The Magical Quest

Mickey and the others had entered another vast area, and this was quite possibly the worst one for them to be in. The air was cold and the ground was covered in snow. This must have been Snowy Valley, the one area most people would rather not explore.

Minnie started to shiver, her teeth chattering as she grumbled, "I should have brought a coat with me," Donald and Mickey doing the same while stating, "You said it."

Goofy simply looked at the three and chuckled at the sight of this saying, "They're cold," as the others stared at him. Sure, Goofy was the only one who really classified as fully clothed among the four, being the only one wearing pants and long sleeves at the same time, but even a jester's outfit wasn't fit for this kind of weather.

Nevertheless, if they were to complete their quest, they knew they would have to ignore this. After all, a lot was at stake.

As the four carried on, a small creature that resembled a lion head with small legs crept up behind Donald and bit into the duck's tail, Donald yelping and turning to face the source, flailing his arms about while throwing a tantrum. However, the lion head had walked to the other side of the duck when he's turned around, so Donald saw nothing. The duck simply laughed at this, realizing how silly he was being until the lion head bit into his tail again, the duck quickly turning around and spotting the beast while shouting, "AHAH!" The lion head simply opened its mouth again, this time biting into the sailor's bill and holding on tight, Donald grumbling, "Why you little," through clenched teeth and attempted to pry the creature off.

"Donald, what are you doing?" Mickey asked, turning to face him when he noticed the lion head latched to the duck's face, chuckling and saying, "Looks like you've made a new friend."

Donald glared at the mouse as a whole group of lion heads entered the area. A few pounced on Goofy and started to lick his face as the dog laughed hysterically. Others rubbed their bodies up against Minnie while purring, some also crowding around Mickey with playful expressions in their eyes.

"How cute!" Minnie exclaimed as Mickey chuckled again and said, "Look, lion... things... we're currently on a journey to rescue my dog from an evil king. We don't have time to play with you."

The lion heads looked down in disappointment, however, the one that had bit Donald earlier, which was now latched to the duck's rear end, released its teeth as it let out a roaring sound at the others. The lion heads smiled and nodded as another one of them marched in front of Mickey and pointed forward. The four travellers smiled at this while the lion heads marched towards a mountainside, coming together to form a big staircase made of lion heads.

The four climbed up and proceeded forward, but not before waving goodbye to their new friends. The lion heads all separated and let out roars of support for the four as Donald looked at the one who had bit him a few times earlier. The duck simply laughed and waved at that particular one, the lion head waving its left leg.

However, after a few more minutes, Mickey, Minnie and Donald started to feel cold again. After all, it really was hard to ignore a climate such as this. Goofy simply looked at this with concern and scratched his head, then smiled and snapped his fingers before pulling out his lute.

"Where did you get a lute?" Mickey asked as Minnie shrugged and replied, "It's best not to question it."

With that, Goofy started to strum the instrument while singing, "I remember my first Winter, it's the coldest day for me! I was shivering all day long, I was cold as cold can be!"

With that, the dog sat atop an odd-looking pink plant and added, "My Momma, she approached me, let me tell you what she said. She said 'My boy, it's not really cold, it's only in your head. There's no cause for panic, there's no cause for alarm, just as long as you forget the weather and think about what's warm'."

Goofy then started to think about many warm things, such as a day of sunbathing at the beach, his novelty hot water bottle, a warm blanket wrapped around him and many other things. The others stared at him strangely as the plant he was sitting leaned to the side due to Goofy's weight being applied to it for too long and sprung back into place, sending the dog flying into a tree. Mickey started to chuckle at the sight of this, and it wasn't long until Minnie and Donald did the same.

Goofy proceeded to poke his head out of a hole in the tree, forcing his lute out and continued to strum the instrument while singing, "A hot Summer's day is a nice thing to think about. A nice bonfire's also nice," then finally getting himself out of the tree, the jester continued, "How about a fresh baked pie? Those are often hot! There's also boiling water cooking rice."

While the jester continued to strum away at his lute, Donald started to think about a nice hot bath, the duck sighing at the thought of it all, his body already starting to warm up. Minnie thought about her warm, elegant bed and had a look of satisfaction on her face. Mickey thought about the first time he'd eaten a roasted ham and the heat that filled his body from that first bite as the surrounding his body melted.

"When you feel cold, do not forget this simple thing," Goofy sang with a big smile on his face, "If you ignore it, you won't feel it, I'm sure you can all agree."

The others laughed and walked off into the distance while singing together, "Just think of the warmest kind of thing you ever saw or felt and you can be sure you won't be cold. You'll be warm as you can be!"

And thus it all came to an end as the four laughed and continued forward. Nothing was going to stop them now, well, at least the cold wouldn't.

Back at Peteland, Agan and his servants were sitting in easy chairs and relaxing. After all, as generals, they didn't have to cook, clean or do any of those things.

"I tell you, boss, things don't get any better than this," Bogard stated as Agan nodded his head replying, "We've got a great gig here, guys. All we have to do is get rid of two mice and a couple of nobodies. That's nothing for us."

At that very moment, Pete stormed into their quarters with a frown on his face, Jaguar looking up at him asking, "How's it going, your highness?"

"Don't 'How's it going' me!" the king retorted, "I need to speak with Agan right now!"

Agan looked up and grinned saying, "Oh, you flatter me, King Pete, but whatever you have to say to me my subjects may hear as well."

"That's the first subject I'd like to discuss," Pete remarked with a look of anger on his face, "First of all, anyone under my roof is MY subject, not yours!"

