"Well, that interview was a bust." Scrooge sighed, licking his ice cream cone. "My family is complete chaos." Magica said between spoons of own her ice cream. "I don't wish them on anyone, not even you." "Unfortunately, I do have to deal with them now." Scrooge responded, finishing his ice cream. "Ah well, looks like we're still stuck with each other."
Magica nodded. "I guess so. So, as long as I'm going be stuck with you maybe you could do me a favor?" She asked, eyes narrowing with intent. "What?" Scrooge asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "Buy me more of this ice cream to drown my sorrows in!" She chuckled while eating the last spoonful. Scrooge chuckled. "Honestly, I think that could be doable, after all, I might need to drown my sorrows too."
"So," Magica started once they finished laughing. "What should we do now?" Scrooge shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could wait and see how the reporter's article turns out or if he wants to reschedule the interview." "If Castandra didn't scare him away for good." Magica snickered. "That's a good point; that gold digger is the scariest witch I've ever met!" He shuddered for dramatic effect while snickering.
"You don't think I'm scary?" She asked, slightly offended. "After all the trouble I've caused you?" Scrooge shook his head. "Don't forget that a good amount of the time you helped me fix the problems you caused and I seem to recall one time when you were actually nice to me." "Oh really? Like when?" "That adventure you took me on with the Moonquartz. Don't think I didn't figure that one out." He grinned mischievously and she just gave him an annoyed look.
"So, what was that anyway?" He asked, deciding to keep talking since she remained silent. "You weren't really trying to take the dime that time so why? I know you did all of that on purpose…" He trailed off and gave her an opportunity to answer. When Magica remained silent and continued to focus her gaze at the window Scrooge spoke again. "Were you maybe… flirting with me?" At that Magica fell out of her chair and when she flew back to her feet her face was red.
"What is wrong with you? WHY would I FLIRT with YOU!" She barked. Scrooge laughed. "Well you tell me Magica. You were the one who deliberately stranded me on a deserted island with you." Magica's face turned a shade redder. "You're just being stupid and imagining things you dumb old duck." She muttered, turning to head for the door of the ice cream parlor. "And where are you going?" He asked. "Back to see what kind of mess my sisters made!" Magica was still visibly and audibly flustered as she walked out the door. Scrooge chuckled and let her have a five-minute head start before he got up and followed her.
The next day Scrooge sat in his home office and called the reporter to apologize for the way the interview had gone and received a surprise, Castandra and Granny DeSpell gave him the 'scoop' on his and Magica's engagement party!
"Magica!" Scrooge yelled, none too thrilled. Magica walked in a moment later, Poe on her shoulder. "What did they do now?" She asked, already expecting that her family had done more damage. "Your grandmother and sister told the reporter we're having an engagement party!" Scrooge explained. Magica slapped her forehead, dragged her hand down her face and groaned in frustration. "I think I may just turn them ALL into crows!" "Could you really do that?" Scrooge was hopeful until he heard her response. "HA! If only I could."
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "So, what do we do? This charade getting really tiresome you know." "Well what do you want me to do? If I could have fixed this sooner I would have!" She snapped. "Oh, I don't know anymore!" He sighed. "I guess we need to just plan this party." "I guess so. Next thing you know we'll be having to ACTUALLY plan a wedding." She groaned.
"This could be the opportunity you need." Poe chimed in. "How's that?" Scrooge asked. "You two could stage a break-up at the engagement party; make like somebody's got cold feet or like there was a spell involved or whatever works!" Scrooge rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know; he might just be right. But we'd have to plan it carefully so as not cause too much chaos." They bounced a few ideas back and forth and, in the end, they agreed to try acting as though she had actually put him under a spell and it had worn off.
And so, preparations for the engagement party began. Scrooge and Magica spent the day dealing with Magica's grandmother giving suggestions for the decor, music and even offering her old wedding dress (A very antiquated gown riddled with moth holes) for Magica to wear for the actual ceremony which Magica refused. Her sisters argued about the bridesmaid dresses, who would be maid of honor and questioned whether or not the wedding would even happen anyway, making remarks about how Scrooge could still snap out of whatever lapse of sanity had caused him to get engaged to their sister.
Daisy had come over for a while and she and Donald sat in on the whole thing; Donald still trying not to laugh at his poor uncle's predicament and Daisy cringing at the DeSpell sisters' rudeness to their sister. Daisy actually found herself feeling sympathetic towards Magica.
By eight o'clock Scrooge and Magica had decided to call it an early night to get away from all the chaos. "Well I guess somebody is anxious for some alone time." Hexa remarked as she flipped through one of the many bridal catalogues they had been using to look at wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses. "Well maybe the dime isn't the only thing Magica is marrying him for… if you know what I mean." Castandra giggled. Magica's face turned a furious red. "I am simply tired and I'm going to bed to get some rest. Goodnight!" She fled the room whilst her sisters laughed. Scrooge followed Magica, not wanting to dignify Castandra's remark with any response.
By the time he entered the room Magica had already changed to her nightgown and had pretty much cocooned herself in the blankets on the floor. Scrooge looked at the lump on his floor and cocked an eyebrow. "Magica? What in the world are you doing down there?" "I'm hoping that if I curl up tight enough I can die and be done with this humiliation."
Scrooge just had to chuckle as he entered the closet and changed into his pajamas. "Don't you dare, I don't wanna have to deal with your family on my own!" He could hear a laugh from the blanket cocoon as she uncurled herself and came out from under the blanket. "I'm sorry, my sisters don't think before they run their beaks."
