In which two bodyguards become five...
The smell of soap rung thick in the cleaning room, the stone tiles of the floor sheened over with splashes of bubbles and water from the tub, occasionally spoiled with the mark of someone's shoe (or paw, for Pluto). Mountains of uniforms served as a backdrop for the three unlucky friends who scrubbed and washed at the clothes, having been consigned to this mundane and mind-numbing task after causing an...unfortunate incident with the castle pipes during this morning's labours, accompanied by Captain Pete verbally ripping them to shreds. The tub was full of soapy water, Donald halfway through smoothing out one of the musketeers' many tunics through a machine, mindlessly turning the wheel, Goofy with a brush in hand at the other side, and the room's natural light unfortunately didn't come from windows that let them see into the courtyard; those were always the favourite, because they could watch the musketeers train first thing in the morning, lashing at imaginary foes with their rapiers and duelling one another to prove whose honour was the most untouched.
Suffice to say, this morning's incident meant Mickey, Donald and Goofy were feeling nowhere near as floaty as the bubbles in the room. Still, the smallest of the group wasn't one to let a roadblock like this get him down, and he was resolved not to let it get his friends down either. Adjusting the hat he wore - a beloved gift from the musketeers he so idolised - he flashed them all a smile. closing the distance between himself and his two friends.
"Hey, guys - don't let what Captain Pete said get you down...! There's gotta be a way we can still become musketeers." Mickey hoped. "And gosh, haven't you heard about those monsters?-"
"Monsters...!?" Donald quaked, somehow going even paler than normal, his feathers significantly ruffled.
"No, no, no, there's no monsters here! I mean the ones we've been hearin' about, the strange-sounding ones with the bright colours!" Mickey clarified quickly, wanting to cut off Donald's moment of panic. Donald breathed out, remembering they were safe. "The musketeers are gonna want help in dealing with them, especially if they wanna keep the princess safe, right?"
"Right...?" Donald and Goofy said in unison.
"So, they'll probably want new recruits soon! Sure, it might not be today, or even tomorrow, but one of these days Captain Pete's gonna see something in us, come in through that door and say-"
"BOYS! It's your lucky day!" a familiar bellowing voice cut through the room, causing all three to turn round. Just as Mickey had predicted, there stood the captain, his whole form filling the door, a gleam of what looked like enthusiasm in his eyes. "I've been thinkin' things over, and now that I've thought about it, I'll tell you what...you three do got what it takes to be musketeers! And hold your breaths, cause I've got a special task just for you!"
Mickey's eyes widened, much like the shape of his own ears. "You really mean it?" he beamed.
"Cross my heart! And cross my heart - we've got..." Pete leaned in, a finger over his lips, lowering his voice. "Imposors."
"Impostors?" Donald said, with a noticeable anxious tremour.
"Just what I said!" Pete said. "See...the princess has got herself two temporary bodyguards, Zora and Muri, or somethin'. But your captain doesn't trust 'em! In fact...I'm bettin' these monsters are their fault!"
"Oh no! That's terrible...! Do you think they're gonna try and hurt the princess?" Mickey wondered.
"Only if you three put a stop to it." Pete gestured. "If I'm somehow wrong, then there's nothin' to worry your empty heads about! But, if you get a whiff of something being off? You watch them with your beady eyes and take them out! Yous just remember - one's a pipsqueak, with spiky hair, and the other's this weird-lookin' lady who looks like she's about to nod off any second! Ya got that!?"
"Got it, sir!" all three responded, without hesitation.
"You hear that, guys? We're gonna be musketeers!" Mickey pumped up his fist, his two friends joining in his excitement all the while.
Donald quivered a little, glancing left and right, as if expecting the 'impostors' to overhear their possible suspicions and cut them down to ribbons. "I'm really hoping these aren't bad guys..."
"Even if they are, they won't get past my brains!"
"O-or my courage!"
"And all our heart!"
What followed in that moment felt like a dream come true, because it was; this was the moment Mickey had dreamed of from the start. To become something incredible, like a king or a travelling hero, and here was the opportunity staring him and his best friends right in their faces - they had gone from rubbing their fingers raw having to clean these sorts of uniforms to being able to get ones of their very own, all the details attended to. The dashing hats with their feathers, the red and blue, the royal insignia splashed boldly across their chests, and their own shining swords to fight off evildoers.
