"I'm going to make a sandwich, you want one?" Fethry led Lena to the kitchen. His face was ridden with a weird smile obviously trying to hide a frown, so all the while it just looked wrong. Lena wondered if he would be like this when she took her revenge. She hoped not. Half the fun would be seeing the terrified horror of his face when she made her move.
"Sure." She was a little hungry, and it wasn't like he knew she was his worst enemy, so it probably wouldn't be poisoned.
He went into the kitchen and began digging through the fridge and pantry. Over the sound of shuffling, he didn't hear the phone ring. But Lena did.
The phone was attached to the wall just outside the kitchen. Lena stepped out, smirking at the device. Oh, she hoped this was an important call, just so she could ruin it. She had been practicing with her magic and recently learned a spell to change her voice. She cleared her throat until it sounded somewhat like Fethry's, then took the phone.
"Hey, Feths!" Lena recognized it as Gladstone. He used to be her neighbor, back before she had any clue about what his family, specifically Scrooge and Fethry, had done to her. She knew they probably couldn't still be friends after all this, but she would lose a lot by going through with her plan. She had already come to terms with that. "I know you're probably still mad at me, but I was wondering... would you like to come over for dinner later? No special reason in particular, just miss seeing you."
Well, ruining a family dinner was important enough for Lena. "Of course!" She was taken back by how well the spell worked. It was so strange to hear someone else's voice from her mouth. "But no one can eat until I get there. You know I consider it the peak of rudeness." Waiting to eat was just about the worst thing Lena could think of. What else could she do to mess this up? "Oh, and I'll only eat the fanciest, most expensive foods you can find, as I have a very refined pallet and cheap food makes me vomit. Bye!" She hung up before he could question her.
Meanwhile...
Gladdy hung up, raising an eyebrow at Webby. "Did that sound like Fethry? I mean, he used to eat corn chips out of our couch..."
Webby shrugged. "He said he'd come and that's good enough for me!"
...
She stepped back into the kitchen, dusting her hands. Dinner successfully ruined. Now to press about the penny. Spinning on her heals, she entered the kitchen, met with Fethry holding out a slice a bread to her.
"Turns out I don't know how to make a sandwich, so how about some raw toast? It's raw because Huey took the toaster." When he didn't retract the bread, she awkwardly took it from him. Fethry stared at his own slice, frowning. "Wow, I'm useless without them."
Smiling to herself, Lena found the Ducks leaving Fethry turned out to be a blessing in disguise. With them gone, she was free to ask him anything she wanted to alone, not to mention he was too upset to focus too hard on anything she said. Everything was going perfect. Tossing the bread aside, she started, "So, you fought a ghost, huh? Tell me more about that."
With a depressed, glazed over look at his bread, he sat at the kitchen island. "Uh, yeah. Louie was doing a magic trick with the penny, but accidentally summoned a ghost. The ghost locked me in the closet, so the boys were really the ones who fought it." He shrugged.
"How did a ghost end up in your penny?" Lena already knew of course, but she just wanted to see if he would admit to knowing.
"Well, that is a complicated story..." He looked up, as if thinking over her question more deeply. "Why are you so interested with the penny, anyways?" He squinted at her, making her stiffen.
If she was going to go trough with this plan, she had to think quicker on her feet than this. "Well, I just... find coins very interesting. Especially magical ones. Yup." That seemed good enough for him. Her posture loosened. The doorbell rang. She flinched.
Together, Lena joined Fethry to get the door. Standing at the door was a woman with hair that was different shades of purple and blue. She gave a quirked smile at Fethry, entering as he heals the door for him.
Fethry looked happy to see her, though not quite as desperate for attention as he had been when Lena arrived. "Mitzy! What are you doing here?"
"With the... rough patch you've been having with your family, I figured I'd stop by to encourage you. And I figured out how to make a cake." She held it out to them. Lopsided, but it looked somewhat edible. Mitzy turned to Lena. "Who's this?"
Fethry pulled Lena closer, making her uncomfortable. "This is Lena, one of the kids' friends. But she's been keeping me company, so now we're friends. Right, Lena?" Lena nodded, but on the inside she shuddered at the thought. With Mitzy here, that might complicate things, but nevertheless, Lena had to get the coin as quickly as possible. The eclipse would rise soon, and Lena's powers would be at their peak.
