Chapter 19 – McDuck's End Game
"Now!" Scrooge shouts.
With a warrior's cry, McDuck's team charges the gate. Gyro uses his mecha armour to break down the bars that are blocking their path.
"This ends tonight!" Della screams as she is the first to rush through the open gate. "You're all going down!"
Magica raises her hand up and waves it in a small circle, creating a spell that attracts all her Shadow Demons back to the mansion.
"Boys!" Ma Beagle hollers. "Get out and help you lazy good for nothing Morons!"
"You heard her, boys," Bigtime cries out. The small Beagle lifts up an air horn and presses down to let out a loud honk.
All of his brothers awake and exit out of several rooms from all levels of the mansion. Then, with thundering footsteps, a herd of them stomp down the stairs only to discover an army of living statues waiting for them.
"Time to rumble, Ducks!" Bouncer Beagle growls, slamming his fist into his hand for emphasis.
"Bring it!" Webby challenges him.
Outside, Scrooge runs straight for Magica. The witch prepares for his attack. She raises her staff and positions to use it as a weapon. The elder duck brings up his cane and starts to swing it at his wicked foe.
"This ends now, Magica!" Scrooge promises.
"I'm not through until I have my vengeance, Scroogie!" Magica chuckles, swinging her staff in a counterattack.
"You're issue is with me. Why did you have to bring my family into it?" The elder asks. He throws another strike with his cane.
"How soon you forget. If you hadn't lost my brother, none of this would have happened!" Magica reminds him.
"I said I was sorry; what more do you want?" Scrooge shouts.
"For you and your family to suffer!" The evil witch cackles.
The two mortal enemies continue to fight while everyone around them engages in their own battles.
In his mecha suit, Gyro swings his robotic arms at five Shadow Demons flying straight for him.
"You demonic creatures will feel my wrath! No more will I cower in fear while you terrorize the streets!" The lanky chicken crows. Apparent being in his mecha suit gives him more courage.
B.O.Y.D. takes flight in a superman pose, taking out a few Shadows by punching through them. Violet keeps running, all the way past Magica and Ma Beagle, and enter the mansion; simultaneously, a couple of the living stone citizens exit to help outside to help with the fight outside.
"Ha!" Mrs. Beakley cries out, firing your new weapon/arm at the Shadow Demons flying overhead. "I've waiting a long time to be able to fight like this again."
"I believe that," Gladstone agrees with a nod. He, too, joins in firing his crossbow at the dark spirits attacking them.
Maria Cabrera rushes up to Ma Beagle with her officer baton raised high. She lets out a battle cry, determined to bring harm to the Crime Boss.
"Ma Beagle, you and Magica will pay for your crimes! Not to mention for my son's life!" The former cop growls. She leaps up the steps and goes to attack Ma Beagle.
"Your son and the rest of the so-called heroes got what they deserve," Ma shouts back, blocking Maria's attack with her crowbar.
Ma's words only fuelled Maria's pain and anger at her son's death with an anguished cry. The Latin American duck attacks with increased force, so much so that Ma finds it hard to block with her crowbar. Eventually, Maria manages to knock down the older opponent.
The former officer is about to continue beating down on the Elder Beagle when she is knocked down by a few of Ma's boys.
"Don't worry, Ma, we will take care of her for ya!" One of the large Beagles says while pounding his fist in his other hand. His other two brothers chuckle as they too mimic their brother's action.
Maria glares up at the Beagle Boys, showing no fear to her attackers.
"M'ma!" A familiar voice calls out.
The Beagles turn just as a stone fist comes crashing into one of them, knocking out a few teeth in the process. The force is so great it causes the big boy to fall back, taking his two brothers with him down the steps. Ma Beagle instantly backs away from this new turn of events. There is no way she will want to fight with this new player.
Maria cannot stop the tears from falling down her beak when she spots her reanimated son, Fenton. Of course, Fenton has been turned to stone while in his Gizmoduck suit, but still, he is back, and that is all Maria cares about.
"Fenton?" She let out a gasp. "Is that really you?"
"It's me, M'ma." Fenton quickly glances down at his stone body and grins sheepishly. "Well, more or less." The armoured hero admits.
