A/N: "Drake or LP said" means they are from Ducktales 2017' reality while "Darkwing/DW or Launchpad said" means they are from Darkwing 1991's reality. And I apologize now for saying Scrooge a billion times.
⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️
Coerced Consensual Kissing
I blinked awake in a poorly lit, rundown warehouse. There were crates and a couch placed sporadically throughout the room. Everything looked broken and/or dirty, including a computer someone was leaning over. They were intently flipping through security camera footage, mumbling to themselves. They moved their shoulders and their cape fluttered behind them.
"Dark a little hel," my voice faltered as he spun and a yellow cape filtered by me. He was surprised by my presence.
"Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in my home?" he growled.
(He lives here?)
"Guessing from your reaction that you're not Darkwing Duck." I sat up.
"I think you hit your head a little too hard, Doll," he stepped into the light, "if you think I'm that moron."
"Negaduck!" I backed up on reflex, though that proved difficult as I fumbled over a create I had smashed upon arrival. He chuckled.
"So you've heard of me? Good, I hate introductions." He stepped closer, laughing.
"Get away from her, Negaduck!" A smoke bomb went off next to me, filling the room with purple gas. "I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the feathery phantom that haunts your nightmares! I am Darkwing Duck!"
The smoke cleared, and Darkwing was standing over me. He threw a punch at Negaduck. The villain dodged and returned it. Dark spun and tripped him.
"What are you planning, villain?" Dark stalked closer to the yellow-clad man's computer.
"Nun ya!" Negaduck flipped up and pulled Dark's cape.
He spun him away, and Darkwing stumbled into me. Negaduck ran towards the computer and turned it off. He reached under the table and pulled out a chainsaw. The hero offered me a hand, and we took a grappling hook to the rafters.
"Stay here," he said and jumped back down, dropping smoke bombs. The sound of a chainsaw revving ripped through the building. The smell of gas was overwhelming.
"Come out! Come out wherever you are, Dickwing!"
"Never heard that in the cartoon," I laughed to myself.
The smoke cleared, and Neagduck's cape was pulled over his face. He was stumbling around, missing his chainsaw. Darkwing was nowhere to be seen. The massive blade sat over to the side, ripe for the picking. I used the grappling hook to lower myself to it. I picked it up and Negaduck kicked me in the side and I whipped around. Nega jumped back.
"That's mine," he growled and grabbed at my hands.
The spinning blade roared between us. My blood pounded in my ears. My side ached and so I made an executive decision.
"You want it? Take it!" I let go, and he stumbled back with big eyes. He spun to avoid the blade, and instead sawed the computer in half.
"You bastard!" Negaduck yelled and turned back towards me.
Darkwing reappeared on a mound of crates. He jumped down, kicking the villain and his weapon across the room. Negaduck landed with a groan.
"Come on, killer. Best we head out." Darkwing grabbed my arm and pulled me outside onto a dark street. His motorcycle was sitting on the curb. "Hop on!"
He pulled to a stop on a platform and it started lifting and he hopped off the bike.
"So who are you and how did Negaduck get his hands on you?" My laugh turned into a gasp. I pulled up my shirt. A bruise was forming wrapped around my ribs. "Dam- *cough*."
"Got to love kids." I attempted to laugh again and grabbed my ribs. "Owe."
"Yeah," he laughed. He wrapped an arm around me and helped me stand.
"As for how I got there. I was sucked here from another dimension."
"Great." He rolled his eyes. I looked at him. "Sorry, not you. I just haven't had the best luck with dimension-hopping."
A scream came from above us to emphasize his point.
"Take that!" A young voice echoed, which was followed by a grunt.
"Gosayln!" DW looked for her as the floor clicked into place. We locked eyes with Gosayln, who was pummeling Drake.
"____! Help!" Drake called like he was dying.
"Seriously? She like ten," I laughed and grabbed my ribs. Darkwing helped me to the couch and was relieved to have the pressure off.
"He appeared in the middle of the kitchen, scaring me and Honker!" Gosalyn said.
"What were you two doing in the kitchen?" DW asked. She gave an-what Louie has taught me to be-too innocent smile and stepped away from Drake a little. Darkwing sighed, then jabbed a thumb at the two of them. "You know him?"
"Unfortunately."
"Hey! I'm not hitting a child!" Drake yelled as Gosayln kicked him in the ribs. "No matter if she deserves it."
"All right, get off him, young lady." DW made his way towards them, picking her up.
"Thank you." Drake stood, dusting himself off.
"Hey! How do you know he's not Negaduck in disguise?" Gos was still trying to kick Drake.
