Rulers still aren't working...RAWR on this site for ruining the drama...

So, the lady you'll see here is Ursula...couldn't find a way to stick her name in,and this is the last time you'll see this particular witch,so...ah well.

All characters belong to Disney.

00000

One week later…

There were dozens of exquisite rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and all other sorts of beautiful jewels lying before the King. These lovelies, however, sent a chill through the tiger's spine. He closed the chest containing the beauties, and reread the letter that had come with them.

"Enjoy these treasures in your mortal days,

Proclaim them to all with a merry shout,

Do all the things you ever wished you could,

Because your time with the living is running out."

He had read several letters of assassination in his lifetime, as was the price of being a king, but none had ever come with a raven's feather attached. Khan ran a hand over his face, and put the letter down. The Covenant was just an old wife's tale...it had to be, it just had to…

He jumped when heard a knock on his chambers door. He quickly composed himself, and turned around. "You may enter."

The doors swung open, revealing the ever-pleasant Goofy. He stepped inside, and whistled at his surroundings. "Nice place!"

Khan rolled his eyes. "What is it, Sir Goofy?"

"Huh?" The magician blinked with confusion, and then snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! I was wonderin' if you'd let me take the boys on a walk through the woods!"

Khan raised an eyebrow. "A walk? What will that teach them?"

Goofy clicked his tongue, and wagged a finger. "Don't make me ruin the surprise! That's half the fun!"

Khan rolled his eyes, and looked away. "Do as you wish. I will be busy today anyway."

"Thanks!" Goofy cheered, and walked out with a skip.

Khan sighed, and looked at the letter once more. He frowned, and crumpled it up.

00000

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

Mickey didn't know what was more annoying - Pete repeating the question over and over, or Goofy calmly repeating the answer over and over. The squire looked at Pluto by his side, and judging by the canine's aggravated expression, he felt the same way. Mickey sighed before clearing his throat. "Where is 'there' exactly? You still haven't told us where we're going or what we're doing!"

"The pipsqueak's right!" Pete snapped. "I feel like we've been walkin' around in circles! I thought we were gunna get special training!"

Goofy tilted his head let and right, back and forth. "I think we'll be there soon…"

"You think!" Both young males cried out in exasperation.

Before Goofy could explain himself, a sharp whistle broke through the air, and a sleek arrow shot through, pinning Goofy's floppy hat to a tree. The group froze, as a clamor was made in trees above. "Halt!" A voice called out.

"We're halting, we're halting!" Pete yammered, holding up a shaking blade.

An amused chuckle was heard, and a figure leapt from above. Standing before the frightened crowd was an orange and white fox, donned in green leather and a feathered cap. A bow and arrow rested in one of his hands, and a wily smile was played on his face. "Sorry about your hat, good sir. Wanted to see if I was up against a group of vicious fighters."

Goofy yanked the arrow out of a tree, releasing his hat. "No harm done, sir Robin Hood."

Mickey and Pete did a simultaneous jaw-drop. Pete managed to find his voice first. "THE sir Robin? Who steals from the rich and gives to the poor?"

"Who can never miss a shot, and can fight better than all the king's men combined?" Mickey added, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

The fox laughed heartily. "I feel so flattered! Just Robin will do, the honors are not needed. What brings you lads to my neck of the woods?"

Goofy stepped forward. "This here is Prince Pete, Squire Mickey Mouse, Pluto, and I'm Goofy. From what I hear, you've lost some of your men?"

Robin raised his eyebrows, surprised. "How fast word travels!" he then sighed with a sad tone. "Alas, it is true. A few days ago, Little John vanished along with a few innocent people we happened to be liberating their money from. We discovered them to be captured by a vile witch, not too far away."

Pete snorted. "Then why don't you go get 'em?"

Robin smiled faintly. "I would love too…alas, a witch's magic outrivals my talents. The remainder of my men are too afraid to join me in the good fight." He eyed each new member, suddenly grinning. "I could actually use a few good men to aide me!"

Mickey and Pete gasped, looking at each other. Mickey shyly put a foot forward. "Who…us?"

"Now hold on just a moment!" A feminine voice quipped. From the shadows of the trees came another fox, dressed in purple fabric, and with a long braid descending over her chest. "Robin, you can't just ask these boys to help you fight!"

Robin took the stranger's hand, and gave it a quick kiss. "Come now, my dear Maid Marian, the more the merrier!"

The maiden pulled her hand back. "You shouldn't always assume people want to jump into battle. They barely know us."

