Chapter 4: A Thief In Our Midst

There was only one day left until the grand party, and everyone was putting the finishing touches on everything at the castle. The place never looked so festive and grand.

It was almost one o'clock, and Minnie went to see Clarabelle about all the preparations. She found her walking between the hall and the ballroom with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, checking things off.

"Hey Clarabelle, how is everything?" asked Minnie

"Everything is just about finished. The castle has been scrubbed from top to bottom, all the rooms for the royals have been fixed for them, all the tables have been set, and I just stopped by the kitchen and all the food is ready for tomorrow night. I'm just checking everything one last time to make sure all is ready." said Clarabelle

"That's great!" said Minnie

"Say have you seen Goofy around?" Inquired Minnie

"Oh Goofy? He went out to get everybody some lunch. Strange, he should've been back a while ago." said Clarabelle

Just as Clarabelle finished talking, Goofy walked up to them carrying bags of groceries.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late but man you should see the whole town, hyuck!" laughed Goofy

"Really? What did you see?" asked Minnie

"Well I was walking down town and there were decorations and lights everywhere, and when I went inside one of the stories it was crazy! I was lucky to have the sandwiches and to be the last one in line before they closed early for the day because they were cleaned out." chuckled Goofy

"Wow. was it really that busy?" asked Minnie in surprise

"You bet. And that's not all, all the Inns have been booked up. By the way, you know that grassy field next to the park?" asked Goofy

"Yes." said Minnie

"Well its all full up now with tents, food vendors, and all sorts of entertainment hyuck!" said Goofy

"Wow." said Minnie again. "It looks like this year may actually be the biggest celebration yet!" she said in amazement

"Definitely." said Clarabelle with the same feeling

"Well I guess I'll go put the sandwiches in the kitchen." said Goofy

"Oh but it's such a nice day today. Why don't we eat outdoors in the garden?" suggested Clarabelle

"That's a great idea!" said Minnie "I'll go let the others know" she said

"I'll get some plates and utensils." said Clarabelle

"And I'll get an umbrella and a blanket, hyuck!" said Goofy

All three of them split up to do their separate tasks. Minnie walked into the kitchen to find Daisy and Donald talking to each other.

"And he said hold my bill! Hahahahahaha!" laughed Donald

"Oh ha ha, funny Donald!" chuckled Daisy sarcastically

"Hey guys! Goofy brought us some sandwiches for lunch and we decided to have a picnic since a nice day outside." said Minnie

"That's great!" said Daisy

"He better not have gotten bologna this time." muttered Donald

"Say something?" asked Daisy with an eyebrow raised

"Oh I said that's great too." Donald said as a small sweat drop went down his face

"Okay...Anyway, Goofy is looking for a spot to set up in the garden. I'm going to make a quick pitcher of lemonade then go tell Mickey." said Minnie

"How about I go tell him and we'll meet you guys outside?" suggested Donald

"Hmm..alright then, we'll see you both outside." said Minnie

As Minnie and daisy got some lemons and cups out of one of the cabinet, Donald went to find Mickey.

Meanwhile Mickey was in his dressing room studying Walt's book. Ever since he felt that strange aura a few days ago he just couldn't quite shake it.

"Maybe I should've told him the other day." Mickey said to himself

As he was sitting at the desk Donald suddenly burst through the door.

"Hey Mickey! Goofy got us some sandwiches and everyone wants eat out in the garden." said Donald

"Huh? Sorry Donald did you say something?" asked Mickey

"I said everyone wants to have a picnic in the garden. Whatcha reading anyway?" asked Donald

"Oh just looking at Walt's book." Mickey said as he closed it

"Something wrong with it?" asked Donald

"I'm not really sure, something about it has been bothering me for a while now, but I just can't put my finger on it." said Mickey

"Relax buddy, maybe it's just nerves. Probably nothing to worry about." asurred Donald

"I don't know Donald, It doesn't seem like I should ignore it." said Mickey

"Well you shouldn't worry about it now, he should probably ask about it after the celebration." suggested Donald

"You're probably right." shrugged Mickey as he put the book back in the desk drawer

"Of course I am pal. Now let's go we're keeping everybody waiting." Donald said as he pushing Mickey towards the door.

