Of Clones, and Crowns.

King Mickey was in his study, his wide toon eyes lingering on the dwindling crackle of fire that draped small billowing tendrils on glowing ash. His gloved hand held firm an ink pen but the paper beneath it had little to speak of. His need to archive was the excuse he was using to avoid visiting with the Sage King and Kickey knew it was a poor one. It was just that seeing a dear friend like that so unexpectedly after making peace with their death and in such a hollowed state. It was hard. Harder than wielding the keyblade. Harder than magical mastery.

The sound of footsteps caught the Mouses' blinky attention and he frowned on confusion. For a moment he thought that maybe he'd heard Pluto goofing around but as always Pluto was happily curled up in his lavish pet bed snoozing away. Minnie wasn't in that night either. She'd gone with Daisy to secure some resources for Daisy's boutique. It was late and no subject should have been wandering the castle halls. Another set of footsteps...

One of Pluto's black ears rose up and he loosed a low protective growl. Mickey blinked at the door then turned to command his trusty pet. "C'mon Pluto." he promoted the dog who lifted up into action immediately and followed along Mickey's side as he was hopping of his chair. The two of them moved quiet and carefully out of the study and Pluto on the trail of some scent had his nose to the ground. A bit bewildered, Mickey followed silently behind Pluto.

In any other time, perhaps it would have been wise for Mickey to leave his footmen and castle guard in employment but with the rather festive atmosphere radiating from the town, Mickey just wasn't cold enough to stop his court from enjoying themselves at one of the biggest festivals Disney Town had ever seen. It was good to keep hearts swelling with light and happiness. It was the sort of concept that forged artifacts like the cornerstone and manifested a will to stand against the dark...but admittedly in this chaos his Majesty's choice to have a heart and encourage fun might have been a flawed decision. The uncanny ability to have faith in the best outcomes could sometimes be a real weakness for the King Mouse.

His trusty companion was staying a little too far ahead, a round bulb of a nose skittering along some unseen trail on the ground that Pluto was trailing. The yellow canine was too often disappearing around hallway corners and Mickey could only sprint so quietly. Pluto skidded to a halt, both ears up and teeth baring. They were close. Mickey knew at this point there would be no stopping his pet from going after the intruder so Mickey quickly pulled from his pack a squeaky bone and he threw it at Pluto's feet. The dog momentarily distracted crouched and took the bone into his mouth only to disappear from the hall in a flash of light.

Mickey surged forward toward the bone toy crouching to swipe it up before racing down the next corner. He was getting dangerously close to the armory and the vault. This was also the way to the gummi dock. What the stranger was actually after could have been any of those things. Whoever they were, they'd bypassed the throne room which meant they either weren't after the cornerstone or weren't privy in where to find it. The king mouse's eyes narrowed when he caught a shadow descending the next corridor. His right gloved hand summoned forth the shimmering kingdom key as he skidded into that corridor pointing his blade toward the intruder. "You there! Halt!" as high and squeaky as his voice was it still rang with authority and even surprising presence.

A schedule to keep? Castle thieves were on a schedule? Mickey's eyes widened as he beheld the sight of Riku, his close friend once more adorning the emblem of the Heartless, and his face twisted in that way that only one who has surrendered to the darkness could be. In that moment that Mickey was watching him, the king's stance had slackened. He looked like he was seeing a ghost, but he quickly readjusted, the chain on the Key's handle clinking with the subtle movement.

"Who are you?" Mickey demanded. See, his majesty had years of experience with cast illusions, folk's wearin the faces of other folks. Mickey knew Riku and he knew him well. Riku didn't talk to Mickey like this and if he had come to his castle once again slave to the dark, skulking around would not be part of the schedule he kept.

"This is my home and my responsibility. I'm not too concerned with your schedule, I'm afraid. I'll hafta ask ya to leave now." the King would give anyone the chance to make the right choice.

As the imposter implied that even his majesty might go to such lengths if it meant helping friends that were in danger Mickey's eyes widened, his big round ears pulling backward a bit at the audacity! He continued on noting that Namine happened to be the friend he was concerned about. As Namine was one of his own friends
Mickey couldn't help but be concerned as well. The imposter Riku continued on about his distaste for his suit and Mickey shook his head refusing to get distracted.

"Listen, you! I would do everything it took t'help my friends, and that includes what they stand for! That means doin what's right no matter how dark things look. I would ask for help from someone before I would truly steal from them. Namine is a friend of mine and I know for certain that she wouldn't want her rescuer to steal from a friend! Now where is she? I'll get her and bring her here. She'll be safe." he promised and Mickey meant it, there wasn't a safer place in all the worlds than Disney Castle especially with it's king home to defend it.

"As for you, I will ask ya once more to leave. I don't have anything that will be of help t'ya here." Mickey pointed his keyblade forward in warning. It was not often the king had reason to threaten someone but he had a really bad feeling about this imposter.