Disclaimer: I do not own anything.


Episode Seven

Prequel, Matthew's Tale, Part II


Scrooge fell through darkness, cold damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and—FLUMP! With a funny, muffled sort of thump, he landed on something soft.

Now they were all down in the chamber below the trapdoor, but it was so dark it was pitch black, none of them could see a thing; not even their own hand in front of their face.

Suddenly Donald let out a squawking yell and it sounded like he was struggling, fighting against something.

"Donald! What is it, m'boy?!" Scrooge yelled, suddenly concerned for his nephew.

"SOMETHING'S GOT ME!" Donald squawked loudly, "it's wrapping me up, I can't… get it off!"

"AHH!" cried Louie. "It got me too! Save me, Unca Scrooge!"

"Now, hold on," Scrooge said nervously. "Uncle Scrooge will save ya. Now where did I put that blasted thing?" he muttered, patting his pockets, looking for something.

"IT GOT ME! HELP ME, DADDY!" Chris cried, as whatever it was, got him too.

"Chris! Just keep yelling, son! I'll follow the sound of your voice." Matthew said, feeling blindly around in the dark for his precious son.

"DADDY, I'M SCARED! IT'S ALL DARK AND SOMETHING'S GOT ME!" Chris yelled in total fear. "It feels like a snake is wrapping around me!"

"Hold on, Chris, I'm coming." Matthew said, feeling his way through the dark. It did not help that the Duck trio were also screaming. And then he tripped over what felt like a giant root and the moment he hit the ground, he felt himself being wrapped up in these tentacle-like vines. "No… NO! It got me!"

"Ah-ha!" Scrooge exclaimed, it seems he had found what he was looking for. Then he felt something grab his ankle, if felt like some kind of tentacle, it was wrapping itself around his ankle. "Let go of me!" Scrooge yelled as he whacked the thing that had grabbed hold of him with his cane. Whatever it was, it released him.

Suddenly there was a small flicker of light as Scrooge lit a match and looked around. He saw that what had hold of the others was a giant monstrous plant with many tentacle-like vines.

"Let go of my family, ya overgrown weed!" Scrooge yelled, whacking at the plant's tentacles some more, all the while, trying to keep his match from going out. It was then that he noticed that vines were retreating from him. He moved forward, and with every steps, the vines retreated further and further back. "I got it!" Scrooge laughed in triumph. "It hates light and warmth—YOW!" The tiny flame had burned down the matchstick and burnt Scrooge's fingers, and then it went out.

"QUICK! LIGHT ANOTHER MATCH, UNCA SCROOGE!" cried Dewey, his voice straining as he struggled against his bonds..

"I know, lad! I'm on it!" Scrooge said as he got out another match and lit it. He looked all around. "There has to be a torch around here somewhere, I can't-a keep lighting matches forever… Ah-ha!" He has spotted a cauldron filled with woods and ashes. He ran to it and, like an Olympus torch runner, he dropped the match into the cauldron. Flames burst into life in the cauldron, lighting up the whole chamber! The monstrous planet let out a high-pitch squeal and retreated, releasing everyone in the process.

Everyone took a moment to catch their breath, and another moment to get to their feet.

"That… Was... AWESOME!" Dewey exclaimed and everyone gave him a weird look. "...you know, for a death trap…"

"C'mon, lads, let's keep going." Scrooge said, beckoning them towards him and leading the way into next chamber.

"First a three-headed dragon, then a monster plant that tried to strangle us, what's next?" Donald grumbled as they followed Scrooge into the next chamber.

"Shh!" hissed Matthew. "Don't jinx it!"

"Huh? Oh, right…" Donald said and he said no more.

At the entrance to the next chamber, Scrooge suddenly swung out an arm to signal to the group that they should stop. Silently, he gestured up with his cane.

There were over a hundred birds flying around in the chamber, fluttering around the chamber continuously.

"Birds?" Dewey said. "What's so scary about birds? Aw, c'mon! The monster plant thing was better than this! THIS IS THE LAMEST DEATH TRAP EVER!""

"What is it with you and your death traps?" Scrooge demanded of Dewey, giving him a half-worried half-stern look. "Anyway, what's scary is their number, they outnumber us. They could be trained to attack the person who runs across this chamber to the next door. With that many claws and beaks, they could tear us to pieces with their sheer number!"

"There's only one way to find out!" Dewey cried happily, and he dashed forward before anybody could stop him!

"DEWEY! STOP! GET BACK HERE, LAD!" Scrooge yelled angrily.

"I'm running through the death trap! Come and get me, birds! I… huh...?" Dewey was half way through the chamber when he slowed to a stop, looking up at the birds as they continues to flutter around the chamber. "C'mon, you stupid birds! Attack me!" Nothing happened. He turned around and called back to the group, "Unca Scrooge, they're not attacking me!"

"I can see that, lad! And be grateful for that, ya little daredevil!" Scrooge said angrily, marching across the chamber, right up to Dewey and then he bonked Dewey over the head with his cane.

"OW! Unca Scrooge, that hurts!" Dewey whined, clutching his head.

"Good! Somebody had ta knock some senses into ya! Ya coulda been bird feed!" Scrooge said with a glare that made Dewey feel incredibly small. "What have I always say? Ya gotta work smarter, not harder."

"I'm sorry, Unca Scrooge," Dewey said, sounding close to tears.

