Thicker Than Water
Chapter 16
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Magica's cackling echoed throughout the massive lair. The air was thick and warm, reminding them all that they were inside a volcano. Even the lighting in the room seemed to have a red hue; likely given off from the torches that lit up the room around its perimeter.
Scrooge was torn between glaring at Magica and keeping his gaze on Fenton, who was still unconscious. Launchpad was looking around nervously at the room and Bushroot was still curled up in a terrified ball in the center of his own cage.
Darkwing grumbled darkly at the mess they were in. The hero inside him didn't like all this inactivity. He stood up and stepped up to the bars of his cage and wrapped his fists around them. "You'll never get away with this!" he shouted at Magica.
The enchantress turned her dark eyes on him and gave him a knowing smirk, however, it was not Magica who replied to Darkwing's empty threat.
"Really, Darkwing!?" came a deep mocking voice from the shadows. "Is that REALLY the best you can come up with!? One of the most cliche and predictable hero lines ever uttered!?"
Everyone's eyes turned to the voice as Negaduck stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself. The yellow clad villain had a smug expression of his face as he took in the sight of all their prisoners.
"Negaduck!" hissed Darkwing.
Negaduck spread his arms out and gestured to himself before giving a small bow. "The one and only." He straightened up and began sauntering over towards Magica's cauldron. "I must say, it's been quite entertaining watching you get kidnapped." He stepped over to Bushroot's cage and sneered down at the mutant. "Especially watching YOU get kidnapped, Bush-Brain! I see you managed to turn yourself back into a mutant after what that serum did to you. Pathetic!"
Scowling up at his former boss, Bushroot felt an uncharacteristic urge of bravery and stood up.. "Oh, yeah!? You're not so tough, hiding behind Magica to do your dirty work!" He raised his arms as he summoned his faithful plants. "Just wait until my plants get a hold of you!"
He waited for vines to come forth from the ground but nothing happened. Bushroot looked down at the dirt floor in confusion and tried summoning them again with his arms. He then listened carefully, seeing if he could hear his beloved plants. He hadn't noticed that he couldn't hear them whispering to him. He continued to try speaking to them telepathically and just when he thought his ability to hear his plants had been taken away again, he heard the faintest of tiny voices; all of them apologizing for being unable to help him. Shocked by this revelation, Bushroot turned to look up fearfully at Negaduck before turning his gaze to Magica.
"Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!" cackled Magica. "You finally noticed! I may not have taken your ability to talk to plants away, but I did enchant this room to make it impossible for them to come and save you! Heh heh!"
Negaduck chuckled and crossed his arms in a victorious manner at Bushroot's dismay.
Frustrated, Bushroot stomped one of his root-like feet down on the ground. "Would you people stop messing with my abilities! First you un-mutate me-Keeping me from hearing them at all-Now you're messing with my powers to control them!" He grunted angrily before continuing. He stuttered slightly in his annoyance. "W-what did I ever do to you, huh!? Before all this I-I'd never even MET you!"
Magica shrugged at his question as she began to stir her potion with a long stirring spoon. "I needed mutated blood for this ritual. Mutated blood that was turned pure. It took me years to crack the code and to find right ingredients for your cure!" She pointed an accusing finger at Bushroot. "You gave me biggest headache of all! Thankfully your little pet tree helped me understand your mutation better!"
Bushroot frowned. "'My little pet tree!?'"
Magica nodded. "Yes! Several years ago I began researching you. I thought about capturing you to study you myself, but I did not want to raise any suspicion." She turned to glare at Scrooge for a moment before moving on. "I could not risk McDuck having ANY clue as to my plans! So I decided to mess with your faithful tree. Did you not wonder why your tree friend suddenly became more intelligent than your other plants?"
Bushroot's eyes widened. "Dandren! You're talking about Dandren!"
"Ahh, yes! That was the name you had given that large oak tree!"
Bushroot slowly put the pieces together. "You...You were the reason Dandren became uncontrollable! You were the reason I found that purple substance after he...after he died!"
Magica nodded, unabashed by her past behavior. "Indeed, little mutant! I messed with your little pet and got the right information I needed! Poe was also sure to snatch a few of your petals away for me to analyze!" She gestured up to her brother who was perched above the table full of blood phials.
Poe spread out his wings and crowed, "Yep! That was me!"
Bushroot's blue eyes turned up to the raven as his memory brought up the image of himself before plucked at before watching a black raven with a little yellow hat on its head fly away. "That was you! I remember you!"
Magica and Poe simply laughed in their triumph.
Bushroot, however, was far from happy. "You're the ones who killed Dandren! I lost my dear friend because of you! I will never forgive you for this!" He vowed in hurt and anger.
"Ooh, such strong words for weak little mutant!" mocked Magica.
"All these years I had thought I had failed Dandren! I was never able to understand why he turned against me the way he did! I blamed myself but it was YOU all this time!" groaned Bushroot in frustration.
Magica shrugged her shoulders. "Not my problem, flower boy!"
On the other side of the room, as Magica and Bushroot spoke, Fenton's breathing grew heavier as consciousness slowly came back to the accountant. His fingers twitched where they were lying in the dirt and slowly the accountant felt himself awaken. He shuffled his legs as he grunted and tried to sit up. His body was shaking from the tremors he'd been suffering from for days now. He still felt as weak as a newborn kitten and now he was awake and quite confused.
"Fenton!" cried out a worried Scrooge from the cage beside him.
Rubbing at his eyes, Fenton turned to see a very worried Scrooge inside a cage outside his own. With a start, Fenton cried out, "W-Where are we!?" He looked around, taking in the sight of cavernous room and all its cages and prisoners. "Cheese and crackers! Have I slept through all this!?"
"Quiet!" hissed Scrooge. He checked to make sure Fenton hadn't drawn the attention of Magica or anyone else, but thankfully they were still having a conversation with Bushroot. He turned back to his young paramour. "Yeh've been unconscious, treasure! Magica has captured us all and I'm afraid she's about t'start the ritual!"
Fenton squeaked in alarm. "Where's everyone else!?"
"Back on the ship! She didn't take all of us in!" supplied Scrooge in explanation. "Just those of us she needs fer the ritual!"
The conversation with Bushroot must have come to an end, for now Magica turned her attention to Scrooge and Fenton. "Ahh! The little accountant woke up after all! I wasn't sure if you would! I'm sure you can feel the effects of the potion!"
Fenton's arms, which he was using to keep himself in a sitting position, nearly gave out from the immense trembles that were shaking through his body. "Understatement of the year!" declared Fenton.
Darkwing, who had yet to take his eyes off of a gloating Negaduck, couldn't keep back the question he'd been dying to ask. "What do YOU get out of all this, Negs!? Is Magica your new sweetheart or something?"
Negaduck scowled at the idea of dating Magica. "Ugh, that's disgusting! Don't you dare even think that again! Yuck!"
"Then you're just in it for the thrills?" scoffed Darkwing.
"I'm doing this because Magica promised me that the moment this stupid ritual is over with and you're no longer a part of it, I get the honor of killing you myself!" explained Negaduck.
Darkwing frowned. "Kill me?" he echoed his doppelganger's words. He looked around until his eyes met Scrooge. He spoke as though he was clarifying what he had been told by Morgana. "Wait, weren't we told that our lives are tied to the ritual?"
Scrooge nodded. That is what they had been told. Morgana had explained it that way. This was a sacrificial ritual. Meaning lives needed to be sacrificed after their blood was given for the potion.
At the silent confirmation, Darkwing turned back to acknowledge Negaduck. "Aren't you aware!? According to what we know, none of us are surviving this ritual!"
Five pairs of eyes all looked to Negaduck, waiting to see what he was going to say. Negaduck, for his part, tried to hide his confusion and uncertainty by looking away. His eyes sought out Magica, who was watching all this with a knowing smirk.
Furiously, Negaduck snapped, "What the hell!? Is this true!? You promised me I'D be the one to kill Darkwing! That's the whole reason I even helped you to begin with!"
Magica batted her eyelashes at him innocently. "Oh? Is that what you think I said?"
Negaduck didn't answer, instead he just turned to fully face her and growled. His hands formed fists on both sides. "What all haven't you told me!?"
Magica looked around with a confident laugh. "Did you REALLY think it would be all that simple, dah'ling? Of COURSE the ritual was going to kill them all! Did you really think I would go through with such an elaborate plan that didn't end with ol' Scroogey dying at my hands!?"
"So what are you saying!?" demanded Negaduck. "Why bring me into this then!?"
"Hmm...Why indeed?" hummed Magica thoughtfully. She sighed and rested her cheek on one of her hands. With her other arm, she waved it upwards and sent a swirl of magic towards Negaduck.
The magic flew through the air like a strong wind. It was aimed right at Negaduck, who was sent flying backwards into the wall with a yell of surprise. Negaduck hit the wall with his back in a shout of pain. He was several feet above the ground in the open empty space between the circle of cages. As soon as his back hit the wall, thick metal bars rose from the ground and immediately formed another cage that was identical to the other ones throughout the room.