Unable to stop herself, Maria lets out a sob as she reaches up to clasp her hands on her son's cheeks. Tears roll out from her eyes at an uncontrollable rate.
"I never thought I would ever see you again," Mrs. Cabrera cries as her eyes shimmer.
"It will be okay, M'ma," Fenton assures her.
"I hate to interrupt this emotional family moment, but we have the fight to win." Gandra Dee gripes. "I, for one, wouldn't mind a little revenge for being turned to stone."
Maria stands up and wipes her face with her sleeve. "I'm with you on that one," she nods with determination. "Let's do this!"
The three of them together target their foes head-on.
Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Violet joins Webby and the others just in time. Many of the Beagles, as well as a large number of Shadow Demons, surround them. During the excitement, everyone is separated into groups. Violet and Webby stand together against two of the Beagle brothers and three Shadow Demons.
Webby is handling herself well against the demonic spirits and one of the Beagles. Violet finds herself doing alright at first with the other Beagle brother. Still, eventually, he lands a punch on Violet's cheek – knocking her off her feet.
Before Violet can react, a chair comes crashing into the Beagle. He turns to see who threw the furniture at him and decides to run when three statues start chasing after a bulky anthropomorphic dog.
"Need a hand?"
Violet turns to the owner of that voice and grins when she sees her adopted sister – though now is a living stone statue. She allows Lena to help her up to her feet, and at this moment, both girls realize the size difference in reverse. Lena glances down at Violet's feet and scans up to her head.
"Well, you sure have grown," Lena smirks.
Webby flips over one of the Beagles, and he ends up crashing into his brother – knocking them both out cold. She quickly turns to join her two friends.
"Lena!" The young adult cries out. She collapses down on her knees and gives her magical friends a big hug. "I've missed you so much."
"Boy, you've grown too!" Lena chuckles. "I'm not used to being the smallest."
The girls' reunion is interrupted as more Beagles and a handful of Shadow Demons surround them. Webby, Violet, and Lena prepare themselves for a fight. However, being reunited with her friends has Lena feeling a power surge from within herself. With intense focus, Lena can bring some of the power hovering over the palm of her hands.
"I still have magic?" Lena questions out loud. "It's feeble, but it's still there."
"Maybe if we focus our energy together, it will strengthen your magic?" Violet suggests.
"Good idea," Webby nods in agreement.
Both Violet and Webby put a hand down on Lena's shoulder. Then, with a chanting hum, the three girls focus their energy. Blue light emits from Lena's stone form and expands to highlight Webby and Violet too.
Lena releases the magic with a warrior cry, knocking back the Beagles and erasing the Shadow Demons back to the nothingness of whence they came.
While the girls continue to work together, Louie, still carrying the Blessed Bagpipes over his back, finds himself a little overwhelmed with only two Beagles chasing him. The youngest triplet attempts to duck inside what used to be the TV room. He bumps into a table and nearly knocks over an enclosed jar. Louie catches it and leans up to it when a slight movement inside catches his attention.
"Duckworth?" The green-clad duck gasps. "So this is what happened to you. Hang on, I'll get you out of there."
Louie lifts the jar up high and slams it down on the floor, leaving it to shatter into a million pieces. The spirit rises up like mystical steam and takes the form of the former butler of Scrooge McDuck. Duckworth turns to face Louie with a smile.
"Thank you for releasing me from that prison." The spirit bows respectfully.
"No problem." Just then, Louie notices the Beagles rushing into the room with an evil chuckle. With a hard swallow, the young adult points, "I could use your help, though." He says.
Duckworth spins into a vortex and emerges into his demonic form.
"Get out!" The spirit growls to the invaders.
With a heavy breeze caused by Duckworth's spiritual form, the Beagles are lifted off the ground and tossed out through the front door.
Huey and Dewey are temporarily distracted by the flying Beagles before returning to their own fight. The red-clad Duck brother goes to reach for another arrow. However, as he is about to aim with his bow, Glomgold jumps in front of him.
"Ah-ha!" The wide stubby duck cries out, pointing his finger at the two brothers. "You thought you could get rid of Glomgold that easily? Well, I'm back!" The annoying duck cackles.
Huey sighs with a grim face before turning to his brother. "Did we really have to bring him back too?" He asks.
