Chapter VII: Country of the Musketeers

The sensation of falling brought me to my senses once more. I opened my eyes against the harsh wind to see papers flying around just about everywhere. My mission was easy, collect 500 prize points.

3 Dream Eaters had jumped in front of me, but they were no match against me! I knocked them out of the way and continued to fall down. But, they did give me 10 prize points, so that was an upside. A few more popped in my way, but still weren't too strong. I then saw comic book pages appear in front of me. It reminded me of the times back at home, when I would sit on my bed and read comics for hours. Riku would always tease me about it, but I think he liked comics just as much as me.

That's when a picture of Goofy holding some type of sword popped out of nowhere.

"Goofy!?" I asked out loud as I shoved the drawing out of my view. I then saw a portal in front of me. "Whoa!" I yelled as I toppled through, not knowing where I was going.

A Dream Eater that looked like a dragon in an egg stood before 3 musketeers. The duck began to shake in a panic. He then shouted. "We're doomed!" And ran away.

His friend turned to watch the duck run. "Donald! Where ya goin'?"

"Stand back!" Said the third musketeer. "Here goes nothin'!" The dog then turned the other way and ran away, screaming.

"Hey, Goofy, that's the wrong way!" Called the mouse. He was then left to fend for himself.

"All right. I'll show ya what a Musketeer can do!" He said bravely. And with that, he charged at the Dream Eater.

As I was walking through the gate, I noticed a mouse fall over in defeat. I gasped as I watched a Nightmare get ready to pounce on him. I quickly ran to the scene and took a swing at the Nightmare, it then disappeared. Good timing, too.

"King Mickey, are you okay?" I asked.

He looked baffled. "Huh? Have we met before?"

"What? Wait, is this like what happened with Jiminy and Tron? But...I'm not in Disney Castle, and that world isn't one of the ones that's asleep. I don't get it." I wondered out loud.

"You okay? What's wrong?" Asked the king.

"Oh, um...I was wondering...where I was?"

"Hmm? Where'd you get that key?"

I held up my Keyblade and examined it with a grin. "This? It's a Keyb-" I was cut off by Mickey's sharp "Shh!"

He ran closer to me and whispered "I know. You came from another world, right?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah."

"My name's Mickey. I'm workin' on a problem. That's why I'm in this world bein' a Musketeer."

"Hmm...So, am I in a world the king visited that I don't know about-a world that's trapped in sleep somewhere? 'Cause I guess..."

"You seem confused." I jumped as we were surrounded by a group of Dream Eaters. "Look out!" Yelped Mickey.

I summoned my Keyblade and looked at him.

"I'm Sora. Let me handle 'em." I said quickly before charging at them. I took a swing at one of them and sent it flying. I turned to face the next and took a good swing at it. I defeated them one by one until they were all gone. Well, at least most of them. One of them stood and looked at me with puppy eyes. My heart began to melt. I kneeled down to look at it.

"Aww, you're kind of cu-" My remark was cut off as the Nightmare bit my finger. "OWW! That hurts!" I frantically shook my head as the Nightmare made growling noises similar to a dog. "Let go-leg go-let go-let go-this isn't tug of war! Bad Dream Eater! Bad!"

Mickey then walked over and swung at the Nightmare with his sword. I watched as it disappeared and shook my hand. My finger still hurt. Last time I ever find a Nightmare cute.

"Thanks. I sure owe ya one. Some Musketeer I turned out to be." He said.

I then heard shouts coming from a distance.

"Where's the bad guys?" Asked a familiar voice.

"Goofy!" I called with utter joy. But I found that he was running mindlessly swinging his sword. Seems about right...

"Everything's under control, Goof." Said Mickey.

Goofy then slowed down and stopped in his tracks. "Really? You mean we clobbered 'em?"

I rested my head on my hands and grinned. This brought back memories.

"Are they...gone?" Asked someone from behind me.

"Hey, Donald!" I said happily.

The duck jumped out of his skin. "What? Who are you?" He asked.

