She found Webby in her room and staring at a book without seeing it. She flipped the page back and forth and Lena knocked on the door. At least the younger girl had left it open; she might have just not had the energy to close it. When she knocked, Webby looked up.

"Hey," Lena said, knowing this conversation was bound to be awkward. "Did you want to talk?"

Or stare blankly at something. Lena's tail twitched, betraying her agitation, and she folded her arms across her chest. It was possible Webby hadn't noticed. The younger girl looked rather distracted, thinking of Dewey and her grandmother. Lena stepped back. Perhaps this was intruding too far. After all, her aunt had attacked Webby's grandmother. Maybe Webby didn't need the reminder.

"I can come back later," she suggested when Webby didn't answer. Lena's tail swept around behind her like she was trying to play jump rope with it. She stomped on it to keep it from moving and then gritted her teeth at the pain. Heads you lose, tails you lose.

"Never mind," Lena said, hurt but determined not to show it. She had been asking too much.

"Wait," Webby said as Lena was about to close the door behind her and leave her to her misery. Lena turned back, her heart thudding in her chest. She felt like she was being pulled in two different directions which was probably how Webby felt too.

"If you don't wanna talk, that's cool," Lena said. "Don't feel like I'm forcing you."

"I do," Webby said and sighed. "Come in. You might as well close the door behind you."

Lena joined Webby on the bed and Webby tossed the paperback. It looked like one of Della's, about daring adventure on the open seas. She never read anything about getting lost in rainforests, as that hit too close to home. Judging by the haste with which Webby discarded the novel, she hadn't been reading it for long. Or at all.

"I'm sorry about my aunt," she said. "But you knew she was a bitch."

Webby touched her cheek and Lena cradled her hand against it. The time for subterfuge and subtlety had passed. Dewey had already made his move. And she couldn't deny it-Webby always looked like she needed to be kissed. Still, Lena was reluctant to push her right now.

"You endured years of pain from her just to be near me," Webby said and Lena's lips twitched. Sometimes, she thought Webby was more princess than a trained assassin. She had no difficulty imagining her in the frilly get-ups that traditional royals wore. (Of course, with Dragonburg being an oligarchy, there were no princes or princesses, but Lena was free to imagine them).

"Aunt Della said you're in love with me."

"I love you, Webby," she said and her heart raced saying the words aloud. "But you can be pretty dense about certain things. You didn't notice that Dewey or I was in love with you. You haven't noticed and it's been years. So it's not like I was expecting you to suddenly pay attention."

Her hand atop Webby's was growing warm and conflicting thoughts ran through her mind. She wanted to kiss Webby, she thought it'd be a mistake, she wanted to feel her close to her, she needed to break this off if Webby wanted Dewey and not her…

"I'm sorry," she said and shook her head. Lena was trying to work out, specifically, what she was sorry about considering where her thoughts had gone in the last few minutes. Before she had a chance to do that and remember what they'd been talking about, Webby kissed her.

This was not a scenario Lena had anticipated. She sat, stunned. Webby was her first kiss. Of course, Lena had planned it that way because she hadn't wanted anyone else near her. However, she had resigned herself to the fact that it was never going to happen. Webby was too oblivious to ever notice her affection for her. She'd assume everything was platonic unless proven otherwise.

She recovered before Webby had a chance to pull back and kissed her passionately in response. She was a tad overeager, much like Webby, and they fell over on the bed. Webby stopped, staring at her, and Lena saw her grin mirrored on Webby's face.

"I thought I'd kiss you to compare the two," Webby said and then twirled her hair around her finger. "Not that I'm getting rid of one of you in the favor of other-Aunt Della said that if my heart wants both of you, then I should go for it."

If Della Dragon hadn't been such a famous figure and the niece of Dragonburg's most powerful leader, people might've been tempted to denigrate her for that. Of course, Webby was in the same boat, almost. No one would castigate her if she decided not to choose, although Lena was uncertain how long she wanted to share her. Then again, she'd been sharing her for years...and it wasn't like she'd ever thought she'd get this far.

(But was it selfish to want Webby to herself?

"You know most people have one mate and that's it, right?" Lena said, cocking her eyebrow at Webby. Her lips tingled from the kiss and she wanted to jump around for joy. It was an effort to play it cool and collected.