Scrooge's expression softened. "Oh… the important thing is that you're okay, lad. Just be smarter next time." He turned to the others, who had still not moved into the chamber. "C'mon, it's safe, for once. Let's keep going!"

Seeing that Dewey and Scrooge made it through without a scratch on them, the others felt more encouraged to move forward into the chamber. They walked safely through the chamber and reached the other side, where there was a door. Scrooge tried to push it open, but it was locked.

"What the—?" Scrooge pushed harder and then he slammed his shoulder into it. But it would not budge, not even when they all combined their effort into it.

"Well, this is it," Donald said in a defeated voice, giving up. "We've hit a dead end."

"This can't be a dead end," Scrooge said, frowning. "This must be a riddle that we need to solve. But what I can't figure out is why there are so many birds in this—" Scrooge suddenly stopped speaking as a sudden realization hit him. "Wait a minute…." He turned and looked up at all the birds, squinching at them. And then he let out a gleeful laugh and danced around. He stopped and pointed up at the birds. "These aren't birds…they're KEYS! Winged keys!" he said, laughing.

"What?!" cried Matthew and Donald together and then they looked up at the birds and saw that they were indeed winged keys.

"But how is that possible?" Matthew said, rubbing his disbelieving eyes.

"Magic," Donald said simply.

Matthew frowned but said nothing. He did not believe in magic, but he knew that now was not the time to express his disbelief, not after the three-headed dragon, the monster plant that tried to strangle them and the chamber full of winged keys. Yeah, denying the existence of magic in the face of the overwhelming evidence would probably not be a smart move.

"But…" Chris said, looking up at the flock of keys. "There are hundreds of them! How do we know which ones to grab, Unca Scrooge?" Just as with Donald, Chris had taken to calling Scrooge "Unca Scrooge" along with the triplets.

"That's easy, m'boy." Scrooge said, strolling back over to the door. "Now pay attention, you lot," he said, speaking to Chris and the triplets now. "Careful observations and cool deductions are essential to every adventurers and explorers. Be aware of your surroundings, take in as much details as you can. Now look," he said, gesturing upwards with his cane. "There are hundreds of keys up there and it's possible that only one key would open the door into the next chamber."

"Aw c'mon, you're makin' us think?! That just makes this so much harder!" complained Louie.

"Okay, lads, I'll give ya a hint," Scrooge said. "Pay attention to the door, notice anything special about it?"

The triplets studied the door, frowning as they tried to figure out what was so special about it.

"Not really…" Huey said finally, but Chris suddenly gasped in realization.

"What?" Dewey urged him. "What is it, Chris?"

"The door handle…" Chris said, reaching out and touching the door handle.

"What about it?" Louie said, taking a closer look at the door handle.

"It's…. a really old fashion one and it's silver." Chris explained.

"So?" said Louie.

"SO… we're looking for a key that's just like it!" Chris said. "I mean, look at 'em!" he said, gesturing up at the winged keys. "Most of them are gold! So, if we can find the silver key…"

"…We can unlock this door!" Huey finished for him. "Chris, you're a genius!"

"Oh, well, I dunno about that…" Chris said modestly.

"Don't sell yourself short, lad." Scrooge said, patting Chris on the head. "That was some smart thinkin'!"

"Aw thanks, Unca Scrooge." Chris said, blushing a little at the praises he was receiving.

Matthew beamed at Chris, swelling with pride inside for his son.

"I see it! Look, there it is!" cried Dewey, who was scanning the keys, trying spot the right one. He pointed up to it.

"But how to we get the silver key?" Chris asked, "The silver key is one in hundreds of keys! How are we s'posed to catch it?"

Scrooge took one look up at the silver key that Dewey pointed out and chuckled.

"Do not fret, m'boy, I've got it all figured out." Scrooge said with a sly grin. He walked over to Matthew and handed him his cane. "Here, take this," he said, and Matthew took it. "Now when I say 'go', you thrust that cane straight up in the air, as high as you can! Got it?"

"Ye-yeah, I got it…" Matthew said, bemused.

"Okay," Scrooge said and then he paused, watching the keys, waiting for the right moment, before yelling out "GO!"

Matthew thrusted the cane up as instructed, and to his amazement, he caught the silver key in the hook of Scrooge's cane!

Chris, Donald and the triplets all cheered and applauded him.

"Good going, lad!" said Scrooge as he took the key and his cane back and then strolled over to the door, thrusted the key into the keyhole and turned. It worked; the door creaks slowly open. And then the key pulled itself out of the keyhole and took flight to rejoin its' flock, with one wing all crumpled.

The next chamber was just as dark as the first chamber with the murderous plant that tried to strangle them. Chris whimpered as he pressed himself against Matthew's leg. And Matthew, knowing that his son was frightened of the dark due to the previous experience with the killer plant, picked him up and held him in his arm. Huey and Louie hid shakily behind their Uncle Donald, who didn't look so brave himself. He gulped as he followed his Uncle Scrooge and Dewey into the next chamber.

As they walked into the chamber, all the torches all along the walls suddenly burst into life, lighting up the entire chamber. Everyone had to shield their eyes until their eyes adjusted to the light after the pitch black darkness.

Once their eyes had adjusted to now-well lit chamber, they saw that they were standing on the edge of a giant checkerboard. On the other side of the board sat a stone gargoyle blocking the door into the next chamber. As they looked at the gargoyle, they saw that the eyes were glowing with a bright white light, cracks started appearing on the stone surface of the gargoyle as it started to move!

