Author's Note: Webby's nightmare gets a little graphic. I've been having a miserable real life, so I've been taking out my aggressions on Webby.

I wanted to thank everyone who's reviewed in the past week. You've helped make me feel better about a rotten situation.

Chapter Five: The In-Between

Webby hated to fall asleep now. She hated the nightmares that inevitably came. The nightmares grew confused too, sensations of the Bloodhound Gang raping her intermixed with her stabbing the leader in the chest and her grandmother dying, along with Lena abandoning her. Sometimes, it'd happen all at once-the leader would be in the middle of violating her when she'd killed him and the blood soaked her from head to toes.

She was having one of those dreams now, with blood everywhere, in her eyes, her hair, her face, and rendering her clothes sodden. Instead of scrambling back like she'd done in real life, the leader fell heavily upon her and, incredibly, continued thrusting, despite bleeding out on her. Webby screamed, unable to move now that he'd pinned her, and she felt eyes upon her. She turned her head to spy Lena a few feet away and pleaded with her with her eyes, as her beak seemed glued shut.

"This is my fault," Lena said. "I can't help you. I'd only make it worse. I'm sorry."

Webby watched her best friend walk away from her as the bulldog kept moving inside of her. Webby drew breath to scream, but her beak was shut tight. In her head, she was screaming her name and pleading with Lena not to go. Lena remained deaf to her mental entreaties.

Magica appeared, grinning maliciously and watching everything with her hand on Mrs. Beakley's shoulder. Her grandmother stared dead-eyed at her, and another scream clawed its way up Webby's throat. Her grandmother looked exactly as she had right after Magica had killed her, with that sizeable hole in her chest. Webby felt sick.

"You brought it on yourself," her grandmother whispered in Magica's voice. Magica and Mrs. Beakley looked down, condemning her for failing to protect herself.

"Lass, you're having a nightmare," Scrooge called out of nowhere. She didn't see him, which baffled her. "You need to wake up."

Scrooge's disembodied voice didn't gel with the scene around her. She shuddered, searching for allies, and saw the triplets, appalled, five feet away and just watching her. None of them moved to help her. They were supposed to be her surrogate family and then, like Lena, they walked away. Webby burst into tears.

"Webby, wake up!" It was Huey this time and he accompanied it with shaking her. The gentle shakes were an odd contrast to the thrusting and she faltered, confused. The dead man above her stopped too.

"It's just a nightmare," Dewey said. "Wake up, Webs."

Webby struggled back to consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she saw the boys and Scrooge staring at her in consternation. No blood coated her body and no one was hurting her. Pulling her knees to her chest, she stared back. Her lower beak quivered.

"I thought Magica was done giving us nightmares?" Dewey said.

"Aye, she is, lad, but Webby has PTSD," Scrooge said and stroked her hair. "Hey. You're not there. You're here. With us. Do you remember?"

"I'm sorry…" she said. "I didn't mean to wake you guys up and scare you. The only time I can sleep is with that cordial…"

"Then we'll need to get more," Scrooge said. He frowned at her. "You shouldn't be sorry. None of this is your fault."

"That's what Lena said," Webby replied, staring down at the floor. "Lena blamed herself."

"It's not her fault either," Scrooge said. "She didn't plan any of this."

Webby continued staring at the floor. The boys were on either side of her and Dewey held her hand. He interlaced their fingers and her heart thudded. She was pretty sure she was in love with Lena, or at least infatuated with her, but sometimes her emotions got away from her. She wasn't used to being around so many people and her heart did strange things around Louie and Dewey.

"You slept better when I was holding you," Louie said and then shrugged. "If you wanted to try that again."

"I don't really want to go back to sleep right away," she muttered. Dewey squeezed her hand and she saw nothing but compassion and love reflected in his gaze, as well as everyone else's. Even Launchpad was staring at her in concern...and he probably should've been looking out at the viewscreen and paying attention to the controls.

"We could always watch-" Huey suggested and Dewey and Louie gave him dirty looks. Webby's lips twitched. She wasn't as tired as she'd been and she felt safe, surrounded by her family. She missed her grandmother something fierce and she wished Lena were here, but she felt, if not completely at peace, close to it. The boys and Uncle Scrooge would keep the forces at bay. They loved her.

"Are we almost there?" she asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Another twelve hours," Scrooge said and his expression darkened. "We'd be there already if Launchpad hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel."

"Everyone else was sleeping," Launchpad said defensively.

"But no one else was flying the ship!" Scrooge remarked, slamming his cane down. "Sometimes, I don't know why I pay you so much when you're more trouble than you're worth!"

Launchpad demurred and the two adults devolved into an argument. It took the attention off her, for which she was grateful. The boys, however, continued to regard her. Was it PTSD? Was that what made her think that everyone she loved would abandon her and that the events she'd witnessed would combine to worsen everything? It could be. She wondered if the boys had a form of it from seeing her kill someone.

But there was no artifice in their gazes, nothing to suggest that their concern was misplaced or false. Webby's heart clenched.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dewey asked in a small voice. "It might make you feel better. Uncle Donald always used to talk to us after our nightmares."

