Thanks to Twisted-Wind for her speedy responses! Hope you all enjoy this latest chapter, in which a pirate fights a vampire in a church while surrounded by zombies. Do you really need a better description than that?

"It's about time he showed up. I almost thought you forgot him."

"Hardly! You know the old saying, save the best for last?"

"Like I'd let you end this game so quickly. Try to keep up with me."

While hardly any day for a pirate is normal, today had gone above and beyond Captain Mickey's usual schedule. The toy fair had been all fun and games, as expected, but things had taken an abrupt turn for the bizarre when he found Minnie in the doll room. He was ready to sneak up behind her and give her a surprise embrace, but the ugliest doll he had ever laid eyes upon him was suddenly behind Minnie, and shoving her into that tacky mirror. As the doll stepped into the mirror to fall her, Mickey raced in to try and aide his sweetheart. He too experienced the illogical existence of that sea of jewels, but unlike Minnie, he hadn't landed directly in the small, poor town.

He had been in the church the entire time, deciding to sleep things off, in the case of the event being a dream. Never had he a more rude awakening that the groan of outside zombies, followed by some maniac with Mickey's face chasing after his terrified woman. One grand and destructive entrance later, the Captain was facing down the Count, with Minnie trembling behind him. Once she got over the initial relief to see him, she was more than ready to get into her denial. "I did no such thing! I did not call for you! I was just saying he wasn't you. How did you even get here, anyway?" She rubbed at her eyes, not wanting him to see the remains of her tears.

"Destiny, fate, all that good stuff." The Captain counted off his fingers, and then began to pull out his sword from its scabbard. "But we'll have time fer victory kisses later. Right now, I gotta deal with this handsome fella." He pointed his sharp weapon at the vampire, who still looked worse for the wear. "I'll swear not ta shred yer lil' cape ta shreds if ya swear ta leave me sweetie alone."

"I'm not your sweetie, you stupid git!"

To say the Count was displeased by all of this was a bit of an understatement. His castle invaded and tainted, his bride stolen then returned with her love for him replaced by fright, the doll girl summoning the undead, the weakening powers of the church, and now this latest insult to injury, some smelly ill-dressed rouge who stole his face and his wife? One could only push this gentle spirit so far before he showed the true colors of those in the Dragul bloodline. "I've… had… enough of this!" Though the church presence continued to harm him, his rage allowed him to summon up enough dark energy to form a long, black blade in his hands. "I will take back my Mina, and nothing is going to stop me!" Fangs bared, he charged towards his opponent, aiming to stab him in the belly.

"Honestly, turtledove…" The Captain sighed, pretending the matter was less serious than it really was. "I know yer cute and all, but ya gotta stop gettin' all these men after ye." He side stepped out of the way of the sword thrust, and jabbed his blade near the Count's shoulder, missing by mere inches. "First Mortimer, then Pete and that Orange guy…"

"Oswald!" Minnie corrected as she began to stand up, trying to think of a way to help, since arguing with him at this point was moot. She observed the battle with worried eyes, feeling useless since her pistol was out of shots, and were she to put her own blade into battle, she might distract Mickey too much for a real victory. Though the Count was weakened, he was still a formidable opponent. The Captain was trying to play it cool, but it was obvious to Minnie that he was using every ounce of strength just to dodge the blows. When the Captain was able to return any attacks, the Count hardly flinched, as if he never felt any cuts. It only furthered her suspicions that the Count was not something of this mortal realm… perhaps like the doll girl.

The Captain, however, still had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. When forced into a tight corner of the church, he punched with the handle of his blade into the Count's elongated fangs, and while the Count reeled from the sensitive blow, the Captain jumped on one of the pews and ran down the long seats, trying to form up his own plans. Hearing footsteps already behind him, the Captain easily flicked his wrist and drew out his pistol, turning around in one quick step to fire at the Count. With every minute of the battle passing, more of the church was vandalized, with split pews, torn carpets, and flung drapes. The Captain was doing everything in his power to slow or knock down the Count without killing him, but the Count had no such restraints towards his opponent.

