Twisted Strings of Fate

Chapter 19

I'm not possessive, but I consider them mine. I take away their pain, so they belong to me, and I to them. I don't know if they think of it the same way, but the bond is more real than most relationships I've had in my life.

When that bond is severed, will I feel freedom or loneliness?

The second that Artemis started counting down the ten minute head-start for Fenton and Darkwing was the second that Charity felt something in the magical bond with the pair. She could still tell they were connected, but it was like a wall had been put between them, their bond dammed up.

It made Charity anxious. She bit her bottom beak. She wanted to race into the jungle and find Darkwing and Fenton. It didn't make sense to her. After all, she wasn't capable of helping them in this situation. They were two super heroes. Her interference would only be a hindrance and—more likely—get them disqualified from this challenge.

Nervous energy flowed through her. She wanted to run. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to go hide. She wasn't sure what she could do, but sit and wait wasn't an option her body was willing to take.

"I apologize, maiden. I did not think my magic would unsettle you," Artemis said, stepping toward her. "I did not intend to hurt you. I wanted to protect you." The hawk looked sad.

"I don't feel…whole," Charity tried to explain, the word fitting. She was incomplete with that invisible barrier keeping her bond from Darkwing and Fenton.

The hawk gritted her teeth. "This curse is a plague on your family. Maidens should never be burdened with the pains of men," she spat. "I do not envy you, child. Love should make a person free, but this magic that forces you to love these men, it is a stone around your neck."

"You are Artemis. What do you know about love?" Charity asked bitterly. "Aren't you the goddess of chastity or something?"

"You still have some sting, little bee," Artemis said with a smile which quickly disappeared. "Yes, but that does not mean I don't know how to love. There was one…I know how wonderful love can be but also how deep it can cut. I do not pity you for loving but that you have been forced into it."

"You make it sound like love is as bad as the pain," Charity said.

"Women are built to take on immense pain. We are strong. You have proven your mettle for taking all their pain with a smile. You should be proud of that," Artemis said.

"So, I should be proud of the pain but ashamed for loving four men?" Charity asked defensively. "It's my love for them that keeps me going."

"Or it keeps you trapped," Artemis said. "Not only does your love keep you complacent and forgiving, but it may keep you from progressing. Beware, sister maiden, that your love doesn't stop you from breaking the curse."

Charity started breathing hard, the hawk's words hitting closer to home than she would have liked.

"You have distracted me," Artemis said with a crooked smile. "I've given them a longer head-start than I intended. The hunt will begin."

Her wolf, who had lain down at her feet, stood up, bristling with eager energy.

Artemis raced into the jungle the same place that Darkwing and Fenton disappeared not long ago.

Charity's body tightened as the hawk went away, her eyes locked on the jungle as if she could see through the trees and undergrowth to her heroes.

"Come on, dear," Mrs. Beakley said, taking her shoulders. "It does no good to worry. You should take this opportunity to rest." She pushed a bottle of water into Charity's hand. "They'll be alright."

But Mrs. Beakley's voice lacked conviction, and Charity could hear it clear as day.

Darkwing tugged on the magical tether once more as Fenton lagged behind. He was right. Gizmoduck was slowing him down.

"Wait a minute. Maybe we should stop and strategize," Fenton suggested, his voice heavy with breath.

"Keep moving. That's our strategy," Darkwing said, pushing a branch out of the way. He listened as the branch swung back and hit Fenton in the face. He shouldn't, but he couldn't help but smile.

"That's not much of a strategy," Fenton said, sounding as if he were rubbing his beak. "Shouldn't we be setting traps or making weapons?"

"I have weapons," Darkwing said, pulling out his gas gun. "If you want one, I'll wait while you…I don't know. Sharpen a stick or something."

"Sharpen a stick?" Fenton repeated, his voice rising in volume.

"You're a scientist. Figure something out," Darkwing shrugged, picking up the pace.

Fenton let out a frustrated sign, then yanked on his end of the manacles. "Okay, if we're running away, then let's be logical about it. Let's go up." He pointed toward the mountain. "We'll have the advantage if we have the high ground."

"Fenton. Fenton," Darkwing said, shaking his head. "Which goddess is after us?"

"Artemis. Goddess of the hunt," Fenton answered. He opened his mouth to tell more about Artemis, but Darkwing stopped him.

"So, she's a hunter," Darkwing said. "Which means, she's going to be really, really good at tracking us. Therefore, we should try to cover as much ground as possible. Going up the mountain will slow us down."