Negaduck cracked his eyes open just in time for a sharp pain to form in his left hand. The same place Darkwing had stabbed a knife through his hand, a new fresh and identical wound was forming. Blood began to pour out of the wound and just underneath his hand, a glass phial appeared and collecting all the dripping blood.
"What are you doing!?" shouted Negaduck.
"Gathering the last blood I need for the ritual, dah'ling!"
"WHAT!?"
"You are my sixth and final victim, Negaduck! I need the blood of the doppelganger and the blood of someone who has been betrayed! You are Darkwing's doppelganger and I am now betraying you after getting you to think we were on the same team!"
"YOU BITCH! YOU STUPID BITCH! YOU TRICKED ME!" roared Negaduck as he tried to push himself off the wall and away from the magic that was cutting through his hand.
Magica simply laughed at his anger. "Sorry, dah'ling! But it was simply too good to pass up! I could have found someone else to betray, but I made it simpler and made you the provider for both types of blood!"
"You could have betrayed ANYONE! You could have used Darkwing's blood for the doppelganger! He's MY doppelganger too after all, just like I am his!"
Magica pointed a finger at him. "WRONG! Darkwing is not YOUR doppelganger! You are HIS! This is HIS world! This is the dimension HE was born in! NOT you! In the Negaverse, yes, he is YOUR doppelganger, but here, you are HIS!"
Negaduck only shouted unintelligibly in his fury. After several long moments, the phial was filled with his blood and with a poof of magic it disappeared, only to reappear in Magica's hand a second later. The magic holding Negaduck up against the wall fell away, causing the angry mallard to fall roughly to the ground. He grunted in pain, his hand still bleeding heavily from the wound. Magica had healed his hand when he busted him out of prison and now she had gone and given him the exact same hand wound Darkwing had given him!
Inside their own cages, Bushroot and Darkwing were both watching smugly as their enemy was caught and tortured.
"How's it feel to be caged, Negsy!?" jeered Darkwing.
"Now so fun when you're on the other side of the bars, is it, Negaduck!?" taunted Bushroot.
Negaduck glared back and forth at both of them since they were on opposite sides of the room. "I will murder the both of you personally!"
Magica cackled loudly. "Not before I sacrifice you all for the Midas Touch!"
Darkwing, Bushroot, Launchpad, Scrooge, Fenton, and Negaduck, all watched warily as Magica walked over to the table of blood phials. She set her newest one of Negaduck's blood on the stand with the rest. She glanced up at them all. "Let's begin!"
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Outside the volcano, dark clouds began to billow and build up throughout the sky. The wind began to blow stronger as the waves grew larger and strengthened in ferocity. The naval ship began to rock back and forth from the intense waves.
However, the weather was one of the last things on everyone's minds as they were surrounded by Eggheads.
Steelbeak, who still hand a hand tightly holding Gyro's hair and keeping him from running, laughed at everyone's attempts to prepare themselves for an attack. "Yous lot are hilarious! Yous is terribly outnumbered!" He boasted. "Even with the help of the remainin' Fearsome Four, yous lot are no match!"
Donald growled darkly under his breath as he rolled up the sleeves of his sailor uniform. "You let go of my boys right now!" he shouted.
Steelbeak raised an eyebrow at him. "Any o' yous understand a word he said!?" he asked his Eggheads. They all shook their heads.
"Confused? Uncertain? Having hearing problems!?" began Liquidator. "That's just fine! Have the Liquidator clear it up for you!" He took his liquid body and used it to throw three separate jets of water towards the three Eggheads who were holding Huey, Dewey, and Louie hostage. "He said to let his boys go!"
The Eggheads shouted in panic and pain as the water blasts attacked them. Liquidator had made sure to hit the three Eggheads directly and not hit the boys, who all cried out in alarm. The Eggheads had released their hold on the triplets once they got hit and the three brothers were able to fall to the ground without getting hit.
"BOYS!" cried out Donald.
"Unca Donald!" they all replied back. They quickly stood up and ran over to their uncle.
Donald then turned his head to Liquidator and said, "Thank you!"
Liquidator nodded with a smirk. "The Liquidator is many things though a child abuser is not one of them! I do not believe in harming young children!"
"Oh, really?" huffed Gosalyn with an un-amused frown. "Pretty sure you've attacked me once or twice!"
Liquidator turned to her with a bubbly laugh. "Most likely because you insist on hanging around that purple caped do-gooder!"
Megavolt, who's eyes never left Steelbeak and his new friend Gyro, raised his hands in front of them and rubbed them together. Electricity began to flicker between his hands. "Alright, Steely, it's time for you to hand over-" He paused.
Gyro and Steelbeak both frowned in confusion at his hesitance.
Megavolt, uncertain, turned to the one person who usually had his back whenever his memory failed him. He leaned over towards Quackerjack, who was only a few feet away from him. "Ummm...What's his name again?"
Quackerjack rolled his eyes. "You really expect ME to remember the name of your new boo!?"
"My new what!?"
"Your new boo!"
Steelbeak had heard enough. "Ugh, this is ridiculous! Go on, Eggheads! Scramble 'em!" He tightened his hold on Gyro's hair, causing the inventor to let out a small whimper. This gained the rooster's attention. He moved his head so that his metal beak was next to Gyro's ear. "Why don't yous relax, doll face? Yous ain't goin' nowhere."
The Eggheads did as they were told and began swarming Quackerjack and Megavolt.
"Oh, nice going, Sparky!" jeered the jester. "You went and made us targets!"
"Don't call me SPARKY!" screamed Megavolt before shooting numerous shots of electricity at the oncoming Eggheads.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie all turned to look up at their uncle. "Come on, Unca Donald! We can take these guys!" cheered Dewey confidently.
Donald glanced down at his nephews worriedly. "Boys, this is serious! This isn't like the adventures you go on with your Uncle Scrooge! This is dangerous!"
Huey nodded. "Yeah! We know! So are most of the adventures we've been on with Unca Scrooge! We've got this!" Huey assured him. He whirled around and began to step forward when Donald grabbed Huey tightly by the arm.
"Huey!" he scolded.
Louie rested a hand on his uncle's arm, a gentle smile on his beak. "At least this time you're here to keep us safe!"
Donald paused at the comment. That was true. Donald may be known for his bad luck and for being prone to accidents, but he was also known for his infamous temper.
Seeing the fire in their uncle's eyes, Huey, Dewey, and Louie smirked at one another.
"Now let's go show them not to mess with the Ducks!" declared Dewey.
With a newfound determination he didn't have a moment ago, Donald stepped forward, gentle guiding his nephews to stand behind him. Rolling up his sleeves once more, Donald glared out at the opposing Eggheads.
One of the taller and burlier Eggheads stepped up to Donald first, moving his arm back to throw the first punch, but Donald's anger was already at its peak and the Egghead didn't stand a chance. Quicker than lightning, Donald moved out the Egghead's sight and off to his left, kicking him hard in the left thigh. The Egghead cried out in pain and leaned over in that direction as Donald ran around him and attacked him from the other side. The Egghead was then attacked in numerous places in the span of a few seconds, having no chance to react save for crying out in pain. Then suddenly Donald was climbing up on the Egghead's back and leaning over his shoulder until the sailor was able to punch him on the right side of the face.
With a heavy and loud grown, the Egghead fell to the ground with a thud as Donald hopped off him. The Egghead was out for the count.
"Wooh! Way to go, Unca Donald!" crowed the triplets as they watched with pride and excitement.
Steelbeak, who had watched the whole this with wide eyes, took a step back in shock. This caused Gyro took take a step back with him, since he was still his prisoner. "Why is it I's always get stuck with the crazy ones!? Bad enough I's gotta deal with most of the Fearsome Four!"
"Yeah, and THIS member is ready to fry some F.O.W.L...pun intended!" came the nasally voice of Megavolt from behind the two of them. Steelbeak spun both himself and Gyro around to find no one there. Instead, there was a little toy soldier.
Steelbeak frowned down at the toy before looking around. He adjusted his head on Gyro, grabbing the back of the inventor's shirt collar so that he was no longer holding him by his hair. Gyro sighed a small whimper of relief as the pain of his hair feathers being pulled lessened.
"Show yourself yous dumb clown!" shouted Steelbeak.
The sound of Quackerjack gasping dramatically filled the air. "Excuuuuuse me!" came the jester's voice.
Steelbeak took a step back, his eyes still scanning the area. He let out a shout of pain when something punched him square in the back and set him flying forward into the door frame that led into the Mess Hall. The moment he was hit, Steelbeak had released Gyro, who quickly jumped out of the way.
Gyro fell to the floor, immediately scrambling to get as far away from the rooster as possible. He squeaked in surprise when Megavolt stepped up next to him and offered him a hand. Gyro gave a small smile as he took the offered hand and allowed Megavolt to help him stand back up.
Quackerjack appeared on the other side of Megavolt, his wild eyes never leaving Steelbeak's prone form in front of them. "Didn't you know, Steely!? I am a JESTER! Not a clown! There is a BIG difference!" He stuck his tongue out and blew him a raspberry.