"Besides the fact I just got done fighting him," her father narrowed his eyes, "have you ever seen Negaduck restrain himself from fighting back?"
Gosayln made a "my bad" face and apologized to him. He wasn't listening. He was eyeing the gadgets lying around.
"You thought I was Nega who now?" Drake asked.
"Jim." Everyone looked at me. "They thought you were Jim."
"Jim was Darkwing, not Negaduck," Drake corrected me with an 'you're an idiot' tone.
"Not according to the season finale or that fire."
He stared at me and blinked.
"Is he okay?" Gosayln jumped out of her dad's arms and pulled on Drake's cape.
"He'll be fine. Just needs a second to process," he interrupted me, knocking Gosalyn to the side with his outburst.
"I'M SORRY WHAT?! THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD ONLY BE ON THE ORIGINAL SCRIPTS!" He rushed me and pushed my shoulders into the couch. His words barely made sense to me. I knew the others weren't following. "Only available to a select few. How and when did you see it?! And why wasn't I invited? I'm never talking to you again! How can I get my hands on it?!"
"You're hurting me." He eased up a little but was still determined. "Calm down. First, I am from a different dimension and I didn't know it was in the script until he told me. Second, the scripts are in Scrooge's archives."
"I'm sorry, what's happening?" Darkwing asked, confused.
"Jim Starling is the director and creator of a show called Darkwing in the universe we came from and it was," Drake cut me off.
"Only the best show of all time."
"Darkwing Duck?" LP's voice filled the room. I turned around and saw two lovable goofs emerging from the stairs.
"LP!" "Launchpad!" Both of the purple ducks called.
"Wait?! There are two Launchpads too?" Gosayln asked.
"Yea, ha this guy appeared on my couch this morning," their Launchpad said. "He said he was looking for his DW so I thought it was safe enough to bring him here."
"And this is the first we're hearing of it," Darkwing crossed his arms.
"This sorta thing happened all the time when I worked with Mr. McDuck and we weren't in a rush," Launchpad shrugged.
"Interesting. This never happened to us," our LP hummed. "Although we did go to Moonshire one time."
"That's in Scotland, LP," I informed him.
"Ohhhhh. That explains the small unicorns then."
"Uh sure," Drake made a confused face. "Back to the topic at hand. How are we getting home?"
"And where's Dewey and the others," LP added. Gosayln's eyes light up.
"Dewey? Like Dewey Duck? Yuck! He's the worst!" 'Hey,' LP protested as Gosayln went on a tangent. "He's always cheating when we play the Duckburgs Knights. All of Mr. McDuck's nephews do but he's the worst."
"Gosalyn! That's not nice," Darkwing corrected her. "But you people turned up all over the place, there's no telling where he landed."
"Okay, I have an insane theory." They turned to me. "LP showed up in this Launchpad's house. D popped out in your house. I landed by the only person not from this world, so that means Scrooge and the kids are most likely at the mansion."
"Not him," Darkwing rolled his eyes, and Gosalyn glared at him. "I mean, that's a solid theory. Let's check that out."
He stomped towards to the plane. Once we were on the plane, with a rather tight squeeze, I pulled out my phone.
"Have either of you tried?" LP cut me off.
"I tried calling Dewey, but there's no signal here. It's worse than the Bahamas here."
"Gosalyn, you need to check out their gaming devices," Launchpad said, pointing at my phone. She crawled over the seats and landed in my lap.
"It's a phone but yea it has games." She snatched it from me.
"Is this Whiffle Boy!" She opened the app.
"Yea, but I don't think it will work." I was proven wrong by the game's intro song blaring.
The song and silence got us to the mansion. DW landed on the front lawn. We pulled on the lawn and Gosalyn yelled.
"Aww, it died. Wait, this is the same plug to a GameCube control. I bet the triplets have one!" She shot towards the mansion. I paused, staring at the building. It could rival the White House.
"____, you coming?" Drake asked, already halfway to the door. I ran over to him.
Gosayln flung open the door and made a beeline for the stair, nearly knocking Duckworth down.
"Oh my," Duckworth gasped. "Who might you be?"
"Where's Scrooge?" I asked, already walking towards what I assumed was the main room.
I walked into two pacing Scrooge's, six triples, and Gyro, working on something in his lap. I cleared my throat and everyone in the room looked up at us. Huey made a beeline and hugged me.
"Aunt ____! How did you get here?"
"A little banged up, Hue, watch your grip." He let go and beamed.
"Aunt ____, look at this!" Dewey tried to hand me something and knocked me to the ground.
