Chapter Text
There was a moment of absolute stillness after Penumbra opened the cell door. Even the barely-extant lunar atmosphere seemed to stand still. All three of the captives were caught off guard.
Goldie suddenly realized that she should not let the opportunity pass. She lunged, landing and planting her feet to throw a swift kick at Penumbra. Penumbra deftly blocked the kick, managing to wrap both of her hands around Goldie’s leg. She pushed back, knocking Goldie flat on her behind.
“What the hell are you doing? I’m trying to help!”
Donald grabbed Louie’s hand and together they rushed to escape as well. Goldie hopped back to her feet and stanced up, giving Penumbra a cocky “come here” gesture.
“I’m not here to fight you, you dolt!” Penumbra said in a rough, hushed tone. “I’m trying to save your planet!”
“Yeah, right!” Goldie yelled back. “Why would I believe a word out of your mouth after you kidnapped me?”
“For Selene’s sake, hush! You’re gonna get us all caught!” Penumbra barked back.
With Louie in tow, Donald had managed to sneak some distance down the hallway of the cell block. Spotting an air vent along the top of a wall, he began to frantically search for anything to stand on so he could reach the grate to remove it. There was nothing around. Begrudgingly, Donald came to the conclusion that he was going to need help.
“She’s telling the truth, Goldie,” Donald said, just above a whisper. “The Moonlanders are going to invade earth, and it isn’t going to be pretty.”
“And just how do you know this?” Goldie asked. Louie found her tone to be too accusatory.
“I heard it from the general’s own mouth,” Donald replied.
“Believe it or not, this duck’s temper has made him an incredibly effective propaganda tool,” Penumbra tacked on. “The Moonlanders truly fear you earthlings, because they fear him.”
Goldie still looked skeptical. Penumbra huffed with exasperation. “Look, work with me here. We’ll be more effective as a team. It’ll give us the best odds of saving your city and, more importantly, your planet.”
“What is he planning to do to Duckburg?” Louie asked nervously.
“Obliterate it,” Penumbra replied soberly.
“What?!” Goldie and Louie both exclaimed. Their voices echoed down the hall.
“Hush!” Penumbra snapped. “Yes, he’s planning to kill countless earthlings, all of whom are, as of right now, none the wiser! Are you willing to work with me now? Lunaris is hours away from launching the bombs!”
Louie began hyperventilating. Almost everyone he knew and loved was in Duckburg, and they were going to die in just a few hours. The responsibility of saving them all (and many more) was on just four pairs of shoulders, including his own. Donald squeezed Louie’s hand. Louie looked up, meeting Donald’s gaze. His uncle was wearing a warm and comforting smile that still had an air of determination. Louie smiled back, trying to mirror the confidence he saw in his uncle. He could not panic now. If the responsibility of saving all those people, including his family, was falling on his shoulders, then he had no choice: he needed to take this challenge head-on. With Uncle Donald at his side, he could do it.
Goldie was silent for a few moments. “Save the world, huh?” Goldie asked. “Sure, why not? I’m up for it. I’ve already done that, like, twice.”
“Now that we’re on the same page...” Penumbra said. She produced Goldie’s satchel, tossing it over to her. “Here’s your stuff, earthling. Hopefully it’ll come in use.”
“Thanks,” Goldie replied. “You can call me Goldie, by the way.”
“Penumbra,” the lieutenant replied. In lieu of a handshake, the two women exchanged a quick nod.
“Somebody boost me up so I can get this vent open,” Donald instructed, gesturing to the grate above him.
---
Huey worriedly twiddled his thumbs as he watched his mother, Scrooge, and Beakley examine a map that Scrooge had laid out on his desk. Scrooge had assured him that they’d find Louie in time for lunch; now the sun was beginning to fall toward the horizon and absolutely no progress had been made.
They were back at square zero. Huey felt demoralized, and he knew that, despite putting on their best poker faces, the adults were demoralized too.
“He must still be in the city! We’ve had eyes on every blasted route out of Duckburg since we discovered the boy was gone!”
“Scrooge, if Louie was still in Duckburg, we would have found him by now,” Della replied. Her tone was hushed, her voice was scratchy. Huey could tell she was on edge. “We need to expand our search outward, possibly all the way out to Mouseton or Saint Canard.”
“We need tae keep our resources focused in Duckburg!” Scrooge shot back. Huey didn’t know if it was just from the exhaustion or if it was intentional, but Scrooge’s tone was extremely dismissive. Della visibly bristled.
“You’re not perfect, Scrooge! Maybe your quarantine failed! Maybe Louie slipped by! We need to expand our search, ‘cause to me, it feels like we’re spinning our wheels!”
