(Skillet-Whispers in the Dark)

(Music starts with a piano while showing a full moon.)

From Bookwriter94 Productions

Despite the lies that you're making

(A castle slowly pulls back.)

Your love is mine for the taking

My love is just waiting

(The castle is behind the moon.)

To turn your tears to roses

(Rock music is played as a shadow appears in front of the castle, then materializes as it reveals the title.)

The Dragul Chronicles

(The title is written in silver and in cursive.)

(Mickey is standing on a ledge where the bottom of his coat is flowing with the wind.)

Despite the lies that you're making

Your love is mine for the taking

My love is just waiting

To turn your tears to roses

(Mina is also seen standing where her back is turned while clutching her heart and her hair and skirt is also flowing with the wind.)

I will be the one that's gonna find you

I will be the one that's gonna guide you

My love is a burning

Consuming fire

(Mickey and Mina look ahead as they see a mysterious person wearing a black cloak while the head was obscured in shadow by its hood. The figure smiled evilly and the eyes opened and glowed red as the scene changed to random characters.)

No, you'll never be alone

(A tall mouse is talking to an overweight mouse behind him.)

When darkness comes

I'll light the night with stars

(Scrooge slams his fists on his desk, Della and Donald remove their goggles, a dog with a doctor's mask twirls a scalpel, and a rabbit pulls out a gun while cocking the hammer.)

Hear the whispers in the dark

(The rabbit pulls the trigger as the scene changes with Mickey fighting some beagles.)

No, you'll never be alone

When darkness comes

You know I'm never far

(Mickey twirls through the air and lands on the ground while pulling out a black sword and cuts the scene sideways.)

Hear the whispers in the dark

Whispers in the dark

(Mina is surrounded by figures who have glowing yellow eyes. She turns around, only to see the figure raise the cloak while showing the fangs and glowing red eyes. She stumbles back in fright and collapses, but Mickey catches her while bringing his sword in a protective manner and giving a serious look to the mystery figure while his own eyes glowed red as the scene freezes and the music ends.)

Episode 2: The Hunter and The Detective

A carriage was being pulled as it made its way towards their destination to Transylvania Town. Inside, two individuals were patiently waiting to arrive at their destination, one was a tall but slim male mouse who wore a brown inverness coat, a deerstalker hat was on top of his head, light-brown trousers, and black shoes with spats. The other was an overweight but chubby looking male mouse who wore a grey bowler hat with a black stripe on his head, grey coat, grey trousers, maroon vest, a blue bow tie, and black shoes, but right next to him he had his doctor's bag close to him. These individuals were Basil and David Q. Dawson.

Basil was a famous detective and freelance private investigator. His genius level of deduction was beyond impressive to his native country in Britannia. He has taken so many cases that many see him as a great mouse detective. Not to mention when word got out of his best cases that many new cases took him to new places and new adventures that many will see his great feats. But now a new case has taken him far to the land of Romancia in a town known as Transylvania Town, where he had received a letter to Scrooge McDuck, his new client, to come immediately so he could use his famous skills of deduction to detect what is happening to the town. From what he gathered so far from the letter, bodies somehow turned up and then vanished, but word got out that the victims were somehow alive...but were not the same. Now, he didn't believe in such nonsense about victims coming back from the dead, but he knew there must be some logic and reasoning to what's going on. And he himself is a man of logic and reasoning.

Now for David, or Dawson, or Doctor Dawson by profession, he wasn't a superstitious man, but he has heard a lot of stories surrounding such superstition. In fact, during his time in the royal army before he retired to teach medicine to the new generation, then struck out on his own to become a freelance doctor before he met Basil, he heard of such superstitious stories about ghosts, goblins, and what-not. Most of them were meant to scare little children into behaving, some were just old wives tales, and others were meant as inspiration to create supernatural stories. However, for Romancia, he heard of a legend that said monsters existed there and the birthplace to such monsters appeared there to what many know today.

Still, he didn't believe in such superstition, but from what he heard from the letter of Scrooge McDuck...it made him give him the shivers slightly.

When their carriage finally made it to their destination, it took them about several minutes to arrive at a mansion where their carriage stopped. Basil opens the door as he and Dawson step out. Dawson was in awe about the mansion while Basil says, "Well Dawson, welcome to Transylvania Town and before us is the mansion owned by Scrooge McDuck himself."

As Basil walked forward, Dawson said, "I say, it's magnificent!"

Basil chuckled at his friends' admiration for the building. "Well this is Scrooge McDuck, he is the richest duck in the entire world. In fact, he does own several buildings such as this across the world."

Indeed it was true, Scrooge owned several mansions from each part of the globe whenever he needed to work on certain areas. Other times whenever he needs a break, he goes to a certain mansion to spend some quality time away while bringing his family along whenever the chance is brought.

"Come along, Dawson, no need to continue gaping."

Dawson caught up with Basil as they were at the front door. Basil was the first to knock as they waited, then the door opened as Mrs. Beakley appeared and looked at the two visitors. "Can I help you, gentlemen?" She asked.

"Good evening, madam," Basil greeted. "Is Mr. Scrooge McDuck here, by any chance?"

"Yes, he's here."

"Good, my name is Basil, and this is my partner and friend Dawson. Mr. Scrooge McDuck is expecting us."

"Ah, so your Basil," Mrs. Beakley smiled while looking at him down and up. "The famous great mouse detective I heard so much about in the papers." She opens the door all the way for the two. "Please, come inside and it's an honor to meet the man himself." When they stepped inside, Mrs. Beakley walked with the two of them following while saying, "Follow me, gentlemen, Mr. McDuck has been patiently waiting for your arrival."

Scrooge was doing some work this late at night by writing down some papers. His desk had a stack of papers while on it were three picture frames, one held himself with two children that were Della and Donald, another was a female duck that makes him smile whenever he felt like looking, and the last held a picture of not only himself again but Mina, a now adult Della and Donald, his three nephews, Webby, Mrs. Beakley and Duckworth.

