The Mouse Who Would Be King

By Lynx (of Organization VI)

Rating: K

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. Please don't sue.

Summary: The story of how Mickey Mouse became king of Disney Castle is not the fairy tale it may first seem.

Notes: What to say? It's finally the LAST CHAPTER. collapses I'm so glad to hear people have been enjoying it so far, and I hope this ending is satisfying!

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Almost immediately, the people of the small and slightly scratchy world set to work rebuilding their castle. They never quite realized that, in the process of doing so, their world wasn't so small or scratchy anymore. At least, they didn't realize it yet.

What they did notice was that, as often happens when you've already done something once, the work went a lot faster. They reused whatever pieces of the old castle they could, and cut new blocks when needed. They fixed any engineering problems that had popped up earlier, helped especially by Ludwig Von Drake. The building plans did change quite a bit: the towers wouldn't be quite so tall, and the edges not as rigid-straight. There was more open space for green things to grow. But of course, the Cornerstone of Light stayed in its place.

The work also went quicker because nearly the entire town turned out to help. Scrooge McDuck donated a generous sum of his fortunate towards building costs ("Ach, it's a business venture. New jobs will be good for the economy!") At Daisy's insistence, Huey, Dewey and Louie were there almost every day helping with little jobs or carrying supplies. Donald and Goofy practically lived on the site, although Donald did his fair share of complaining, as he was never one for hard labor.

During the building of the castle, there were other projects going on as well. Chip and Dale volunteered to repair Mickey's ship, or "gummi ship," as they had taken to calling it. Mickey hesitated at first, but after seeing them do such a good job repairing the tail, he decided to let them try the whole craft. The two chipmunks were delighted to put their tinkering abilities to use, and managed to rope Pluto into helping with more of the heavy lifting.

As for Mickey himself? Try as he would, he was often too busy to do actual work on the castle. Instead, the task of organizing it all seemed to fall to him. He had to delegate how the castle should be built, when breaks for lunch happened, and much more. He also spent a good deal of time teaching magic, as both Donald and Minnie insisted they learn it. When asked, Goofy just shrugged and said, "Oh, I'll just learn it when you're not busy."

Mickey was certainly not as good a teacher as Yen Sid, but in being forced to teach, he discovered he learned more himself. Surprisingly, Donald picked up on magic quickly, although is first few tries often ended with singed tail feathers. Minnie was a different case altogether: she found it difficult to do simple spells like fire and blizzard. However, she had a great knack for certain defensive and holy spells that even Mickey had been unable to do properly for Yen Sid. Minnie didn't care what spells she conjured; she was happy to be doing it at all.

Between castle planning, magic lessons and checking up on the gummi ship, Mickey had little time to himself. The few moments he was able to get away usually came at night, when he would bring some books and a flashlight with him and sit out under the stars. He read by the light of the flashlight, and when he couldn't concentrate on the words anymore, he tried to pinpoint this strange feeling that had taken hold of him. He was home, his friends were safe, and the castle was growing more complete by the day. So why did something still feel amiss? Why did looking up at all of those countless stars make him feel...lonely?

It wasn't until the castle was more than halfway completed when Minnie found him out in the fields one evening. He almost didn't hear her approach, but certainly heard the quiet clearing of her throat when she stopped over him. "What're you doing out here, Mickey?"

"Oh, nothin'. I'm just thinkin'."

Minnie frowned. "You're not thinking about leaving again, are you? 'Cause you're acting just the same as before you disappeared."

The worry in her voice came through loud and clear, and he turned to face her. "Oh Minnie, I'm not gonna disappear again! It's just..." He sighed. "When I was on Yen Sid's world, I missed you and my home and all my friends. But now that I'm home again, I miss being out on another world and discovering something new every day. It's like...you don't realize how important something is until it's not there anymore."

"Mickey..." Minnie turned and sat down beside him in the damp grass. "I may not have gone to another world, but I know how you feel."

Mickey glanced down at the open book in his lap. "So what's there to do about it?"

