Chapter 5 – A Family Reunion
"Get away from my dad!"
Those words are music to his ears. Scrooge turns his head just as his daughter, now in her mid-twenties, leaps past him and kicks Bouncer, the largest of the Beagle Boy trio, onto his back. She then proceeds to punch and kick him to stay down.
"Webby," He acknowledges the skilled fighter.
"Hi Uncle Scrooge," Another voice calls out from behind.
Scrooge turns and sees two adult ducks, also in their mid-twenties. It takes a moment, but he soon recognizes them.
"Huey? Louie?" He addresses them.
Like Gyro, the two brothers' clothes are tattered and dirty, but they still dawn their favorite colors, faded some, but still prominent. Each of the boys is holding a weapon. Louie's choice of weapon is a baseball bat; he lazily rests his arms up over the bat, across his shoulders. Huey sports a handmade bow with arrows in a side pouch.
"It's about time you showed up," Louie grumbled.
"Louie, don't," Huey warns his younger brother.
The red-clad duck lifts his bow, and with his other hand, takes an arrow. Huey positions the pointed stick and draws the string back. The second he releases the arrow flies and impales itself in Burger's left shoe.
While the thin Beagle is hopping around in agony, Huey quickly grabs another arrow and aims it at Bigtime, the smallest of the three.
"You guys seem to forget that this is our turf, so leave while you still can." He says in a threatening tone.
Bigtime quickly glances over to his brothers. Burger stops hopping around to bend over. He plucks the arrow out from his boot; however, the skinny Beagle rubs his sore foot. Bigtime's other brother, Bouncer, is flipped over Webby's shoulder and lands hard on his front side. Webby then rotates his arm back in a twisted, painful position.
Realizing there is no alternative, Bigtime agrees with Huey's threat.
"Fine, but this isn't over, Duck." The littlest Beagle retaliates.
Webby releases Bouncer from her grip. The big guy quickly jumps to his feet, grabs his wounded brother, and follows his little brother down the street.
The second the Beagles disappear around the bend, Huey lowers his bow and slides the arrow back in his handmade quiver bag. Huey then turns to his elder with a look of concern.
"Are you alright, Uncle Scrooge?" He asks.
"Bless me, bagpipes, aren't you all a sight for sore eyes," Scrooge responds, teared up with gratefulness. "Look how big you are now."
"Awe, dad." Webby emotionally leans forward to hug her biological parent. "We missed you so much."
"Hey, as much as this family reunion is great and all, we better get back to the lair. Magica's Shadow Demons will be stalking the streets soon." Louie points out.
"Louie's right," Huey agrees. He jerks his thumb towards the street behind him and says, "Come on this way."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
After a few minutes of walking through the main streets, the three young ducks guide Scrooge into a quiet neighborhood. They reached a tiny home surrounded by trees and boarded up windows. The place appears abandoned and a tad rundown. The ducks sneak around the corner of the yard and come across a secret cellar door behind a few bushes.
Louie pulls out a key from his pocket to open the lock. Huey and Webby then both lift the heavy doors open. Inside looks so dark; it's like looking into a black void. Louie takes Scrooge's arm and leads him down the stairs.
As Louie reaches the bottom step of the dark basement, the sound of a weapon clicks.
"Halt, who goes there?" A voice growls.
"Mom, it's us," Louie assures her in a panic.
"Louie?"
Della reaches over to flip the light switch, and to her relief, she sees her two sons, cousin Webby, and to her delight, Uncle Scrooge. She lowers and locks the crossbow in her hand before placing it on the table beside her.
"Oh, thank goodness, you found him." The enthusiastic mother rushes up to give her uncle a big hug. "Uncle Scrooge, we were so worried that we would never see you again. I'm so glad my boys and Webby found you in time."
"How did you know I would be in the neighborhood?" Scrooge asks.
"B.O.Y.D.," Huey explains. "He sent us an encrypted message that you came back and was on your way here."
"Knowing that the Beagles and Magica are also waiting for your return, we made it our priority to find you first," Louie adds.
"We were almost too late, though. Good thing it was only three of the Beagles Boys there. It would have been tougher if we had to face Magica's Shadow Demons too." Webby admits, crossing her arms in discontent.
"Believe me; your timing cuidna be more perfect," Scrooge admits.