“Lass, what you’re suggesting will only slow us down! We cannae-”
Scrooge was interrupted by his cell phone. He quickly answered, putting the device to his ear and curtly saying “talk to me” into the receiver. Scrooge listened intently for a few moments; the room fell into a tense silence that made Huey’s ears ring.
“A’rite, we’ll head out there. Thanks,” Scrooge said, quickly hanging up and shoving his phone back in his coat pocket. Della, Beakley, and Huey all looked to Scrooge expectantly.
“Well, it’s not Louie, but it’s the first thing we can call a lead,” Scrooge said. “Goldie’s vehicle was found abandoned, just outside the city limits, right next to the bus stop Donald disappeared from. I don’t believe in coincidences, so I want to check it out.”
Huey practically jumped to his feet from the chair he was sitting on. “Let’s get to it, then!” Huey exclaimed with as much energy and determination he could muster. He wasn’t feeling particularly confident, but he thought that maybe he could give the adults some energy if it seemed like he had some. The three other heads in the room snapped over to him, almost like they had completely forgotten that he was in the room.
“Huey, it’s getting late,” Della replied, “why don’t you go spend some time with your brother while we check this out, okay?”
Huey visibly deflated before a wave of white-hot anger coursed through him. “Do not shut me out of this!” Huey screamed, “Louie is my brother, and I want to help find him!” Scrooge seemed to be caught off guard by the sudden rage, but Della rushed to Huey’s side before Huey even realized she was coming. Della knelt down to Huey’s height, and the boy immediately fell into his mother’s arms.
Della held Huey for a few moments before whispering into his ear. “I know you’re frustrated, Huey. We all are. But something isn’t right about all this.”
“Aye,” Scrooge concurred. Huey hadn’t noticed him walk up either. “I’ve got a bad feeling, too. Years of adventuring will give ya a sixth sense about these things, Huey.”
“But-”
“Huey,” Della soothed, “you should check in with your brother, spend some time with him. Make sure he isn’t trying to sneak out of bed. The doctor ordered three days of bed-rest, and I know that’ll make Turbo stir crazy.”
Huey didn’t respond right away. “It isn’t fair,” he eventually managed, on the verge of tears. “Are we cursed? It’s like our family will never be whole.”
“That’s nonsense, Huey,” Della said. “Louie, Donald… We’ll find both of those knuckleheads, okay? I promise. And I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” Huey still looked defiant, but he couldn’t find any words to assemble a response. “We will keep you updated every step of the way, Huey,” Della said, holding up her cell phone. “Yes, Louie needs you right now. But so does Dewey.”
Huey sniffled slightly. “I’m sorry. My brothers need me to be strong right now and I… I just can’t.”
“Lad,” Scrooge said softly, placing his hand gently on Huey’s shoulder, “I know the past week has really clobbered you over. Desperation, helplessness… they’re things that even I have experienced.” Huey looked up and met his great uncle’s eyes. “You remember the shadow war, of course. I later heard about what your Uncle Donald said: Ducks don’t back down!” Huey could see the admiration in Scrooge’s eyes. The old duck sighed and let his shoulders drop. “I could have saved all of us loads of trouble had I kept that attitude instead of moping about. I’ll need to thank Donald for the gut check next time I see him. I’m sure it’ll be soon.”
Huey let his mother’s and Scrooge’s words stew within him. “I’m… so tired,” he said slowly. “But now isn’t the time for me to rest. Dewey needs me, Louie needs me, you all need me, and I need all of you. I won’t let you down and I know you won’t let me down.”
“Aye, that’s my boy,” Scrooge said with a light chuckle.
Della pulled Huey into another tight hug. “I love you, Huey. This will all be over soon.” After separating, Huey stood at attention and gave a Junior Woodchuck salute. Della returned a salute in kind.
“Alright, everyone. It’s go time.”
---
Lieutenant Penumbra led the way as the group army-crawled through the ventilation system, followed by Donald, then Louie, then Goldie. It was uncomfortably hot; Penumbra uttered something about how the heaters are running at all times on the moon, and everyone would just have to deal with it. Louie’s hoodie was already drenched with sweat. As he crawled forward, inch by inch, he could feel the moist fabric against the feathers on his chest and stomach. It was too dark to see for certain, but Louie wouldn’t have been surprised if he was leaving a trail of sweat behind for Goldie to crawl through, like he were some sort of slug. If he was, she was thankfully keeping her mouth shut about it.
