Better Together Chapter 21: "Schemers Gotta Scheme Part 4"

"Kids! We're here!" Scrooge announced. He stood up from the seat he was sitting in, looking back at what was basically mounds of feathers in the back portion of the plane. The children had fallen asleep since the ride had taken longer than expected.

"Kids!" Scrooge tried again.

"Oh I know!" Della took her infamous air horn out of her pocket and honked it, causing the kids to jolt upright.

Dewey was the first one to snort awake, "Wha?"

"Come on ya lazy lumps of feathers, we're going on an adventure!" Scrooge put his hands on his hips.

Louie, Huey, and Webby yawned then followed Scrooge to where the flight doors were.

Launchpad forced open the doors, "The flight doors are now open!" A piece of metal fell down from the upper part of the plane. The pilot scratched his head, "I'm going to need to fix that. Just a heads up, I'll probably break it again."

Beakley shook her head disapprovingly and Della's eye twitched. Donald shot him a deadpanning look, "I'm honestly not surprised."

Scrooge avoided the whole conversation altogether and told them, "No matter! Right now, we need to focus on the Maltese McGuffin! Ya need to venture inside a golden cavern full of crystals and jewels to get it. Once you take it from its pedestal, the whole thing'll come crashing down! So, we'll need to act fast."

"Well that sounds…safe." Louie said dryly. The sarcasm in his voice was edged with worry. The plane had landed (crashed) next to a waterfall with jaggy, unnatural rocks at the bottom of it. There was a faint gleam on the rocks from sunlight reflecting on the tops of them. The sound of rushing water blocked out any sound of singing birds or anything really.

Scrooge examined the waterfall, "Hm…in all of my years of adventuring, I know that waterfalls are never what they seem." He stuck his cane through the water and hit something, "Just as suspected." The elderly duck waved his hand, signaling for the others to follow behind him. Louie ducked under the waterfall, then stared at the sight before him in amazement.

Sparkly, dazzling crystals adorned and embellished the walls of the enclosure, giving off a warm glow. The vibe of the cave was thrilling and suspense, via the look on Scrooge's face. Strangely enough, there was a smell that Louie quite recognized, being the smell of newly-cut grass. There wasn't much lighting, except for one small torch on the wall that Louie inferred a past explorer had put for others to find. Somehow, it hadn't managed to catch anything on fire just yet, so Scrooge grabbed it to use as a light source so they could better adapt to their surroundings.

Louie turned to his brothers and Webby, "So here's the plan: Uncle Scrooge will get the Maltese thing or whatever, "Then, we'll replace it with a fake version I ordered online. The flight home will take a couple hours, which is perfect, because that's how long it takes for the fake version of the statue to come. So I'll just get the fake and replace it with the real one. I'll give the real one to Gyro as payment"

Huey curled his beak, "There's just one thing flawed with that statement…actually, a couple, but what I mean to say is, Scrooge knows gold like the feathers in his tail! We'll need an exact replica."

"The fake one's very realistic." Louie countered.

Huey looked nervous, "If you say so…"

Dewey wailed, "The bigger problem is the stupid voice box! Why oh why must I be cursed with such terrible fortune?! OH THE HUMANITY!"

Webby groaned, "Dewey…!"

Louie hissed, "Come on! The adults are ahead of us!" He followed Scrooge, Donald, Della, Beakley, and Launchpad to where they were standing a few feet ahead.

Scrooge narrowed his eyes, "This crystal looks out of place." He pressed a green gem, and the wall in front of him started to sink down into the earth below, revealing…

"The Maltese McGuffin!" Della screamed, "We found it! Yeah!"

Scrooge quickly snatched it, "We need to get out of here before-" The ground started shaking, and the family screamed and ran out of the cave. Breathing heavily, they looked behind the waterfall where the cave lay in ruins, "That happens."

Dewey groaned, "This better be worth it."

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