"I understand she's a hunter," Fenton argued. "Which means acting like prey is the last thing we should do. She's not a fighter. If we make a stand against her, we may have a chance."

"She's a goddess," Darkwing hissed. "She isn't like the muses, although they were tough enough. She's more than a super hero. More than two super heroes. We keep moving."

Fenton didn't get another word in before he was yanked back into running. The metal of the manacle bit into his flesh, reminding him that the curse no longer applied to him, at least for the moment. It was a small relief that he wasn't causing Charity any pain.

After a few more minutes of running, Darkwing slowed down as the terrain became rocky. Despite it slowing them down, the masked duck plowed on.

"This doesn't look like the best route," Fenton said. "There's less foliage for us to hide in. We'll be exposed if we're out in the open."

"It'll slow Artemis down," Darkwing rationalized. "And it'll be harder to track us."

"It's slowing us down. Going up the mountain is a better idea," Fenton said, pulling Darkwing away from a boulder he attempted to climb. "We may even find a cave we could hide in."

"You want to hide? Sounds like typical Gizmoduck tactics," Darkwing said, waving his hand.

Fenton set his bill. "Are you not wanting to go up the mountain because you disagree with me or is it because you disagree with Gizmoduck?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Darkwing said, pulling Fenton toward the rocks, only to be yanked back. "You are Gizmoduck."

"But you aren't treating me the same before you knew I was Gizmoduck," Fenton said. "I didn't want to cause any trouble before, but this stops now. What do you have against me?"

"We don't have time for this," Darkwing insisted. "Now move your feet. Or have you forgotten how to run because you ride around on your unicycle?"

"That's it," Fenton said, done being the nice guy. "What do you know about being a hero? You're just an actor. I've been Gizmoduck for a year. I have more experience, so I should decide which direction we'll go."

Darkwing dug in his heels as Fenton tugged him toward the mountain. "Excuse me! At least I don't rely on a high-tech suit to do all my work. I have to keep my body in perfect condition and my mind sharp when I go after the bad guys. Not everyone can do what I do."

"Gizmoduck isn't just the suit," Fenton said. "It's my mind that directs the programs. I control the suit."

"Do you?" Darkwing asked. "Couldn't you put that rusted scrap-heap on autopilot, and it do just as good of a job?"
Fenton took a step back, obviously shaken by Darkwing's words. But then he remembered everything he went through. "Sure, the suit is amazing. But I'm more than Gizmoduck," Fenton said. "And I don't need my other identity to remind me that I'm a hero. I'm Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera. It's me that makes Gizmoduck great, not the other way around."

Darkwing clapped his beak shut. And even though Fenton's words weren't an attack, he couldn't help but think that they were. Did he feel the same way without the mask? Was it Drake Mallard that made Darkwing Duck great, or was it the other way around?

Darkwing heard a buzzing noise, dropping to the ground right as an arrow pierced his hat and pinning it to a tree. "Run!" he shouted. He threw a few flash-bangs as he pushed Fenton into a sprint. It wasn't until they were scrambling up an incline that he realized they were going up the mountain.

Glancing over his shoulder, Darkwing caught the sight of the goddess running toward them, notching another arrow.

"Serpentine maneuver," Darkwing ordered Fenton.

"What?"

"Run in a zig-zag!"

Darkwing's suggestion nearly undid them. When Fenton zigged, Darkwing zagged, and they bumped and bungled into each other until Darkwing dragged the scientist in the right direction.

The terrain had become steep, so much that the two stopped running in a zig-zag pattern and just went straight forward.

Several minutes into the chase, Darkwing heard a deep, familiar sound echoing through the jungle. His eyes widened, and he veered in the direction with Fenton scrambling to keep up. "Is it? Is it?" he kept repeating, hopeful. If he was right, they would be able to put a lot of distance between them and Artemis.

The moisture in the air doubled, and Darkwing stopped at the edge of a precipice, grasping Fenton's collar before the scientist fell prematurely over the waterfall.

"We need to turn around," Fenton said, spinning on his toes.

"No need," Darkwing said, flipping his companion toward the cliff. "I got this." He gathered his cape. "Hold onto me."

"What?" Fenton gave Darkwing a "Are you crazy?" look before looking at the waterfall, then back at the masked hero. "You are crazy!"

Darkwing prepared himself to leap into the misty air. Okay, so he had never successfully done this, but there was always a first time.