Penumbra’s knowledge of the labyrinthine web of ducts and vents was honestly impressive, though Louie could tell that her knowledge wasn’t as exhaustive as, say, Webby’s knowledge of McDuck Manor. Each time Penumbra approached a vent, she would peer through the slits to identify where in the complex she was. She muttered to herself as she constructed a mental map, though Louie couldn’t make out exactly what she was saying.
“Alright, it looks like we’re getting pretty close to one of the back exits,” Penumbra stated. “If we can get out undetected, then-”
At that moment, an alarm began blaring. It whooped up and down, and the sound bounced around in the enclosed duct space, making it seem much louder. Louie covered his ears. Penumbra uttered a curse. A loud voice joined the blaring alarm.
“Code six-six-one. Code six-six-one. This is not a drill.”
Nobody needed to be told what a code six-six-one was. Their absence had definitely been discovered.
“We need to move, and we need to move fast!” Penumbra shouted. Her voice barely registered in Louie’s ears over the sound of the alarm. Penumbra began to crawl (it was more of a scramble, really) further down the duct, beckoning for Donald to follow. As Louie began to move again, the duct suddenly dropped a few inches. The instantaneous sensation of freefall activated Louie’s fight-or-flight reaction. A loud metallic creaking and snapping noise overpowered the sound of the alarm.
“Oh, phooey,” Donald grumbled.
That instantaneous sensation of freefall had absolutely nothing on the sensation Louie felt as the duct separated from the structural steel that held it from the ceiling. The three escapees and their guide all started screaming. Before he even knew what was happening, Louie impacted the floor. Goldie landed directly on top of him, bouncing and rolling some distance away.
Oh boy, did that hurt. The fall knocked the wind out of Louie, who began desperately wheezing, trying to get his diaphragm to work again. At least the flooring was carpeted. That probably softened the blow a little bit. Only part of the duct had given way, dumping them all into this unknown room.
“Is everyone alright?” Penumbra asked.
“Never better,” Goldie replied bitterly.
“Louie!” Donald squawked. There was genuine fear in his voice. Louie still couldn’t speak, so he just raised a thumbs up, followed by putting up a single finger to indicate that he needed a second to get his wits back.
Goldie picked herself up off the ground, smacking the dust off of her clothing. “So much for ‘sneaking’ out.”
“We’ve landed in the administrative area,” Penumbra yelled, trying to talk over the still-wailing alarm. Donald scooped a still-recovering Louie into his arms and looked around. The room around him looked like a standard work area you’d see in any office on Earth: cubicles, computers, printers, corner offices, the works. For some reason, there didn’t seem to be anyone around. Maybe it was after hours.
“Most staff is out preparing for the invasion,” Penumbra said, answering Donald’s question. “Lunaris has whipped this society into a state of total war. Everything is geared toward the war effort. Which is why we need to keep moving.”
By this point, Louie’s wind had returned to him. “I’m good, Uncle Donald,” he said hoarsely. Donald returned a skeptical look, to which Louie replied, clearer this time, “I promise I’m fine, you know I’ve been through worse.” Donald set Louie down. Penumbra had already started running and Goldie was not far behind. Donald and Louie took off to catch up.
“Code six-six-one. Code six-six-one. This is not a drill.”
The incessant blaring of the alarm was grating. It did nothing but exacerbate the fear Louie felt and increase the concentration of adrenaline in his veins. As Louie ran, his vision tunneled. It was as if he were following his uncle through an infinite expanse of nothingness. The illusion was shattered as the group burst through a set of double doors. Louie found himself outside, staring at a huge arc of blue that covered a large portion of the sky. The earth. Home. A place that was about to be violently conquered.
“This way, quickly!” Penumbra whispered harshly.
As the group moved stealthily along the side of the building, Louie took in his surroundings. The area surrounding the prison was a wide open expanse. Louie could see the cityscape off in the distance; if he had to guess, the closest buildings were at least a mile away. There was nowhere to hide. It would be impossible to not get caught.
As if to punctuate Louie’s line of thinking, a helicopter flew into view with a massive spotlight. It began to scan the open field of grey, and it was very quickly approaching the prison.
“In here!”
Louie’s attention returned to Penumbra, who had hoisted a manhole cover out of the ground, revealing a ladder that descended into darkness. Everyone quickly climbed down. “This sewer will take us into the city,” Penumbra said. “If we can make it to our broadcast tower on the hills to the north of the city, we should be able to broadcast a warning to earth!”
“What will that do to stop the invasion?!” Goldie yapped. “We don’t have time to waste sending warnings, we need to derail this whole operation!”
“If you have any suggestions on how exactly to do that, I’m open to hearing them!” Penumbra shot back. Goldie simply grumbled in response. Penumbra gave an exasperated I-told-you-so hand gesture. “I want to save as many lives as possible,” Penumbra continued. “Imagine the four of us trying to take on a literal army. We’d just end up dead, and so would all your loved ones on earth!”
