Chapter 3
The Forest of Temptation
For the past couple of moments, Lena has been climbing to the top of Mount Vesuvius. It took her all of her strength, but she finally found Magica's lair. As she entered, Lena was shocked to find Webby lying in the middle of the room. Webby was covered in bruises and she had burns all over her feathers.
"Webby!" Lena rushed over to Webby as fast as she could.
The moment Lena reached her girlfriend, Webby weakly opened her eyes.
"L-Lena." Webby weakly spoke since she could barely stay awake.
"It's going to be okay, Webby! I'm here for you now!" Lena assured her girlfriend with tears in her eyes.
Before Lena could do anything else, she heard the sounds of footsteps, followed by the evil laughter of Magica.
"Well, isn't this touching! You've come all this way just to save your girlfriend. You must really love her." Magica gave a sinister grin.
It was at that moment when Lena stared at Magica in rage. "What have you done to Webby, Aunt Magica?"
"Oh, all I did was zap her with a couple of lightning spells. I might consider letting her go if you give me your powers." Magica replied.
As much as she wanted to attack Magica with every single spell she knew, Lena wasn't going to risk Webby getting hurt anymore.
"Fine! Take them! Just leave Webby alone!"
The moment that Lena said that, Magica's staff began to glow. Lena soon braced herself for the worst as Magica fired a spell at Lena, draining her of all her magic. It wasn't long before Lena collapsed on the floor. She felt so weak that she could barely move an inch. Once she stole all of Lena's powers, Magica let out a sinister laugh.
"Yes! Finally! The powers are all mine! Perhaps I should test out my powers, and your friend is the perfect target for me."
Lena's eyes widened in shock. "What? No! You said that you would let her go if I gave you what you want!"
"Oh, I did, didn't I? I lied!"
Before Lena could react, Magica used her magic to blast Lena, sending her flying across the room. She only just recovered when she saw Magica walking towards Webby. Lena rushed over to save her girlfriend, but it was too late. Magica blasted Webby with one of her most powerful spells, disintegrating her.
"No! Webby!" Lena screamed.
Horrified by what she witnessed, Lena collapsed on the ground. She didn't want to believe what happened. Overcome with grief, Lena sobbed loudly as Magica stepped closer to her.
"Oh, poor little Lena! She just lost the love of her life." Magica taunted. "Don't worry! I'll make sure that you see her again in the afterlife!"
Once again, Magica's staff started to glow and she fired a magic beam right towards Lena. Bracing herself for the worst, Lena closed her eyes as she began to scream.
"Lena! Lena, wake up!"
With a scream, Lena woke up, taking a bunch of deep breaths. She looked around to realize that she was still in the Sunchaser. She soon realized that she was surrounded by her friends, each of them looking concerned for her.
"I-It was just a dream?"
"Yeah. And it sounded really bad." Louie commented.
Once she calmed down, Lena looked down in sadness.
"Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to worry you." Lena sighed.
"Don't worry about it, Lena. We know how much Webby means to you." Huey tried to comfort Lena.
"Once we make it to Mount Vesuvius, Magica won't stand a chance against all of us!" Dewey assured.
Lena couldn't help but give a slight smile. She felt so lucky to have her friends looking out for her.
"Thanks, guys! I guess I'm still worried about Webby. Even before we became a couple, we have been through so much together, and I don't want to lose her. I hope Aunt Magica hasn't done anything to her." Lena hoped.
"Don't fret, Lena. I'm sure that Webbigail is fine. As long as we stick together, we'll be able to save her." Violet assured.
Grateful for her friends' help, Lena along with the rest of her friends embraced each other in a group hug. Scrooge and Beakly couldn't help but smile at this heartwarming moment.
"Aww! You guys have such a beautiful friendship!" Lauchpad started to tear up.
Everyone soon stared at Launchpad, shocked that he wasn't at the front of the plane anymore.
"Launchpad! Who's flying the plane?" Scrooge yelled.
"Oops!" Launchpad realized his mistake as the Sunchaser started to fly out of control.
Desperate to get the plane back in the air, Scrooge rushed over to the controls, but could barely reach them. The Sunchaser plummeted further and further until it hit the ground, crashing into a bunch of trees in the process. After crashing into the ground for a couple of moments, the Sunchaser came to a complete stop when it hit a boulder.
After everyone recovered from the crash, they got out of the plane, each of them feeling dizzy. They soon turned to see that the Sunchaser was badly damaged. The plane was covered in dirt and the propellers fell off.
As she got off the plane, Beakly asked, "Is everyone alright?"
"It seems that everyone is fine, but I don't think I can say the same thing for the Sunchaser." Violet noticed.
