"Aha, there ya are!" The King called out, causin' the guilty party to suddenly freeze solid in their tracks. From the looks of it, the tree were about to embark through the valley to help fight the heartless. Normally, the mouse would be happy for the extra assistance, but now was not one of those times.

And who could blame him? After finally being granted the chance to see them again- alive and well, the mouse gave them a perfect opportunity to avoid another battle and get to safety. It would be foolish to deny that chance... and yet he was surprised to watch them blatantly ignore his orders and jump headfirst into a battle against an Organization member. Granted they proved their worth in battle, but that didn't change the fact they disobeyed his orders.

Even if they were his friends, a King deserved to be respected.

The mouse slowly trudged towards the three, his frown deepening before stopping merely a few feet away from the traitors. He folded his arms and waited to see what they had to say for themselves. However when none came, the King was forced to take in the sight. Sora- practically frozen in dumb shock darted his eyes away from the King. Donald was practically loosin' his feathers, but that could be from the small gash to his arm as well as his nerves. And Goofy, despite bein' the tallest of 'em all stood with his head down out of shame.

They all looked absolutely ridiculous!

And the mouse couldn't help but smile. "Ya sure have lotsa friends to help," He stated as his anger slowly washed away. Gosh... some King he turned out ta be. To be easily swayed like this would be an insult to any other royal he could think of, but as he watch their faces relax the mouse decided it was worth it. He sure missed them after all.

Satisfied with his solution the King spread his hands out and said in a welcoming voice, "So, I guess we all pull together and finish this battle for good!"

They immediately responded with a formal agreement, as if not to disappoint him again. The little mouse started to blush in embarrassment but walked on ahead with a curt nod. He'll have to explain his reasoning later. For now was the time to focus on creating a new strategy for the battle. It was nice though. For once, he was with his best pals. How long was it since they fought together? Gosh, he strained to remember. Certainly it was back when he was training... or was it? He was about to comment when suddenly a panicked scream echoed within his ears. His ears perked as he quickly turned around to summon his weapon, but before he could bring forth the concentration to materialize his weapon the mouse felt himself being shoved off his feet.

Then the world exploded.

It took him several seconds to react as he felt his body bounce along the sudden broken ground. Debris crashed around him, causing a great wave of dust to cloud his vision. Instinct finally took over as he curled into a ball in a feeble attempt to protect his small body, but he could not protect his head before he finally collided with cold unforgiving pile of what used to be a the archway exiting the valley.

A raspy inhale followed by a shaky exhale. Lungs burning. Eyes stinging. Body frozen. Those were the only inclinations that he was alive. The mouse couldn't bring himself to even think about his own safety though as he slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the world around him. Through blurred vision, the King was shocked to see what used to be a beautiful valley was devoid of all life. Jagged rocks spiked above him and cast shadows of the debris below. What happened? After a few moments of confusion, he tried to push himself forward, only to heave forward and succumb into an intense coughing fit.

It was this time when a small shadow drifted over his hunched figure. An Organization Member? The King tried to look up, but his body refused to cooperate as more dust settled in his lungs. Luckily though the owner of the voice wasn't there to destroy him. In fact, when it spoke, its voice sounded downright concerned,

"Your majesty! Your majesty! Are you okay?"

Once he could breath, the King's slacked face slowly drifted up and blankly starred as he could not comprehend the question. Not just because of the dreadful ringing that began to echo all around him, but because of who the owner of the voice was.

"Donald..." was all he managed to say before suddenly snapping his head upwards as reality caught up with him.

"Wha- what happened?!"

"Ya got me there, sire. I have no blasted idea! But you're not hurt, are ya?" the duck squawked with a tremor of dread in his raspy voice.

The King shook his head before patting himself down to sure every part of him was still workin'. Then as he rubbed his sore throat, the King looked over his good friend. Only minor bruises covered the small duck and the gash on his arm turned a nasty shade of red. But nothing serious, thank goodness. They can save their potions for the battle ahead. But that brought up another question.

"Where's Sora?!" he barked, not seein' the boy anywhere in sight.

Donald raised his hands upwards and quacked reassuringly, "Don't worry, your highness. We both dodged it just in time. He's over on the other side, tryin' to find out what caused the rockslide."

"Well, that's good." The King sighed in relief as he pushed himself upwards. Then that meant he better get over there and help.

"C'mmon, pal. Let's get goin'." Mickey began to walk on ahead. The sooner they figure this out, the better. They needed to hurry if they were gonna get into battle! With these thoughts in mind, it was strange for the little mouse to turn around and realize that Donald wasn't followin' him.

"Donald, what's the big idea? We need to get!"