Donald cleared his throat. “She’s right, Goldie. If we can at least get people to evacuate the cities, we’ll be saving countless lives.”
Louie had nothing to add. Nothing about the situation he found himself in felt real. It all felt like a crazy dream. Nothing had ever made him feel more in over his head than the responsibility of literally saving the world. He was a child. He wasn’t ready for any of this. He definitely wasn’t ready for the consequences if they failed.
He felt another squeeze around his hand. Louie looked up and saw that warm and loving yet angry and determined look on his uncle’s face. Louie looked at Goldie. She seemed almost unbothered. Louie looked at Penumbra. She looked positively tenacious. He needed to be strong like them. With their strength to feed off of, Louie felt like, just maybe, he could be strong too.
“Alright, everyone.” Louie said with a confidence that he wasn’t expecting to have. “Let’s roll.”
---
Huey gingerly opened the door to his brothers’ bedroom, hoping not to awaken Dewey if he were asleep.
“They haven’t found him yet, have they? Not even a trace.”
Well, Dewey wasn’t asleep. Huey paused in the doorway and flipped the light switch, illuminating the room. Dewey was laying on top of the bed sheets, just staring at the ceiling. His head was still wrapped, and scrapes were visible across his face.
“We just got our first lead,” Huey eventually replied. “The police found Goldie’s jeep abandoned near the bus stop where Uncle Donald was last seen.”
“Doesn’t seem like much of a lead,” Dewey said bitterly.
“I know,” Huey huffed with a sigh, “but it’s something. The adults wouldn’t let me tag along.”
Dewey turned and faced Huey. “Why are they shutting us out of this?” he asked angrily.
“I asked them that very question,” Huey replied, “and, in my opinion, I didn’t get an acceptable response.” Huey walked from the doorframe to the bunk, climbing up and sitting on his dresser so he could be at Dewey’s height. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he continued. “Which is why I wanna get out there and do some sleuthing of my own. And, despite my – and the doctor’s – better judgment, I can’t just leave you out of this. You have just as much a right to help this search as any of us. Louie’s your brother too.” Huey hopped down from the dresser and trotted over to their shared closet. Wrestling with the mess in there (Huey couldn’t keep things organized with two extremely unorganized brothers, despite his best efforts), Huey finally managed to free a small wheelchair, rolling it across the room back to the triple bunk. “We’ll have to sneak past Beakley, but-”
“Thanks, Huey. I really mean it,” Dewey interrupted, “but I think I oughtta sit this one out. My ribs still hurt like heck when I try to sit up. Mom said they might need to do surgery on my hip. And there is zero chance we make it past Beakley with me in that thing,” Dewey said, nodding at the wheelchair.
Huey leaned over the bed and gently embraced his brother, careful not to disturb his injuries. “Dewey, can I be honest with you?” Huey whispered, pulling himself away from the embrace. “I’m finding it hard to be strong right now... I’m not sure if this is something I can do alone.”
“Huey, of the three of us, you’re the only one I’d trust in a situation like this. I’m sure Louie would say the same thing, if I was out… wherever he is, and he was stuck in here,” Dewey replied. With difficult, strained motions, Dewey began to bring himself to a seated position. Realizing what Dewey was attempting, Huey grabbed his brother’s arm and helped him. Dewey pulled out his phone. “You shouldn’t waste any more time. Keep in contact. I want to know everything you learn as soon as you learn it.”
“Of course, bro,” Huey replied before he opened the bedroom window. That had always been the triplets’ favorite avenue for sneaking out. Huey was kind of astonished that the adults hadn’t caught on to that yet. It was almost like they were letting the boys get up to trouble.
“But! Before you go,” Dewey interrupted, “If I’m going to be handling the logistics back here at home base, I’m gonna need some resources to keep me going all night.”
“You want me to raid the pantry for snacks?”
“Yerp!”
---
Launchpad parked the limousine just behind Goldie’s abandoned vehicle, which had yet to be towed by the police department at Scrooge’s request. Scrooge and Della immediately hopped out.
“We’ll call when we’re ready to be picked up, Launchpad. Be on standby.”
With that, Launchpad left. Scrooge and Della started by flashing the beams from their flashlights into the cab of Goldie’s vehicle. Nothing seemed to be particularly out of order.
“Gotta say, Scrooge. Your girlfriend doesn’t have particularly good taste in cars,” Della deadpanned. Scrooge didn’t reply. He wasn’t exactly in the mood for teasing or levity. Della seemed to get the message. As Scrooge’s umpteenth attempt to call Goldie went to voicemail, he grunted and stuffed his cellphone in his pocket.
