Thanks to brave kid for coming up with this story! Enjoy.

Maybe it was the tension, or maybe it was the boiling volcano, but the air was sweltering hot.

Babyface wiped a layer of slick sweat off his forehead. Whether it was from the heat or just nerves, it was making it hard to concentrate on the task at hand... and concentration was key. He and his brothers had never dared anything quite like this before. The results could be...well, a disaster.

"Bingo," said his brother, BigTime, peering around the wall and glimpsing the familiar stone lair of Magica de Spell. The place looked just as he remembered it- magic pot, brews, and all."And it looks she ain't here, just as I thought!"

Behind him, Baggy, Burger, and Babyface, who'd been holding his breath, all let out sighs of relief.

"I don't know what we'd of done if she'd been around!" Babyface said, shaking his head as the color rushed back into his cheeks. The four Beagles crept into the cavern, taking in the shelves upon shelves of books and bubbling potions.

"Ah, what'd I tell ya? You should trust yer older brother!" BigTime grinned, slapping the younger pup on the back. It was a bluff, of course, but who needed to know?

"I never wanna deal with that nasty old witch ever again!" Babyface said, jumping as a little as a puff of steam erupted from a fissure on the floor.

The last time he'd been here, he'd been blown up in one of Magica's alchemical disasters, and he could still feel the searing explosion when he closed his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe she's cranky 'cuz she just doesn't have enough foodstuffs in her diet!" Burger agreed, bumbling around the tables and poking everything with his thick sausage fingers. Crash. "Oops."

"Stay focused, you guys!" BigTime ordered. Baggy was staring blankly into the swirling contents of the cauldron, and BigTime snapped loudly to waken him from his trance. "We're lookin' for a spellbook or magic fiddlefaddle. Anythin' we can hawk to get rich quick!" He grinned. "Or even better, if we can find somethin' that'll help us break into that cursed money bin!"

"I'm lookin'!" Babyface yelled, and he started his search amid the aisles and aisles of mysterious objects.

He browsed the shelves, carefully at first. Stones, charms, a thick black feather dripping with ink...but nothing particularly useful.

Babyface paused, cocking his head curiously. Then again...

"These could make good souvenirs," he murmured with a smile, turning over a polished stone in his hand. Maybe for Ma, and get in her good favors...or maybe Boom-Boom.

His heart skipped a beat.

Babyface and the blonde Beagle Babe had become increasingly close in the past few months, and Babyface believed they were more than just friends. But just what they were, he wasn't quite sure.

Then suddenly something else caught the young Beagle's attention. A heavenly aroma was wafting down from a high shelf, and Babyface rose onto his tiptoes to investigate. Carefully, he nudged a clear, shimmering bottle off the edge of the shelf and into his hands.

"What's this thing...?"

The bottle was vaguely heart-shaped, with a long neck, and inside was a thick, golden liquid swirling around.

Well, whatever it was...it smelled delicious.

"What you got there, Babyface?" BigTime called, looking up from his fruitless searching.

"Um..."

Gripping the bottle, Babyface suddenly became aware of how desperately hungry he was.

The flight from Duckburg had been a long one, and Bomber, the pilot and his older brother, straight up refused to allow food on his private plane.

Now his mouth was watering, and was he starting to hallucinate, or did it smell just like chocolate fudge and buttercream...?

He wasn't exactly sure how it happened, and he knew it was stupid, but all at once, Babyface found himself gulping the formula down, almost as if he were meant to do so.

"Babyface!" BigTime shouted. "Are you insane-!"

"I, ah-"

Babyface turned to give him an apologetic smile and comforting words, but before he could act, the youngest Beagle suddenly started to tremble and shake. Then, like a top, he started to spin around on the spot, faster and faster.

Burger and Baggy watched in horror as BigTime tried to approach, but to no use, he couldn't grab onto him.

Then finally, Babyface began to slow down and skidded to a stop. His head still spinning, he stumbled a little and BigTime ran over to steady him.

"You ok, kid-?"

BigTime's words melted away as he took a closer look at his brother. There was something different about him. Several somethings.

For one, his ragtag Beagle Boy uniform and propeller hat had been replaced with a handsome buttoned shirt and jacket. Additionally, his usual curly cowlick and the rest of his hair had been slicked back.

"Uhhhh...Babyface, is 'dat you?" Baggy asked, his eyes bulging out.

"What kind of messed up hocus-pocus is this?!" BigTime shouted, taking a step back. Babyface looked himself up and down, confused at his unexpected wardrobe change, but before he could express his bewilderment, a fierce dizzy spell sent him to his knees.

"Caw! Caw!"

The startling, raucous squawk bounced off the walls, and the Beagles almost jumped out of their skins.

That could be no other than Magica's brother, Poe, the transformed raven- and from the sounds of it, he was patrolling the tunnels.

"We gotta split," BigTime said, grabbing Babyface's hand. They'd have to chat later- Magica couldn't be too far behind.

Lightheaded, Babyface allowed BigTime to lead him away. With not a second to lose, the four Beagle Boys ran to the cave's exit and stumbled down onto the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius. At the bottom of the craggy hillside, the chopper was waiting, and Bomber jumped to attention at the helm, where he'd been set to be ready at a moment's notice.

"What happened?" he asked when he saw Babyface leaning over BigTime's shoulder, but BigTime just shook his head as the four Beagles jostled into the helicopter. "Not now! Let's get outta here!"

"Roger," Bomber complied, and the aircraft took to the sky.

Shivering, Babyface rested his head against the wall and took several deep breaths. His mind felt fuzzy, like a haze. Trying his best to ignore BigTime and the others' stares, he tried to focus elsewhere. Duckburg. They were on their way back home.