"Gawrsh, do I know you from somewhere?" Asked Goofy.

It was kind of sad to think he forgotten me. Even though my spirits dropped, I smiled so they wouldn't think I was crazy.

"No..." I shook my head. "Nice to meet you." I said slowly.

"Say fellas, this is Sora. And it doesn't matter when we met. Once we make a friend, we're friends for life." Said Mickey with joy.

"Hi. I'm Donald." Said the duck cheerfully.

"And I'm Goofy." Said the dog.

My smile became wide and goofy. "Friends for life." I said happily.

"Now, we've gotta go protect the princess!" Said Mickey. "Donald, Goofy, follow me!"

I watched as they began to walk away. Without me!

"Hey wait! You're not gonna let me come along?" I asked with a slight whine. I was quite offended.

"But you're not a Musketeer. And the mission is fraught with danger." Said Mickey.

"All the more reason I should help." I said. "When the going gets tough, the tough call their friends."

"Hmm...Well, all right. Thank you!"

"Great! Should we do the thing?" Asked Goofy.

"The 'thing'?" I asked. Curiosity began to well up. I wasn't aware of any 'thing'.

Goofy walked over and whispered in my ear. "It's where we draw our swords and point them up to the sky. We then say 'all for one and one for all'. It's somethin' us Musketeers do."

"Ah!" I said, nodding.

"All for one..." Said Mickey, drawing his sword.

"And one for all!" We said in unison as we pointed our weapons to the sky.

"Congratulations, boys. In light of your lacklustrious potential, I dub you Royal Musketeers! Just look at yas-all dressed up, and goin' nowheres." Pete said with a jolly tune. His eyes trailed to the half-asleep Goofy. He kind of stared at them with an odd look, but shook himself out of it.

"Now then, let's get right down to your inagurary mission-bodyguards to...Princess Minnie!" He gestured to the princess who had been standing next to him. "Some nefarious nincompoop has got it out for her, see? And it's your job to personally keep her safe."

"Somebody's after the princess?" Asked Mickey. "Count on us!" He said with a solute.

"What?" Donald spat. "So soon? Don't we get to practice?"

"Why? The one, two..." Goofy trailed off, counting his fingers. "three of us are ready for anything!"

Pete began to chuckle, hiding his face from the Musketeers.

"Don't worry. Donald's real brave, and Goofy's clever. And while I may be small, I've got the heart of a Musketeer!" Said Mickey. He then pulled out his sword. "All for one..."

"And one for all!" They chanted.

I followed the group down a long path, where we found a carriage. The princess was said to be on board, and it was our responsibility to protect it.

I hopped on the back with Donald and Mickey as Goofy got in front. I never knew he was a stage coach.

It was really quiet as the horses trudged along. Donald said to keep it that way so we don't disturb the princess.

I then heard thunder. I looked to the sky. There wasn't a cloud in it...

But the thunder continued. I turned around to see what looked to be a-a dinosaur!?

"A Dream Eater!" I yelled.

"Bad guy!" Called Mickey, drawing his sword.

Donald began to shake with fright.

"Bad guy?" Asked Goofy. He forced the horses to run faster. But the Nightmare caught up with us and took a big chomp out of the wagon.

I let out a yelp as the others were pushed off. I held on to the wagon for dear life. My body began flipping around like a rag-doll and I was flipped onto the roof of the cart.

Meow-Wow barked happily at me, as though nothing was wrong. I gave it a funny look.

I then summoned my Keyblade, ready for battle.

"Gotta protect the carriage, no matter what!" I said to myself.

The Dream Eater began to slow down a bit and fell behind. But, it was still on our tail. I figured we were safe at a distance, but I was wrong. The Nightmare opened its mouth, taking a deep breath.

"Oh no..." I said to myself, preparing for the worst.

A fireball shot at us, I looked around for some help as the fire came closer and closer. I held up my Keyblade as the fireball almost hit. It collided with the center of my Keyblade. I felt the heat ricochet on my hands, though they were covered by gloves. The force of the ball staggered me a bit, but the fire bounced right off and hit the Nightmare square in the head, knocking it out.