Robin groaned, and looked to the confused men. "Forgive my wife. She is…how can I put this…"

"Caring, concerned, wise beyond her years?" Marian smirked, poking Robin in the cheek.

"Actually, I was going for something along the lines of worrywart, but those work well too."

Goofy coughed to try and get their attention, while Pluto was looking back and forth between the two as the argument went on. "No need to worry, Maid Marian, these two are here to help!"

Pete blinked. "We are? This is news to me."

Mickey looked over to his superior. "Come on, Pete, it sounds like Robin could really use our help!"

The prince grumbled. "What's in it for us?"

Goofy chuckled, walking past his friends. "Don't worry, we'll come back home with something extra after this quest. Trust me!"

Mickey shrugged, but followed Goofy. After another grumble, Pete did the same.

00000

"That's the witch's lair."

The small group was in the treetops, looking down at large, dark hole in the ground below. All around the hole, the grass was dead, the dirt was crumbling, and not even a single insect stayed by. Robin frowned, squatting on his knees. "I once dropped a rock down there, to hear how deep it was. I still haven't heard anything."

"And he dropped it in two days ago." Maid Marian finished, uneasiness clear in her voice. "Wherever our friends are being held, it will take time to find them. Are you all equipped?" She looked to the newcomers.

Pete held up his steel blade with pride, although his hands did wobble from the weight. He had gotten the sword on his tenth birthday, and practiced as much as he could. The blade was as long as his arms, and the handle was golden with green emblems of the kingdom. It was truly an impressive sight.

Mickey, however, did not fare so well. Since he hadn't been born into the life of royalty, the king had not bothered to go into a long process to get Mickey a fancy sword. His own blade had seen many a decade before the lad was even born, and was chipped and coated with rust. His handle had pieces falling off, and was colored a dull red. Although it wasn't much, he practiced just as hard, perhaps even harder, as Pete and his magnificent rapier.

Goofy bore no weapons of his own, but nodded cheerfully. "We're all set! But before we go down, I know one important thing about a witches home…what you must never do is…" He suddenly trailed off. He frowned, and rubbed his chin. "Now let's see…what was it again?"

"Alas, good sir, we don't have the time!" Robin shouted, and stood up. "Every second we waste is another second those innocent people are in danger!" He leaned over on the branch, looking down at the hole.

Maid Marian's eyes widened, and she attempted a grab for her husband's tail. "Oh no, you're not going to - "

"HERE WE GO!" Robin yelled, leaping off of the branch, and falling straight into the hole, laughing the entire time.

Marian rolled a hand down her face. "That man is going to be the death of me." She got on her own feet, and jumped off her branch, following Robin downward.

Mickey swallowed, looking at the hole. "Gosh…that looks pretty deep…maybe we should just - " Before Mickey could finish his thought, Pete shoved him forward, and a screaming rodent descended downwards.

Pete laughed loudly, putting his hands on his hips. His good time, however, was cut short, when Goofy shoved him the same way. Once Pete's screams had died down, Goofy leapt, holding his legs ala cannonball, and vanished into the darkness as well. Finally, Pluto backed up on his branch, dusted himself off, and then charged forward and down with a magnificent belly flop.

00000

Several SPLATS later, the heroes were on a pile on a checked black and white tiled floor. There were several groans, even when they were on their feet. Pete turned to Goofy, his eyes ablaze with fury. He jabbed a finger into Goofy's nose. "What's the big idea, shoving me down? That could be called for treason!"

Goofy stepped back, twitching his nose. "Just giving you a taste of your own medicine, after what you did to Mickey."

Mickey, however, didn't seem to mind, looking at his surroundings. "Wow! Would you look at all this food!"

That seemed to gather everyone's attention, and they looked as surprised as Mickey. On both sides of the room, there were long, black tables, covered in delicious sweets. Fluffy white cakes, round balls of pure sugar, chocolates of all shapes and sizes…it was enough to make a cavity just by looking at them. To the far end of the room were descending stairs, and to the left of that, a long candy cane that seemed to spike down into other rooms, faster but riskier than the stairs.

"This looks delicious!" Pete slobbered, licking his lips with loud, smacking noises. He ran to a table, and hoisted up a chocolate cake dripping with colored icing. "All heroes should get a snack break!"

Mickey tried to approach the Prince, tapping his elbow. "Pete, you heard Robin! We don't have time for distractions, we have to save the others!"

Pete, however, ignored Mickey, and shoved his face into the sugary confection. Amidst his grunts and snorts of chewing, he failed to notice that his legs were see-through…and then disappeared completely!