"Wait! This isn't going to work," Fenton said. "You can't possible carry both our weight."

"Relax. This cape is made of the strongest material. It could carry a lot more than the two of us together," Darkwing said with a grin and a glint in his eye. He could tell. This time, he was going to perform Darkwing Duck's signature move. They'll float down the hundred foot cliff as smoothly as a butterfly.

"I'm a scientist, and I don't even need to calculate anything to know this is a baaaaaaa—"

Darkwing didn't wait for Fenton to finish his sentence. He grabbed the other duck and jumped, trusting Fenton would hold on while he controlled his cape like a parachute.

And for a few seconds, they hoovered in the air, looking over a beautiful, tropical valley with snow-white beaches bordering an aqua ocean. And then they dropped like a rock, the two of them screaming as they plunged toward the river below.

Artemis gazed down into the mist formed by the falling water. She worried for a minute that her word would have to be broken, not by her own hand, but by the stupidity of man. She had promised Charity that her prey wouldn't be killed, and it would be a shame if they brought about their own destruction.

But then again, it might solve one of Charity's problems.

Then Artemis' hawk eyes picked up something moving among the swirling rapids of the river that flowed out of the volcano. They were both alive. Lucky them. And lucky her because she didn't want this hunt to end yet. It had been centuries since she had had this much fun.

Half-drowned, Fenton dragged Darkwing onto the rocks lining the river. It was a wonder that they both hadn't drowned. Darkwing's cape may have been made of sturdy material, but it retained water like a camel and acted like an anchor. If Fenton hadn't managed to get it off the masked hero, they would have become permanent residents of the river.

"That…was…the…most…stupidest thing I have…ever seen," Fenton shouted, panting and coughing.

"Why didn't it work? It should have worked," Darkwing muttered, clenching his fists. He coughed up a pint of water

"It didn't work because we don't live in a TV show!" Fenton yelled. "Physics doesn't work like that. You could have killed us." Fenton began rambling about everything that could have gone wrong and why.

Ignoring his companion, Darkwing stood up unsteadily, shaking out his feathers. "We have to keep going," he said in a raspy voice.

"No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not jumping off any more cliffs. We're going to come up with a plan," Fenton shouted.

"Keep it down," Darkwing growled, grabbing the scientist's beak. "You're going to lead Artemis right to us."

"We could have died," Fenton hissed, quieter. "You're going to lose this challenge for us with your reckless behavior."

"You're going to lose it for us by sitting around and over-thinking things," Darkwing shot back. "I'm the one that's been keeping us from being skewered on an arrow."

"By dropping us off a cliff," Fenton growled. "I am not going another step until we have a concrete plan." Fenton crossed his arms. His determination fell apart when Darkwing dragged him over the rocks, giving him a nice collection of bruises. "Why aren't you listening to me?"

"Because we can't just sit around," Darkwing shouted. "Artemis will be on our tails in no time. We need to move."

"She's faster than us. Running isn't going to keep us safe," Fenton harped. "We should use the river, hide our trail. If we swim with the current, we can move faster and she won't find us."

Darkwing shuddered. Falling into the river had been enough. "If we stay in the river, we're limiting our options. The water will make us sluggish, and if we have to get out, we'll be exposed."

"Hmmm. Good point," Fenton said, keeping stride. "If only I had my Gizmoduck suit, we could travel a whole lot faster."

Darkwing rolled his eyes. That was the last thing they needed. He would rather get dunked into the water again.

"Wait! I do have Gizmoduck," Fenton said. "Artemis said we were free to use any weapons." He smiled.

"But isn't your suit damaged?" Darkwing asked, feeling dread.

"Yes, but I did manage to get it back up to seventy-five percent working capacity. Not all the systems are ready, but it'll be enough," Fenton said. He forced them to a stop. "Blathering Blatherskite!"

Darkwing huffed. Could they have thought of a dumber password? What does that even mean?

Ten seconds passed by. Then thirty.

Fenton, who had his arms held out as he waited for the suit to appear, shifted uneasily.

Darkwing tapped his foot. "So…should we just wait here for Artemis to finish us off or…"

Fenton glared at him. Then he hit himself in the head. "Of course. I was so busy developing the lenses, I forgot to include a Bluetooth microphone. I thought I had invented it, but that must have been a dream."

Darkwing growled. They wasted valuable time for this?

"Come on," Darkwing hissed, setting a ground-eating pace through the jungle.