"All right!" I cheered. I dismissed my Keyblade and turned to make sure the princess was all right. But that isn't what I saw.

I jumped as I saw three men dressed in black capes aiming their swords at me. They giggled maliciously.

"Huh?" I breathed.

"We'll be lightnenin' your load by one princess." Said the man on the right.

"Now make like those Musketeers and scram." Said the one on the left.

"Au revoir." Mocked the man in the middle. He tossed his sword at me, nearly missing my shoulder. I lost my balance as I dodged the hit. I began to flail my arms as fast as I could as I looked down at the ground below.

"Whoa!" I yelped as I fell over. I clamped my eyes shut as I fell. I landed on my back and flipped over in the dirt. All air left my chest as dirt flew around.

I fumbled in the dirt, face down for a good lift off. I looked up to see the carriage become smaller and smaller, with the princess calling for help.

I got on my feet and began to chase it down, but it was no use, I could no longer see it. I turned around to see three Musketeers walking in my direction with their heads down.

I called out to them. "Your Majest-ah, I mean, Mickey!"

I ran towards them. Mickey looked up and gasped. "Sora!"

"I'm sorry. They got away with the princess." I said sincerely.

"Don't be." Mickey said, shaking his head. "It's not your fault."

"As long as we all stick together, I know we can get the princess back!" Said Goofy, confidence raised in his voice. It was comforting.

"It's hopeless..." Said Donald, hanging his head.

"Goofy's right. As a team, we can do anything!" Said Mickey.

"Yeah! Come on!" I said. I then turned around and ran in the direction that the thieves had gone.

After a while, the four of us became tired of running. I slowed down to a hault and took a few breathes.

"We've gotta keep going!" Said Mickey as he walked passed.

"Right." I said, and I walked with him.

When we passed a corner, we found something...the carriage!

"Hey, look, Mickey! There's the carriage!" Said Goofy.

We ran up to examine the beautifully crafted carriage.

"But there's no sign of the princess." Said Goofy, looking intently at the window.

"Then that means..." Donald began.

"Yep. She's out there somewhere, counting on us to come to the rescue." Mickey finished.

"Yeah, 'cause we're Musketeers!" said Donald.

"And we're gonna be the ones to save her!" Mickey said, sounding brave.

The three then ran off in the other direction. Wait...they ran off in the other direction?

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting someone?" I called out to them. This is the second time they've forgotten me!

I followed right behind them as we crossed the bridge. Meow-Wow barked happily at my side.

"That sure is a strange dog you got there!" Said Mickey with a small laugh.

"Yeah, very strange." I said, looking down at it with a smile. "But it keeps me company, so I don't mind."

We then made it to the tower. It looked kind of similar to Yen Sid's tower, in fact.

Then we began to run up the never ending stares of doom. And Donald began to whine. "Who put these confounded steps here?!" He quacked.

I then heard a noise coming from above. "What?" I gasped. I looked up to see barrels coming our way. "Look out!" I called to them as I hurdled over the barrel. It was just like gym class!

I charged up the steps and made my way to the top of the tower.

We were then greeted by the thieves, who held their swords to us. "Outta the way!" I called. I then pounced on them and started a brawl. Which involved unnecessary hair pulling.

"Hey! No fair!" I shouted, pushing on one of the men's cheeks.

"Ah-yuck! Dog pile!" Goofy called as he pounced into the pile of brawlers. Donald followed suite with a loud quack. Mickey and Meow-Wow also joined, creating a comical cloud full of stars and random body parts. Just like what you would see in a comic.

After a while, we managed to knock the bad guys out. We stood up and dusted ourselves off.

I turned to see the princess. Mickey was standing by her side happily. "Sora! Thank you. Princess Minnie is safe. We couldn't have done it without ya!"

"Sure. Happy to help." I said with a grin.

Minnie looked flattered. "Oh, my hero!" She said appreciatively, looking at Mickey.