With a roar, the gargyle suddenly stood up, the stone broke off and flew in every direction like an egg shell, and the gargoyle stood before them, no longer stone but flesh and blood. He had come to life!

He was rather short for a gargoyle and instead of having wings on his back, this gargoyle's wings were between his arms and sides, and his skin was an olive green. The moment he came to life, all the kids instantly hid behind the adults.

"Hi, I'm Lexington," the gargoyle spoke, his voice was surprisingly soft and gentle. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you, but the door behind me will not open unless you beat me at checkers."

"Really? That's it?" Scrooge said in surprise, as if he expected more. "We don't have to fight ya to get into the next chamber?"

"Nope! Just beat me at checkers, but just so you know, I won't lose so easily, so you'd better bring your A game." Lexington said with a confident smirk, sitting down in a seat in front of the board.

Scrooge smirked with confidence as he took his seat in front of the giant checkerboard.

"So…" said Scrooge said, looking around at the board, his checkers pieces were black, while Lexington's pieces were red. "How do we play?"

"You just play it just like normal checkers, except to move each pieces, you'll have to direct them with your hand. Thus." Lexington directed his hand at red piece on the far right in the front row and waved his hand in the direction he wanted it to move. The red piece moved on its' own, sliding across from one square to the next in the corner. "I made the first move. It's your turn!"

"Alright then, one more thing before I start; is this the game with the must-jump rule, or is taking a jump optional?" asked Scrooge.

Lexington smiled. "Yes, you must take the jumps," he said. "You are wise to ask that."

"Now what happens if I lose?" Scrooge asked.

"Nothing, the door just won't open for you," Lexington said. "but each of you are welcome to try, if the previous player loses. All it takes is one win for the door to open, even if all but one of you loses."

"Okay then," Scrooge said, feeling a little better now. "I'll make my move now." he directed his hand at one of his black pieces and waved his hand to the next square and his piece slid across the floor into the next square.

It only took a few moves for both players to realize that they were both dealing with an expert checker player and as a result, both players took even longer to study the board before making a move.

Scrooge and Lexington took turns moving and jumping each other, At last, Scrooge managed to lock Lexington into a suicidal move, by sacrificing one of his pieces, forcing Lexington to jump it.

"Oh no!" Lexington said in horror. "If i jump that one, you'll triple-jump me!"

"Yep! Now hurry up and make your move so I can be on my way." Scrooge said with a satisfying smirk.

Lexington sighed with defeat. "I had a really good time playing you." he said with a weak smile.

"I did too, it's not everyday that I get to play with a good checker player such as yourself."

"Aw, you're just saying that," Lexington said, blushing. "Oh well, here I go." He made his move and jumped Scrooge's piece, and in return, Scrooge triple-jumped him, taking the last of Lexington's pieces, thus winning the game.

"That was a good game!" Lexington, "You may pass." He gave them a bow before returning to his podium. He made a scary gargoyle pose and then froze, his body turning into stone.

"Wow, he was actually pretty nice. Uh, you know, for a gargoyle." Chris commented. "And he wasn't all that scary either!"

"Aye, I do feel bad for him, turning back into stone the moment I won the game." Scrooge said with sadness in his voice. "But we must press on." he said, marching on to the next chamber.

This chamber was a circular room with a single large troll inside. The troll, who was twelve feet tall. grunted and growled as he picked up his wooden club and stood in front of them, blocking the way into the next chamber.

"Uh…" Scrooge said nervously, he gulped and then said. "Please let us paas."

"Oh, sure, why don't I just let everybody pass?" the troll said sarcastically. "Then what would be the purpose of me being here?"

"I-I'm sure we can work something out." Scrooge suggested feebly.

The troll slammed his club down on the floor, causing the floor to vibrate under their feet.

Chris was hiding, terrified behind Matthew, while the triplets hid behind their Uncle Donald.

Matthew then stepped forward, pushing Chris over to Donald as he walked towards the troll.

"Alright, what's your challenge?" Matthew asked, standing face-to-face with the troll.

The troll gave Matthew a nasty grin as he replied: "You must fight me!"

"Wait, what now? AAHH!" Matthew screamed as he dodged the troll's club that came swinging down upon him! It hit the floor instead, vibrating the floor and created a big dent in it. Then Matthew stood up with a confident smirk. "Okay, you want a fight, you got one!" he said, reaching into the back in his jacket for something.

The troll lunged for Matthew, his club held high. Matthew quickly pulled out his airfoil and swung it like a boomerang at the troll's hand and it hit its' target, causing the troll to cry out with pain and the club he was holding went flying upward out of his hand. He clutched his hand, grunting in pain. Matthew watched as the club turned over in midair and dropped onto its' owner's head with a loud "BONK!" The troll swayed, looking dazed and then he fell face down onto the floor with a thud that made the whole chamber tremble.

The triplets and Chris all cried out joyfully at Matthew's victory, jumping up and down in celeration.

"Stop that, boys!" Donald snapped sternly at them. "This isn't over yet. Save your victory dance for later."

"Yes, Unca Donald." the triplets and Chris said in unison, sounding saddened..

"Good work, lad!" Scrooge praised Matthew. "But let's hurry into the next chamber before he wakes up."

