Katie's feet froze to the carpet with uncertainty. Eggheads had them surrounded. Huey and the others stood around her, and in front of them, Bradford. She frowned as the eggheads moved inward. The only sound that filled her ears was the thundering pounding of her heart.
"Really, children, you're only embarrassing yourselves. Give up." Bradford snapped his fingers. The eggheads raised their weapons at his command. Lena's hands lit up with magic, the boys and Webby took up fighting positions, Violet readied a halbert she had with her, and Boyd's feet shifted into rockets.
Violet turned to Katie. She handed the robin the journal. Katie's eyes widened at the leather cover. "Here, you watch this."
"The journal? But-"
"I trust you."
Katie looked up. They exchanged a look of understanding. Violet trusted her? Why? After all the mistakes Katie had made and her heritage. And now, when they would probably lose, Violet trusted her. Warmth filled Katie. She nodded, clutching the book tight to her chest.
"Katie." Her grandfather's voice grabbed her attention. "It's not too late, you know. I will give you one last chance." He stepped forward, in response Katie stepping back. "Come back to me. Join FOWL and become the best agent you've ever wanted to be. You're a prodigy Katie. You'll be my greatest achievement. All you have to do..." He stared her directly in the eyes. "Is give me the journal."
Her hands squeezed tighter on the book. Could she really betray the others? Her friends? They had been more family to her than Bradford had ever been. And all for what? A chance to be a FOWL agent? It had been her dream ever since she was young, but now... She took a deep breath. Bradford and the others watched her with anticipation. Huey gave her a soft smile. This was it. Now or never. Time to decide.
She stepped forward, hands trembling.
"There's a good girl." Bradford held out his hand for the book.
She bit down on her beak. She stopped. Now or never.
"No." The word escaped her in such a small voice, no one heard. She walked backwards, pulling the book away from him. "No," she said stronger, easier. She had made her choice. And being so confident never felt so good.
Bradford was taken back. Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat. "Fine. You've made your choice. Eggheads, you know what to do." He moved out of the circle, the eggheads in turn closing inward more.
The fight broke out. Webby attacked first, landing a kick to an egghead's head. Dewey shouted a battle cry and chaos began.Katie fought off a few eggheads, but found it hard to do while also defending the book. The more they fought, the more eggheads arrived. Soon they found they were outnumbered. Huey and Katie backed up to each other's backsides.
"Huey, I'm scared."
"Well, at least if we lose, I won't be alone anymore. We'll have hope." He locked arms with her, his voice cracking just barely noticeable.
Coming to join them, Louie nodded. "It can't get much worse than it's been, right?" He said it as a joke, but their was a sadness layered in his voice. He sighed, half turning to his brother. "Huey, I'm sorry.I was mad at you... I still am, but... I can't stay mad at you forever. We'll move past this."
A bright shield of purple appeared in front of them, pushing back any oncoming attackers. Lena stood in front of him. "Enough with the sappy last words speech. In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a battle, and no one's gonna die."
Webby, Violet, and Boyd took out a cluster of FOWL agents together. Swinging her halbert over her shoulder, Violet frowned. "Statistically speaking, it's likely-"
YOU ARE READING
Truth & Lie
Fanfiction"'I need you to take out the McDucks,' the figure said. Huey was taken back. 'Heck no! They're my family. I'm done here,' he said. He began to walk past the hologram. 'Oh, please, what has your family ever done for you?' he said. Huey spun around...
