Bugs crept up the stairwell, following the mysterious light he'd sworn he hadn't turned on himself. At the top of the stairs Bugs entered a sort of sitting room rather than a hallway. The walls were lined with twelve doors, leading to other rooms and wings of the house. Bugs pretended to casually walk circles around the room, when in actuality he was scanning the backs of the red club chairs and sofas for an intruder. Under the cushions would have been a great place for a toon crook to hide, but Bugs didn't test them. He didn't want to give the impression he was on to the intruder, if there was one. Finally Bugs planted himself in a red leather chair next to the mysterious source of light: his tall reading lamp. Bugs sat under the white light listening for the slightest unusual noise. Shallow breathing, a cough, or a heartbeat booming out of a toon's chest, for example. After detecting nothing but silence through his ears, Bugs reached up to the lamp. His thumb and index finger clenched a tiny black knob attached to the pole. He was half a second from switching off the light when suddenly...

"Beep-beep!"

"YAAAHHHH!" The rabbit screamed. He rocketed out of the chair, slamming his front side into the ceiling. During the horror stricken launch, Bugs kicked the lamp to the floor, causing the Road Runner's shadow to rise up the wall. Bugs pealed his ears and face off the ceiling when he heard the bird's cork popping laughter. "Road." Bugs growled. "I told ya nevah ta do dat!" He scolded. Bugs let himself fall from the ceiling, back into the chair. "How'd you get in here, Doc? You don't have a key." Bugs interrogated.

"But I do." A higher pitched version of Bugs' voice sounded. Bugs' eyes darted to the left, where he located another toon standing in the doorway across the room. The new toon was a grey rabbit with grey feet, a white belly, blue eyes, and wore nothing but white opera gloves. In short, he was obviously modeled after Bugs with little contrast. The rabbit in the doorway folded his arms, expecting a wave of excuses and apologies. But that response hadn't triggered in Bugs' brain yet.

"Clyde, what're ya doin' here?" Bugs asked.

"I live here." The young rabbit deadpanned. Bugs got out of the chair, and approached his nephew.

"Very funny, kid. I t'aught you weren't supposed ta be back from dat golden age toon convention 'til next Sunday." Bugs said.

"It is next Sunday, Uncle Bugs." Clyde snapped. Bugs stared confusedly at Clyde. Then he frantically whipped a calendar out from behind his back, and flipped to December. Bugs felt the truth hit him like an anvil to the head. The date was Sunday the eighteenth, and the Sunday after that was Christmas day. Discarding the calendar, Bugs nervously scratched the back of his head.

"My, does time fly." He sheepishly replied.

"I waited for you at the airport for two hours!" Clyde stressed. "And I called almost everyone we know, and no one had a clue where you were! Then I found out from Sylvester Jr., that you left my cousin on Granny's doorstep before going AWOL! After I got tired of waiting for you, I called Road to take me home. We've been waiting for a sign of life from you all night." Clyde lectured. Bugs felt at a loss for words. 'Sorry' certainly wasn't going to cut it. He looked to the Road Runner.

"Go home, Doc. I can take it from here. T'anks fer sticking around and keepin' an eye on him." Bugs dismissed. The Road Runner gave a nod, and sped off in a blue blur. Meanwhile, Clyde waited once more for an explanation. Bugs had a feeling nothing he said would satisfy Clyde, but he had to try.

"Clyde..." He began. "I'm sorry I forgot about your flight, and I'm sorry ya had ta soich da grapevine tryin' ta find me. I know what dis looks like, and I know ya must be furious wit' me. Ya have a right ta be." Bugs confessed. "But I would never up and leave you two. Yer th' only family I've got." Clyde's stern glare softened.

"So where have you been all this time?" Clyde questioned.

"Oh, just da legendary Toontown Hall of Records, Two Tone Town, th' Indian jungle, Texas, and da crime center of Toontown called N'Wraco Rocco." Bugs listed off. Clyde gave his uncle a skeptical look. "What? Would I lie to you?" Bugs implored. Clyde's expression did not change. "Hmph! Well if I'm lying, den Mickey Mouse is not in our living room." Bugs bet.

"Mickey Mouse! What did you do?!" shrieked a feminine voice from downstairs. Clyde's mouth gaped open, while Bugs proudly held his head high.

"Mickey Mouse?" Clyde inquired. Bugs patted the young rabbit's shoulder.

"Trust me, Nephew. It's been a long exciting day. Go to yer room, and I'll tell ya all about it after I check on da situation downstairs." Bugs promised. Clyde obeyed, exiting through the door he'd entered. Bugs then sprinted down the winding staircase to join the Disney gang and face whatever chaos the snow globe caused. The rabbit swerved around the corner, discovering his guests were practically frozen with fear, at the sight of Minnie and Mickey going toe to toe.