They ran into the next chamber and as they did so, bright purple flames burst into life in front of the door from which they have just came through, at the same time, black flames burst into life in front of the door leading into the next chamber. They were trapped, no way forward and no way back.

"We're trapped!" squawked Donald in a panic. "How do we get outta here?!"

"Donald! Calm down, lad." Scrooge said, looking around. "This is no time to panic."

"THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO PANIC!" Donald screamed. "WE'RE TRAPPED IN A ROOM WITH BOTH DOORS COVERED WITH FIRE!"

This outburst from Donald was rewarded with a bonk on the head from Scrooge's cane.

"I said, calm down, laddie." Scrooge said more firmly. "We must keep a cool head if we're gonna figure out a way out of here. Besides, you're scaring the kids even more by panicking."

"Huh?" Donald looked around at the kids and saw Huey trying to comfort a whimpering Louie while looking scared himself. Dewey was sticking close to his Uncle Scrooge, looking around nervous. Matthew was holding a crying Chris, trying to comfort him while glaring at Donald for upsetting his son even more by panicking. Donald looked down in shame. "I'm sorry..."

Scrooge put an arm around Dewey's shoulders and gave him a comforting one-arm hug. "There, there, lad, it's gonna be alright, just let me study this chamber, there might be a clue as to how to get out of here."

"But if what Unca Donald's right, what if we're trapped in here?" Dewey said, voicing his concerns.

"Nonsense, my boy, there is always a way out, we just have to find it. Hmmm..." Scrooge said, focusing his attention to his surroundings. It was then that he noticed a statue of a bear cub child beside the entrance, and there was another one standing beside the exit as well. He moved forward to study the statue. He then noticed that the child statue was sculpted with its' head tilted back and his mouth wide open, as if begging for a drink. On the podium under the statue's feet was a golden plate with words carved into it. Scrooge adjusted his glasses and narrowed his eyes to read it. "I'm thirsty, mister, please give me a drink." he read off. "Hmm, sounds like we have to give these statue something in order to move forward, but what?"

"Maybe we gotta give it one of those bottles." Huey said, pointing at a table in the center of the chamber, where there were seven bottles lined up in a row. They were all different sizes and shapes except for two, those two bottles were twins. Huey went over to the table and found a note laying in front of the bottles, he picked it up and read: "My children are thirsty, please give them one of these bottles to drink. The girl will lead you back to safety, bypassing all previous challenges back to the Entrance Hall, where you are encouraged to leave and never return. The boy, however, will lead you ahead to the treasure."

"Well at least we know which ones to give a drink to!" Scrooge said excitedly, hurrying over to the table.

"Wait, Unca Scrooge, there's more." Huey said and he continues to read: "They must be given the correct drink. Give the girl something tasty and she will open the way to safety. Give the boy something sweet, and he'll open the way to the treasure. To find the correct drink, please solve this riddle."

"Let me see that, lad." Scrooge said, taking the paper from Huey and begun reading the riddle.

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drink giver back instead,

Two among our number hold only grape juice,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line

Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on grape juice's left side

Second, different are those who stand at either end

But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size

Neither dwarf nor giant hold death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

Everyone looked confused at this riddle, even Scrooge was scratching his head.

"So let me get this straight," Matthew said, clearly struggling to make sense of this riddle. "There are seven bottles, one will help us move ahead, the other will help us go back. Two are grape juice and three are poison… but which is the right drink?"

"That's why we need to solve this and find out." Scrooge said. "It's all about logic, laddie, that's what this is; logic."

"Um..." said Chris timidly, turning his face away from Matthew's chest from which he has been hiding it, he was still scared from the three-headed dragon as this was his first-ever dangerous adventure and this would be scary for any seven-year-olds. But despite his fear, he had been listening to what was going on around him. "I think the answer is in that line 'neither dwarf nor giant hold death in their insides.' So the biggest and the smallest bottles are safe."

"Hey, you're right, Chris!" Matthew said, sounding like he couldn't believe he missed something so simple. "Why didn't I think of that? But the question is, which of them should we give the boy, the big one or the small one?"

"Hmm…" said Huey, taking the paper back from Scrooge and frowning as he studied the riddle. Then he moved towards the table, muttering to himself and pointing at the different bottles. "I got it!" he cried, snatching up the smallest bottle and holding it up. "The smallest bottle will help us move ahead to the treasure!"

Scrooge nodded. "Good work, laddie, now so give it to the boy statue."

Huey walked over to the boy statue, pulled the cork out of the bottle and then poured its' contents into the statue's open mouth. The statue's eyes glowed bright white and the black flames blocking the way into the next chamber shrunk and faded away. Now the way was clear.

Louie, now emboldened by Huey's successful puzzle-solving, was the first to rush ahead into the next chamber before the others.

"Louie! Slow down, wait for us!" Scrooge called after him, but Louie seems to not have heard him and they all followed Louie into the final chamber.

The next chamber was dark, the only source of light came from a high pedestal in the center of the chamber. Louie was already half-way up to the pedestal as the others entered the chamber

"Louie! Get back here, there could be a trap up there." Scrooge shouted up after him.

"WHAT?!" Dewey exclaimed. "You mean Louie could run into a death trap up there?! LOUIE, IF YOU RUN INTO A DEATH TRAP UP THERE, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" he yelled up after his brother.

"Not now, Dewey," Scrooge snapped at him, before starting to climb the stairs after Louie as fast as he could. "Louie, whatever you do, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!"