"Wait, I want to open the window, it's a little stuffy in here." said Mickey

Mickey walked to the window and opened it

"Alright let's go." said Mickey

Mickey followed Donald out the room, but before leaving Mickey made sure he shut and lock the door. As they made their way down the hall, they didn't notice the shadow of a small black bird perched in one of the far windows.

Since the other day, Maleficent had sent her bird Diablo to retrieve Walt's book from Mickey's possession. There was something about the book that drew her in, she didn't know what it was but it seemed very powerful, whatever it was she wanted to know what it was.

As soon as Donald and Mickey were both out of site Diablo got to work. He flew down to the door and tried to use his talents to turn the knob. When that didn't work, he then tried using one of his claws to unhitch the lock through the keyhole.

After both attempts were meet with failure he then noticed a ray of sunlight shining through the keyhole. He peeked through the hole and saw the window was open from the far side of the room.

Diablo quickly flew out of one of the hall windows and around the side of the castle to the open one that was the dressing room. Once he was inside he began to ransack the room searching for what his mistress desired.

Meanwhile out in the garden, Mickey and the gang were eating sandwiches, sharing old stories, telling funny jokes and just having fun.

"Isn't this lovely?" sighed a satisfied Minnie

"It sure is." replied Daisy

"It's nice to just get away from all the stress and work once in a while" commented Clarabella

As the gang chatted on, Chip and Dale were rummaging through the picnic basket.

"Dale, hand me up one of the finger sandwiches." said Chip

As Dale climbed out of the basket with one of the sandwiches under his arm, he accidently bumped into the bucket of cold soda. The bottles hit the ground then rolled a few inches. Chip and Dale looked at the bottles for a second then shrugged their shoulders and continued with their task.

"Hey Donald! Want some lemonade?" asked Daisy

"Nah, I'll have a soda" said Donald

Daisy sighed and went to grab a soda bottle.

She notice that the bucket was spilt and turned to see Chip and Dale with a nervous grin on their faces, she raised an eyebrow than shook her head and grabbed a soda.

"Careful Donald, the bottle may be a bit fizzled." warned Daisy as she handed the soda bottle to him

"Ah you worry too mucAHSSSSPRTIIITTTRTSTR!". When Donald turned the cap of the soda bottle he was met with a blast of orange soda to the face.

When the blast subsided Donald's face was dripping with soda. He frowned at Daisy

"I tried to tell you." she said while trying to suppress a giggle

Everyone else tried to hold in there laughter but failed. Donald sent a glare toward Chip and Dale who were trying to act casual.

As Donald wiped the soda off his face with a few napkins, both Mickey and Pluto walked up to to them with slightly dirty hands and feet.

Clarabella took notice of this and groaned.

"Please don't tell me that Pluto dug up the petunias again." said Clarabella with her face in her hands.

"Wellllllllll…...kinda..." Mickey replied nervously while scratching the back of his head.

Clarabella sighed "I'll take care of it later." she said with a groan.

"Don't worry, I promise to help you fix it." said Mickey trying to cheer her up.

After a while the mood died down a little, than Goofy thought of something to brighten it up.

"Hey! How abouta game of frisbee?" suggested Goofy

At this, everybody perked up some.

"That sounds like fun! I'll go get the disc and be right back." said Mickey

Mickey stood up and began to speed walk back to his room.

Meanwhile Diablo was still there, ransacking the place looking for the book. He searched the shelves, the closet and under the bed but had no luck.

Then he thought of the one place that he should've looked in the first place: The desk drawer. Diablo flew to the desk and put his talents around the handle of the drawer. The drawer was a little heavy but with a quick strong jerk he was able to force it open. The drawer was open enough so he could open and turn the pages of the book.

He used his beak to flip through the pages to the ones his mistress wanted. As he turned the pages he began to feel the same source of magic that Maleficent felt the other day.

He finally made it to the last page where the source of the magic was strongest. Using his talents he pulled at the page as hard as he could.

Flapping his wings to gain strength, he finally tore the page free of the book, but in the process he pulled so hard that the drawer with the book fell on to the floor. He also accidentally hit one of the shelves and knocked some of the books down.

After recovering from the blow he heard footsteps approaching the room. Realizing he needed to act quickly, he took the page and swallowed it. Just before he could make a break for the window, Mickey opened the door.