"I can't help it," she said, bashful. "I want to be with both of you."

Lena just wanted her to kiss her again. It had almost been enough to make her forget her current predicament. Wait, did that mean she had permission? Ugh...she wasn't going to agonize over this any further. She leaned forward and kissed her again; she wasn't sure if Webby would pull away, but she didn't.

Instead, the younger girl pulled her closer and threw her arms around her neck. Webby was shaking, however, and Lena frowned into the kiss. Webby was doing what she always did-suppressing her emotions to make someone else happy. While Lena didn't doubt that Webby wanted to be with both of them, she did doubt that Webby could so easily discard her concern over Mrs. Beakley.

"Maybe...maybe we should hold off on this…" she said, though it was killing her to withdraw from something she had wanted for years. Now she almost knew how Magica felt. Almost.

"Why?" Webby protested, but there were tears in her eyes, which made Lena's heart clench.

"We need to talk about what happened," she said. "We didn't get a chance to talk before about this whole crazy situation."

"I can't talk to you," Webby said, which stung. Perhaps something of this showed on her face, because Webby hastily added, "Not that I don't want to. But how do you talk about a crush with that crush? And...I'm not really worried about Granny. Really."

Lena smirked. "Uh huh. I don't believe you."

The house shuddered and Lena flinched, the smirk vanishing. It almost felt like Magica was trying her luck against the charms protecting the manor. She knew she was on Magica's shit list big time for this stunt.

"Why don't you talk first?" Webby countered.

"There's not much to say," she said, reluctant to get into it. She'd already had it dragged out of her by Scrooge. She didn't relish Webby doing the same. The worst part was she had no one to blame but herself for inciting this. Webby had raised her eyebrows right back at her and Lena sighed.

"How badly does Magica hurt you?" Webby asked and stroked her cheek with the back of her hand. Lena's heart skittered around, as it always did when Webby touched her.

"How badly do I need to hurt her in response to what she did to you and Granny?" she continued.

"Woah, woah," she said. "I don't think you're ready for that, pink."

"I can't sit here and do nothing," Webby objected. "At least if I go after her, I'm doing something."

"Like getting yourself killed?" Lena snapped. She modified her tone after Webby winced. "Sorry. But you don't know what you're up against. The only person who's managed to take on Aunt Magica and win is Scrooge and I don't know how he did it. He tricked her."

"Did you ever think that maybe it's your fear talking?" she suggested gently. "That maybe you're stronger than you think you are?"

Lena didn't say anything and Webby turned her face in her direction. She had to keep her eyes from drifting down to her lips again. Holy crap, did she want to kiss her again.

"Lena, you're the strongest person I know after my granny," Webby said. "If you really wanted to, with Uncle Scrooge's and my help, I bet you could take down Magica once and for all."

"I…" Lena faltered, uncertain how to react to that. She'd lived so long without hope of banishing Magica that the thought of defeating her was impossible. Webby was so earnest and Scrooge had defeated Magica before, so it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Her mind went blank.

"But we don't have to worry about that yet," Webby added. She ran her fingers through Lena's hair and Lena shut her eyes to better enjoy the sensation. She leaned against her and Webby kissed her cheek.

"We can worry about the coming out party and all that fun stuff," Webby said.

"Was there a difference between my kissing you and Dewey?" Lena asked, suddenly needing to know.

"Mmm...no, not really," Webby answered. "The same kind of giddy excitement and passion from both of you that I felt too. Maybe by the time the party comes around, I'll have made up my mind."

She found Lena's hand, which had fallen off her cheek, and held it. "No matter what, we're still best friends. I'll never forsake you. I love you."

"I love you too," Lena said, wishing Webby would make up her mind sooner. But then again, if she did, who was to say that she'd choose her?

They were going to have to deal with Magica. She'd been a menace for too long and he'd been foolish to think that banishing her would derail her. Instead, she'd used an innocent child as a pawn for fifteen years; just thinking about the abuse Lena must have endured incensed him. He was aware by forcing her to linger in the house that he was virtually imprisoning her, but he saw no alternative. The instant Magica sunk her claws into Lena again, she would destroy her for her betrayal. Scrooge knew how Magica's mind worked all too well.