Fenton, while keeping up with the masked hero, looked at the mountain. "Hmmm, if I remember the geography of the island, we might be in shouting distance of the plane. Good thing I amped up Gizmoduck's receiver to pick up my voice." He cupped his hands over his beak. "Blathering Blatherskite!"

Darkwing clamped his hand over Fenton's mouth. "Nothing is going to give away our position more than you doing that."

"But once I have the Gizmoduck suit, keeping away from Artemis will be easy," Fenton argued. "If we could make our way more to the west, I'm sure the suit will hear me."

"And what if it doesn't? Or maybe it doesn't work as well as you think it will?" Darkwing said. "Then we'll be at a disadvantage for nothing. No, it's best if we use our own muscle to win this challenge."
Fenton's frown deepened. Although Darkwing's words made sense, his plan did, too. And since Darkwing wasn't going to give him a chance, he may as well do it on his own. "Blathering Blatherskite!" he shouted again.

"I told you to keep quiet," Darkwing growled.

"I don't know what you have against Gizmoduck, but we need him," Fenton shouted. "Blathering Blatherskite."

"No we don't. A real hero shouldn't need all those…those…gizmos to get the job done," Darkwing said.

"You have your gas gun and other weapons," Fenton argued. He saw some large palms, getting an idea. Ripping away the foliage, he created a funnel.

"That's different," Darkwing reasoned. "Those are tools. I've had to work hard to learn how to fight, to track down criminals, to do what I do. But you just climb into that hunk of metal and suddenly you're a hero."

"It shouldn't matter how I fight crime. I do it because it's the right thing to do," Fenton shouted. With his makeshift megaphone, he screamed out the nonsense password.

Darkwing gritted his teeth, feeling the words bite into his ego. "Fine! But if I take an arrow, I'm blaming you," he growled at Fenton, turning toward the beach.

They scrambled through the jungle, over and under obstacles with Fenton shouting at the top of his lungs. Darkwing kept an eye out for Artemis. She couldn't be that far behind them. He wholly expected an arrowhead to zing out of nowhere.

"Blathering Blatherskite."

After several minutes of the scientist shouting, there was a small boom, like a rocket going off. What little of the blue sky they could see, a contrail formed in an arch, heading right for them.

"Ha ha. It worked," Fenton cried out. He could already feel the energy forming around him as the pieces of the suit dismantled to come together around his body.

It was when the chest piece and the lower sections formed around Fenton that Darkwing saw a downside to this plan. He looked at Fenton's left arm, and then to his own right arm.

"Uh-oh," Darkwing said. "Fenton, stop! Cancel your Gizmoduck."

"Huh? Why?" Fenton asked as the right arm of his armor attached to the torso. He saw the left arm coming and his eyes widened.

Darkwing tried to get out of the way, but the rocket powered left arm rammed right into his face, knocking him out.

"That's new." Artemis watched the metal monstrosity take off from the beach, split into different parts and dive into the jungle. At the time, she was in a tree, getting a lay of the land and any sign of her prey.

They really were making this too easy.

She smiled. Just like wolves and lions, she had found the weakest link of the group. She could smell the dissidence between the two males a mile away. They would be their own undoing. That is, unless they could work together. But in her experience, most heroes were solo acts. The idea of working with anyone else—let alone a rival—just wasn't within their makeup.

They would be easy pickings, even with their technology and modern weapons.

When Darkwing came to, he was looking into the stupid face of Gizmoduck, being carried in one oversized arm.

"Oh, good. You're awake." It was Fenton's voice, but deeper and more confident.

Darkwing groaned and tried to rub his head, but his left hand was restrained. Oh, right. He was still chained to Gizmoduck.

"Put me down," Darkwing ordered, scrambling to get out of the embarrassing situation.

Gizmoduck screeched to a halt, dirt and pebbles flying.

"I'm sorry about that," Gizmoduck said. "I didn't think about how the suit would react with us chained together."

"At least it didn't take off my arm," Darkwing said, getting a good look at the armor-suited duck.

Gizmoduck looked as large and impressive as ever except for his missing right arm. From the shoulder joint, Fenton's skinny forearm stuck out, looking out of place and ridiculous.

"How long was I out?" Darkwing asked, rubbing his aching temple. Thank goodness Charity wasn't feeling this one. How embarrassing would that be to explain he was knocked out by Gizmoduck's transformation?

"Just a few minutes," Gizmoduck answered. "By my calculations, we've been running from Artemis for about thirty-five minutes. We're more than halfway through with the challenge."