There was a long pause; so quiet that Mickey was almost startled when Minnie answered him. "Well, I guess all we can do is take a little piece of the things we miss with us. That way, wherever we are, we'll always have that reminder of what was so special."

Mickey thought and thought over this. He thought about it all the way back home with Minnie, right up until they said goodnight and went to their respective rooms. He had books and clothes and weapons from Yen Sid's world, but it wasn't quite enough. What more could he do to make his friends feel that same wonder as when he'd first discovered a new world? How could their two worlds really connect?"

And, as good ideas often do, he had his answer just before drifting off to sleep.

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In the weeks that followed, the town worked even harder and faster, because they knew the new castle was so close to completion. Towers and columns seemed to spring up overnight from their efforts. A few days before the castle was completed, Chip and Dale finished repairing the gummi ship, and Mickey took it for its first test flight around the town. The chipmunks had really outdone themselves: not only was the steering greatly improved, but also the simple conductor block had been replaced with a real engine that integrated beautifully with the actual gummis. Even Donald finally got his chance to fly by giving the ship its second test run. Like magic, he took a liking to it instantly.

Meanwhile, Mickey used his spare time to continue his reading, but of his spell books rather than his story ones. He refused to say to his friends what it was about, but whatever it was, it seemed to encompass pages of reading and lots of concentration.

The castle finally reopened on a bright day towards the end of May: the kind of day with all the new life left over from spring and all the excitement coming with summer mixed together. The whole town gathered around the castle moat once more: this time not to fight, but to celebrate. The castle looked brighter and grander than ever in the spring-summer sunshine, and sandwiches, cookies and lemonade were available for everyone present. Front and center stood Daisy and the three nephews, Scrooge McDuck, Ludwig Von Drake, Pluto and the two chipmunks, all with flags and balloons. After months of toil, war, disaster and uncertainty, this was at last the moment they'd been waiting for!

You would assume that this would be the precise moment for everything to go wrong. But not this time, as enough wrong had gone on for things to finally go right.

Donald, Goofy, Mickey and Minnie stood at the front of the lowered drawbridge, ready to present the finished castle. They had worked many long days for this moment, but you never would've known it for the smiles on their faces.

"Folks, we're proud to present to you: our brand new castle!"

The townsfolk cheered at Mickey's proclamation, and the band struck up a tune. "And this time, it's not gonna be a bad place. We want it to be a source of joy and inspiration, for all the world!"

Even louder cheering broke out. But in the midst of it all, Mickey hopped up as if just realizing he'd left the oven on. "We have the castle, but no one to rule it! What're we gonna do for a king?"

Goofy chuckled. "Gawrsh, Mickey, we thought it'd be obvious that you'd be king."

The mouse's mouth fell open in surprise. Him? Rule the entire world? It didn't quite seem possible! "Aw, shucks Goofy, I don't think—"

"Don't be bashful, now!" Goofy said. "I think everyone can say you've earned it!"

Mickey was met with nods and sounds of agreement from all the surrounding townsfolk. How strange this was! That he'd gone from lowly deck hand, to sorcerer's apprentice, to king of his world through such dangerous and exciting means. He was nervous, yes; who wouldn't be? But this castle already did feel like home in some mysterious way. And if he was careful about what he did, and remembered the lessons he'd learned, maybe he'd even be a good king.

"Okay, I'll do it!" Mickey held up a finger before anyone else could open their mouths. "But on one condition."

"What's that?" Minnie asked.

Mickey smiled, and took her hand. "Minnie gets to be queen. And Goofy! You must be my captain of the knights!"

Goofy's face went red, and he laughed. "Ahyuck, it'd be an honor!"

"Hey, I helped, too!" Donald protested.

"Of course, Donald! That's why you gotta be the royal court magician," Mickey said.

"I get to be court magician?! Oh BOY!" the duck exclaimed, hopping in the air with excitement.

The crowd roared their approval, and Mickey found himself nearly overwhelmed with it all. It was like going swimming in a lake full of happy, scared, excited, thoughtful and prideful all mixed together. There were so many things he wanted to do now! But only one he wanted to do first.

"So, King Mickey," Minnie said, giggling a little at the title. "What will be your first act as king of this world?"

