Author's Note
This one goes out to hypermegatailsfan (who will most likely never even read this story, but it wouldn't exist if she didn't inspire me in some way) and all the people in my reviews that just had to ask for Ducktales content. How was I supposed to resist that? Hope this doesn't disappoint.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 22: Ducksitting
Kairi parried the blade that swung at her chest. She thrust her own blade at Max. He sidestepped and then aimed a jab at her head. Kairi ducked, and then found herself on the floor a second later, confused, blinking at the ceiling. Max's smug face appeared overhead.
"You have to learn to watch your opponent's whole body, not just their weapon."
As he helped Kairi up, he gave her another criticism.
"And your footwork is terrible. You were so off balance that it was way too easy to trip you."
"Good pep talk," Kairi panted. "When are you going to get to the part where you tell me what I did right?"
Max's sword flashed toward her side.
Kairi jumped back, ready to parry another attack, only to relax when she realized that Max hadn't moved.
"Did you have to take a swing at me so close?"
"Nice reflexes. There's the praise you wanted. Also, I wasn't going to actually hit you."
He turned his sword around so that Kairi could grab the handle.
"Anyway, that's enough sparring for today. Show me the basics of dual wielding."
Kairi's lip curled as she took the blade. "Come on, again?"
Max moonwalked. "You want the moves, you have to practice the basics. Just like-" He groaned. "Like my Dad says, 'You have to stay focused on your goals.' If you want the skill, you have to fix both eyes on it like it's a horseshoe stick."
"Horseshoe stick?"
"It's my Dad's favorite lecture. He always uses a horseshoe metaphor." Max sat down on the training floor. "I wonder where he is now."
"You miss him?"
"Not just that. I wanted to go with him. For once. My dad's so overprotective, I can totally can handle myself out there." He waved his hand. "Shouldn't you be practicing?"
Sighing, Kairi went through the motions Max had taught her, for the billionth time. Training with Max was nothing like training with Mary. There were no cute, fun, field trips or relentless attacks with magic. Nope. Instead, Max had Kairi doing push-ups for days on end. Then he taught her how to punch and avoid getting hit. He made her practice with toy swords against dummies until he was convinced she could hold a sword without poking an eye out.
Even when Max let Kairi use an actual sword, he forced her to do the same swinging motion and drilled her on basics for so long she was sure her arm was going to fall off. And just when she thought she was done with that, Max made her train her other arm in the same way.
Kairi wondered if she had spent months or years practicing with Max. Mary Poppins prepared their training space three times a day. To make sure that the castle garden wouldn't get wrecked again, Mary would take Max and Kairi into a painting of a training room. The first time they had been there, Kairi had thought they had been training for hours. It wasn't until they left the painting when she realized that not a single a minute had gone by on the clock in the castle library. And Mary would not give her a straight answer about whether or not time passed in the painting-training room.
"Well of course a painting is timeless, dear. That is why it is called a painting."
Once Max was convinced Kairi could attack a wooden dummy, he began to spar with her, though she still had not beaten him in a single match (at least, not without magic). Once her skills were "decent," Max started dual wielding training, though he refused to have a sparring match until she mastered the basics.
"Good job," Max pointed to Kairi's swords. "One more time."
"So will these basics let me hack and slash through heartless," Kairi panted.
"You can hack and slash through anything, but mastering the basics will make sure you do it well. It's all about-"
"Focusing on your goals, right. Sora runs around the beach with a toy sword and then gets upgraded to a keyblade one second later, and I'm stuck practicing basics."
"I'd say you're pretty good."
"Really?"
"Yeah, if you're going to fighting a few unarmed enemies."
"That doesn't sound too bad. Heartless don't use weapons, usually."
"But against an experienced opponent, you should just stick to using one sword."
Kairi grinned. "So you do think I can handle myself with one sword?"
Max wiggled his hand. "Barely."
"Was that a compliment?"
"Probably."
Kairi snorted. "So why do you use two swords?"
"Because it's cool."
Kairi stopped. "What? Were you trying to impress someone?"
Max turned around so that he wasn't facing her. "No. Maybe. Kind of."
Kairi stopped practicing.
"Something wrong?"
"Everyone here just thinks of me as 'Goofy's boy.' I wanted to set myself apart somehow. I didn't want anyone to think I didn't work hard just because my dad is captain of the royal guard. I wanted Roxanne to like me for me, but I'm nothing but a goof. Clumsy, awkward. I choke the second I try talking to her. She probably thinks I'm stupid."
Max cleared his throat.
"Plus, I trained so hard because I really wanted to get out here, go on adventures, see other worlds. You know, test my skills."
Kairi bit her lip, forcing down the questions she had about whoever Roxanne was. She remembered Oswald and how he had been too embarrassed to even namedrop Ortensia. It was better not to hurt Max's feelings.
"So, suppose you got to another world," Kairi giggled, "what would you do there?"
Before Max could answer, there was blast that shook the entire painting. A moment later, Mary popped into the training room and magicked Max and Kairi back out into the castle library. Sitting on the floor, Max and Kairi bounced when yet another powerful quake banged along the walls. Despite the swaying, Mary was not knocked over. Books fell out of the library shelves and the desk screeched along the floor before smashing against the fireplace.
