Chapter 15, Edited by TheHardie-Boy

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"What do I do? No time for crying now...

I've started a storm. I gotta stop it somehow

Do I keep on running, how far do I have to go?

And would that take the storm away or only make it grow?

I'm making my world colder- how long can it survive?

Is everyone in danger as long as I'm alive?"

Monster, Frozen the broadway musical.

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Louie:

Louie didn't remember what happened. He remembered fighting with his mom, and then he felt Gad panic...

Or was that him panicking?

Or both...?

Everything was so dark...

He was so tired...

Everything hurt...

How could he be so dizzy? Wasn't he asleep?

But why was he asleep?

He heard laughing...

Who was...?

Louie slowly opened his eyes one at a time. Everything was blurry. He kept trying, but his eyes refused to stay open.

"Well done, runt. You've single handedly destroyed your family and taken care of the rest of the world for me. I suppose I should thank you," another psychotic voice said.

Magica De Spell.

"Now all I have to do is drain your powers and then destroy you. This'll be fun."

Louie got up and realized he was trapped, chained to a wall in a jail cell. He was too light headed to stay up, so he fell back on the ground.

"You're more gullible than I would've predicted." She laughed again. "Thinking a demon could be a friend. How stupid are you?"

'Gad?....are you there?'

No answer.

Did he leave?

Was he mad at him?

Was he captured by Magica?

Did he escape to find someone better?

Louie didn't say anything, just focused on keeping his eyes open He was extremely tired, but he had to work through that. He had to think of a way out of here...

"Now I just need to find that book," she said, walking away.

'What good is a spell book without any magic?' He thought.

He needed to focus somehow; he had to stop magica, save his family, find Gad, get rid of the demons and... and...

Ugh, what was the point?

Without his family, without Gad, he was just Louie the screw up. What could he do?

Everything he does, he messes up...

Everything he touches, he destroys...

Everything he loves... he kills...

His family wass gone...

Was Della dead too?

Did it make a difference at this point?

Why did he hate her so much? How could you hate someone and also love them and need them? And just want them to...

Be there.

But he also wanted her to stay far away...

He didn't even understand himself anymore; he didn't know what he wanted...

He'd cornered himself into the reality that... nothing mattered.

He'd ruined everything...

He closed his eyes again...

He assumed these chains were made of some sort of magic restraint material. It didn't really matter, Louie didn't really know how his powers worked anyway, and he was way too exhausted mentally to try.

What could he possibly do? Could Louie really stop this from happening?

Louie the screw up...

The lazy...

The failure....

The...

The...

The only one left.....

Did it matter at this point?

If Louie messed everything up, who'd be there to judge him?

What did he have to lose?

His family was gone...

Gad was gone...

Louie was everyone's last hope...

People were always telling him...

He wasn't enough...

And that he was a coward...

'Are you really going to let our family get hurt because you're scared of getting hurt?'

He finally stood up without falling.

Maybe for just a second, it didn't matter what everyone thought...

'Bet you didn't see this angle, sharpie.'

Maybe for a moment, he didn't have to dread his mistakes...

'If you want to be part of this family... you gotta stop.'

Maybe just once, Louie Duck wasn't a failure and maybe all he needed was...

One perfect scheme!

1: The chains.

Webby taught Louie how to break out of chains on their adventure to Bran castle.

Webby showed him how to pick a lock. This was why he never left home without a hairpin in his pocket.

Picking the locks of the chains and the cell was fairly easy. He was now free.

2: Escape:

He had to be careful. If Magica heard him, he was dead...

The vents...

He couldn't see her, so he picked the cell door's lock and then used the pin to break into the vents.

Not easily.

Luckily, Magica was busy enough....

He had to escape, get back to the mansion to find an artifact to help him defeat Magica easily.

While crawling in the vents, he suddenly heard Magica's voice and jumped.

"You want to continue the taunt, monster?"

"I prefer the term reverse shadow."