But Goofy made a weird face, then panicked. "It's the bad guys!" He yelped.

I turned around and gasped, he was right! All three of them were back on their feet, and they looked pretty angry.

I summoned my Keyblade and got ready for a real fight. They began to laugh.

"Thought we'd go down easy-peasy, eh?" Asked one of them, mockingly.

"Lemme at 'em!" Said another.

"All right. We can do this all day!" I said.

"Wait, Sora. Got any suggestions, Goofy?" Asked Mickey.

Goofy began to think, bringing his hand to his chin. His eyes trailed to the window. "Ah-hah!" He exclaimed

"You've got an idea?" Asked Mickey.

"And it might even be a good one, too! Hold on." said Goofy, leaning towards Mickey.

"Sure, take your time." And with those words, Goofy grabbed onto Mickey and launched them out the window. My jaw dropped to the floor. Were they running away?

"Charge!" Shouted Goofy as he flew. Mickey screamed in terror. I looked closer at the window and saw them snatch onto a tree, then fling back to the window. The collided with the bad guys, sending them out the other window and into water below.

"How'd I do?" Asked Goofy.

"Yeah! We did it! Hurray for the Musketeers!" Cheered Mickey.

"We did it? Asked Donald, walking back up the stairs. I guess he had run away shortly after the brawl.

Mickey then drew his sword and pointed it up. Donald, Goofy and I followed suite.

"All for one, and one for all!" We recited.

I stretched with a yawn. It was now dark outside. I continued to walk in town.

"Huh? Do you see that?" Asked Goofy, staring at something in the distance.

I turned around to face him. "Hmm? What's up?" I asked.

"Hey, you! Not so fast!" He shouted, charging in the other direction.

"Goofy, where are you going?" I asked, following him.

"What's the matter, Sora? Hold on!" Called Mickey.

I stopped in my tracks and looked at Mickey. "Oh, Mickey. Goofy just sort of...took off." I explained.

"Goofy's gone? But why would he leave his post?" Asked Mickey.

"HELP!" Cried Donald, running passed.

"Not you too, Donald?" Said Mickey.

The duck stopped in his tracks, he then looked at Mickey. Then he ran back at us.

"What do we do? It's a disaster!" He said frantically.

"Calm down, Donald! Start from the beginning." Said Mickey.

"The captain's gonna kidnap Princess Minnie!" Donald said frantically.

"What? But he's the one who made us Musketeers." Mickey said.

"It was all a big lie." Said Donald.

"A lie?" Asked Mickey, taken aback. "Well...lie or no lie, Musketeers don't ever run from danger!"

"Then it's time for me to get a new job!" Donald quacked. He then ran away once more.

"Donald, wait!" Mickey pleaded. Donald stopped in his tracks again. "Together we can stop Captain Pete."

"Yeah." I agreed. "We're in this together!"

"C'mon. We'll be right beside you, 'cause we're friends." Said Mickey.

"I just can't do it. I'm sorry." Said Donald shamefully. He left the two of us alone.

"Donald!" Mickey called out. But Donald had already left. "Donald..."

Pluto walked to Mickey's side, comforting him. Mickey smiled a bit.

"He'll be back. I know it." I said with confidence.

"Aw, thanks, Sora."

"So this 'captain' guy's the culprit. I wonder what he's up to."

I then heard evil laughter from a distance. I looked around to find the source.

"What am I up to?" The man asked. "I'm up to plenty!"

I recognized him instantly. "Pete?" I gasped, summoning my Keyblade.

"Whozzat?" Asked Pete. He then began to laugh again. "A stranger lookin' to be endangered...You, mangle these yardsticks!"

We were then surrounded by Dream Eaters that looked like rabbits. Mickey then leaped up to the balcony Pete was on. "Captain Pete, by the power vested in me as a Musketeer, I arrest you, mister!" Said Mickey.

This caused Pete to laugh even more. "That's a good one. Well, how's about this? By the power invested in my fist, I clobber you!"

I then heard a scream.

"Mickey!" I called out to my friend. I had to help!