"Aunt ____, here's your backpack." Louie handed it to me.
"Thank you boys," I managed a weak laugh.
"Aunt ____?" The other set of triplets asked in tandem, as three heads popped over the back of the seat and looked at me. I blinked at them. They were so much younger than the others.
"Hi." I waved. Little Huey waved back, but his brothers looked at him funny. "I think someone is raiding your room."
"Nah, ha." Little Louie pushed his brothers aside and jumped over the couch.
"Who?" Little Dewey followed.
"Hey, slow down! Wait for me!" Little Huey ran after them.
"Boys go with them," our Scrooge nodded. The boys went to protest but stopped with a look from both of us. They left the room and Scrooge helped me up and into a hug. "You're hurt?"
"Just a bruise. It'll be fine." I pulled away and patted my hip. He seemed irritated but turned to the others.
"Launchpad and the purple one, glad to see your safe." Drake was flabbergasted at the blatant avoidance of his name.
"He's doing it on purpose now." I told Drake, then turned to the Scrooge dressed in blue. "Hi. I'm ____. You know everyone else, I presume."
"Indeed, las," he said, glaring at the Drakwings. I cleared my throat and looked at the man on the couch. "Ah, yes, this is Gyro. Gyro..."
"Eureka! Look at this!" Scrooge looked hurt by the interruption, but Gyro was already on a roll. "I was able to reroute the premises of the design into an operational mechanism."
The younger set of triplets ran back into the room chasing Gosalyn. Dewey and Louie crashed into me and watched as the four of them screamed over each other, circling Gyro's feet. Their Scrooge popped his cane on the coffee table, making everyone jump.
"Huey, Dewey, Louie, why don't you show Gyro to the garden so," the device exploded, sending parts ripping through the air. "That doesn't happen."
"I need something with a steady energy supply," Gyro mumbled.
"Like this?" Little Louie held up my phone.
"Hey! I was using that!" Gosalyn cried.
"That might work." He grabbed it and took off the back, looking over the parts. He let the younger nephews lead him out of the room.
"I wouldn't call any of Waddle's products stable," Dewey laughed, bouncing after them.
"Dewey's not wrong," I sighed. I turned to Louie, who was chuckling. "Don't tell Beaks I said that."
"I'm so telling Beaks," Louie laughed.
"Go find your brother." I shoved him and turned back to the Scrooges, Drake, and LP. "So we're stuck here until Gyro can solve the Solego's Circuit."
"Pretty much, sounds like it," Drake pouted.
"Aunt ____!" Huey ran into the room and grabbed my hand. "You have to see this."
"Huey," I went to tell him no.
"It's fine, L-___," I could see the effort it took him from saying love. "Go with the lad. We're playing a waiting game, anyway."
"Uh," I tried to say something, but Huey pulled me out of the room.
"We can prepare rooms," Scrooge's voice was cut off by the shutting door.
Huey pulled me to a nice room with books lining the wall. Though it was more akin to a museum than a library. Different glass cases showed a mixture of gems and antiques. A small boat was in one. Another held a teapot with a headdress etched into it. Another was a plate with gems. It was so shiny it might've been a mirror and I didn't jump when the blue-suited Scrooge behind me spoke.
"____, correct?"
"Yes." I turned to him. "Your library is impressive."
"Ya should see the Money Bin," he chuckled to himself.
"That I have seen."
"He doesn't have a library?"
"At one point perhaps, but it was invaded by Webby, in what I supposed started by her accidentally falling asleep reading, and has led to a quite impressive, if not terrifying, teddy bear collection in the middle of it."
He chuckled, "I can't imagine anything about Webby being terrifying."
"You don't know our Webby. She's fiercely compassionate. A lot like you in that aspect."
"Me?" He was intrigued.
"I know you and my Scrooge are different, but you share some traits and that's one of them."
"You can see that more than others, can't you?" How did he... "I'm not blind or deaf no matter how much my nephews say otherwise. Also, the aunt thing didn't help."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I teased. "They started that on their own."
"I doubt that. I'm sure they have picked up on it too," he hummed. "Have you told him you love him?"
"In our own way." I looked back at the plate.
"Because you know he's stubborn and it may take some time for it to set in." I laughed. "And some reminding."
"Oh yeah, he's had time." He gave me a doubtful look but didn't ask any more questions.
"It's late. I can show you to your room."
I nodded, not wanting to leave the massive library but not feeling like I had a choice. I noticed outside of the room that the house almost seemed empty. The odd painting dotted the walls, but no tapestries or suits of armor were to be seen. There was some sporadic furniture placed throughout the halls but none of it matched and all of it had seen it's fair share of damage. He turned down a long corridor and stopped in front of a door.