At this, she glanced over at Donald, who might've been feigning sleep. Since she'd woken everyone else up, she doubted he'd slept through it. His left eyelid lifted and he winked at her. Apparently, he was just trying to avoid the row between his uncle and Launchpad. Webby smiled weakly back.

Webby shook her head at them and her throat tightened.

"Offer's still open," Louie said.

"You don't have to give us all the details," Dewey added. "Just enough so we can make you feel better."

"You know what I dreamt about," she murmured, unable to meet anyone's gaze now. "It was all mixed up."

"Hey," Huey said gently, lifting her chin up. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you. Uncle Scrooge found the Bloodhound Gang before we left and without them, no one else is going to come after you. You're safe now."

Webby might've believed him if not for the telltale twitch Scrooge gave at his grandnephew's words. One for two, then. Then again, Scrooge hadn't had enough time to track them down again. The only person she could think of who might want to do that would be Lena, but Lena wouldn't risk her neck for that, would she? Webby's stomach clenched again, worrying that yes, in fact, she might attempt it as a way to redeem herself.

Huey hadn't missed Scrooge's flinch either.

"By the time we get back, we won't have to worry about it," he said and she wasn't sure even he believed himself.

"Lena said that the underground villains might want to attack me for killing their leader," Webby said in a small voice.

"You'd think they'd be afraid of you instead," Dewey muttered. He was still holding her hand and she could feel his heartbeat against her palm. She had an odd, sudden desire to kiss him, for at least trying to comfort her.

"Man, you're so badass, you'd think everyone would be afraid of you," Louie added and Webby beamed at him.

"Don't worry about it, okay? It'll all work out," Huey soothed. She wondered how often he'd done this with his brothers to calm them down after nightmares.

The moon loomed larger in the viewport and the triplets fell silent. Dewey removed his hand from hers and she knew what he was thinking, what they were all thinking. Somewhere on the moon was their mother. Webby would have to put aside her trauma and face this with them because they needed her. They might not say it aloud, but she knew they did. She intended to be there for them.

She just hoped Lena didn't do anything stupid while they were gone…

"You have to learn how to game the system," Gladstone said. "And the first way to do that is to be in the right place at the right time."

Lena said nothing. He'd been insufferable the entire day and offering these stupid tidbits. Maybe they worked for him, but they did nothing for her. Anxiety clawed at her and she kept rubbing Webby's ribbon on her wrist as if she could summon her by thinking of her. On the other hand, she didn't want to summon her, not if the Bloodhound Gang was out there waiting to attack her.

"So, these people you want me to find," he said, eating a hot dog and guiding her past several disasters with aplomb-she ended up getting splashed with bird crap while he walked away unscathed. She was starting to resent him.

"You never told me about them," he said. Lena tugged at her sweater and used it to clean off the bird crap. Now it needed to be washed. Ugh.

Lena frowned. She had to find a delicate way to phrase this because if she told him the full truth, he'd probably walk away from her. Unconsciously, she rubbed her wrist again. Webby…

"They're, you know, criminals," she said and shrugged. "They attacked Webby and got away with it. Scrooge hasn't been able to track them down."

There, that ought to be enough of the truth to satisfy him. Unfortunately, she had to turn her face away when she said it because the rage that rose within her thinking of what they'd done was impossible to hide. She still remembered seeing the leader inch up Webby's skirt and she shook in anger, balling her fists at her sides. How dare they.

"There's more to this than you're telling me," he said. "Besides, I've seen Webby in action. That girl doesn't take abuse lying down."

He frowned. "Lena, was it? I'm not going to help you if you won't tell me the whole truth."

Lena bristled.

"I told you the truth," she said. "Webby was attacked and they got away with it. Now Scrooge can't find them."

"How did they get the drop on her?" he asked, suspicious.

"They held her at gunpoint," Lena said and her nails dug into her palms. "Look, are you going to help me or not?"

"I still think there's something you're not telling me, kid," he snapped. "I may be lucky, but I'm not stupid."

Could've fooled her. She was working on controlling her temper. Gladstone's twenty questions combined with her already taut nerves were making a potent mix. It was a good thing she didn't have access to Magica's magic. Something might've exploded by now.

Of course, if she'd had her magic, she could've just zapped herself to wherever the gang was and wouldn't have needed to use Gladstone in the first place.

Lena had to figure out how to approach this without losing her temper. She counted to ten in her head and tried not to think of how Magica would've needled her. It was hard when she knew her aunt would've taken advantage of her mood and worsened it if she didn't end up berating and verbally abusing her. Lena gritted her teeth. She wouldn't keep Gladstone's attention for long if she didn't give him something to go on.

"The Bloodhound Gang teamed up with my aunt, Magica, to kidnap Webby and the triplets," she said, wondering just how much she had to tell him before he stopped being an ass. "Like I said, the first time they met Webby, they attacked her. They assaulted her…"

"Look at me," he said, unconsciously reflecting Webby's prior command. Lena jerked her head back at him and anger burned in her. Webby could order her around, although Lena would prefer she didn't do it very often. Gladstone doing it was irritating and reminded her of Magica.