"I felt bad for him. Even Glomgold didn't deserve the fate of being turned to stone forever." Dewey shrugs.
"Wait, what's going on? I'm still completely covered in stone!" Glomgold reacts at the sight of his rocky digits. "I blame you for this!" He threatens just before taking a step towards the brothers. "I'll make you rue the day you crossed paths with Flintheart Glomgold!"
"I am the terror that flaps in the night," a dark voice echoes. "I am the stone that disrupts the water of your villainous schemes. I am Darkwing Duck!"
In a plume of smoke, a stone-covered, caped crusader appears between the boys and Glomgold.
"And don't forget his sidekick, Gosalyn Waddlemeyer." The young tween duck leaps down beside her adopted dad.
Glomgold surveys his surroundings and comes to the conclusion he is outnumbered. He suddenly realizes that even though he's a stone statue, he can still shatter.
"Um, uh, oh, I think I hear my, ah, phone ringing...Yeah, that's it." The stone duck stutters as he backs up towards the front door.
With the minor annoyance gone, Darkwing and Gosalyn both turn to the grownup versions of the Duck brothers. It takes Gosalyn a few moments, but she quickly realizes the masked duck is her old friend.
"Dewey?" She asks, wanting to confirm her guess.
"Yeah, I survived. It's a long story, and I'll explain later, I promise." Dewey quickly replies, swinging his sword at a couple of shadow demons floating towards them.
"I look forward to hearing it." Darkwing nods. He quickly notices Dewey's purple jacket and how it has a close resemblance to his own costume. "Nice jacket, by the way," He adds with a wink.
Outside, Scrooge begins to wrestle for Magica's staff. Unbeknownst to the billionaire, Magica tilts her wrist forward, causing a spell blast to release from the purple stone. It heads straight inside through the front door.
With a gasp, all Scrooge can do is watch the purple light fly with great speed. Magica chuckles, hoping it will hit at least one member of Scrooge's kin.
Huey and Dewey notice the blast hurtling towards them, but before they can react, someone pushes them out of the way, just in the nick of time.
"That was close," Huey says, breathing a sigh of relief. He turns his head to see his saviour. "Thanks, Uncle Donald."
"You two need to be more careful." The stone duck warns.
"I know, trust me, I'm not about to leave my kids orphans today." Dewey honestly says.
"Dewey?" Donald does a double-take.
Dewey briefly lifts the mask to reveal his face. "Yeah, it's me."
"Wait, did you say kids?" Donald smirks. "Since when did you become a dad? How old are they? Do you have pictures?"
"Uncle Donald," Dewey whines. He gets back up on his feet and swings his sword to slice a Shadow Demon in half. "Can we perhaps talk about this later? You know, when we are not fighting for our lives here?"
"Besides, mom already confiscated the photo of Dewey's twins." Huey chuckles. "You'll have to find her after all of this is over."
Huey quickly rises up to his feet and uses his bow to swing at a Shadow Demon. The blow is so precise that it breaks apart the dark spirit and disappears into nothingness.
Donald watches in bewilderment of his now-grown nephews. Twins, he thought. Both amazed and proud, Donald is happy to hear that at least one of his nephews has already started a family of his own. Shaking his head, he begins to realize how much of his family's lives he missed, and it is the fault of Magica, Ma Beagle and her sons.
Looking around at everyone fighting so hard to regain what they lost. Webby, Violet, and Lena continue to beat down a couple of Beagles. Lena especially can bring up her powers basically on her own now. Other reanimated statues of friends and extended family members are fighting hard as well.
Donald turns to watch his girlfriend, Daisy, and his adopted daughters, May and June, fighting against a small group of Beagles. He frowns, remembering the boat trip they were supposed to take. That was wrecked when the Beagles attacked that faithful morning, sinking his boat in the process. He worked hard to get his houseboat back up and running again. The trip was to be an adventure of his own with the duck he loves. Now, that dream most likely will not come to fruition. His temper fuels up inside, and he lets out an outburst of uncontrollable rage.
Like a cyclone of fists and kicks, Donald begins to attack any Beagle standing.
Louie rejoins his brothers and pauses to watch their uncle perform his iconic temper.
