Louie and Dewey rounded a street corner and found Della and Scrooge standing in front of a large castle sitting at the edge of the city. The castle was made from a darker stone than the rest of the buildings. It looked like a pretty generic medieval castle. Spires and pointed roofs, with a tall tower on the left. It looked worse than all the other buildings here, with huge chunks of the walls crumbled and bits falling off even as they stood there.
"Hey Scrooge, did you find that book yet?" Dewey asked, running up to stand beside him. Drawing Louie's attention again.
"No lad, but if it's anywhere I betcha it'll be in there!" Scrooge said, pointing with his cane to the building.
"Well let's go!" Dewey exclaimed, rushing inside. Della and Scrooge followed close behind him, with Louie running in after them. Inside the castle, the first room was a large foyer with a wide staircase in the middle. mirrors embedded into the walls on either side. More stairs branched off of the main staircase, winding up into the towers. The three ducks began their search around the room. Louie joined in, tearing the room apart and a panicked frenzy. He had to find the journal before they did. Where could it be!? After a while of searching, they all came up with nothing. Which Louie couldn't quite decide if that was a relief or a disappointment.
"I really thought it'd be in here." Scrooge muttered, scratching his head.
"It's probably upstairs." Della suggested. She led Scrooge and Dewey up the steps, Louie stood behind. Panic overwhelmed him, he was running out of places to look. He'd never find it before Scrooge! He kicked a piece of rubble out of frustration, sending it flying across the room and crashing into one of the mirrors. It shot straight through, leaving a hole in the bottom corner. Louie blinked at the hole. The stone should have hit a wall and bounced back. Was there something behind the mirror? He picked up a larger piece of rubble and threw it at the mirror, covering his head as shards came flying. Behind the mirror was a small hidden room with a small table sitting inside and a journal sitting on top. Louie gasped and rushed to it. He picked it up and flipped through the pages. Every page was a different blueprint, describing some sort of advanced machinery. This was it! A surge of relief washed over him, finally, this nightmare was over! He turned to head out, glancing around to make sure no one else was around. He quickly ran out and ducked into the room to the side. He pulled the walkie out of his pocket, pressing the button.
"I have the book." He whispered into it.
"Perfect!" Heron's voice cheered through the walkie, making Louie jump. "Bring it outside and I'll drop something to retrieve it."
Louie obeyed and walked out of the castle, checking nervously for anyone else. He waited a few seconds, his nerves rising as he heard Scrooge and the others start to walk back into the foyer. Suddenly one end of a string came falling from above, landing with a thud onto the ground.
"Tie the book to that." Heron instructed. Louie obliged and tied the book to the string. Watching as it was lifted away.
"Okay. I did what you wanted. So you're gonna leave now right?" Louie whispered, hoping nobody in the castle could hear him.
"Yeah about that…" Heron started. Louie's stomach sank. Don't you dare, he thought. "I was thinking it over while waiting for you and I decided I shouldn't waste this perfect opportunity to not only get the book but also get rid of our biggest obstacle and rival at the same time! Kill two birds with one stone. Or several."
"No no no no! Don't please!" Louie cried into the walkie. He looked up as a dark shadow suddenly loomed over the city. Terror nearly stopping his heart. He threw the walkie down and rushed back into the castle where Scrooge and the others stood gaping at the sudden darkness. Louie's eyes landed on the micro-phone that Scrooge had on him. He ran and pushed him, knocking the ray out of his pocket.
"What in the- have you gone mad lad!?" Scrooge exclaimed. Louie ignored him and grabbed the micro-phone, running back outside. He ran towards the city's edge as fast as he could, the darkness growing every second. Once he was close to the edge he pointed the ray at himself and leaped off, blasting himself with it. He landed on the table in the science lab, his normal size again. He whipped around to see Black Heron holding a huge chunk of ruble over the city, getting ready to drop it.
"No!" Louie screamed as she let go of the ruble, sending it flying down towards the city. Louie reached forward and yanked the city away, the ruble crashing onto the now empty table.
"What do you think you're-" Heron gasped. Louie slid off the table and ran.
"Stop right there you little brat!" Heron yelled as he fled out into the hallway. He ran, city clutched in his arms, as the villain chased him down the hallway. He gasped as a small rocket suddenly exploded over his head. He looked back to see Heron's metallic arm had transformed into a rocket launcher and another rocket came shooting out. He ducked again and ran faster. Another rocket exploded by his feet causing him to trip. He held the city up in the air as he planted face-first into the ground. He quickly shook it off and scrambled to his feet. He glanced behind him and realized that the last blast had sent up a huge puff of smoke in between him and Heron. Now was his chance! He skidded to a halt and slid into one of the lab rooms. He pressed his back against the wall by the door so that hopefully she wouldn't see him. He held his breath as the footsteps grew closer. He listened as they passed by the room, growing quieter and quieter until it was gone.
Louie gasped and struggled to catch his breath. He looked down at the city in his arms. Please, let everyone be ok, he prayed silently. He placed the city gently on the ground, taking a moment to close off and barricade the room. He then stood by the city and shrunk himself back down. He hurried through the city, rushing to the castle where he'd last seen anybody. He skidded to a halt when he found Huey and Webby sitting on a piece of debris outside the castle. Immediately Louie could tell something was wrong. Huey had his face buried in his hands. Webby sat beside him, her hand placed on his back, tear stains streaked down her face. They were both scuffed up and bruised as well.
"Huey?...what happened?" Louie asked, dread washing over him.
Huey lifted his head and sniffed, "what do you mean what happened? Where were you?"
Louie paused. What should he say? For a moment he tried to find the words to explain, but the thoughts left his head as quickly as they came. Something else was far more important.
"What happened?" Louie asked again.
"T-there was this terrible earthquake," Huey began, his voice shaking.
"Earthquake?" Louie interrupted.
Huey nodded then continued, "the castle fell apart, and Dewey… Dewey didn't make it." Huey shut his eyes and clenched his teeth as though he were in pain, tears streaming down his face. Louie's eyes widened and he took a pace back.
"N-no….no tell me you made it up! Tell me you and Dewey are just pranking me!" Louie demanded.
"Louie…" Webby said quietly, looking up at him with somber eyes. In the following silence, Louie caught the sound of crying from behind Huey and Webby and he stepped to the side to see. Scrooge stood beside a large pile of rubble, with Della on her knees crying beside him. Louie scanned the pile, gasping when he saw the hints of blue buried deep within the pile. Louie backed away, the realization threatening to knock him to the ground.
"I'm so sorry Louie.." Webby said before launching into a fresh batch of tears. Louie trembled as memories rushed back to him, piecing together in a horrid way. When he had the city, all those times he ducked, or when he tripped...had he caused this? Louie turned and ran, ignoring his brother's cry for him. He ran through several streets before finally breaking down. He stopped, pressing his back against a wall and sliding down till he was on the ground. He wrapped his arms around his knees.
"No! This is all my fault!" He cried. Guilt and grief overwhelmed him, sending waves of tears rolling down his cheeks. He sobbed, using his hoodie sleeve to wipe his tears, though it hardly did any good. What should he have done? What could he have done? Thoughts rushed through his head as he wept. Was there any way he could have stopped this? Should he have told somebody? But every thought led to the same answer, no matter what he did everything would've gone wrong. He wished there was some way to fix this. that somehow none of this ever happened. That he could go back and do things differently, maybe then-. Louie blinked as an idea suddenly popped into his head. Maybe there was a way. He accepted the idea with no hesitation, determination replacing his grief.
"Don't worry Dewey," he muttered, "I'm going to fix this. I'm going to fix all of this."