Chapter 1

"Was that Clyde?" Minnie asked, turning to look at Ortensia as the Klondike station faded from view.

"It looked like him." Ortensia nodded. "I wonder what he wanted."

"Too late to ask that." Minnie said as she took a seat in their small room.

"I hope Daisy's not over run when we get home." Ortensia admitted, taking her seat across from the mouse.

"I don't know, those kids of yours are actually well behaved." Minnie admitted. She looked at Ortensia's face and added, "Well, when they want to be."

"So, any news?" Ortensia asked, smiling at her friend.

Minnie rolled her eyes as she sighed with a smile. "No, you know that. He'll ask when he's ready."

"You're in your eighties and you're still saying that?" Ortensia asked. "You need to ask him."

"What?" Minnie leaned back in surprise. She dropped her head so her friend couldn't see her face as she admitted, "You know I'm too old school for that."

"Oh come on, it'd be cute." Ortensia smiled. "And you know he couldn't say no."

"I still wanna wait until he asks me." Minnie said. She looked at the cat and asked, "How'd Oswald ask you?"

"He actually cooked me dinner." Ortensia said, surprising Minnie.

"Really? I mean, today, sure. He's not that bad of a cook, but back then?"

"His cooking wasn't all that good really," Ortensia admitted, "and the candles almost set fire to his place but it was still actually pretty nice."

"I'm still wondering how he got your father's approval since I know a little about how much he didn't like Oswald back then." Minnie admitted.

"That's still a mystery to me, too." Ortensia laughed. "Homer let it slip that Oswald had to do something, but no one's told me."

Minnie pulled out her phone from her purse and smiled, "Well it can't be worse than this…Oh no." she turned her phone to show Ortensia a black screen. "My phone's dead."

Ortensia reached into her skirt pocket only to come out empty. "I must've put mine in my bag." She admitted. "What's sad is he actually looked cute dressed up as a girl."

"I am not going there." Minnie smiled at the girl. "He's your husband."

"Come on, let's see if anyone's mingling in the dining car yet." Ortensia said, a smile on her face as she stood up and lead the way out of their chamber only to freeze in the doorway as she almost bumped into a cat walking down the hallway dressed in a sports coat and an old writer's cap. "Oh, pardon me."

"Oh, clearly my fault." The cat nodded back only to stop as his eyes fell on Ortensia's face. "My name's Julius. You are?"

Ortensia found herself not sure even to what her name was at the time, forcing Minnie to respond. "She's Ortensia and I'm Minnie. Where are you heading to?"

"Southern California." Julius answered. "Would you two like to join me for a late lunch?"

"That'd be wonderful." Ortensia said, finally finding her tongue.

The two walked out in front of the cat, letting Minnie whisper to her friend, "Do I see hearts?"

"What?" Ortensia asked, looking around above her head, fearful there actually would be hearts floating around her head. She sighed as she glared at her friend, "No, I'm happily married."

"That doesn't say anything, and you know it." Minnie whispered back with a sly smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell Oswald."

-.-.-.-

"So you two are heading to Burbank, I knew you looked familiar." Julius nodded, sipping at his canned soda.

"I'm surprised you didn't say something about it when you heard her name." Ortensia admitted, glancing down at her now empty tea cup. She looked back up at the cat across the table only to be surprised even more at his eyes looking at her.

"I meant you both." Julius admitted. "I saw the Oswald cartoons and my favorite have always the ones with his wife at his side."

"You've seen them?" Ortensia asked.

"Yes, part of my job is as a Disney historian." Julius laughed. "I work the cartoon side, keeping sure all the props and backgrounds stay in mint condition and every once in a while I can sneak over and watch the old reels."

"Oh my…" Minnie mumbled, looking down at her lap wishing she'd ordered something to keep her hands busy.

"What is it?" Julius asked, his sandwich stopping in midair as he looked at her.

"It's just, I'm not too proud about my early stuff." Minnie admitted, avoiding the cat. "It always worries me when someone says they've been watching the back and white cartoons."

"It shouldn't." Julius said before taking a bite of his sandwich. He swallowed it before continuing. "Out of your first two years, I still say Plane Crazy's my favorite."

"Wow, really?" Minnie gasped a laugh in shock. "Why that one? I acted terribly, it was created in a back room for crying out loud."

"I guess I just have a soft spot for beginnings." Julius admitted with a blush. "I mean, I still watch the Alice Comedies as well as some of the old Laugh-O-Grams."

"Does the studio have the rights to those now?" Minnie asked, remembering those were the predecessors to even Oswald's show.

"Ya, their copyright ran out, I believe." Julius admitted with a cough. He stood up before nodding to the two. "Will you excuse me for a moment, ladies. It's no longer legal to smoke inside anywhere anymore."

They watched as the cat walked towards the back of the train and exited the door before turning to each other.

"You wanna bail?" Ortensia asked, throwing her thumb towards the doors to the cabin car.