What a change of luck!
And not just for them - Sora and Nemurin found this fortune to be a surprise, at least as far as the authorities went. After all, in Quasimodo's world, Frollo had been the head pulling all the strings and he'd hated their guts enough to have a manhunt set after them once they began helping Esmeralda, then those jerk guards and of course CLU from the Grid had also had it out for them both, and then in the world where Sora had met his old friend there wasn't any authority to speak of by virtue of what its whole deal was, but the one that there had been had only played nice with Sora to make sure they could still do their dirty work. So arriving here and actually having someone give them a fair shake was nice, and Nemurin didn't doubt Minnie - why would she? Clearly Sora remembered her from where he came from, and...any friend of Sora's was a friend of hers.
The pair of them were stationed at each side of Minnie's throne, Nemurin blowing a strand of hair that had fallen loose out of her eyes. It was brown, and fully this time. Now that she looked at herself, she knew those darker strands were spreading from the roots, filling the pale cream locks with spots of brown that were ill-fitting for the rest of her. Her clothes remained the same, but her eyes were losing their sheen, reverting to their usual colour of plain brown too, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was obvious to everyone who looked at her. Sure, Minnie and Daisy, her handmaiden, didn't know what she looked like before now, but the mismatch had to have shown through at least a little.
And she knew from how Sora had picked up the slack during that last fight, quick as it was, that he was noticing too. Of course, if she grew too weak to keep her form in the Dream World, he might just hope that she would wake up. But that wasn't an option for her, and it was dawning on her that she might have to tell him that, sooner than later.
It was these thoughts that swirled about Nemurin's head not long after Captain Pete re-entered the throne room, standing on the lush red carpet that led to Minnie's seat. The princess herself was unimpressed as he spoke, her elbow resting firmly on one side, poking her cheek with her fingers as she sat through this drivel, occasionally shooting Sora a glance, as if to say she shared in his distaste. Nemurin nearly laughed, noticing how hard Sora was trying to keep up a polite face, but the patience in his eyes faded the longer Pete kept going on for.
"Your Royal Highness, I have never, ever had… a more highly skilled group of gentlemen… than the individuals which I present to you today. Some of the bravest, smartest men in my regiment, though their potential may be hidden to the untrained eye!" Pete rambled.
Minnie's handmaiden whispered, "Seems like this is gonna take a while...would my liege and her bodyguards like anything?"
The princess shook her head, and Sora put up a hand, "No, but thanks...~"
"But my eye has seen it! The sheer potential-"
"Yes, France thanks you and your eye very much..." Minnie said dryly, so dry Sora had to hide a chuckle behind his hand.
With a flourish that Pete clearly thought was more earned than it actually was, he gestured to the set of double doors that led into the room, which swung out to reveal...a pile of wrecked golden armour, an anthropomorphic duck and a dog.
"Should I just get used to talking anthropomorphic animals...?" Nemurin leaned over, whispering to Sora.
"Yeah, pretty much. Those two are actually my friends...!" Sora smiled, keeping his voice low. "That there's Donald, and that's Goofy-"
He was clearly about to say more, when his face fell, his brows slanting as his smile disappeared. Morgana looked up at her human, brushing up against his leg in an attempt to offer comfort, Sheppy's ears flattening as he looked at his Magical Girl in questioning.
"Hey, what's the matter...?" Nemurin asked, softly, only to remember. "Oh...I'm guessing they won't know you."
A moment of silence passed, before she rested a hand on her friend's shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze. "But that doesn't mean they won't feel the way they would with you anyway. You and Jiminy got on great, right? So I'm sure your friends will know deep down that you're someone who could be their friend, because that's exactly what you are."
Inwardly, she couldn't help but think he could make friends with anyone; anyone not pure evil, that was. Her words sunk into Sora's mind, mulling it over for a few moments before his smile returned. "Yeah...yeah, you're right. Thanks, Nemu." he said.