"What's going on? Is it an earthquake?"
"Be calm, Kairi," said Mary as she snapped the library back to normal, "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for these rather intrusive rattles."
Max raised his ear. "It's coming from the garden."
Picking up his swords, Max dashed out of the library with Kairi on his heels.
Running out into the colonnade outside, they saw black clouds puffing out of the topiary castle down below like a sneezing chimney. By the time they reached the castle, the green, leafy doors were thrown open and two small creatures ran out of the smoke, coughing. Max bent down, picked up two chipmunks, and pulled them away from the smoking corridor.
There were footsteps. Max drew his sword and pointed it at the door of the topiary castle. A duck walked out of the smoke. He took off his spectacles and began rubbing them with his singed lab coat.
"Confound it, I vas so close! Perhaps my calculations ver off."
Max lowered his sword. "Professor Von Drake? What were you doing in the gummi hanger?"
One of the chipmunks jumped up and down in Max's palm.
"Messing with things he should not be!"
The other chipmunk sneezed and then rubbed his, big, red nose. "I think we're going to need more then the castle brooms to clean up that mess."
Kairi leaned in to whisper in Max's ear.
"Who are they?"
Max pointed to the chipmunk with the black nose. "That's Chip." He pointed to the bucktoothed, red nosed chipmunk. "And that's Dale. They're the castle's gummi ship engineers."
"And I am Professor Ludvig Von Drake," said the old duck. "Genius scientist. Although, I find myself quite disappointed. Seems as though tinkering with a gummi ship vas more difficult then I first thought."
"Difficult?" Chip growled. "Try catastrophic! You nearly blew the entire gummi hanger sky high!"
Dale covered his ears. "We're going to need Gadget's help to put things back to how they were."
Professor Ludvig Von Drake clenched his fists. "Oh no. I vill not be outdone by that tiny engineer. My science is more then enough to fix the hanger."
The chipmunks rolled their eyes, jumped off Max's hands, and ran back into the topiary castle, which was still smoking.
"Vait! Engineers. So impatient."
Professor Drake vanished down the set of stairs that led underground.
Kairi leaned into the door of the topiary castle. "All this time there was a room down there?"
"Not a room. That's the gummi ship hanger," Max explained.
"Hold on. The gummi ship is down there?"
"Usually it would be, but we haven't seen it since Dad and Donald took it for their mission."
There was a surprised cry. Turning, Kairi spotted Minnie, Daisy and Mary walking toward the castle. Another old duck walked along with them.
Daisy covered her beak. "What happened?"
Mary walked toward the castle, opening her umbrella. A warm breeze of flower petals blew away the smoke obscuring the garden. Once the sky was clear, the old duck walked toward the castle, shaking his head.
"I see Professor Ludvig is as eager as ever. I'm sorry, Majesty Minnie, I had asked him to wait until after I had spoken to you."
"The professor? Oh, that explains much. He's always tinkering with things."
The old duck adjusted the glasses on his bill, squinting at Kairi. "Aye, is this the young lady?"
"Yes, this is our guest, Kairi."
The duck took off his blue top-hat and bowed. "Pleased to meet you, lass."
Daisy cleared her throat. "It seems introductions are in order. Kairi, this is Scrooge McDuck. He is Donald's uncle."
"And the richest duck in the world." Scrooge winked.
Just then, three little ducklings raced out into the garden. Kairi saw a red, blue and green blur as the ducklings ran toward the topiary castle, chatting excitedly, their white feathers ruffling. The sight of them gave Kairi a nostalgic feeling about a jazzy, small town with brick buildings, hidden districts and gizmo shops. Then she realized she had seen those ducklings before, through Sora, back in Traverse Town.
"Wow! What do you think Professor Drake has invented now? Just imagine the engineering wonder," said the duckling in the red T-shit and baseball cap.
"I bet it's some kind of super cool freeze ray," said the duckling wearing an identical shirt and cap, except his were blue.
"Whatever it is, I bet it's going to make Uncle Scrooge even richer. Let's go," waved the duckling in green.
Scrooge McDuck slammed his cane on the ground. "Huey, Dewey, Louie!"
The ducklings flinched. "Yes, Uncle Scrooge?"
"You will not interrupt Professor Drake's work! Come back here."
Hanging their heads, the ducklings lined up behind Scrooge.
Mary reached into her carpet bag and produced one large, crystal, tea table and several matching chairs. Once everyone was seated, Mary treated the ducklings to cake in order keep them distracted. Max went down to the gummi hanger to check on Chip, Dale and Professor Ludvig. Meanwhile, Minnie and Daisy had their meeting with Scrooge.
"Since learning about other worlds, I have been obsessed! I wish to explore, but alas, learning that the worlds are sealed off from each other by impassible walls has halted my plans," Scrooge explained. "So I have hired Professor Ludvig to build me a new ship, one that can travel through the walls of any world."
Kairi leaned forward. "You're going to travel to other worlds?"