“We should look around for clues,” Scrooge declared bluntly. “Something is definitely not right.”
Goldie wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity to mock him for “crawling back to her” or some other hogwash. There was definitely a reason she wasn’t picking up her phone.
“This is eerily close to where the Spear crashed when I returned to earth,” Della mumbled. “This is like our family’s personal Bermuda Triangle.”
“All the kids are aware of where ye crashed, aye? Maybe Louie returned there for sentimental reasons?” Scrooge offered.
Della looked around, trying to orient herself in the darkness of the night. “It was maybe four or five hundred yards into the trees… this-a-way,” Della replied, beginning to walk across the highway toward the tree line. “It’s a start. If we’re gonna find anything, it’s probably going to be there.”
“Aye,” Scrooge replied. “Let’s get moving.”
Huey watched as Scrooge and Della disappeared into the trees from his location hidden in a ditch on the side of the highway. He was extremely glad that his mom and Scrooge hadn’t noticed the taxi stop a quarter mile down the road and let somebody out. He had brought along everything he could carry that he thought might come in handy: a pair of nightvision goggles with amplification abilities, a flashlight, a small first aid satchel that he hoped not to use… he truly was kitted out, and Huey was thankful that his taxi driver wasn’t interested in asking very many questions about why a child was out by himself with all this gear on him.
After Scrooge and Della were out of sight, Huey snuck along the side of the highway to Goldie’s car. Huey had borrowed a few things from his brothers, including an inflatable doorjack that Louie had in his dresser for some reason. Now wasn’t the time to question why Louie had it; it was about to come in handy. Huey slipped the sheet behind the passenger door of Goldie’s jeep and began to inflate it with the accompanying pump. The sound of the door being forced ajar was loud, and Huey momentarily panicked, thinking it would alert his mother and Uncle.
Eventually, Huey was able to slip a coat hanger with a piece of rubber on the tip into the space created by the door jack. After a few attempts, Huey managed to hook the locking mechanism and unlock the door. He pulled on the handle and it popped right open, and the automatic lights illuminated the car. The doorjack fell to the ground, and Huey hopped into the passenger seat, leaning over to the driver’s side to hit the electronic unlock button. He then began to rifle through the things in Goldie’s glove box. He found nothing interesting – just the registration and insurance information for the vehicle, a small jack for changing a tire, and an ice scraper. A search through the center console yielded equally disappointing results.
Huey hopped out of the car and walked around to the rear, throwing the trunk open. Here he found most of Goldie’s supplies. A suitcase had been haphazardly packed with dirty clothes. Clearly, Goldie was on her way home when something caused her to pull over. But what could that have been? And why hadn’t she returned? Huey closed the trunk and walked over to the hood of his car, placing his hand on it. It was cool. The car hadn’t been running in hours. Nothing about this made sense.
Huey took some time to text Dewey what he had discovered so far before eyeing the bus stop a few hundred yards further down the road. It was the bus stop that Donald had last been seen at. The thought made a shiver run down his spine. He walked slowly to the structure at the side of the road, immediately eyeing an emptied and crushed can of pep sitting idly at the base of a signage post.
Louie had been here. That could be anybody’s can of pep, but Huey knew deep down that it was Louie’s. He just needed proof.
Huey paced around the bus stop, looking for any other evidence. With his forensics merit badge, he was positive he could analyze a DNA sample from that can of Pep, but that would take days. He didn’t have that type of time. Looking at the bench, Huey had an idea. Louie wouldn’t have passed up an opportunity to sit down if he were waiting for a bus. Huey turned on his flashlight and began scanning the seat of the bench with his magnifying glass, until…
“Bingo,” Huey said aloud.
Green fibers. Green fibers that matched Louie’s hoodie. Huey would recognize them anywhere. He studied those exact fibers as part of earning his merit badge.
Huey grabbed his phone and texted Dewey again. Louie was definitely at the bus stop here. Must’ve left the city on a bus. I have proof. Will explain later.
Huey began to make his way back to Goldie’s abandoned jeep when his phone buzzed. Dewey had replied.
Scrooge said that he had security footage from every bus in town and that Louie wasn’t seen on any of them.
Huey stopped in his tracks. That was absolutely correct. Louie had been at that bus stop, but he never got on the bus. Coupled with Goldie’s abandoned vehicle being so close by… something had obviously happened. To both of them. They left somewhere, definitely on foot, and they hadn’t returned. Huey didn’t want to consider what that could possibly mean.
