Louie was having a hard time remaining awake. Scrooge watched as his youngest grandnephew struggled to keep his eyes open, feeling helpless. The magnate did his best to come to the boy's aid, talking to him about any subject to keep him focused. It was hard for Scrooge to be able to do nothing: he was a man of action, a problem-solver, and his inability to help was made worse by the fact that someone he loved was on the verge of losing his life. The new energy boost Louie received was shorter than the last and it became clear that they would soon become ineffective as the poison got ready to enter its final stage. Scrooge felt as if he was on the verge of a breakdown.

A small hand slipped into his own and the magnate looked down. Louie was gazing up at him through half-open eyes, a silent plea in them. Scrooge nodded and pulled his youngest grandnephew into his arms.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold on, Uncle Scrooge," Louie said. Scrooge was alarmed by how Louie's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Try your best, lad," the magnate said, giving Louie a hug. "Please don't give in."

"I'm trying. I really am."

"Is there anything I can do for you, lad? Can I get you water? Food? Promise to never bring you to another abandoned temple again?"

"You don't… have to go that far. Tell me another one of your stories about the old days."

Scrooge raised his eyebrows. "You hate those," he pointed out.

"I'll take any distraction at this point," Louie replied.

"Glad to know my tales of adventure are kept as a last resort," Scrooge said with a sigh. "But if it's what you want, then I'll oblige."

The magnate thought for a moment, racking his brain for a story that Louie might enjoy. There weren't many that Scrooge suspected wouldn't cause Louie to either roll his eyes or deliver smart-aleck remarks, even in his current state.

"Tell me another one about Goldie," Louie suddenly said. "Just keep the gross romance out of it."

"Why do you want to hear about her? Not hoping to pick up some more tips on being a con artist, are you? I thought you learned your lesson with her," Scrooge asked suspiciously.

"No…" Louie said, trying to sound innocent. "But she does make a story interesting."

"That she does," Scrooge said, sighing again. "All right. But you better not get any ideas from it."

"You know I can't make any promises."

"Then don't tell your mother the source of those ideas. I'm in enough trouble with her as it is."

"Now that I can guarantee."

Scrooge smiled faintly. "All right, let me see…"

The magnate began to tell Louie about other encounters with Goldie, how they kept stumbling across each other in various parts of the world and endlessly tried to outwit one another. Setting his pride aside for a moment, Scrooge even told Louie how Goldie had managed to trick him into giving his land in exchange for hers. The magnate had wanted to buy her land because there were trees made of gold growing on the property, but what Scrooge didn't know was that the gold that was feeding the trees actually came from his land. Goldie, of course, was aware of this and had not only sent stationary made out of gold to lure Scrooge, but played coy in order to lower the magnate's defenses. They struck a deal and Scrooge was left with gold lumber while Goldie got to dig out one of the largest gold nuggets the magnate had ever seen. The old Scotsman felt foolish but at least he was able to make a profit by the end of it.

"And that, lad, is one of many reasons why you should never trust Goldie O'Gilt," Scrooge said casually. "You've seen for yourself how conniving she can be – one of these days it's going to bite her in the rear, mark my words."

Louie was oddly quiet. Frowning, Scrooge looked down and saw that the green triplet's eyes were closed. Seized by panic, the magnate shook the young boy in a desperate attempt to wake him.

"Louie! Wake up, please!" Scrooge exclaimed.

It was no use: Louie had lost consciousness. He was limp in his great-uncle's arms and the hand that had been holding the magnate's had fallen to the boy's side. Scrooge checked Louie's pulse – his heart was beating at an alarmingly slow rate.

"No…" Scrooge whispered, tears filling his eyes. He hugged Louie to his chest. They were losing.

"Uncle Scrooge?"

The magnate looked up. Huey was standing in front of him, appearing concerned. One look at Scrooge and Louie told the oldest triplet everything he needed to know. His hands flew to his mouth and Huey ran across the chamber, returning seconds later with Della and Donald in tow.

"What's going on?" Della asked.