Scrooge tapped his fingertips together. "Aye lass, there's business to be done, whole new ventures to set up, and a lot of money to be made in the doing so!"
"Could you take me with you when the ship is complete? I have to find my friends."
"We'd have to finish the ship first. Which is why I wanted this meeting, Majesty. Naturally I can't use the gummi hanger without your permission."
"You have my permission, provided that you use the ship to help search for Mickey, Donald and Goofy as well."
"Of course, Majesty."
"Then it's settled. Thank you, Mr. McDuck."
"Anything for you, Majesty." Scrooge rubbed his temple. "Though, it seems that after today's fiasco, building the ship may take longer then I had hoped. And keeping those three," he pointed to the ducklings with his cane, "out of trouble for one day might take up more of my time then helping Professor Ludvig with the ship."
Kairi stood. "Let me help! I can hang out with the triplets for the day. If I watch them, will you let me come along to other worlds?"
"Doing a favor for a bonnie lass like you? How can I say no?" Scrooge turned away. "Especially after the money you'd be saving me by not having to hire a babysitter."
"What was that?"
"Nothing dear. Boys!"
The triplets glared over their half-eaten dessert.
"That's not fair Uncle Scrooge," Huey slammed his fist on the table.
"Yeah," said his brothers.
"We've already been to another world," Louie stated, "so we should be allowed to go with you."
"I can't have you running around, interfering with Professor Ludvig's work."
"But we can help," Dewey whined.
"None of that. I'm asking you to be on your best behavior today and to show Ms. Kairi here around Duckburg."
Kairi blinked. "Duckburg?"
"It's Donald's and my hometown," Daisy explained. "There's more to this world then just the castle, dear. If fact, we have another town right outside the castle gates."
Max returned from the gummi hanger. "I think Chip and Dale have finally reached an agreement with Professor Von Drake. What's this about Duckburg?"
"I'm going to be spending the day there with Huey, Dewey and Louie."
Scrooge tapped Kairi's shoulder. "Just to be clear, are you sure about this lass? Life can be like a hurricane in Duckburg."
"Yeah, we have race cars," said Huey.
"Lazers," said Dewey.
"Airplanes," said Louie.
"Yeah, I get it," Max huffed. "It's a real duck-blur. Kairi, you're not seriously thinking of doing this are you?"
"It could be fun. I might solve a mystery, or rewrite history."
"You do realize you're talking about babysitting, right?"
"Oh come on. If we watch Scrooge's nephews, then Professor Von Drake can have the freedom to work on the gummi ship and we might be able to travel to other worlds."
"I'm sorry. Did you say just 'we' will be watching the triplets?"
Kairi batted her eyelashes. "Come on, please?"
Max eyed the triplets suspiciously. "You clearly don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"If you help me, I'll give you dating tips."
Max twitched. "What?"
"Admit it, you want to impress some girl, and who better to give you advice," Kairi pointed to herself, "then an actual girl? I can even put in a good word for you."
Max stared at Kairi with his mouth hanging open. His cheeks flushed. Queen Minnie and Daisy looked away as though they didn't see what was happening. Their cheeks were puffed up, barely hiding the giggles that were just begging to escape from their mouths. A faint grin appeared on the corners of Mary's lips before she cleared her throat.
"It's settled then. Please escort the boys to the castle gates."
Huey, Dewey and Louie led the way through the courtyard in front of the castle. They walked on the long, white, marble road while staring at the perfectly trimmed lawn grass and flowerbeds. Kairi looked over her shoulder at the lopsided Disney Castle looming behind them. Next to her, Max marched silently, determined to do his best not to enjoy their babysitting errand.
Up ahead, sitting right in the middle of the wide road was a red seaplane. One look at it and all the color drained from Max's face.
"Oh no. There is no way I'm riding the Sunchaser."
Before he could hightail it back to the castle, Kairi grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the plane.
"Don't be such a wet blanket."
The pilot of the plane hopped out. He was a tall, muscular duck in a red and beige aviator uniform. A tuft of ginger hair stuck out from under his brown helmet and goggles. He waved to Huey, Dewey and Louie.
"Hey boys, heading back to Duckburg already."
"Hey Launchpad," the triplets said sadly. "Uncle Scrooge wants us to stay out of trouble."
"Well, hop on. I'll get us back to McDuck manner in a jiffy."
Kairi hauled Max toward the plane.
"Room for two more?"
Launchpad nodded, putting his hands on his hips proudly. "Of course! Anyone is welcome aboard my plane."
Kairi pushed Max in. He immediately sat down and looped his seat belt around twice before he clicked it into place. He sat still, gritting his teeth, even though the plan hadn't taken off yet. Kairi sat down next to him and looked out the window to watch the propellers spin.
At the pilot seat, Launchpad was pressing buttons. "All right passengers? Here we go."
The engine roared, and Launchpad took off.
Kairi slammed back into her seat. The plane flashed forward, sprinting down the road, straight toward Disney Castle. Kairi and Max screamed, watching the castle getting closer and closer, feeling like flies that were about to smash into a windshield.