"You know, I can imagine you doing a lot of crazy things if Walt told you to, but committing a crime?! I can't believe you stooped this low, Mickey!" Minnie yelled.

"Hey, I did not stoop low enough to do this! I didn't commit the crime willingly. I was just following orders!" Mickey shouted.

"Oh, and what exactly were Walt's orders?" Minnie challenged.

"I had to disguise myself as an officer to interview an inkblot girl, who had very helpful and reliable information about a toon from Walt's past." Mickey defended.

"So you seduced another woman with your fake badge." Minnie inferred.

"NO! If anyone was seducing her, it was Bugs! Besides, Walt said she'd only open up to men in uniform." Mickey argued.

"Then why didn't you put on a mailman uniform?! You didn't have to insult the real officers who put their lives on the line everyday!" Minnie exploded.

"Well if you're so offended, why don't you take it up with Walt instead of me?" Mickey spat. Bugs slowly tiptoed up to the feuding mice. Next he leaned his elbow on top of Mickey's head, and held a carrot to his teeth with his free arm.

"Eh... hope I'm not interuptin' anyt'ing." Bugs commented between carrot crunches. "But me nephew's tryin' ta sleep, and ya know how little ears are sensitive to dese volumes." The rabbit noticeably pointed his ears towards Peter, Martha, and Timothy. Mickey and Minnie bowed their heads, ashamed that they let their tempers rise in front of the kids. They both sat down on the sofa side by side. Bugs pushed an unused cushioned footstool between the two couches so the group sat in a U shape. "Now that dat's settled, what did I miss?" He queried.

"Walt said we already passed this clue when we posed as officers, and we should move on to the next clue." Mickey supplied meekly.

"Alright, let's move on." Bugs directed.

"But we still don't know what clues Grandpa Walt gave you guys." Timothy interjected. Bugs eyed Mickey for a cue.

"Bugs, would you please?" The mouse practically begged. He didn't dare say more in front of his agitated wife.

"Sure thing." Bugs complied. "It all started when Walt sent us ta find a missing inkblot named Sadie Cat. We soiched for her records for hours, but came up wit' nothin'. Den a reliable source told us where Sadie lived in Two Tone Town. We also loirned dat Sadie was affiliated wit' da Disney Bruddahs studio back in da '20's. Plus she had since studio hopped and changed her name to Ortensia. So we went up ta Ortensia's door. Well she gave us a piece of her mind and more den one reason ta never come back. Da next mornin' we set out ta try our luck wit' Ortensia again. But when we got ta her place, it was completely desoited. Dat's when we tried anothah clue. Dis time Walt sent us ta find a Jungle Book elephant. She led us to a watahfall, where we saw an underwater projection of Lillian Disney and a mysterious toon we couldn't identify. Den we went back ta Two Tone Town, lookin' for dis inkbot dame called Francine Cottontail. She gave us some details 'bout her missing ex boyfriend, which was surprisingly helpful in da long run. Later, we resoiched Fanny's boyfriend at da library, and discovered he was da star of his own cartoon series: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Walt created the series which starred Oswald obviously, along with his possible co-stars Sadie and Fanny. But Disney lost control of the Oswald series to dis Mintz character, and went on ta make Mr. Steamboat Willie himself. Dat's pretty much all da backstory we found before we had ta journey to da strange land where we had ta come save you folks. And by a clever loophole, we got dere two hours early. So da mouse rescued you all, with no help of mine. I was just mindin' me own business, beatin' da livin' daylights outta a False Dip wielding rat. It is important to note dose were two completely unrelated events. And here we are..." Bugs paused the story to look at the clock on the wall. He'd just realized it was passed midnight. "...two days later." The rabbit concluded.

"That's quite a story." Daisy commented. "But what do all these inkblots have to do with the treasure?" She wondered.

"Maybe one of them knows where it is." Horace suggested.

"I think you're on to something, Horace." Mickey spoke up. "It might make sense if the toons who worked with Walt in 1928 know what happened to the treasure. After all, Ortensia sure seemed to know something."

"Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It sounds so familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it." Minnie voiced.

"Yeah, I know what'cha mean." Mickey agreed. "I wish it were more familiar, but apparently there's a lot Walt never told us." Bugs loudly groaned as he stretched his arms over his head.