Lil' Bulb chose that moment to crawl out from underneath Gyro's shirt, twisting its little head back and forth as though it was looking to make sure the coast was clear. It then took one of its wiry arms and wiped it across its light bulb head as though it was relieved.
Gyro cleared his throat, feeling the same kind of relief Lil' Bulb was. He addressed both Megavolt and Quackerjack. "Thank you for helping me!"
Quackerjack crossed his arms and rolled his eyes like a petulant child. With a turn of his heel, he turned around, the bells at the end of his hat jingling. "Hmph! I didn't do it for YOU, dorky! I did it because Steely had it coming to him!"
Gyro frowned, uncertain why the jester was being so cold to him. He turned his inquisitive eyes to Megavolt, who seemed to be enthralled by Lil' Bulb who was perched on Gyro's shoulder.
"So is that little guy programmed to protect you!?" asked Megavolt. He caught movement in the corner of his eyes and quickly turned to see that it was an approaching Eggman. With an electrical snap of his fingers, electricity shot through the air and hit the offending Egghead; sending them flying backwards and left unconscious on the ground. "I just mean-This is like...the second or third time he's gone to get help for you!" He paused before adding. "I think. I'm not sure. My memory isn't that great!"
Gyro frowned at his question while Lil' Bulb shook its bulb head at the villain. As though sensing Lil' Bulb's hurt feelings, Gyro reached up to his shoulder and allowed Lil' Bulb to grab his fingers and hug them. "Goodness, no! Lil' Bulb isn't programmed, per say, I mean- It is to an extent, but it does have sentience! Lil' Bulb chooses what it wishes and to do and it wishes to help me!"
Megavolt just blinked at him. "But HOW!?"
Gyro gave him a weak, apologetic smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "Lil' Bulb is my greatest invention yet! It's the only invention of mine that hasn't turned completely evil and has stayed stayed faithfully by my side! I guess I have a question for you now, Mr. Megavolt."
Tossing another pair of toy teeth at another Egghead, Quackerjack stomped his way over away from the ensuing battle behind them where everyone else was trying to take down the remaining Eggheads. He stepped upright in between the two of them and glanced both their ways before snapping at Megavolt, "Would you two PLEEEEASE stop talking nerdy stuff!? It's ruining playtime for meeeee!" The last word was held out longer until it formed a high pitched whine.
Ignoring his partner in crime, Megavolt blinked at the formality. "Not used to being called THAT!" he mumbled.
"I've heard you speak to light bulbs, is that correct?"
"HA! Are you kidding!? I speak to more light bulbs than I do PEOPLE!" laughed the electrical rodent.
"Well, I ask that because, while I haven't done too much of my own studies on the essence of condescend light bulbs, I do have a theory that might just prove that all light bulbs and...possibly even electricity itself-in a sense-could be sentient!" explained Gyro, his eyes lighting up as they always do when he talked about science.
Before Gyro even knew what was happening, Gyro found both his hands being held tenderly by Megavolt as the rodent pulled him close and said, "MARRY ME!"
"WHAT!?" screeched Quackerjack.
Gyro yelped in surprise, jumping backwards and holding his hands up as though to ward off Megavolt. "I'm sorry! But no! Even if your suggestion is merely for the union of two intellectual minds, I would have to tell you no! I have dedicated my life solely to science and science only!"
"MEGSY! How dare you!?" cried out Quackerjack. He sneered at Gyro, who was continuing to back away from the both of them. He pointed an accusing finger at the inventor. "You stay away from my Megsy! HE'S MINE!" As though to prove a point, Quackerjack quickly wrapped an arm around Megavolt's shoulders and pulled him close.
His face turning red from all the unwanted attention, Gyro shook his head. "I promise you! I'm not taking him from you! I really have dedicated myself to science! I'm asexual! I have no desire to be with anyone in any type of relationship beyond basic friendship! Please understand that! Science is my one and only true love!"
Megavolt placed a hand over his heart, his eyes glazing over with adoration. "Just when I thought you couldn't get more amazing!"
Quackerjack simply held onto Megavolt tighter as he continued to glare at Gyro.
Seeing that Quackerjack was only a breath away from attacking him, Gyro frantically searched around and saw Donald standing not too far away. He bolted and ran until he was in the safe proximity of Donald. He was sure to stand on the opposite side of the two villains.
Watching Gyro stand beside him and breathing heavily as though he'd just run a marathon, Donald raised an eyebrow at him before turning to look at Megavolt and Quackerjack. "Are those two bothering you?"
Gyro shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was start a fight amongst their group. While they may be villains, the Fearsome Four, or rather, Fearsome Three, at the moment, was technically on their side for the time being. He didn't want to be the reason that changed. "N-No. I'm fine. Just a small misunderstanding..."
Donald looked back and forth between them again before saying, "If you're sure..."
Gyro nodded, making a mental note to stay as far away from the both of them from now on.
Gosalyn, meanwhile, was staying close to Huey, Dewey, Louie and helping them in any way she could with fighting off the Eggheads. What she wouldn't give for her bow and arrow right now! As Quiverwing Quack she would have no trouble taking these goons on, yet sadly all she had to work with was her brains and her fists.
There was a shining light of magic on Gosalyn's left that urged her to turn toward it and pay attention. The adrenaline in her veins at the moment readied her to be ready for an attack, however once she took in the sight of Morgana using her magic, she knew she was alright. The enchantress was using her magic against the Eggheads. She could even see Eek and Squeak flying near her hair. As her familiars, just being near the enchantress was helping Morgana's magic become stronger.
"Woooh! Way to go, Morg!" rooted Gosalyn as she threw her arm upwards in an air punch.
After tacking two Eggheads with her magic, Morgana turned her head to smile at her young friend. However, just as she was about to say something, a dark shadow loomed over Gosalyn from behind. It was a large Egghead carrying some kind of machete. They raised in above their head to attack her.
"Gosalyn! Look out!" She threw her hands outward, her magic going on pure instinct. Her eyes clamped shut as she willed her magic to save her friend; hoping she wouldn't do something stupid like she had done the last time. After a moment, Gosalyn's small body rammed into her and Morgana's eyes snapped open as they both stumbled backwards. Morgana's magic had summoned Gosalyn over safely to her.
"Oh!" they both cried, startled.
Morgana managed to stay standing and was able to catch Gosalyn. She leaned down to check on her. "Are you alright?"
"Morg?" whispered a confused Gosalyn.
The loud grunt of the tall Egghead reminded them that they weren't out of danger yet. After having seen that their target had gotten away, the Egghead advanced on them in hopes to attack again.
Too stunned to know what was happening, Morgana and Gosalyn only stumbled backwards as they came at them.
There was a cracking sound before the Egghead went stiff and promptly fell to the ground. They were out for the count. Morgana and Gosalyn turned their gazes up to see Admiral Grimmits standing over the fallen Egghead with a sneer.
"Oh, my! Thank you so much, Admiral Grimmits!" breathed a relieved Morgana as she stood straighter and kept her hands on Gosalyn's shoulders. Eek and Squeak both plopped down on Morgana's shoulder tiredly; panting as though they had been flying for miles. Morgana didn't even want to think about how things would go if something bad happened to Gosalyn. Darkwing wasn't around to protect his daughter and the very idea of something bad happening to Gosalyn made Morgana's heart ache. She had failed Darkwing once already. Gosalyn may not have died thanks to Magica, but she very easily could have. Morgana still blames herself for the close call.
"Happy to help, Miss McCawber" Grimmits replied grimly, his eyes never leaving the Egghead at his feet. The large canine was breathing heavily as he tried to stand up straight and compose himself. He looked worse for wear, having a nasty black eye and what appeared to be a bump forming on the back of his head. His uniform was tore up and dirty in several places; all proof that he'd been in an earlier fight of his own. Most likely with Steelbeak.
"Admiral Grimmits!" cried out Donald in shock at the sight of the admiral. "Where have you been!? Are you okay!?"
Grimmits nodded, his expression set into a deep frown. "I've been better, Seaman Duck, but thank you for asking." He scanned the deck before him, noting that just about all the Eggheads had been either captured with rope or they'd been knocked out for the count. He watched as his naval officers did their job, finally able to do something about it after having been captured and taken hostage in their own ship.
"I had been wondering where the crew was!" commented Donald.
Grimmits nodded. "Yes. I am ashamed to say that we were all caught off guard. The Eggheads from F.O.W.L. must have been taking us out one by one, for none of my men suspected anything out of the ordinary." He crossed his arms sternly. "Frankly, it makes me quite sick to my stomach by how easy it was for those Eggheads to infiltrate the ship!"
It was then that dozes of the naval crew began appearing on deck and checking to perimeter of the area.
Not knowing what all to see to the admiral, who was more or less his boss, Donald simply tried to give him an understanding smile. "Try not to let it get to you."
"Admiral Grimmits, sir!" shouted one of the naval officers.
