Hey, guys! Chapter 4 here!

I honestly thought it was longer. ;-; But the Document Manager is telling me it's only 1800+ words. ;-; I swear, they do get longer! They do! -spaz-

The beginning of this chapter was a seriously fun challenge. Trying to be serious while writing as two talking mice. I was sitting in second period, writing this while I was supposed to be working, doing my best to write Minnie and Mickey in character. I think I pulled it off pretty well, lol.

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Yes, Riku doing the dishes, lol. He had to be doing something, and the dishes are seriously mindless work. Especially if you have a dishwasher, lol. I actually do a lot of planning for this fic while doing the dishes at night...I think that's where I got the idea. XD

Rose93darkness: Nicely detailed? I kinda felt like it was sorta...not really vague...but not really detailed...myself...Oh well. Thanks anyway! -heart-

REIzor Image: To be perfectly honest, I was actually thinking all the way back to the matches on the Islands, lol. But yeah, the fight at Hollow Bastion was annoying for me too. And I seriously loved writing all the interaction. I do love Soriku...and it's not even technically 'Soriku' yet. XD.

May I present: Chapter 4! -cookies for all-

Your Majesty King Mickey,

Could you possibly consider letting us borrow the Gummi Ship? We need to talk. Something's come up, and it's probably best talked about face-to-face. It's not bad, so don't worry. It's just...kinda weird.

Please say hello to everyone there for us!

Sora

Mickey stood by the window, a sheet of paper in his hand. The note was simple and written in a carefree manner, typical of the brunet Keyblade master.

But it still worried him.

"Mickey?"

The mouse king sighed a little. "Hello, Minnie." He greeted her without turning around.

Queen Minnie came up behind him, putting a gloved hand on his shoulder. "Is it bad news?" She asked, her squeaky voice hushed with concern. Mickey shrugged a little, looking down at the note.

"Not by itself." He assured her. "But somehow, whatever's happened on the Destiny Islands, it worries me anyway." He turned to his Queen. "I'm gonna go with them again, Minnie. Somethin's tellin' me that I'm gonna be needed."

Minnie hugged him, knowing it was useless to argue. "Be careful, Mickey." She pleaded. "I don't want to constantly be worrying this time. And please, don't take a year to come back again. Will you promise me that?"

"Aww, Minnie." Mickey rubbed the back of his head, almost sheepishly. "I'll be careful. And I'll do what I can to come back quickly. You know Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy. They won't let anything happen to me. You trust them, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Mickey. But I'll worry just the same. Will you write the way you did before?"

Mickey chuckled a little. "I know you will. And of course I will. Jiminy's gone back to watch over Pinnochio, so I'll need someone here keepin' track of our adventures. We want to make sure future Keyblade Masters have somethin' to read if they need it." He touched his nose to hers gently. "I'll go talk to Chip and Dale. We need to get the Gummi Ship ready."

The pink-clad mousette watched as the King of Disney Castle left the room. She sighed, clasping her hands in front of her, and raised her gaze to the ceiling.

'Please, Mickey. Stay safe.'

"Hey, it's a reply from King Mickey!"

Sora looked up from the bowl of soup in front of him as Riku set down a roll of paper, sealed with a wax Mickey symbol. The brunet nudged his dinner to the side, careful not to spill any, and snatched up the letter, breaking the seal and unfurling it.

Sora,

We'll see you soon. Meet us at the Keyhole.

Donald, Goofy and Mickey.

"They're on their way!" Sora confirmed, a wide grin spreading over his face. "If they haven't upgraded the Gummi Ship recently, it should take a day or so for them to get here."

"Good. That'll give us time to figure out a story for everyone, so they won't wonder why we're gone." Riku commented, coming around the table. When Sora glanced up at the silver-haired teen, he saw Riku's turquoise eyes scanning the few lines of the note. "Does that mean the King's coming too?"

"I don't know. Probably." Sora shrugged a little. "It's better this way, anyway. We can find out right away whether the King has anything to do with you getting a heart, Roxas." He grinned at the blond, who responded with a half-smile.

"That's true." Riku thought about that for a moment, setting his empty bowl in the sink. "But if he does, what does that mean? Are we not going to end up going anywhere?"

"Somehow, I don't think all this happening at once is a coincidence." Kairi admitted. "There has to be some sort of reason for this. To me, it seems like this is all part of something more complex, and we're needed for it. We probably play a bigger part in this than we understand."

There was silence for a few moments as everyone considered that

"You know, Kairi, that sounds right to me." Sora commented. Roxas nodded, looking a little thoughtful.

Riku chuckled softly. "You're a lot more perceptive than we tend to give you credit for, aren't you, Kairi?" The silver-haired teen teased gently. Kairi grinned at him.

"No, you silly boys just get too caught up in your conclusions and theories to step back and look at it logically." She replied, a light dancing in her eyes. "Roxas, if you exist as a Somebody now, when you didn't before, it means you were meant to. There's a reason behind that. When we figure out what that reason is, maybe we'll have some answers. Until then, we need to follow this path in front of us to where it ends."

"So, I guess it's another job for the Keyblade Masters." Sora grinned lopsidedly. "It never truly ends, does it?"

Riku raised an eyebrow, glancing his way. "That'd be too easy, Sora." He told the brunet, rather sardonically. Sora nudged Riku's side with an elbow. Riku gently pushed the side of Sora's head in retaliation.