The plane dipped upwards, but the castle was still in sight. They barely scrapped by the tallest tower. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Kairi looked out the window and watched the castle disappear from view. They sliced through the clouds. Patches of vibrant, emerald-green hills and the occasional, colorful village appeared below. Either Duckburg was closer then Kairi had thought or Launchpad's plane was able to travel faster then a gummi ship, because, just a few moments later, Kairi had to clutch her seat belt for dear life as the plane began to descend.
The jerky landing made her bounce and she wondered if her head would have smashed against the roof if her seat belt wasn't holding her down.
Finally-thank goodness-the plane stopped.
The triplets whooped. "WOW! We didn't crash this time!"
Kairi swallowed. "This time?"
Launchpad turned around and winked from the pilot's seat. "Here you are lady and gents. McDuck manor. Thank you for flying Launchpad express."
The second the plane doors opened, the triplets raced out. Kairi's legs shook as stepped down from the plane. Max wobbled out behind her, fell on his hands and knees and pressed his forehead to the concrete.
"Solid ground!"
Looking around at McDuck manor, Kairi blinked at the giant, golden money sign that sat on top of one of the red roofs. Somehow, Launched had landed right in the middle of the driveway, between the manor and the fountain. Though not as grandiose as Disney Castle, the manor was a little less lopsided, Kairi still found herself gaping at the mansion.
Huey, Dewey and Louie ran through front door, which was opened for them just in time by a dog in a butler suit. The ducklings completely ignored the old dog as they ran up the stairs behind the foyer.
"Ah, you must be the boys' current babysitters," said the dog when Kairi and Max awkwardly walked in.
"Hello, Duckworth," Max said sadly.
"Master Max," the dog bowed. Then he reached, took Max's swords and hung them on the wall next to the door. Turning to Kairi, he said, "Do you have any weapons, miss?"
Kairi shook her head.
"A pity."
"Huh? Why?"
The butler upturned his nose, his eyes looking down at Kairi. "No reason in particular. The boys' room is upstairs, in the attic."
Kairi followed Max up the stairs to the second floor. When she was sure they safe, she leaned toward Max and whispered.
"Is the butler's name actually Duckworth?"
"Yep."
"He's not secretly hiding webbed feet, is he?"
Max chuckled. "No."
He took a big step over a loose floorboard.
"You seem to know your way around this place."
"I've been here a few times with my dad, whenever Scrooge needed extra security at his manor, though really I was invited along to keep Huey, Dewey and Louie out of trouble."
By this time, they had reached the attic. Taking in a deep breathe, Max opened he door. They were greeted with a rather messy and empty room. An escape rope made out of bed sheets was hanging out of the window.
It was all hands on deck looking for the Huey, Dewey and Louie. Yet even with Duckworth and Launchpad searching every nook and cranny of McDuck manor, and the surrounding area, the triplets were nowhere to be found.
"Nice going, Kairi. You volunteer to look after Scrooge's nephews and what is the first thing you do? Lose 'em." Kairi stopped pacing in the foyer, turning to Max. "You don't think they're already back at the castle do you?"
"Maybe they went to Mr. McDuck's money bin." Launchpad pointed his thumb at his chest. "I can take you there."
It turned out that Scrooge's money bin was a giant tower full of two things: money, and security devices. Even though she was frantic to find the boys, Kairi's jaw dropped when she entered a cavernous room that was much like a water tower. Except, instead of water, there was nothing but a lake of gold and jewels down below. She stood on a walkway that hovered several stories above piles of gold coins. It looked like there was enough to swim in. There was even a diving board at the end of the precarious walkway. Scrooge McDuck hadn't been kidding when he said he was the richest duck in the world. Kairi wondered what he would do if he saw the Cave of Wonders.
After searching the entire bin with Max, and finding nothing, Launchpad called them back to his plane.
"Incoming call from Duckworth," he said, holding up the seaplane's phone.
Kairi pressed the receiver to her ear. "Did you find the Huey, Dewey and Louie?"
"Hello Ms. Kairi, and no, I did not, but given the boys' penchant for getting into trouble, I thought this might interest you. Professor Von Drake has a lab in Duckburg, and security devises detected a break in at one of the secret labs."
"You think it's the boys?"
"Well, they were very upset at the notion of not being able to help Mr. McDuck and Professor Von Drake, so it only seems logical that they may be there."
Thanking Duckworth, Kairi put down the phone.
"Launchpad, do you know where Professor Von Drake's lab is?"
"You bet I do. Strap in."
Max cringed, but sat down in the seat next to Launchpad. After yet another bumpy ride, the plane slammed down in a parking lot next to a tall, white, square building with silver windows. Kairi barged through the main entrance, charging toward the receptionist's counter. The dog receptionist snapped her head up in surprise when Kairi leaned forward and stared at her with wide, twitchy eyes.
"Did you see three ducklings in red, blue and green baseball caps?"
"Mr. McDuck's nephews? Yeah, they asked if they can study in Professor Von Drake's library like half an hour ago."
"Great! Where is it?"