Mickey shot her his best grin. "Stand back, and I'll show ya!"

They did so. Mickey stepped forward, and drew the magic sword from his belt. He'd been thinking about and concentrating on doing this kind of magic for days, and now that he was ready, he felt like it was something he'd known how to do all along. It wasn't the usual kind of magic cast with spells, but the special kind that came from his friends, his stories and their hearts.

He tapped the sword to the ground, and as if someone had tipped a bucket of paint out from his sword point, color began to spread out along the grass. Not the gray-toned should-be color of their world, but real colors, like those on Mickey and his gummi ship.

The color spread without stopping, like a giant wash brush being taken over the canvas of their world. The grass turned to rich green, the moat aquamarine, and the sky brilliant blue. The castle walls shown out with white against the sky, cobalt roofs and yellow and purple trimmings. The trees shook with a dozen different shades of green and brown, and the flower gardens exploded like fireworks into mazes of flowers.

But the color didn't stop there. It touched the people, too, and many began to cry out in surprise and even alarm. Mickey watched with an enormous smile as Minnie's dress turned to bright pink, Donald's sailor hat to navy blue, and Goofy's vest to orange. Pluto barked and began to run in circles as his fur turned an ochre color, and the chipmunks chattered at their new brown-furred looks. Everywhere was shouts and exclamations of amazement as this strange new phenomenon.

Mickey felt like his heart would burst out of his chest. Now everyone would see what it was like to discover a new world, because this world was as good as new!

His eyes found Minnie's stunned expression. "So do you like it?"

"Oh Mickey, I love it!" And she threw her arms around him for one of the best hugs-and-kisses he'd ever received.

"Ha-ha! It looks like this castle is ready to go!" Mickey cheered.

"Wait, I think we're forgetting somethin'!" Goofy piped up. "We gotta name the castle, don't we?"

"That's right! It's not a proper castle without a name," Minnie agreed.

This was the one thing Mickey hadn't thought of. While Donald was insisting they call it the "Grand Duck Castle," he pondered over the name. Something in him said he should name it for the world he visited and the people he met, since it was the sorcerer who made all this possible. But "Yen Sid Castle" just sounded weird. Maybe, if he switched the name around a bit...

"Disney Castle!" He found himself almost shouting.

"Hmmm..." Goofy considered the name. "I guess it kinda has a nice ring to it."

"I think it's grand!" Minnie finally said.

"Well, if you're the king..." Donald sighed, although he clearly would've preferred "Grand Duck Castle."

"Ha-ha! Well, I'm sure glad you all like it!"

Minnie leaned over and gave him another kiss on the cheek, which made him feel as if someone had filled all his insides with warm, tingly goo. He couldn't have possibly imagined a better homecoming than Minnie taking his hand and saying, "Welcome home, Your Majesty."

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And so it was that, through circumstances mysterious, obvious and just plain lucky, Mickey Mouse became the king of Disney Castle, and brought color to his small and slightly scratchy world. Because of this, the world was now bigger, and brighter, shining with the light it'd had tucked away in there all along.

Most stories would end with a "happily ever after," but that was obviously not the case with this one. Ruling the world would not come any easier than becoming king had, and times would continue to grow more dangerous as the darkness stretched from world to world. The King would go on many more journeys to worlds never before imagined, and cross paths with people both full of light and great darkness.

But those are all stories for another time. So while there was no "ever after" involved, it can certainly be said that this one ended happily.

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THE END

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Holy cow, it's the end of this story! Longest chapter-wise story I think I've actually finished for KH! XD I'm usually very very bad about replying to reviews, but I just wanted to give a hugemongous thank-you to everyone that reviews, favorited or just enjoyed reading! I've never gotten 100 reviews before; I am amazed! All of your comments really meant a lot to me.

Will there be a sequel? I really don't know yet. For something like this, there's the possibility (whereas Eleventh Hour wouldn't be good for sequels at all) but I'm afraid I don't really have any solid story ideas like I did for this. So who knows! At the moment, no. Either way, I'm glad this one is complete!