Race 5: Duckburg
"Race fans, welcome back to the Magical World Grand Prix!" Mickey cheered. "For today's race, we're heading to the hometown of one of my best friends, Donald Duck."
"That's right, Mickey, the racetrack for today is the city of Duckburg," Lightning announced. "After the sudden sewer burst last race, we've made sure to comb every part of this track in order to make sure nothing like that happens this time. Now, let's get down to the famous McDuck Manor to start the race today."
[***]
"…and that should be the last of the magical protection you'll need," Lena said, powering down from her super sorceress form.
"Thank you for the assistance with that, Lena," Poe complimented. "Now we shouldn't have to worry about any interference this time around."
"I still find in fascinating that someone would try to sabotage a harmless event such as this one," Violet thought aloud. "I don't see any gain a villain would have for this unless they were participating in said event themselves."
"I bet it's Emperor Belos!" Aline butted in.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "What would he have to gain from this? This race isn't even going to go to the Boiling Isles at any point, and he doesn't see any threat in Eda, Luz, or King."
Aline raised a finger to object, then thought about it. "Huh, I guess you do make a good point there. Wait, what are you guys talking about needing magic protect for anyway."
Gabriel and Rachel shared a glace, with Rachel giving a nod for the raven to continue. "Aline, this needs to be kept between the three of us for now, but there's someone out there that wants to sabotage the MWGP for some unknown reason. If anything unusual happens, let us know so we can deal with it. Jet Pack Guy is in on it as well."
"You got it, Dream Keeper!" Aline said, whispering while giving a salute.
"Speaking of trouble, anyone seen the triplets today?" Poe asked.
"I think they're doing something down at the boardwalk, probably for the Pitstop Challenge," Della explained. "I just hope Louie doesn't drag them into one of his dangerous schemes again."
"Hey, Green has been getting better at that," Lena defended. "How's being a better mom coming?"
"We're getting there," Della said. "At least I'm a better mom than that one chicken guy."
"Hey, leave Buck out of this!" Gabriel said. "He's a single parent that was dealing with the death of his wife, and under a lot of stress because his son literally caused a mass panic in town, leading to a lot of property damage and unwanted negative attention on both himself and his son. Plus he's been doing a lot better in the years since that movie here in the Magical World, but people like you that keep bringing it up aren't helping anything!"
The others looked at Gabriel in shock. "Woah, I did not expect to hear that kind of defense out of you, Gabriel. I'm impressed," Rachel said.
"Sorry, it's just that I actually like Chicken Little, and people only use the same tired arguments when discussing how much it "sucks" to them," Gabriel explained. "Even if it's not the greatest Disney movie, I find it more entertaining to watch than some of the classics. Like Bambi is a good movie, but I get so bored sitting through it."
"Yeah, I can agree that sometimes a movie's entertainment value outweighs how "good" it's precived by others," Rachel nodded in agreement.
The raven then gave Della a sly look. "And I don't think you have much room to talk, Della Duck. I seem to remember you locking your child in the house with a killer robot while also going on vacation to the one place in the world he wanted to go to just to spite a literal child, leaving him defenseless when your greatest villains all teamed up and raided the mansion."
Della winced. "Okay, yeah, I'm probably not the best person to judge others on their parenting skills."
"Della, the race is starting soon! Get over here!" Logan called.
"Speaking of people I need to keep an eye on," Della said. "See you all later!"
Gabriel and Rachel went to their own cars as well. "So, you want to have a 2000s era Disney marathon after this race?" the raven asked.
"We can make it a Dream Keeper reunion thing," Rachel nodded.
"Racers, I hope you're ready!" Cruz called as she raised the flag.
3
2
1
Go!
The gates to McDuck Manor opened and the racers flew out of them and over the starting line. "Gracious Bird is off to a big head start, followed by Heart of a Jaquin in second and Concerto Comet and Sweet Vision battling for third!"