The receptionist brushed her smooth, red hair off her forehead. "Down the hall, to the right." She looked over Kairi's shoulder, and a heavy blush appeared across her cheeks and over her brown nose. She waved timidly.
"Hi Max."
Kairi turned around and noticed that Max was completely frozen, standing in the middle of the room as though his feet were stuck there.
"H-hi, Roxanne. What are you doing here?"
"Mr. McDuck needed help keeping an eye on things while he and Professor Von Drake are out of town, so I volunteered. How are you?"
"Fine. I'm good. I'm great. Babysitting the triplets for Mr. McDuck. You know, trying to help out."
Roxanne's neck disappeared as she raised her shoulders. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "That's really nice of you. I bet Huey, Dewey and Louie like having a knight as a babysitter."
"Yeah, nice, right, knight, babysitting."
Roxanne giggled.
Max chuckled.
The laughter went on until Max let out a sound that sounded a lot like "ah-yuck." He quickly covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes wide. The spell was broken. Roxanne was staring at Max with a confused look. As if to say, "help me," Max looked at Kairi.
Roxanne turned her head and cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry, I totally forgot about you. Did you need any other help?"
Kairi, who by this time was leaning forward with her elbows on the counter and her chin in her palms, grinned. "Oh no, I'm good. So," she grinned, "you're Roxanne."
"Um, yes."
"You know, Max talks about you a lot."
"He does." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask your name."
"Kairi. Max is my sword instructor. He's a really good teacher."
Roxanne lifted an eyebrow. "Really?"
Max slapped his palm to his forehead.
"Yeah. His sword skills are amazing. You should come by the castle some time and-"
Max grabbed Kairi's shoulders and pushed her away from the receptionist counter. "Okay, it was really nice seeing you Roxanne. And Kairi," he spoke through clenched teeth, "we have ducks we should be babysitting, remember?"
While Max pushed her toward the library, Kairi looked over her shoulder. Roxanne leaned forward on the counter and sighed sadly. Once they were out of earshot, Kairi pulled away from Max and huffed.
"Why'd you do that? Things were going so well! I was about to tell her to come have lunch with you."
Max looked down at the floor. "This was a bad idea. I blew it. I got her laughing and then what did I do? I choked."
"I don't think so. I think she was having fun. We should go back there and-"
Once again they were interrupted. The building shook. Dust fluttered down from the ceiling. Kairi was sure she heard the distant wailing of Huey, Dewey and Louie. Max broke off at a run down the hall.
He threw open the library door. Kairi ran in right behind him, already gathering magic in case of attack, but the library was empty. One of the bookshelves had been pulled forward from the wall, revealing a secret passageway behind it. A set of stairs led down to a dark basement below. Max and Kairi went down the steps.
A steel door, with the words "For Authorized Personnel Only" waited for Kairi and Max at the bottom of the stairs. They turned the bolted wheel on the door and entered into a massive underground lab. Turned over tables full of broken chemistry beakers, test tubes, thermometers, and burners littered one corner of the room. Wires were tangled all over the floor, and there were electrical panels hanging from the walls like snapped tree branches.
Electricity sparked the ceiling from the broken light bulbs. Kairi spotted Huey, Dewey and Louie cowering on the scaffolding up above. They pointed.
"Look out!"
Something stomped toward Max and Kairi from the corner of the room. Light flashed from the broken electrical wires, giving Kairi a brief glimpse of a giant fist. It reached out and grabbed her. She was lifted up into the air and held up in front of the huge, bulbous chin of a rather fat, angry looking, black cat.
A growl, and fish breathe, blew Kairi's red bangs away from her face. She covered her mouth to keep from the contents of her stomach on the inside, and got a good look at the pair of fangs that stuck out from under the cat's bottom lip. The cat narrowed its bloodshot eyes at her and then shook its head violently as water balloons from above smacked his face and neck.
"Up here, you big, ugly, Franken-kitty!" Dewey screamed as he tossed the balloons.
Huey and Louie blew raspberries.
Down below, Max sliced the creature's ankles.
Roaring, the creature loosened his fingers and Kairi dropped to the floor. She had to jump out of the way to avoid getting squashed when the cat's behind flopped down onto the ground.
"What are you doing?" Max snapped at the ducklings. "You can't beat that thing with balloons! Run!"
The cat was angry now. He got back up onto his feet and began a set of furious punches at Max and Kairi. Ducking under the attacks, Kairi ran between the creature's legs. Once she was behind it, she shouted.
"Thundara!"
Lightning shot the creature right between its massive shoulder blades. From above, Dewey and Louie cheered.
"She can do magic!"
"It's just like Uncle Donald!"
"Do it again!"
Their excitement drew the fat cat's attention. He turned around and reached up toward the scaffolding.
"Oh no you don't!"
Max sliced at the cat's calf and the cat's knee bent, shaking the entire lab and the scaffolding above. Huey, Dewey and Louie slipped off the metal sheet they had been standing on. Their webbed feet dangled in the air. From its seated position on the floor, the cat swatted at them.