After finishing, he placed the paper on top of the stack and was about to start another...But three knocks stopped him as he looked up and called, "Yes! Who is it?"

The door opens as Mrs. Beakley announces, "Mr. McDuck, Basil is here." She stood aside while opening the door all the way as Basil and Dawson went inside Scrooge's office.

When Mrs. Beakley closed the door to let them be, Scrooge smiled and got off the chair while saying, "Ah, Basil, welcome to my humble abode, lad. It's so good to finally meet the famous detective himself."

He offered his hand to the detective which he gladly took while saying, "It's a pleasure as well, Mr. McDuck."

Scrooge went back to his desk and motioned his hand towards the two chairs laid for them. "Please, gentlemen, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. You two had quite a journey arriving this late at night."

When Basil and Dawson took their respective chairs, Dawson yawned while stretching and saying, "Your right about arriving this late at night. Despite it being still young, I'm ready to hit the sack and rest."

"We will handle that soon, Dawson," Basil said to him, then he turned his attention to Scrooge. "But in the meantime, tell me how all this happened?"

"Well…" Scrooge sighed while placing his hands together and his elbows on his desk. "It happened a few days ago after Mina's birthday came to an end."

"When was the first victim that was found?"

"There was no first victim…" Scrooge nodded. "There were only several victims that went missing. As if they just upped and vanished."

Dawson and Basil looked at one another at this new information, several victims disappearing before the killing. "But they did manage to find one," Scrooge continued as they looked back at him, "and they didn't know about the other victims later on that day."

Basil nodded while placing a finger under his chin. "I see. How many victims went missing before they found the victim?"

"About six, the lass being the seventh victim."

"Lass, you say?" Dawson says.

"Aye, they found a lass near a street last night by a local man."

"Did the witness see anything before she was attacked?" Basil asked another question.

"No," Scrooge nodded. "He said that whatever it was, it disappeared into the night."

Basil then asked a deeper question while his eyes squinted, "How did she die?"

Scrooge placed his hands on the table while leaning forward. "Do you really want to know?"

Basil nodded with a serious look, he had to know how the killer did it. However, he wasn't prepared when Scrooge placed two fingers on his neck and said, "Her neck was bitten with two puncture holes."

Basil and Dawson looked at one another again. For Dawson, he was disturbed at such a thing. Did this killer use his...teeth on that poor girl? If so, then was the killer acting like a crazed animal that was running about in the town? Now for Basil, his curious mind began to wonder about this killer's motives and why this killer would just bite at this woman. He doubted the killer would use his teeth, not without a proper body so he could truly detect what this killer was doing. However, he wanted to know more as he asked, "Were there any more victims before we arrived?"

"Aye, there was a priest that got attacked. But I'm afraid you won't find the body because it went missing this morning." There was a smile on his face. "On the other hand, with your expertise, you should be able to find out where it happened."

"Indeed I will," Basil agreed. "I will look into this in the morning. However, is this also the reason you sent Mina away?"

Scrooge gave a surprised look when Basil somehow knew about that. "Wait a moment! H-How did you possibly-"

"Quite simple really." He interrupted Scrooge, then began to explain, "There's slight powdered dust on your right shoulder from when Mina hugged you." Scrooge looked at his shoulder, and low and behold powdered dust as he started dusting his shoulder. "Then right before she left, she pecked your cheek slightly with lipstick right here." Basil points at his right cheek to simplify his explanation.

Scrooge lightly dabbed his finger to where Basil showed him, only to find a small print of red as he rubs it off his cheek. With a giggle of amusement, he says to Basil, "Well, I admit, your skills in deduction far exceeds my expectations. I trust you will get this done?"

"Yes, I will accept this case, and I-"

"Excuse me, but I have a question," Dawson cut-in. "Why did you send Mina away and where exactly?"

"Isn't it painfully obvious, Dawson," Basil sighed while rolling his eyes. "He sent her away to keep her safe in case the killer started targeting her. Am I right, Mr. McDuck?"

"Aye, that is true," Scrooge nodded truthfully. "But to answer your other question...I sent her to Count Mickey's land."

"Count Mickey," Dawson and Basil said in unison as they never heard of this Count.

"Aye, he owns a castle and a bit of land several miles away from the town. But I would suggest calling him Count Michelu, because people like me who are friends to the Count can only call him Mickey."

"I'll keep that in mind. That's…" Basil clears his throat. "If I ever meet the Count personally. Now, as I was about to say, I promise that I will do whatever is in my power to find this killer and bring whoever it is to justice."

"I will keep your word in mind, Basil." He offered his hand to him as Basil shook it while he said to him, "But I also want to thank you for coming in dealing with this matter." He turned his attention to the door and called, "Mrs. Beakley!"

The door opens as Mrs. Beakley said, "Yes, Mr. McDuck."

"Take these gentlemen to the guest quarters."

Mrs. Beakley nods while Basil and Dawson get off their chairs, but as Basil turns to leave to follow Mrs. Beakley, Dawson says to Scrooge, "Guest quarters?"

"Aye, you and Basil will remain here until the matter at hand is dealt with."

"Why, I say, how very generous!"

"Come along, Dawson," Basil called him as he went with him and Mrs. Beakley to the guest quarters.

At the guest quarters, Dawson was already at a bed while his coat and hat along with his holster that contained his revolver was hung on a rack. Basil's coat and deerstalker hat along with his own holster that had a revolver as well was also hung. As he watched Basil smoke on his pipe while he was in his thoughts and watching a window, Dawson said to him, "Basil, what do you think about this killer?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," he answered without taking his eyes away from the window. "But for all we know, this killer could be some mad person creating terror all over town. As for the victims that went missing, there's a possibility that they could be still alive, or...they could've ended up dead the same way as that girl. Either way, it's a fifty-fifty percent chance for either of those possibilities."

Dawson nodded in understanding at those possibilities. If any of the victims that went missing actually ended up dead, he knew Basil would find those bodies wherever they were hidden in this town. However, there was something that crossed his mind after learning how that girl died from Scrooge. Now as I said before that he wasn't a superstitious man, but he has read a book detailing such events about people getting their necks bitten and then they see people walking about. Voicing out his thoughts, he says, "Basil, what if this killer is not what it appears to be."