"Hmm. The Sunchaser seems to be broken, but nothing I can't fix." Launchpad assured. "You guys go on without me while I fix the plane. It could be awhile."
With a sigh, Scrooge said, "It seems that we'll have to walk to Mount Vesuvius for now. Come on, kids! We can't waste any time!"
It was at that moment when the kids followed Scrooge and Beakly into a nearby forest. As they traveled deeper into the forest, Scrooge started to feel uneasy about something. Beakly noticed Scrooge's unease as well.
"What's wrong?" Beakly asked.
"There is something about this forest that seems familiar. It feels like we are not supposed to be here." Scrooge explained.
While Scrooge was trying to remember what this place was, Louie a treasure chest in front of him that was filled with gems and gold
"Ooh! Treasure! Well, don't mind if I do!"
Louie was about to grab the treasure before Scrooge noticed what was going on.
"Louie! No!"
Before Louie could take a single gem, Scrooge pulled Louie back with his cane. The moment Louie was pulled back, the treasure chest disappeared without a trace.
"No! What happened to my treasure!" Louie despaired.
"There was no treasure! That was just an illusion! It seems that we have entered the Forest of Temptation." Scrooge explained. "The forest tricks unwary travelers with illusions of what they desire most until they can no longer tell what's real anymore. We'd better get out of here quickly."
Not wanting the be tempted by the forest's illusions, Lena and her friends stayed close to Scrooge and Beakly as they carefully walked through the forest. They did their best to resist all of the forest's illusions, but it got harder and harder for them every minute.
After a few minutes of looking for a way out, Lena suddenly came to a stop. Her friends soon looked towards her, feeling concerned.
"Hey, Lena! Are you alright?" Dewey called out for her.
Instead of answering, Lena looked around the forest. "Did you guys hear that?"
"I didn't hear anything." Violet looked around the forest with a puzzled look.
"I-I think I just heard Webby. She's here!"
Before her friends could stop her, Lena turned back as she followed the voice.
"Lena! Stop! It's just the forest trying to trick you!" Scrooge tried to warn Lena, but she was too far away to hear him.
Lena ran as fast as she could through the forest, determined to find her girlfriend. It wasn't long before Lena came across a familiar face.
"W-Webby? Is that you?"
"Lena! I'm so happy to see you again!" Webby cheered. "I escaped from Magica's lair, and I spent all this time looking for you!"
Happy to see her girlfriend again, Lena stepped forward to hold her hands. However, Lena quickly came back to her senses as she heard her friends calling for her. Once Lena remembered where she was, she stared at Webby in suspicion.
"What's wrong, Lena? Are you happy to see me?" Webby asked.
"Webby, how come you are not wearing your friendship bracelet?" Lena looked at Webby's wrist.
"My what? Uh, yeah. My bracelet. I must have lost it. It doesn't matter, anyway. It's nothing more than a useless trinket after all."
Upon hearing that, Lena's eyes widened in shock. She knew that Webby would never say anything like that. It was at this point when Lena realized that she was talking to an illusion the whole time.
"No! This isn't real! You're not Webby!" Lena jumped back.
Suddenly, the illusion of Webby let out a sinister chuckle. "So, you've finally figured it out. It's too bad that you are never going to get out of this forest alive!"
Desperate to get out of the forest, Lena turned to search for her friends. Wind began to blow throughout the forest, making it harder for Lena to hear her friends calling out for her. Thankfully, she managed to find her friends before the wind got too strong.
"Lena! There you are! Where have you been?" Scrooge asked, making sure Lena was alright.
"Sorry, Mr. McDuck. I thought Webby could be here, but it was stupid of me to assume so." Lena apologized.
"Don't worry about it, lass. We'll talk after we get out of here. If we don't leave now, we may never be able to leave at all! Follow me!"
With that, Scrooge led everyone through the forest. The more they ran, the stronger the wind started to blow. The wind eventually got so strong, it started knocking the trees down. More and more trees fell down when everyone could see at light at the end of the forest. They ran as fast as they could, desperate not to be crushed by the trees. Lena and her friends soon ran to the outside of the forest as they tumbled down a hill.
Once they recovered, Lena and her friends looked up to see the sun for the first time in forever. Lena breathed a sigh of relief, happy that she and her friends escaped from the forest.
"W-We made it!" Lena panted.
"I'm so glad that we are out of that forest!" Louie smiled.
"It's a good thing too because it seems that we are getting close to Mount Vesuvius." Scrooge pointed into the distance.
Everyone looked forward to see Mount Vesuvius in the distance.. With Mount Vesuvius closer than ever, Lena gave a smile. She knew that it wouldn't be long before she would finally be reunited with Webby.