He couldn't count on the other members of the oligarchy to support him in this. Glomgold would've taken advantage of Scrooge's difficulties and teamed up with Magica. It had happened once before. Mark Beaks was too self-absorbed to care. As for John D. Rockerdragon, no one had seen him in ages. Scrooge doubted the old tycoon was still alive.

Luring Magica out had worked before, but it had ended in Mrs. Beakley nearly perishing. The problem was that if he went to Magica, she'd have a fight on her home turf. There, she would have the advantage. Of course, she wouldn't have much of an advantage, considering that her magic was close to nil and her only assistant was a bird whose mental capacity diminished by the day. Scrooge allowed himself a moment of pity for Poe; he had probably wanted what was best for Lena until Magica had swept him up into her schemes.

Unfortunately, with Mrs. Beakley out of commission, only he could prove a match for Magica. He couldn't ask Webby to fight her-she was too young, she wasn't as experienced, and he would not risk the life of a child. Besides, this was his battle. He had left the loose ends for far too long.

With that settled, he realized he'd have no choice but to attack her where he least wanted to. He couldn't risk bringing her to the manor again. Even with powerful protection spells about the house, Magica's target would be Webby, who would find it hard to stay out of the fight. She would be determined to seek revenge for Lena and her grandmother. He cared for the child, but he sometimes worried that she was a little too gung-ho about things.

If he was going to confront Magica, he needed a plan. She would attempt to get him on the defensive as soon as possible. On the plus side, she had no access to the complex and dangerous spells she'd used during their full fledged battle. On the minus side, she would be far more desperate to hurt him. He thought he could handle her, despite his age. As far as he was concerned, he was in the prime of his life. Age meant little to nothing. Dragons could be immortal.

The problem, among other things, was that he hadn't shifted into dragon form in quite some time. He preferred to stay in humanoid form, which was smaller and more adroit. Dragon form was more powerful, true, but it came with limitations. Then again, everything did. He stared at his hand and flipped his wrist, changing his hand from its soft, pink version to the white scaled and black taloned foot. If he willed it, he could transform completely right here, but then there'd be no room for him. His dragon form was bigger than the manor.

Hmm. He could use someone to scout out the terrain and report back. Or, conversely, he could ask Lena to tell him as much as she could. By now, Magica had to have deduced that Lena had betrayed him. He couldn't send her out to talk to Magica; she'd kill her. His hands were back to normal and his fists trembled. She was just a child.

What he would have liked to do was hash out a battle plan with Bentina, but Calente had said she had yet to recover consciousness. He had indicated that some level telepathy may have transpired between her and Webbigail, but he couldn't be certain. It was possible that something else had caught his attention. It was hard to tell unless you were the recipient whether someone was sending or receiving a telepathic message.

Nonetheless, he felt obligated to check in on his bodyguard. She appeared much as she had before, with heavy bandanging on her throat, and didn't stir at his arrival. In fact, she appeared not to have noticed it. Scrooge assumed that Cal had simulated a magical coma to prevent her from over-exerting herself. It seemed to be working, inasmuch as Bentina wasn't moving, but it was rather depressing to see his bodyguard laid out like this.

Even if she'd been conscious enough for telepathy, he wouldn't share it with her. He was neither a member of her family nor a mate. (The thought brought a faint flush to his cheeks-Goldie was still around the manor somewhere). Still, he would like to hope that if she had anything to convey, she would figure out a way to do it. Bentina was nothing if not resourceful.

He couldn't go gallivanting around with Goldie, not until Bentina was better and Magica was dealt with. Perhaps Donald could help with strategy. He'd served in the aerial corps (since the dragons had no need for a navy) and might know tactics. It was strange to think of his nephew in that manner; however, he ought to respect his knowledge instead of thinking Donald was too careful. True, whatever he proposed would probably entail watching and waiting to get the jump on her.

He found Donald with Della in the library. Della was standing with braces on her legs. Her teeth were gritted from the effort of walking about the room and she swayed, her balance none too trustworthy. Her twin caught her before she fell and they both turned to look at Scrooge.

"Aha, I knew you were hiding something from me, lassie," Scrooge said with a grin. "You've been practicing, eh?"

Della flushed, caught in the act. "I'll be better by the boys' coming out party next week."