"Wow, I actually missed this." He comments to himself.
The few remaining Beagles finally regrouped at one section of the lobby. The fight got to be so unbearable, not only for Donald's squawking terror but the rest of the family as well – regardless if they are stone or not. Looking around, it comes clear that all the Shadow Demons are now vanquished; only six Beagles are still standing. Bigtime, Bouncer and Burger glance at each other, and at the other three brothers standing beside them, all silently nod in agreement. Time to admit defeat.
"Let's get out of here! Every Beagle for themselves!" Bigtime shouts in a panic.
Not wanting to be the last one to fight, the rest of the Beagles soon follow.
"Boys, wait for your dear ol' Ma!" The Beagle Elder cries out after you cowardly sons. But, in honesty, Ma also figured out this fight was over for them.
"Where are you idiots going?" Magica shouts. How dare they leave, she thought. "Come back here!"
"Looks like they've abandoned you." Scrooge taunts. "You better quit now or suffer a more humiliating defeat."
"I'm not done yet!" Magica promises. She nervously looks around and realizes the last of her dark spirit minions have fallen as well.
"Yeah! We won!" Della cheers as she watches the crime family fleeing the property. "Take that Beagle Boobs! Best Grandma Ever!" She continues to sing as well as do a victory dance.
"This isn't over, McDuck!" the witch threatens before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
With a breath of relief, Scrooge and the others join everyone else inside the mansion.
"Ache, bless ma bagpipes, you're all here." McDuck praises.
While the family rejoices in the lobby area by the stairs, Magica teleports herself on top of the staircase platform.
"No more playing around," Magica growls in a low tone.
Dewey's mask eyes flicker, sending him a signal that negative energy is about to rain down. He quickly turns to glance up the stairs. Magica has built up a purple flaming ball and is aiming to throw it at Scrooge McDuck. Being the closest, Dewey lunges at his uncle and pushes him out of the way.
"Uncle Scrooge," he hollers just before being hit by the blast.
The young duck is flown back a few feet, and the impact is so forced that his mask is knocked off his face.
"Dewey!" Scrooge, Della, Webby, and Louie exclaim as they instantly rush to Dewey's side.
Huey looks up at Magica cackling; she is okay with taking down at least one of Scrooge's family members. He glares intensely as she lifts her other hand up and forms the Cronus's Scythe.
"Now, I will send all of you to a time where you won't be able to come back from!" She screeches.
"Not this time, Witch!" Huey growls through gritted teeth.
Instinctively, the red-clad duck pulls out his last arrow, aims, and fires at Magica. The sharp point penetrates Magica's shoulder.
The force of the impact, and pain from the foreign object in her shoulder, cause Magica to drop the Scythe. It starts to roll down the steps.
Violet takes advantage of this moment and rushes up to catch the old God's weapon when it touches the last step.
"Got it," she cheers.
Magica pulls out the arrow and clasps her wound. She scans around the room as everyone looks back up at her. Their faces glare intensely as they aim their weapons at the evil witch. The Sorceress realizes quickly that she is outnumbered, injured, and without her greatest weapon.
"Another time," she growls before dropping a smoke spell, transporting her to a different location.
Now that Magical is gone, for now, the family can check on Dewey. Huey collapses onto his knees with grief.
"No, not again." He sobs, referencing when he watched the Sunchaser exploding and thought his brother was still in it.
Scrooge lays his hand down on his fallen nephew's shoulder.
"Dewey, I am so sorry," He says with a grief-stricken tone.
The living statues gather as well as the rest of the surviving family and instantly feel remorse.
Just then, Dewey shocks everyone as he starts to cough while attempting to regain his breath.
"Ow," The young duck gasps.
"Dewey! You're okay!" Della cheers, throwing her arms around her son. She then pulls back and points aggressively at her son. "Don't you ever do that again!"
"Oh, Dewey," Louie sobs with delight. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but how are you still alive?"
The middle triplet glances around at all the emotional faces. At first, Dewey is unsure why everyone is so concerned until he glances up at Uncle Scrooge. The smile on the elder's face reminds the younger duck why he survived Magica's attack.
Dewey reaches down his sweater and pulls out the #No.1 Dime. He starts to chuckle in disbelief at the countless times this dime must have saved his life.
