...
There was a strained, expectant silence. Then,
"Oh, shoot!" Huey exclaimed. "Well, now wh-"
"Already calling her cell!" Announced May, home phone in hand, dialing a number. She handed it it Huey. "Just relax, Hue. You'll be fine."
He inhaled deeply and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yeah, this is Huey again. Hey, Vi. I just have one more quick question. Would you be…interested in seeing the new entomology section of the Duckburg Museum with me this Saturday?"
He waited for a moment. "Alright, then. I'll see you there. We can just meet up, talk, walk around...Alright, yeah. That works. See you then. Love you."
He hung up the phone, then gasped. "Wait! No!" He hastily redialed the number.
"Hello?" Asked Violet.
"Hey, Violet, it's Hubert again. Just…ignore that last sentence. The one where I said that…thing. Okay? Okay, bye."
He breathed another sigh of relief as he hung up. "She said yes!"
"Who said yes to what?" Wondered Donald from behind them. The kids spun around. The adults all had reappeared, along with Goldie, who was now tied up and handcuffed.
"Oh, goodness, who is this Violet?" Goldie grinned.
"Just a friend of mine." Squeaked Huey.
"Violet…Violet…Isn't she that one gal with the freckles and curls?" Asked Della.
"Maybe…"
"Aight, aight, fine. Just thought maybe I should know who my son chooses to date." She cackled mischievously.
"Ooh! Are we making a couple name?" Asked May. "Maybe ViHue? Hulet? Viobertlet?"
"No, no names! We're just meeting up at a museum for a couple hours."
"Haha! He said 'couple'!" Said Dewey.
"Oooooh!" All the kids (and Della and Goldie) teased.
Huey sighed. "Uncle Scrooge, a little help?"
"I wish I could, lad. But no matter what, some things and some people always stay the same." He looked right at Goldie as he said this.
She shrugged. "And aren't you grateful for it? Those people are easier to deal with."
"You'd think."
"Well, be sure to tell us how it goes, son, because we will definitely, definitely not be spying on you and your new girlfriend from afar and making sure everything goes okay." Della said.
"Oh, no." Huey said. "Please don't."
"Don't worry. We won't." Louie winked, holding up his phone.
Huey groaned, rubbing his temples. "It's fine. Everything's okay."
"Well, now that that's resolved, what are we gonna do with Goldie?" Wondered June.
Scrooge frowned, tapping his chin. "For now, we'll transfer her to a more suitable prison until we figure out what to do with her."
"Ooh! Maybe in the 'other bin'?" Suggested Webby. "It's by far the most secure place in the….oh, right."
Scrooge nodded. "That's right, Webbigail. Now you see the predicament. What are we to do with this precariously persistent pilferer? We cannae put her anywhere close to the Hayfelday tentacle, or she's find a way to escape and nab it. So, what to do….?"
"Yes, Scrooge, whatever will you do?" Goldie agreed smugly.
"Louie, what are the angles here?" Scrooge asked his nephew.
Louie thought long and hard. Then, he gasped and whispered in his uncle's ear.
"Perfect!" Scrooge declared.
……
Two hours later, Goldie sat in a floor-to-ceiling cage in the hallway, the only exit locked, key hanging at the other end of the hallway.
"Gotta admit, Sharpie, I kinda hate you right now."
Louie shrugged. "Oh, come now, it's not that bad. Your cage has an open end that connects to one of our fanciest suites back there, complete with bathroom and small cot. Oh, and no windows, bars, decorations, or weapons of any kind. Not even extra hairpins. You're welcome. Oh. That reminds me." He reached through the cage and pulled several pins out of her hair. Her bangs unraveled and stray strands tumbled all around her head. Her hair slid out of its ponytail as he took her elastic as well. "No lock-picking for you."
Goldie growled. "Scroogie! You won't let your nephew treat me like this?"
Scrooge shrugged innocently with a satisfied smirk, then called out, "Alright, family, who's taking first watch? We've all got to do our part to make sure this criminal stays in her place. Who's up for it?"
Della shrugged. "I don't have any plans tonight."
Scrooge nodded, then took out a notebook. "Alright, then after a few hours we'll switch off from Della to Webby, then Beakley, then Duckworth, Huey, and then Dewey will pick up watch tomorrow afternoon, followed by Donald, June and May, followed by…." He glanced up at them. "I have just a few more hours to fill for tomorrow; does anyone want to take an extra shift?"
They all glowered. "What about you?" Asked Beakley.
"Ack! Fine…" Scrooge reluctantly scribbled on the list. "Me, then Louie. That's the order."
"What? But I designed the prison! Why should I have to do any extra work?" Louie complained.
Scrooge sighed. "This extra work is literally just sitting and making sure Goldie stays put. You can even bring your blasted mobile device if you want."
"So?" Louie replied dully.
Scrooge sighed. "Fine. I'll take your shift as well."
"Oooh!" the kids started.