"Well, after I get rid of your little friend, I'll be sure you get yours when we return to the shadow realm."

Shadow realm... where had he heard that phrase before?

"You don't have to get rid of Louie; none of this was his idea."

"Oh dear Hades...you're just as pathetic as Lena."

Oh right... Lena.

"Oh please, nobody is that pathetic."

3: Find Gad:

He knew Gad was on his side... Well, he kinda sorta thought maybe... it was close enough.

Gad must be trapped in the mirror hanging on the wall. Does he need Gad in order to escape? No, but he wanted him around anyway, so he waited quietly until Magica left and found a way inside the room.

Louie waited until Magica left then crawled out of the vents and into the room.

"Gad?" he asked, looking in the mirror.

"No, it's Santa. What do you think?"

"Okay, okay, I get it," he said in frustration.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to get you out of here, what does it look like?" he asked, looking around the edges of the mirror to find an opening.

"Oh now you're on my side? Gosh why are you so stupid?"

"I don't know...?" Louie said. "Why are you so manipulative?"

"Excuse me?"

"You took over when you promised you wouldn't!"

"Why did you take Della's side over mine?"

"I didn't take her side. I just wasn't sure we were doing the right thing. And I realize now that we weren't... well, you weren't"

"Hey!"

"Well you're the one who started it."

"Well I'm very mad at you."

Louie looked around for another way to release Gad from the mirror but had no idea how this worked. He wondered to himself if it was worth it. Why was he going to save someone who only made trouble? Maybe because he's no better, but still...

"I don't blame you. I'd be mad too. I'm sorry I... I ruined everything..."

Gad sighed,

"Well... not everything. You're right. It was partly my fault."

"Partly?" he asked.

"Okay, it was mostly my fault, but everything was working before you freaked out."

"What happened after that anyway?" he said, finally looking at the mirror. Nothing to see but his own reflection.

"Well after you collapsed, you turned Della to stone and accidentally released Magica. Then she knocked you out cold and brought us here."

Louie sighed, looking at his reflection again, seeing the bags under his eyes and tear stains on his cheeks. He was a mess.

"So Della's gone too..."

"Glad you're focused on what's important!"

"Does Magica have her powers back?"

"No..."

"Then why didn't you just defeat her? It was literally so easy the first time!"

"Because... I'm kinda... sorta.... terrified of her."

"Why? She can't hurt you."

"Don't know, Louie. Why are you so scared of your family?"

"I'm not scared, I'm just..."

"Sometimes, I don't think I'm good enough for them. Everyone in my family is great... It's like everyone knows who they are and who to be... and I'm worthless."

Gad sighed.

"I know what that's like..."

"How so?"

"Before I met you, I was just living in the shadow realm. 'Things' like me... aren't exactly popular there..."

"Is that why you brought the demons here?"

"Yeah. Magica promised she'd help us find a home if I manipulated one of McDuck's relatives to destroy him... and I've already told you the rest."

Louie sighed.

"Look, Louie... I'm sorry I manipulated you... and used you... I was just scared I'd lose you."

"It's fine, I've manipulated plenty of people in the past. I kinda deserve it."

He could feel Gad smiling. Even if he couldn't see him, he knew.

"Okay, so what now?"

"I guess we escape and try again or... die"

"Well that doesn't leave us many options. You wanna die?"

"Not today..."

"Okay, let's get out of here. How do I release you?"

"Simple, just break it."

"It's what I do best."

Louie grabbed a sword from the other side of the room and smashed the glass, causing Gad to break out and make his way back to Louie.

"Let's do this!"

4: Defeat Magica:

"Okay, Louie, what's your plan?"

"My plan?" he asked smugly.

"Well mine haven't really been working too well lately."

"First, we have to stop Magica, trap her in a magical artifact we'll find at the mansion, like a lamp or something."

"Got it. I'll distract Magica, you get the lamp..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, just... promise you won't leave me with her... and that you'll come back."

