"What in dismal downs is going on here?" Scrooge demanded, his voice now coming from his beak. "My body is still sealed away, remember?" Magica snapped, "Since you're wearing my amulet now, I'm temporarily sharing your body until the eclipse when I can get mine back," she explained. "Is that what you meant by "One or two tiny little catches"?" He asked, a little unsure about this situation. "No backing out now Scroogie, we made a deal and besides, it's only for a week," Magica smirked.
Lena was seriously creeped out watching this conversation taking place, if it wasn't for the alternation between Scrooge and Magica's voices one would almost think Scrooge had completely lost his mind and was arguing with himself.
After what felt like forever Lena finally spoke again.
"Scrooge, I know you're not in a good place right now but this is really not good, we've got undo this somehow and-"
"Oh, shut up Lena, you're free now so go run along and play with your little friends or whatever is you want to do with your freedom," Magica waved Scrooge's hand dismissively and crossed his arms. "I wasn't talking to you Aunt Magica!" Lena snapped back.
"Why exactly is this a bad thing lass? Aside from the backseat driver in my head I feel fine, in fact, I feel much better now." Scrooge spoke, his voice cool and laced with a hint of darkness that started to unnerve Lena but she just took a deep breath and tried to talk sense back into Scrooge.
"Because, making any kind of deal with Aunt Magica is not going to turn out good for anyone but her! Let's find a way to fix this and I'll help you talk to your family and-" "Oh, give it up Le-" Magica had cut Lena off but then Scrooge cut Magica off.
"Why should I go crawling back to those selfish ingrates! After everything I've done for them, they just tossed me aside like garbage! Well, if that's what family does then Magica is right, I don't need them!" Scrooge snapped, his cold voice belying the anger that surely seethed below the surface.
Lena was now becoming afraid of Scrooge, Magica's dark influence was clearly agitating his already wounded feelings and it could only get worse the longer he remained possessed by her.
"Okay, okay," She started, holding up her hands. "I get it, you're hurt and you're angry but let's just take a breath here and calm down. I'm gonna try to undo this and then I'll do whatever I can to help you okay?" Lena attempted to use her magic only to discover she couldn't, she could no longer channel any magic at all.
Magica chuckled. "Oh, sweet Lena… without my amulet you can't channel my powers anymore, you can't undo this!" she cackled for a moment before Scrooge took over again.
"You should listen to your Aunt; I don't need your help and I don't want it either; my so-called family can just stay away forever, I don't care anymore," Scrooge said coolly, moving to his desk and taking a pen in his hand, twiddling it between his fingers.
"What are you thinking Scrooge? You may have a strong enough will to maintain control of your body but you can't use my magic!" Magica laughed in the shared headspace. "Doesn't hurt to try…"
Lena tried once more to reason with Scrooge and then the pen began to glow like the amulet and levitate in the air.
"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough lass… NO!" Scrooge snapped and pen flew at Lena who barely dodged it before the pen lodged into the wall.
"Ooh Scrooge! That was wonderful!" Magica squealed in delight. "You know, I'm really very impressed, I didn't think you could use my magic," she giggled.
"Well, you don't think I'm going to let you be a freeloader in my body, do you? If I can use this power myself then consider it your rent payment," Scrooge grinned darkly.
"Oh crud…" Lena muttered. "Come on, can't we talk about this?" she pleaded, inching toward the door.
"Just where do you think you're going?" Magica asked. "Probably going to run off to tattle on me to my so-called family." Scrooge scoffed. "You know, I don't think that would be a good idea… they might come back and try to undo our agreement," "So what?" Scrooge asked, unconcerned. "Let her tattle on me; they won't come back, heck they're probably already miles away from Duckburg by now,"
Magica sighed irritatedly. "Scrooge, while that may be true what if they are still in the city and come back here; I don't know about you but I think it would just be selfish of them to come back just to chase me away after leaving you like they did,"
Scrooge looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "You're right. They have no right act like they care after abandoning me, after making it clear that they don't want me around anymore. It wouldn't be more than a nuisance to have them show up,"
Lena knew she was really in trouble now and she had to get out of the mansion and find Webby and the others, she couldn't fix this alone, she needed help to save Scrooge from Magica.