"The boys demanded to have a slumber party with Darkwing and Launchpad. Webby and Ms. Beakley are on holiday, leaving this wing empty. This is an empty guest room if you would like."
"Thank you," I nodded and smiled politely.
"His room is across the hall," Scrooge whispered, walking away with too much smugness for one man.
I waited until he disappeared and crossed the hallway to the door. I knocked softly.
"Come in." I opened the door. Scrooge was sprawled on the bed and he smiled at me. "I hoped it was you. Though I wished you hadn't been dragged into this mess."
"I didn't want to be on that side, but I tried for Gosalyn's sake. Now she's over there by herself," I said, crossing the room to the bed.
"She seemed like a tough kid. She'll be okay." I laid my head in his lap.
"Can I stay here tonight?"
"Of course, Love." I relaxed into him. "Did you think I would say no?"
"I didn't know because of the lodging situation," I mumbled.
"You can always stay with me."
I woke up to Scrooge lightly snoring. I was under the cover and using his chest as a pillow. I yawned and pulled myself up. I found my way downstairs and to the kitchen. Scrooge was making tea.
"'orning, ____. Tea?"
"Please." He poured me a cup. "No breakfast?"
"No, Mrs. Beakley is gone for the weekend. And you don't want my cookin'," he chuckled.
"May I then?" I asked, heading for the refrigerator.
"By all means." He bowed out of the kitchen, giving me space to work.
I fried some bacon. I was pulling muffins out of the oven when the kids busted in the room.
"Something smells gooood," little Huey sang.
"Is Mrs. Beakley back?" Little Louie asked.
"No, just Aunt ____," Dewey said, running by and grabbed a piece of bacon.
"She always cooks breakfast for us," Huey said, taking a seat at the table in the corner.
I placed the food at the center, and small hands picked it nearly clean.
"Leave some for the grownups." I smacked their hands and walked back to my plates. LP and Drake walked in. "Well, there was breakfast."
"You cook?" Drake asked. Instead of me answering, the boys started yelling for him. He made his way to the table and looked at me and mouth, 'This is good.'
Scrooge walked in and saw me at the counter with two plates. "Ya extra hungry?"
"Force of habit, I always make his. Because usually, we can't get him out of his office."
"Go give it to him," he whispered, elbowing me.
"You're going to get me in trouble, and I can't leave you with all of them. Drake and LP might be grown but they're children." Launchpad threw a piece of muffin in the air and Drake caught it in his mouth to prove my point.
"You only live once. Besides, I plan on leaving them with Duckworth."
"Sir, there is a call for you," Duckworth called from the door. Scrooge walked over to the phone on the wall.
"Go." He shooed me as he picked it up.
I took the plate upstairs, and Scrooge was still asleep. I slid it on the nightstand and shook his shoulder.
"Loverboy, breakfast?"
"In bed?" He opened one eye with a smile. "How'd I get that lucky?"
"The other you is a bit of a romantic." I placed the plate in his lap.
"Is he?" He took a piece of bacon.
"Yes. He's worse at playing matchmaker than the boys." I laid down on the bed and using his knee as a pillow.
"That's quite a calm. I wonder why?" He hummed to his bacon.
"He has a thing for Goldie," I rattled, without thinking. Scrooge gagged, nearly choking on his bacon. "Yeah, they work out about like that. She's so intense here. Like she has a pet bear named Blackjack. Don't know what that's about."
"That's her favorite. Requires too much luck for my taste. Poker takes more skill."
"I thought you didn't bet." I looked up at him awarkadly.
"There's a difference between betting and playing," he hummed.
"I remember game night." I righted myself.
"We should have another one."
"Sure, the house can handle that?" I teased.
Before he could respond, a loud noise shook the room. If I hadn't been on the bed, I would've fallen. Scrooge and I dashed down the stairs to the main entrance. Bulba stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by our family.
"I knew I would find you," he huffed. His lab coat was torn to shreds and his tie and undershirt hung on by a thread. "All my inconveniences in one place, such an opportunity. And who am I to pass up one of those."
Bulba ran towards them, arms out. The kids ducked under his wingspans. Duckworth was not so lucky. Gyro fell and Scrooge used his cane to jump on the man's back. Gyro was clutching something, and Bulba noticed. He buck Scrooge off and stomped over to him.
"Hike!" Little Louie threw up his hands and Gyro understood. He threw it, but it went long. LP jumped and grabbed it. Bulba ran towards Launchpad.