Grimmits' dark eyes turned up to the tall and well built pelican who had addressed him. "Yes, officer?"
"We have cleared the deck of any Eggheads, sir, though members of the crew are still sweeping through the entirety of the ship to make sure there is no one else lurking about, sir!"
Grimmits nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Seaman Nester."
The officer nodded before turning to help the others drag the Eggheads off into the jail cells deep in the ship.
Huey, Dewey, Louie, ran over to their Uncle Donald breathlessly. "I think we got them all, Unca Donald!" Huey declared. It was obvious the three boys were tired, judging by the way their were panting and holding onto their sides. Yet they were putting on their bravest faces and Donald knew it. He admired how strong his boys could be.
He may not fully understand the mess his uncle Scrooge had managed to get himself into, but he was going to help him get out of it.
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Back inside the volcano, Magica was gleefully running her hands across the phials of blood as she began sharing everything she was beginning to do.
Fenton was down on his knees, holding himself up with his arms as the tremors wracked his body. He was finding it difficult to breath as he tried his best to reassure Scrooge that he was going to be alright. Darkwing and Launchpad were tyring to sit as close to each other as their cages would allow. Bushroot was back to being curled in a fetal position on the ground, though this time, instead of being fearful he was giving Magica a murderous glare now that he knew what she had done to Dandren. Negaduck was nursing his bloody hand, muttering dark curses under his breath while he imagined all the way he wanted to murder everyone in the room; mainly Magica.
"Now, let us see...Ahh, yes! The first phial of blood that is to be poured into the cauldron would have to be our dear plant doctor!" declared Magica as she dramatically waved an arm in the mutant's direction.
Bushroot snapped out of his dark and angry thoughts and blinked in surprise at her. As he remembered the whole reason he was in this mess, his anxiety quickly returned as he watched her pick up the two phials of his different types of blood and walked over to the large cauldron.
Everyone else watched closely as well she Magica stepped up on the small step stool so she could reach over the massive cauldron and uncorked the phials. Magica began muttering an ancient dialect that none of them were familiar with.
Fighting back another tremor, Fenton winced before saying, "I've heard a lotta different foreign languages in my day-Not that I can understand any of them-But I've never heard that one before."
Scrooge nodded. "Aye, me neither and I'm the most world-traveled out of the lot of us."
Darkwing, who had been able to hear them, supplied them with this piece of information, "That's because it's some kind of ancient witch language. I've heard Morgana use a few times. It's a very ancient tongue. I think it's called Aramazic or something like that. It's a dead language, I know that. Very few witches use it."
"Yeh mean Aramaic?" inquired Scrooge. "Now that language I've heard of. Yer right lad, it IS a dead language."
Launchpad sighed, speaking for the first time in a while. "Great, but how is knowing what language she's speaking gonna help us?"
They turned to the pilot, knowing their friend was right.
Darkwing moved back over to the other side of the cage to be closer to his paramour. "It's gonna be okay, LP."
Launchpad gave him a lopsided smile.
Darkwing gave him a quizzical look. "What's that smile for?"
"Just nice to see you being so optimistic for a change, DW." He chuckled. Seeing Darkwing's continued confusion, he went on to say, "It's just...Normally in situations like this, you start going through one of your dramatic, 'I failed everyone' phases."
Darkwing leaned back and looked away, soaking in Launchpad's words. It was true. He did have a bad habit of throwing a pity party whenever things began to look this bleak.
As the prisoners spoke among themselves, Bushroot's mutated and un-mutated blood were poured into the cauldron, which instantly began to bubble and brew hotter than before. Magica went silent, obviously having spoken the incantations she needed to and moving on to the next phial.
"Now, next up would be the little accountant's blood" she announced as she walked back over to the table.
"For such a grand ritual, this sure is dragging on forever" groused Negaduck from where he was still nursing his hand.
Magica glared over at him from the other side of her table. "Oh, I am sorry! Were you hoping to die sooner than this!?"
That was effective in shutting Negaduck up.
"I have spent TOO LONG planning this out-I will not be messing it up by rushing through with it!" snapped Magica as she stepped back up to the cauldron. She uncorked the phial and poured Fenton's blood inside. She did the same thing as before with her whispering of the ancient words.
Before long, it was time to add Darkwing's blood. "I had most fun playing with you, Darkwing, dah'ling! Turning your heart dark was so fun to witness!" she cackled gleefully.
Darkwing frowned, not wishing to be reminded of how he had been tricked into drinking that Emoti-Gone potion. He didn't want to think about how because of Magica, the whole of St. Canard was against him and he'd practically shunned himself with the Police force. Not that they had been a big fan of him to begin with.
Petulantly, Darkwing crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Yada yada! You tricked me good!" he said sarcastically. "You made me emotionless so I wouldn't care about anything! La de da!"
Negaduck smirked. "Still bothers you that you shot that cop in the leg, doesn't it!?"
Darkwing shot him a glare. "I wasn't myself!"
Magica's voice cut through the room before the two of them could continue arguing. "Enough! It matters not how I got you to turn dark-Point is-it worked!" She tossed aside Darkwing's now empty blood phial and uncorked Launchpad's. "I think the best part of it all was how you broke your poor little sidekick's heart!"
Launchpad flinched at the reminder of that dark night when he had confessed his feelings to Darkwing in hopes to snap him out of the potion's affects and bring back his emotions. He didn't want to think about Darkwing's cold response. The important thing was that his Darkwing was back and he returned his feelings! Shaking his head and trying not to let his dark thoughts get the best of him, Launchpad turned so he was completely facing Darkwing. "Don't listen to her, DW! In the end, you came back to me!"
Darkwing could feel himself smiling and blushing at the way Launchpad had worded that.
The sound of Negaduck gagging cut through the air. "Ugh, PLEASE! I would prefer NOT to throw up at the sound of you sappy idiots! I'm already in enough pain from my hand, thank you very much!"
Magica had already moved on from pouring Launchpad's blood into the ritual and now she came back with the final phial of Scrooge McDuck's blood. She held it up to the light of the torches throughout the room and seemed to admire it. "Ahh, and last but certainly not least! The blood of my greatest enemy! Scrooge McDuck!"
Scrooge refused to allow Magica to see him be weak. He made sure his expression was blank as she turned to him to gloat.
Magica pointed an accusing finger at him. "This is all YOUR fault, Scroogey! You've denied me your Dime all these years! You've denied me the ability to gain the power of Midas and now you and your loved ones are suffering for it!" She whirled around to wave her arms over the potion, which began to bubble and overflow. Steam poured out from the top of the cauldron and filled the air. "Starting with your beloved accountant!" With a grand gesture of sorcery, Magica spun until she turned to Fenton and pointed at him with both her hands; her arms spread out in front of her.
Fenton cried out when he looked up and saw a purple and black glow of power be aimed right at him. The moment the magic touched him, Fenton cried out in pain.
"AHHHHHHHH!" wailed Fenton as he brought both his hands up to his chest as though he was trying to steady the racing of his heart.
"FENTON!" gasped Scrooge, his eyes filling with un-shed tears as he watched his young paramour writhe in pain. "What are yeh doin' t'him!?"
Magica exclaimed loudly in victory before explaining, "The accountant's heart and soul are tied to the ritual! Now that all of your blood has been added, it is time for his soul to be added! The first sarcfice to be made! Yeh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!"
"NOOOOO!" Scrooge hadn't even realized he'd been shouting until he could feel his throat ache and his need to breath become too strong. He gasped as he was only able to watch; pushing himself as close to the bars as he could in a vain attempt to reach Fenton.
A tiny bright light began to form outside of Fenton's chest.
Darkwing narrowed his eyes at the sight. "What is that!?"
Magica smiled wickedly. "That light represents his soul! My magic has changed it into the light you see now!"
"That light is Fenton's soul!?" asked a horrified Scrooge.
Magica didn't reply, instead she pulled her arms back which brought her magic along with it. Fenton's soul light moved away from Fenton's body and the moment it was gone, Fenton's body seemed to loose all life. His eyes now closed, Fenton shivered a moment before collapsing to the ground in a small heap.
Scrooge cried out in alarm, trying to reach out to him. "Fenton! Fenton!" The accountant's white feathers seemed to loose their shine right before Scrooge's eyes. His limp form looked so small and lost now without the light of his soul.
"Do you want to know the best part of all this, Scroogey!?" taunted Magica from where she was standing. She coaxed the floating golden light of Fenton's soul up towards her until she was practically cradling it in her hands near her chest.
Scrooge scowled at her through the bars of his cage. "Enlighten me" he spat.
"You could have prevented all thia! Yeh heh heh!" replied an amused Magica. "I had not been all too sure if my plan for you and your lover boy would work! It took quite a bit of time how I would manage to curse his heart! To find a way to make his soul vulnerable enough for it to even BE cursed! But once I heard wind of the legend of the Golden Heart-I knew that would be perfect chance to enact my plans!"
Scrooge's eyes widened. "It was Glomgold who found the scrolls to the Golden Heart!"
Magica batted her eyelashes at him innocently."True...But where do you think HE found them!?"
