One hundred body bags, at the very least, were dumped out of one garbage truck. What looked like a garbage truck anyway. There were many trucks along with the one so the amount of bodies that was possibly there was not a nice thought.
The bodies joined hundreds of others next to huge piles of trash in miles of stripped land. A garbage dump brought you by Glomgold Industries. The area was smoggy and the garbage truck pulling away (the side reading Glomgold Bodies and Fun next to a picture of an anime Glomgold giving a thumbs up) didn't help.
Gyro unzipped his bag when he believed the garbage trucks had moved far enough away. The smell hit him immediately and he tried to wave it away; like that would be any help. He coughed, climbing to the top of the mound of body bags he was under to look around. "Gloria? Anyone?"
Mark was already at the base of the mound, outside of his body bag. He was just sitting on the ground, tweeting away with the last of his battery life. "Yo yo yoooooooo! Down here, nerd!"
"Goddamnit." Gyro wanted to find anyone else but him, even Ellie, the robot who threatened to slice his neck open. He slid down the pile, which was uncomfortably high, to meet up with the self-absorbed billionaire. "Have you seen or heard anyone else?"
"Who?" Mark didn't look up from his phone, lowkey ignoring him.
"You know, Gloria, or your family?" The fact this man had a girlfriend and child was horrifying.
"Oooooooohhhhh yeahhhhhh THOSE guys! Nope, haven't seen them."
Gyro skimmed his face with his hands, wiping some of the sweat away. "Could you perhaps help look?"
"Look for what?"
"GLORIA AND YOUR FAMILY!"
Mark finally pried his eyes away from his phone to look around. "They aren't here?"
"I don't know where they are so I need your help to find them!"
"Uuuuuuughhhhhhhhh! Fiiiiiiiinnneeeee! God I have to do everything myself here!" He put his phone away and started heading back up the body mound.
Gyro followed him. "I await the day Gloria lets me kill you if she doesn't do it herself first or Ellie breaks up with you OR hopefully both. You are unbelievable!"
This only boosted Mark's ego more for some reason. He gave his signature "Pew pew pew!" speech and gesture before going back to ignoring him again.
Scrunching his face, Gyro decided to turn his attention elsewhere before Mark joined the dead bodies again. "Gloria?! Gloriaaaaa?!" He put his hands around his mouth, awaiting a call back.
"I FOUND HER!" Mark yelled from a few yards away. Gyro jumped up, desperately running over to Mark which he would hopefully only have to do once in his life.
"Where is she?!"
Mark pointed to an already opened body bag, the zipper seemed to have broken some time prior. "There."
Walking closer, Gyro studied the black and blue beat up, and also half decayed body. He shivered. "Mark, you do realize that's not Gloria, right?" He hoped to Duck Jesus Mark wasn't that stupid because then they would be here forever.
Mark looked down at the corpse again before laughing. "Oh yeah my bad!" He pointed to the open body bag. "She's too pretty to be Gloria!" His awful attempt at a joke made him laugh harder.
The laugh echoed through the dump but quickly turned to an echoing scream when Gyro pushed him off the body mountain. He wiped his hands, watching Mark fall to his possible death. He rolled and rolled like a loose tire and it was funny as hell. Gyro didn't bother to watch the whole thing as he continued his desperate search for Gloria.
A little farther down from where Gyro and Mark resided, Ellie gasped as she dug herself out of a pool of bodies with Boyd in her other arm which hadn't made the task any easier. She didn't need to gasp considering she couldn't breath but she saw other people do that when emerging from something so she figured that's what you were supposed to do.
Ellie looked even shittier than before, covered in grime with most of her hair down and tangled. Not to mention the truck ride over was so rough she was even more dented.
She looked down at Boyd who wasn't looking to hot himself. "Are you okay?"
Boyd had no time to respond before they both saw Mark barreling towards them from the hill. It didn't take long for all three of them to crash and hit the ground together, adding even more dirt to their fit.
Ellie had landed right on top of Boyd but the little dude was still aight. "Dad?"
"Sup?" Mark's face was in the dirt. At this point the man didn't even want to get up. He just wanted a nap.
After helping Boyd up and dusting him off, Ellie walked over to Mark. "Why were you tumbling down a hill of dead bodies?"
"Ugh because ASSHOLE up there pushed me off!" He screamed "asshole" hoping that Gyro would hear his complaints. Gyro didn't.
