Ok, second last chapter. Be patient, guys. Don't really have a lotta time on my hands.

Anyone have any ideas on how I can make Saph less Mary-Sue-ish?

Anyhow, Sapphire, Joey, and the bad guys belong to me. Everything else is Disney's.

She appeared right in the middle of a crowd of people and they all shouted in surprise. Clearing the area around her and a path in front of her, Sapphire could see the regal mouse on a throne wearing a crown and purple robes. The astonishment on his face was milder as he stared at her.

"Hello. Can you help my dog? He's my best friend and he's almost~" Sapphire didn't finish, but she didn't need to. Everyone in the room got the general idea.

Rapunzel, The Fairy Godmother, and the Blue Fairy stepped forward, but Mickey stood and held up a gloved hand and they stopped. Sapphire's heart sank.

I've caused too much ruckus in the Disney Kingdoms. He's not gonna help.

But he stepped down the marble stairs to the lowered area and walked up to Joey. Sapphire couldn't help marveling at how short he was. Well, that was to be expected from a mouse.

Mickey closed his black eyes and put his hands out to Joey, palms forward. White energy flowed from his hands to Joey's ribcage. Sapphire stared as the bloody bullet hole closed. He was soon breathing normally and his eyes opened.

"Where am I?"

Sapphire hugged him.

"Saph? But I thought… oh no. Did you DIE?"

She smiled at him. "No. Mickey healed you." She gestured to the grinning mouse. Joey quickly got up, then knelt down on one front leg so his rump was sticking up in the air.

"There's no need for that," Mickey laughed. "What I want to know is your story. How'd an obviously foreign human get to Disney?"

The dirty, bloody, worn out teenager spilled her guts to the High King with Joey filling in bits that she missed. The whole room listened, transfixed, as their adventure unraveled. At the end, Mickey said nothing. He just nodded thoughtfully.

Once again, Sapphire's head exploded. She crumpled to the ground, making low sounds of pain. Mickey's eyebrows shot up and Joey pressed in close to her.

The agony passed and Sapphire glanced around, embarrassed. Mickey put a hand on her shoulder. "Gosh, are you alright?" She nodded weakly. "When's the first time you got these headaches?"

Sapphire thought back, eyes flicking to the ceiling. "In Paris, after visiting Stitch, Kaa, and Clopin."

The mouse's brow furrowed. "Your body is rejecting the others' abilities. We have to get them out."

"How?"

King Mickey concentrated again and Sapphire's mouth opened by itself. White balls flew out, finding the correct owner and returning to them. With every ball that came out, Sapphire felt better. Soon, the balls were all in their rightful places.

"Mickey?"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd those balls come to me in the first place?"

Mickey grinned widely. "You have naturally strong Disney Magic." Sapphire cocked her head in confusion as he went on. "Your magic's almost as strong as mine."A gasp rose from around the room. Magic as strong as the King's himself? That was almost impossible! "With such power, you simply didn't know how to use it, so it went outta whack. Not your fault."

Sapphire filled with fear. "You mean… It could happen again?"

"Not if you learned to control it."

"But… why do I have Disney magic? Why not someone else?"

Mickey's tail swished over the ground in concentration. "Have you had much contact with Disney before?"

Thinking back, Sapphire realized that all the movies she'd watched about Disney had probably strengthened the power. "Yes. If watching Disney movies count."

"It does. I could teach you how to use it if you want. That is, unless you want to go back home."

The brown-haired girl thought of what she had in New York. A dad that didn't care for her, and a handful of acquaintances. Sure, there was Lisa, but they didn't have the strongest bond and she was quite popular. The only one she'd liked in NYC was Joey, and he was here with her.

"I'd like to stay, if that's alright with you, your majesty."

He pumped a fist in the air. "Swell!" Calming down, he continued, "Now, another thing I wanna know."

"What?"

"Why were you collecting random items from different characters?"

She flushed a deep red, slowly easing her backpack off her injured arm and drew out the scrapbook. "I was putting things in here as souvenirs for when I went back home. Of course, I never thought I'd be invited to stay here. It's a book of my favorite Disney characters." She flipped to a page in the book. "There's only one left."

The page was black and white with a picture of Mickey himself in his first cartoon, Steamboat Willie. The mouse was flattered. He searched his mind for something to put in the scrapbook, but only one thing came to mind. He raised a hand and a signature appeared on the page. "How's that?"

Sapphire smiled. "Perfect."

Mickey addressed the crowd in the room. "Now that you all have your abilities back, you may go."

They got the idea. Everyone slowly filed out of the throne room doors, giving nervous glances to Sapphire, as if they were afraid that she would try to take their powers on purpose. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Alone with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie (and Joey, if you count him), Sapphire loosened up some. She shifted, aware once again of a sharp pain in her retracted wing. Pushing them out of her body, she ignored the gasps of surprise from the royal court and twisted to check the damage. A chunk of flesh was cut out of her left wing. Probably from the General's bullet.

"Hey, Mickey? Could you fix this?"

Mickey gently took her wing in his gloved hand and Sapphire felt him running his thumbs over the feathers, checking to make sure the appendage was real. He inspected the wound, then said, "No. Even with my powerful magic, your dog's injury took a lot outta me. This one will have to heal on its own."

Sapphire settled her wings against her back again. "That's fine."

"Your highness," Donald quacked, "Where will she sleep?"

The mouse stared at him in disbelief. "Donald, this is a CASTLE! We have at least 80 rooms not being used! I'll give her one."

They walked through the spacious hallways, Mickey asking questions about her. Joey trotted next to Sapphire, moving as normally as if the bullet wound hadn't ever happened. The high king led her to a room and opened the double doors.

Sapphire gasped at the sheer splendor of it. It had a high ceiling with intricate light fixtures. The back wall was completely glass, letting her see outside, past the beautiful gardens and vast grounds surrounding the castle. A big, four-post canopy bed sat to one side. A book case, chairs, and a computer desk also furnished the room. A door led off to a sparkling clean bathroom.

Sapphire turned to Mickey. "Thank you so much, your highness."

The black and white mouse laughed. "Since you're going to be staying here, you can just call me Mickey."

"Alright."

"Yeah, thanks, Mickey!" Joey piped up. He flopped over onto his back and rolled around in the thick carpet. "This is livin'!"

Mickey smiled at the dog. "I'll send a medic to take care of your injuries. Right now, just explore your room." Then he turned and left.

Sapphire eased her backpack off her wings and set it on the floor. Her eyelids drooped halfway over her green eyes. I didn't realize how tires I am.

She climbed onto the bed and yawned widely. Time for a power nap.