Her gaze fell on Louie and she gasped.

"Louie, no!" Della cried. She tried to grab her youngest son but Donald restrained her.

"Careful!" he exclaimed, looking pained. "You might hurt him."

"Do you see what I mean?" Della spat at Scrooge. The magnate bowed his head, allowing the blows to fall. "This never would have happened if you hadn't brought us here! And now because of you, I'm about to lose one of my boys! Time has run out!"

"There's still time," Huey said, sounding shaken, "but not much of it. We've only got two or three runes left to translate: one of them will lead to the antidote."

"Then go. It's now or never," Scrooge said, his voice trembling slightly from the effort of containing his emotions.

"You go. I'm staying with my son," Della said angrily.

Scrooge knew better than to argue. He let his niece collect Louie and he got on his feet, wandering towards the far side of the chamber. The magnate could hear the whispers of Dewey and Webby but he wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. Della was right: it was his fault. The lack of information on this temple should have been the first clue that coming here was a bad idea. But Scrooge, admittedly, didn't think that it would have been a problem. There wasn't a situation in which he couldn't find his way out, no trouble he couldn't handle. He didn't foresee that there might be a challenge out there that was bigger than he was, where being tougher than the toughies, smarter than the smarties, and sharper than the sharpies wouldn't cut it. For once, being Scrooge McDuck wasn't enough.

They carried on. Since there were only a few runes left, it didn't take long to finish the task. When they were done, Huey looked horrified.

"This… This can't be right…" he said.

"What is it?" Donald asked.

"The rune that gives us the antidote… it's not here," Huey replied.

"What?" Dewey and Webby exclaimed in unison.

"What do you mean, it's not here?" Scrooge said in disbelief.

"We've covered every rune. None of them is the one we're looking for," Huey said, eyes welling up with tears. "W-We've failed."

"No! We can't have!" Della cried. "There must be something we've overlooked or… or…"

Huey shook his head. Della let out a sob and hugged Louie to her chest, tears pouring down her cheeks. The rest of the family surrounded them and pulled them into an embrace, crying softly on each other's shoulders.

Scrooge remained where he was – he didn't think he would be welcomed. He turned to face the wall behind him and he looked at all the runes that towered over him. How could it not be here? The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook was never wrong. Was there no antidote? Could it be that it was nothing more than a fabrication created by the people who built this temple to prevent travellers from stumbling across their sacred treasure? If that was the case, it meant that there never had been any hope for Louie at all. He was going to die and there was nothing anyone could do. It was well and truly over.

Tears fell from Scrooge's eyes as a tsunami of grief washed over him. He didn't try to stop them: he let them come, his hands curled into fists as the tears rolled down his cheeks and splashed onto his front. When Donald and the boys came to live with him at the mansion, Scrooge had made an unspoken vow to them: that he would protect them at all costs. After Della had disappeared, the magnate couldn't bear the thought of a similar fate happening to another member of his beloved family. It was a promise that he had been able to keep until now and the failure to do so this time was devastating beyond words. Scrooge was never going to be able to forgive himself for this.

In a burst of anger, the magnate raised his fist and punched the wall in front of him. His knuckles were most likely going to be bruised but he didn't care – he would do anything to be able to turn back the clock and prevent the tragedy from happening. To his surprise, the stone beneath his hand sunk into the wall and another compartment opened, this one revealing a yellow liquid in a round vial – the exact description of the antidote they had been searching for. Scrooge stared at it in amazement, almost scared to believe that the long-awaited cure was finally in front of them. But how did he find it? Didn't Huey say that the rune that led them to the cure was nowhere to be found?

Scrooge leaned forward. Upon closer examination, he saw that the stone he had pressed contained the faded rune he had seen hours earlier. The magnate reached out and traced his fingers over it – this was the rune they had been searching for. It had become so worn that the paint had dissolved in some places, giving the rune a different shape to the naked eye. But if one ran their hand over it, they could feel the carving in the wall. Scrooge wanted to kick himself for not noticing it sooner, especially since he was the one who had studied the rune at the very beginning of this mess. If he had paid closer attention to it, Louie could have been spared all the unpleasantness.