"You still have the dime?" Webby asks, a little surprised.
"Technically, Dewey did return it to me." Scrooge clears his throat. "But I decided to give it back to him."
"You did what?" Della asks in disbelief. Since when does her uncle give away his most prized possession?
"I have a plan to get my dime back when I return. It will not make any sense if I possess two #No. 1 Dime, now would it?" Scrooge explains.
"Speaking of which," Violet comments, walking up to them with the Scythe in hand. "We succeeded in getting the Scythe. We should get to the Bin now – as theorized, you should return at the same place you left."
"Aye," Scrooge nods in agreement.
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Scrooge is the first to reach the bottom of the Bin's safe. He looks around one last time at the emptiness and is looking forward to returning to his bountiful billions. Then, the old duck turns to see the rest of his closest kin making their way down. Della and Donald, his nephews Huey, Dewey, Louie, daughter Webby, and her best friends Lena and Violet eventually reach the bottom step.
As Dewey steps off the last ladder rail, he suddenly winces in agony. The middle triplet crosses his arms over his chest and falls to his knees.
"Dewey!" Both Huey and Louie cry out in unison. Then, they quickly leap off the ladder and rush to their brother's side.
"I'm fine," Dewey assures them. "I'm still a little short-winded from Magica's spell."
"Just by looking at the way you are holding your side there, the impact might have cracked a rib or two." Huey speculated.
"Guess it's better than the alternative." Dewey chuckled.
Scrooge looks over his shoulder to see Huey and Louie helping Dewey back up onto his webbed feet.
"Everything alright back there?" The elder asks.
"We're all good, dad," Webby says, giving the elder a thumbs up.
Violet walks past the family with the Scythe in hand.
"Are you ready, Mr. McDuck?" She asks.
"Aye, let's get me back home," Scrooge replies with enthusiasm.
Dewey frowns. He dreads the outcome of a life-changing reboot. Sure it would be nice to have a normal, stress-free lifestyle again. Still, there's a considerable possibility that Dewey might not meet Izzy and become a dad. He already misses his kids terribly. Dewey wishes he could hold them just one more time.
Scrooge takes notice of his nephew's worrisome features and walks up to him.
"It'll be alright, Dewey, I promise." The elder assures him.
"This is for the best." Dewey tries to smile, but it fades quickly.
"Listen," Scrooge begins to speak. "No matter what happens to hear on out, I am very proud of all of you. Today you showed great courage and never gave up hope even when things were at their darkest."
"Thanks, Dad," Webby smiles.
"Yeah, thanks, Uncle Scrooge." The triplets echo.
"Violet, it's time," Lena informs her adopted sister.
"Right," the purple hummingbird nods, holding up the Scythe.
With the two girls working together, the Scythe activates, and with one swing, it forms a portal. Scrooge steps towards the glowing field and takes in a deep breath.
"Good luck, Uncle Scrooge," Della tells him.
The billionaire takes a moment to glance back at his family. Then, he tips his hat and gives them one last nod of respect before leaping through the portal.
Violet, Lena, and the Duck family stand quietly as the portal fades to nothing. Then, after about two minutes of silence, some of them start scratching their heads.
"So what now? Is there supposed to be a wave of energy that will refresh our lives or something?" Louie finally asks.
"I don't know," Huey shrugs.
"Maybe it's just delayed?" Dewey suggests.
"I have about three theories in mind," Violet speaks up. "One, Scrooge did make it back but failed to defeat Magica. Two, we accidentally sent Scrooge to a completely different time in history – which I am sure did not happen. Still, there's also a possibility I could be wrong. Or three, the spell was successful, Scrooge did get back, defeated Magica and has lived on with the rest of his everyday adventuring life with his family.
"Subsequently, whether one of my theories is correct, we could possibly have just shifted into a parallel timeline. Which means nothing about our past has changed; however, we are now moving forward to an unknown future." Violet concluded.
"Ooh, twist," Della is amazed by the different outcomes of what could have happened to her uncle.
"Wow, I'm voting for the third theory," Webby says hopefully.
"Me too," Dewey agrees with a smile. Now he feels confident that he can go home to his kids.