"I promise."

Louie ran as the shadow took a weird ghostly shape. One of these days Louie's going to get use to this crazy stuff, but today wasn't that day.

At the mansion:

Louie ran into the garage at full speed. It was weird seeing the mansion so quiet and empty. That old demon lamp had to be there somewhere.

He started digging through the piles and piles of lamps; it had to be there.

"Louie..."

"AHH!" Louie yelled, jumping backwards. "Duckworth, don't scare me like that!"

"Apologies. What are you doing here?"

"I just came to get a lamp, and I'll be out of the way. I'm kinda in a rush." Louie grabbed one and started to leave.

"I see. well... welcome back," Duckworth said.

Louie stopped to watch him float away. "Not for long." He sighed. He had no intentions of coming back home-,not after this...

Della gave him the choice...

Stop scheming or leave.

Unfortunately, he made his choice already...

He had no idea where he'd go from here. After this was all over, it didn't really matter anymore.

Maybe Gladstone, Goldie, or Jane would take him in...

Probably not. Especially not after all this happened.

Maybe he could just... disappear.

It would be better for everyone if he did.

He promised he'd come back for Gad. So he continued to move. He had to finish this. After that, it would no longer matter what he did.

He had to be careful when returning to Magica's hideout. Who even knew if Gad was still there, or if Magica already won.

He couldn't predict this one. Either because it's magica or because he was tired, but either way, it would be okay...

He had nothing left to lose.

Once he snuck back in through the vents, Magica was already ready for him. Without hesitation, she told one of the other demons to grab him and chain him up.

"Oh isn't this just precious. He did come back for you. The demon and the runt. You know if anyone knew about all this, it could've become its own broadway musical," she mocked.

Louie was trapped once again. He wasn't sure where to go from here. He'd tried struggling his way out, but it did no good.

"Ah yes, those chains are made with sphinx hair, completely magic resistant."

"Where's Gad?" Louie asked.

"When will you get it in your tiny head that that thing doesn't care about you or your problems?"

If only Louie knew how to use his powers without Gad. He didn't. Well even if he did, it would be no use now.

What could Louie do to get out of this?

"And now to remove your powers and transfer them to me."

Okay, he could roll with this.

"Magic? Me? Oh no, I don't have any magic..."

"Come again."

"Gad transferred all of it to my khopesh."

"What?" she asked.

"You don't really think Gad would trust me with those powers do you?"

"Blast it!" she grumbled. "Wait, how do I know this isn't some kind of trick".

"Do you see me panicking? I don't even know how to use those silly powers."

"Louie, don't tell her that! What's the matter with you!"

He got what he was doing. Magica was extremely dangerous, but she was also extremely gullible. She commanded the other demon to watch them, but stopped to say to Louie, "For your own sake, you'd better be telling me the truth." And with that, she was gone.

"Any ideas, Gad?"

"We have to catch Magica by surprise, or she'll..."

"You're not supposed to plot!" one demon said.

"Oh shut up, Jerrold. You wouldn't even be here occupying space if it wasn't for us," Gad said.

"Yeah, you made Magica angry! You ruined more than you saved, as always."

Always...

"You know, we never should've listened to you. You're always trying to make things better, but you just make everything worse. I'm done listening to your stupid schemes," he/she/it said. Honestly it was hard to tell sometimes.

"Now you're starting to sound like my mom." Louie eyerolled.

"It's true, you do. She's really annoying," Gad added.

"That's so mean, you guys!" Jerrold said, offended for some reason.

"Would you rather be an accessory to Magica? Without even trying to be free?" Louie asked.

"Magica promised she'd help us if we did what she asked."

"And you believe her?" Louie asked.

He stayed still, probably thinking it over...

"No."

"Then why not try to make a difference?" Gad asked. "Maybe we'll never leave the shadow realm, but maybe we will. The risk is worth it."

Again he paused. Louie had no time for this.