The second Mickey opened the door his face showed nothing but utter shock at the state of the room. Books and papers were everywhere, as well as broken antiques and knocked over lamps. He looked to the corner to see a small pile of papers moving around. Then out of the pile sprang Diablo. Mickey saw the bird try to make a break for the open window, he quickly ran to it and shut it, blocking the bird's escape. The bird then notice the open door and tried to make it there, but Mickey once again beat him to it. With both the door and window sealed off Mickey tried his best to catch the bird. Diablo had no other choice but to try and avoid capture until one of his escape routes were open again.

After a while the rest of the gang began to wonder what was taking Mickey so long.

"Why don't you go check on him Donald?" suggested Daisy

"Me? What about Goofy?" Donald asked as he pointed toward Goofy who was gobbling down a

sub sandwich.

"You guys say sumthin?" asked Goofy as he licked his fingers.

Minnie just shook her head and stood up.

"I'll do it." she said as she rolled her eyes

She walked back inside and down the hall toward the room. As she got closer she heard rustling and what sounded like some glass breaking.

"What on earth is he doing in there!?" She asked out loud to herself

When she made it to the door she didn't bother knocking and just open it. That was a big mistake.

Inside the room, Diablo saw the door knob turning and knew this oce his big chance to escape. Once the door was opening, Diablo made a swooping dive toward it. Mickey jumped and nearly caught the bird, but failed. Mickey then turned to see Minnie opening the door and tried to warn her.

"No Minnie, wait! shouted Mickey

"Mickey, what in the World are you doinAAHH"

Minnie screamed at the sight of the black bird swooping toward her. She ducked and the bird barely missed her.

Diablo flew out the door and out one of the hall windows. He had escaped.

Mickey then ran to Minnie who was still shaken by the experience.

"Minnie are you alright!?" asked a frantic Mickey

"I'm fine, just a little surprised, that's all" she replied

Minnie started to look a little faint, so Mickey sat her in a chair to recover. A minute later, the rest of the gang showed up.

"We heard a scream. What happened?" asked a worried Daisy

As everyone helped clean the room, Mickey spent the last thirty minutes explaining what happened.

"You know I had a feeling something like this would happen." said Daisy

"Those rotten villains!" fumed Donald

"The bird ain't still here is it!?" asked a frightened Chip and Dale.

"No. It flew away." Minnie reassured them.

The two chipmunks breathed a sigh of relief.

The servants brought everyone a glass of water and caught wind of the situation. Word got out and it eventually reached Yen Sid. The minute he heard the news he left immediately for the castle. He arrived within the hour and went straight to the scene of the crime.

When Mickey saw his master approaching he muttered a nervous "Uh oh." under his breath.

"Well? What happened?" ordered Yen Sid

Mickey looked down and awkwardly fondled his fingers "Um…...Well….You see….."

"Well? Spit it out!" Yen Sid said in a more demanding tone

Mickey was about to answer but Minnie stepped up and spoke for him

"That awful bird of Maleficent came in and made a mess of out of the whole room!" said Minnie with a frown.

"Did the bird steal anything?" asked Yen Sid with a raised eyebrow

"Not that we know of." replied Mickey

"I see…"

Yen Sid rubbed his chin in deep thought after processing all the information. Then he spoke.

"I know what needs to be done." He said in a low tone as he walked off.

"Wait! I'm sure there is some sorta explanation for all this."

Yen Sid stopped and turned his head. "Apprentice. The terms of the agreement have been met with a violation and it can not go unanswered."

"But."

Yen Sid now fully turned around, his arms were folded across his chest and his face was dark with one eyebrow raised.

"Well?" He asked.

"N...Nevermind." Mickey answered looking at the floor

"Now if you'll excuse me." Yen Sid proceeded to walk to his own private room in the west wing of the castle.

Mickey's head sank in defeat. Then Minnie walked over and tried to comfort him.

"It's not your fault Mickey." said Minnie giving him a hug.

"The villains are the ones responsible." said Clarabella

"Aw cheer up buddy" Goofy said patting him on the back.

Mickey gave a small smile and nodded.

As the gang continued cleaning up, Yen Sid went to his private study, working on a spell communication spell.