"Press the red button!" Gyro yelled.
LP clicked the button and disappeared. Little Huey caught the device before it hit the floor.
"Well, what do we have here? Thief of my patton design?"
"Hey! That patent belongs to McDuck Enterprise. Therefore, it can be made by any employee within the company." Louie crossed his arms. Dewey looked at him funny. "You'd be surprised what I learned in the time it took Huey to find out what he was up to."
"You were supposed to be helping!" Huey yelled.
Bulba charged at them, and they screamed, scattering.
"Catch!" Little Huey yelled and Louie caught, then disappeared.
Little Dewey caught it this time. He tossed it towards Dewey as Drake kicked Bulba. Bulba grabbed Drake's foot and sling him. Dewey hit a button and disappeared. Huey was beside him and snatched it and disappeared. Scrooge hit it with his cane to Drake. D disappeared and Bulba caught it. He crushed the device in his hand. He disappeared with an evil smile. It slipped to the ground. Scrooge dove for it.
"Mr. McDuck, wait." Scrooge grabbed it and disappeared in a burst of light that hadn't accompanied anyone else's disappearance.
"I have never noticed how annoying that is," I mumbled, pick up the broken thing.
Gyro looked over at the device. "Uh, Mr. McDuck didn't go to the same dimension as the rest of them."
"Can you fix it?" I asked.
"I can fix it but it's going to take some time," he said, walking of the room.
"He'll be all right las," Scrooge smiled at me.
"I know." I swallowed and faced him. "I know."
"Does this mean Aunt ____ can play with us?" Huey asked, pulling me upstairs.
I went to protest but Scrooge answered for me, "Yes, I'll let you know when he's done."
I spent the rest of the morning playing with toys straight out of the eighties. The boys were very creative in there game play. They made a swing out of several Stretch Armstrongs tied together around a rafter.
"Oi! What is this?" Scrooge walked up."Did ____ approve?"
"It was her idea," Dewey said innocently.
"Lies. I said it wasn't possible," I huffed and crossed my arms. They laughed and ran off. "News?"
"Sorry, las." He shook his head. "Something about not having a way to trace him across dimension and we can't use you because-"
"I'm from a different dimension from all of them. I have some stuff from their universe." I ran back to the guest room to get my backpack and back to the kitchen. "All of this is."
I poured it out on the table there laid: a ziplock with an outfit and some toiletries; my phone charge; a wallet; a few pieces of gold from Gumption; the bottle of champagne from dinner; and my present. I picked it up staring at the golden string.
"Oh, what's that?" the kids asked in tandem.
"A present from my Scrooge. Yesterday was," I stopped myself. I sat it on the table. "I'll wait to open it."
"Go ahead, las." Scrooge picked it up and handed it to me. "I think he would want you to have it."
"Yeah, open it!" "Yeah Aunt ____!" "Please?"
I gave in to the peer pressure and sat down. I pulled the ribbon off and started at the paper. I ripped the paper and opened the box and pulled out the golden pocket-watch size device.
"He found it," my voice cracked.
Dewey crawled in my lap, "I would cry to if I got a dumb pocket watch."
"She's crying because she's happy, lad," Scrooge chuckled.
"Why?" Huey asked.
"It means he'll find me," I picked up the watch and was struck with an idea, "or I'll find him. Where's Gyro?"
"In the garden." I made my way outside with Scrooge on my heals. "What did ya think of?"
I waited until I saw Gyro, who was mid-welding, to explain. He was so deep in his work he jumped when he heard me.
"This was explained to me that when I time travel, I land within a few yards of Scrooge because it is linked to his DNA. Can you link it to that device and trace him?"
Gyro looked at it and plugged in a few wires. He welds a price or two making sparks fly and I watched anxiously. The boys brought my backpack to me while we waited. He flipped up the glass.
"This should take you to the dimension as him," he showed me a wire. "Disconnect this and it will take you to his home dimension."
"Thank you." I hugged him. I turned to Scrooge. "Thank you, too."
"Of course, lassie."
He hugged me. As soon as he let go I clicked the button. Everything was dark for a second but then. I rolled on to green soft carpet still holding the device. Immediately pulled the wire and snapped it shut.
"Oi! Who are you?" Scrooge's voice came from behind me. I turned and was face to face with a duck, wearing a dark green robe made of silk and a cruel smile. He offered a hand. "What's your name, darling?"
"Not Darling." I stood, not taking his hand. He narrowed his eyes.
"A strong and independent type, I see," he sounded almost disapproving.