"How come you didn't mention any of this before casting the spell?" Huey asks.
"I didn't want to say anything until I was at least ninety-five point five percent sure." The hummingbird replies.
"Well, now that's all over," Dewey clears his throat. "Anyone wants to come with me to Cape Suzette to meet my kids?"
"Uh, yeah!" Della cheers in an exaggerated manner. "I am offended you had to ask. Let's go!" She adds with determination.
"I, for one, can't wait to meet them." Webby is giddy with anticipation. She then looks over at Lena with a guilty conscience. "But, it wouldn't be fair if I leave you and Violet here."
"Awe, Pink. We'll be fine." Lena assures her.
"That's right," Violet nods, affirming Lena's comment. "Especially now that Maria has volunteered to lead operation' cleanup'. She, along with Gizmoduck, Darkwing Duck, and pretty much the rest of the citizens' help, Duckburg should be back to normal in no time." Then, with one glance at Lena, Violet makes a sheepish shrug. "At least normal in the sense that Evil and Mayhem is no longer a factor."
"I also wouldn't mind researching a possible reverse spell for the Medusa's Curse." Lena thinks out loud. "But it might take time."
"Ooh, good idea. I'll check out the libraries in Cape Suzette while I'm visiting my niece and nephew." Webby offers.
The three best friends walk towards the ladder and start climbing while Della moves up to her twin brother, Donald.
"What about you? Wanna come to meet Tessa and Turbo – my Grandkids?" She snickers to herself before adding with pride, "I'll never get tired of saying that."
"I'd love to, but, uh, I don't think they'll be okay meeting me like this," Donald admits, addressing his new stone body.
"Oh, come on," Della teases. "They are decedents of extreme adventurers. Adventuring is in their blood! I'm sure they'll be fine with having an uncle that just happens to be a living statue. If they are anything like their Nana, they will think it is cool." She says, trying to convince even herself that this is normal.
"Mom, hate to agree with Uncle Donald, but because I've been keeping myself low-key, my kids are a little green when it comes to adventuring. Not to mention, they are only four years old. However, now that Magica and the Beagles are defeated, we can gradually introduce them to..." Dewey pauses to address his Uncle Donald's present condition. "...All of this. I do want to slowly get them into training for our future Adventures, as well."
"Yeah! You bet we will," Della cheers. She quickly starts pushing her twin brother's stone form towards the ladder. "Come on, Donald, I'll help you back up."
"Della quit it!" Donald grumbles, not liking to be pushed.
"Can you believe it, Louie?" Huey throws a playful punch to his youngest brother's arm. "Our dear Dewford is all grown up and now is a responsible dad, raising kids of his own." He says in a teasing manner.
"Oh, brother," Dewey groans, rolling his eyes skyward. Somehow he knew it would be a matter of time before his brothers would start ragging on him.
"I was hoping for a reboot," Louie sighs, "But getting to see Dewey being a dad is be something worth seeing." He adds with a smile.
"Great," Dewey cheers. He is simply looking forward to having them campaigning him back home.
The middle triplet watches everyone else as they take each step up the ladder with ease. Even Donald and Lena, now living statues, are having no troubles. However, the sharp pain on his rib cage instantly has him regretting the climb he will be making.
"Ugh, this won't be fun," Dewey grumbles, bringing his hand over the sore area of his chest.
"It's okay, bro, we got your back," Huey says encouragingly with his arm wrapped over Dewey's shoulder.
"That's right," Louie adds a supportive attitude.
As triplets prepare themselves for the slow climb, Louie suddenly has a thought.
"Hey, what are we going to do for income? Uncle Scrooge's fortune is all gone, remember?" The youngest triplet cries out, addressing the empty Bin.
With a smirk, Dewey turns and says, "Oh, don't you worry about that. I managed to save some of the fortunes before it was all gone. It's all hidden away, and no one can get to it without the aid of my mask. Not only that, but we can also use my company to help rebuild McDuck Enterprises."
"Wait, what?" Huey and Louie gasp in unison. Something tells them that there will be a long conversation about this during their trip to Cape Suzette.
The triplets begin their climb. Heading up to a hopeful future.
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Whew, this was a long chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, though. One more chapter to go, woo-oo!