"But that does not mean I'll enjoy it! Staring at her cursed countenance for a few extra hours..."
"Just like old times." Goldie leaned against the bars of the cage.
Scrooge grumbled and didn't stop for a long time.
……
The night and following day passed without incident. Goldie tried and tried to attack every angle of the situation and manipulate various McDuck family members, but none of them relented. She stayed in her prison. When Scrooge's turn for two shifts (six hours) finally came Wednesday night, he groaned all the way down the hall. Goldie smiled almost evilly as he sat down on the carpeted floor by her cage. "Good evening."
He responded with a groan.
"I get it, I'm making you nervous. Tell me something I don't already know."
The next several seconds passed by in silence.
"So…" said Goldie. "Why did you have your teenage nephew, of all people, design a top-notch prison?"
"I trust him." Scrooge mumbled. "And he did a great job, from what I can tell."
She sighed. "Yeah, you McDucks are like that. You know, during her shift, June brought down a string and played Cat's Cradle with me for hours. She didn't even realize I could have taken the string and choked her out, or twisted it into a rope and fished for the key down the hall, or-heh, she was just kind of adorable, how not suspicious she was of me."
Scrooge chuckled. "June's wonderfully sweet. Although, I suppose I should talk to her about that…"
"You love these kids, and they love you. You had your money, you had fame, you had it all. Why did they even still matter?"
Scrooge sat up a little straighter. The question took him by surprise. "Well, they're my family."
"Not all of them, well at least, at first. What about your employees or those girls?"
"Even Beakley and Duckworth are as good as kin. And the girls are quite literally miniature feminine versions of me."
"You never did tell me that story." Goldie said. "What happened at Alexandria? How do you, of all people, have three sweet little daughters?"
So, Scrooge launched into a lengthy and action-packed recap of discovering the clones, 'Webby's' capture, the flight to Alexandria, the battles that ensued, and how all secrets had eventually spilled out by the time of Bradford's miraculous defeat. He also included how Beakley had appeared at his doorstep with infant Webbigail that one fateful night.
When he finished, Goldie sighed and gently laughed. "Why am I not surprised? That is… kind of incredible, not gonna lie."
"I did it see it coming, either." Scrooge eagerly said. "And that twist with the Papyrus of Binding; I hadn't seen that thing for decades!"
"Reminds me of that time we met up in that saloon and that guy came storming in looking for that stupid map." Snorted Goldie. "In his defense, it did offer directions to almost eternal relaxation and wealth."
"It was a child's menu from a restaurant!" Scrooge reminded her.
"But he didn't know we had the map in invisible ink on the back!" She snickered.
Scrooge nodded. "Aye, or that we had already found the artifact and it was in your bag!"
She grinned like a snake. "And then I stole it from you."
"And then you stole it from me. I suppose I deserved it, considering that time I-"
They continued to talk and talk for hours into the night, laughing and remembering a century and a half of adventure and treasure hunting they had sometimes shared.
Goldie sighed reminiscently after a while. "Oh, Scrooge, how I miss this. What happened to us?"
He stood up, on guard once again. "That's what you said in the saloon. And in that boat on the Nile. And that cave tied to Nanook."
"But what if I mean it this time?" She replied.
"You said that next all those times."
She sat down defeatedly. "Come on, Scrooge!"
"No, I'm not even joking! It's the same every time! You come. You shamelessly flirt. You betray me and my family and nab the treasure and leave me in the dust!"
"I suppose I can't argue with that."
"No, you really can't!" He sharply agreed.
"…What if I were to tell you-I-"
"Ding! Time's up!" Della walked towards them, metallic leg squealing. "You go get some decent sleep, Uncle Scrooge." She turned aggressively to Goldie. "I'll keep this traitor in her place." She growled in what she thought was a menacing way.
"Oh, joy. Alone with the deranged cyborg."
"Careful, O' Gilt. That deranged cyborg is still my niece."
"Aw. You." Della smiled at her uncle's compliment and squatted next to the cage and squinted her eyes at Goldie. "Grrr."
"I'll see you around, Scroogie!" Goldie called.
"Eh." He waved a hand limply as he walked off, yawning. He then heard himself thinking:
I…hope so too.
……
That night, May awoke at five in the morning to take her shift. She wandered bleary-eyed down the hall and sat down next to Goldie with her crossword book, occasionally glancing over to the prisoner. It…gave her unwelcome memories, watching the woman just stand or sit there, helpless to escape the cage. Very unwelcome memories. Memories of almost three years ago now. Memories of tubes, adults with scary voices, being poked, prodded, scanned, and occasionally questioned. She shuddered.
"Cold?" Asked Goldie.
"Nah, just…thinking."
The much older woman paused. "It's…May, right? One of Scrooge's clones?"
She nodded shyly. "Sorry for not talking yesterday. I figured maybe you wouldn't want to, being…incarcerated and all."
"You kidding me? I'm always down to talk to big, tough prison guards like you."