"But with still twenty-five minutes to go," Darkwing grumbled, not wanting to celebrate just yet. "And we've left a pretty good trail for her to follow." He gestured to the tire tracks and broken foliage.

Gizmoduck shrugged. "But with my suit, we can go a lot faster."

"How fast?"

Gizmoduck didn't answer right away. "Well…because of the rough terrain, not too much faster. But still, she won't be able to hit me with my suit."

"Except your arm," Darkwing said, shaking his side of the manacle, jiggling Fenton's arm. "Okay, let's keep moving."

Gizmoduck held out his one large arm as if to carry Darkwing again.

"Oh, no. Not like that." Taking a leap, Darkwing landed on Gizmoduck's right shoulder, the manacle stretched to its limit. He patted Gizmoduck's helmet non-too-gently. "Let's go."

They didn't get too far when an arrow whipped past Darkwing, embedding a half an inch into Gizmoduck's armor right next to the masked-duck's hand.

"Ahhhh. She's found us. Put on the gas," Darkwing shouted, hitting the helmet as if that would make Gizmoduck go faster.

Kicking up earth, Gizmoduck picked up the pace but not by much. Needing to dodge rocks and trees slowed him down too much.

"You have to go faster," Darkwing ordered. He kept glancing behind, seeing flashes of the female hawk racing at them. He pulled out his gas gun, jamming a canister into the chamber. Let's see if Greek gods could handle some sleep gas.

Artemis notched an arrow on her bow and let it fly. It knocked the gas gun out of Darkwing's hands, taking out his only offensive weapon. Almost in the same breath, she pulled out another arrow, aiming lower this time.

The arrow pierced Gizmoduck's tire, and the armored-duck lurched forward, his balance thrown for a loop. Darkwing flew from his perch, finding himself jerked back by the manacle in mid-air before crashing half into Gizmoduck, half into the ground.

Darkwing was quick to recover, adrenaline feeding his thought-process. "Get up, Fenton," he shouted, pulling on the un-armored arm. "You need to get back up."

"My tire is flat," Gizmoduck said, using his one arm to sit up.

Another arrow shot at them, barely missing Darkwing's shoulder.

"You can still roll, can't you?" Darkwing demanded.

"Not on a flat tire," Gizmoduck said. "I've been meaning to upgrade to a more durable—"

"You mean we're sitting ducks," Darkwing shouted, hiding behind Gizmoduck's shoulder as an arrow stuck into the armor. What were those arrows made out of? "Don't you have anything else in this tin-can? Can't you fly or something?"

"My boosters don't have a lot of power left," Gizmoduck explained. "And my systems are showing me a warning sign. If I turn on the jets, something could go wrong."

"Something has gone wrong. Turn them on!" Darkwing shouted.

"But it could—"

"Just do it!"

Gizmoduck's beak set in a firm line as if concentrating. "Hold on."

The warning almost came too late as the suit rocketed forward. Keeping his left arm as a shield, Gizmoduck deflected the trees, branches and other obstacles away from Darkwing as they took off.

Darkwing cheered as they broke through the jungle canopy, which was followed by several bangs like a car backfiring. Then Gizmoduck's fire went out.

The two yelled as they careened back to the ground, creating an ugly scar in the green as they impacted the jungle. When the dust cleared, Gizmoduck lay in a five-foot crater in pieces. Fenton and Darkwing were lucky that they weren't in the same state.

"This…this is going to take a lot of time to fix," Fenton said, staring at the wreck. "Oh, Gyro is going to kill me."

"This is great. Just great," Darkwing said, kicking away a scrap of metal. "No Gizmoduck. No gas gun. And I lost my hat and cape. We're pretty much defenseless."

"Not quite," Fenton said, digging through the debris. "Most of Gizmoduck is here. If we—"

"No. We're running," Darkwing interrupted, yanking Fenton. "We have—what? Twenty more minutes. Maybe less. We can keep away from her for that long."

"I'm exhausted and injured," Fenton said. His hand gestured down, showing a swollen knee. He was bleeding in several places. "I'm guessing you are as well. You couldn't have walked away from that without a scratch."

Darkwing had tried to ignore it, but he was sure he had sprained his ankle. He was scratched and bruised all over. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. "We keep moving. I'll not let Charity down."

"We can't keep going," Fenton said. "Our best chance is to go on the offensive and make a stand here. I have a plan. If we—"

"I'm not going to risk Charity's chance of breaking this curse on your plans," Darkwing said. "I won't let her down."