Kairi jumped onto the cat's peg leg and climbed up his rags till she was on his shoulder. Snarling, the cat slammed his beefy hand on her. Protecting herself with a reflect spell, Kairi watched the creature's sausage fingers wrap around the magic glass. She was thrown like a baseball up toward the scaffolding.
Seconds away from smashing into Huey, Dewey and Louie, Kairi dropped her shield, and managed to grab Louie's feet. Now the four them were dangling from the scaffolding.
Max called from below. "Hey, you big, ugly brute! Down here!"
He poked the cat's behind with his swords. The cat roared, turned around on its hands and knees and began crawling after Max.
Kairi watched, horrified as the cat slammed its massive paw on the ground, making Max trip. While he was down, the cat swiped at him and Max went flying.
"Oh no! Huey, let go the scaffolding."
"Are you crazy?"
"Trust me! I can do magic, remember? Just don't let go of each other."
"No, don't do it!" Louie begged.
"Do it, do it, do it!" Dewey sang.
Huey closed his eyes and let go. They fell, and Kairi pulled the triplets close. They bounced on the floor in a reflect spell and then rolled toward the door.
Releasing the spell, Kairi wasted no time on being dizzy. Even as the ground rose up and down beneath her feet, she pushed the ducklings toward the stairs.
"Get out of here! Go to Launchpad."
"But-"
Kairi pinned each of them with a glower, pointing toward the exit. "Don't you argue with me! March!"
"Yes ma'am."
The boys scrambled up the stairs. Once she was sure they were not coming back, Kairi turned back toward the cat. Max was caught in the cat's fist and he was being squeezed like a stress toy.
Kairi grabbed the electrical wires off the floor and wound them around the creature's legs. Max's swords glinted be the cat's them up, Kairi poked the cat's thick thighs.
Roaring, he stumbled backward, tripping over the wires. Max flew out of the creature's hands and landed in a heap on the broken chemistry glass. Running to him, Kairi covered her mouth when she saw the all dents and scratches in his armor. Max groaned, his eyes squeezed shut, purple bruises glowing on his face.
The creature wriggled behind them, shaking the lab whenever he thrashed. Tangled up in wires, his growls only grew more ferocious as he tried to free himself.
Kairi put Max's arm over her shoulders, pulling him up.
"Just go." Max coughed. "I'll slow you down."
"No way!"
Huffing and puffing with the effort, Kairi dragged Max out of the room and toward the stairs. Behind them, the creature had turned over on its stomach and was inch worming after them. Sweat dripped off of Kairi's cheeks. The ground behind her shook as the cat's jaw slammed down inches away from Max's legs.
The creature roared and the blast of air from its breath pushed Kairi off her feet. Desperate, she cast a reflect spell. She rolled in the magic ball with Max, right through the door. The spell broke and Kairi jumped, bolting the door shut just as the cat slammed into it from the other side.
Safe, Kairi hoisted Max up the stairs.
"Why'd you have to take that big brute on by yourself?"
"What was I supposed to do?" Max heaved. "Let that thing get you and the triplets?"
"This is all my fault! You were right! I didn't know what I was getting into."
"I was talking more about taking care of a punch of hyperactive kids. Neither of us expected to take on a giant, Frankenstein cat."
"But you took such a beating! I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. That was an awesome challenge."
"Don't try to make me feel better. If only I could just cure you or something!"
Max glowed a light, green color, the scratches on his skin fading. Blinking, he put weight on one of his legs and leaned away from Kairi.
"Wow. What did you just do? I feel better."
The minty glow faded from Max's black fur.
"I don't know. I just really really wanted you to be okay, and I-" Kairi stared down at her hands. "Max, can I try something?"
He nodded.
"Okay."
Kairi closed her eyes, thinking back to her training sessions with Minnie and Daisy.
Minnie's voice echoed in her head. "The key to light magic is to give your hopes, faith, and trust a form. If you can focus on those feelings, channel them into magic, then you can command the light inside you. What makes light magic hard to master is that there are no spells. You trust in the light inside you and let it do the rest. Healing magic is the easiest. It's just one type of light given form."
Hope.
Helping others.
Trust.
Protection.
Kairi concentrated.
Max had watched her back, had agreed to help her with the ducklings even though he really hadn't wanted to. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his chest.
"Cure."
Green leaves sprinkled over Max's head. Max stretched his bad leg and straightened.
Breathing in deep, Kairi casted the spell one more time, and Max was able to hop from one foot to the other, completely back to normal.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. If it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened with that mad scientist's experiment back there."
To Kairi and Max's surprise, Ludvig Von Drake, Scrooge McDuck, Roxanne and the triplets were waiting for them up in the library.
Roxanne covered her mouth at the site of Max's banged up armor. She ran to him and began inspecting him for injuries.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm, I'm, uh, f-fine."
"Are you sure? You're armor looks like you just went through a food processor."
"I'm okay, really. You should see the other guy."
Roxanne gave him a cute smile.
Max's face blazed. Awkwardly, he stepped away from her and faced Professor Von Drake and Scrooge.
"What are all of you doing here?"
Scrooge glared at the triplets, who covered their faces in response.
