"

"…Oh…I'm…I'm sorry"

"Don't worry about it…"

It had been a long time since then and Mickey had time to heal from it. But it still upset him to think about it…especially at seeing what had happened to his beloved characters.

Suddenly, the boat shuddered and shook before stopping.

"What was that?"

The lights suddenly went out as the sound of a power surge was heard. After a few moments in the dark, the lights came back on again. The dolls remained frozen in position…though for some reason…it was as if they were staring at them.

"…Oh no…" Gus whimpered.

"Gus…what's going on?"

Suddenly, the music kicked in again, though it was NOT the lyrics Mickey knew.

"It's a world of SLAUGHTER a world of TEARS/ It's a world of DEATH and a world of FEARS…"

"…Gus…"

"THIS IS WHY I SAID WE SHOULD RUN!" The Gremlin cried.

"There's so much that we TEAR that it's time YOUR aware"

The small world dolls began to rip their feet out of their foundations. Razor blades dripping with thinner sprouted from their stubby fingers as they suddenly grew fangs and their eyes glowed a demonic red.

"IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL!!!!"

The dolls lunged at the boat. Mickey flipped the brush and swung it at the dolls, sending thinner at them, which erased parts of their body clean off. Mickey kicked one of them back into the water as Gus hid in Mickey's pocket.

"HANG ON GUS!"

As one slashed at Mickey, the mouse jumped up and jumped right off the dolls head, jumping across the water and landing on the side of the attraction.

While a few dolls sunk into the water, the remaining dolls lunged at Mickey while the evil song played.

Mickey then did what Gus told him to do awhile ago and began to run across the attraction.

Mickey looked back to see the demonic dolls were still after him, as more dolls began to rip from their foundation and join in the chase!

"It's no use Mickey! They'll catch us!"

"Oh no they won't!"

Mickey flipped the brush and painted a gun with a plunger in the air. As it came into existence, Mickey fired it at the ceiling. He then swung from the rope that was hooked to the plunger across the room and into the next.

"I didn't think that would work…" Said Gus as he looked back.

"I guess cartoon logic still applies here"

More dolls ripped up from their foundation to attack them. Suddenly, a wall crashed open to reveal another Beetleworx!

"A BEETLEWORX!" Gus screamed.

Mickey tried to think, they were surrounded by evil dolls bent on ripping them apart, and they were about to be erased by an evil robot!

That's when it hit Mickey, he knew what to do! He painted up a shield and lunged at the Beetleworx. The robot fired thinner at him, which dissolved the shield. Mickey then jumped up and landed on top of its shoulders as it tried to get him, but it's arms simply didn't reach that far.

"GUS! Hotwire it!"

Gus got the idea and managed to crawl inside it through a space between the arm and the shoulder. The dolls clawed at the Beetleworx to try and get at the mouse on top, but the robot was just too tall.

Suddenly the robot shuddered and jerked as Gus rewired it. Mickey then painted a steering wheel with a spike at the end, which he jabbed into the robot's neck.

"It's all yours Mickey!!" Gus called as he flew out of the robot.

Mickey then proceeded to actually DRIVE the Beetleworx into the army of dolls, easily mowing them down with its tall stature. By beeping the horn, Mickey was able to shoot thinner from the robot's gun and melt any of the dolls coming at him.

"Brilliant Mickey!" Gus congratulated.

Mickey smiled at the Gremlin as they plowed through the ride and erased any opposition.

"What are you going to do about the dolls that come from above?"

"…Above?"

Mechanical birds swooped down from above and tried to peck at Mickey with their razor beaks.

"MICKEY! I see the maintenance entrance!" Called Gus who pointed to a rusty cast member door across the river.

"But it's across the river!" Mickey cried as he ducked from another aerial attack. "I don't think this thing can swim!"

"Then we'll have to abandon it!" Gus said as he flew to open the door.

Mickey looked below him and saw dolls clawing at the Beetleworx's feet to get Mickey. The mouse then jumped down and used a doll as a springboard to leap across the river and run to Gus who was struggling to open the door.

"It's too rusty! It's fused shut!"

Mickey flipped the brush and used the thinner to melt away the door before then quickly painting up a wall of steel in the doorway just as the Small World dolls were lunging at them.

Metallic scraping could be heard from the otherside as they clawed at the wall. Mickey panted for breath on the other side with Gus.

"That…was close…" Gus took a deep breath.

"Yeah…what happened to them?"

"Some of them were products of the mad doctor, others were just already twisted when the Blot ravaged this land."

"…The mad doctor…he said that this…was all my fault, but I don't know what he's talking about"

"He must have been trying to mess with your head, don't give it much thought"

Mickey shrugged, but he found himself pondering on the doctor's words as he walked down the stairs to Gremlin Village.