A few years ago Yen Sid arranged to have an addition to the west wing. This addition was to work as a second private study for quick access to avoid the trouble of going back and forth between his house and the castle. When it was finished, Mickey suggested he use electricity, but his master refused, preferring the traditional use of candles and torches.

When he was finished, he stepped in front of a full body mirror and with a wave of his wand it began to glow. The glow lessened a little and showed the face of Chernabog.

"Why have you summoned me?" Chernabog boomed, but Yen Sid didn't flinch.

"I have called on a matter of utmost importance."

Chernabog rested his head in his claw.

"Well?"

There has been some trouble here at the castle and I have reason to believe that one of the villains has been involved." stated Yen Sid.

"Strange. As the keeper of the villains realm, the presence of those who come and go are made known to me. Whom do you think it is?" asked Chernabog.

"Maleficent." Yen Sid said in a low tone.

"And?"

"And not that long ago, her pet bird Diablo intruded into one of the rooms and made a mess. Now I'm wise enough to know that Diablo wouldn't come here unless he was given the order to by his mistress. It appears that something in our possession has brought her attention." said Yen Sid.

"And what beith in your possession that she would want?" asked Chernabog

"I do not know, I will investigate after the festivities. However, I believe we have agreements that must be fulfilled?" reminded Yen Sid

"Indeed we do." replied Chernabog

"I shall rectify this violation our contract." said Chernabog

"As will I." replied Yen Sid

With that, the mirror spell wore off.

Yen Sid returned to the desk to study some more papers. He tried to think what could it be that Maleficent wanted. Then one particular item crossed his mind.

"Could it be? No no it couldn't. Then again." he muttered to himself

Yen Sid shook his head. "Come now you old wizard. This is no time to trouble yourself over this. There're are still much to do." he said as he stood up.

Yen Sid blew out the candle on his desk and headed out the door.

After hours of flying, Diablo finally made it back to the gate to the villains realm. There was no way through the gate without using the spell. However, for years there was a small passage disguised as a rock that was in line with the gate stuck between both realms. Diablo walked up to the small rock, tapped it in three places, then a small hole opened up big enough for a small animal to walk through.

Diablo stepped through the opening and continued his flight to the dark castle in the distance. He flew to one of the tall towers where he knew Maleficent would be.

When Diablo made it to the window sill of one of the taller towers, he let out a couple of caws to alert his mistress of his presence. A moment later she appeared at the sill, she ushered the bird inside to a table at the center of the room. Maleficent walked to the table and stood there with one hand around her staff and the other on her hip. She looked at Diablo with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

Diablo took a few steps back and began regurgitating. Maleficent's face scrunched up in disgust. After a few more gags, the bird finally coughed up the stolen piece of paper. Maleficent picked up the slimy piece of paper with two fingers and frowned.

"I risk months of gathered magic to get you across the realms and this is all you can bring me!?" Maleficent shouted in anger.

Diablo shrunk back in fear of what she might do to him. But to his luck, she calmed down.

"Very well, we'll make do." she groaned.

Diablo perked up a bit, thankful that he was spared his mistress's wrath. But he wasn't let off the hook that easy.

"For your sake, you better hope this piece of paper has some use to me, or else." she warned.

"Now leave me!"

Diablo quickly flew away to avoid angering Maleficent any further. Maleficent used the little magic she had to restore the piece of paper.

"Now what secrets do you hold?" she asked while staring at the blank page.

She put her hand to it and the page glowed bright. It illuminated the entire room then slow died down. Maleficent began to feel the same magical aura she did last time it was in her presence only it was twice as strong this time.

When the light was gone there was a mysterious symbol that appeared at the center of the page, then strangely written words wrote themselves under it. Maleficent gazed at the words for a moment then a menacing smile crossed her face.

"Interesting." she said as thunder sounded in the distance.

"Very interesting."

END OF CHAPTER 4

A/N

Late New years present for you guys, I hope you enjoy it. I had to do this by myself, If you find any grammar or spelling mistakes plz let me know. I'm still thinking about setting up a Discord but I want your opinion. Thanks again to all the people that have been following the story, I appreciate the support. I'm still open to ideas if you guys have them. I will try to get another chapter up soon, don't know when but soon. Anyways, thanks for reading! (I own nothing but my OCs and this story, everything else belongs to Disney.)