Understanding what she was implying, the old miser found himself reeling with rage. "YOU-YOU were the one who made sure I went after the Heart!"
Magica nodded, her expression showing just how proud of herself she was about that fact. "Indeed, Scroogey, ol' boy! It was ME! Heh heh heh heh heh! None of you have any IDEA just how long I've been planning this: My most brilliant and complicated scheme EVER!"
Scrooge could do nothing but gawk as this revelation sunk in. It had been one thing for Magica to be behind Bushroot's past problems with his plants, but for to have also orchestrated the debacle with the Golden Heart as well! Glomgold had tricked both Fenton and himself to go hunt for the treasure, making sure not to inform him of the sacrifice. Glomgold had simply thought he'd been doing the world a favor by trying to kill Fenton off. But this whole time, it was Magica's doing!? He supposed it made sense, now that he thought about it, since Magica would had to have known for her to place the curse on Fenton's heart to begin with.
Magica paid Scrooge and his anguish no mind as she guided Fenton's soul over towards the cauldron. With an evil gleam in her eye, Magica tossed the soul into the cauldron. "And NOW, you're all NEXT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Her cackling laughter echoed throughout the room. None of them knew what she meant, however, all five prisoners felt a wave of dizziness at the same time.
"Why is the world suddenly spinning?" Bushroot asked out loud, stumbling down to the ground.
"DW?" Launchpad called to his boyfriend. He was feeling dizzy as well. He had thought it was just him but now that Bushroot had said something, he knew he wasn't the only one.
Darkwing stumbled down to the ground as well, his feet tripping over his cape and causing it to be pulled awkwardly as he fell on it. His fedora hat fell to the ground. "I'm here, LP!"
Scrooge watched as the world spun, hearing that everyone else was feeling the same thing he was. He gaze turned back to Fenton, who was already out cold. This wasn't how things were supposed to end. He had fixed everything with the Golden Heart! He had gotten his paramour back! None of this would have happened had he not gone for that cursed heart! Magica never would have been able to curse Fenton's heart had it not been for his greed!
Then, all at once, Scrooge, Darkwing, Launchpad, Bushroot, and Negaduck all fell to the ground themselves; losing consciousness completely.
Without even having to look up from the bubbling cauldron, Magica knew that all her foes were slipping into darkness. Her laughter echoed throughout the cave as her victory became closer than ever before. "Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!"
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After the last of the Eggheads had been gathered and caged up in the holding cells down inside the ship, Admiral Grimmits made sure that Steelbeak was the last one still out on the desk. Of course, he was handcuffed behind his back and flanked by a dozen naval officers with guns ready to shoot in the rooster so much as thought about trying to escape.
Donald stood beside him while Gyro, Megavolt, Quackerjack, and Liquidator stood nearby. Behind them stood Morgana, Gosalyn, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They were all waiting to see if they could get any kind of information out of Steelbeak. They were at Mount Vesuvius, sure, but they were still outside the volcano. And Mount Vesuvius was exactly that: a volcano. There wasn't exactly a front door to the place. Magica had taken Scrooge and the others inside via magic. While Morgana did know magic, that didn't mean she would be able to do the same thing. So, seeing if Steelbeak had anything to say was their best bet at the moment.
Steelbeak, now awake, was sitting on his knees and glaring up at the group before him.
Admiral Grimmits stood towering over top of him. "Now that we have your attention, Steelbeak" began Grimmits as he crossed his arms. "Would you care to explain to us what your plan was by capturing our ship?"
Steelbeak shrugged and turned his head away. "Listen, yous seem t'think I'm the guy in charge here. I'm not."
"So these aren't your Egghead soldiers following your orders?" growled Grimmits.
Steelbeak snorted, trying not to look as though he'd just gotten caught in a lie. "Heh, well-"
"Look, this is getting us nowhere!" snapped Gosalyn, gaining everyone's attention. The red hair glared up at everyone around her, not at all intimidated. She was tired of all this and she simply wanted to know where her dad and Launchpad were at. "He's not going to help us! We have to figure out a way to get into the volcano!"
Grimmits did not appreciate her attitude and interruption in the slightest. "Listen here, little girl, this is MY ship and I will NOT be spoken to like that!"
Donald stepped in between them, raising his arms to protect her. "And I won't stand for YOU to talk to a little girl like that!"
Grimmit's eyes widened and his nostrils flared with anger at the sailor.
Realizing what he had just done, Donald's anger fizzled out quickly as he swallowed and gulped loudly. Though he didn't want to back down. "Admiral Grimmits, sir" he added his captain's title for good measure.
"I'm afraid Donald has a point, Admiral Grimmits" Morgana spoke up. "You don't understand the urgency of this mission! As you may have been told, we were coming here to stop Magica De Spell. We weren't expecting our friends to be kidnapped the way they were. But I'm afraid now that Magica has them, she's already began the finals steps to her ritual!"
Grimmits continued to glare at everyone around him. "Ritual? What? You expect that to mean something to me!"
That was when Steelbeak began to chuckle. "Ho! But it should, buddy boy! Magica has quite the spell brewin'! None of yous is gonna survive it either! Heh heh!"
Turning to give Steelbeak a deadpan glare, he then whipped around to address Quackerjack. "Mr. Quackerjack, I don't suppose you have any methods in which to shut this criminal up?"
His eyes lighting up at the idea of playing and toying with Steelbeak, Quackerjack squealed. "Ooohhh! I do happen to have some laffy taffy that's so chewy it'll seal his mouth shut for hours! Even his strong steel beak!"
Steelbeak cried out at the very idea of anything from Quackerjack going into his mouth. He tried wriggling out of the handcuffs. "No! NO! Anything but that! I'll be quiet, I swears!"
Quackerjack pouted as Admiral Grimmits waved him away now that Steelbeak agreed to stay silent. He turned to the group with a grim expression. "So what exactly do you expect me to do about this?"
Morgana and Gosalyn both exchanged looks. Seeing as how they were the ones who were most familiar with situations like this, they knew they would have to think of something. Just as Gosalyn went to say something, it was Huey who spoke up.
"Hey, wait a minute!" He turned to face his brothers who were giving him a curious look. "This is Mount Vesuvius! We've been here a couple times before in the past with Unca Scrooge! Isn't there a cave entrance somewhere?"
A bubble chortle cut through the air as Liquidator said, "While your head might be in the right place, I'm afraid you know nothing about a villain's hideout. We don't exactly have front doors to our lairs! Mine certainly doesn't!"
Quackerjack nodded. "That's right, kiddo! My toy land lair is near impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look!"
Megavolt looked between his two friends before pursing his lips and tapping his index fingers together. "Hmm...Well, I have a front door to MY lair! It's the door to my Lighthouse!"
Quackerjack and Liquidator both gave him an unimpressed look before turning their eyes to each other.
"Yes, but Sparky...If you DIDN'T have a front door, you'd never find your own hideout because you'd never remember where it was!" the jester pointed out.
Megavolt frowned at this, choosing to ignore being called his hated nickname. "Oh, yeah..."
Placing his hands on his waist, Huey argued back, "Well, we KNOW she has one! We've seen it!"
"Do you happen to remember where?" inquired Gyro. He had taken off his hat and was rubbing the back of his head and running a hand through his hair feathers where Steelbeak had been holding onto. He could tell just be the way his feathers felt up there that Steelbeak had managed to pull some of them out and the idea upset him greatly though he tried not to show it.
Huey's confidence seemed to fizzle out at the inventor's question.
The naval ship was currently anchored next to the great Mount Vesuvius. The strong waves and wind had died down shortly after Magica had left with the others and now the evening sky was actually fairly quiet. The lack of stars in the sky indicated that it was cloudy though and clouds in the sky always meant the chance of rain or a storm out in the ocean. The sun had set about an hour ago though in all the commotion, no one had truly noticed.
Letting out a sigh, Morgana turned to her familiars. "Eek, Squeak, do you think you try flying around to see if you can spota anyplace where we could get inside?"
The little bats squeaked as they began flapping their tiny wings after having been sitting on her shoulders. They then began to fly away, but not before Morgana called out to them, "Please don't tire yourselves out! Be careful!"
As the bats flew away, Grimmits stepped forward. "I'm sorry, but how exactly are bats supposed to be helping us? I should simply have the ship begin sailing around the mountain."
"Look!" cried out Gosalyn in frustration. "Magica brought up to this spot for a reason! She teleported us to Mount Vesuvius for a reason! I know you'll just say she wanted us to get here sooner, but why would she have picked this spot in particular if she didn't have a reason! The entrance to her lair must be around here somewhere!"
"That is solid logic, little girl, but we can't just sit here and wait either" argued Grimmits.
"Yeah! I'm getting boooooored!" whined Quackerjack. "All the action is over and there's nothing to doooo!"
"I agree! This salesman's is starting to go stale with all this waiting around!" commented Liquidator before liquefying into a puddle. "I, for one, would like to find Reggie and get out of here!"