When Minnie understood that last fact, she knew she had to think and work fast. But how could they stop such a massive powerhouse? She frantically looked all over the church, but when her head faced up, an idea came to her. "Captain, get him outside!" She sped for a door that was placed near the confession stalls, as the door was open and the stairs inside of it led upward, so she had a fairly good guess of where those stairs would take her. "I've got a plan!"

"Got it, luv!" The Captain's sword had been forced out of his hand by now, so he was forced to fight mainly with his pistol and fists, which was just fine with him. He walked backwards until he hit a wall with a beautiful stain glass window above him. He waved for the Count to come closer, smirking victoriously. "C'mon, get those huge choppers of yers over here!"

The time in the church was taking its toll on the Count, which became more noticeable with each haggard breath he took. His speed and strength were steadily depleting, thus when he reached the Captain, the pirate easily grabbed the vampire by the scruff of his neck, and heaved him up, over, and backwards – sending him smashing through the window and back into the graveyard. Feeling proud of his feat, the Captain climbed up into the now mostly empty window space, and looked down at his enemy who lay on his belly on the grass. "So! Wanna give up now?"

There was no reply from the other, who lay completely still. The Captain took it to mean humiliation, and felt a smidge of pity. He hopped down and onto the grass, calmly walking up to the fallen body. "It's not like I can blame ye… she's a real cutie. She's sweet, but fierce, and kind, but stands up fer herself… what man wouldn't fall fer her?" He stood beside the Count's head, shrugging about the matter. "But! She's already spoken fer… and as much as she cares fer me, she's not gunna run off with ye just 'cause ye got me face. Neat trick, by the way. Now, how's about we let bygones be bygones? If ye say yer sorry, I'll even let ye come to the weddin'… but ya gotta promise ta wear a mask, or it'll be weird. Hm?"

The Captain paused so he could hear the Count's reply, but for extra measures, he kicked away the Count's sword. After a moment of silence, one of the Count's hands shot out, grabbing the Captain by the ankle in an iron grip. "…Oh, let me thank you…" He slowly lifted his head, and now his blood red eyes were ten times more intense. "… For getting me out of that place."

"Uh-oh." That was all the time the Captain had to let anything out before the Count threw him up in the air, and without waiting for the Captain to land, punched him hard enough in the stomach to send him soaring in the outside of the church, possibly cracking the wall and definitely cracking one bone or another in the pirate. He barely had time to register what just happened when the Count's hands were upon the Captain's throat, strangling him in seconds.

"Now let me tell you something, you imposter!" The Count hissed, perhaps enjoying the blood drain out of the Captain's face far more than he should have. "My life has been nothing but pointless suffering since I first used these fangs! I have been deemed and treated like a monster for the mere crime of being a Dragul! I've lost loved ones, I've been driven to madness and isolation for centuries, and then I finally get a single beam of happiness in my life – and you dare to take her away from me!" Not even the frantic kicking of the Captain's legs deterred him from his demands. "And for what? For what? For what reason am I not be allowed to be happy?"

The Captain shakily managed to raise the arm holding his pistol, and shot without hesitance. The Count felt nothing – the bullet flew past him, and lodged itself in something behind him. Startled, the Count glanced behind him, and saw that the Captain had shot off the head of one of the undead, which had just been ready to take a giant bite out of one of the Count's ears. Reminded of the extra dangers he had faced before, the Count dropped the Captain to the floor, facing the approaching undead. "I forgot all about these things!"

"Try ta remember this time." The Captain coughed out, rubbing his bruised neck. "That was my last bullet."