"Oh, you know what I mean," Agan replied with a grin, "As long as I'm serving you, they're just as much yours to command," as Pete slapped his forehead, the king continuing, "Another thing, I hired you as my second-in-command so you would deal with the princess and her followers. Well, WHY AREN'T YOU DOING THAT!"

Agan let out a sigh and replied, "If I'm not mistaken, you already have a demon to take care of them for you. Seeing as someone as great and powerful as you summoned it and gave it your traits, I fail to see why you'd need us. We are simply backup in case the four of them do get here and you truly need our services."

Strangely enough, these words actually calmed Pete down. The king laughed and said, "Well, I am great and mighty, aren't I? Surely a demon modelled after me shouldn't need help."

"Exactly my point, my liege," Agan stated with a bow of the head, "Now relax, your highness, and leave everything to your servants."

All the while, Mickey and his friends had gotten quite far, down the road when they noticed a ski lodge in the distance. Minnie sighed with relief saying, "Thank goodness. We can rest in there."

The others nodded in agreement and followed the princess towards the lodge as all four ran up to the door. Mickey put on a confident grin and said, "Allow me," knocking on the door. After about twenty seconds, Mickey frowned and knocked a second time.

"Mickey, perhaps no one's in there," Minnie suggested as the peasant let out a sigh, Donald snapping his fingers and grumbling, "Aw, phooey!"

But as luck would have it, the doorknob started to turn at that very moment, all four smiling widely at the sight of this. As the door opened up, a walrus with two legs as opposed to flippers and dressed in ski gear with a face that strangely resembled Pete's stood there with a smile.

"Hello," the walrus said before directing the group into the wooden house saying, "Please, do come in. You must be chilly after walking around out there."

The four shrugged and entered, Donald with a look of fear in his eyes as he muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this."

The walrus walked over to a fireplace and pulled out a match, lighting it and throwing it atop some wood. However, the flame didn't seem to be spreading that fast as the walrus pulled out a small vial, dropping a single droplet of a clear liquid onto it, the fire now burning bright as the walrus laughed, placing the vial away.

"A bit of fish oil I find always does the trick," the man stated, walking over to a chair and sitting down, Mickey and the others sitting on a couch across from him.

"Now, please, tell me your names," the walrus said, "I've never had guests before. I may as well know."

The others looked at one-another as the walrus let out a laugh and exclaimed, "Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself first!"

Mickey stared at the sight of this man laughing as he simply turned to the others. The others didn't seem all that worried except for Donald, who had a look of suspicion on his face. The peasant actually shared the sailor's view right now. This all seemed too convenient, not to mention this walrus's face looked strangely similar to that of the snake and the spider they had previously met.

"My name is Wallaby T. Walrus Wickersham Walter, but you may call me Wally for short," the walrus stated rather proudly before adding, "I am a servant to king Pete, a creature created by him through magic."

As soon as he said those exact words, his four visitors stared wide-eyed. They couldn't believe it. They were in the house of one of Pete's demons. As Wally looked at them as if to ask for their names, Mickey wasn't sure what to do. Dare he tell the man his real name?

This thought process didn't last long as Goofy chuckled, "Ahyuck, nice to meet ya, Wally! I'm Goofy and these are my friends, Mickey, Donald and Minnie!"

The others stared at the jester with shock as the dog added, "Minnie's a princess," before slapping their foreheads. As if introducing them wasn't bad enough, Goofy had basically revealed that Minnie was the very being Pete was after. Had he not heard a word that the walrus had said?

But much to their surprise, Wally didn't turn hostile in the slightest. He didn't even put on an evil grin or anything, nor did he start acting suspicious. He simply smiled compassionately at them and said, "A princess, eh? I had no idea I'd be in the presence of royalty. I would have cleaned the lodge a bit had I known."

"Oh, it's okay," Minnie said with a laugh, "Honestly, I think the lodge is very nice."

"Really?" Wally replied with a blush while the others looked at him strangely. Was this man really one of Pete's demons? He sure as heck didn't act like one.

For the next hour, things seemed to be going well. Wally whipped up a nice batch of hot chocolate, even making a bag lunch for the group. He and Goofy even found something in common: both played the lute. All in all, the four had certainly had a nice time in Wally's lodge but they couldn't stay there forever.

"So long, Wally," Mickey said with a smile, now wearing a winter coat and waving at the walrus, "and thanks for the coats. We really appreciate it."

"Wasn't a problem," the walrus replied with a shrug, "although I'm still wondering why I'd have four coats that don't even fit me in my house..."

Minnie chuckled and bowed to the walrus saying, "Thank you ever so much for the hospitality," Donald adding, "That was really good hot chocolate, too."

Goofy felt as if a simple thank you wouldn't have sufficed. As such, he pulled out his lute and handed it to Wally saying, "Here. You may need to entertain yourself what with your lack of guests and all."

The walrus's eyes sparkled as he held onto the instrument, a tear going down his face as he gave the jester a big hug. And with all said and done, the four left, giving the walrus one last wave as Wally waved back.

"Good luck saving your dog!" he shouted, closing the door as the others froze, their eyes going wide.

Mickey looked at Minnie, about to say something but couldn't let out the words as he, Minnie and Donald just shrugged. Although it was obvious what Mickey was planning to ask. Why had Wally helped them knowing that they were the ones Pete was looking for? Perhaps Wally was the one demon who didn't serve Pete. After all, he was the only one who could speak and was fully evolved. Maybe he just wasn't made evil like the others.

Nonetheless, now was not the time to think about that. The four had come a long way and now it was time to save Pluto. Hopefully, this would be the last area.