Pluto and Figaro ran directly to the jail where Mickey had been taken. Figaro tapped Pluto's leg, and motioned him to come down. Then Figaro whispered something to Pluto, and the dog nodded, barked, and gave Figaro a big slurp.
"Me-yecch," Figaro grumbled, and then shook himself dry.
The duo ran for the main entrance, and waited until someone opened the door. Finally, it did, and they snuck inside. They quickly found one of the guards, and Figaro went into action. He rubbed up against the guard's legs, and meowed.
"What the?" the guard asked looking down. "Hey, where'd you come from?"
"Me-yew!" Figaro shouted, giving the guard the "Big Saucer Eyes" look.
"Awwwww!" the guard shouted, picking Figaro up. He practically turned into a pile of mush, and began tickling Figaro's tummy. "Well, aren't you just the cutest thing? Whosa cute little kitty? Whosa cute little kitty?"
While the guard was gushing over Figaro, Pluto snuck over to his belt, and managed to grab the keys to the cells. Then, he snuck down the hall, and began sniffing. He kept this up until he found what he was looking for. There was Mickey, sitting on the cot in his cell, playing the blues on his harmonica. When Pluto saw him, he put down the keys, and barked to get his master's attention.
"Pluto!" Mickey shouted, happily. He jumped off his cot, ran to the door, and reached through the bars to give his pal a hug. Pluto barked happily, and started licking Mickey's face.
"Okay, okay, easy, boy, easy!" Mickey shouted, laughing. "Oh boy, it's good to see you! I sure miss ya, pal!"
Pluto barked, and picked up the cell keys, showing them to Mickey. Mickey took them a smiled.
"Does this mean you believe me?" he asked. "You don't think I murdered Donald?"
Pluto barked, and gave Mickey another slurp. Mickey reached the key outside his cell, stuck it in the lock, and turned. Then he carefully walked out of the cell, and gave his dog a big hug.
"Aww, thanks Pluto!" he shouted. "You're the best dog a mouse could ever have! But how did you get the keys, anyway?"
Pluto motioned for Mickey to follow him, and the two of them walked down the hall to where the guard was, still gushing over the cuteness of Figaro.
"Figaro believes me, too?" Mickey asked. Pluto nodded. "Aw, you guys sure are swell. But how do we get out of here without the guard noticing?"
Pluto snuck over to a fuse box close by, and pulled the switch.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" the guard asked.
While the lights were out, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro made a break for it, and just walked out the front door. Then they ran as fast as they could, and as far away from the jail as they could. Mickey knew he was going to be in trouble for breaking out of jail, but he knew it was the only way he was going to clear his name. Once he felt they were far enough away, they stopped to catch their breath.
"Thanks for getting me out of there, you guys," Mickey said, putting his arm around Pluto, and rubbing his face against Figaro. "At least you two believe me. But I'm afraid nobody else does. I don't know what to do. And I don't know what really happened to Donald."
Pluto whimpered and slumped a little. Then he got an idea. He began barking, and tugged on the sleeve of Mickey's striped suit.
"What's the matter, boy?" he asked.
Pluto barked, and went into a pointer bit, pointing toward the road that led to the park, where Mickey and Donald went hiking that fateful day.
"You mean we should go back to the park?" Mickey asked. Pluto barked and nodded. "Yeah! If we find out what really happened to Donald, then everyone will know I didn't really murder him! Pluto, you're a genius! Come on! We've got a lot to do, and little time to do it in!"
And with that, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro ran to Mickey's house. Luckily, no one was around, and all the houses on the block were dark, since it was so late. Quietly, Mickey changed into his red shorts and yellow shoes, grabbed his backpack, and began packing some supplies in it. Once he had everything, he went into his bedroom to get some sleep.
"I just hope after whatever happened, Donald's still alive," he said. Pluto barked, and Figaro meowed in agreement. And with that, our three heroes turned in for the night. They had a lot to do first thing in the morning.
The next morning, Launchpad went to the McDuck mansion, and rang the doorbell. Scrooge answered it, looking tired.
"Hiya, Mr. McDee," Launchpad said.
"Come in, Launchpad," Scrooge sighed. "What brings you over here?"
"I just wanted to see how you guys were doing."