The Count took an extra few seconds to look down at his exhausted enemy, and as his eyes looked over the bruises and aches he had helped to cause, a realization finally occurred. "…You're just an ordinary mortal, aren't you?" During the course of the fight, he had deemed the other man to be a supernatural entity, much like himself or the doll girl, simply because he had 'taken Mina' and had his same face. Now he was surprised to understand that he had been fighting a simple man, perhaps even simpler than Oswald Van Hellsing. How could someone like this have done the crimes which the Count accused him of?

"I ain't ordinary!" The Captain snapped as he stood up, one hand still tending to his pained throat. "I just wanted ta keep this a fair fight." He twirled the pistol around in his hand, now intending to use it as a club since it could no longer fire. "How about we level the playin' field before we resume our fun, beaver boy?"

"It seems we have little choice, you drunk ruffian." The Count undid the clasps of his cape, letting it settle down behind him. With that hindrance gone, it would be easier to fight multiple enemies. "Just don't slow me down!"

Both boys jumped into the fray, dealing left and right with the zombified thugs. Destroying the head appeared to do the job, but the real problem was the number. For every one that was defeated, two more seemed to take its place. The two mice wound up having to come to the others aide more than they wanted to. Yet for all these forced camaraderie, Minnie hadn't seen a second of it, so she was still under the impression that the Count was the enemy. That was why she was now at the very top of the church, standing in front of the large bell that refused to budge, no matter what she cut or pushed. She had thought her plan to be ingenious – get to the bell tower, push the bell over, have it fall on the 'imposter Mickey', then she and Mickey would start a journey home, most likely involving a lot of cold nights where they would be forced to snuggle. Outside the realm of her imagination, she had proved to be much weaker and the bell proved to be much stronger than she had assumed.

Annoyed, Minnie kicked the bell, though all it did was make Minnie's foot extremely sore and make the bell do a weak ring. Pained, she removed her other boot, and now completely barefoot, she sighed, trying to go over her options. There had to be something she was leaving out of her mind.

"One, two, what did you plan to do?"

Oh, right, that. Minnie looked around, and despite the impossibility of it, E walked out from the other side of the bell, as if she had been hiding the entire time. E walked towards Minnie, and Minnie had no choice but to walk slowly backwards, knowing that one wrong move would mean plummeting off the church. "W-what in the world are you? What do you want from us?"

"Three, four, telling you won't matter anymore." With the same creepy smile plastered on, she grabbed Minnie by the shoulders, and pushed her off the clock tower.

Minnie's descending screaming worked on both pirate and captain, putting their brawl on complete hold. With a mixed cry of "Minnie!" and "Mina!", the two raced towards they saw the body fall, obliterating any remaining foes in their path. They ran as fast as their feet would allow, and to their mutual horror, it looked as though neither vampire nor mortal would be able to reach her in time. Neither managed, and neither caught her.

That isn't to say she didn't safely land in someone's arms. With a loud "Oof!" Minnie found herself being cradled in human man's arms, and after she understood she was no longer falling, she looked up at her savior. "Mister Gracey?"

The elegantly groomed blonde smiled gracefully at her, keeping her steadily balanced in his arms. "I told you I would come here for you, Private, and a gentleman always keeps his word." He beamed charmingly at her, ignoring the jealous faces of the two men who skidded to a halt before the rescue.

"Oh, c'mon!" The Captain threw his pistol to the ground in his temper tantrum. "Just how many fellas gotta go after me girl taday? She's mine! Mine, mine, mine! We're engaged and everythin'!" He even began stomping his foot like an enraged rabbit, and while the Count was behaving more maturely, he was inwardly feeling the exact same way.

Minnie rolled her eyes at their behavior, and tried to sit up in her savior's arms. "Thank you so much, Mister Gracey, but we've got to get out of here. This place is dangerous!"