He moved to say more, only to hear a small crash. The already dishevelled suit of armour crumbled further, revealing a shorter figure standing behind it, causing Sora to blink, and once again very obviously recognise the person.
"Let me guess...you know him too?" Nemurin said.
"Yeah, that's the King - but, I'm guessing this is a world from before he was king." Sora clarified, though admittedly the whole debacle of that was enough to make both their heads start hurting, so they both seemed to silently agree not to linger on the specifics of that too long.
"Well, Minnie's a princess..." Nemurin began, turning her eyes towards Minnie, who seemed to gaze at Mickey, her mouth hanging slightly open as if in bewilderment, or rather, quiet wonder. "And it seems she's quite taken with him already~"
Morgana barked a little, before quietening, Sheppy making a small drawn-out bleat, like a question mark. A knowing grin crossed her friend's face, a glimmer in his blue eyes now. "Ohhh...that explains it~" he agreed.
Mickey, Donald and Goofy all saluted now, despite the somewhat strange position they had been caught in once the doors opened, Minnie remaining in silent awe as the one she gazed at seemed to finally realise it, now just as dumbstruck. Daisy had returned with a plate of wine and cheese, though her eyes quickly widened as she noticed something; Donald and Goofy glanced at each other, a glint of panic present.
"Gawrsh, it's the impostors...!" Goofy gasped.
"Bad guys!" Donald exclaimed.
"Uh oh..." Nemurin muttered.
"Wait, he said we were just to keep an eye on them!-" Mickey protested, as Donald and Goofy went for the charge, making it a good way across the hall until the princess let out a loud and sharp interjection.
"STOP! These two are my bodyguards, just as the three of you are!" she said, immediately drawing the other two to a stop. Daisy crossed her arms, her brow slightly raised, a distinct unimpressed look on her face now. "This here is Sora, and this is Nemurin, and you will not do them harm!"
Now frozen in an awkward position of waiting to fight back, Donald and Goofy looked sheepish; only to blink, staring at Sora in particular, putting their swords back. Shuffling on his flippers, Donald sounded like he wanted to crumble and become one with the floor. "Sorry..."
"We were told you might have been bad guys..." Goofy added.
Shaking his head, Sora assured them, his expression soft. "Don't worry about it. You just wanted to protect the princess, right?"
"Of course!" both agreed.
Nemurin gave a small wave, rubbing one of her eyes as she yawned, another pang of tiredness hitting her. "Nice to meet you, fellows...~"
"We're terribly sorry, your majesty..." Mickey bowed his head, and at the sight of him, Minnie's gaze seemed to soften.
"You'll have to forgive them, Your Highness. They're like a well-oiled machine…just wound a bit too tight." Pete excused them, though both Nemurin and Sora were quick to detect a lack of visible guilt on his face from the incident.
"Well...you're all a team now, and that...that makes me feel safer already~" the princess smiled, her hands resting in her lap.
"A team..." Mickey repeated, looking between himself, his friends and the two Captain Pete had told them not to trust; he'd thought that if the pair were villains, they'd give off an energy like a warning bell, but...this felt like the opposite. One of them felt almost familiar, and even if he didn't recognise the other, there was a warmth to her too. One you could trust. "Sounds great to me!"
"Right!" Goofy joined.
"Yeah!" Sora grinned.
Daisy cleared her throat, her shoes clicking against the pristine floor. "Now with that...settled, we can talk about your first mission. Princess Minnie enjoys a carriage ride at this time of day, and you five are to ensure that she remains safe throughout. Is that understood?"
"Understood!"
A/N: What's this? Me posting a chapter and not disappearing but instead posting another one? Miraculous! What can I say, I got the kick to write this just after I published the last chapter, so I ran with it - now even if the worst happens y'all at least get an update 2 weeks in a row for a change! ^^ This chapter was fun to write, even with it mostly setting up the action piece for the next one. Yep, we're doing the carriage ride, featuring Beagle Boys and a fucking Dream Eater dinosaur, folks! (one of those sentences that must sound so bizarre to someone who's never played 3D...)
As always, thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one, where our five 'musketeers' carry out their first mission!