"Okay, Gad... I'm in. But you mess this up again..."

"Don't worry. We won't."

Finally. Louie grabbed the bobby pin out of his pocket and broke out.

"Impressive," Gad said.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Jerrold asked.

"The only enemy I haven't been able to defeat is myself," Louie joked. "And spiders, robots and Doofus Drake, but that's not important. Let's go."

"You sure we can trust him?" Jerrold asked.

"Absolutely," Gad said.

Magica:

"Where is that blasted- aha!"

Magica held the khopesh in her hands, thinking nothing could stop her.

Or so she thought.

To her side, she saw a demon lamp, the type of lamp that was a prison instead of a genie lamp, but it was too late to escape.

She heard the spell and the powers were casted. It wouldn't be the last time Louie saw her.

And finally she was trapped.

Louie:

"That was literally the easiest thing I've ever had to do."

"That was pretty easy," Gad said, "Maybe your family will be just as easy."

"Regaining trust and emotional stuff is more complicated than defeating monsters. Gad, I'm sorry but the demons can't live here on Earth."

"I get it. So we're going back to the shadow realm?"

"I hate to do that... but we'll figure something out."

"Maybe it won't be so bad now that Magica is gone," Jerrold said.

"That's... hopeful," Louie said.

5: Send the demons home

"I hate to have to send you back," Louie said.

"It's really okay... we'll find a way to escape."

"Why do you hate the shadow realm anyway? What's there?"

"I think that's a story for another day."

"Fair enough," Louie said. "Ready?"

Gad and Jerrold nodded.

"Okay." He picked up his khopesh and pointed it to the sky, telling the demons to leave once and for all...

Everyone...

Accept Gad.

Huey:

The demon let go of Huey. He was free; he could breathe.

Why was everything still so quiet?

"Louie?"

He got up. "Lou- Ahh!"

His family! What happened?

Tears fell from his eyes; he was too scared to even touch them. He couldn't move.

Louie:

6: Save his family.

"Next, think about your family and simply breathe, ease your mind.

Okay, point to where they're located, and they'll turn back to their original form."

Louie took a deep breath and did exactly what he said to do...

Huey:

Slowly, they started to turn back.

Huey wiped the tears from his eyes and hugged Donald, who was closest to him at the moment.

"Louie?" Della screamed.

"Lass, what happened?" Scrooge asked.

"I... don't know..."

"Are you okay, Dewey?" Donald asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Is Louie...?"

"I don't know," Donald answered.

They walked out and found the town as confused as they were, only... slightly more traumatized.

They walked back to town to see what could be helped. Most of the doctors and police officers jumped into action.

"Webby?" Dewey called.

"Dewey!" she shouted and ran up to hug him.

"Hi, Violet..."

"Hubert!" She smiled.

Lena was right next to her.

Even if he wasn't close to Lena, he was happy to see that she was okay...

But where was Louie?

Louie:

7:...

Louie sighed. "It's done."

Gad seemed happy enough about it.

"So what now?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you find a new home."

"What do you mean by 'wasn't able to'? Are you giving up on me?"

"I'm giving up on everyone. Myself included."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to leave."

"Where?"

"Don't know, but I want to get there before my family finds me."

"You're still mad at them, huh?"

"I'm not mad..."

"Then what is it?"

"Della is all about facing the consequences of our actions now. I have no place there. She has her perfect life with her perfect sons. I was just in the way, ruining everything."

"Who cares what she says?"

"Literally everyone." Louie started walking again.

"I don't. You just saved everyone. Surely, she'll understand that..."

"It doesn't matter. You can bring everyone back, you can save everyone from Glomgold's evil tricks or tiny people on a board game, but it's not enough."

"It's weird I understood all of that."

"You're very smart, Gad. I'm sure you can find everyone a home."

"You're really not changing your mind are you?"

Louie didn't answer, just walked away. There was no place for someone like Louie in a world full of perfect people.