He knew that he’d get in trouble – big trouble – but Huey needed to share his findings with the adults. He retraced his way back to where he had seen his mother and uncle disappear into the foliage, and began to follow their path.
---
“This is as close as we can get to the broadcast tower,” Penumbra said, staring at a wall, “We’ll need to make our way to the surface.”
“Where exactly are we?” Louie asked. It felt like they had walked at least two or three miles through the sewers. They’d been in there for close to an hour.
“We’re in the sewers, Louie,” Goldie replied with her usual snark.
“Is now really the time, Goldie?” Louie spat back.
“We’re not going to be far from the north edge of the city. Somewhere in the suburbs,” Penumbra replied, ignoring the banter taking place before her.
“How far from the broadcast tower?” Donald asked.
“It’s another mile, maybe mile-and-a-half. A lot of it is going to be uphill,” Penumbra answered. “We have less than six hours until the bombs are supposed to be launched. We need to move as quickly as possible.”
Penumbra lead the way up the ladder out of the sewers, pushing the manhole cover to the side and peering around before hopping out and helping the rest up to the surface.
“There’s not really anything we can do to prevent being seen,” Goldie said. Louie looked around. Goldie was right. They were in the middle of a neighborhood. Anybody could peer out their window, see them, and call the cavalry to come capture them… or worse.
“Let’s just get moving, then,” Donald replied, “Lead the way, Penumbra.”
The group was running down the streets of this neighborhood, not doing anything to conceal themselves. It wasn’t like there was anything they could do to conceal themselves. Eventually, they turned a corner and were greeted by a vast expanse of grey. They’d reached the end of the city’s development. In the distance, the flat land that characterized the city gave way to rolling foothills. On the top of one of these hills, Louie spotted a tall metal tower.
“There it is!” Louie exclaimed, pointing at the tower in the distance.
“Yup, let’s keep moving,” Penumbra responded, “this road should take us straight there.”
As the group followed the road, Louie could see some sort of disturbance in the ground up ahead.
“What is that?” Donald asked.
“We’re approaching the Bottomless Gorge. There’s a few bridges across it, including one on this road,” Penumbra replied.
“Bottomless Gorge?” Goldie asked.
“It’s not actually bottomless, clearly, that’s just its name. But it might as well be bottomless,” Penumbra said. Suddenly, her tone changed.
“Wait a minute…”
Penumbra suddenly took off, sprinting ahead of the group. Louie, Donald, and Goldie picked up their pace, just trying to keep up. Just as suddenly as she started, Penumbra came to a complete stop. As the rest of the group caught up to her, she turned toward them.
“The bridge over the gorge is down. Why is the bridge down?” Penumbra asked. Louie glanced ahead. A few hundred yards in the distance, Louie could see the road seemingly just dead-end into the mouth of the gorge. His focus shifted to the opposite end of the ravine, where a section of roadway seemed to follow the wall vertically down into the depths of the chasm.
“You expect us to know the answer to that question?” Goldie replied.
“I don’t remember there being an order to close the bridge,” Penumbra muttered to herself, ignoring Goldie’s snark. “It’s… it’s no problem. I can use my credentials to bring the bridge back up so we can cross.”
The group jogged, closing the distance between them and the massive scar in the ground. Penumbra excused herself and walked over to a small terminal rising out of the ground just off the road.
Louie and Donald both peered over the edge of the gorge, and Louie subconsciously let out an impressed whistle. It really did seem bottomless. The grey strata of the wall of the gorge seemed to disappear into an endless void of black. Louie glanced to his side, looking at a stretch of roadway extending down along the wall and terminating several dozen feet down. Once Penumbra activated the bridge, the two pieces would lift off the opposite walls and meet in the middle.
A string of curses caused Louie and Donald to step away from the edge and turn. Penumbra was beating the terminal like it had just insulted her mother.
“I’ve been locked out!”
---
“Sir, we’ve got a hit. The Lieutenant’s credentials were used at the bridge over the gorge on Tower Road less than three minutes ago.”
Lunaris’ grip on his drink tightened. He had had his suspicions about the Lieutenant, and he should have acted on them. Now she was proving to be a thorn in his side. Why did she throw it all away? She could have had it all! Right hand woman to the master of the solar system! Yet she betrayed him over the lives of a few million earthlings. It disgusted him.
Lunaris finally set down his drink. “I want every available unit sent to their location. Track them down. Orders are to capture the earthlings and the traitor, but the use of deadly force is authorized if they are met with any resistance,” he demanded.
“Even the boy, sir?”
“Capture the boy if you can. I wouldn’t put it past any earthling to use a child as a shield,” Lunaris replied. “Remember that these earthlings and their traitor accomplice are trying to stop our invasion so that we can be invaded ourselves. If they are not stopped…”
“I understand, sir. The order has been given.”
