SOOOOO sorry I took like FOREVER to update but after camp school started and the insane craziness that comes with it so I haven't really had a whole lot of time to write. I'll try and post faster next time but with school and all I won't be able to as much as I used to. But here it is (FINALLY!) sorry about the delay. Enjoy!

Oswald stared hopefully into the mirror hanging above the fireplace in Dark Beauty Castle.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" He said tapping the mirror's glossy surface which remained stubbornly fixed on his retro black-and-white complexion. He had left Ortensia back in Ostown to look after Penny and had come here himself in hopes of contacting Mickey. He sighed, he had been at it for about half an hour now and still nothing. Sometimes the mirror worked just fine he Mickey would talk for hours and others he could just swear he saw glimpses of his younger brother in the shimmering glass. And of course it had picked today of all days not to work. It seemed that nobody could ever tell if the mirror was mischievous or malicious. Neither of them had ever actually attempted going through it though, with the mirror so unstable it seemed much too risky. He was about to give up figuring he could come back later and would try to hold down the fort as best he could till then when he thought he saw something move in the glass. Curious Oswald turned back around, if he had had a heart it would have leapt as he did so as he instantly recognized the source of the movement.

"Took you long enough." The rabbit said in fake annoyance a wide grin spreading across his face.

(Mickey's P.O.V.)

"Bye Mickey! See you Friday!"

"Oh, right! See you then!" A certain cartoon mouse replied as Minnie drove away and he made his way back to his house. "Oh man! I totally forgot about Friday. What am I gonna do?! Gosh I really need to start— Pluto!" Mickey's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar blonde canine: Pluto, who at the moment was barking happily and had just finished pushing Mickey to the floor while licking his face enthusiastically.

"Nice to see you to Pluto!" He said between laughs as he playfully pushed the dog off him. Mickey stopped abruptly in mid-pet his ears twitching "What was that noise?" He could have sworn he'd heard a faint tapping coming from his room. Going in to investigate his actual heart leapt when he saw his older brother in the mirror.

"Oswald!" He exclaimed happily.

"Took you long enough" His older brother replied with a mischievous half-smile.

"Nice to see you to Ozzie" Mickey said as his brother finally broke into a wide grin, "So what's going down there? Was Markus finally able to fix those projectors?"

"Well actually," Oswald began, the elation of seeing his younger brother fading as he remembered his reason for contacting him in the first place. "There's something else I need to talk to you about…"

"It's not the Blot again is it? Oh Golly what are we gonna—

"Calm down Mickey! It's not THAT bad…not yet anyway."

"Oh…right, sorry you scared me for a minute there. So, what's going on?"

"Well…" The rabbit began again, "I think…I think the Mad Doctor's back."

"That's not good." Mickey replied frowning "But what makes you say that?"

"Ok I know it sounds crazy but there was this girl that came knocking on our door all frazzled and banged up 'n what not she even fainted!" Oswald said.

"Gosh."

"Yeah I know right? Anyway once she finally came to we managed to coax an explanation out of her and piece together what happened."

"Ok, soooo?" Mickey said expectantly.

"Right, well it looks like Penny—that's her name— and her big sister Ruby were head over to the Moonliner Station—

"Hey, didn't you say there were rumors of toons disappearing there? Weren't some people even saying it was haunted?"Mickey asked.

"Yeah actually, figured it was one of the ghosts from Bog Easy making trouble. I meant to look into it but with the projectors going haywire and all I just never got around to it. Anyway they were headed over to the Station and once they got there well… that's when things start to get fuzzy." Oswald said.

"Gee Ozzie you've only just started. I don't think there's enough story to be fuzzy."

"Hey I did the best I could Mick, you try making anything out of a toddler's mile-a-minute gibberish, and let me tell you it's not as easy as it sounds."

"And it doesn't sound too easy." Mickey said with a chuckle.

"You're tellin' me!" Oswald replied.

"So what do you think happened?" Mickey asked.

"Well it seems like when they got to the Station or on the way there or in between, just you know around that time, the Mad Doc must have kidnapped them or somethin'." Oswald continued.

"But why would he do that?"

"Don't know, probably for some experiment or whatever 'cause he defiantly did somethin' to 'em."Oswald answered.

"What'd you mean?"

"Well…" The rabbit began his voice lowering an octave "I didn't what to say it in front of Penny but since she was all banged up we had one of the gremlins come and take a look at her and well, it looks like…like she's got some kind of well, thinner infection."

"THINNER!?!" Mickey gasped in astonishment.

"It's minor though don't worry, the gremlins are confident they can cure her but, well…"

"You don't think…"

"No. No way! We destroyed it. There's no way ANYTHING could've survived that!" Oswald said a bit too forcefully, one of his oversized feet tapping nervously on the hardwood mantle.

"I sure hope so…" Mickey replied his voice trailing off "But either way I think I'm overdo for a visit." He continued on a cheerier note as he pressed his hand against the shimmering glass which immediately began to warp and bend at his touch.

"Whoa, Whoa! Hold on a sec there Mick! The mirror's to unstable, I mean it took me more than half an hour to get it working long enough just to talk to you! What if you can't get back? You don't even have your brush and what if the mirror breaks or— Oswald stopped in mid-sentence as Mickey tilted his head and gave him a look as if to say: "Are you serious?" "Fine have it your way." Oswald said in mock irritation throwing his hands up in surrender as he smiled.

"I've been meaning to take a vacation anyway." Mickey replied playfully as he stuck his foot through the mirror.

Oswald chuckled "You sure have backwards taste for vacation spots."

"What, you mean with my family?" The younger of the two brothers replied as Oswald smiled. As Mickey pulled his last hand through the mirror the two brothers watched in astonishment as the brush materialized in his hand.

"Well hot dog!" The mouse exclaimed.

"That works." Oswald with a smile, shrugging his shoulders. "At least SOMETHING'S going right today." The two jumped off the mantelpiece atop the fireplace landing on the floor with a resounding thud. "You know what else was strange?" The rabbit continued, "Markus came by too, said he knew Penny from somewhere."

"Really?" Mickey asked "Where?"

"Didn't stay long enough to find out." Oswald replied.

"Oh, ok. So where to first?" The mouse inquired.

"Figured we'd head over to the Station, see if the Doc's still there."

"Sounds like a plan."

Yeah, sorry this chapter's kind of slow but next one should be pretty action-packed. Also I'm thinking of doing a romancey thing between Markus and Ruby but it's kind of late in the game so I'm open to suggestions. Don't know if you caught it but Ruby (Red) and Penny (Copper) have a sort of Katniss-Prim relationship so guess what that'll make Markus! And yes, there may be bread.