Even though Mark didn't want to get up, Ellie helped him anyway. It was like picking up a screaming toddler to put it lightly. When he looked at her he grimaced. "Wow, you look like shit."
God, Mark was acting like more of an asshole than usual. Someone must've woken up on the wrong side of the body bag.
"Your outfit is torn, you are scraped up, and you are covered in dirt and feces from corpses. Based on society's standards for beauty, you do not fit the quota yourself." Ellie stated matter-of-factly. "On another note, I do need major repairs when we return to Duckburg. I do not feel comfortable with my wires being exposed, I'm indecent."
"Oh true true! Well, hopefully Waddle is still doing Gucci with Glomgold being a dictator and all... Because I can't do anything if I don't have my rocking ass building!"
"You need to stop swearing around Boyd." Ellie eyed Mark up and down. "And you also need to wipe some of the feces on you off. It is very disgusting."
Mark lifted his shirt over his head to use it as a napkin but it didn't really help all that much. "'Kay, am I good now?"
"I think it's worse." Boyd whispered; he was trying his best to not be rude.
Mark shrugged it off. "Eh, I'll make it a fashion trend. That'll be easier than washing my face." He took a selfie of his "new look" and waited for the trend to take off.
Considering Mark hated nature so much, it confused Ellie why he was so "chill" about having legitimate feces on his face. It was very unsanitary to say the least. She figured he hit his head on the way down. "We should start looking for Gloria along with Gyro."
Gyro, who was about half a mile away, was getting more worried by the second. "Gloria?" He knew that if she was buried deep enough, it meant possible suffocation. He tried not to think about that too much. "Gloria?!"
"Gyro!?"
He shot his head to the right to see Gloria limping over to him. She had some scrapes, probably from being dumped out from the truck so aggressively. Lighting up, Gyro ran over to embrace her. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was worried sick!" He let go of her to study her expression and her wounds. "Are you okay? Did you break anything?" Gyro was a scientist, not a doctor, but he felt the need to ask anyway. Okay he currently had a doctorate but that's besides the point.
"No, I don't think so." She looked down at her leg too. "Just a bruise at the least. God, where were you? I've been looking all over!"
His normal Gyro attitude came back. "I was looking for you!"
"Not hard enough!" She was only joking. Sort of. "But anyways, where are the others? I wanna get out of here."
"I have no idea, but I pushed Mark down a mound of bodies." He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I don't even think he's looking for Ellie and Boyd, he didn't seem to care all that much. But that's just him being him."
"Woah woah hold up!" Gloria put her hands up in a 'stop' gesture. "You pushed Mark Beaks off a mound and I wasn't there to see it?! Goddamnit!"
"If only Lil' Bulb was here to record it." He sighed. "Lil Bulb...." Gyro missed that little maniac and the squad. Robots were his only friends. Specifically robots that couldn't talk.
"Aw..." Gloria held Gyro's hand "You'll be back to your usual lab soon enough! I'm sure lil' bitch is doing fine!" Lil' Bitch was a nickname Gloria had for Lil' Bulb because why the hell not.
"Speaking of "usual"," He said in quotations. "You seem to be acting really okay after... earlier..."
Gloria flashed him a peace sign "I use jokes as a coping mechanism to escape my repressed and negative feelings!"
"Oh, um, okay. Well, if you ever need to talk I-"
"THE MARK FOURSOME IS BACK! WOOOOH! PEW PEW PEW!" Mark slid down the hill (he had just climbed to get a get view for instagram) followed by Ellie and Boyd who were climbing down like normal people, being respectful to the dead.
"Here we go..." Gyro let go of Gloria. "Hi... Mark and friends."
"Fuck you too, Gyro."
Ellie walked over with Boyd. "Hello, Gloria. It's nice to see you again. I'm happy you are not dead like your child." She said, obviously not knowing how insulting and insensitive that was. Boyd just smiled and nodded his head beside her. Jeez, the dude was being raised by two psychopaths.
Gloria had no idea how to respond to something like that. She crossed her arms. "Good to see you too..."
"So, like...#thisislame. What are we going to do now?" Mark whined. "My phone is on 7%! And I don't know about you, but I don't see any outlets on nearby dead bodies!"