Growing confused, Basil takes his pipe out of his mouth and asks, "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll probably laugh if I say this but…" Dawson sighed as he said it, "What if this killer is a vampire?"

Basil sighs while having an unamused look. "Oh, come now, Dawson. You've been reading too many stories about those. Surely you don't believe in that nonsense?"

"I don't," Dawson admitted while nodding his head. "But I'm not saying that this killer is a real vampire in general, but maybe could be pretending to be a vampire in order to scare the townsfolk."

Basil nodded while having a curious look. "You could be on to something, Dawson, but for now we need to find the trail and if we're lucky we could find another witness, or if heaven forbid, find another body, we could look into it and...Hello."

"What is it?"

"Seems to me we have ourselves an acrobat running around the rooftops this time of the night."

Dawson got up off the bed and stood next to Basil. As he looked at the window, he said while his eyes squinted, "I don't see anyone."

Basil grabs his cheeks and moves it to where he sees someone. Dawson couldn't tell who it was that was running on the rooftops, but this individual wore a black cloak with hood as it perfectly concealed whoever it was in darkness. While he and Basil watched as the mysterious cloaked figure jumped from one rooftop to the other, Dawson said, "What in heaven's name?"

Getting suspicious and wanting to know who this mysterious figure was, Basil said to Dawson, "Quickly, there's not a moment to lose!"

He ran towards the door, leaving behind his coat and deerstalker hat as he didn't have time to put them on. "I'm right behind you, Basil!" Dawson said as he ran to the rack to get his gun, but when he noticed that Basil's gun still hung, he grabbed it while saying as he made his way out the door to catch-up with the detective, "Basil wait! You forgot your gun!"

A wagon was being pulled by a single horse with it's single driver, a chicken who wore a green coat, light-brown shirt with a black vest and maroon bow tie, a yellow hat with a black stripe on his head while glasses were over his eyes, tan trousers, and brown shoes. This was none other than Gyro Gearloose, another famous inventor and Donald's second teacher, and a colleague of Ludwig Von Drake. Right now, he had just arrived in Transylvania Town with a passenger inside the wagon.

Speaking of the passenger, there was a sleeping male black rabbit. His ears were long as it went to his back, on his left ear there was a gold earring while his eyes were covered by a brown hat with goggles on it, his hands with tan fingerless gloves were placed on his chest on top of his white shirt, he wore a dark-brown coat with built-in shoulder guards and right next on his shoulder on the right was a grey shield crest that had a short spear and sword in a cross fashion, tan trousers with built-in knee guards and black belt with a gold buckle, a cross belt that had bullets and both holsters containing revolvers and behind him were his automatic knuckle knives made by both Ludwig and Gyro themselves, and buckled boots.

Inside the wagon surrounding the sleeping rabbit, was a bunch of weapons and gadgets. Some were meant for killing, others were meant to subdue, and each and every one of them were made by Ludwig and Gyro. Three chests were also there, two of them contained clothes while the third contained gold. Why would this chest have gold one might ask? Well, let's just say that one good look at this rabbit, and one might think that he could be a bounty hunter, or just some wandering mercenary. However, there was more to this rabbit than meets the eye. In fact, the wagon that was being driven by Gyro isn't really his wagon...it was the rabbit's and Gyro was driving it for him while he slept.

When they were in the middle of town, Gyro decided to wake-up the rabbit by saying, "Hey Oswald, wake-up, Scrooge's mansion is a few miles away!"

The rabbit named Oswald tiredly groaned while sitting up and moving his hat away from his eyes. Making his way over to the front of the wagon, he tiredly yawned while covering his mouth and saying, "Already." He looks up at the sky with a tired expression, seeing that it was dark with the half-moon shining high and the stars twinkling beautifully in the night sky. "It's still too late for this."

As Oswald yawned again while stretching, Gyro said to him, "Hey, look at the bright-side, once we get this over and done with, the sooner you'll get back to sleep."

"Yeah, lucky me, and at least I-" He stopped what he said as his ear lifted slightly. His tiredness was completely forgotten as he got into a serious look and said with a hard tone, "Stop the wagon."

"Why what's-"

"Just do it!" Oswald interrupted while looking at him.

Gyro pulled on the reins while saying to the horse, "Whoa boy, whoa!"

As the horse stopped walking, Oswald's ears stood up in alertness, but then...he heard the sound of feet running on tiles. Looking up at the rooftops, the sound was getting close. Gyro seemed to hear the same thing as he too looked at the rooftops. When the footsteps were getting closer…

They saw a figure leap from another rooftop, watching this figure soar through the air and landed on another rooftop. However, the figure had already noticed them and was looking at Oswald...but light from a lamp post revealed the figure smirking evilly at him. Oswald's keen ears heard this figure chuckle and with a whoosh of the cloak, the figure continued to run on the rooftops.

Oswald's teeth gritted with anger as his hands formed into tight fists. Quickly getting off of the wagon, he tells Gyro, "Stay here!" Then he runs after the figure.

Meanwhile, Basil and Dawson continued their search for the mysterious acrobat that took them away from the mansion all the way to the middle of town. So far, they couldn't find the mysterious individual, almost like the figure just disappeared into the shadows. "Odd," Dawson said while scratching the top of his head. "We've been looking around for almost an hour and we still haven't found where this chap could be."

"Well keep looking, Dawson, I'm sure will find our elusive night acrobat wherever this chap may be."

As the two continued their search...a scream was heard from a woman. Reacting quickly, they ran to the sound of the screaming while Basil said, "Quickly Dawson!"

This didn't go unheard as Oswald's right ear lifted up as he stopped looking for the figure. Taking out his gun, he ran to the sound of the screaming while saying, "So you already started the party for me. Alright, I'll play your little game, then after that...I'm coming for you."

When Basil and Dawson continued to run, Basil slid to a stop when he looked up and saw something. Dawson bumped into him as they grunted while he said to Basil, "What's wrong?"