"I'm looking for my Scrooge." He raised an eyebrow. "This tall, red coat, top hat, spats, Scottish."
"That sounds like me, doll. Only, I never wear red."
"Name's not doll, either," I gritted. "Have you seen him?"
"Afraid not. I'd remember a handsome man as you describe poking around in my mansion. But I haven't been looking, so feel free." He waved towards the door. "Or don't. Ya could just enjoy some tea with me."
"I just might. Look around, that is." I heard him speak as I marched up the stairs, stuffing the piece of tech into my bag.
"Duckworth, I have a guest for dinner." He sounded devious and I had no plans to stay that long.
I walked around the place for hours. This place was a maze, and it was a mirror of the '87 mansion. Everything was brand new, sparkling, and in peak condition. Not a blank space filled the walls or floors. Modern art hung next to acclaimed artists' work. Movie props and priceless artifacts littered the halls. I got lost several times and was about to abandon the search when I saw Duckworth.
"The master wants you to join him for dinner."
I was hungry, and I might get more answers if I spoke with this world's Scrooge. I stepped forward, crashing into Duckworth, making both of us stumble.
"My apologies, ma'am." He wrung his hands nervously.
"It's my fault. I forgot you were solid." He gave me a funny look. "Nothing, lead the way."
We walked in silence, only broken by the clicking of our feet that changed with the carpet to hardwood to carpet.
"Where are the boys?" I asked, filling the void. He blinked, surprised I spoken to him.
"Boys?" he hummed.
"Scrooge's nephews?"
"Master Gladstone? I believe, is at school this time of year."
"What about Huey, Dewey, and Louie?"
"Oh, them. We don't speak of them or their mother."
He opened the door for me. I looked at him and I accepted I was in the negaverse. It should've been the first thing I noticed but I was really hoping I wasn't. He motioned for me to enter, and I stepped into the dining hall. He pulled out a chair.
"Ma'am."
I sat, and Duckworth moved it up for me. He bowed, then walked out of the room without a word.
The table was shorter than the one at home. It had a white tablecloth. The only thing on it was my plate, a bottle, and fresh flowers, separating me and Scrooge. The plate had corn, chicken cordon bleu, and green peas. It smelled delicious and took willpower not to dig in.
"Glad you could join me," Scrooge smiled.
"Didn't feel like a choice." I noted his lack of food. Though he had a glass in front of him, presumably whiskey from the bottle that sat beside him.
"There's always a choice, beautiful. Did you find your missing friend?"
"Don't call me that." I poked the food. "And no, I didn't, but I have a feeling that you knew I wouldn't."
"If it happens in my home, I know about it," he chuckled. He saw me eyeing his glass. "Would you care for some, sweetheart?"
"No, and only one person can call me that," I said, taking a bite.
"Really, who might that be?" He picked up his glass and took a drink.
"You know, that depends on the reality I'm in." I thought it over. "I guess here it would be Do-Della."
"That parasite?" His eye twitched just for a second, then he regained his cool demeanor. "Interesting. Why her?"
"Honestly?"
"By all means," he hummed into a whiskey glass.
"Because it annoys you." He looked me over, then gave a confident smile.
"You're flirting with me?" I didn't know if he meant himself or my Scrooge. I didn't think he saw a difference.
"I didn't start it."
He stood and walked towards me. He sat on the arm of my chair and smiled down at me.
"Not going to deny it, Princess?"
"What's the point? And would you stop it with the names?" He leaned closer to me, studying my face.
"If I did that, I couldn't find what I was searching for, honey?"
"What would that be?" I asked, taking another bite of food.
"His pet name for you," he ran the back of his hand down my arm, pulling my attention back to him.
"You have seen him."
"And so what if I have? I have my sights set on something far better now, Angel." He leaned closer to me. His face was inches from mine and I could tell he meant to kiss me.
"Stop and just tell me," I huffed, attempting to pull away.
"Where's the fun in that, Love?" His lips connected with mine and I couldn't help react to the word.
My body leaned towards him on its own and he threaded a hand through my hair, pulling me even closer to him. He was just like Scrooge with the added taste of whiskey. Then I smelled his cologne, and it was enough to gag on. That broke the spell, and I started to pull away and he bit my lip. It stunned me, and my hesitation allowed him to be the one to break the kiss.
"Guess I got it."
"You're not him," I whispered, more to myself. He chuckled.
"Sadly, because if you were mine we wouldn't be having this conversation." His hand moved to my face. He whipped my lip, and I saw a spot of crimson disappear. "He's gentle with you, but is that what you want?"