"So, uh, Fethry, back on that ghost story-"
"You can set your cake down in the kitchen." Fethry ignored Lena, shuffling through his trash.
Mitzy stared at the mess, scrunching her beak. "Uh, starting to regret regretting leaving you." Picking up her feet, she maneuvered over the pizza boxes.
In disdain, Lena hesitated before following. She clenched her fists. Magica was probably enjoying watching Lena's plan fall apart. The young girl could only imagine how long it would be before she got that penny. If he destroyed it, it was hopeless. And best case scenario, if he simply threw it away, she had to run across town to some junk yard and dig around for it. Part of her, weighed down with doubt, considered giving up. But she couldn't. She'd come too far to throw away everything she'd been working towards.
...
Since the hotel room was too small, the triplets sat around a small table outside by the pool. Set on the table was a small pile of egg salad sandwiches and some food that Webby had no clue how to pronounce or tell what it was. (That meant it was fancy, right?) Webby sat between Dewey and Louie, Huey opposite her. Checking too make sure no one was watching, he reached for one of the sandwiches, but before he could grab it, Webby leaned obver the table and smacked his hand away.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"We can't eat yet!"
"Why not?"
She couldn't tell them they were waiting for Fethry, otherwise they would certainly protest. Lucky for her, she was raised by one of the strictest people she knew, and that had taught her an excellent skill: the art of lying. "Egg salad sandwiches are at their peak when left to sit for at least four hours, and these were only made three hours and eleven minutes ago." She gave Huey a look. "You wouldn't want to ruin dinner, would you?"
Louie squinted. "I don't think that's true. I'm pretty sure they get grosser with time."
"Are you calling me a liar?" Webby tried, but Louie had already pulled out his phone and was starting to look it up. She had to pull out the big guns. Pulling the most disappointed face she could, she said, "Fine, go ahead and look it up if you don't trust me. I mean, what do I know? I'm just a little kid." She puckered her lips for good measure.
Watching her, he hesitated, his face reading confused and conflicted. He slid the phone back in his pocket. "I guess we could wait longer..."
She readjusted herself, clapping her hands together. "Yay!" Her eyes watched the sunset. Sunset. Fethry was very late for dinner. Maybe she could warm them up to the concept of family while they waited. That might help when Fethry got there. "Family, am I right?"
"What?"
Forcing a conversation was harder than she thought. "Uh, family! Yup. Family." She should stop saying the word family. "You gotta love them, but sometimes you hate them. But you stick around because you need them and you would be crushed without them!" Though she was smiling outward, on the inside she was desperately begging them not to go. "Nope, you can't leave your family."
The boys stared at her quietly. It was Louie who broke the awkward quiet. "You heard us talking, didn't you?" She gave in with a sigh and a nod. "Is that why you won't let us eat? You don't want us to go?" That wasn't the reason why, but if they were going to make up lies for her, why not go with it? She nodded again.
"Please don't go." Webby voice was soft, and this time honest. They were the best family she had, and, just when it was starting to grow, it was all falling apart. She didn't want to go back to her life before, the quiet mansion, ignored most of the day except when Bradford had time for her. She liked having friends, people who cared for her and were interested in her interests and just were around. Some part of her hung onto the hope that this dinner would save all that.
"I should hope we start eating soon. Those sandwiches won't be good for much longer." Webby flinched at Bradford's voice. He came from behind her, smiling softly at the kids. Internally, the girl began to panic. He would probably expose the whole plan, and there would go her best friends in the whole wide world to who knows where. Bradford straightened, setting a bowl on the table. "I heard there was a party. I brought ambrosia salad."
Rising from her seat, she forced a grin. "Uh, I'll be right back. I'm going to go see what Gladdy's up to." She had to warn him about Bradford, and maybe he knew why Fethry was running late.
As if she had summoned him, Gladdy walked towards them, holding a tray of drinks. He caught sight of Bradford, and his eyes widened. Webby met Gladdy halfway. Thankfully, none of the others had noticed him show up.
...
Pulling him far off to the side, she began pacing. "This is bad."
Holding the tray with one hand, he used his other to rub his head. "Bradford's an elite spy! He'll reveal our plan in, like, two seconds!"
"We specifically wrote on his invitation not to come!" She tugged at her hair, trying to think of someway to fix her plan.