"Come on; the others will want to see you." Della steps up to grab hold of Scrooge's arm. She gently tugs at him to follow her.
Scrooge allows himself to be lead towards the next room. He stops in mid-step when a shimmering object pinned by the door frame grabs his attention. Della, herself, stops to wait for her uncle inside.
The old duck leans in for a closer look. To his surprise, it is a druidic rune-stone, similar to the ones he purchased for Castle McDuck. This rune-stone is a more turquoise-green than an aquatic blue color; therefore, it must be a different type of magic, Scrooge assumes. While focusing on stone, Huey leans in over his shoulder.
"That rune-stone is shielding us from Magica's power," Huey explains. "Basically, by staying near it, we are completely invisible to all magic. We can relax a little, eat, and get a good night's sleep, at least."
"Where did you get it?" Scrooge asks, not looking away from the stone.
"Some of Huey's Podcast fans sent it to us," Louie says dispassionately. He walks on past them and right into the next room.
"Podcast?" Scrooge questions, turning his head to face Huey.
Before Huey can explain, Webby jumps in front of him.
"Oh, it's great; Huey thought of a way to send messages outside of Duckburg through an old radio transmitter we found. Now, when we first started this, we were hiding out closer to the Harbour docks. That is where we found all sorts of other communication equipment, including a Morse code machine. Together, along with all of our found tech, we made show entertaining, but at the same time, we can send out secret messages in hopes our listeners would understand the hidden meanings." Webby says with passion.
"What sort of secret messages are you sending?" The elder wonders.
"I got the idea from the Jr. Woodchuck guidebook," Huey explains. "By blending my storytelling with different sounds in the background, which, of course, masked a hidden message in Morse code. When we first started this, I had no idea if there would be anyone out there able to listen and respond to our messages."
"You can totally imagine our excitement that at least one person had figured it out." Webby jumps back in enthusiastically. "Whoever they were, that person arranged a package to be sent to us. One day we got a message through Morse code for us to go to the docks. A crate was sitting there filled with food, supplies, and that rune-stone, instructions on how to use the stone, plus a letter that read: 'We are listening.'"
"Any idea on who these 'fans' are?" Scrooge asks.
"No clue," Webby shrugs. "But we hope to meet them soon. I, for one, would like to give them a big hug for their support."
With that, the young adults lead Scrooge into the other room.
Scrooge is looking forward to seeing the rest of his family. He wonders how everyone is grown, regardless of the situation. However, his smile faded when the next room sat a smaller group than he was expecting.
From left to right, Scrooge recognizes his other nephew, Gladstone Gander, former housekeeper, Mrs. Beakley, one of Webby's closest friends, Violet, and Fenton's mother, Maria.
The old duck shakes his head, assuming the rest of the crew is out getting supplies. They should be back here soon. Everyone is so focused on their tasks that they don't seem to notice Scrooge entering the room.
Gladstone is helping Mrs. Beakley cook some canned beans in a beat-up pot over a single hot plate. Violet is mending another homemade bow, while Maria is making some more arrows.
"Hey guys, look who's here!" Della announces.
Everyone looks up and smiles at the sight of Scrooge McDuck.
"Uncle Scrooge, so glad you are here." Gladstone gleefully jumps up to rush over and hug his elder.
"Ah, Lad, I'm glad to see you too," Scrooge says, returning the hug.
Bentina Beakley uses her left hand to turn down the temperature of the hot plate. She then gets up to greet her former employee.
"Mr. McDuck," The large woman addresses in a monotone.
"Mrs. Beakley," Scrooge responds before letting out a gasp when he notices a change on her.
Bentina's right arm is completely gone. Scrooge can only imagine how she may have lost it. His former housekeeper realizes his attention to her missing limb and gives him a reassuring smile.
"Believe me; you should have seen the other guy." She says in a dry, jokingly tone.
Scrooge gives a sad smile. It is impressive how well she seems to be holding up. The rich old duck isn't sure if he would have her strength in this situation.
Movement distracts Scrooge over to a young woman walking up to them. At first, he almost doesn't recognize the purple hummingbird, but Scrooge realizes who she is. Violet is no longer a kid but now a young woman in her mid-twenties. She clears her throat before speaking.
"If my calculations are correct, I am going to assume you came back on the very spot in which you disappeared? I'm presuming it was the Money Bin?" Violet deduced.