She didn't want to complain; despite her assurances, he could see how much moving cost her in the pained lines on her forehead and her gritted teeth. Finally, she collapsed next to Donald and Donald inclined his head toward his uncle.

"What is it, Uncle Scrooge?" he asked.

"Magica de Spell," he said, seeing no point in mincing words or beating around the bush. "She's been a public menace for too long and now that she's lost Lena as a pawn, she's going to get desperate."

"Desperate enough to make a mistake?" Della suggested. "There's no cosmic event that's coming that'll boost her powers, is there?"

"Samhain," Donald said. "Halloween. The actual astrological date is November 5th...which is coming up soon."

"When darkness overpowers the light…" Scrooge said thoughtfully, perturbed that he'd forgotten this. Samhain was largely metaphorical and few people noted its occurrence, much less celebrated it. However, he knew anything to do with the old ways would beguile Magica. Plus she had nothing further to lose. People like that were always more dangerous because they feared nothing.

"She's been in exile this whole time," Della said. It looked like she'd wanted to add that nothing had befallen them since then, but then she remembered Mrs. Beakley. Her gaze dropped to the table and Donald put a hand on her shoulder.

"Aye, she has. Plotting my downfall and her triumphant return, no doubt," he said.

"So, we have to stop her before November 5th…" Donald said. "That gives us four days."

"No pressure," Della muttered.

"And in those four days, her powers will grow, as she's affiliated with the dark, not the light," Donald reminded them. He frowned. "You're gonna need help."

"I couldn't ask you two to help me," he said and Della huffed, glancing down at herself. Scrooge placed a hand on her other shoulder.

"I'm not blaming you for anything," he said to Della softly. "I'm not upset with you, lass."

"I'm upset with me," Della said and her jaw trembled. This must've been what Donald and Della had been discussing before Scrooge had intruded. Della's self-esteem had taken a beating since she'd gotten lost in the rainforest.

"We don't have to accompany you, do we?" Donald asked, more pragmatic about this. "We can help you from here."

"Yes, that's why I came here," he said. "I needed a battle strategy and I thought I'd catch you two together. Magica may have the advantage in terms of power and home territory, but we have something she wants. Multiple somethings. She'll be hard-pressed to get at them any other way than through me."

Donald frowned. "About that...about Lena?"

He shook his head. "Lena is non-negotiable."

In a way, Lena's predicament was his fault. If he hadn't fought with Magica in the first place all those years ago, she wouldn't have become a pawn in Magica's schemes. It was regrettable, but all they could do now was move forward. There was no sense in haranguing himself about it. Heaven knew he'd done enough of that when it came to Della.

Thankfully, Donald dropped the subject. Lena wouldn't make Scrooge vulnerable, not if she stayed put. She wouldn't be happy about it, but he didn't see an alternative.

"She'll want to attack again when she's at the height of her powers and she's going to be looking for a new toady," Scrooge said. "It's a shame we don't have any sorceresses on our side. We could've created a golem to fight her."

Della frowned. No one really knew the extent of their magic beyond the dragon staples of flight, transformation, and fire. The Dragon and McDragon family, despite their names, seldom dabbled in magic. Most of it was considered the dark arts by Scrooge and therefore off limits. Webby had dabbled in magic, he felt certain, but he'd never caught her at it. She'd snuck stuff into the house-he was positive.

"Webby still could," Donald said, confirming Scrooge's theories. He smiled, chagrined. This must've been something he'd been keeping from Scrooge for a while. "She knows all the spells."

"Even though she shouldn't have been practicing magic in the house," Scrooge muttered, finishing the sentence with a grimace.

"We could talk to her…" Della said. "But maybe give her a day or two."

"I'm not sure we have a day or two," he pointed out. "The longer we wait, the stronger Magica grows."

He frowned deeper. "And it takes a day or two to construct a golem. If we wait two days, we'll only just be ready on Samhain."

"One day, then," Della pleaded. "She needs a day to take in all that's happened."

"All right," he agreed. "One day. But I'm going to ask her tomorrow."

That wasn't a full day and Della looked inclined to argue, but she swallowed her objections and nodded instead. He nodded back. It felt like the proverbial wolves were howling at his door and he'd left it ajar just enough for them to push their way in.