"Huh?" Louie said, who was already at the top, reaching for the red ruby-like stone, closing his hands around the stone. He then tried to pick it up, but it was stuck to the pedestal. He tugged and wrenched at the stone as hard as he could, until finally, he pulled the stone out of the pedestal. He had tugged so hard that he fell backwards down the stairs and went rolling down the stairs like a wheel until he bumped into Scrooge half-way down, causing Scrooge to roll down the stairs with him! When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Scrooge lay sprawl on the floor, seeing stars while Louie lay on top of him. Louie panted, "Thanks for breaking my fall, Unca Scrooge."

"Eh-eh-eh-eh…." Scrooge said in a daze. "No… no problem…. Oh…Oh boy, I'm definitely gonna be feeling this in the morning…"

The chamber was suddenly filled with wild evil maniacal laughter. Green clouds of smoke billowed out of the pedestal, they formed stormy clouds above the pedestal, flashes of lightning and striking the ground near Scrooge and company, followed by a booming thunder..

Chris shrieked in fear and and hugged his Dad's leg, hiding his face on it.

"FREE! HA, HA, HA, HA! FREE AT LAST! HA, HA HA, HA!" cried a triumphant voice, laughing an evil laugh.

"Louie, what did you do?!" demanded Donald, looking both angry and scared.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Louie cried. "All I did was grab this stone!" he said, holding up the red ruby-like stone.

The laughter finally stopped and they looked up to see a lion with black mane standing high on the pedestal, gazing down at them with yellow eyes and green pupils. There was a scar over his left eye. He was dressed all in black with a brown cloak and he wore black swordsman gloves and black boots.

Scrooge took one look at this lion and could instantly sense the danger this lion posed.

"Run!" Scrooge ordered, they all turned and begin to run towards the exit, but stopped in their tracks when they saw that the lion was now standing there in front of the exit, as if he teleported there.

"And where do you think you're going in such a hurry, hmm?" the lion said lazily, looking down on them as a predator toying with his prey. "Why, I haven't even got to thank the one who freed me. So, which one of you is it?"

"Louie!" Huey and Dewey said at once, pushing Louie forward.

"What? C'mon guys, not cool..." Louie whined.

"What's not cool is you freeing this creep!" Huey said firmly, pointing at the lion before them.

"Aw c'mon, how was I supposed to know that grabbing the Philosopher's Stone would free this guy?" Louie said defensively.

"How, indeed," the lion purred. "Well whatever the case, you have the Great Emperor Scar's gratitude, and in return… I won't torture you, I'll leave you untouched."

"Ohh…" Louie sighed with relief. "Good, that...that's good…"

"But with the others, I'll do as I please!" Scar declared, aiming his hand at a random target and he got Chris!

Chris screamed in fear as he was lifted up off the floor and floated in the air, as if suspended by invisible ropes, still screaming and crying out for help, as if he was surrounded by demons.

"CHRIS!" cried Matthew, then he turned a face of rage towards Scar. "What are you doing to him?! Put him down!"

"Hmm," Scar said, pretending to think it over. "No!" he said, laughing evilly. "As to what I'm doing to him, I'm making him see all the things he most feared at once, as well as making him feel pain from the objects of his fears."

Soon, Chris' screams were mixed with sobs as he writhed and twitch in midair.

"STOP IT!" Matthew roared furiously, running at Scar, but Scar casually lifted a hand and Matthew froze in mid-run.

"Oh quiet down, you'll get your turn soon enough." Scar said maliciously, waving his hand which cause Matthew to be thrown at the wall. He slammed into the wall and then slid down it to the floor.

"Stop it! Let go of him, ya vile brute!" Scrooge yelled angrily, waving his cane towards Scar, while Donald stood in front of the triplets, shielding them from Scar with his body, "He's just a wee lad!"

"Wee lad or not, I have no prejudices about who I torture." Scar said lazily, clearly enjoying the pain he was causing in these people by making this one little boy suffer.

"Let him go, Scar!" said a new voice, this one was high pitch and echoes throughout the chamber.

"Oh no…" Scar groaned in annoyance, lowering his hand, causing Chris to fall and hit the ground. "Not that meddlesome Dedi Master..."

A white vortex that seems to be made of light, outlined by swirling white clouds opened up and a small figure walked out of it, a figure with two large round ears. It was Mickey Mouse, wearing a tan color robes and holding a golden glowing rod in his hand like a sword.

"Ahh, Grand Dedi Mickey, how nice of you to join us for my return." Scar said, as if mockingly inviting Mickey to a tea party.

"Scar! How did you get loose?" Mickey demanded, "Who freed you?"

"Why, one of those adorable little ducklings over there, the one in green." Scar said, gesturing towards the trio. "I think his name is… Loser, was it?"

"LOUIE!" said Huey and Dewey in unison, correcting Scar while giving Louie an angry look. Louie shrink back and gave a sheepish grin.

Mickey was looking Louie's way with a stern look. "I'll deal with you later." he said before turning his attention back on Scar. "Right now I must take Scar out!"

Mickey lept into the air, charging at Scar, ready to swing his glowing golden blade at him. Scar, looked bored, suddenly thrusted out his own blade, which was red. Now Mickey and Scar were dueling with bright glowing swords. Mickey bouncing around Scar to do a evade and attack combination.