"Let's see if we can keep this lead!" Logan said, tossing a banana back at Toren, the Jaquin using a boost to maintain position. "I really think we can win this today!"
"Sorry about this," Poe apologized, using his special to launch a fireball at Gabriel.
"Jasiri, use your special now!" the raven said.
"On it!" the hyena replied, activating her power as the car was forced off-road. With their speed now maintained thanks to enhanced traction, Gabriel was able to take a tighter drift turn down Killmotor Hill and catch back up with Rachel quickly.
"Looks like our leaders are all maintaining the top spots today!" Lightning announced.
Silver tossed at bomb at Aline, but her own boost saved the Hex Rider from any loss of position. As the teams took the winding path down the hill from McDuck Mansion, the race soon took them into Uptown Duckburg, through the busy streets and towards the next set of items.
"Hey, you can kinda hear the Ducktales theme if you listen closely," Logan noted, bobbing his head to the beat.
"Yeah, you get used to it after a while," Della said.
"And here's our next item," Ant Man said, picking up a firework. "Head's up, second place team!"
This time Toren didn't have anything to counter with, taking the hit as Gabriel and Rachel's teams passed his. Similarly, Silver also got a firework power, using it to pass Aline.
"Too bad this bomb wouldn't counter the firework," Sprig said, casually tossing the item away. The frog boy flinched when said item hit a nearby car, causing it to explode.
"You'll pay for that, McDuck!" Glomgold shouted, shaking his fist in the air. "Or my name isn't Flinthart Glomgold!"
"I'm not even related to that guy!" Sprig shouted back. He had to quickly sit back down as Adam tossed his own bomb, hitting the Hex Rider, putting them in last place.
"Sprig, maybe don't waste our items like that next time?" Molly said, trying to say it as nice as possible.
"Yeah, at least let me eat it," Scratch said.
Exiting Uptown, the racers pulled out onto Duckburg Pier, home of the boardwalk and a frequent hangout for the kids of the Duck family. As they came to the carnival section of the boardwalk, Cruz and Guido were waiting for them.
[***]
"Pitstop!" Guido said.
"And your challenge today is hosted by Huey, Dewey, and Louie!" Cruz announced.
"Hey boys!" Della waved to her kids.
"Hi Mom!" Dewey called back.
"It's still a bit surreal to me that we actually know who the triplet's mom is now," Silver said.
"I mean, she was in some of the old Duck comics, it's just that the reboot made her an actual character," Beth explained. "Now, what I want to know is who their father was."
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Della shook her head. "If anyone was going to be a bad parent, it was probably him."
"Good to know," Beth shrugged.
"It looks like the challenge is a carnival game," Gabriel noted. "One of those "shoot the target and get a prize" kind of deals."
"Yep! All you have to do is knock over the spaceship in the back," Huey explained. The carnival game was based on the Moon level from the Ducktales video game, with the spaceship being the one piloted by Della's arch nemesis, General Lunaris of the Moon.
"Sounds simple enough," Logan said. He sat down on the stool and picked up the toy blaster. "Don't worry team, I've got this."
"Rocket, you're up for this too," Gabriel said.
The raccoon grinned as he took a seat. "I'll have this done quick, just watch."
For the other teams they sent up Athena, Silver (since the princesses were opposed to using guns), Sprig, Agent P, Stitch, and Rachel. Louie flipped the switch to start the game, and soon ping-pong balls were sent flying to knock over the targets. The spaceship target moved the fastest, making it the hardest to hit out of all of them. Just as time was about to be up, Athena manged to hit the spaceship, making Adam's team cheer.
"All right, we won!" Iron Man said.
"Actually, you didn't," Louie said.
"Louie…" Della said, her eyes narrowing at her youngest son.
"It's true, the rules say you have to knock over the target, not just hit it," Huey said.
"But we can just run the game again until someone does knock it over!" Dewey added.
"Why does this feel familiar?" Logan muttered to himself.