"So. What's really going on here?" Bradford appeared in their conversation, causing both of them to scream. On reflex, Gladdy, taking a spoon from his tray, chucked it at the vulture. Bradford caught it before it could do any damage, and simply raised a demanding eyebrow at them.
A chill ran down Webby's back. No use keeping the secret now. "We overheard the boys talking about leaving Duckburg, so we set up this dinner to convince them to stay!" She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I just want our family back."
To her surprise, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Alright. I'm in."
"Really?"
"If this family isn't going to act like one, we're going to make it. I assume you invited Feathry?"
Gladdy nodded. "Yeah, but he's running late or something. I don't know, he sounded a little strange on the phone."
Rubbing his chin, Bradford thought it over. "I might be able to stall until he gets here. I'll get the boys emotional primed for when he arrives." A smirk crossed his beak. "I'm a former spy and I've had my share raising kids. I know how to weaponize guilt."
...
Dewey drummed his fingers along the tabletop, waiting for the others to come back. The sky darkened, an eclipse rising. Huey had snuck himself a sandwich while Webby was gone. He sunk into his seat as if someone might take it away from him if he was caught. Elbows set on the table, Louie stared at Dewey. He clearly wanted to say something to the blue triplet, but he didn't exactly know what. Just his brother's gaze seeded guilt in Dewey's gut. He was the one who suggested they run away in the first plac. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave, but it couldn't be worse than staying. Not where Fethry's name and face was plastered all over the place.
Fethry's mistake five years ago was why Dewey had been staying with his horrible uncle up until now. Sure, Fethry was also the one who had, at first reluctantly, saved them from the situation, and it didn't truly seem like Della actually would return from them, but that didn't help Dewey feel less frustrated. Della's hope for a fresh start wasn't entirely wrong. That's what Dewey wanted now.
"Webby tells me you boys are planning to leave." Bradford approached the table along with a frowning Webby and Gladstone.
"Yeah..." Louie and Huey said in unison. The former didn't bother to look up.
Feeling the need to defend himself, Dewey straightened. "Don't try to talk us out of it or anything. Our minds are made up." We're they? Did some part of Dewey want him to convince them to stay? Duckburg was all they'd ever known. He shoved the thoughts away. He didn't want himself to convince himself out of it either.
"Oh, no, of course not." Bradford shook his head, taking a seat. "I mean, if your minds are made up, I wouldn't want to throw a wrench into all that." Dewey found this very out of character for Bradford. So, reverse psychology was how he wanted to play it, eh? Well, game on.
Gladdy set an entirely new tray of drinks at the table, root beer floats. "These sandwiches are probably stale by now," Bradford said. "Let's cut to desert." Louie glanced between the sandwiched and the floats. The look on his face showed he agreed with the idea. The green triplet reached for one, but before he could grab it, Bradford pulled it away. "Oh, sorry, I think I've made a mistake. You see, these were Fethry's favorite, and I'd hate to remind you of that horrible man."
Drawing his arm back, Louie rubbed it, now avoiding eye contact with the drink. Bradford continued, clicking his tongue. "I can't even imagine that he could've made a dumb mistake like that. Nope. Fethry has never had a bad idea in his entirely, and as such, we should shun him for having one."
Gladdy gave Bradford a quirked look. "That's not-"
"Because being broken hearted for five years, nearly torn apart by grief, isn't bad enough of a punishment. He was truly sorry for the whole mess and tried desperately to prove to himself that he could be better, but never mind that."
"He did take good care of us..." Huey fidgeted in his seat.
"He never tried to hurt us," Louie mumbled.
Dewey instinctively tugged on his sleeves. He shook himself, determined not to let Bradford's tricks work on them. "Exactly, Bradford. We'll be on our way tomorrow morning." Dewey forced a smile.
"Good plan. Distance yourself further by denying it and leaving to the big dangerous world where there won't be anyone to protect you. Not to mention the fact you're ten. That will definitely fix things. It worked for your mother, didn't it?" Bradford took a root beer float. "I'll toast to that."
"Wait, Bradford, that's a horrible plan," Gladdy pointed out, beak gaping.
Bradford took a sip of a float, leaving a clink as he set it back down. "Gladdy, it's sarcasm." Gladdy's mouth parted in an Oh.
"Guys, I don't want to go!" Huey burst. Louie nodded. Dewey rolled his eyes. "Maybe we can try to fix things with Fethry?"