"That is a good question..." Gyro was referring to the "what are we going to do now" statement and not the rest. "I have no idea. This dump seems like it goes on forever and we don't know what's outside of it. More "Godgold" owned land?"
"Mark?"
"Yo?"
Gloria pointed to his phone. "Why don't you just call somebody?"
He scoffed. "Like who? Ma Beagle? Magica? Oh, I know! Maybe my interns who are all now in Glomgold's little cult!"
She put her hands up. "Damn. Sorry, I was just asking, dude." She looked up at Gyro "And I doubt there is anyone from the McDuck family we can call who hasn't already been captured or killed or who knows what..."
"There's probably Donald. No one wants him. But don't bother because he won't be any help." Gyro waved Gloria's suggestion off. "I guess our only option for now is to walk and see what's outside the area."
"UGHHH!!!! MORE WALKING!!!" Mark threw his head back. "Fine! Whatever! But just so everyone knows, I think this is unbelievable!"
"Trust me. We all know." Leading the group, Gyro started searching the area for any possible trash that could be used, or better yet, an end in sight. So far there was nothing.
The group walked for about an hour, but it felt like a whole lot more.
Ellie had started carrying Boyd so he wouldn't trip over bodies. Mark didn't want to because he was too busy playing Mario Kart. Finally Boyd piped up. "Do you guys hear that?"
"The sound of me crushing this level?! Uh YEAHHHH!" Mark gave himself a mental high five. He was in the lead and not a blue shell in sight.
"No. There's like... a buzzing noise."
Ellie listened closely since she had the same quality of hearing as him. She shook her head. "No, I don't hear anything. But my hearing could still be damaged from my... earlier experience."
Gloria looked at the horizon but there was nothing for miles. "I hear it too but I don't see anything."
Gyro started to turn in circles, looking for the source of the noise. "Yeah. Where on Earth is that coming from?"
"I'm telling you guys, it's me WINNING!!!"
"No dad!" Boyd smiled and pointed up at the sky. "It's coming from the really strange plane that seems to be getting bigger!"
"Boyd is right." Ellie nodded at his comment, calmly. "It's heading in our direction very quickly." It took her a second to realize the danger in what she just said. "It's heading in our direction!"
Everyone screamed and scrambled into different directions to get away from the plane that was seconds from crashing. God, no one was bad at flying planes except....
"Hiya, Everybody! Woah... Neat place!" Launchpad, yes, THE launchpad that got shot, possessed, and then murdered, was now standing in front of everyone, leaning against the door frame of the plane.
"LAUNCHPAD?!" Everyone shouted except Ellie and Boyd. Ellie started having flashbacks of having her head blown in and decapitated but whatever.
"Are you guys having a bonfire or something?" Launchpad felt sad because he forgot his s'more kit. Oh well, maybe next time.
"How the FUCK are you even alive?!" Mark screamed while taking pictures of the scene. He would get more followers if he pretended he survived a second plane crash.
"Oh right! The last time you guys saw me I was dead in Agartha!" He laughed. "I'll explain my epic journey home on the plane! C'mon!" He ran back inside the plane, keeping the door open for everyone.
Gyro turned to Gloria. "Wait, he died in Agartha?"
"Yeah I killed him a second time after he got shot. Or at least... I thought I did?"
"Duck Jesus. What else did I miss?"
Everyone entered the plane except Ellie who remained at the bottom of the stairs, still holding Boyd close to her. "I am not getting on your plane." She spat.
"Hmm? Did you say something Miss E?" Launchpad stuck his head out again.
"I said I am not getting on your plane! You expect me to trust you after what you did to me?!"
"I did something?" He scratched his chin and looked at the sky as if he was in deep thought.
Mark pushed L.P. out of the way for a second. "C'mon! We don't have time for this! It's Launchpad, he can't do shit." He waved his arm at the buff duck to emphasize his point.
She sighed. "Alright. But I'd be happy to kill him a third time." Ellie climbed up the stairs, quickly walking past Launchpad with Boyd. She immediately went over the seats to strap him in knowing what kind of pilot Launchpad was.
"That's the spirit!"
The plane soon took off even though it was slightly damaged after crashing but Launchpad insisted it was in good enough condition to fly again.
"So, uh, you gonna tell us the story of how you survived?" Gloria finally asked after a while of awkward silence. She also wondered why he was flying above a dump in Florida but that would be a question for later.