"Chris, CHRIS!" Matthew had picked up Chris and was shaking him gently, trying to wake him. But Chris was unresponsive, he just stared blankly ahead, still alive but was shell shocked. "CHRIS!" Matthew was sobbing now, "Please, speak to me." But Chris said nothing, just stared blankly at him, unable to respond. "Chris…." Matthew sobbed as he gently lay Chris back down on the ground. Then he slowly stood up, his grief turning into rage as he turned to look at Scar. And suddenly Matthew let out a roar of fury and charged at Scar. "YOU MONSTER! THAT'S MY SON! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!"

"NO!" Mickey cried, suddenly fearful for Matthew's life. "Stay back!" But Matthew ignored him and continued to charge at Scar with his fist drawn back.

"What?!" Scar gasped as he barely had time to dodge Matthew's fist "Get out of my way!" he raised a hand to Matthew, attempting to lift him up and throw him against the wall like last time. He was used to being able to sweep people aside and then walk all over them. But to his horror, he found that his power no longer work on Matthew as he continues to charge, this time succeeding in punching Scar in the jaw! "AAHH! What's happening, I am not liking this.." Scar said, backing away from Matthew.

"You messed with this guy's son," Mickey answered. "And now he's driven by rage and love for his son. Love, that which your dark powers will always fail against."

"WHAT?!" Scar screamed, before he was dealt another blow to the face by Matthew's fist. "You, how dare you punch the Great Emperor!" he yelled, raising his red blade to cut Matthew in half, but Mickey jumped in and caught Scar's blade with his own.

Now Matthew was doing all the attacks, punching and kicking every inch of Scar that he could, while Mickey defended Matthew from Scar's blade.

Battered and bruised, Scar realized he could not win on his own against Matthew and Mickey's combined forces. He waved a hand behind himself, and a dark black vortex appeared, through which Scar made his hasty retreat and vanished. The vortex instantly vanished along with Scar, Matthew tried to dive in after Scar, but as the vortex vanished, he fell face down on the chamber floor.

Furious, Matthew got back up to his feet. "NO! GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO CHRIS!"

"Calm down," Mickey said softly. "He got away, there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Yes, there is!" Matthew snapped. "You, create that… that thing you used to get here."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Mickey said sadly. "I have to know where Scar went in order to create portal directly to him."

"Chris!" Matthew said, and he hurried back to Chris' side and Mickey followed.

As Matthew tried desperately to get Chris to respond to him, Mickey frowned as he studied Chris, he seems to be scanning him with his eyes..

"Your son's mind has been assaulted by visions of everything he fears… it overwhelmed him, that's why he's in shell shock right now." Mickey said gravely with his hand on Matthew's shoulder.

"Then YOU fix him!" Matthew snapped at him.

Looking sorry for him, Mickey said: "I'll do my best." before placing a hand on Chris' head. "OH!" Mickey gasped. "Oh wow..." he sounded amazed.

"What?" Matthew said urgently.

"The Heart is strong with this one…" Mickey said, more to himself than to any of them. He then shook off his shock and begun the Mind Scan, followed by the Mind Healing. And finally, Chris closed his eyes and begin breathing slowly. "He's asleep now. I was able to undo most of the damages but not all. He will be the same as he always was, except now he has a phobia for Scar and a phobia for thunder and lightning."

"How do you know that?" Matthew asked as the gang now gathered around Chris.

"I scanned his mind, I know everything about him now, including his newly acquired phobias." Mickey said. "Scar must have sensed the potential in him, that's probably why he targeted Chris first. Yes, I know his name now, I know all of you from scanning Chris' mind." he turn to Louie. "Though you are responsible for releasing the multiverse's most evil emperor, I'll go easy on ya, as you did not know Scar was imprisoned here, you thought you were hunting treasure. However, you still must be punished. You and your entire party must now work for me in order to atone for what you've done."

Louie gulped, but was glad to know that Mickey at least knew that he never meant for Scar to be released.

"Work for you?" Scrooge laughed. "I'm sorry, but Scrooge McDuck doesn't work for anybody."

"It's either you work for me, or take your punishment of living your life dirt poor." Mickey said grimly. "Don't worry, I'll treat ya fairly. It's just that all of you need to atone for what you did here. YOU released Scar onto the world, it's only right that you help us fight against him and hopefully reseal him."

Scrooge gulped and made no more objections.

"But this isn't fair!" cried Dewey. "Louie was the one who released him, why do we have to work for you too?"

"Because," Mickey said, staring Dewey sternly in the eyes. "You came here as a group, and as a group, whatever one of you does, you all do it together. Louie may have gotten to the stone first, but you ALL came here with the intent of taking the stone, So as such, you will all share Louie's fate, which isn't so bad, I assure you. I'm pretty fair."

"Does even Chris has to work for you?" Matthew asked.

"Yes, he does and so do you, Matthew." Mickey said firmly.

"But… now's not a good time for us. You see, we're—"

"Looking for your lost son, Kit, I know." Mickey said. "Back at HQ. we have the means of finding anyone we want. So as payment for working for me, we'll help you find your son." Mickey promised.

"Really?" Matthew was stunned, hardly daring to believe it. "Really, you'll help me find my son?"

"Yes, we will." Mickey said as he waved his hand and the white vortex appeared before them. "Step through here, on the other end is the D-Star, our HQ."

With promised aid to find his lost son, Matthew was sold, he didn't have anything to go on anyway, and this aid might help them find Kit a lot faster. Matthew picked Chris up, who was still asleep, and carried him, moving like a sleepwalker towards the vortex.