Marian shrieked, pointing to Pete's missing legs. "Your highness, your feet! Your knees! Your…waist!" She pointed up more, as Pete's belly began to evaporate as well.

Pete looked up, his face smeared with chocolate goop. "What're you talkin' about?" He still seemed to ignore his disappearing body, now reaching up to his armpits.

Goofy then snapped his fingers. "Oh, NOW I remember! Never eat the food of a witch, because once you do, it's a sign of surrender. From my guess, Little John and the others ate the food, and are most likely ended up in some sort of dungeon…that's where Pete's probably vanishing to."

It finally sunk in for the Prince, and he dropped the desert, screaming down at himself. "Hold on a minute! Make it stop, make it stop!" Now he looked like a talking head, with everything below his neck gone.

"Sorry, boy." Robin replied, looking terribly amused with the situation. "You ate it, you pay for it. But don't worry…we'll rescue you, along with the others."

Pete snarled, his chin dribbling away to nothingness. "Now wait just a cotton pickin' - " And with that, his head was gone. There was an awkward pause of silence, before a few sniggers were let loose from the group.

Mickey sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing…but either way, we've really got to look for those prisoners."

"There are stairs over there." Marian pointed out, heading straight for them. "There are probably dozens of rooms here, but we should be able to find our friends."

Goofy, Pluto, and Robin began to follow the maiden, but Mickey stayed where he was, one of his big floppy shoes tapping against the floor. Before the group could descend, Robin looked back. "Come on, Mickey, what're you waiting for?"

"I was just thinking." Mickey slowly replied, his eyes gazing over the room. "There's an easy way to get to the imprisoned…" His mouth suddenly widened into a smile. "And then there's the fast way!" He began running towards the long candy cane, and hopped on. "I'll see you down beloooooooow!" His voice carried out as he slid down the banister.

Marian gasped in shock. "What is that boy thinking!"

Robin, however, was grinning from ear to ear, heading for the cane as well. "There's a time and place for risky decisions…I really do like this lad!" he leapt and grabbed onto the striped candy, sliding down.

Marian groaned, burying her face in her hands. "These boys are impossible."

Goofy shrugged. "If growing up was easy, it wouldn't take so long."

00000

The candy cane did eventually come to an end, stopping on a light brown floor. Mickey toed the ground curiously, and then gasped in surprise. It was made of chocolate! As his companions joined him, they noticed this final room was entirely made of chocolate! The furniture, the windows, curtains…white, dark, nutty, all sorts of blends in all sorts of ways.

"So, I get to add more pieces to my collection!"

Sitting atop a dark chocolate throne was a round woman, rubbing her hands together maliciously. Her short hair was a ratty mess of white and gray, lying on top of light purple skin. The thing that stood out the most was a white chocolate shell necklace laced over her chest. She stood up, her long black dress flowing onto the floor. "You're just in time, too…I was in the mood for smores!" With a clap of her hands, a large chunk of the floor in front of her fell down into an empty abyss. As quickly as that had fallen, a new section began to rise up…several large chocolate statues were hanging from licorice strings that meshed this way and that, ultimately causing the figures to hover a circle of fire.

Mickey's eyes suddenly widened with recognition. One of the figures, frozen in a state of anger… "Oh my gosh! That's Prince Pete!"

"And there's Little John, and the travelers!" Robin added with just as much enthusiasm. "Return them to normal, you witch!"

The large woman laughed, her stomach bobbing up and down with her chortles. "And why should I do that? I've been terribly hungry, and it's not like I would actually go about eating my own home…"

Mickey withdrew his sword, shakily pointing it at the foe. "If you don't turn them back, we'll make you!"

"I'd like to see you try, pipsqueak!" The deviant cackled, wiggling her fingers. A brown spark lit up from between two of her fingers. She then threw the spark with all of her might, and it was sheer luck that Pluto managed to jump back in time. In the spot were the spot had struck, a marmalade daisy began to grow.

The witch grinned, and more sparks began to glow from her hands. She began rapidly firing, and the gang began to run around like chickens with their heads cut off. To make matters worse, Marian let out a shriek. "The prisoners! They're melting!"

It was true…the heat below them was affecting the chocolate captives, slowly dripping, starting with their feet. If something weren't done quickly, all that would remain of their friends would be brown puddles! Mickey, upon realizing this, tossed away his fear. There was no way he was going to let these innocent people, and Pete, suffer because of this diabolical diva. He zigzagged in the room, trying to avoid the sparks while advancing on the villain. She happened to notice, however, and fired one smack dab at the hero.