I felt something hit my neck harshly, and everything went black.

"Sora?" I heard someone ask.

"Sora?" Another voice asked worriedly.

I opened my eyes to see two figures standing over me. "Donald...Goofy..." I groaned. Then I remembered-Mickey!

I leaped back to my feet and looked around. "Where's Mickey?" I asked.

"Captain Pete and his guys took Mickey to Mont Saint-Michel." Goofy explained. "And that means he's in big trouble!"

"Once the tide comes in, the dungeon'll fill up with water!"

"And so will Mickey." Donald said, sounding worried.

"Well, come on. We gotta go save him!" I said, wondering why they haven't gone after him yet.

"Oh...but how?" Asked Donald.

"What are you saying?" I asked. "You and Goofy wouldn't have come back if you weren't ready to save him! We're friends-friends for life, remember?"

"Yeah!" Donald nodded.

"Best of friends to the very end!" Goofy said.

"Good. Let's go!" I said, turning and running in the direction of Mont Saint-Michel.

"Okay!" Donald agreed. The two followed close behind.

The three of us stared at the unconscious Mickey. We had just gotten him out of the water, we were afraid we had been too late.

Then, he began to stir. We all watched intently as he woke up.

"Donald? Goofy? You too, Sora?" He asked. "You came back."

"C'mon, men! We gotta save the princess!" Donald called out.

"Aw, fellas. We're not even real Musketeers.

"Wrong. You are real Musketeers! And don't let anybody else tell you you're not." I said. And I meant it.

"It doesn't matter what you wear." Started Donald.

"Or what kind of heart it is that beats inside of ya!" Said Goofy.

"You know what? You're right, pals." Said Mickey, picking his hat from off the ground. "When the bunch of us stick together, we can accomplish anything! Pete said he was headed for the opera house. And that's where we'll find Her Majesty! C'mon Musketeers. We've got a princess to rescue."

And with that, we marched along to save the princess. It was pretty nice, having Mickey in the lead. I wasn't constantly getting lost. Which is pretty common when exploring new worlds.

We'd gotten off the boat and onto the dock. We were now running to the opera, and we weren't too far now. We ran through a grouping of trees, and just passed, you could see the opera. I took short breaths as I ran closer and closer. But as we passed the gates, I noticed somebody standing there. Actually, three people standing in our way. And they were by a treasure chest.

"Hey. Over there!" I exclaimed.

One of them had heard me. Whoops...

"Oi! Those nitwits!" He called out.

"The boss is gonna be mad." Said another.

"Hurry!" The third yelped. They grabbed the chest and began to run. I could faintly hear a call for help from within the chest.

"Help!" She cried.

"Princess!" Mickey called to her. "C'mon. It's time to put our Musketeering to the test!"

We then ran after them, not afraid of anything.

But as I entered, I realized how humongous the place was. There was stairs leading just about everywhere. I decided to go downstairs, where I found a hallway leading to a door. I ran through, and on the other side, was a stage. I kept my Keyblade at hand, just in case. That's when I saw Pete, along with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie.

"The jig is up, Pete!" Mickey said boldly, aiming his sword at him.

"There's no escape!" Donald said.

"Yeah, it's three against one now!" Said Goofy.

But Pete just laughed maliciously. He then turned to his left, where a box was about to fall.

I gasped at the realization as to who it was going to fall on. My feet instantly dragged me forward. "Look out!" I called to them. But the box disappeared. "Huh?"

Everybody just stared at where the box had just been.

"Impossible!" Exclaimed Pete.

But I knew, on the other side... "Riku." I said to myself. The thought made me smile. "Riku saved us. He's been by our side. All right! Musketeers! Get the princess to safety! I'll handle things here."

"Right. Thanks, Sora!" Mickey said.

"Why you..." Pete growled. "How dare you thwart me in the nick of time! This don't add up, I tell ya. Hey! Over here, boys!" He called out.

Out of nowhere, the three thieves had appeared to his side. Coward.

"That's right, you'll need help." I said, getting ready to fight.