The duck looked back with a puzzled look before gazing left to right. Didn't he understand? They needed to hurry! Mickey huffed, "Y'all were so ready to go into battle before, what's stoppin' ya now?" He crossed his arms. Donald kept his gaze everywhere but the King. It was almost like he was in some sort of a trance as he walk among the rubble. What on earth was he doin'? Mickey was never one about giving direct orders, but right now he was considering it and opened his mouth to follow through. But he ended up not havin' to give any demand. For all orders turned into ash within him as the duck finally asked,

"Isn't Goofy with you?"

The King slowly burrowed his eyebrows at the question. W-what did he mean? Goofy was with them, right? Donald just said they survived. They did survive. All of 'em. Right?

"I last saw him runnin' towards ya when the rocks began to fall!"

Heat began to rise within Mickey's chest as he heard the words rip through his ears. No, no no. Goofy was safe! He had a son back home! What was gonna happen to- no. Goofy was all right. He wouldn't just let-

Suddenly the King ran away as fast as his little feet could go. Donald bolted the other direction yellin' he was gonna get Sora, but all of this fell unheard as Mickey was too busy ripping through anything that blocked his way. Panicked, the King called out for his friend desperately as he pushed several rocks out of different piles, only to find more rocks in their place.

If the King was thinking rationally, he'd stick around to the piles nearest to where he lay considering Goofy was near him when the rockslide happened. But no such idea appeared before the little mouse as he scurried throughout the entire valley. If he turned one more corner, he'd find the dog just waking out. Or over this edge, he'd see his friend vanquishing a heartless. Or maybe he went ahead and charged into battle already! But no matter where he went, no sign of Goofy was found.

A cold chill crept within his hands. His breaths began to heave as calls turned into shouts,

"Goofy, answer me! Where the heck are ya?!"

At least, that's what would have left his mouth if he didn't spot a small speck of color that pinned on the broken ground. Immediately, he rushed towards it, stumbling slightly as he drew closer. His heart sunk as he couldn't recognize the strange article, or rather he refused to. For there was no way- no way that the broken glass decorating the blood stained hat could possibly be the same as the one his friend wore. But slowly, ever so slowly the small details registered. The velvet green cloth that resembled the castle gardens now tattered, the metal helmet that used to resemble the highest esteem in the kingdom now bent, and the red substance that trickled through the dirt, slowly surrounding the mangled article. There was no doubt in his mind.

Goofy... his most trusted captain, tactician, and friend... has fallen.

Eyes wondered unseeing, ears flickered unhearing, and the heart stirred faltering. The King was helpless as slowly heat began to churn the very pit of his stomach. He could swear that something was lodged in his throat as his chest struggled to rise and fall. Thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind demanding to be heard, but lay frozen on his tongue. Two gusts of wind rushed past him and when he glanced up, he could see Sora and Donald panicking as they were ripping away each boulder like mad men. Something within him pestered the mouse to walk forward to help, but his chest burned in protest. To walk and dig among the rubble... it was pointless-

Come back...

Come back...

A small memory surfaced from back when he was a a youngin' who was wrapped up in his studies.

Hey Mickey, why don't cha come on out and play today?

S-sorry pal, I can't. Master YenSid will get mad if I don't practice my magic.

Aww shucks. Not even if I tag ya? You're it!

H-hey! Get back here! Aw come on Goof!

Come back!

Come back...

"Come back."

The demand left a harsh taste within as his fists clenched against his side. Come back! The words began to bounce against his skull as he clenched his fists. Come back! That's an order- dog gone it! Come back!

But as Sora and Donald dug deeper within the rockslide, no trace of his friend was found. The King was powerless once again from stopping the folks he grew to care about fall. Breathing became heavier as his mind flashed back all those years ago- Back in the keyblade graveyard as he fought valiantly with two friends while trying to make way towards the third. He watched in horror as all three of them perished before his eyes. The young boy who's heart was ripped in two, the young woman who lost herself in darkness, and the man who became the first to fall under evil power. He couldn't save them! So many nights studying, fighting, and praying for a way- only to have entire worlds fall- civilizations destroyed- thousands of people lost-

And now his closest friend-

Suddenly, the mouse's thoughts snapped in succession towards the man responsible for all this madness- Xehanort. The King's heart began to turn violently inside of his chest. A black robe ripped away as the keyblade was summoned within his hand. And for the first time, darkness threatened to twist his heart.

Heartless suddenly sprouted all around the mouse. Wither they came in response to the King's emotion or summoned by it, he didn't care. In a few seconds they were already destroyed in a cloud of inky smoke. And one glance at the looming castle on the horizon sent the mouse running, destroying every single monster in his path.

"They'll pay for this."