"It wasn't a normal assault, was it?"

"Why the hell does that matter?" Lena burst out. "What does it matter how they hurt her? They hurt her, okay? She was bleeding and roughed up when we found her and they would've done it again if Webby hadn't stabbed their leader in the chest."

"Woah, woah. You mean they're out for revenge?" he said. "You didn't tell me that."

"They deserved what they got," Lena spat. She could feel Magica's influence within her rising and this time didn't bother to suppress it. Maybe she wasn't the best influence on Webby. Maybe she had darkness within her clamoring to be released. But these assholes had hurt someone she loved. As far as she was concerned, getting stabbed was too good for them. They would've gang-raped Webby if they could've gotten away with it.

"Your eyes are glowing…" Gladstone said, taking a step back.

"I'm not sure this is something that I want to be mixed up in," he said, retreating.

"Scrooge has been looking for them. Like I said, he wants them found and thrown in jail," she said and thought, If not worse. He'd probably like a stab at them himself.

"And you were going to look for them yourself?" he asked. "Before your eyes started glowing, I would've thought you were crazy."

"I wasn't having any luck," she said pointedly.

"So you wanted to cash in on mine." He gave her a hard look that she returned. Did family really mean so little to him that he'd throw Webby to the sharks? True, Webby wasn't technically his family, but she was as good as, wasn't she? Lena maintained her glower.

"I'll find them for you, but after that, you're on your own."

"You're going to leave a thirteen-year-old girl alone with child rapists," Lena said flatly. "You're unbelievable."

"You didn't...you…" For a second, it appeared she'd flummoxed him. Gladstone gaped, glare gone and replaced by sheer shock. If she'd clubbed him over the head, she would've gotten the same reaction.

"You said they assaulted her!" he protested, outraged.

"And you wanted more details," she rejoined, unrepentant. "Fine. Point me to them. I'll take care of them on my own."

"Oh, no," he said. "Now I'm honor bound not to let you do that. Christ, kid, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," she snapped, "that I don't want them anywhere near Webby ever again. I'm thinking that the longer they're out there, on the loose, the greater the chance that they'll find someone to put a hit on her because she killed their leader. And I'm thinking that unless I want to try to scour the city for the next five days looking for them to no avail, I need your help."

"You're serious."

Lena wanted to bash his face in with a brick. She was so angry right now it was hard to think straight. If she alienated him, she'd have to go it alone. She was shaking from the effort of keeping herself from screaming at him.

"Isn't this something the cops should be involved in?" he asked.

"The cops can't find them," she said from her clenched beak. "And neither can Scrooge. But you're lucky. You find whatever you're looking for when you're looking for it."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to lead you into danger," he objected.

One...two...three...Lena was not mastering her temper very well. She could hear Magica in her head exhorting her to hurt him.

"I'm not asking you to hand me to them," she said and resisted the urge to punch him. The darkness rose within her and she could feel it choking her. Magica wasn't in command, but her suffocating evil mounted. Only her fingers on Webby's ribbon kept her from slamming him against a nearby building.

"So, what, we find them and then we call the cops?" he asked. "Or we tell the cops we're going in and then they follow us?"

"One of those, yes," she said. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"I'll help you," he promised. "Jeez, kid, those eyes are freaky."

"I'm Magica's niece," she snapped. "What the hell did you expect? Normalcy?"

Perhaps wary of offending her, he didn't reply. Then again, she was enraged and he was the closest target. It was prudent for him to keep his mouth shut and lead on. Lena wished she had somewhere she could let loose and someone she could hurt. It was hard when she kept seeing the gang attack Webby and know how it must've gone down.

"Scrooge doesn't want these people handed to the cops, does he?" Gladstone said a few minutes later, interrupting Lena's brooding and causing her to punch a wall in irritation. It did nothing, save hurt her hand, and she grimaced at the pain.

"I don't know," she said. She wished he'd shut up. She wished she had the power to force him to be quiet, too.

A few more minutes passed and the next time it looked like he was about to open his mouth, he closed it again. Lena was back to counting to ten in her head and, when that didn't work, thinking of how sweet and caring Webby was. How much Webby loved her, even if Lena knew she didn't deserve it. Especially because she knew that she didn't deserve it. Webby had been so pure and innocent. Fierceness rose in Lena's chest at the thought of the gang taking that away from her.

Her Webby. Her beautiful, naive, adorable Webby. She remembered the tingle of her beak against hers. She loved her and she would make this right, one way or another. She would redeem herself in Webby's eyes.

It didn't occur to her that this was exactly what Webby didn't want. As far as Lena was concerned, she was disposable. Webby wasn't. Magica had taught her that lesson over and over-she was only useful as a pawn. Otherwise, she was worthless.

She still thought Webby was better off without her, but she wouldn't vocalize that again. The anguish it'd caused her was too fresh. But this she could do for her. And maybe if she helped her, Lena would find some self-worth of her own.

Thirteen years abused by Magica, verbally and emotionally. Lena glanced over at Gladstone. She was glad she could milk him for his family loyalty because as far as Lena was concerned, a family was nothing but trouble.