"There!" Basil pointed up at the rooftops and saw the figure running. "You go after the chap! I'll go this way!"

As the two separated with Basil going alone to find out who was screaming and Dawson chasing after the figure, Basil went to the direction of an alleyway. But then, as he got close...he heard the sound of gagging, making him take out his gun while cocking the hammer. Taking aim, he slowly walked...until he saw a male dog with a female cat at the wall. She continues to gag as the male dog had his muzzle at her neck. "Hey you!" Basil shouted. "Stop what you're doing and let her go!"

The male dog seemed to comply when his muzzle was off her neck and the female cat dropped to the ground. Basil seemed to notice two puncture holes at her neck, exactly how Scrooge described it. Could it be possible that this was the killer? No, the figure that he saw that was running on the rooftops could possibly be the killer, at least he suspects it, or maybe this man could be his accomplice. Either way, he was going to get his answers from him. "Slowly turn," he ordered.

The male dog slowly turned to face Basil...only for his eyes to widen with shock at what he was seeing…

His eyes were glowing yellow while blood from the female cat was trickling from his muzzle.

Basil closed his eyes and nodded, hoping that he wasn't seeing things, but when he opened them, it was still there. This couldn't be possible! How was this man's eyes glowing?! This went against logic and reasoning! He didn't know how this was possible, but the fact was, this man killed that woman. When the male dog started to slowly walk towards Basil, sharp fangs extended from out of his muzzle, forcing Basil to keep his finger close to the trigger. "Stay where you are," he ordered the male dog, but he still kept moving. "I mean it, stay where you are!" The male dog didn't seem to listen to him. "If you come any closer, I'll shoot. I mean it!" He didn't seem to listen to his warning as he continued towards him. "Bullocks!" Basil muttered a curse as he aimed at the male dog's right leg and pulled the trigger.

BAM! Oswald stopped for a moment when he heard the sound of a gunshot, then went towards an alleyway to where the shot came.

Back with Basil, he watched as the male dog looked at the gun wound...then back at him as he didn't seem phased. When he took another step, Basil shot the other leg, hoping that would stop him. Oswald appeared and noticed the tall mouse pointing his gun at that male dog. "No, don't shoot'em!" he shouted, but that came too late as the male dog hisses loudly and charges, forcing Basil to shoot the last four rounds of his pistol as the male dog collapses on the ground dead.

Oswald grew an angry look as he stood in front of the tall mouse and said to him, "You didn't have to kill him! He still could've been saved!" He didn't seem to respond. "Hey, did you hear what I said?" Oswald squinted his eyes...but then his face changed to concern when he noticed the frightened look in his eyes.

Basil took shaky breaths after what just happened. His heart was beating with absolute fright after what he just witnessed. Sure he couldn't deny that he would get scared when taking on certain cases, but he learned to control and master his fear...But this was different, he never felt such fear, not since he was a child when...No...No, he mustn't think about that, it was best to be forgotten than being remembered. So with that, he controlled his breathing by breathing through his nose and exhaling out his mouth while closing his eyes, keeping his heartbeat under control...But his heart jump started while he gasped as Dawson said, "Basil, I lost the chap! But what was all the shooting, what happened?"

Basil didn't answer as he opened his eyes...but they widened while his jaw dropped in shock at what he was seeing.

Dawson noticed that look as he asked, "What's wrong?" He looked to where Basil was looking...only for him to gasp as his eyes widened while exclaiming, "My God!"

The dead form of the male dog they were watching...was starting to shrivel up, until his face and hands turned that into a sickly brown form with his eyes sunken into the skull and his teeth showing while his dead form still contained his clothes. Dawson went to the body to examine it while getting on his knees. "What in heaven's name is going on?" He was about to look at Basil and say something to him, but he noticed a rabbit as he grew a curious look and asked, "And who are you?"

Oswald opened his mouth as he was about to answer him, but stopped himself as his ear lifted slightly.

Nobody noticed that the figure was at the rooftop, staring at Basil who had his guard down. The figure's fangs came out of the upper lip, ready to sink it onto Basil's flesh the moment the figure was about to jump down…

"Head's up!" Oswald shouted as he pointed his gun at the rooftop and pulled the trigger.

The bullet was fired as it grazed the figure's arm, making the figure grunt while clutching the arm and turning tail and running away from them.

"Stop!" Oswald shouted as he ran after the figure.

"Wait!" Dawson yelled as he went after him with Basil following behind, leaving the two dead individuals behind.

At the streets, Oswald was following the figure as it was jumping from one rooftop to the next. He takes out his other pistol and points his two revolvers at the running figure saying, "Where is she?!" He starts shooting several shots while continuing, "Where's my wife?!"

The figure jumps off the rooftop to another alleyway, Oswald follows the figure there...only to stop when he hears the sound of hoofbeats of a horse as he jumps out of the way while a brown horse passes him as it whinny's. It's rider was none other than the figure. While on his right knee, Oswald takes aim with only a single pistol while cocking the hammer. The figure seemed to know about that as it tossed a dagger at him, forcing Oswald to dodge as it nearly grazed his cheek at such speed.

Basil noticed the glint of the dagger coming towards Dawson, he reacted quickly by pulling on the back of his shirt while saying, "Dawson, look out!" As Dawson was pulled back, the dagger passed him as it almost embedded itself at his side, which would've been fatal as it would pierce his organ, but instead the dagger embedded itself on a lamp post, making him sigh in relief.

Oswald looked ahead while pointing his gun again, but the figure got away as it and the horse had disappeared into the night. He grunted in anger as he stood up and shouted as his voice echoed throughout the town, "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME, I WILL FIND YOU!"

He turns around and walks back to the two mice while twirling his guns and putting them back into their holsters. "You two okay?" he asked them.

"Yes, we're fine," Dawson answered the rabbit.