The magnate grabbed the vial and rushed over to his family. Webby saw him and stepped forward.

"Uncle Scrooge, now's not a good time –" she began but Scrooge interrupted her.

"Out my way, Webby. This cannot wait," he told her.

"But Della will tear you to shreds if you go near Louie."

"She'll let me near him because I have this."

Scrooge showed Webby the vial. She gasped, grabbed his hand, and pulled him through the crowd.

"Move!" Webby cried, elbowing Dewey out of the way. "Della, Uncle Scrooge –"

"I don't want to talk to him!" Della snapped.

"But, Della, he found the antidote!" Webby yelled.

"No way!" Dewey exclaimed.

"Really, Uncle Scrooge?" Huey said hopefully.

"Aye, lad," Scrooge said. He gave the vial to Della. "Here. Hurry up and give it to Louie. I can tell even from this distance that his breathing has become shallow."

His niece snatched the vial without a word. She unstopped it and, with Donald's help, poured the mixture into Louie's mouth. Nothing happened at first. Anxiety gnawed at Scrooge – what if they were too late? What if that cure turned out to be fake, just like all the others? All of these questions were spinning in the magnate's mind and he tried to shut them down. This was not the time to lose one's head.

Then, suddenly, Louie coughed and gasped. His eyes snapped open and he took several deep breaths, filling his lungs with air. Once he settled down, Louie's gaze travelled around the room, his eyes falling on each member of his family.

"Hi…" Louie croaked, smiling weakly.

The explosive cry of joy that filled the chamber was so loud that Scrooge was surprised it didn't blow the roof off. Everyone piled onto Louie, eager to give him a bone-crushing hug. The magnate stayed behind once more. He had a feeling that Della wouldn't be keen on letting him go near her children for a long while.

When the family broke apart, Louie looked around.

"Where's Uncle Scrooge?" he asked, much to Scrooge's surprise. The magnate waved a hand, unsure of what to do. Louie's eyes met his.

"Why aren't you over here with the rest of us?" Louie said.

"Well, I –" Scrooge began, rubbing the back of his neck.

"He's not coming anywhere near you," Della said icily. "Not after everything that happened today."

Scrooge winced. As much as he expected his niece to say that, it was still painful to hear.

"Mom, you're not thinking straight," Dewey said.

"I've never had a clearer head in my life. I'm not going to let this happen to any of you ever again – Louie, what are you doing?"

The green triplet was struggling to get on his feet. He eventually managed it with Huey, Dewey, and Webby's help and he made his way to his great-uncle, taking one slow step at a time. Louie was so unsteady on his feet that Scrooge was worried that his grandnephew would collapse under his own weight. The youngest triplet made it to the magnate and he let himself fall into his great-uncle's arms. Scrooge held him, gazing at him with a mixture of concern and confusion.

"Louie?" the magnate said uncertainly.

"You're the one who found the antidote, aren't you?" Louie asked tiredly.

"Um… Yes?"

Louie nodded and hugged his great-uncle. "Thank you…" he whispered.

More tears stung Scrooge's eyes and he returned the embrace. "I'll do anything for my family," the magnate replied softly.

Silence fell between them. Then, after a while, Dewey said,

"So now what?"

"Well… We've still got the treasure to deal with," Webby said. "I suppose we can find a way to get it out."

"The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook can tell us how to get it out. It won't be easy, but it'll be manageable," Huey said.

"No."

Scrooge was the one who spoke. His family stared at him in astonishment.

"What do you mean, no? I thought the whole point of coming here was for that treasure?" Donald said. "One of us can bring Louie back to the plane while the rest can take care of the gold."

"Forget the blasted treasure. There is nothing in this world that is worth the aggravation we went through. I say we leave the treasure and get out of here," Scrooge said. The last thing he wanted was not only for another loved one to get hurt, but also to have a reminder of what almost happened in this temple.