The triplets ran into the vortex after Matthew, led by Dewey, shouting: "C'mon guys! Last one through is a rotten egg!"

As they ran through it and vanished, Scrooge and Donald glanced at one another and then reluctantly followed. For the two uncles of the triplets, there was really no other choice for them, as where ever they go, they have to follow

On the other side of the vortex, they came out to find Matthew and the triplets staring around at a suburban neighborhood with a huge white castle dominating the neighborhood at the end of the street with blue pointed towers. Over the entrance of the castle were the neon-lit words "D-Star Mall"

"This must be the living quarters of the Headquarter." Matthew said, looking around in awe. There was a lot to take in, all the nice houses and the castle mall. "Are we meant to STAY here?"

"Only if you want to," Mickey's voice said behind them, who had just stepped through the vortex. "You can either live here, or continue live in your home world. You guys would be safer living here, especially now that Scar has been freed."

"Why does Scar being on the loose make that much of a difference?" Scrooge asked.

"Well, do you know a Magica De Spell?" inquired Mickey.

Scrooge suddenly glared. "All too well, but what does that no-good witch got to do with Scar?"

"Scar and Magica together poses a great threat to all worlds." Mickey explained. "Together they can destroy worlds. With Scar and Magica both out there, your world is in danger of being destroyed."

"But… the world can't be destroyed until I find Kit!" Matthew said, sounding devastated. "You promised to help me find him!"

"And I will stand by that promise." Mickey said solemnly. "But in the meantime, there is work to be done in order to keep all the worlds safe from the forces of darkness. Our jobs as Dedis is to protect the worlds from devastation and destruction.

"Now hold on," interjected Scrooge. "Ya keep talking about the world like there's more than one."

"That's because there are," Mickey revealed. "There are numerous worlds as the stars in the sky. Now..." he said, opening his portal again. "Is there anything from your world that you'd like me to bring back here?"

Everyone gasped, looking suddenly tensed.

"Ya don't expect us to live here, do ya?" Scrooge asked, voicing the question that was on everyone's mind.

"To live here, or not to live here, that is your choice. However, living on different worlds now would make training you guys to be Dedis difficult," Mickey said seriously. "And dangerous, now that Scar has been released. Together with Magica, your world could be destroyed at any moment. This is the safest place of all the worlds, there are no worldly threats and no bad guys here. Neither Scar nor Magicia can enter this world."

"I'll stay," Matthew said, still holding the sleeping cub in his arms. "If becoming a Dedi means finding Kit the fastest way possible while providing a safe haven for Chris to grow up in and keep him safe from that monster, I'll do it."

Donald and Scrooge glanced at one another, each wanting the same thing for the triplets.

"Well… if you put it that way… I'll stay too." Donald said hesitantly. "At least the boys will be safe here."

"Aye," Scrooge agreed. "No bad guys here means no Beagle Boys to steal me money!"

"Is there anything from your world you'd like me to bring here?" Mickey asked again.

Laughing joyously, Scrooge said. "Of course there are! Me Money Bin and McDuck Manor."

"Okay, anything else?" Mickey said, writing it down on a computer tablet, writing with his fingertip on the screen.

"What is that?" Scrooge asked, pointing at the tablet in Mickey's hand.

"It's a tablet, basically a small portable computer." Mickey answered,

"But computers are supposed to be huge!" Scrooge said, sounding baffled by the tablet. "Big enough ta fill a room!"

"Oh my… I forgot, you guys are from the nineteen-thirties… Well, here at the D-Star, we have technologies from future generations."

"Wow," said the triplets, they gathered around Mickey, dazing in awe at his tablet.

"Where can we get one of those?" Louie asked.

"You can get this and many more things at the D-Star Mall over there." Mickey said, pointing to the castle mall at the end the suburban street.

Without another word, the triplets all made a mad dash towards the mall.

"BOYS! Get back here! You don't even know the area yet!" Donald yelled after them before taking off after them.

"Anything else?" Mickey asked Scrooge and Matthew, both of whom remained behind.

"Yes," Scrooge said. "I'm sure Donald would want his houseboat."

"And I'd like my hangar and my Conwing L-sixteen airplane called the McQueen." Matthew said.

"Okay, I'll be back with everything." Mickey said. "And then we'll discuss Dedi training for you, Donald and the boys."

"What the— now hold on!" Matthew said. "I was under the impression that only I was to become your Dedi, why are you involving the boys in this?" By 'boys', Matthew correctly assumed that Mickey was referring to the triplets and Chris.

"So that they can become Dedis too, when they're older." Mickey replied. "Even if by choice they don't become Dedis, they'll still reap the benefit of being able to protect and defend themselves from the Dedi training. The last thing you want is for them to be completely helpless when you're too locked in combat to save them."

Matthew winced at the very thought and as a former squadron captain, he understood the importance of being ready to fight for your life, for your friends and family, as well as for your homeland.

"And also," Mickey added. "Had Chris been a student Dedi already, Scar's powers would have been much less effective on him. Scar wouldn't have been able to damage him the way that he did."

"Oh, alright fine!" Matthew said after a moment of painful parental internal struggle. "But only so Chris can protect and defend himself, not so he can fight for you."

"No, I'd never let a child fight in real missions," Mickey said. "I'd train the children to fight in self-defence, not in combat. I'll see ya later."