Basil grabs the still embedded dagger and grunts slightly as he manages to pull it out. Looking closely, the metal of the dagger was neatly polished as it gave off a shine whenever the light hit it, the hilt was wonderfully carved while the pommel had a black jewel on it. He couldn't deny that this dagger was impressive, but still...he looked ahead as he judged the distance to where he and Dawson were, and where the figure threw it. "That's impossible," he muttered. Basil's suspicions about this figure began to grow, but one thing was now made clear…

Whoever or whatever it was, that was their killer and the one responsible for whatever is going on here.

An hour flew by fast, nearly half of the town had woken up over the sound of gunfire. The law enforcement who were out patrolling heard the sound and went to investigate, only to meet the famous detective and Dr. Dawson themselves along with the rabbit visitor. Basil had managed to explain what happened and told them that there were two dead victims in an alleyway around the corner from where they were, but left out what he saw when he shot the male dog. The bodies were collected, but were shocked and surprised when they found the shriveled up corpse of the dead male dog, and Basil told them to leave them at their headquarters so he and Dawson could examine the bodies tomorrow.

When that was done, Oswald took the two mice to meet Gyro, who was worried when he heard the sound of gunfire and had already got the horse to move the wagon as he went to find Oswald. He already explained to Gyro what happened, which he made him feel relieved, but was surprised that he lost the figure.

Basil wanted to know why they were here, Gyro answered that they were heading to Scrooge's mansion, much to his and Dawson's surprise that these two were meeting Scrooge McDuck. But the question is...why exactly?

He would have to find for himself as all four of them rode on the wagon back to Scrooge's mansion. But when they got back, Scrooge was really upset as he was already in his nightgown and cap along with Mrs. Beakley, Della, Webby, and the triplets as he demanded to know what happened as he and his family were woken up by the sound of gunfire.

They were all gathered in a single room, listening to Basil's explanation to what happened. When he finished, he concluded by saying, "That's how it happened."

Scrooge had already placed a finger under his beak, then he nodded in understanding while saying, "I see. But did you or Dawson notice the figure's face before it escaped?"

"No," Basil nodded truthfully. "The figure got away before we had a chance to see who it was."

"Yeah, and I would have gotten him too if you hadn't killed that guy in the alleyway."

Basil and Scrooge looked at the rabbit, but the detective got curious when he mentioned "him". "Wait, did you-"

"You!" Scrooge exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

Basil grew a confused look while Dawson looked at him and the rabbit while asking, "Wait, you two know each other?"

"Aye," Scrooge answered without taking his eyes away from that rabbit. "I know him all too well." He goes over to him, then asks with a hard tone, "Tell me why are you here?"

Oswald sighs while rolling his eyes sarcastically and saying, "Isn't it obvious, Scrooge?" He takes out a folded piece of paper from out of his coat and shows it to him. "I got your letter to tell me to come here."

"Letter?" Scrooge snatches the supposed letter that he spoke about while grumbling to himself. Basil's keen ears heard his grumbling while he watched closely.

Scrooge looks at the letter and reads...then he grips it slightly. Looking back at him, he says to the rabbit, "I see…" He folds the letter back and hands it back to him. "So you're also here to help deal with this, right?"

"You got that right, and you know I don't do this for free."

Scrooge sighs as he said to him, "How much do you want this time?"

"Ten thousand gold pieces."

"TEN THOUSAND!" Scrooge shouted with disbelief. "TEN THOUSAND GOLD PIECES, THAT'S ROBBERY!"

Oswald nonchalantly shrugged and said, "A guy like myself has to make a living. Look at it this way though, I'll be able to kill your killer and-"

"Excuse me," Basil cut-in as Scrooge and the rabbit looked at him. "But no one is killing anyone. I will find this killer myself and bring this 'he' you refer to, to justice."

The rabbit gave him a smug grin...then slowly giggled as he said, "Really? You think that by not killing that guy and letting him face your justly law is the right answer?" He nods at him. "Says the man who murdered that guy after I told you not to shoot'em."

"Basil, what is he talking about?" Dawson asked Basil while having a confused look. He already knew that he must've shot that man, but he didn't know what else had happened while he was after the figure.

"He tried to kill me, Dawson," Basil explained. "I told him to stay where he was or I will shoot him, he refused to listen to my warning and attacked me. So I had no choice but to kill him." He gave the rabbit a serious look. "But killing someone in cold blood or killing in an act of self-defense are two different reasons. So this was not an act of murder."

"But did you not hear what I told you before you shot him?"

"What do you mean?" Basil grew confused.

Oswald sighed as he realized that this mouse didn't actually pay attention to what he said to him an hour earlier. "Alright, allow me to repeat what I said earlier so you can remember it. He can be saved, which means the process he had can be reversed, so you didn't have to kill him, you could've defended yourself until I came and held him down." He looked at Scrooge and asked, "By the way, isn't there a doctor in town that knows the way of potion making?"

"I'm afraid not, lad," Scrooge answered while nodding. "The doctor here in this town only knows the way of medicine."

"Crud!" He looked at the chubby mouse and asked, "What about you, Dr. Dawson, don't you know anything about potion making besides medicine?"

Dawson had a confused look as he scratched the side of his head. "I don't know anything about 'potions' and-" It dawned on him as he realized this rabbit knew who he was. "Wait a moment! How the deuce did you know I was a doctor? Better yet, how do you know my name?"

"Isn't it obvious," Oswald sarcastically rolled his eyes while continuing, "I read some papers about you and your friend Basil over there. Or do you refer me to call him 'The Great Mouse Detective' as some would like to call him?"

Dawson was a little surprised that he knew about them, but Basil wasn't at least a bit surprised since this rabbit did mention Dawson's name. Thus he must've read the papers about his work and exploits with Dawson being his partner and friend. However, something was bothering him as he said to the rabbit while he looked at him, "Excuse me, but what are you babbling about? What's this about 'potions' and a 'process can be reversed', what are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah," Oswald chuckled a little while placing a hand on his head and nodding. "I almost forgot. Didn't Scrooge tell you what you're getting yourself into?"

"What do you mean by that?" Basil looked at Scrooge. "What is he talking about?"

Scrooge sighed as he told Basil, "Listen, now is not the best time, lad."