"Alright Lena, you're going to be my guest for a while until we decide what to do with you." Scrooge said matter-of-factly. "Uh, actually I think I'm just gonna go now and have a tea party with Webby or something," Lena quickly turned and ran out of the room and even quicker found herself dodging magical blasts as Scrooge tried to stop her.
"You should have left when you had the chance, now it's just getting too late to let you go out alone," Scrooge said as he fired magical blasts with his hands, attempting to stop Lena.
"Scrooge, you using my magic makes me shudder… Ooh, do it again!" Magica encouraged, enjoying watching Scrooge being so cold and wicked. This arrangement seemed to be working out in ways Magica hadn't anticipated but she was enjoying every minute.
Lena ran down one hall and then another until she realized Scrooge was using the magic to keep putting her back where she started, keeping her in a continuous loop.
"Scroogie you're being so wicked right now; who would have thought there was this side to you?" Magica said gleefully, watching him toy with Lena. "You're really getting a kick out of this aren't you?" He asked, rather amused at Magica's glee. "Yes, I'm really enjoying seeing the dark side of Scrooge McDuck!" "Well, I'm not!" Lena snapped as she ran down the hall as fast as her feet could carry her while Scrooge lobbed magic blasts at her and used Magica's magic to make his suits of armor try to grab her.
This version of Scrooge McDuck scared Lena and she was scared for him; this wasn't right and she knew she needed to find help as quickly as she possibly could, after she found a way out of the manor and away from him and Magica.
Lena kept running down the halls as Scrooge coldly continued to attack her with Magica's powers and Magica kept cackling and encouraging him. Finally, she came to the end of the hall and thought she was done for, until she saw what she needed, an open window! Quickly she leapt out of the window and tumbled to the ground, taking off for the nearest cover as soon as she got back to her feet and fleeing the mansion grounds.
"Aw, the little brat got away," Magica whined. Scrooge just scoffed. "Let her go, I doubt she'll be able to cause any trouble. Besides, you and I need to have a talk about this… strange situation." He turned away from the window and headed towards the nearest mirror so he would feel a little less crazy for essentially talking to himself.
Lena didn't stop running until she was halfway down Killmotor Hill. She slumped against a tree and took several deep breaths, trying desperately to refill her deprived lungs with fresh oxygen and rest her now trembling legs for just a few minutes while she tried to think of what she could possibly do to help Scrooge.
Launchpad and Webby had left Donald's house boat where they were working on the dinner part of the family dinner they planned to try and 'Parent-trap' Scrooge and his nephews, to try to get the family to patch things up between them. Because Scrooge wasn't answering his phone, they decided to check on him again and drag him back with them while Mrs. Beakley, who had joined in with their plan, made sure Donald and the boys didn't leave.
Before they got too far up the hill, they spotted Lena flagging them down from the side of the road and looking pretty tired and disheveled.
"Launchpad, stop the car!" Webby cried and Launchpad slammed on the brakes. Once the car came to a complete stop Webby opened the door and Lena jumped in. "Thanks for stopping guys," she said, huffing a bit. "Lena, what happened?" Webby asked, concerned for her friend. Lena took a deep breath and looked away, too ashamed to look Webby in the eye. "Scrooge is in serious trouble and it's… kinda… my fault." She slowly admitted. "What do you mean 'Scrooge is in serious trouble' and 'it's kinda' your fault?" Webby was alarmed and confused, Lena wouldn't do anything to hurt Scrooge or anyone… right?
"I wasn't strong enough; I couldn't stop her…" Lena started, ashamed of her role in the mess Magica made. "Stop who? Lena what are you talking about?" Webby asked. "My aunt… Magica," She admitted, fearing the worst reactions from Webby and Launchpad. "What? But no one's seen or heard from Magica DeSpell in fifteen years!" Webby gasped, shocked by the revelations she just heard. "And… you're her niece?" Lena nodded. "Yeah… But right now, the important thing is that Scrooge needs help, Aunt Magica possessed him!"
"Possessed? You mean like in the Exorcist?" Launchpad asked, shuddering. "Poor Mr. McDee…" Lena sighed and shook her head. "No, not like in some stupid horror movie," "I still don't understand Lena, what happened?" Webby asked, ignoring Launchpad. "My amulet… Is actually Aunt Magica's and she was using it to possess me to try to steal Scrooge's number one dime because… that's where she's been the last fifteen years. Sealed inside it and in just a few days she can use the lunar eclipse to free herself completely!" Lena explained. "Well, then we've got to stop her and save Uncle Scrooge!" Webby exclaimed but just before she could say anything else Lena stopped her. "Webby, I don't have any magic now, I can't stop her; but I know of someone might be able to,"
Agreeing to Lena's idea Launchpad had turned around and went back to the marina, back to Donald's house boat and they told the others what had happened.