I ignored the suggestiveness of the statement. "I want to know where he is."
"But you have me."
He eyed me, like he was imagining undressing me in the middle of the dining room. I refused to drop my glare. He smiled.
"I'll show you, but it'll cost," he said, sounding wicked. His hands moved my shoulder and played with my backpack's straps. "You won't need this."
He didn't stand until I took my backpack off. He didn't know the importance, but it was some sort of power move or scare tactic, and it wasn't going to work. We walked to the foyer and stopped in front of a painting of himself. It stood twenty feet tall, border by a golden frame. In the painting, he was dressed in a dark-gray suit. His face held no emotion as he stood in front of the town's city hall, looking down on the townspeople. It didn't seem right because all of Scrooge's paintings at home were of him on adventures and of family. This was another power move to strike fear into the few that came into the house.
"Admiring?" he asked smugly.
"Interest choice." I didn't need to rock the boat. Not until I knew where Scrooge was being held. So I held in a snarky remark.
"How else would my subjects know I ruled them?" he laughed, and I didn't know if he was joking.
He pressed a swirl on the frame and a door opened into one of the townspeople's heads. A frigid blast of air and soft whaling came from the abyss. He walked towards it and I didn't want to follow. He turned and gave a small smile.
"We could go back to dinner," he leaned closer to me. "Or back to where we left things."
I set my jaw and marched forward. Once I entered my feet hit a stone spiral staircase and the cries grew louder as they echoed off the walls. Candles lit the path, and I stared down the stairs. The temperature seemed to drop a degree with every step I took. My hand drug the wall as I descended and noticed deep scratches in the stones. Every twenty stairs or so, there would be an entrance that led to pitch black hallway. I passed twenty, maybe more, before I walked into a room.
No, it was a dungeon. At the far end of the horizontal bars made of, what looked like, glass. Someone sat in the corner huddled in a blanket. I went to bolt forward but a cold hand slid around me, crushing my already bruised waist.
"What do you want this time?" Scrooge's voice was gruff as it bounced off the cold rocks.
"I came to show my latest piece of chattel."
Slowly Scrooge lifted his head. "____? Take your hands off her."
He jumped up and grabbed through the bars. He looked underfed and had a bruise on his face that had started to heal. I tried to step towards him, but the grip on my waist only tightened.
"Well, you've gotten what you want," the man in green looked at me. "I showed you him now. It's time to pay, love?"
"Don't call her that," Scrooge growled. I could feel the tension between the two of them.
"I wasn't speaking to you." He cupped my face. "Well?"
"You didn't tell me what you wanted."
"I thought it was obvious." His lips brushed mine as he spoke. "Another kiss."
My body protested for me. It moved away from him and went ridged. His hand moved to his pocket, and he pulled out a small remote. I saw Scrooge recoil at the sight of it. Neither of them had to say that was not a good device for me to know.
I took a breath, forcing myself to relax. His nails dug into my hip and I jumped at the feeling. He used my momentum to pull me closer. I had to think fast. I used my free arm to swat at the switch he was holding but missed. He pushed me backward. I grabbed his coat and pulled him down with me. My head hit the jagged stone floor and everything went white and my ears rang.
"Shouldn't have done that, love," he whispered.
He wrapped a hand around my throat before kissing my neck lightly. Then he lift my head and bashed it back down.
Someone called my name. A whimper escaped my lips. Lips touched mine again and I couldn't push them away. They were soft and reminded me of Scrooge. A sharp pain in my hip brought me back to my senses. My fingers were on something small and rectangular. I managed to skip it across the floor. A sharp metallic noise later and Scrooge shoved his counterpart to the ground. They wrestled on the floor as I tried to regain my bearings. I spotted the remote on the ground. I dove for it and looked over the buttons. Several had animals on them but one had the word open on it.
"Scrooge!"
I held up the remote, and they both saw it but my Scrooge was faster. He kicked the bastard in the chest and he stumbled into the area of the cage. My fingers fumbled, but I pressed the button. Scrooge ran for the stairs, calling for me to follow. My head pounded with every step as we thundered up the spiraling never-ending rocks.
"Get back here or you'll regret, love!" an angry voice drilled into my head.
I barely noticed when Scrooge stopped and plowed into his back. He steadied me.
"Do you have the device?" I looked at my hand. It was scraped from falling but I had somehow managed to hold on to the remote. He took it gently. "The dimension device, L-____?"
"Oh, it's in my backpack." He cursed.
"Upstairs?" I nodded. He cursed again. "Okay, first this. Then we'll worry about that."