Gosalyn stepped over towards Liquidator, being mindful not to step on him. "Don't worry, Liquidator! We'll find him! Bushroot is my friend! I want to find him too and make sure he's okay as much as I want to know that my dad and Launchpad are okay!"
"...Hmm..." Liquidator didn't seem to know quite how to respond to her words. He wasn't exactly used to having other people rooting for them. He wasn't used to someone else besides himself looking out for his floral boyfriend. Didn't help that Liquidator knew Gosalyn was Darkwing's daughter and the fact that Darkwing's sidekick had also shown concern for Bushroot didn't help matters. He decided not to say anything on the subject for the time being.
It was then that the squeaking of Eek and Squeak could be heard in the distance as the two bats flew their way back to the safety of the ship. Morgana caught them in the palms of her hands as they landed and panted from all the flying. Immediately the familiars began to squeak at her in a way only she would be able to understand.
When Morgana looked up from her two tiny friends, she found that everyone was staring at her and waiting with baited breath.
"Well!?" demanded Grimmits.
"They found the entrance to her lair. It's about a half a mile East of here" she translated.
Grimmits nodded before turning to a few of the naval officers who were awaiting orders. "You heard her! Let's get this ship moving!"
As Grimmits continued to bark out orders, Gosalyn smiled up at Morgana, Eek, and Squeak. "Thanks guys! I knew you could do it!"
Morgana smiled, wishing she shared the same kind of enthusiasm her young friend did.
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It was an unknown amount of time before they finally managed to climb up into the cave entrance. It was early in the morning and the stars were still hidden behind the clouds by the time the naval ship was able to anchor close enough for the to reach the rocks. Megavolt had the most difficult time, for obvious reasons, since the entire time he whined about not wanting to fall into the water, or get sprayed by water, to generally get anywhere near the water.
Gyro had been the one who suggested Liquidator use a rope and secure it safely on the rocks for everyone to get across. So, with one end of the rope in his watery grip, Liquidator was able to morph his body safely to the mountain where he then found a spot near the cave entrance.
Donald had tried to reason with the boys to stay at the ship with Grimmits, who claimed that a an admiral stays with his ship and crew. Huey, Dewey, and Louie promptly grabbed the rope and began the climb without even responding to their uncle's pleas.
Morgana simply used her magic to float across without the aid of the rope, which earned her a glare from everyone.
"You couldn't have just done that for all of us!?" questioned Quackerjack.
Liquidator snorted. "Please, you enjoyed that climb, Quacky! You were singing the whole time and you only wing when you're having fun!"
Everyone groaned at the reminder of the jester's singing.
Still wanting to answer his question, Morgana said, "My magic can be unpredictable. I didn't want to take a risk and make a mistake."
Gosalyn looked as though she wanted to say something, but instead turned away. Now was not the time for her to try to argue with Morgana and her abilities at magic.
Once they were all safely on the rocks in front of the cave entrance, they took a moment to catch their breath. They all glanced up and saw the ominiuous and terrifying doorway that was shaped like a giant demon mouth with pointy teeth and everything.
"Charming" quipped Donald.
They all exchanged look before looking inside, where a bright glowing yellow light was streaming out of the cave. "Well, we're here..." muttered Gosalyn. "I'm coming to find you, dad..."
Without another word, all ten of them walked inside; all wondering if they would be coming back out.
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One would think, given with the hardly explored cave, the lava pools, the sharp stalagmites, and the rocky terrain that getting through all that would be tricky and dangerous. Take long hours to do so. However, thanks to the echoes of maniacal laughter that could be heard even clear through the start of the cave, the group of friends and frenemies were able to find Magica and her ritual cauldron fairly quickly.
All ten of them gathered around behind some large rocks and looked down in the red tinted light of the cavernous lair and could see six cages evenly spaced throughout the circular room. Magica was chanting spells in another language as she was bent over the smoking and bubbling cauldron.
Neither Poe or Magica had noticed their new audience.
"Dad!" Gosalyn stage whispered when her eyes landed on the fallen form of Darkwing laying on the ground. She jumped when a ran covered her beak, only to learn it was Donald, who was standing behind her. He leaned over so that she could see him and pressed a finger up to his own beak.
"We don't want her to know we're here" he whispered into her ear.
After days of spending time with Donald in the vicinity, Gosalyn had learned how to understand his warbled voice, yet at this moment, his words were not what she wanted to hear. She wanted to rush over to her dad and Launchpad and check to see if they were alright.
"Holy circuits" breathed Megavolt under his breath.
"Where's Reggie!?" demanded Liquidator, barely remembering to lower his own voice.
Quackerjack pointed to the opposite side of the circle. "There. He's on the other side."
"Negaduck is there too. I thought he was working with Magica, why is he out cold too?" asked Megavolt.
"She probably tricked him" suggested Liquidator.
Gosalyn rolled her eyes. How come they were allowed to talk but she wasn't!? "Forget about him! We need to figure out a way to save them!"
With a grumble, Donald began pulling everyone away from the main area. Once he had everyone's attention, he snapped, "We have GOT to be quiet! We don't even have a plan yet and you guys are too busy talking you're going to give us away before we even start!"
Quackerjack scratched the back of his neck. "Anyone understand what he said?"
Donald took a step toward the jester, already rolling up his sleeve. "Why I oughta-"
It was Gyro who grabbed his arm and kept him from attacking Quackerjack. "Donald has a point!" he said before anything more could happen. He looked into everyone's faces and made sure everyone was paying attention. "We need a plan if we want to save our friends!"
"Yeah? And what exactly does the little dork suggest?" grumbled Quackerjack as he glared at Gyro.
The inventor didn't have an immediate answer yet thankfully Gosalyn did.
"We need to distract her! By the looks of it, the ritual isn't done yet! Meaning there's still time!" she began.
"How do we know the ritual isn't done yet?" was Louie's question.
"She's still chanting over her potion, that's why! I would think she would be testing out her new found magic if she had it already!" reasoned Gosalyn. She turned to the only magical being in their group. "Morgana, come on! You've gotta have some idea on how we can stop her!"
Morgana gave her a flabbergasted look, placing a hand over her heart. "Oh, Gosalyn, dear! I'm grateful you have that much faith in me, but you need to understand, that she's already began this ritual and there is no stopping it once its complete! Magic like this can't be stopped once its started. Yes, we could distract her for but the ritual would still go on!"
Gosalyn stomped her foot down in frustration. "So, then, what are you saying!? That there's no way to stop it!?"
Morgana simply gave her a sympathetic smile and shrugged her shoulders.
"Hold on" began Huey. "You say the potion and ritual aren't done yet..." He trailed off as he thoughts things over in his head. Dewey and Louie both watched him in curiosity as they waited for him to go on. "If the potion isn't done yet...That means it can still be messed up, right?"
Everyone frowned at him.
Seeing that he was going to have to elaborate, Huey pressed on to say, "Even though you start cooking homemade soup, doesn't mean it's going to turn out and taste good, right? Something could still go wrong with the soup and it could still turn out bad!"
"You're making me hungry, kiddo" commented Quackerjack.
"What are you trying to say, Huey?" asked Donald.
Huey turned to Morgana instead, however, and inquired, "If the ritual and potion were to be made incorrectly, what would happen?"
Morgana blinked at his question. "Oh, well, I highly doubt Magica is about to mess up this ritual. She's clearly been planning and studying for this for years!"
"Yes, but what would happen if it got messed up!? Would our Unca Scrooge still be tied to the ritual and die?" insisted Huey.
Morgana frowned and thought over his question. "Hmm...Well, I don't know for sure, to be honest. What you're suggesting sounds like a viable option..." She said no more as she wracked her brain trying to make sure the plan would work.
"Wait, so you're saying all we have to do is mess up her potion? How?" was what Gosalyn asked Huey.
Huey shrugged. "I don't know! But it makes sense, right?"
Morgana sighed. "It does, but this still has me nervous..."
Gosalyn stepped up to her friend and looked at her right in the eyes. "Come on, Morgana! I know you and dad have been going through some tough stuff recently, but you have to have confidence in yourself!" Morgana looked as though she wanted to say something but Gosalyn interrupted her and continued to talk. "Look! I know you blame yourself for what happened to me at that toy factory but you have to let it go! I'm okay, Morgana! I know you also doubt yourself and your abilities at magic but I have faith that you'll be able to pull this off! You're the only one here on our side who knows how to do magic! We're counting on you!"
Morgana didn't say anything for a long moment, the sound of Magica cackling echoing throughout the cave. The air seemed to be getting hotter and thicker with every moment that passed. It was then that a determined look came across Morgana's face as she suddenly stood taller. She nodded before saying, "Alright. You're right, Gosalyn! I can do this! We can ALL do this!"
Gosalyn beamed up at her friend, thrilled that she was willing to help save her father and Launchpad.
"What exactly is 'this' that we're doing?" asked Megavolt in his nasally voice.
Taking a moment to consider his question, Morgana replied with, "Huey is correct. We just need to add something into her potion that isn't supposed to be there."
"Like what?" asked Dewey.