"Aye, that is right, Lass." Scrooge nods, affirming the truth.
"I knew it," Violet snaps her fingers in a small victory.
Again, Scrooge looks around at the small group of his family. With a hopeful smile, he turns to Della and the kids – now young adults.
"So, where is everyone else?" He asks innocently enough.
However, the reaction he receives is alarming—each of his nephews, niece, and daughter frown mournfully as they turn their heads in regret.
"We're it." Louie finally shrugs without even looking up.
Scrooge can't believe this. He takes a step towards Della and Webby.
"Donald, Lena, Launchpad…?" Scrooge scans around the room again. His heart sinks deeper, seeing his nephews Huey and Louie, but no third one.
"…Dewey?"
After a moment of unbearable silence, Maria finally says, "…Gone."
Scrooge turns his head to see the former officer put down her last arrow and stands up. Maria takes a few steps towards the older duck. A vast scar scrapes across her face, her eyes filled with anger and grief.
"Along with my bambino, Fenton and his girlfriend Gandra." Mrs. Cabrera turns away, raises her fist in anger, and mutters something in Spanish. "Si alguna vez pongo mis manos sobre esa bruja, le romperé el cuello."
"Come on, Maria," Gladstone puts his hands down on her shoulders. He attempts to calm her before she ends up getting more upset. "Why don't we go sit down, okay?"
Scrooge suddenly feels weak in the knees. He sees an old chair beside him just in time as his tail gravitates towards it. The elder stares at nothing, too shocked to move. After blinking back to the present, Scrooge returns his gaze up at his kin.
"What happened?" He finally asks.
"After you disappeared, we gathered together in an attempt to take down Magica." Webby starts. "We waited a few days to plan our attack, perfectly. By then, Magica was already making herself at home in the mansion."
"Donald," Della paused for a moment. Just saying his name broke her heart. She takes in a deep breath and continues. "He was upset and wanted revenge. He felt he was losing everything. You, and the destruction of his boat, too – thanks to the Beagles attacking us at the docks."
"We were precise in getting in and standing up to the evil sorceress," Huey steps in. "It wasn't easy, but we did manage to get your dime back from her, at least."
"You did," Scrooge is delighted to hear that. Finally, some bit of good news.
"You would have been proud of us, dad. We fought well, except," Webby trailed off for a moment. "The Beagle Boys showed up. On top of that, Magica cast a spell that unleashed Shadow Demons on us. We became overwhelmed, so we regrouped and made our escape." The young fighter again paused, biting her lower beak. She eventually continues. "Lena, she sacrificed herself so we could escape the mansion."
Scrooge finds this flashback unbearable. However, he feels that there is more tragedy to tell.
"I'm so sorry," he says, heartfelt.
Webby nods her head, acknowledging her father's condolence. She is still upset about losing one of her best friends.
"That was only the beginning," Della continues. "We realized after that the Beagles are working for Magica, and their rule was quickly overrunning the city. They also had Glomgold with them, but they only used him as a pawn. We saw Magica use a new spell on him. She called it the Medusa's Curse, turning him into permanent stone. It made it clear that we had to leave Duckburg to find more fighters in this war. The only problem was that the Beagles and Shadow Demons were everywhere, making it hard to leave. I, along with Donald, Mrs. Beakley, and Launchpad, distracted them while the kids made their way to the plane."
"The plan was for us to take the Sunchaser, get help, as well as keep the dime away from Magica," Huey adds.
"What we didn't realize was some of the Beagles had already beaten us there. Since Dewey held the dime and being the only other pilot, we told him he had to be the one to make it to the plane." Webby concludes.
"Each of us, including Dewey, fought our way through. However, we were outnumbered; more and more Beagles and Shadow Demons kept coming." Huey says in despair.
The three young adults suddenly frown mournfully as they all hated what happened afterward. Just by seeing their expressions, Scrooge senses something terrible happened.
"Dewey didn't make it to the plane?" Scrooge questions. He worries the answer will be yes.
"Oh, he did make it to the plane," Louie clarifies, but his tone turns dire. "However, as he was flying off, one of the Beagles launched a tracking missile and, um," He pauses, not able to finish.
"No," Scrooge feels sick and shakes his head in disbelief.
"Regardless of his attempts to outmaneuver the missile," Webby chokes with tears in her eyes. "Eventually, as he was heading over the ocean, the plane was hit. There was no way he could've survived."