"Really Scrooge," Oswald had an unamused look while crossing his arms. "Are you seriously going to keep him in the dark about this?"

Scrooge looks at Oswald while glaring at him and saying, "Well, would he have believed me if I told him otherwise? He's not ready to learn the truth yet."

"Yeah, like hell he is!" Oswald got in front of Scrooge and sharply poked a finger at his chest. "It's bad enough that you got him and his friend involved, but the least you could've done is bring me here instead of them!"

"Well, the last thing I want…" Scrooge got into Oswald's face as they kept their glares from one another. "Is for you to cause trouble! I have everything planned out and I know that Basil can handle this."

"What if he can't handle it…" Oswald tapped the side of his head with a single finger, "...up in here? Haven't at you at least thought about that you-"

"Hey!" They both looked at a very impatient Basil as he had enough of their argument while he demanded, "Will somebody tell me what's going on here and what is it that Scrooge hasn't told me about?"

Oswald went to him, then asked, "Are you sure you wanna know?"

Basil nodded while having a determined look.

"Alright, but tell me this...What else did you see before you shot that guy?"

Basil cocked an eyebrow and answered, "I saw him murdering that woman, then he attacked me, that's all."

"Really now," Oswald gave him a face that said "I don't believe that". "Then let me ask you this. By any chance did you see…" He points at his eye, "...glowing yellow eyes…" Then he points at his mouth, "...and fangs coming out of the lip?"

When the rabbit gave that description...Basil's eyes were filled with fright. Dawson seemed to notice that as he said, "Basil?"

"No…" He didn't hear what Dawson said, but he did answer the rabbit. "No, I didn't see anything."

The rabbit gave him a smug grin...then tsked at him while waving a finger. "You're a bad liar, Basil. Allow me to tell you what it was that you really saw. That thing...was a vampire ghoul."

"A...A what?!" Basil had a look of disbelief when he heard that.

"Excuse me," Dawson said while having a curious look. "But what is a vampire ghoul?"

"Think of them of zombies," Oswald answered. "Except being dead, they're actually alive, but controlled."

"Controlled? But who's the controller?"

"The vampire. And do you know who it is?"

Dawson nodded no as he had no idea.

"The killer that you, Basil, and I are looking for, he's the vampire."

Basil's eyes narrowed as he didn't believe in any of that nonsense, but for Dawson...his eyes widened with shock as something started to make sense. Scrooge did say that a girl was murdered and had two puncture holes in her neck, which was a sure sign that there was a vampire on the loose. Still, it was hard to believe that, but he wanted to know more as he started off like this, "How is a vampire ghoul made and how can it be reversed?"

"The vampire needs to create a special kind of potion to inject it in its fangs, then bites the victim. After that, the vampire needs to recite a spell which then creates the vampire ghoul. However, the vampire ghoul needs to be fed with blood in order to keep its lifeforce intact. Without it, it'll slowly shrivel up and die."

Dawson's jaw dropped in shock when he learned about the last part, but the rabbit continued, "There are two ways," he shows two fingers to simplify his explanation, "for the process to be reversed. The first is by creating a potion, then either force feed or inject it into the victim's body in order to turn the vampire ghoul back to normal, or the second way, which I like to do because it's more challenging...is to kill the vampire who casted it. Thereby severing the controller's will over the vampire ghoul."

Dawson places a hand under his chin as he nods in understanding as other things start to make sense. "I see, so that would explain the corpse that Basil and I-"

"I didn't see anything," Basil said.

Dawson had a confused look as he looked at him. "But Basil you saw-"

"I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!" He snapped so loud as it made Dawson and everyone else except the rabbit to jump. He took a deep breath as he composed himself. "There's always a logical explanation to everything."

"Like what? What's there to explain about?"

"We were hallucinating," Basil placed his hand on his forehead while closing his eyes. "Yes, we were suffering sleep deprivation since we didn't get enough sleep before we came here. The other things we saw weren't real, but I know I killed that man which is in fact real."

"Really Basil?" He opened his eyes while taking his hand down and looking at the rabbit who had an unamused look while crossing his arms. "Is that the best excuse you can come up with?" The rabbit sighed while nodding at him. "Y'know, there are some things I like about you, but there is one thing I don't like."

"And that is?" Basil questioned.

"Stuck-up know-it-alls who think they know everything...but they don't."

Basil glared and yelled while pointing a finger at him, "Now see here-"

"You think you go by logical explanations and reasoning," The rabbit interrupted him. "But I heard this time and again from others like you. And let me tell you something, I've seen things that go against logical explanations and reasoning. In fact...I've seen things that only lived in your nightmares, things that you haven't even imagined...things that you always thought to be stories are actually true. Everything you know is not as it seems, because behind the shadows…" He gave him a smug grin. "There lies creatures that prey on the innocent, they are everywhere, lying in wait...they could be right next to you for all you know, because when you think for a moment you feel safe and drop your guard…" With a quick swipe of his arm, a small dagger appeared and embedded itself near Basil's feet, making him gasp and stumble as he nearly fell if Dawson hadn't caught him. "They pounce. So word of advice, you need to start opening your eyes and start believing in what you see. Because if you keep denying it, you'll eventually go…"

Dawson glared at the rabbit while he rolled a finger near his ear, moved his head side to side, rolling his eyes while insultingly repeating "Coo-coo, coo-coo, coo-coo".

Basil's teeth clenched with anger as his eyes narrowed and his fists tightened. He quickly goes to the rabbit, picks him up by his coat while shaking and shouting at him, "NOW SEE HERE! YOU IMPERTINENT LITTLE-"

"Basil, stop it!" Dawson yelled as he quickly went to Basil. "This isn't you! You need to put him down now, you're scaring the children!"

Basil looked to where the children were as he forgot that they were still here...only to see the three triplets standing behind their mother, who glared at him while crossing her arms, but took a peek to see if he hadn't blown a head gasket and started tearing up the place. Then he looked at the little girl, who gave him her brave face while placing her fists at her hips, and at Mrs. Beakley as she had an unamused look on her face while cocking an eyebrow. By the look in her eyes, he could tell that she was tempted to march over there and restrain him herself. Looking at the rabbit, he glared at him as his face told him to put him down or else, and already figured out that his dangling feet were close to his face as he was ready to swing a kick at him.