"Hmm...While I don't know the potion's recipe by heart, I do know for certain there are several ingredients that wouldn't be a part of it." With a twirl of her hand, a a glass bottle with a clear liquid inside appeared in her hand. She handed it to Gosalyn. "Take this. This is a mixture of rose and vervain. It's commonly used for healing and warding off vampires."
"Vampires!?" exclaimed Gosalyn, Huey, Dewey, and Louie excitedly and all at once.
"Shhhh!" hushed several of the adults as they tried to remind their young friends to be quiet.
Morgana nodded. "Yes. Like I said, it's mainly used for healing and would never be found in a potion or ritual such as this. We need to add this into the potion and hopefully that should be enough to neutralize it!" She turned to Megavolt and Quackerjack. "The kids will have an easier time sneaking around undetected, so it's going to be up to us to distract Magica and Poe long enough for them to add the vervain and rose into the potion. Got it?"
Gyro, Donald, Quackerjack, Megavolt, and Liquidator all nodded.
"What do you need us to do?" was what Liquidator wished to know as he gestured to his two team members.
Gosalyn smirked up at the remaining members of the Fearsome Four. "You guys do what you do best: cause trouble!"
Quackerjack, Megavolt, and Liquidator all exchanged devious smirks.
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"Nyheh heh heh heh heh heh!" cackled Magica as she spoke the final incantation needed to finalize the ritual. She peered down inside her cauldron with a wicked smirk, watching as the potion bubbled and boiled. After having poured all the sacrificial blood inside, the liquid had turned into a deep red color.
She turned up to look at Poe. She watched as her brother hopped back and forth on his little tree branch perch with anticipation. "It's nearly time, Poe! The ritual's potion is nearly complete! Just a few more moments for the blood to truly become one with the potion and then the Midas Touch shall be mine AT LAST! Nyheh heh heh!"
Poe opened his wings in his excitement. "Yes! Almost! Almost! I'll finally be my true self again!"
Magica nodded. "Yes, Poe! You shall finally be my true brother again! I shall finally have the power and ability to change you back to the way you once were!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Poe cawed happily!
There was a small thud off to the Northern part of the cave that caused both of them to snap back to reality. They both turned their heads to the sound. After a moment of seeing nothing but the rocky perimeter of the cave, Magica called out, "Who is there!?" Her question echoed throughout the cave as silence greeted her.
"Rocks sliding?" suggested Poe.
Magica shook her head. "Most likely more of Scroogey's friends!" She stepped down from the step stool she'd been standing on. "I never once had faith in that thuggish brute Steelbeak! I should have known he would fail at keeping the others occupied!" Stepping over closer to where the sound came from, Magica called out again. "I know you is there! The ritual is almost complete and you are all out of time! I suggest you turn around and leave if you wish to live!"
"Awww! And here I was hoping I made it in time to crash the party!" came Quackerjack's whiny voice the same time the bells from the end of his jester hat could be heard jingling. Magica followed his voice, peering around a large rock that led into a small cave area. The light from the inside of the main area didn't extend that far back, therefore she wasn't able to see Quackerjack.
Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
Magica turned around, her shoulder length hair whipping around and hitting her in the face, just in time for her to see four toy teeth begin bouncing up and down near her work table. Scowling, she stomped her way back over to them, using her hand to whisk them up against the wall with a wave of magic. She looked up and around the cave once she knew the toy teeth were broken and no longer moving. "Come out, you stupid clown!"
Magica walked past Bushroot's cage, absentmindedly touching the bars to it, and yowled in pain when an electric shock coursed through her hand. She waved her hand a couple times as the sting from the shock lessened before looking to make sure her hand was alright.
"Come out now!" she demanded.
"Are you frustrated?" came Liquidator's voice.
Magica looked to the source of the voice over by Scrooge's cage. She saw nothing but Scrooge's prone form laying on the ground.
"Are you annoyed?"
Now the voice was over by Darkwing's cage.
Magica shot a blast of magic over towards Darkwing's cage, but there was nothing for her to hit. She still couldn't see anyone. She did hear the sound of bells jingling softly behind her, but there was still nothing to see. "Poe!" she cried out to her brother.
Poe, who'd been sitting and watching on his perch, was also scanning the room to see if he could find anyone. "Don't see anyone either!" he squawked.
"Do you feel like everything is grating on your nerves?"
Now Liquidator's voice was over by Fenton's cage. Magica walked up to it, sparing a quick glance at her potion quickly to make sure everything was as it should be. Then she looked through the bars and down where Fenton's body was laying. Nothing.
"I have no time for this!" hissed Magica.
"Do you feel like you can't get anything accomplished?"
Now his voice was over by Launchpad's cage.
As Magica went over to check it out, Poe got movement out of the corner of his eyes. He turned his head just in time to see someone ducking behind a large rock. "Caw! Over there, Magica! Over there!"
Magica turned at the same time she felt a strong jolt of electricity run through her hand and up her arm. She screamed in pain before it all suddenly stopped and she fell to the ground. She cradled her hand; having felt someone grab it before the pain began. The hand had let her go before she could even register it.
"ENOUGH!" she yelled.
"Perhaps you should have thought again before messing with the Fearsome Four!" continued Liquidator as though she hadn't said anything. "You may have taken our friend Bushroot down, but you still have the remaining three to deal with! And let me assure you, Magica de Spell, the Fearsome Four do NOT disappoint!"
"FOUUUUR!" hollered Quackerjack as he quickly stepped up from behind Magica and whacked her from behind with a giant mallet.
The momentum from the hit sent Magica flying sidewalks until she rammed into a wall. She groaned and slumped down in pain and exhaustion.
Poe, now able to see Quackerjack in full view, took flight and began an assault on the jester. He cawed and squawked as he used his talons to attack Quackerjack, who waved his arms back and forth in an attempt to get him away. "Hey, hey hey! Watch the puffy sleeves!"
Liquidator morphed into his dog form, having been a puddle of water this whole time. Seeing that both Magica and Poe were distracted, called over to the others. "NOW! GO!"
Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Gosalyn all sprang into action. They had been hiding on the other side of the cave and they all ran towards the cauldron. Gosalyn was the one who had the bottle of vervain and rose. She began to climb up the step stool when Magica snapped her head up from where she was sitting on the ground. Her eyes widened when she saw what the young girl was about to do.
"NOOO!" With a wave of her hand, Magica sent Gosalyn flying off the step stool.
Morgana, Donald, and Gyro, who had been hiding in another spot, all came out into view and cried out in fear. Gyro was the one who was closest. With his arms out and open wide, he flung himself forward and managed to catch Gosalyn before her head bit the ground. They both fell to the ground with groans of pain. With a scuffle of dirt, they managed to sit up. Gyro held her in his arms and looked down to make sure she was alright. "Are you okay?"
Gosalyn looked up at the inventor with wide and scared eyes. "Uh huh. I think so...Thank you."
Gyro smiled down at her before helping her back up.
It was then that Dewey ran up to her and grabbed the bottle she was still holding onto. "My turn!" he told her. He turned around and tried to stay hidden behind the cauldron so that Magica wouldn't see him. She was clear on the other side of the room.
Donald, already having enough and seeing that one of his nephews was now trying to get to the cauldron, yelled out, "Come on! You're the Fearsome Four! It's your job to stop her!"
Megavolt finally appeared from where he'd been hiding and shot out an electrical shot at Poe who was still attacking Quackerjack.
Magica was now standing and dusting herself off when she saw Dewey trying to do the same thing Gosalyn had tried moments before. "You can try to stop me but you will all fail!" she warned. She waved her hand to use the same spell she had used on Gosalyn but she was stopped mid spell by Morgana, who had snuck up on her and punched her in the face.
Gosalyn froze from where she'd been standing, not believing what she had just seen. "W-Woah! Go Morgana!" she whooped.
Magica stumbled backwards, a hand up at her now sore jaw. She glared at Morgana as a wicked smirk appeared on her beak. "Heh heh! If it isn't the little McCawber floozy!"
Morgana raised her hand and tried to punch her again but this time Magica was prepared and she managed to dodge it. "Don't talk to me, you wrench!"
Amused by Morgana's anger, Magica slowly edged away from her. She muttered a curse and threw it towards Morgana. The magic flew past Morgana and hit the rocks behind her. Morgana then threw a curse back in retaliation. Moments later there was a full fledge spell battle going on between the two of them as hexes and curses were thrown at the other.
"Heh heh! You're spells are stronger than I would have expected, McCawber! From what I have seen, you could barely do a basic levitation spell!" Magica cackled.
"Stop acting like you know anything about me!" hissed Morgana.
"I know enough! I know about your pathetic family! You McCawbers used to be well known in the witching communities! Well respected! Then you had to go and focus all your attention on your stealing and restaurant businesses! Your practice became sloppy! You let yourselves go! You forsake the true magic of our peoples!"
"My father Monoculo is still far more powerful then you'll ever wish to be!" snarled Morgana. "You are the one who truly lost yourself to the darkness! Lowering yourself to this point! Using sacrificial magic to get more power that doesn't even belong to you!"