The teams went again, though again none of them could knock over the spaceship target. This went on for a good ten minutes, with the competitors getting increasingly frustrated. Suspecting something, Gabriel snuck around to the back of the carnival game and tapped Louie on the shoulder.
"You totally rigged the game, didn't you?" Gabriel asked.
"What? Me, rig the game?" Louie said defensively, though he quickly dropped it with a laugh. "Yeah, I totally did. Here, watch this." Flicking a switch within the booth, Louie released the latch that was keeping the spaceship held up, which was just in time as Rocket hit said target, finally knocking it over.
"Flark yeah, that's why I'm the best shot of the Guardians!" Rocket cheered. "In your faces!"
"Language!" Silver chided.
"Let him has his fun," Rachel rolled her eyes.
"So, I'll make sure Della doesn't find out about this because you're my favorite triplet, and I thought you were right in the whole Season 2 debacle," Gabriel said.
"You know it was supposed to be "both sides have a point" kind of thing, but well, you saw how that went," Louie shrugged.
Giving a nod of agreement, Gabriel went back to his team as they all got back in their cars to continue the race. "Where'd you go there at the end? You totally missed my victory over those other guys," Rocket boasted.
"I was just earning myself a favor from Louie in the future," Gabriel said cryptically.
[***}
"We're back on track, heading into Downtown Duckburg as Gracious Bird continues to hold strong in first!" Mickey announced. "Sweet Vision and Concerto Comet aren't far behind though! Stay vigilant, racers!"
"We're still on track for victory," Logan said as his team boosted ahead. Suddenly, Rachel came out of nowhere with her own boost, overtaking the Gracious Bird. "What the heck!?"
"See you at the finish line, Logan!" Rachel called. "You gotta time your items to take advantage of the opening!"
"You know, I want to finish in a place that's not last this time," Beth said. "Eda, get us ahead!"
The Owl Lady used her harpy form to get the Toon Buggy up to fourth place, putting them in a tie with Toren, Adam, and Silver's teams. As they all raced through Downtown, the street in front of them suddenly got filled up with cars: it was a sudden traffic jam!
"Sorry everyone! Mr. Mc Dee will pay for this!" Launchpad said, stepping out if the limo as the other drivers all groaned in annoyance.
"Well then, if there's one thing my magic didn't account for, it was Launchpad's uncanny ability to crash anything he drives," Poe said. "I'm almost impressed."
"You can be more impressed after the race, dear," Rachel said to her boyfriend. "Bruno, use your power to help us navigate around this safely!"
Bruno did just that, using his special to help Rachel with her driving. Logan got the same idea, letting Della use her special to get them around this mess as well, even dodging firework attacks from Toren and Silver. "Watch this," Della said, smirking as she used one of the overturned cars as a makeshift ramp. The team all cheered as they soared through the air… only for an explosion to go off, creating a bubble that froze them in slow-motion.
"Whaaaaaat's haaaaaappppeeenniiiinngggg?" Logan said, his voice distorted from the slowed time.
"IIIII thiiiiink iiiitt waaaas Adaaaaaaaam's teeeeeaaaaammmm," Dastan replied.
"Sorry friends, but we'll be taking the lead today," Athena said as her team pasted them by. "Adam, my special move was successful."
"Athena used a time bomb to literally distort time around the Gracious Bird!" Lightning explained. "That'll cost them some time as the teams make it to the final stretch!"
"Come on, let's push ahead!" Aline said, moving up a place in the race as they went over the bridge towards the Money Bin.
"We won't give up either!" Toren said, his team nodding in agreement.
"Then let's not hold anything back!" Beth added, pulling up next to Heart of a Jaquin and past Adam.
"Ack, I think the engine's starting to overheat!" Adam said as the SEA Racer started to spark, the cyborg using his robot arm to quickly repair it.
"I'll see you guys there at the end!" Silver said as he raced past them thanks to Aurora's special.
"Darn it, we're not going to lose!" Logan said, pounding the steering wheel. Della placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, making Logan take a deep breath. "Okay then. Scott, I think we need to make a big play here!"