The good news was it didn't hit him. The bad news was that it did hit his only weapon. Mickey watched in horror was his sword turned into a long blue lollipop. He blinked at the confection, and looked up nervously. "Blueberry. My favorite."

The witch smirked smugly. "None of you will leave here alone…and surely, with the Prince gone, the royal line will cease, and The Covenant will take its rightful place on the throne!"

Mickey blinked. "Okay…no idea what you just said, really, but if you plan on hurting my friends, it's not going to happen! " he slapped his lollipop around, poking the large woman in the belly. She lifted her right arm up, but used the other to slap Mickey away. As he rolled in the floor, he tried to register what had happened. What had the witch been doing with her right hand? He looked up, to see the hand fall back into place. It had been covering the white chocolate shell…

"Robin!" Mickey cried out, quickly getting to his feet. "I need you to fire an arrow right at her chest!"

Robin was running around, one hand holding onto his wife. "A little busy here!"

Goofy, catching on, began to shake his hands until they glow green. "I'll try to hold her back, and you do what the Squire says!" He began to fire blasts of green, and wherever they landed, a vegetable began to grow! Pluto did an eye roll at the reverse magic, and then went back to his own duty…trying desperately to blow the fire out with his own breath. At least the dog meant well.

Robin smiled, and then withdrew his bow and arrow set. "Well, my love, would you mind me firing at a female?"

Marian smirked, helping Robin with his aim. "Only if you promise me a kiss afterwards."

"Then this is a shot I'll gladly fire!" Robin grinned, letting his arrow fly. Caught off guard, the giant woman shrieked as the arrow pierced the shell, shattering it into a million pieces. The lady wailed in horror, sinking to the floor, as beams of white and black shot out from her. The room immediately began to change, candy turning into wood and dirt, and the once edible hostages were now flesh and blood…although yelping upon feeling the fire lick their feet.

Robin and Marian quickly ran over to the ground, untying them from the licorice - now ropes - that held them captive. Goofy walked over to the witch, and began to tie her wrists using stretchy celery. "It was kind of foolish for you to put all your magic into one object. Everyone who's anyone knows that's just a shortcut!" The witch growled for a response.

"You guessed the shell was her weak spot!" Robin said merrily after freeing the others, slapping Mickey hard on the back. "Now that's what I call good observation!"

Mickey scratched the back of his head shyly. "Aw, shucks…"

Suddenly, there was a flap of white feathers, and one of the travelers laid himself at Mickey's feet. "My hero!" he squawked, kissing Mickey's feet. The eager animal was a duck, coated in a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with many a black buckle laced inside and out. "That's the last time I travel alone! Please please PLEASE let me find a way to repay you nice guys!"

Mickey blinked, unused to such gratitude. "Uh…well…nothing I can really think of, mister…?"

The duck looked up. "I'm Donald, Donald Duck! I was trying to look for a job…but instead of an interview, I got turned into a sugary sweet!"

Goofy smiled, crossing his arms. "You can stay with us, mister Duck! You'll be our new stable boy!"

Donald stood up, ready to thank his new friend, but paused. "Wait…how did you know I'm good with animals?"

Pete, now free, loomed over the magician. "Let me get this straight. This is our reward? We risk our necks falling down a huge whole, and nearly get eaten by a chubby sorceress, and all we get is a cowardly fowl who can clean horse poop?"

Goofy paused, and then bobbed his head up and down in a giddy nod. "Yup, pretty much."

As Pete began to scream at Goofy, Marian frowned at Mickey's sword…unlike the others strange concoctions of the candy home, the weapon remained a tasty treat. "You poor dear…sorry about your sword."

Mickey sighed sadly, twisting the lollipop about. "That's okay…I guess all my sword's resistance to magic wore off years ago, and even with the shell again, it was too weak to reverse back…"

"Sad state of affairs, my friend." Robin added, squeezing Mickey's shoulder. "I'm sure you can get a new one…a better one!"

Mickey looked up at Robin, and gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Robin…" he then looked to Donald, who looked very confused. "Well, Donald, I guess it's time we took you to your new home. Welcome to the crew!" They shook hands, the smiles radiating off each other.

00000

Hundreds of miles away…

The woman grunted, smacking her hammer into the blazing gold piece. Maybe this time, it would work! She panted, and smacked it again. "It's got to work…it has to work!" She fell on one knee, exhausted. "I can't stop now…the eclipse is coming…the prophecy must be stopped…" Gathering, her strength, she resumed working on the weapon, hitting it over and over. "I must stop the prophecy…"

Outside of her workshop, a crow sat on the windowsill, watching the woman work.

One could swear it was laughing.

End Of Chapter Two.