"The boys and I are hanging in there. It's actually Daisy I'm a bit worried about."
"What makes you say that, Mr. McDee?"
Before Scrooge could answer, a gigantic wail came from upstairs.
"Never mind," Launchpad said. "I think I get the idea."
"She's been like this ever since the trial, poor girl," Scrooge said.
"Say no more, Mr. McDee! I'll go and talk to her."
Before Scrooge could say anything, Launchpad walked up the stairs, and knocked on Daisy's door.
"Come in," Daisy sniffled.
"Hiya, Daisy," Launchpad said. "I came to see how you were doing."
"Oh . . . . I'm . . . . just fiiiiiiiine!"
Daisy sort of wailed that last one. She started bawling all over again. Launchpad walked closer into the room, pulled up a chair, and sat down next to the bed.
"Come on, Daisy," he said. "I know you're upset and all, but cheer up! After all, it's not the end of the world."
"That's easy for you to say!" Daisy shouted. "Donald was the only duck I ever loved! And now he's . . . . . he's . . . . ."
Daisy let out an extremely loud wail once more. She practically buried her head in the pillow, as tears flowed from her eyes.
"Come on, I can't stand to see a girl cry," Launchpad said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. Daisy took it and blew as hard as she could, resulting in a honk that would rival a convoy of trucks. Her sobs died down to little whimpers as she handed the now soaked handkerchief back to Launchpad.
"Eeeehhhh . . . . ." Launchpad said, cringing. "Keep it."
Launchpad got up, and left the room. He didn't know what else to do, and he was afraid of saying something that would cause Daisy to lose it again.
"Well?" Scrooge asked as soon as the pilot came down the stairs.
"No go, Mr. McDee," Launchpad replied, shaking his head. "She's really broken up about this, isn't she?"
"I don't blame her one bit. She really loved Donald."
"Yeah, I can kinda tell."
Scrooge nodded, and sighed. Then he sat down, and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.
"You okay, Mr. McDee?" Launchpad asked.
"Aye, I'm all right," Scrooge sighed. "I just feel like I'm in a bit of a nightmare."
"A nightmare come true, huh?"
"Exactly."
Launchpad nodded. He didn't know what to say, and he was afraid if he did say something, he'd wind up with his foot in his mouth, or worse yet, Scrooge's foot on his rear end.
In the meantime, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro had arrived at the bottom of Doomsday Falls. Mickey studied the falls, and then studied the river next to it. He was certain if he survived going over, then Donald must have, too. The only problem was what had happened to Donald after he and Mickey went over. Mickey thought this out, and finally snapped his fingers.
"There's only one logical explanation to this," he said. "After going over the falls, the river current might have taken us in two separate directions. I could have been washed up on shore, and maybe Donald was carried further downstream. It was so late the night we started to look for him, we didn't look down that way. Let's go, boys!"
Pluto barked, and immediately began sniffing about. Mickey and Figaro followed. Mickey called Donald's name over and over. Suddenly, Pluto stopped, let out a frightened yip, and dove to hide behind Mickey.
"What's the matter, Pluto?" Mickey asked.
Pluto whimpered, and pointed. Mickey looked, and saw why Pluto had been so spooked all of a sudden. The path they were on led to an area that was known as No Man's Land. It was a place no one in Toon Town had ever been before, and those who have ventured in never returned. Mickey gulped.
"I've always wondered where the Wabash-Your-Head-In River ended up," he said, nervously. "It, uhhh, it goes right through No Man's Land, huh?"
Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro just stood there, nervously. None of them wanted to go into No Man's Land, but Mickey was thinking he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to find Donald. He gulped again, and summoned up as much courage as he could muster.
"Well," he said, "if this is where Donald is, then this is where I'm going!"
Mickey started forward. He wasn't going to force Pluto and Figaro to go with him. Pluto and Figaro looked at each other, gulped, and slowly followed Mickey. They didn't want him to go into No Man's Land alone. Mickey smiled when he looked over his shoulder, and saw them coming.
"Thanks, you guys," he said. "I knew I could count on you two. Now come on! If Donald's somewhere in No Man's Land, he's definitely gonna need help!"
And with that, Mickey, Pluto, and Figaro walked down the path that led directly into No Man's Land.