"You got it!" Ant Man called. The superhero jumped out of the car and off the bridge, quickly using his powers to transform into Giant Man. With a flick of his fingers, Giant Man rocketed the Gracious Bird forward, all the way up to second right behind Rachel!
"Hey, you made it!" Rachel said. "But only one team can win this thing."
"And that's why I've been saving this," Gabriel said, holding up his own Special. Transforming into his dragon form, the Concerto Comet got a major boost in speed, blasting over the finish line as Gabriel sent the car into a long drift to slow down, music playing all the way.
Ducktales, Woo-oo!
Tales of daring, bad and good
Not pony tales or cotton tales
No, Ducktales! Woo-oo!
"And with that, Concerto Comet takes its second first place victory!" Lightning announced. "Sweet Vision takes second, followed closely by Gracious Bird!"
Gabriel took a bow as his team hopped out of their car to pose for the crowd. He then transformed back into his regular form just as Daisy came up for the interview. "Well then, the Dram keeper takes another victory. How does it feel to win today?"
"I think this was the closest win yet," Gabriel said.
"Yeah, Rachel and Logan were just as fierce on the track today," Jasiri agreed.
"All of the teams did well, I think," Lop added.
"You guys are too nice- we freaking owned this race!" Rocket said, getting a laugh out of his team.
As Team Dream Keeper did their interview, Rachel went over and gave a handshake to Logan. "Good job today," she said. "It really was a close race."
"Yeah, but I still want to get first one day," Logan said. He then turned around and shouted. "At least I didn't get last place, huh!?"
"SHUT UP, LOGAN!" Aline shouted back.
"They're such kids," Dastan sighed.
"Give it time. I'm sure it'll become a friendly rivalry eventually," Ant Man shrugged.
"Huh, I wonder why the SEA Racer started to act up there at the end?" Adam asked himself. Popping open the hood, he jumped back in shock as a miniature explosion went off.
"Welp, we'll have to get the engine replaced now," Iron Man said.
Adam reached into the smoking crater that used to be the engine, pulling out what looked like a robotic spider leg. "What's this? Sabotage of some kind? But from who…?"
Total Points
Gabriel (32)
Rachel (26)
Aline (23)
Silver (23)
Logan (23)
Toren (22)
Beth (16)
Adam (15)
Author's Note
And the Duckburg race is now complete! Nothing went wrong this time on the track, except for some bad traffic thanks to Launchpad. He's a goof that crashes a lot, but he's our goof that crashes a lot.
For those wondering, yes, I do enjoy Chicken Little as a movie, as well as all the 2000s Disney movies that people consider "bad" like Brother Bear and Home on the Range. They were my childhood, and I will defend them from haters. I believe that the main Disney Animated Productions team hasn't put out a bad movie, just some that are more enjoyable than others. Like Rachel said, an entertaining "bad" movie is more enjoyable than a "good" boring movie.
On a related note, Gabriel calls out Della's actions specifically from the episode "Glomtales!" because it really does not paint her in a good light. Is she justifiably mad that Louie caused the Timephyoon? Sure, but the way she goes about punishing him for it is way too mean and petty, especially since he did in fact fix his mistakes and say he was sorry. You can say all you want about Chicken Little's dad, but he never actively endangered his own child with killer security robots. That being said I don't hate Della as a character, I just think that one moment makes her look really petty, and the two do make up in the Season 2 finale.
The Pitstop Challenge was a reference to the carnival scene in "Despicable Me," withe Louie having set up a dead switch so that someone could eventually win. Luckily for him Rocket didn't do what Gru did and pull out his actual gun to destroy the game.
And it looks like the villain did strike again, just in a smaller way. Gabriel and Rachel have trusted Aline with the sabotage information, and now Adam has found his own car being attacked by a similar robot. Will these two figure out something that the Dream Keeper and Sword Mage can't?
Next Time: Don't go Turbo as we enter the next race course!