"Once these three came running out of the secret lab, this smart lass," he gestured to Roxanne, "had the sense to call us for help. What happened down there?"
"We fought some sort of giant, cat, monster, experiment, thing."
Professor Von Drake's eyes widened. "Vat have you done? You voke Julius? I'm still in the middle of teaching him! He's not ready to meet regular people. You three, vat do you have to say for yourselves!"
The triplets hung their heads. "We're sorry, Professor."
"Vy vere you in my secret lab? There are things in there that are highly dangerous! Now I'll have to coax Julius out of the sewers again! Do you know how long it took for him to trust me? Move out of my vay!"
Professor Von Drake disappeared down the staircase toward the underground lab. Now it was Scrooge's turn to scold the triplets.
"Curse me kilts. I can't turn my back on you three for a second. It's a good thing Max and Kairi were there, otherwise who knows what might have happened."
Huey, Dewey and Louie, their eyes shining, apologized. "Thanks for saving us. That was some magic. And Max, we promise not to run away again."
Max poked each boy on the forehead. "I'm just glad you guys weren't hurt. I really need to apologize to my dad one of these days. Keeping kids out of trouble is not easy."
Scrooge hugged each of the boys, but then stood with his hands behind his back. "You three are grounded for three days. That will give me and Ludvig some time to fix this mess. No fun, no games, just studying in your rooms and helping Duckworth around the house."
The boys' looked defeated.
"And, if you prove you can behave for three days straight, I'll let you help me and the professor on the gummi ship."
The boys brightened.
"But no funny business. Understand? You will do what you're told and stay out of danger."
Huey folded his hands in front of his bill. "Really, Uncle Scrooge?"
Dewey held his breathe. "You mean it?"
Louie crossed his fingers.
"Yes. Now go wait with Launchpad by the plane."
When the triplets left, Scrooge turned to Max and Kairi.
"Thank you for keeping my nephews safe. Now if you'll excuse me."
He went down the stairs to the lab, leaving Kairi, Max and Roxanne all alone. The two dogs looked at each other and then turned their faces away. Max scratched the back of his head, while Roxanne began rubbing her arms. Huffing, Kairi grabbed Max's arm and pulled him to a corner of the room.
"Why are just standing around? Go talk to her."
"What if I end up letting out another 'ah-yuck?' She'll think I'm nothing but a goof."
Kairi put her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with being a goof? I didn't get to spend that much time with your dad but I did see him through my friend's eyes. Your dad is loyal, brave and kind, just like you. Any girl would be crazy not to like a person like that. I should know, because Sora is exactly like-"
Kairi pressed her lips together. Taking a deep breathe, she positioned Max so that he faced Roxanne. "Look. Just be yourself. If she really likes you, she'll accept you for who you are."
Max swallowed. Turning he walked over and tapped Roxanne on the shoulder.
"Hey, um, thanks for calling Scrooge and Professor Von Drake here."
Roxane twirled a tuft of hair around her finger. "It was nothing really. I knew something was wrong when the building started shaking."
"No, it wasn't nothing. You're s-so smart and you really care about other people. I mean I see you in town sometimes and you're always helping someone out."
Roxanne bit her lip, even though her cheeks were raised in a smile. "And you're really brave. I've seen you patrolling and breaking up fights sometimes."
Max was so red, it was a wonder he didn't blast off like a rocket ship. He turned to look at Kairi and she gave him a double thumbs up and mouthed, "keep going."
"S-so, would you ever want to, I mean, um."
Roxanne leaned toward him. "Yes?"
"Would you want to come to the castle for tea sometime?"
"I'd love to."
"I mean if you say you no, I'll completely understand and-" Max blinked. "Wait? Seriously?"
Roxanne giggled. "Of course."
"Excuse me for a second."
Max ran out of the room, flashing by Kairi so fast that her hair puffed up.
Outside the door, Max screamed. "Ayuck! Yes! She said yes!"
Kairi winked at Roxanne. "Nicely done."
Three days later, Max and Kairi entered McDuck manor and caught the boys in the kitchen, stacking a triple-decker bologna sandwich.
Kairi tangled her fingers in her hair. "What a mess!"
Broken eggs covered the floor in yellow and clear slime, ketchup and mustard stained the cabinets, the refrigerator's contents had had a rockslide, and the garbage was turned over, spilling its stinky guts all over the tiles.
Max's nearly slipped on a dirty frying pan. "Why do you need pots and pans to make a sandwich?"
Kairi carefully moved around to the table, where the triplets munched on the messiest looking sandwiches Kairi had ever seen. And here she thought she was a bad cook. She snatched their meal out of their hands.
"No one's taking another bite until this place is clean."
"The lady's correct, Master Huey, Dewey and Louie."
Kairi jumped when Duckworth magically appeared next to her elbow. If she didn't know any better, she would say the butler was a ghost. Duckworth picked up the boys by the backs of their shirts and held them in midair. He placed Huey in front of the sink, Dewey by the trash and Louie by the refrigerator.
"If the young masters want to help Mr. McDuck, they will scrub this place spotless."