"You wanna leave someone who's actually seen your shorts?" Minnie asked. "Didn't you say on the trip up here that you wish someone'd watch them?"

"Yes…" She let her voice fad before figuring out how to word it right. "He gives me the creeps for some reason, now."

"We go from hearts to creeps?"

"I know, I know, but…" Ortensia bit her lip before continuing in a whisper. "There's something he's not telling us that's important."

"In other words, woman's intuition?" Minnie asked, getting a shrug of a nod from her friend. "Ok, if you want to."

"I'm also feeling like someone's watching us." Ortensia admitted, grabbing her purse from under the table.

Minnie took a glance around them to see only two other tables were occupied. One held a pig of about ten years of age eating an ice cream and the other held a rabbit working on writing something down. Every once in a while the rabbit would pull back her hanging ears to see the page better, though one ear seemed to love to hang in front of an eye. A diamond cross hung from her neck, shining in the sunlight from the window she was next to. Minnie turned back to her friend and smiled, "I think you're just over reacting on that one. No one's here."

"Well, I'm going back to our room." Ortensia stated, standing up. "Something's not right and I don't like it."

"Maybe you just need a nap." Minnie suggested.

"Maybe." Ortensia sighed before leaving the car.

"Excuse me…" a timed voice said, turning Minnie to her side to see the young pig holding a pen and notebook. "Could I have your autograph, miss Minnie?"

Minnie let lose a small laugh, taking the pen and paper. "Sure, what's your name?"

"Tom. Tom Van Pork, ma'am." The boy said, placing his hands behind his back.

Minnie looked up at the name. "Van Pork, you say? Are your parent's with you here?"

"Ya, they let me go exploring the train for a bit." Tom admitted as he watched the mouse sign the piece of paper.

"Here you go, Tom." Minnie smiled, handing Tom his pen and notebook back. Behind the pig, Minnie noticed the rabbit closing her book and leaving the car. "And tell your parents I'd like to talk to them if you can. I used to know them."

"You did!?" Tom asked, excitingly and almost unbelieving. "What'd they do with you?"

Minnie admitted, "I used to work with them, they would appear in the old movies Mickey and I did. They never told you this?"

"Naw, all they talk about is wanting me to take over their business eventually." Tom admitted, throwing off the sentence as if it was a fly. He sat down in the seat Julius had taken moments ago and asked, "What episodes where they in?"

"Um, I think your mom first appeared in Mickey's Follies." Minnie said, trying to remember her past. "Honestly I think you'd have to ask them for specifics. I don't remember it all."

"They won't tell me much." Tom pouted, leaning back as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Minnie looked upwards as the sound of thump, thump, thump, klunk came from the roof. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Tom asked, looking up towards where Minnie was looking.

"It sounded like footsteps." Minnie admitted, listening for more only for the sounds of the kitchen preparing for dinner to come to her. She shrugged as she stood up. "I'm sorry Tom, I really should get going. It was nice to meet you."

"Alright, Miss Minnie." Tom said, disappointed. "I'll remember to tell my parents."

"Thank you." Minnie said before leaving the car. She headed down the hall as beside her the windows showed the country side blow by. She pulled out her key to the room only to pause at the door, wondering if Ortensia had taken her suggestion. She shrugged before slowly turning the key and pushing the door open as quietly as she could, just in case.

The sight inside the room froze her before she could put a foot into the room. The matrasses had been pulled out of their beds and slashed, the curtains pulled off their holder and drooping to the floor were the carpet was littered with black fur.

"Ortensia." Minnie whispered, realizing something had happened to her friend. She turned around and cried out, "HELP! Conductor!"

-.-.-.-

"What on earth is your bright idea? To land on the train?" Oswald asked from his seat behind Mickey in the two cockpit plane. The two had finally caught up with the train, slowing down and lowering themselves down close to it as it rolled along.

"That's an idea." Mickey realized. "No, I was thinking you could jump onto it from here."

"WHAT!?" Oswald eying his brother as if he was crazy, even though he knew he couldn't see his expression. "Why me?!"

"Two reasons." Mickey offered. "One, you don't know how to fly, do you?"

Oswald kept his mouth shut, knowing Mickey was right.

"Two, you still can use cartoon physics." Mickey pointed out. "I can't, not to the extent you can."

"Alright, lower it down as close as you can." Oswald said, unstrapping himself and leaning over the edge. As he saw the train come closer he pulled himself up so that he was sitting on the edge.

"This is as low as I can go." Mickey said, floating a few feet from the train. "You ready?"

"No." Oswald admitted before jumping off the side of the plane only to find himself squishing flat on impact. His body and pant over compensated, re-inflating himself almost as quickly as he had made contact and pushing himself back up and onto the plane's wings. Oswald held on as Mickey flied back up into the air as a curve in the mountains cut him off from the train. As the plane balanced back out, Oswald made his way back into his seat. "Well, that didn't work."

"I've got another idea, come on." Mickey said, pushing his flyer to go faster.