"I agree with Uncle Scrooge," Della said without looking at her uncle. "Let's just leave."

"Are you sure?" Huey asked.

"Yes," Scrooge and Della said together.

"All right. Webby, press that rune you marked earlier."

Webby did as instructed and a doorway appeared in the wall, exposing the outside world to them. Della approached Louie and opened her arms.

"Come here, honey. I'll carry you back to the plane," she said gently.

Louie's gaze swivelled between his mother and great-uncle. "Actually," he said slowly, "I want to stick with Uncle Scrooge for a bit."

"Huh? Why?" Della asked, visibly shocked.

"Do I have to explain myself? I'm really tired and just want to get some sleep."

"I can carry him, Della. It's no problem," Scrooge said but his niece ignored him.

"Is this what you truly want?" Della asked. Louie nodded. "In that case, I won't stand in your way. This time."

With that, Della turned around and helped the other children out of the temple. Scrooge bent down.

"Climb on my back, lad. It'll be easier this way while we're trekking through the jungle," he said.

Louie nodded and got on his great-uncle's back. Scrooge straightened up, his knees protesting the extra weight a little. He found his balance and made his way out of the temple, the others not far ahead of them. As the magnate walked through the dense flora, he heard a grinding sound behind them. The temple's exit had closed.

There was nothing but plants, trees, and tall grass for miles. Then the red of the Sunchaser shone through like a beacon, a sight that Scrooge never thought he would appreciate as much as he did in this moment. The children ran ahead and climbed into the plane, their greeting to Launchpad echoing off the walls. Donald, Della, Scrooge, and Louie followed them inside and the hatch was raised before the plane took flight.

Everything took their usual seats except for Scrooge, who brought Louie to the passenger seats. He laid the boy down and sat next to him, a protective hand on the green triplet's shoulder. Louie curled up to his great-uncle, sighing gently.

"This adventure turned out to be a bust," he said. "I'm really sorry we didn't get the treasure, Uncle Scrooge."

"There's no need to apologise, Louie. I would much rather have everyone in my family alive than to have some extra gold in my money bin," Scrooge told him.

"Still. If I hadn't gotten myself poisoned, we'd be adding that treasure to your inventory by now."

"I don't care about it anymore. Now I'm just happy that we managed to save you on time."

Louie nodded. "How long do you think Mom will be mad at you?"

"I don't know," Scrooge said, glancing at Della. She was sitting with Launchpad, staring straight ahead. "I don't think she'll ever forgive me."

"Don't say that. I mean, we forgave you for the whole Spear of Selene thing, didn't we?" Louie said reasonably. "Mom will come around. Just give her time."

"I'm surprised that you forgave me so easily for today. I would have expected you to be the angriest."

"I meant it when I said I didn't blame you, and I still don't. Now I just want to forget the whole thing."

"I agree, and you can start by getting some rest. Once you've done that, we can go swim in my money bin."

"Glad to see you're not backing out of that promise."

"My word is as good as gold, lad. Now before you go to sleep, I have one question for you."

"What is it?" Louie said.

"Why stay with me instead of letting your mother bring you back to the plane herself?" Scrooge asked

"Because she would fuss all over me," Louie replied. "Plus, I want to show Mom that you're not the bad guy here."

Scrooge was touched. It might be the exhaustion at this point, but he felt tears prickle him in the back of his eyes again. He blinked, cleared his throat, and caressed Louie's head.

"Get some sleep," the magnate said hoarsely. "I'll wake you when we get to Duckburg."

Louie closed his eyes. Scrooge suddenly felt as if he was being watched. He looked up and found Della staring at him from the co-pilot's seat. She turned around when he caught her, her expression blank. The magnate sadly gazed at his niece – he couldn't recall the last time she had been this angry with him. He would do whatever was necessary to earn her forgiveness; if it took a lifetime to achieve that goal, then so be it. Scrooge was more than ready to take on the challenge: he was not going to allow the family to become fragmented again. He made that mistake before and he wasn't going to permit history to repeat itself. Not if he could help it.