Fenton approached Darkwing, brows down. "You aren't the only one who is trying to help her," he shouted. "You're not allowed to have the corner market in guilt on this."

Darkwing's jaw set stubbornly.

"We're chained together. Artemis targeted us because we're the weakest in the group," Fenton said. "I don't know what your problem is with me, but if you can't set it aside just this one time, then we won't be helping Charity."

Darkwing clenched his fists. "It's more than just guilt," he confided. "You're just Gizmoduck. You won't understand."

"Look, I get that I haven't been part of this curse that long. I may not have known Charity all that long, but I care about her, too," Fenton said. He swallowed as if he was nervous about his words.

"I haven't either," Darkwing said, his voice rising. "But I can't let her down. Not as Darkwing Duck."

Fenton's brows furrowed even more, but remained silent, his face asking for an explanation.

"You won't get it because she's only been in love with Gizmoduck for a short time, but because of Starling, she's loved Darkwing Duck for years," Darkwing said. "I can't…I can't let her down. I can't fail her and destroy her image of Darkwing Duck."

Fenton nodded. He was certain this wasn't the entirety of Darkwing's issues with him, but it was a start. "And you won't," he said. "But you can't do it on your own. We have to work together."

Darkwing took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Okay. Let's try it your way."

Artemis stepped over a broken trunk, taking in the sight. These two were more chaotic than Chaos. First they jump off the cliff, then they fly through the air, and like Icarus when he got too close to the sun, plummeted to the ground. For a game that should be completely non-lethal, they acted like they had a death wish.

With an arrow halfway notched on her bow, she sidestepped through the debris, her sharp eyes darting back and forth. The metal creation that they used to take flight was broken and strewn about. It was beyond her reasoning that anyone but a god could walk away from such destruction, but she couldn't see any bodies.

They must be long gone, Artemis thought. That had been their pattern so far, fleeing from her like a couple of mice before a cat. It was only a matter of finding their tracks. They had been lucky so far, their antics prolonging this hunt much longer than she thought would be possible of two mortals. She had to give them that much; they had surprised her more than once.

She looked up at the sun. Her brother was still working but he was as good as a clock for her. By the position of his chariot, there was only ten minutes left in this hunt. She would have to move fast.

Coming up to the epicenter of the crash, she studied the webbed foot prints. Tracks were very useful to her as a huntress. Not only would they reveal which direction her prey went but their emotions as well. She smiled, reading the marks in the dust that the males seemed to have an altercation. Just as she thought: those two couldn't get along. It would be their downfall.

Tracing the footprints, Artemis skidded to a halt as the tell-tale marks ended abruptly. What trick were they using this time? Had they climbed a tree? Or did they have another flying device? Or were they hiding?

Distracted, she didn't feel the vine until her leg pulled on it. With eyes widening, she turned in time to see something fly at her face. She raised her arm to deflect the projectile, surprised when something soft and fluffy hit her appendage and splattered against her face.

"What is this?" she growled as she tasted some of the splatter that ended up in her mouth. It was sweet and creamy. "Do you take me for a fool?"

Another pastry assaulted her, this one she took out with a kick although the backsplash decorated up her leg. A third came from behind, and this time she dodged it entirely.

Did they think they could win by throwing food at her?

Movement to her left caught her attention, and she saw the purple of that ridiculous costume the masked one wore. Drawing her bow, she aimed at him, so clear against the green foliage. He didn't even bother to find some camouflage.

Her arrow flew straight and true, piercing through the purple coloring. Exclaiming with triumph, she raced through the jungle to find her quarry. However, she stopped in her tracks as she saw petals floating to the ground. Several dozen purple blossoms were tied in a bunch and attached to a vine that had swung through the jungle, causing the distraction.

So where were they?

Her feet crunched against something that didn't sound organic. Loud bangs erupted under her claws, some causing bright flashes, others spewing out great clouds of smoke. Coughing and stumbling, Artemis reached out for a tree to brace against. With her eyesight hindered, she relied on her other senses, knowing that her enemies would take this moment of weakness to attack.

She heard them approach from behind. She spun around, ready to fight, but was surprised when a chain caught her around her middle, pushing her back and against a tree, pinning her arms to her side.

"Hold her tight," the masked one ordered from her right.

That meant the skinny one was to her left, the weaker of the two. She twisted and jerked her leg out in a sweeping motion, feeling the satisfaction of hearing a body fall to the ground. The chain fell away.