She laughed. "I'm not that big. Technically, June and I are only three, even though we've been supernaturally aged to be the same as Webby."
"Only three, huh? Well, don't worry, hon. I'm over a hundred seventy, and I still get confused by life. A lot."
The girl smiled, playing with the bow in her ponytail. "Is it true that you love Scrooge?"
"I, uh-what?!"
"Don't try to deny it. My sisters and I can tell."
Goldie hesitated. "You promise not to tell him?"
She eagerly mimicked zipping her beak shut.
"Alright, then. Maybe I still do. A little. I…don't really know. I've spent so long focused on treasure…why do you ask?"
"Oh, I was just wondering because….I really, really want a mom."
The pure candid nature of this child shook Goldie to her core. "Well, don't you have the spy and the cyborg?"
"Della and Mrs. Beakley are like mothers to the three of us, and they love us a lot, but it's just…not the same, you know?"
Goldie could almost feel herself tearing up. "Did your dad put you up to this to soften me?"
She shook her head. "I just wonder what it would be like to have a real mom. The boys do. Della and Donald do. Heck, even my dad still has a living mom! Sorry, I'm not meaning to, you know, make you uncomfortable or anything…"
"No, you're okay."
"I just….I don't know." She stretched her arms over her head and yawned.
"Me neither, hon. Me neither."
They sat there for a minute or two in a surprisingly comfortable silence.
"Wow, it's only six o'clock. Two more hours of my shift. I'm not used to staying up so late. Maybe I should get back to b-b-bed…" May suddenly slid onto the floor, snoring softly.
Goldie chuckled and watched her for a moment, noticed a bobby pin in her hair, and (gently and quietly) pounced.
……
The next morning, Scrooge returned to take over May's shift for his grueling six hour one only to find the girl out cold on the living room floor and Webby and June leaning over her.
"May! May!"
She wearily opened her eyes. "Huh? What happened?"
"You fell asleep on your watch, lass." Scrooge informed her. "And it looks as if you sleepwalked a wee bit. It's alright, though. As long as-"
"Goldie's gone!" Announced Beakley, hurrying down the hall.
"What?!" Asked Scrooge. "How?"
May felt her hair. "My hair feels kinda loose. I bet you anything she took one of my pins and picked the lock!" Suddenly, she was wide awake.
"What's happening?" Della, Donald and the boys stumbled into the living room, half asleep. "Beakley told us there was an emergency." Donald said.
"You said it. It's that Louie still isn't asleep. It's not even eleven AM yet, guys." Louie slumped into Huey's shoulder and snored.
"Of all the reckless-trusting children to keep careful watch on a conwoman like her at five AM when no one's awake to assist them?" Beakley spat at Scrooge. She turned to May and changed her tone.
"-It's not your fault, dearie, no one blames you-but you!"
"How on earth is this one my fault?" Scrooge asked incredulously. "May's the one who fell asleep on duty-don't worry, lassie, you are not to blame for Goldie's escape, it could have happened on any of our watches." He directed this last part at May. She still didn't look very reassured about it, though. She moaned and leaned against the couch worriedly.
"We gotta stop her-the Bin-Hayfelday-who knows how far she is in her plan?!" Webby reminded them while patting her sister's shoulder.
"Right you are." Scrooge called out to the others. "Everyone! Our first priority is to find Goldie!"
There was the sound of a struggle from not far away.
"Uh, found her?" Dewey said.
"That came from the Other Bin!" Della gasped.
"I never thought to hear that horrid sound again." Scrooge said.
Everyone raced for the secret entrance in one of the many old storage rooms to see Goldie throwing herself at the painting that doubled as a vault, slamming it shut, a horrible shriek sounding behind her as she did so. "Don't worry, all! I put the darn thing back in its chamber and everything."
She was a real mess. One of her sleeves was nearly gone, her vest was torn to ribbons, one of her shoes was gone. She collapsed to her knees, panting desperately, her golden hair spilling on the floor all around her. Scrooge and the three girls raced to her side. Everyone else kept their distance.
Scrooge and his triplets reached the entrance and got a closer look at the master thief. She was shuddering an awful lot, breathing unevenly. The charm around her neck was glowing a furious shade of white. Something was spreading across one arm and both legs. And that's when they all noticed…
"Bless me bagpipes!" Scrooge cried. "Oh, Goldie, lass…"
Goldie looked sadly into his eyes, the Eye of Demagorgon shedding radiant flickers of light onto her half-diamond form.
……
Author's notes:
DUN DUN DUUNNNN!
Hi, everyone. For all y'all that came for the ViHue and not the Scroldie (or whatever your ship names are), Im sorry for the Scroldie focus this time around. I'm also sorry for the cliffhanger (not really, it makes me feel evil and powerful ;) But, I can promise that the next chapters will clear things up as well as jump into Huey and Violet's first date and just how deliciously awkward and adorable it is. Until then, please keep reviewing, and I'll see you in probably about a week!