"Oh yeah! Okay so after I was left for dead, some nice thug guys helped me out and basically nursed me back to health. I think they had the power to bring me back to life? I can't remember but anyways long story short I lived in Agartha for a while, rebuilt my old plane with the scrap pieces out of what the old HQ building was and flew away! Oh!" Launchpad stopped to pull a postcard out of his bomber jacket "I also brought back a postcard for Mr. McD!" He waved it in the air before putting it back in his jacket pocket.
Gyro did his usual eye roll. "Mr. McD is imprisoned by Glomgold. Maybe even dead."
"Oh what?!" Launchpad turned around in his seat to look at his friends, not keeping his eyes on the sky. "Boy that sure is a bummer, Dr. G! Don't worry though! I'm sure with a little teamwork, we can save Mr. McD!"
"Yeah, no." Mark laughed, now tweeting instead of playing Mario Kart. "Scrooge can handle himself. I saved him once and my character development has gone back down so I'm not willing to do it again."
"Eyes on the road, Launchpad!" Gloria snapped at him.
"Oh right!" Launchpad turned back around in his chair before adding. "Man you're probably really confused or something, Miss G, because we aren't on a road exactly!"
"Why were you flying over Florida?" Gyro asked the second question everyone wanted to know.
"Oh! I was just sightseeing on my way back to Duckburg!"
"Wait..." Gyro held his hands out, swaying them just a tad. "You mean to tell me you haven't seen the current state Duckburg is in right now?!"
"Yep! That's right! But I'm sure It's very beautiful!"
Mark walked over to L.P. "Sure is, pal. Sure is. ANYWAYSSSS, you got snacks cuz I'm #hungy!"
"Yeah! I have chicky nuggies in the mini fridge over there!" Launchpad pointed behind him before adding "I thought they were called chicken nuggets but Dewey insisted that they were actually called chicky nuggies!" (A/N: Don't question birds eating chicken, kay? We just wanted to write Launchpad saying chicky nuggies.)
"THANKZ!" Mark yeeted over the fridge, taking them all for himself before sitting down beside Ellie. He shoved a bunch in his mouth at once.
Ellie turned to Mark. "Do you mind sharing some with Boyd? He has been hungry for a few hours now."
Mark looked at her with a mouthful of nuggies stuffed in his mouth before dropping one single nuggie in Boyd's hand.
"Ummm..." Boyd looked at the chicken nugget and then back up at his dad. "Can I have a bit more, please?"
Mark sighed with his mouth still full before dropping two more nuggies in his hands.
"Mark..." Ellie warned. She knew he wasn't good at being a dad but this was ridiculous.
Mark sighed louder before giving Boyd the rest of the nuggies. He sulked and marched to the other side of the plane next to Gloria and Gyro to go and pout.
".... She made me give away my chicky nuggies."
Gyro looked at him. "She made you give away your chicken nuggets to your son who was hungry?"
"Yeah! What gives, right?!"
"How do you manage to beat your own highscore of being the world's biggest douche all the time? Is it exhausting?" Gloria said while trying to scoot away from him as best as she could given that she had a seatbelt on.
Mark didn't catch on to the insult and prided himself instead. "I guess I'm just that awesome!"
Gyro rested his head into his hands, not knowing what to say anymore. He didn't want to go back to a now communist Duckburg, but it would be worth it if he could be five more feet away from Mark.
"Sooooooooooo what are you guys doing?" Mark said annoyingly to start a conversation.
"Mark." Gyro snapped. "Why don't you go talk to your girlfriend or something and not us."
"Or better yet just jump out the plane." Gloria added.
"Well, aren't you guys lovely to talk to."
Launchpad finally interrupted before an argument broke out. "Hey guys! Looks like we're almost at Duckburg! Which means I have great news!" He stopped there, waiting for someone to ask what the great news was. When no one did he continued on his own. "Which means we're gonna crash soon! Sound good?"
"Launchpad. May I request you DON'T do that?" Gyro asked.
"Sorry but no can do, Dr. G! It's just my style of doing things!" He pressed the head of his Darkwing Duck figurine. "Let's get dangerous!"
Ellie reached out her hand. "Launchpad, don't!"
The plane started going down and everyone screamed.
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A/N: Sorry for lack of illustrations again, I fell behind this chapter because I'm sick. I'll post one on this chapter eventually.