Blinking through the smoke, she made out their silhouettes, charging at the one still on his feet. She threw a punch, surprised that he dodged it. She grappled with him for a while, taking advantage of the fact that his left arm was attached to the skinny male who was still on the ground. She took a few punches, but in the end, laid him flat along with his partner.

"It was a good try," Artemis said, wiping away a trickle of blood from her beak. "But I always catch my prey."

Reaching into his belt, the masked duck pulled out a rock and a cylinder of metal. Before Artemis could grab her bow from the ground, he pointed the cylinder at Artemis and slammed the rock into it. There was a loud bang and a net sprang from the cylinder, wrapping around her tightly.

She growled and struggled against the restraints, but they would not budge. She was not the strongest of gods. Oh, how she wished for Storkules' strength.

"Well, that should keep her," the masked one said, helping the other off the ground. "Our challenge should be ending soon."

"It is not over yet," Artemis said. She puckered her beak and whistled.

Out of the foliage, her white wolf sprang, snarling and growling. Snapping, it chased the two males up a tree. He circled around the trunk a few times before returning to his mistress.

While the net was strong enough to restrain a goddess, it was no match for her wolf's teeth. A few bites, and she was free.

"Only a minute left," she said, looking up at the sky. "You two were a lot more trouble than you're worth. But at least I've proven how unworthy you are of that maiden. This ends now."

"It would," the skinny one called out from the tree, "except you are missing something." He waved an object.

Artemis' eyes widened and she reached behind her, finding her quiver gone. And so were her arrows. Throwing her head back, she let out a primordial scream.

As Mrs. Beakley's watch counted the hour down to the last second, three forms materialized in front of them. To the relief of most on the beach, nobody had an arrow poking out of them. Zeus glared at his daughter, who met his gaze, refusing to look away.

Charity's relief was like a drink of fresh, cool water. They were back. They were okay. It didn't matter to her if they won or not. She raced to them, throwing an arm around each.

"Both are whole and hale. Mostly. As I promised," Artemis said after winning the staring contest with Zeus. "Your heroes have proven to be a pair of champions to have beaten me in my own game."

"I couldn't have asked for better champions," Charity said.

"If you please step aside, sister maiden, I will release them from their chains," Artemis said, lifting her hand.

The manacle that tied Fenton and Darkwing together disappeared, both rubbing at the soreness of their wrists.

"Sister maiden?" Darkwing asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you rise to the title of godhood while I was gone?"

"Artemis has many titles, one being a goddess of chastity," Fenton explained. "By calling Charity a sister maiden, she is probably referring to that Charity is a vir—" He stopped abruptly, his eye popping as if the fact hadn't hit him until that very moment. His face turned red, and he looked away.

Not everyone in the Duck family caught on to what he was about to say, but many of them looked away politely until the awkward scene ended. Only Darkwing's reaction was different, his eyebrows rising and his eyes sliding to Charity, who was about as pink as a flamingo.

"Tch. As if that should be something to be ashamed about," Artemis growled. "This modern world, it's so backward. In the old days, girls were praised for keeping their virtue intact. It was honorable and noble."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Charity asked, her voice high.

Artemis rolled her eyes before saying, "Since you have won the challenge, I shall return your possessions to you."

With a snap of her fingers, the unassembled Gizmoduck appeared at Fenton's feet, the sound of metal falling in a heap crashing through their ears. Darkwing's cape, hat, and gas gun also spontaneously emerged.

"Thanks. I think," Darkwing said, pulling out the arrow from his hat and testing the holes with a finger before putting it on his head. The cape was sopping wet, he wrung out before buttoning it on.

"Huey, I don't suppose you and the boys could get this back on the ship?" Fenton requested, pointing to the discombobulated Gizmoduck. "If I leave even one screw behind, Gyro will throw a fit."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Dewey said, picking up Gizmoduck's helmet. The visor cracked and crumbled under his grip.

"Yeah, I don't even think Gyro will notice the difference," Louie added sarcastically.

Huey gave Fenton a concerned look. "Maybe I can fit a few of these pieces together. I mean, it's like a huge puzzle, isn't it?"

Louie shook his head at his brother's optimism.

"I can help." Hephaestus's large frame had somehow sneaked up from behind. "If I could borrow the schematics, I can at least get it back in one piece."

Fenton smiled, glad for the help. He handed his phone over to Huey. "It's in the cloud. You know how to access it."