So with that, he nonchalantly drops the rabbit, making him cry "oof" as he lands on his rear, but in the process...a picture falls out of his coat. Basil noticed that as he had a curious look. Looking at it, he sees what it appears to be...a black cat? Her head was laying down on his shoulder while their hands were holding and their arms were wrapped around in each other's waists. Seeing this, he did hear this rabbit say something about a wife earlier when they were after that figure. Could this be this so-called "wife" he was talking about?

Noticing that Basil was looking at the picture that fell out of his coat, he gave him a look that said "none of your business" as he quickly snatches the picture off the floor and puts it back inside his coat.

When that was done, Basil gave a serious look and started pointing at everyone while saying, "You listen here, all of you! There is no such thing as vampires, ghouls, or monsters, there is always a logical explanation and reasoning to everything!" He then looked back at the rabbit as he stood back up while dusting himself. "And as for you! Just who do you think you are?"

"Really?" Oswald sighed at him. "Surely by now you already know who I am since you're the detective."

Basil gave him a confused look as he didn't know what he meant by that. When the rabbit notices that look, he sighs and says to him, "Alright, I'll give you a hint." He taps his crest. "Does this mean anything to you?"

Basil looked at that crest, then answered, "No, in fact it doesn't."

"Wait a moment," Dawson said as Basil looked at him. "I think I know what that is."

He goes to the rabbit while Basil says, "Dawson?" The overweight mouse bends down while squinting his eyes to get a better look at that crest...then his eyes widened as he gasped and stood straight up. "It can't be!" He began to back away until he was right next to Basil. "That's impossible!"

"What is it?"

Dawson points at the rabbit with complete shock. "You...You can't be VanHelsing are you?"

The moment when Dawson mentioned "VanHelsing", Basil's eyes widened with shock as he looked at the rabbit. In fact, he has heard of the legendary family known as VanHelsing, but they were just a story, a legend. There weren't any known facts about that family at all. Could it be...could it be that he is a VanHelsing?

The triplets were confused as Louie asked his brothers, "What's a VanHelsing?"

"The VanHelsing's are a family of monster hunters." Webby explained to the triplets. "They protect mortal kind by hunting creatures that pose as a threat. They are skilled in the ways of the deadly arts. But one day, the family was accused of possessing magic and were excommunicated by some of the churches while others still allied with them. What was worse, they were branded as criminals and were hunted down and executed, along with anyone else who harbored a VanHelsing, until all of the VanHelsing's were destroyed."

The three triplets gulped in fear. If this rabbit was a VanHelsing, does this mean he was a criminal? If so, then does that mean that they were in danger of being executed for harboring this rabbit?

"But I wouldn't worry about it today," Webby waved it off. "That only happened in the old days. Still…" She places a finger under her beak. "I'm not sure if it's still effective today…" She shrugged her shoulders and waved it off again. "But I guess you shouldn't have to worry about it."

The three triplets sighed in relief.

"Anyway, the VanHelsing family were wiped clean from the history books to be forgotten and never remembered, but their legend hasn't been forgotten as some of the books were made to detail their exploits and their greatest feats. Rumor has it that at least some of the VanHelsing's survived the purge and still continued to defend mortal kind behind the shadows." She then had a big smile while jogging over to the rabbit while saying, "But still, are you the VanHelsing, as in the legendary monster hunter?"

The rabbit smiled at the little girl, then chuckled as he said, "The one and only kid." He points a thumb at himself. "And the name's Oswald. Oswald VanHelsing."

Webby's beak dropped along with Basil's and Dawson's jaw as they looked at one another. Webby had stars in her eyes as she gasped while placing her hands on her cheeks. Then like a fangirl meeting their idol, she excitedly says, "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She dashes to his hand and grabs it while shaking it, making Oswald cry "Ooo!" as she said to him, "It's so great to meet you, Mr. VanHelsing! I'm such a huge fan of you! I have read all about you in the papers! Well maybe not all of them. But still, it's so great to meet the legendary monster hunter himself!"

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy kid!" Oswald managed to pull his hand away from the enthusiastic little girl while shaking it, much to his surprise that she actually had quite a grip for her age. He clears his throat while straightening his hat as it covers his left eye from being shaken so fast. He chuckles a little while saying as he had a smug grin, "Well, it's good to know I have a fan around here and-Huh?" His right ear lifted up. "I hear either a carriage or a wagon coming this way."

Della gasped while having a big smile. "That must be Duckworth coming back with the good news."

Scrooge sighed as he said, "Well it's about time! Do you even know how long I've waited for him to come back?" With another sigh, he walks out the room while saying to everyone, "Come on!"

As everyone left the room, Dawson noticed that Basil went the opposite direction, he followed him while saying, "Basil?"

Everyone was outside as the carriage made its way. Scrooge glared ahead as he came to the front of the carriage yelling, "Duckworth, what took you so long! You better have a-" He stops mid-sentence as he and everyone saw the very upset Duckworth, but that wasn't the only thing…

Both the driver and Duckworth were nearly stripped naked as The Beagles destroyed some of their clothes and shoes, and the only thing they wore were there tank-top undershirts and boxers, keeping whatever shred of dignity they had left while both were wrapped in a blanket, given to them by the Count as there only warmth as they were shivering cold.

"Duckworth, what happened?"

"Beagles," Duckworth sharply says as he leaves the comfort of the blanket and comes down off the carriage while rubbing his arms for warmth. "Is what's happened, Mr. McDuck!"

They all gasped as Della covered her beak with both hands. "Oh my God! Is Mina-"

"No Della, Mina is safe, she's at the Count's land with Count Mickey."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "But the Count himself wanted me to give you his regards, Mr. Scrooge." Duckworth opens the door of the carriage, and low and behold, five beagles who were tied together and gagged, courtesy of Count Mickey himself to be taken out of his land and brought here to town to be delivered to the law enforcement.