"No!" Dewey dragged his hands over his face. "Guys, don't let Bradford get to you!" That got a smirk from the vulture.
Louie stepped out of his chair. "Dewey-"
The wind suddenly picked up, knocking over the table and foods. They all jumped back, startled. Their eyes landed on Gladd. He put his hands up defensively. "Not me! Eclipse, remember!" He pointed upward, drawing their attention. In the sky was a swirling, pitch black vortex of some kind, filled with shadows. It hovered over the mansion in the distance.
"What is that!" Louie pulled the hood of his jacket over himself, after it blew off. The winds slowly began dying down.
7 and ½ minutes earlier...
The more mess Mitzy saw, the more her expression dropped. "Fethry, you need help."
"Agreed." Lena didn't like Fethry and she definitely wasn't going to be that help, but that didn't mean she didn't think it was true.
Fethry led them around the house, but Lena didn't think he had a set destination in mind. He was probably too lost in his self-pitying thoughts to notice. "Nonsense. I'm doing fine without my family." He rubbed his arm, eyes narrowing off into space. "Never needed a family before, and I don't need them now."
"There is a possum in your house!" Just as Mitzy shouted it, the rodent skittered across their path, a slice of pizza in his mouth. "You're not fine without them."
Fethry didn't look like he wanted to acknowledge the possum. "Him? Oh, that's just.. Frank. Yep. He's been here longer than they left." Nervously, he tightened the belt around his bathrobe. No one was buying the lie. Lena rolled her eyes, itching to get back to the coin.
With a sigh, Mitzy approached him. "Stop lying to yourself. Admit you can't keep everything together. You messed up, but now you've got to at least try to fix things, right? You can't waste your time being a mumpsimus." Her beak quirked in a slant. Lena had no clue what this woman had just said.
He hesitated, his expression shifting from the forced happiness to show how he was really feeling. Lena told herself all she had to do was push through the mushy stuff and then she would have her answer. But the sun was gong down and the moon was rising. It wouldn't be long before her moment came. And if she missed it, it wouldn't be back for another year.
"Family is nothing but trouble." Fethry turned away from them, striding across the hall. "They all hate me for what I did anyways." Running his hand along the wall, his voice started to get choked up. "It wasn't some little mistake. I- I got her killed. My stupid idea got Della killed. How can I face them after that?" He faced them again. "And even after that, I was a jerk to them."
Mitzy put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we all make dumb mistakes when we're young, and even right now. Just go apologize, and I'm sure everything will be back to the way it was. True family gets past the rough patches. You said you've changed, so show me you've changed."
"Mitz, you don't understand. It's not that easy..."
No matter how much an advantage it gave her, Lena was getting exhausted with the Duck family drama. Before she could stop herself, she spoke up. "Oh, just shut up about it." Both adults stiffened, very stunned expressions on their faces. "I don't know everything about what happened, but what I have heard from you complaining the whole time is blah blah blah, you convinced her to leave. It's not your fault she was dumb enough go through with abandoning this town and her family. You didn't drive the car and get her into and accident. Yeah, yeah, boo hoo, you got someone killed, but it wouldn't be the first time. Family is dumb and the worst, and sometimes they don't understand why things need to be done or go through with elaborate revenge plots, so just leave them behind and get a better family! Now that we've got that out of the way, where did you get rid of dang penny!" Her heart was pounding with adrenaline, but she was so fed up, she didn't care she'd just given herself away. Her cheeks were red with frustration, her fists clenched.
Surprised, Mitzy and Fethry exchanged a wary look. "Lena...?" He looked like he wanted to say more but was too taken back to think of anything.
Lena could feel her aunt begging to come out. Now was the worst moment that could happen. She forced the bile forming in the back of her throat back down. Not now. Not when she had burst like that. After this, she would get as far from Magica as possible. "Penny. Where is it?" Lena said through gritted teeth.
"I don't know who you think you are, but you better explain what that was right now." Mitzy stepped forward hesitantly.
No use in hiding herself any further. Raising her hand, a purple aura formed around it. "Not a another step forward. Where's the penny?" Mitzy froze. Lena's gaze swept to Fethry, waiting expectantly.
"It's in the swimming pool. But what could you need it for? Who are you?" He looked over her, trying to read any clues she gave off, but she had been playing this game a lot longer than him. She showed no weakness outward, though on the inside she was a frantic mess.