The Count's internal annoyances were quieted when he heard that name again. When Minnie had first said 'Gracey', he thought he had simply misheard. But this time, there was no doubt again. "Gracey? As in the Gracey family manor?" Yet it couldn't be what was heard. "That can't be, the last Gracey - "

His plot twist was interrupted by the arrival of the last member of the party. E jumped off the bell tower, and landed daintily on her feet on the ground besides Gracey. Both male mice recognized the terrible toy, and resumed their battle positions, ready to take her down this time. Minnie yelped to see the doll girl again, and pointed at her in flailing, wild motions. "She's back! We've really got to go!" To make matters worse, the undead had begun to catch up to this small group, outnumbering them to an unhealthy degree.

Gracey took one look around, and then clicked his tongue, merely annoyed by this situation. "E, if you could be a dear…?"

E curtseyed, giggling in her grinding gears fashion. "Five, six, I'll eliminate these tricks!" She raised her hands high, and with a single smash of her palms, all the clocks on her body began to go forwards in time with rapid speed. The undead that had been ready to feast upon this party stopped in their tracks, and then began to decay before their eyes. In the time it took The Captain to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, the zombies aged enough to now only be mounds of bone powder. Proud of her accomplishment, E clapped together the tips of her fingers. "Seven, eight, won't we be late?"

Gracey chuckled merrily, not caring about the terror that displayed on Minnie's face. "That's daddy's good girl."

"Daddy?" All three mice yelled at once in bewilderment, but that's all the time they had to react to it. Just like in Dragul's castle, E ripped off the needle of her other eye, and tossed it on the ground. The needle spun around quickly enough, creating a bottomless hole that reflected the blue sky of jewels that both private and pirate had experienced.

E jumped in first, and the Count knew full well where this was going. "No! Not again!" He and the Captain both moved to try and grab at Gracey, but he skipped into the hole, carrying with him the shrieking Minnie, and the last sound they heard before the hole closed up was the call of Mickey's name.

The Count stood helpless, and continued to watch the scene recreate itself as the Captain pounded on the ground where the hole once was, demanding to have his beloved back, and even dug into the ground with his hands for final desperation. He knew he could offer no words of comfort, and instead set his eyes on the sky that had begun to end the night. This day had brought on more questions than he liked, and he was only sure about one thing.

The last son of the Gracey family line had been dead for years.

Hours earlier, Madame Leota was creating history within the Dragul Castle. For as far back as anyone could remember, she had never left the room where her predictions and warnings were made. That changed significantly this day, as the man she had called to the castle was now reluctantly carrying her orb down what seemed to be a never ending flight of stairs. He grumbled as he tried to keep her steady. "You know, with all your mystic voodoo powers, you couldn't learn how to carry yourself?"

"My power is not in voodoo, and you would do well to keep such comments to yourself." She calmly retorted, keeping her eyes ahead. "I must save my energy. My powers diminish the further I leave my sacred room, so I must store everything I can so I can explain everything to the Count as soon as possible."

"Can't you just wait for him to get home?" He was starting to feel like a babysitter to this castle of creeps and mystics. "He'll have to get back here eventually."

"We cannot wait for that. If I am correct, then he must be informed immediately about the dire circumstances concerning our very existence." She had a feeling her assistant had no idea what she was talking about, nor did he readily care. "If you have any ounce of sympathy for the Count and Mina, you will help us without any further complaints. This concerns you just as much!"

"Fortunately, an ounce is exactly how much sympathy I have for them." He rolled his shoulders, tempted to ask just how a floating head of green gas in a glass could weigh this much. "I've dealt with plenty of vampires in my time, but he's the biggest pain in my neck." He looked down at her, expecting at least a smirk of amusement, but got nothing in return. "All right, all right… but this better be the last time I get involved with you guys."

"I suspect our ties to you are eternal, Oswald Van Hellsing."

"Oh, joy."

The bickering continued onward, unaware of the pair of dead eyes watching them. Emily said nothing as they walked on, not wanting to bother them. Her problems weren't important compared to what they were going through. Yet she still felt troubled, and lightly put a hand to her chest. Ever since this latest batch of problems started, her heart had begun to beat softer than normal. She couldn't fathom why.

End Of Chapter Three.