And with that, Mickey conjured a vortex with a wave of his hand and stepped through it.

And for the next five years, Matthew and Donald had been going on missions for the Dedi, traveling to different worlds and ridding them of the forces of darkness, lest they be destroyed. Chris and the triplet met many other children their age and trained alongside them as student Dedis, they were called Young'uns. During their training, they study the Heart and how to use it. They also had to practice with toy D-blades and if they ever got hit, poked or jabbed with the toy D-blades even once, they'd lose the only life they have in the swordsman game.

Within a few years, Chris became so good in lessons and practice matches that he soon became bored and focus more on how he misses his Dad, who was only home half the week, the other half he was out on missions to protect some random world from certain destruction. Chris had to stay with Scrooge at McDuck Manor when his Dad was away on missions.

In his free time, Chris was learning how to use futuristic technologies, such as game consoles, iPhones, iPads and many more. And he taught his Dad how to use them whenever he could, mostly when Matthew was home from his mission.

Chris, who had his Dad with him all the time for his whole life, suddenly find himself having to adjust to not having him around half the time. Although he loved Scrooge as a surrogate great-uncle and Mrs. Beakley as his surrogate grandmother (he even calls her Grandma Beakley), they just weren't the same as his Dad.

Mrs. Beakley did not mind Chris dubbing her as his surrogate grandmother, she grew to love Chris as a surrogate grandson, and Webby, though extremely jealous at first, eventually grew to like Chris too, and agreed to share her Granny with him if he agree to be her big brother. Chris agreed to this role and learned what it was to love a sibling, something he knew he was missing out on since his brother Kit was discarded by his own flesh and blood.

Saddened by thoughts of Kit, as well as his Dad being away too much for his liking, Chris begin asking if he could go with his Dad on missions, but no matter how many times he'd pleaded and begged, he was always given a very firm "NO!" He did not challenge that 'no', seeing it as the final say, the impenetrable wall that he should not challenge.

But a girl in his class, a red-headed tomboy duck named Gosalyn, saw how he wanted to go with his Dad and she convinced him to go anyway."

"You miss your Dad, right? So go with him!" she'd tell him.

"But he said no, and Master Mickey said no." Chris said dejectedly. "No matter how many times I beg, they alway say no."

"So they say no, what's stopping ya from sneaking onto your Dad's plane and going with him anyway?" Gosalyn said mischievously.

"But they'll get mad if I do that," Chris protested. "You've never seen my Dad angry, his anger is not something I'd wish on anybody."

"What are ya, chicken?" Gosalyn taunted him.

"What?!" Chris cried indignantly. "No! I'm no chicken, I'm a Cloudkicker, Cloudkickers are not chicken!""

"You missed your Dad?" Gosalyn questioned.

"Well….yeah, more than anything." Chris admitted.

"Then what are you gonna do? Sit around here and be a good boy while your Dad's out there, risking his life? Or are you going to break some rules like eggs and be with your Dad anyway?"

"NO! I mean, yeah, I'll break the rules and go with my Dad!" Chris said, suddenly inspired by her words.

"Then get on that plane and hide somewhere before your Dad takes off!"

"YEAH! I'll do it!" Chris said, standing up and marching over the McQueen. And thus begun Chris' many stowaway adventures with his Dad until Matthew got sick of Chris stowing away in his plane and he talked Mickey into allowing Chris to accompany him on his missions.

"I dunno, Matthew… He's still too young…" Mickey said hesitantly. "And I did say I'd never let a child go on missions unless it was a practical mission."

"I know, I don't like it either, but he's determined to be with me and nothing's really stopping him from stowing away on my plane and I'm getting tired of finding him hiding in all kinds of unusual hiding places. I'm afraid he might hide in a place that's hard to get him out of."

Looking reluctant, Mickey allowed Chris to go with his Dad on missions as long as he did not hinder the missions. And thus begun Matthew and Chris' many dangerous adventures together.


Author's Note:

This two-part episode has been a lot of fun writing, and I hope you had fun reading them. In the next episode, we will return to the present and move forward from there. In my original story, The Organization Phoenix, I wrote a flashback episode on Kit's past as he grew up in the orphanage, escaped and lived life on the street until he ran into the Air Pirates. In this rebooted story, I decided to write a flashback episode on Matthew and Chris' past, to explore their characters.

I am still undecided on whether I should do another flashback episode about Kit in future, since I've already written it in the Organization Phoenix. Please let me know if you would like another flashback episode on Kit's past or if you want me to stop writing flashbacks and move the story forward. Your thoughts and opinions would be welcome and considered.

It should be noted that Mickey is in the role of Master Yoda, while Scar is playing the role of Count Dooku, they are both dressed as the roles they played. So picture Mickey and Scar dressed as Yoda and Dooku respectively and you'd be pretty spot on when you imagine them fighting each other in similar fashion.

The D-Star is three Death Stars combined to form Mickey's head shape. The outer shell of the D-Star was made to protect the world within it, basically a plant body armor. The inner shell of the D-Star was made to imitate the earth's blue sky during the day and a starry sky at night.

In Kingdom Hearts, the Organization XIII's members are able to travel between words via Corridors of Darkness, a kind of portal or vortex that leads from one place to another. In this story, I decided to create the Corridors of Light that Mickey used to get to the chamber where Scar was. And Scar used the Corridors of Darkness to escape from Matthew and Mickey.