"The Midas Touch is MINE! I deserve it!" screamed Magica.
"No you don't! Not if it means killing the lives of so many people!" Morgana shot back.
"Oh, you mean like your precious Darkwing!?" taunted Magica. She glanced over just in time to see Dewey prepare to pour in the vervain. She reached out a hand to the young boy. "DON'T YOU TOUCH THAT!" With a flurry of magic, Dewey was sent flying away just like Gosalyn had been. This time it was Liquidator who was closest. The liquid canine elongated his body so that he could catch the boy mid air, bringing him back down to safety.
"Dewey, over here!" called Louie.
Magica didn't have a chance to see what the triplets and others were up to since Morgana was still shooting hexes her way. "Don't you DARE mention Darkwing to me!" growled Morgana. She could feel her magic amp up in her veins the same way her emotions grew stronger. "You are the reason I lost him for good! Had you not been planning all of this, we may have never ended up in that toy factory! Gosalyn wouldn't have ever nearly gotten killed! Darkwing would not have blamed me and I we would still be together!"
Gosalyn looked up at the mention of her name. She listened as Morgana spoke and fought with Magica at the same time. "Morgana..."she whispered in sympathy.
"HA! You blame ME for that!" laughed Magica. "I planned a lot of things to make my plans work, but luring you to that toy factory was NOT my doing!"
Quackerjack and Megavolt were now listening in to the conversation as well since they were the ones who had been trespassing and tampering with the toys that night. They knew they were the reason Darkwing nearly lost his daughter that night.
Gyro and Donald were now fighting back Poe who was trying and failing to stop Huey, Dewey, and Louie from getting to the potion. While Magica and Morgana fought, Louie ran over to a new winded and recovering Dewey and grabbed the bottle. Knowing what he had to do, he ran over as quickly as his little webbed feet would carry him and climbed the step stool. He uncorked the bottle and poured the vervain and rose into the potion.
At the same time, Morgana shouted, "You're still the one who caused this mess and you're going to pay for it!" With the strongest hex she could muster, she threw her arms and hands forward and sent Magica flying backwards into the rock wall behind her. Magica landed on her back with a weak cry of pain before slumping down to the floor.
"WE DID IT!" cried out Louie as the potion inside the cauldron began to bubble and turn a muted green instead of the blood red it had been before. Wind began to unnaturally blow through the room, causing the flames in the torches to nearly blow out completely.
Morgana, now panting from using so much magic at once, turned her head to see the cauldron turn color. She glanced around her as the winds began to blow.
"Morgana! What's happening!?" Gosalyn called over to her.
Morgana stood straight and pushed back a few stray strands of hair from her forehead. "The ritual...It's been disrupted. All the magic that had been linked to it is festering. It doesn't know what to do anymore now that it's not tied to the ritual anymore" she breathed in explanation.
"What does that mean?" asked Gyro.
"It means we did it. Our plan worked!" smiled Morgana.
The magic surrounding the cauldron began to make a eerie howling sound. There were a few pops and crackles as the flames below the cauldron blew out and steamed heavily with smoke. Without the fire, the potion was no longer being heated and slowly, very slowly the bubbling stopped and the liquid grew steady and quiet.
As they waited for more to happen, Gosalyn ran over to her dad. She stopped at the bars that were still caging him. She turned to her friends. "They're still in cages!"
Morgana walked up to Darkwing's cage and held up a hand. "Thankfully, transformation spells seem to be a specialty of mine." The moment she touched the bars, they turned into harmless thin string. The string all fell into individual piles where the bars used to be. Morgana walked around and did the same thing to all the cages.
The moment she could get to him, Gosalyn rushed to Darkwing. She touched his shoulder once she was sitting beside him and tried shaking him awake. "Dad! Dad, wake up! It's me, Gosalyn!"
After a few shakes, breath came back to Darkwing's otherwise un-moving form and he began breathing. He groaned and cracked his eyes open. "Ugh...G-Gos?"
With tears in her eyes, Gosalyn wasn't able to hold back as she leaned down and hugged her disoriented father. "Dad!"
"Unca Scrooge!" cried out Huey, Dewey, and Louie. The three boys crowded around their uncle and watched as the old miser slowly woke up the same way Darkwing did. "Boys?" asked a confused Scrooge.
Gyro was sitting next to Launchpad and shaking his friend awake. He smiled down as he watched Launchpad wake up.
Liquidator, Megavolt, and Quackerjack were all huddled around Bushroot as they awaited with anticipation for him to wake up as well.
Negaduck was the only one who didn't have anyone waiting for him when he woke up. He laid there on the ground staring up at the ceiling for several long moments. He didn't have anyone there to explain what had happened so he was forced to sit and figure it out himself.
Scrooge sat up, smiling when he felt Huey, Dewey, and Louie all cuddle close to his torso. He looked up past the boys' heads and smiled up at Donald, who was standing a few feet away and allowing his boys and uncle to have a moment.
Turning back to the boys, Scrooge ran a hand through their head feathers. "Oh, me boys. My precious boys! Yeh managed t'find us, didnae yeh?"
All three brothers were all talking at once, eagerly trying to tell the story of their heroism, but Scrooge's mind quickly came back to reality as his eyes sought out the one family member he wasn't seeing. His eyes landed on Fenton, who had yet to wake up.
Gently pushing aside the boys, Scrooge stood up and stumbled his way over to Fenton. "Fenton! Fenton, me treasure! Wake up!" He fell to his knees next to Fenton and began shaking his shoulder in an effort to wake him. When nothing happened, Scrooge looked up to seek out Morgana. Finding her and meeting her eye, he demanded, "Why isn't he waking up!?"
"Because he still doesn't have his soul back" she replied. She stepped up to the cauldron and reached inside. She whispered a few words before up out of the still lightly boiling liquid, came a bright ball of light. Morgana carefully guided the soul light out from the cauldron the same way Magica had guided it inside. She carefully walked the glowing floating orb over to Fenton. She looked down expectantly at Scrooge, who was staring at her with wide uncertain eyes. "Here. Take it. Don't try to touch it. Just hold your hands around it. It will follow you."
Nervously, Scrooge did as he was told and took the soul light from Morgana. He then slowly moved it down until he was holding it over Fenton. Donald stepped around until he was sitting on his knees at Fenton's head. He slowly moved Fenton so that the accountant was laying on his back.
Scrooge gently guided the soul light down until it was hovering just centimeters from Fenton's chest. It was then the soul light slowly descending back into Fenton's chest until it faded inside him completely and the light was gone.
For several long seconds nothing happened and Scrooge bit his lower beak frantically as he waited on baited breath. Then, color slowly came back to Fenton's feathers and the accountant began breathing in gulps of air.
Fenton's eyes slowly slid open.
Scrooge ran a hand over Fenton's forehead, a large smile on his beak as he fought back tears of joy.
"Anyone catch the number of that flying semi-truck that hit me?" mumbled Fenton.
Scrooge gave a wet laugh as was unable to resist hugging Fenton, who was now trying to sit up.
"Oh! Scroogey! Hi!" said a surprised and baffled Fenton. He wrapped his arms around Scrooge and returned the hug.
While Scrooge fussed over Fenton, Gosalyn fussed over her father. Darkwing was now sitting up and rubbing at his head. "Ugh, what a doozy..." he murmured. He hugged Gosalyn and held her close as Launchpad shuffled his way over to them. "Launchpad!"
"Hey there, DW" smiled the pilot, taking his large arms and pulling his two loved ones close. Gyro smiled down at them from where he was standing nearby; thrilled to see that his friend was doing alright.
Bushroot was busy being assaulted in a large liquid hug as Liquidator pulled him up and held him close. Both of them ignored the snickering that was coming from Quackerjack and Megavolt.
Everyone was in their own little world as they were reunited with their loved ones.
All except Negaduck, who, at this point, had managed to stand up and make his way over to Magica, who was still slumped against the wall after Morgana's final magic blow had hit her. He towered over her, his shadow covering her limp body as she looked up through half lidded eyes. "Well, it would seem you managed to fail, Miss De Spell. How unfortunate...For you." His voice dripped with hatred.
"You think you all defeated me?" she croaked. Poe tiredly landed on her shoulder, his wings falling to his side and showing how badly he was now molting from all the attacks thrown at him.
Negaduck glanced at their surroundings. "Look around you! Your ritual was destroyed! You spells were broken! We're all still alive despite our blood being poured into the potion! You failed!"
"Perhaps" admitted Magica tiredly. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The cave around them began to tremble and shake. "But that doesn't mean I can't still kill you all in one final swoop!"
What felt like a large earthquake shook the room dangerously. Rocks and rubble began to fall from the ceiling. "She's causin' a cave in!" shouted Scrooge as he began helping Fenton stand.
"Heh heh! That's right, Scroogey, ol' boy! You may have managed to deny me the Midas Touch once more, but you won't live to see a new day!"
The save continued to shake as it became more and more likely that they wouldn't make it out of Mount Vesuvius alive.
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