The ducklings mumbled under their breathe but did their chores nonetheless. Duckworth shoved a mop and broom into Kairi and Max's hands.
"What?" Max protested. "I didn't make this mess."
"Save the excuses Master Max."
Now it was Max's turn to grumble as he swept up the broken dishes. Once the food, garbage and broken plates were cleaned from the floor, Kairi washed away the filth from the cabinets with a water spell. Then she began mopping.
"Wow," said the Dewey and Louie from their spot on the counter. "I miss Uncle Donald."
Huey stopped soaping the dishes for just a moment to stare. Feeling a little excited, and wanting to show off, Kairi waited until the magical water vanished before she blasted Huey's soapy dishes with another spell.
"Cool! Thanks." Huey jumped off his high chair. Too bad Duckworth put him back up there in the next second.
"And just who's going to dry and put those dishes away?"
The hard work tired out the triplets. Once the kitchen was clean, they actually sat on the floor of the foyer without moving. In fact, they stared at Kairi with wide eyes for so long that Max leaned toward her and whispered.
"What did you do them? I've never seen them sit still for this long."
"I didn't do anything."
"What kind of spells can you do?" Louie asked.
"All kinds. I just learned healing magic."
Huey tapped his bill thoughtfully. "I wonder if we'll run into Uncle Donald once Uncle Scrooge and the professor finish building the gummi ship."
"I sure hope Uncle Donald is okay."
There was a knock on the door and Duckworth emerged out of nowhere to answer it. A moment later, Professor Von Drake walked in. Chip, Dale, and a tiny, white mouse with blond hair, sat on the professor's shoulders.
"Hello, Duckworth. Ver the boys behaving like they should be?"
"Quite well sir. I should say I'm thoroughly surprised."
Chip, Dale and the mouse jumped off the professor's shoulders and lined up in front of the ducklings.
"It looks as though you three are cleared to help out," said Chip.
"And perfect timing too. Our friend here already has a task for you," said Dale, gesturing to the cute, white mouse in the violet jumpsuit.
The mouse waved. "Hi, I'm Gadget. And from now until the ship is completed, you three are going to do exactly as I say. Let's go make a spaceship."
Jiminy's Journal
Professor Ludvig Von Drake (First Appeared in An Adventure in Color, 1961): An expert in all things science, Professor Von Drake tends to be a little over eager and easily distracted whenever he's on a task. Still, he is a genius and possibly the best person to make a new gummi ship for Scrooge's money making schemes. Let's just hope the gummi ship he makes can only breaks through the walls keeping worlds apart and not through anything else.
Chip and Dale (First Appeared in Private Pluto, 1943): The castle's gummi ship engineers. Chip is the more clever of the two, though he can also have a bit of a temper at times. Dale, on the other hand, tends to be more lazy and laid back, balancing out his brother. Both chipmunks can be a little hyperactive, but one thing is for sure: no one messes with their gummi ship hanger.
Scrooge McDuck (First Appeared in The Spirit of '43): Smarter then the smarties and tougher then the toughies, he is the richest duck in the world. Scrooge McDuck may be elderly, but he's a quick witted, clever businessman that can smell profit a mile away. Despite his savvy money making skills, he's also rather cheap. Even though he's often caught scolding the boys for their mischief, he loves his triplet nephews dearly, and is willing to let them join him on adventures, provided they behave.
Huey, Dewey and Louie (First Appeared in Donald's Nephews, 1938): Rambunctious triplets that have a knack for getting into trouble. Huey, the triplet in red, is the oldest and tends to be the most responsible of his brothers. Dewey wears blue and is possibly the most adventurous and daring out of the three. And finally, Louie, in green, is the sneakiest out of the trio. They're eager to prove themselves to their uncle, Scrooge, and probably go out into the worlds to look for Donald, though they won't admit it.
Launchpad McQuack (First Appeared in The Treasure of the Golden Suns, 1987): Launchpad is a pilot. It's his job to fly Scrooge and the triplets around in his red seaplane, the Sunchaser, whenever the family goes on adventures or needs a quick lift to Disney Castle. Though Launchpad is friendly and loyal to Scrooge and the boys, his flying skills need some serious work, as he is more likely to crash his plane rather then landing it.
Duckworth (First Appeared in DuckTales, 1987): The butler that makes sure Scrooge's manor is up to snuff. He has the uncanny ability to appear when you least expect him. He's dry wit and low tolerance for nonsense helps to keep the triplets in line.
Roxanne (First Appeared in A Goofy Movie, 1992): A caring and friendly young lady that's always willing to lend a helping hand to the people in Duckburg and Disneytown. She's a little on the shy side, but she's not afraid to take a chance if the opportunity presents itself. Her crush on Max is obvious to everyone but him. Thankfully Kairi was there to give the two of them a little push.
Julius (First Appeared in Runaway Brain, 1995): A large monster created by an unknown mad scientist. Julius is a big brute that doesn't understand anything other then stomping around in an angry tirade. Professor Von Drake seems to have befriended him and believes he can teach Julius how to be around regular people, but that doesn't seem like it's going to happen any time soon.