"Well, since we're all awake, and my ink's still pumping from dat rumble wit' da rat..." Bugs started. Sure, he'd promised Clyde he'd be up to his room to explain everything as soon as the commotion downstairs died down. But if that didn't happen, Bugs' intentions were to procrastinate until Clyde fell asleep. Then he could postpone recounting the adventure until morning. "How about we squeeze in one more clue for da night?" Bugs proposed.

"Noooo!" The kids moaned in unison.

"Who died and put you in charge?" Donald mumbled under his breath. Bugs, having not even acknowledged Donald's quacking sounds as words, turned to Mickey for his input. Martha recognized that look on her father's face that said he was considering the option.

"Dad, we were nabbed from Aunt Mandie's house, tied up, and trapped in a shack in the middle of nowhere tonight. Can we please just go to sleep now?" She begged. Mickey picked the snow globe off the coffee table. He was fully aware that his friends and family endured a traumatizing hardship, and honestly he wanted a rest as much as they did. In fact Mickey and Bugs had been running into danger ever since 4 am. He was exhausted. Still, a small nagging voice in the back of Mickey's mind emphasized that Walt told them to 'Proceed with the next code'. Granted that Walt never said to 'immediately' proceed, the voice wouldn't stop poking at Mickey's brain. Mickey glanced at Minnie, expecting a stern glare telling him to give the snow globe a break. But Minnie numbly stared at the coffee table, avoiding eye contact with him. So Mickey went with his gut (or maybe it was his conscious) and flipped the snow globe over.

"One more clue won't hurt." Mickey assured.

"Dad..." Martha and Peter whined. Mickey keyed in the numbers one, two, one, two, two, seven. That code was easy enough to remember. Minnie lifted her head. She wished she could say she was surprised, but Mickey had already proven that he'd literally oblige to any request if it came from Walt. Expecting any less was foolish. The snow globe shimmered with ice crystals falling from the dome top's metal snowflake decoration.

"Everyone, the most important thing you can be doing right now is searching for Oswald or catching the villain. But I don't want you to do that just yet. No matter what time of year it is, celebrate right now like it's Christmas morning. Go home to your families, forget about this quest, and forget about filling stockings. The small wonders that are most precious to you are gifts enough. Have a Merry Christmas, my friends. I will be with you all. When we are all ready we'll continue on. Bugs Bunny has served his purpose and must leave the quest. This time I sincerely thank him for his cooperation and help. I should also inform him that he won't benefit from the treasure. The next code is 112827."

When the message cut out, Mickey's eyes widened at the sight of something he hadn't expected to see again. The snowflakes smudged together in a white mist. Then they dulled to various shades of grey as well as black. Inside the glass, pictured Mickey wearing a Santa Clause hat and beard. He stood near a Christmas tree and a mountain of toys as he hushed a talking baby doll he secured in a stalking over the fireplace. Mickey remembered that cartoon well. Mickey's Good Deed 1932, was especially memorable for Mickey because it had a moral of charity and good will. Not just eight minutes of slapstick. Just as the snow globe's whiteout disappeared, Mickey felt a new hope rising in him. What luck that the snow globe was fully functional again, and what luck that they got a Christmas clue during the Christmas season. The mouse noticed his friends were relieved to hear this too. How wonderful that they would celebrate Christmas even with the snow globe's deadline. How generous of Walt.

"Bugs?" Mickey questioned. The rabbit was the only one not smiling. Without saying a word, Bugs walked out of the room. Mickey followed after him with concern.

"Bugs!" The mouse urgently called. Out of the corner of his right eye, he noticed the wall opening and closing just down the hall. Mickey sprinted towards the strange sight, and realized it was an elevator. The automatic doors were painted to camouflage into the rest of the light blue wall. Mickey saw no arrow buttons, so he stood on his toes to reach behind a small framed picture just to the elevator's right. Just as he suspected, he found the metal panel and pressed the 'up' button. The wall parted open again, and two inner doors slid to the left. Mickey stepped into the elevator's light brown wood and gold accented interior. The mouse eyed the elevator buttons; the many, many, buttons. From the outside Mickey would have guessed Bugs' house had four floors. Apparently he had much more than that. Mickey skimmed over the numbered buttons: 07, 19, 25, 38, 46, Incredible, Ain't It? The mouse flinched back and blinked his eyes at those last two. But before he could make a wild guess, an arrow shaped picket sign shot out of the wall, and pointed to the top floor. 'He's in the observatory.' The sign read. Mickey jumped up to press the highest button. As soon as his yellow shoes hit the floor he clung to the golden bar around the elevator. He wasn't sure what toon speed Bugs had the elevator set to. So he held on tight to avoid becoming a whiplashed puddle on the floor. Mickey watched the three elevator doors slide close: a golden crisscrossing diamond shaped barred gate, a layer of frosted safety glass with a bouquet of carrots etch, and the blue door hidden in the wall. Suddenly Mickey felt a swift jolt. A soft bell sounded, and the elevator doors opened. Mickey cautiously stepped into the observatory. The room was dim with hardly any light, and the dome roof was closed over the towering dull blue telescope. Bugs' silhouetted form sat at the top of a flight of stairs up to the eyepiece. But the rabbit paid no mind to the telescope. He only stared down at Mickey wandering in.