I ran at one of the men, throwing them to the air and smacking them back down to the ground, knocking him out. Meow-Wow had just taken a good chomp at one of the other bad guy's legs. He tried to shake Meow-Wow off, but it just stayed there. "Good job, Meow-Wow!" I praised as I ran at the next man. I jumped over him and hit him in the back. He stumbled forward. I then hit him in the back of the neck. He collapsed on the ground with a thud. I watched as the last came charging at me. I blocked his blow and spun to release his hold. I then pushed him into a cannon. It was a stage prop I found handy. I then aimed the cannon in Pete's direction. Then I lit it off, sending him at Pete, they both toppled over. I sent the others right after him. They looked silly, all piled on each other. I laughed to myself as I watched Pete get back on his feet.

"I'll deal with you myself!" He yelled down to me. He then jumped off of the prop he had been standing on this whole time.

"Fire!" I called. A whisp of flames then appeared to the tip of my Keyblade, I flicked it off in Pete's direction, setting his bottom on fire. He cried out and ran around in circles screaming, "Put it out, put it out!"

When he managed to get the flames off, he looked at me for a second, then jumped up to his prop once more.

"I can do this all day!" I said, growing impatient with his cowardice. But then I realized, he was pulling a switch. "Hey, what are you-"

I quickly found out as the sun swung in my direction. "Whoa!" I shouted as I took cover on the floor, laying flat on my stomach. I didn't particularly like Science. Maybe this was why...

Finally, the props disappeared, and Pete came back down.

"I've got you now, squirt!" He said, standing over me.

"Pete, look! A distraction!" I yelped, pointing towards the Moon prop, which had just dropped. But when he looked, it was too late.

"Whoa now!" He yelled as he was carried away with the Moon. As the Moon swung back in my direction, he'd lost his grip and fell off. Pete was dazed. Now's my chance!

I got back on my feet and stuffed him in a cannon. I then lit it off, sending him flying.

"Goodbye!" I cheered as I waved merrily.

Minnie stood before us, holding a sword in her hand. Instantly, all four of us got down on our knees. The others even took off their hats.

"In gratitude for being so brave and saving us all, I hereby officially dub thee Royal Musketeers. Thank you all." She said.

I began to smile. I looked up to look at my friends, who were just as happy as me to hear this.

"Hurray!" Mickey cheered.

"We did it!" Goofy said.

"Fellas?" Mickey called, drawing his sword. I caught on immediately and stood up, holding my Keyblade in hand.

"All for one, and one for all!" We chanted.

Later, I stood alone in the midst of town. I couldn't remove the grin from my face. I aimed my Keyblade at the Keyhole in the sky.

"All for one, and one for all!" I recited to myself. I was consumed in the bright light that had come from the shining Keyhole.

"WHAT!?" Mickey, Donald and Goofy asked in unison.

"Absolutely not!" Donald quacked.

"I sensed something was amiss nearly the moment Sora and Riku departed." Yen Sid said calmly. "Xehanort must have known what we were attempting before we even began."

"But you do know where they are?" Asked Goofy.

"You must understand, this examination is in now way how the Mark of Mastery is usually found." Said Yen Sid, stroking his beard. "However, in light of what they must do next...it was a necessity. If Sora and Riku complete their test, by finding the seven doors corresponding to the seven pure lights, they will return home with a new power. At that point, they will both be true masters. However, the dangers make this more trial than test."

"But are they safe right now?" Asked Mickey worriedly.

"Considering their ability, I would like to believe that they are. However, all my attempts to locate Sora and Riku end...questionably. Xehanort is a devious tactician. There is nothing we can do that he will not, to some extent, be able to predict." Said Yen Sid.

"So..." Mickey started.

"As you can see, the Organization's members are complete people again. Xehanort will be no different. We cannot afford another moment's hesitation. We must consider any strategy to outwit Xehanort and catch him off guard." Yen Side said. "I must warn you again-the road will not be easy."

"Fine. Let's jump right in." Said Lea.