Scrooge's expression turned from amusement to surprise. "What?" Magica asked. "This the second time now… this is the second time you've actually apologized to me. This is serious, I think the charade is starting to knock you off your rocker." Scrooge snickered. Then he was hit in the face with a pillow. "How dare you! I am not off my rocker!" She snapped. "You know, I'm really considering doing something about you and this pillow." He said, holding up the pillow she'd hit him with. "Oh? Like what?" "Well, I could take this pillow back and make you do without…" He said thoughtfully while playing with the pillow.
"Or I could do this!" He smacked her with the pillow. "Oh, now you're going to get it McDuck!" Magica grabbed a pillow off his bed and threw it at him but he managed to dodge the fluffy projectile. "Ha! You need to practice your aim Magica!" He retaliated with another pillow. Before long there was cotton stuffing from the pillows everywhere.
"I think we're out of ammunition." Scrooge said as he looked at the state of his room and his pillows. Magica nodded. "I think you're right." She said with a laugh. Suddenly the door flew open.
"Uncle Scrooge are you okay?" "Back away from Uncle Scrooge!" "We heard a struggle; did she attack you?" "Did she try to steal your dime?" Huey, Dewey, and Louie were armed with water guns and Webby had her nun-chucks at the ready. They stood poised to attack and Magica chuckled. "Oh children, I've already beaten him; he's out of ammunition but I still have one last shot!" "What-" Scrooge was surprised, and thoroughly caught off-guard, by Magica's quick toss of a decorative throw pillow from his bed that she'd been holding behind her back right into his beak. She laughed as he fell on his tail-feathers. "You sneaky witch!" He snapped as he collected himself and got back on his feet.
The kids just stood with their mouths agape, they had rushed in expecting to see a major life and death struggle between the two, not an intense pillow fight! "Uh… you've been having a pillow fight?" Dewey asked in disbelief. "Well, yes… I suppose so." Scrooge thought about it for a moment and it occurred to him that he indeed had a pillow fight with Magica DeSpell, that was something he never would have imagined happening and yet it did and it had actually been kind of fun.
The kids continued to stare in disbelief at the scene as Magica began to chant some words and all the cotton stuffing swirled around. They held up their weapons as they watched, still unsure about what the witch was up to, as the pillows were restored to their original state and fell in a pile on the floor around them.
"Uh, thanks… I think." Scrooge said. "Well, we couldn't leave this mess everywhere." Magica said matter-of-factly. Suddenly a pillow came flying in the room and hit Magica in the back. "Ha! Gotcha!" Lena said smugly, leaning in the doorway behind Webby and the triplets. "You little brat!" Magica snapped. "What? I heard someone say 'pillow fight' and I couldn't ignore the opportunity to pelt you with one." Lena chuckled, then looked at Webby. "By the way, Webbs… Gotcha!" She laughed as she threw another pillow from behind her back at Webby. "Hey! I thought we were friends!" Webby frowned while Lena laughed.
Lena's laughing was cut short by another pillow to the face from Magica. "All's fair in love and pillow fights you know." She said smugly. Lena used her magic to turn the water guns and nun-chucks into pillows so as to arm the others appropriately. "Exactly." She said, tossing another pillow at Magica who dodged it only for it to hit Scrooge. "All right lassie, now you're in for it!" He said, grabbing a pillow from the pile and throwing it at Lena, who grabbed Huey and used him as a shield. "Hey!" He shouted. "All right then, let's do this." Dewey tossed his water gun turned pillow at Scrooge and before long an all-out pillow war was being waged in Scrooge's room.
Magica knew that the whole thing was silly; but it brought back memories of her childhood, of pillow fights she and her siblings had when they were still small and her sisters weren't yet so cold and self-centered. She had decided to just let this be what it was, genuine fun; and enjoy it.
Scrooge had fun as well, remembering times spent with his sisters before he moved to America and times spent with Donald and Della with they were kids and truly enjoying this time spent with his great nephews and Webby, even with Lena and Magica to his surprise. The whole thing felt wonderfully normal and right, like this was how things were meant to be.
The pillow war came to end when Webby went down and didn't get back up. At first everyone worried she'd been seriously hurt until they realized she'd fallen asleep in the pile of pillows.
"All right lads and lassies, I think it's time for bed." Scrooge said, carefully picking up Webby. Lena yawned. "I guess you're right, just looking at Webby is making me sleepy." Huey looked at Scrooges bedside clock. "Yeah, I didn't even realize it's this late already." The boys all yawned and rubbed their eyes and headed to their room. Scrooge took Webby to her room where Minima was already asleep in a sleeping bag on the floor and gently placed Webby on the bottom bunk of her bed while Lena climbed onto the top bunk. "Goodnight Aunt Magica, Mr. McDuck." She said quietly. "Goodnight." They both responded then carefully closed the door behind them.
"Goodnight Uncle Scrooge." The boys said as Scrooge and Magica walked past. "Goodnight boys." Scrooge replied and began to close their door. "Goodnight Magica." They added, rolling over and snuggling up in their beds, causing Scrooge to pause and Magica to just stare in surprise at the sleeping triplets for a moment before quietly replying. "…Goodnight…"
Scrooge and Magica returned to Scrooge's room, both inexplicably feeling happy and at peace and somehow even more uncertain about the situation. They cleaned up the pillows but Magica kept some of the extras as the pile made the floor more comfortable. They remained silent as they settled into their respective spots, him in his bed and her on the floor, and he turned out the lights. "…Goodnight Scrooge." Magica finally spoke. Scrooge looked over at her, wrapped up in her blanket in the middle of a pile of pillows she looked pretty comfortable; in fact, he almost thought he could see a contented smile on her face in the dark, although that could just be the dark and his mind playing tricks on him. "Goodnight Magica."