The memories of that tragic day have Della in tears. Nightmares plague her dreams of the horrifying image of the plane exploding above the water—one of her beloved sons, gone forever.
Louie, being closest, puts his arm across Della's shoulders for emotional support.
Scrooge is without words. He wishes he could go back and save his family from all of this. The old duck manages to catch a glimpse of the same black bracelet Gyro and B.O.Y.D. wears on everyone in the room. It's true; his family is trapped here in Duckburg.
The old duck reaches up to take his daughter's hand in his. He gently tugs her wrist closer and glares at the cursed object. How dare that witch do this to his daughter?
Webby frowns; she lays her other hand on top of her father's and waits for him to look up at her.
"Magica put these on us after that day we tried to escape. She wanted to make sure we never leave town." Webby explains.
"I swear on my ancestral home that I will fix this," Scrooge promises.
Webby smiles, "I know you will." She says encouragingly.
There is a moment of silence before a static noise starts up from the radio on the table. All eyes turn to the electronic device. Soon a voice comes on.
"Attention, loyal subjects of Duckburg." A male voice chimes. "Broadcast Beagle here with another update."
Everyone, except Scrooge, recognizes the voice, and they each begin to snarl. Scrooge can tell by the expressions on his family's faces that they are not happy hearing this person.
"You're beloved Goddess, Magica De Spell, would like to send a message out to someone special. So listen up, and be glad you all have been shown mercy today."
"What does that witch want this time?" Della grumbles.
"I have an idea," Scrooge ponders.
"Hello, Scroogie," the evil sorceress purrs. "I know you are here; three of my Beagles patrolling the streets saw you just this morning. By now, I'm assuming you are with your family? Or at least, what's left of them."
Magica lets out a dark chuckle. Scrooge and his family glare at the radio, wondering what the Queen of the Shadows has planned.
"I was generous enough to let some of your fam survive this long, but now that you're back, I have one simple request. Show yourself, and come to me up in my Temple. You know where it is. It used to be your home, after all…Oh, and do come alone. Unless you want anyone else, you care about permanently frozen in stone. You have one hour, Scroogie, and I promise no more harm will come to your loved ones."
That said, the radio signal turns off.
"That is a lie," Maria growls. "You cannot trust her."
"I'm with Mrs. Cabrera on this one." Mrs. Beakley nods in agreement. "At least let one of us go with you, just to be safe."
Everyone else starts to voice their concerns as well, but Scrooge raises his hand to silence them.
"No, I cannae let any more of you get hurt." He says, honestly. "I'll do as she wants and see Magica. Hopefully, I can find something we can use against her. No matter what, stay here until I return."
"And how will we know you will return?" The former cop asks, crossing her arms in frustration. "What if she plans on using the Medusa's Curse on you as she has done with everyone else?"
"I dinna think that is her plan," Scrooge answers, even though he's not entirely sure. "Her grudge with me is deep. Therefore, she would probably want to prolong this nightmare."
"Dad, are you sure? I really don't want to lose you again." Webby pleads.
"I promise, Webbigail." Scrooge puts a hand on her cheek and tries to assure her with a smile.
Webby tries to smile back but is too worried about the possible outcomes.
"Alright, let's get this over with," Scrooge announces. He heads to the exit, and everyone follows.
"Uncle Scrooge, wait," Della calls out.
"Lass, for the last time, none of ya are coming," Scrooge says sternly.
"I know," the stubborn mother frowns. She secretly wishes that Scrooge would change his mind, though.
"Just let us guide you safely to the main road, at least." Della insists.
Scrooge agrees and waits for them to get their gear. Soon enough, they start leading him outside.
A few minutes later, Huey, Louie, Webby, and Della walk with Scrooge onto the main street heading out of Hookbill Harbour. It isn't long till two Shadow Demons start floating down from the sky. Della and the others instinctively get into fighting positions with their weapons ready.
"Wait," Scrooge holds up his hand, instructing them to stand down.
The floating apparitions stop in front of the ducks, waiting.
"I suppose you are here to take me to Magica?" Scrooge assumes.
The dark red-eyed demons both nod their heads, yes. As the two-spirit shadows reach out to grab the old duck, Scrooge looks back to his family.
"Stay safe. I'll be back," is all the aged duck says before being lifted off the ground.