He led me into one of the dark hallways that lit up as we entered. Empty cells, that resembled Scrooge's, lined the hall. Although the first one was elaborately decorated and a familiar person sat on a queen-size bed. She seemed to still when she saw us.
"Goldie?" I asked.
She seemed confused by the sound of her own name. He clicked the open button and started down the hallway.
"Come on ____."
"I don't understand," Goldie said as I stood there.
"____!" Scrooge ran back to me. "Duckworth will see us on the monitors and they will be down here any minute."
"I'm sorry," was all I managed before I headed down the hall.
Scrooge led the way and I could not help but think we did something wrong but I focused on not tripping and the growing pain in my skull. We passed so many empty cells. My eye stung from the cold and the pain. Finally, we reached the end of the row. It was empty.
"Isabella?" He clicked the button on the remote.
A woman jumped out a vent. Her silver heart was pulled into a messy bun. She looked familiar but my brain wasn't working.
"A human!"
"We don't have time for proper introductions," Scrooge turned back down the hall. Finally, it clicked.
"You shouldn't have released her." Isabella looked like she was going to protest when I was grabbed by the back of my shirt. I stumbled backward into Scrooge's counterpart.
"You're quite perceptive for someone with a concussion, love." He pulled me backward farther from the others. He wrapped his arms around my waist, digging into my bruise and pinning me to his chest.
"Who," Scrooge's eyes slid past us to something behind us. "Goldie? I should've seen that coming."
"I've trained her well. Just like you have with this one." I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. "I don't know where you were going without this?"
My backpack landed beside me with a loud crunch and the content of the champagne bottle spilled on the floor like blood.
"I hope that wasn't important. Now back to your rooms." Thinking hurt and breathing was hard, but I scraped together something.
"Blackjack."
"I think you hit your head too hard, love." He kissed my temple. If Scrooge could've got a clean hit in he would have.
"Your favorite game of skill," I managed.
"What," he was confused but Scrooge understood. He looked at the remote and clicked the bear button. A loud growl echoed through the hall. "No! You idiot."
He pushed me forward. Scrooge kept me from hitting the ground. He let me sit on the ground as he dug through my backpack. Isabella attacked the other Scrooge and pushed him and Goldie into a cell. She ran back to us and Scrooge grabbed our hands.
"You will...."
In a white flash, his voice was gone and was replaced by a loud noise, like a heartbeat. The familiar sight of the lab appeared, everything now broken, and Bulba was lying on his stomach with his hands tied behind his back. Gosayln was sobbing into Drake, who was hugging her. My eyes were drawn to the broken window and the source of the noise. Outside was a helicopter hovered feet away and someone was claiming the rope ladder.
"Bradford!" I pointed at the window.
I managed to stand and rush to the window. FOWL was printed on the side of it. Scrooge's arm slid in front of me. I looked down and noticed the edge. I stumbled back. I made my way to Drake and Gosayln.
"Here. Might help." She whipped her face and hugged me and I nearly fell. Drake grabbed my arm. "I think I need to sit down."
I saw Scrooge's lips move, but I didn't hear what he said. Though I saw 'get you' and 'hospital' cross his lips.
"No hospital. I can sleep it off. We need to focus on Goldie." I couldn't tell how loud I was talking, but no one cringed.
Scrooge gave me an irritated look but called LP over. LP picked me up and placed me on a couch that might've been in Bulba's office, but my memory wasn't up to par at the moment. Drake explained something to Scrooge, I assume because Scrooge's head was bobbing vigorously. I sat on the couch, pressing a half-melted popsicle to my head. I didn't question the origins too hard. Gosalyn had disappeared and reappeared with it, and it was cooled. I was infuriated I couldn't help, but the thought of standing made me want to puke. I watched the boy speak to Gosayln, presumably about the other universe, while she took mental notes and tinkered with the device. Isabella supervised her.
"You need to be careful with that thing, las. We ran into some unsavory characters." Scrooge told her. I groaned in agreement. "Your hearings back?"
"In part."
"Alright, I think we should head home before you get worse."
LP led us to the limo. It took so much energy to get there I immediately wanted to pass out. I laid my head down in Scrooge's lap, face first into his stomach. The kids piled in the car as gently as possible. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
"Is she going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine, Louie," I mumbled.
"She's just had a rough day," Scrooge said, running a hand through my hair.
"Sorry about the champagne," I mumbled.
"You need to rest," Scrooge shushed me softly.
I pulled myself closer to him, "I love you."
"As do I, Love," was the last thing I heard before I passed out.
Word Count 7304