Scrooge and Oswald looked at the beagles, with the rabbit getting a little suspicious that a single Count had actually managed to beat five beagles in a row. In fact, he has met plenty of people who were of elite status, some of them he met had the title of Count, but none of them he knew could face-off against scum like them, they usually just hire bounty hunters, mercenaries, or body-guards to do their work for them. How come this Count Mickey was different than the rest?

Scrooge smiled at the tied-up beagles while crossing his arms and saying, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He giggles as he continued, "Well, this oughta teach ya for messing with anyone I call family." With that, he slams the door and orders the driver, "Take them to the law enforcement."

"Y-Yes s-sir," the driver said as he shivered while bundling up. He flicks the reins as the horses start moving while he mutters, "I-I don't g-get p-p-paid enough for this."

As the carriage was driving away, Duckworth said to Scrooge, "The Count also wanted me to tell you that next time bring in some protection for the young maiden."

Scrooge groaned as he waved her off and was heading back inside, but Mrs. Beakley glared while saying, "Mr. McDuck, don't wave him off! I for one also agree with him." She shook a finger at him. "And I warned you that something like this would happen if I-"

"Oh shut it, Mrs. Beakley," Scrooge cut her off. "At least Mina is safe, is she-"

"Hey!" Oswald said as he got in front of Scrooge, stopping him from taking another step. "Don't tell her to shut-up! I also agree as well!" He started poking his chest. "Haven't you at least thought about hiring body-guards for her?"

Scrooge glares while dusting his chest. "They were too expensive, but I had the utmost confidence that she would be safe when she got to the Count's land."

"Yeah, but at what cost? You nearly put not just her in danger, but two of your employee's when you know that it is dangerous out there to send someone in a carriage that has your symbol on it that's painting a target that's saying 'Come and get me, I'm right here!' which would attract scum like The Beagles. Haven't you at least thought this through you old miser!"

Scrooge grew an angry look as he grabs the front of his shirt while Oswald grabbed the front Scrooge's nightgown while the old duck said to him, "Listen here you-"

"Hey! Guys!" Della yelled at them as she showed the kids, telling them not to go at each other this late at night, especially in front of the children.

Looking back at one another without taking off their glaring looks, they released one another while Oswald said, "Y'know what, I don't have time for this. I am grumpy and tired, and I'm going to stay here for the night to rest. Then once I wake up, I'm going to eat some breakfast and find Ludwig, and Gyro is coming with me. Right Gyro?"

Gyro nodded his head in agreement with him.

"Now, if y'all will excuse me, I'm going to find a guest quarters. Goodnight...Mr. McDuck."

With that, Oswald went back inside to find a guest quarters to sleep.

"I think I agree with Oswald," Gyro said. "It's late and I think we all need to get some rest."

They all nodded in agreement with Gyro, but Scrooge said, "No one is going to bed yet! All of you inside my office...now!"

They looked at one another as they could tell that Scrooge was really...really angry. But this wasn't about Oswald's attitude at all. No...it was something else entirely.

Back at the guest quarters, Basil was smoking on his pipe to calm down his nerves. As he was watching the window again, Dawson opened the door as he managed to catch up with him as he said, "Basil, was that really necessary causing a stir, and in front of the children no less?"

Basil took out his pipe while blowing out some smoke and saying, "Dawson, now's not the time for this." He sighed as he continued, "But I will apologize tomorrow for my behavior. Right now, I need to get my thoughts together, then after that I need to speak with VanHelsing about some things."

"Like what?"

"You will know soon enough."

Dawson was about to head to the bed to sit down and wait for Basil, but he stopped as Basil said, "Dawson." He went to Basil and stood next to him. "Yes."

Basil looked at Dawson and asked, "What did I get myself into? Better yet, what did I get ourselves into?"

Dawson sighed as he answered, "I don't know Basil...I honestly don't know."

As the two mice looked out the window while the half-moon continued to shine bright at the night sky, they were completely unaware about one thing…

The terror that they were about to face was only just the beginning.

(Skillet-Whispers in the Dark Instrumental Version)

Voice Cast For Episode 1 and 2

Bret Iwan as Count Mickey

Stephanie Sheh as Mina Murrey

David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck

Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck

Paget Brewster as Della Duck

Danny Pudi as Huey Duck

Ben Schwartz as Dewey Duck

Bobby Moynihan as Louie Duck

Kate Micucci as Webby Vanderquack

Toks Olagundoye as Mrs. Beakley

David Kaye as Duckworth

Jim Rash as Gyro Gearloose

Maurice LaMarche as Basil

Val Bettin as David Q. Dawson

Eric Bauza as Beagle #1, #2, #3, Beagle with a rifle

Frank Welker as Knife wielding beagle, Oswald VanHelsing

(End Music)

(Mina)

A maiden awakens in a majestic but gothic castle. She is in awe at the land surrounding it. A Count shows her kindness while neither know their feelings for one another. However, when the sun sets and the moon is high...the dead walk about and the Count shows her a secret which she never thought to be real.

Next time on The Dragul Chronicles: Silent Night, Ghostly Night

As your already aware from the last two episodes, I decided to add the DuckTales 2017 version in this story as I think they would be perfect to play apart in this. Also, for every two or three episodes, I will be adding voice cast to any character that has played in those episodes. Another thing though, to anyone who has read the comic. Yes, there will be romance focusing on the Count and the maiden, but I will be focusing on other characters as the story continues. On the side note for Mina Murrey played by none other than Minnie Mouse, her voice actor Russi Taylor which we all know and loved passed away last year, there hasn't been an official new voice actor for Minnie Mouse to take Russi's place. So I chose Stephanie Sheh as the voice for Mina Murrey, since I think her voice is perfect as she played as Hinata in Naruto and Orihime Inoue in Bleach for the time being until they announce the new voice actor for Minnie Mouse.

I hoped you've enjoyed these two episodes, and until I return, more episodes will come.

Well, I'll see y'all later for now!