The reality of it all washed over her. What was she doing? She was threatening peoples lives. And all for what? To get back what she'd lost so long ago? She shoved the doubts away. It was too late for second guessing now. So now she stood in the hallway, holding two adults, three if she counted Magica, hostage, while she overthought her next move.
She ran. She took off running, hoping to make it outside to the pool as quick as possible. Just grab the penny and she wins. Not daring to look back if they were chasing her, she maneuvered her way to the back door. With a good yank, she thrust the sliding door open. She darted out into the cold.
"Lena!" Fethry's call came, but she ignored it.
Without hesitation, she dove into the freezing pool. She pushed past the chill and the burning in her eyes from the chlorine, using her magic as light. In the murky blue, a glint on copper. She reached for it, taking hold. Bounding off the bottom of the pool. She broke past the surface. A gasp escaped her in desperate need for air. She hoisted herself up on the concrete, heart racing with pride. She held her prize above her head. "Yes! Yes! Ha! Finally! It's mine!"
Fethry and Mitzy ran through the door. Fethry froze, eyes fixed to the pool, his chest rising up and down rapidly. "Fethry, come on!" He shook himself, eyes avoidant of the water next to him as they chased after her.
Holding the coin close and defensively, she shot a blast of magic in front of them, stopping them. "Get back!" Her eyes darted to the sky, scanning for the eclipse. Just a few more moments and it would be here. She just had to hold them off until then. Her magic was growing stronger, she could feel it. But it wouldn't be enough until the eclipse.
Hands out hesitantly, Mitzy edged forward. "Lena, whatever this is, just come over here and we can talk about it. Okay?" Her smile wavered.
Lena panicked, trying another blast of magic. It hit Mitzy, knocking her back unconscious. Fethry caught her before she hit the ground. "Mitzy!" He narrowed his gaze at Lena. The teen recomposed herself, not showing her fear and uneasiness. "What did you do to her?"
"Simply knocked her out. And you're next if you don't back off." Lena had no clue what she did to the woman, but she wouldn't let Fethry know that. She took up a new confidence, remembering the penny in her hand, the key to her everything.
"Who are you?"
Pushing her soaked hair back, Lena stepped towards him. "I'm Miss De Spell."
Fethry's eyes widened with realization, landing on the penny raised n her hand. "De Spell," he tried on his tongue.
"I've waited fourteen long years for this moment. I just didn't know it until three months ago." Her beak split into a smirk. "You remember that night, don't you? It was your birthday, wasn't it?" He simply stared at her, speechless and wide eyed. "Well. Happy belated birthday."
She felt it. The eclipse. It was here. The sky shifted colors, matching the changed mood. A blood red. She smiled at the appropriateness of it. Raising the penny to block out the moon, she grinned. Now was her moment. She had memorized the spells by heart, one to separate herself from Magica, and one to draw out the soul from within the dime. Afterwards, she had learned how to combine them, so all she would have to do is complete one spell. Her plan formed together more perfectly than she'd hoped for.
"Free her form from the abyss..." The winds picked up at her words.
"Feed my power, dark eclipse..." Her eyes were overcome with the black oil of Magica's shadow. It seeped through her, bleeding out and separating from Lena at the feet. Once the shadow was removed, Lena's eyes glowed with magenta.
"Dormant magic now unchain..." The penny rose from her fingertips, hovering with a glow. Altogether it tumbled to the floor, spinning a moment before landing on heads. A swirl of smoke circled it, a figure forming in the smog.
"The shadow king be whole again!" Taking a step back, Lena beamed.
Magica's shadow had now formed beak into the woman's original body. She stared up at the smoke, then back to Lena. "What have you done?"
When the smoke cleared, the ghost from the night of the party stood. Not quite fleshed out, as he was still dead, but more defined than that night. He seemed confused at first, new to his surroundings and his form. His gaze caught Lena. Her eyes watered, an overwhelmed smile on her face. The ghost turned from her to Fethry, still sitting on the ground with Mitzy.
Fethry gaped, processing. "I'm dead," was all he managed.
Lena stepped towards him, the ghost close behind her. To see the terror in his eyes, that was the most wonderful feeling in the world to her. "Fethry Duck, I'd like you to meet my father. Poe De Spell. Of course, you two have already met, haven't you? You're the one who killed him after all."