“Good,” Lunaris said with a smirk. “I want updates every five minutes and not a second longer. Get to it.”
---
“We’re going to have to use the next bridge over,” Penumbra stated, clearly agitated. The terminal she had been attempting to raise the bridge with was thoroughly destroyed. Louie followed Penumbra’s line of sight, seeing another bridge across the gorge. It was at least a few miles away; Louie knew they didn’t have time for such a lengthy detour. “That bridge can’t be raised and lowered like this one,” Penumbra explained, “We’ll be able to cross. Let’s get moving.”
“We’re going to lose at least an hour walking all the way around!” Donald exclaimed. “We don’t have time to lose!”
“I’m willing to hear a better idea!” Penumbra shot back.
“I’ve got a better idea, if you’re all willing to trust me.”
The group turned to Goldie, who had retrieved the psynergy gauntlet from her satchel. Louie’s eyes went wide. He’d wished he’d never have to see that thing again. Donald looked down at Louie and, noticing his almost bewildered expression, laid a hand on his boy’s shoulder.
“Is that…?” Donald began to ask. Louie looked up to him and just nodded, a line of wetness visible on his lower eyelids.
Goldie gave an exasperated, almost annoyed sigh. “Look, Louie, I’m sorry about what happened,” she placated, “but you and I both know that this is definitely our best option.”
Louie inhaled deeply to compose himself. “She’s right.”
“Am I missing something here?” Penumbra asked, her tone betraying how on-edge she still was. “What is that thing?”
Goldie strapped the gauntlet onto her arm and closed her eyes, materializing a large green hand. After a few seconds, she let it disappear. “If you trust me, and I mean trust me,” Goldie explained, “I’ll be able to carry each one of us across the gorge using this gauntlet. We don’t even need a bridge.”
Penumbra stared Goldie in the eyes, the Moonlander’s expression telling everyone that she definitely did not trust Goldie. Eventually, Penumbra sighed, resigned to the fact that this was the best course of action. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“I’ll go first,” Donald volunteered. He first leaned over and kissed Louie on the forehead, whispering “I’ll be fine,” before he stepped out ahead of the group, giving Goldie a short nod to tell her he was ready.
Goldie once again closed her eyes, and after a few seconds, another green palm materialized in front of Donald. Donald gingerly climbed into the palm, which gently closed around his form. Goldie opened her eyes and began to cast the palm out over the gorge with Donald in its grip.
Louie’s heart began to race as his uncle moved slowly over the chasm. If Goldie lost her concentration, he’d be dead. There was absolutely no way anyone would ever survive that fall. Penumbra watched in awe as the scene took place in front of her. These earthlings were much more resourceful than she thought!
Louie released his breath as Goldie dropped Donald safely on the other side. The safely-transported duck celebrated by kissing the ground a few times before standing. He turned back to the group, yelling over the chasm. “Awesome job, Goldie! Send Louie over next!”
Louie gulped and nervously chuckled. Just like his uncle to volunteer him for some crap like this. Goldie gave Louie a smug look. “Come on, kid! I got your uncle over there safely, didn’t I? Just close your eyes so you don’t wet yourself and it’ll be over before you know it!”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Goldie,” Louie grumbled before stepping in front of the group. Another green hand materialized, and Louie did exactly as he was told: he let the thing grip him and then covered his eyes. Louie found some amount of comfort in realizing that being dropped would probably be a quick, painless way to go. The half-minute of freefall would suck, sure, but at least it’d be like a light switch when he finally hit the bottom.
The freefall never came. Donald plucked Louie out of the magical hand and cradled him in his arms. “It’s alright, Louie. I’m here. You can open your eyes now.”
Louie opened his eyes and wrapped his arms around his uncle’s neck, hugging him tight for a few moments before putting his feet on the ground. “Great job Goldie, thanks!” Louie yelled back over the chasm.
“Any time, kid!” Goldie yelled back. “So did you wet yourself?”
Louie didn’t grace that with a reply. Instead he just silently leaned into his uncle’s side and watched as Penumbra began her traversal of the gorge.
Off in the distance, something caught Louie’s eye. Donald’s gaze snapped to it too, and he squinted, trying to make out what it was. Suddenly, Donald’s eyes went wide, and his grip on Louie tightened. Louie saw it too, and cupped his hands around his mouth to yell a warning at the group. Donald quickly clamped his bill shut.
“No, Louie!” Donald whispered harshly, “Don’t do anything to break Goldie’s concentration!”