"Not dat I care Doc, but I told ya I wasn't gettin' a single cent of dat treasure." Bugs reminded with contempt.

"You never know." Mickey tried to console. "After I find the treasure, maybe I could give you a large portion. Besides, you've earned it."

"I don't want any of your dad's treasure!" Bugs bellowed. His silhouette turned around. "You wanna know what's botherin' me? He must've t'ought it real funny ta give me dat... slap in da face just before getting rid of me!" Bugs ranted.

"I'm sorry, Bugs. I don't think he meant it to sound so harsh. If he did, then I'm sorry I couldn't get through to him all those years ago that you're really a great friend." Mickey apologized. "Contrary to common belief, Walt was never a perfect man, you know." Mickey jested. He was sure he heard a slightly amused 'hmph' come from Bugs. "I wish he could have seen you today and yesterday. You were really brave. You never gave up, and you never let me give up either." The mouse praised. "Also, I owe you an apology for not listening to you back in N'Wraco Rocco. You were right to be suspicious of Bosko." Mickey humbly admitted. "By the way Bugs..." The mouse distracted. "What happened to that rat guarding the shack in the desert?"

"Don't know, don't care." Bugs snapped. Mickey got the sinking feeling that he was no longer welcome within fifty feet of Bugs. He stepped backwards and leaned against the elevator doors. There was nothing left to apologize for. It was time he gave Bugs the space he needed. Mickey pressed the button on the wall, without taking his eyes off Bugs. The elevator doors glided open. Mickey entered in, but kept his foot in the doorway.

"Bugs? You were right to search for Oswald. You were right all along." Mickey complimented reverently. A moment of silence passed.

"Good." Bugs stated. "Now go back ta Two Tone Town an' find 'im." The rabbit ordered. Mickey dragged his foot inside the elevator, and tapped the first floor button.

"Bugs?" Mickey queried.

"What?!" Bugs demanded. The golden gate shut in front of Mickey.

"Merry Christmas." The mouse uttered. Finally the decorative safety glass fogged Mickey's view of the room, and the elevator took him down.

December 19, 1983 1:04 am

Bugs paced around the observatory until he was sure the mouse and his rescued friends had left. Once he'd blown off enough steam, Bugs made his way down to Clyde's room to see if his nephew was awake. A yellow light glowing under the young rabbit's bedroom door told Bugs, the kit was indeed still waiting for him. Bugs opened the door, spotting Clyde propped up in his bed, with his pillow behind his back and a book in hand. Clyde blinked his blue eyes at Bugs.

"Hey, li'l night owl." Bugs greeted. He came in, and sat down at the edge of Clyde's bed. "I believe I owe you a long and completely truthful story." The rabbit said.

"About Mickey Mouse?" Clyde guessed.

"Featuring Mickey Mouse." Bugs droned, rolling his eyes. Thus, the rabbit retold his experience of hunting for Walt Disney's lost treasure. He filled Clyde in on all the places they visited, all the clues they followed (some were watered down), their three encounters with the demons, and all they'd learned about the treasure and the mysterious inkblot characters involved. "Dat's why I lost track of time, an' didn't meet ya at da airport." Bugs explained. "Hope you're not still mad at me."

"No, I forgive you." Clyde assured. "So what're ya gonna do now?"

"Well foist thing in da mornin' I'm pickin' up Art from Granny's." Bugs planned.

"What about after that?" Clyde inquired. Bugs smiled, crawling up to the head of the bed to sit by Clyde's side. He summoned a thin picture book from his hammerspace, and showed it to Clyde.

"Here's a hint." He said. Clyde's face lit up with joy, but he tried to hide it.

"Don't you think I'm a little too old for this, Uncle Bugs?" Clyde tested.

"You're never too old for classic literature." Bugs answered. Clyde openly grinned, cuddling into Bugs' side. Bugs held his nephew's shoulder with one hand, and supported the book in front of both of them with the other. The guardian rabbit flipped to the first page, and began to read. "T'was the night before Christmas, when all t'rough th' house, not a creature was stirring. Not even a mouse."