In a flash, the junk heap that was Gizmoduck, and Hephaestus and Huey were gone.

"I guess that's normal, letting your kid go off with some random Greek god," Charity whispered. She was glad that only Darkwing seemed to have heard her.

"Now that that's settled, brace yourself, sister maiden," Artemis told Charity. "I have blocked the curse for this long, but my power is not infinite. Once I free the bond, it will go into effect immediately. I'm sorry for the pain you will be in."

Charity squared her shoulders and nodded. For a moment, she almost looked eager.

"Wait, aren't you going to heal us?" Darkwing asked.

Artemis scowled. "It is not within my power to heal. If my brother were here, that would be a different matter. But I have no skill in medicine."

"But that means…Charity is going to take our injuries all at once," Fenton said. "That's not fair."

"It is not up to me to decide what is fair," Artemis said. "My goal was not to harm Charity but to test you two. For my challenge to work, you had to feel pain. And now, it will be given to Charity. Again, I'm sorry." Artemis waved her hand.

Charity gasped, looking as if she might fall. Both Fenton and Darkwing went to her side, bracing her. All over her body, scratches and bruises appeared as theirs vanished. Her stance changed as she favored one leg. "I'm fine. It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Charity said, forcing a smile. "This is nothing compared to before."

"Do not loose heart, sister maiden," Artemis said, clapping a hand on Charity's shoulder. "You have the strength of a huntress. I hope that you do not fail in your endeavor, or at the very least, you bear your pain with honor."

"Thank you," Charity said. More than anything, she was relieved that the bond with Darkwing and Fenton was back. She could not describe how excruciating that hour had been when she didn't feel right. But now, even with this new pain, she was glad because she knew Darkwing and Fenton were fine.

"Skinny one. Masked one," Artemis said, giving each a nod. "If you would humor me, please return to Ithaquack that I may have another chance at winning the game. I am not pleased about losing, but I am satisfied with your skills as well as your deserving of Charity's affection."

Darkwing and Fenton smiled as one, both taking pride to be complimented by a goddess.

Artemis leaned forward, her words so low, only they could hear. "I have called Charity my sister, and as long as she is a maiden, my sister she remains. I may approve of her loving the two of you, but for as long as this curse inflicts her, she better still be my sister or I'm coming after the two of you."

As Artemis sauntered away back into the jungle with her wolf at her heels, Darkwing and Fenton remained petrified until the last of the hawk was out of sight.

"What did she say to you?" Charity asked, noticing their strange behavior.

"Nothing," Darkwing answered first, not looking her in the eye.

Charity wiggled her beak, suspicious.

"First, a game on wheels, then Hephaestus's bungling challenge, and now this," Zeus grumbling, a dark cloud sizzling with lightning forming over his head. "You mortals are getting it easy. If it weren't for Aphrodite, I would—"

"Enough of your belly-aching," Negaduck groused. Throughout the challenge with Artemis, he had kept to himself. But now, he came up from behind, standing just to the side of Charity. "Bring on the next challenge, if that's what you can call them."

"What did you say?" Zeus growled, his cloud growing bigger until it overshadowed the whole group.

"You call yourselves gods? So far, you've had a bunch of girls doing your dirty work," Negaduck sneered. "Why don't you come into the ring and make things interesting? Or is it that you prefer to be a spectator?"

"Learn some respect, mortal," Zeus boomed, hovering in the air as his eyes glowed. "You are merely a speck on the wall of time. You mean nothing to me."

Negaduck replied to this with the crudest gesture he could think of. "Go to hell!" he shouted.

Zeus looked as if he were about to call upon a lightning storm, but then he smiled, his cloud dispersing. "That sounds like an excellent idea." He snapped his fingers.

The ground opened up from beneath Negaduck's feet, spreading quickly to catch the four ducks and the lovebird. Charity managed to catch a view of Fenton reaching out to her, Darkwing trying to use his cape like a parachute, Launchpad clinging to the edge of the crevice before they all tumbled into darkness.

(Author's notes: I've had a lot of comments about how I portray a lot of the Greek gods on Ithaquack. Yes, some of what I write is influenced by the Percy Jackson series, but not as much as you would think. Rick Riordan, the author of Percy Jackson, bases a lot of his works on the actual Greek legends, which is what I have done as well, so there will be a lot of similarities between them.

Stay tuned to next week for the fourth challenge, which is my favorite. I'm so excited to know what everyone thinks of the story so far. Thank you everyone for your support and comments. See you next week.)