A caravan of vehicles was quickly approaching up the road behind Goldie. Penumbra was only about halfway across the gap, and seemed just as oblivious to the approaching threat as Goldie. Louie hugged his uncle tighter. The mass of vehicles were at most a mile away, the sound of their engines now audible. It was a constant low roar. Penumbra, now aware of the approaching threat, yelled out “Goldie!”
Goldie, also aware of something approaching, roughly dumped Penumbra safely on the opposite side before turning to assess the threat. The vehicles were now off-road, kicking up giant clouds of moon dust. There had to be at least fifty different units, and they were closing the distance quickly.
To make matters worse, a helicopter burst through the dust cloud and soared over the vehicles, quickly overtaking them and racing toward Goldie’s position.
Goldie took a moment to try to focus her energy again. A small green hand materialized beneath her, and she shakily began trying to carry herself. It seemed to be working! They’d have to worry about the helicopter, but there was no way for the ground vehicles to pass.
Goldie felt a hot streak of pain across her left shoulder, and she completely lost her focus, instead opting to fall to the ground and writhe in pain. As she gripped her shoulder with her armored hand and looked into the sky, a streak of red flew toward her from the helicopter. She rolled, and that streak of red impacted the ground where she had just been laying, leaving a patch of scorched earth.
These moonlanders weren’t playing anymore. No more stun bolts – these rounds were clearly meant to kill. Goldie sprang to her feet, still gripping her shoulder. She could feel blood soaking into her hand through the gauntlet. Not good.
Louie was screaming for Goldie to get out of there, but she could not hear his cries over the sound of the helicopter and the approaching sea of vehicles. The sniper in the helicopter loosed another round. Goldie managed to block the shot with a quickly-generated hand using the gauntlet. The helicopter was now almost directly above her, and the vehicles were no more than a quarter mile away. With all of this external stimuli, there was absolutely no way she could concentrate enough to get across the gap. She was well and truly trapped.
“Surrender, earthling! Or we will use force!” boomed a voice from the helicopter!
“What do you mean, ‘will’ use force?” Goldie yelled back. “You just shot a chunk out of my shoulder!”
Back on the other side of the gorge, Penumbra, Donald, and Louie had found a large rock to hide behind. Donald was trying to block Louie’s line of sight to prevent him from seeing what was about to happen.
“We have to do something!” Louie pleaded. Donald didn’t respond. Penumbra seemed to be analyzing the scene in front of her. With a hefty sigh she came to the same conclusion as Donald: there was nothing they could do. Goldie would need to save herself.
“Please, Uncle Donald! We need to do something!” Louie pleaded again. Donald grabbed Louie and pulled his boy’s face into his shirt, trying to calm him down. Louie pulled away, eyes fixed on Goldie. There had to be an angle for him to exploit. There had to be something.
“There isn’t anything we can do to help, Louie,” Donald replied. He was right. Even if they could fight off an entire battalion of well-armed Moonlanders, there was no way to reach Goldie on the other side of the gorge. “Goldie is just as capable as your Uncle Scrooge,” Donald continued, “She’ll find a way out of this.”
Goldie wasn’t sure if she could find a way out of this. As the vehicles formed a neat arc surrounding her, she backed herself up to the very edge of the chasm.
“Hands in the air! One false move and we’ll smoke you!”
Goldie complied. Sweat collected on her brow. She was out of options. Goldie turned, facing the gorge, keeping her hands in the air and standing mere inches from the edge. In the distance, she spied the rock behind which her comrades were hiding.
Well, they’d have to go on without her. It was sad, really. She was honestly looking forward to saving the world! They’d be fine, though. Penumbra seemed extremely capable and she didn’t need to question the capabilities of those who shared Scrooge’s blood.
In a flash, Goldie removed the gauntlet and chucked it across the chasm towards the group. It flew in a perfect spiral, landing only several feet away from her target. Immediately, a volley of gunfire erupted, and Goldie threw herself into the gorge, grabbing onto the edge with her good arm and hanging there. Dozens of rounds flew overhead where she had just been standing. As Goldie contemplated her next move, she felt the ground underneath her fingers begin to give way.
“Oh, crap…”
Across the way, Louie’s heart stopped. One moment she was there, the next she wasn’t. His mind refused to accept what his eyes had just seen.
It looked like she fell. There was no way she fell. She didn’t fall.
Penumbra muttered a prayer under her breath. Donald wordlessly pulled Louie into his arms. The overbearing sound of the helicopter and the idling engines across the gorge seemed to suppress Louie’s ability to think. Nothing felt real. After a few more moments, it finally seemed to click in Louie’s brain.
She fell. She was gone. She was gone gone.