"What do you mean Uncle Scrooge let Magica possess him? Why would he even agree to anything she said?" Donald asked in disbelief. "Well, gee I dunno, maybe his lousy state of mind has something to do with it!" Lena snarked back. "Oh, don't try to say we're to blame for his dumb mistakes!" Dewey snapped at Lena.
"That's quite enough," Mrs. Beakley interjected. "Mr. McDuck is in great peril and needs our help. You wouldn't want to be just like him and let a family member be lost, would you?" She asked, giving the triplets a stern look.
"Of course not!" Huey answered. "But what can we do about it now? How do we stop Magica DeSpell and save Uncle Scrooge without, you know, getting killed?" Louie asked, a rather reasonable question in spite of his dramatics. "Especially if she has Uncle Scrooge under her control and he'd even fight us?" Huey added.
"I think I might know a way but, I'll need your help." Lena said, hesitantly. Mrs. Beakley turned to her. "And what might that be?" She asked, a skeptical eyebrow raised. "Well, there's someone who is just as strong, if not stronger than Aunt Magica who would be able to stop her… Poe DeSpell."
The boys just looked at Lena expectantly while Webby, Donald and Mrs. Beakley just looked incredulous. "You can't be serious! You want to ask her brother for help to defeat her?" Mrs. Beakley questioned, stunned at the suggestion. "No way! Uh-uh! Dealing with one of them is bad enough!" Donald screeched. "Wait, didn't Poe DeSpell vanish a long time ago, like a century ago or something?" Webby asked. Lena nodded. "That's why I need you guys' help; to find him before it's too late."
"Wait a minute," Huey said, hand raised like he was in class and wanted to ask the teacher a question. "What about your parents?" "Huh?" Lena looked at Huey quizzically. "Well, you said Magica is your aunt and obviously Poe DeSpell isn't your father so that means there's another DeSpell out there we could ask for help, wouldn't that be easier?" Lena shook her head. "I don't have parents… I call Magica my aunt but really… I'm just her shadow." She forced out, now admitting the truth for the first time.
Everyone gave her looks of shock and surprise at the confession, also some looked at her with mounting suspicion.
"So, you're her shadow? Well, then why should we trust you?" Mrs. Beakley asked, more than a hint of accusation in her eyes. "Yeah," Louie chimed in. "You're probably trying to lead us right into Magica's trap!"
"No! Lena wouldn't do that… right?" Webby looked at Lena, obviously trying not to lose her faith in her friend. "No, I swear I'm not working with Magica… I didn't even want any of this to happen…" Lena sighed, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with everyone despite her feelings of guilt.
"Okay, at first I didn't really care but then Webby showed me what having a real friend was like…" She looked to the boys, "And you guys welcomed me and…" She sighed again, willing the tears she was feeling well up in her eyes to go away. "So did Scrooge… and this whole situation is just… wrong; I can't sit by and do nothing," She took a deep breath and stood up a little straighter. "I understand if none of you want to help me… you might actually be better off staying away from Scrooge in his current state so I'll… do this by myself."
Just as Lena turned to walk away, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and a voice behind her.
"We're not going to leave Mr. McDuck like this, he needs all of our help." Mrs. Beakley said.
Lena turned around to see Webby smiling at her, hand on her shoulder and Mrs. Beakley looking at everyone else.
Donald nodded. "Yeah, Uncle Scrooge needs us but I think I know someone else who might be able to talk some sense into him." Louie looked up at his uncle, a little uncertain about what he knew he was thinking. "You don't mean…?" "Goldie O'Gilt?" Huey asked. "Uncle Scrooge's ex-girlfriend? That might just work," Dewey mused.
"I dunno… He's pretty far gone…" Lena said, wondering if that wouldn't just be adding fuel to the fire, all things considered.
After some discussion they decided to split into two teams; Donald, Mrs. Beakley and Huey went to track down Goldie, hopefully to have her come back with them to talk to Scrooge while Launchpad, Webby, Dewey and Louie went with Lena to search for Poe DeSpell.