"Guys, come on. It's late. If the Gummi Ship is going to be here tomorrow, we should really get to sleep or something." Kairi fisted her hands squarely on her hips, looking a tad miffed, as Sora and Riku started to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Kairi, it's like the night before your birthday, or Christmas. We're never going to get to sleep, we're too excited." Riku couldn't help but chuckle. "It has to be some sort of law of psychology by this point."

Sora laughed. "Yeah, sorry, Kairi. You know that as well as we do. Or you should."

Kairi tried to keep looking stern. She really did. But the boys' laughter was infectious, and pretty soon she was giggling too. "Okay, you're right. You win. But I had to try it, at least."

"Maybe we should just all curl up on the couch and the chairs and talk." Roxas suggested tentatively. He still wasn't used to speaking among the three of them...he felt like he was intruding on their friendship or something. "I mean, if we all know we aren't going to get to sleep, what's the point in trying? We should make it a party instead...kinda..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, gaze fixed on his lap, suddenly feeling a little foolish in the way he'd said it. Somehow it sounded rather...kiddy.

"You know, Roxas, I think that's a great idea." Sora grinned at him. "How do you guys like that?"

Riku shrugged a little, looking indifferent, although no one truly expected any more than that. Kairi smiled. "Sure. It's not like we probably wouldn't have ended up down here talking anyway."

The next morning, the four teens found themselves gathered in the cave beneath the mountain, standing before the silver door that concealed the Keyhole to the heart of the Destiny Islands. Despite having gotten to sleep rather late due to anxious conversations and just general excitement, every one of them, even Sora, had woken at daybreak.

After about a half an hour, during which there were several different whispered conversations between all four of them, a trio of white circles blossomed into existence on the sandy floor, which grew into columns of light before dissipating. Three figures were left behind.

"Hyuk, hey Sora!"

"Goofy! Donald!" Sora grinned, laughing as he practically got bowled over by the gangly dog-creature and the duck. The three tumbled to the ground and, due to the fact that any one of them trying to stand was quickly knocked over by a foot or a hand, rolled around, trying to at least sit up. Kairi giggled, kneeling to help.

King Mickey watched all this with a smile, standing away from them so he wouldn't get toppled as well. Riku carefully picked his way around the heap on the ground and walked over to the mouse king, kneeling down so he could be close to the same level as him. "Hello there, Your Majesty."

Mickey chuckled. "Aww, Riku, we're the Keyblade Masters. You and Sora don't need to call me that."

While trying to disentangle himself from his friends, Goofy managed to slam his head into Roxas' knees, causing the blond to topple backwards. "Whoa!" He cried. Mickey looked up, as if just noticing the fourth teen.

"Who is this?" He asked. "You three know that your friends here aren't supposed to know about this."

Not even Riku, who of all of the three friends had spent the most time around Mickey, had ever heard the mouse king sound so stern. The silver-haired teen was taken aback for a moment. "Of course, King Mickey." He replied. His voice darkened slightly. "No, he's the reason we wrote to you."

Sora finally managed to struggle into a sitting position, putting a hand on Roxas' shoulder. "King Mickey, meet Roxas, my ex-Nobody. He's got his own heart now, and we're not sure how or why. We were wondering if you knew where it came from, or whether or not you had anything to do with it." Roxas was grateful that Sora had explained, as he found himself quite unable to meet the tiny king's eyes.

Mickey's expression turned quite grave, so suddenly that both Riku and Sora instantly grew worried. "I wondered why it felt like somethin' big was goin' on." He mused aloud. "I had nothin' to do with this, but I might be able to shed some light on where that heart of yours came from, Roxas." He looked around a little. "Not here, though. C'mon, let's get onboard the Gummi Ship."

Sora scrambled to his feet, as did Donald and Goofy, finally. "Where are we going to go, Your Majesty?"

"Twilight Town. Master Yen Sid is the best person to explain things to you four."

Mickey wasn't looking, and so didn't see Roxas pale slightly, then carefully reconstruct his facial expression until it resembled indifference. Sora managed to catch it, though. He touched Roxas' shoulder again, helping the blond to his feet. "S'okay, Roxas. We don't have to go through the town at all if it makes you uncomfortable." He assured the other teen, realizing that was what probably freaking him out. Roxas, of course, had lived for a year or so in a fabricated data-copy of Twilight Town, so although he knew the people there, the citizens of the real Twilight Town had never met him. It would be unnerving to anyone.

Roxas shook his head. "No." He replied. "I want to see it. I just...I...I didn't think I'd ever see it again." He scuffed his foot a little against the sandy ground, his deep blue eyes fixed on it.

"Sora, Roxas, c'mon! Let's get on the Gummi Ship!" Kairi called. She and Riku already stood with Goofy, Donald and Mickey. Sora grinned, tugging Roxas over to the others.

"I guess we're off to Twilight Town, then. Off on another adventure."

Yay, Twilight Town! -heart-

I need to watch the cinematic of Sora, Donald and Goofy at Yen Sid's again...stupid sorcerer is giving me problems. XP

Anyway, love-love!

Ivy J.

PS: It's an honour to have people with my story on their favourites or alerts lists, or with me on their Authour Alert, but for those of you who haven't reviewed, I would love it if you guys submitted at least one. heart There's a lot of this story that isn't plotted out yet, and you guys can influence it with your ideas if you wish. I can't make any promises to anyone, but if you suggest ideas, I'll do what I can to incorporate them. :-)