Sailor With a Heart of Fire || A DuckTales Story

Leadership

Elliot led his sisters through the tunnel to the docks, back the way they first came. There were the same twists and turns, and it felt like a long walk. Fortunately, there wasn't increasing heat to make it stretch longer than it needed to. Soon, they felt the exit to the fortress getting nearer, but June drew the sword from Titasal for good measure. ("I'm surprised they didn't confiscate this either," she remarked.) It was true that those guards were, in all likelihood, still on duty, even though they seemed to underestimate the capabilities of these kids.

The kids reached a corner they had previously turned upon entering the fortress, then they heard soft splashing that meant merpeople were probably scouting corridors throughout it. Just as the kids had many times before in this place, they quickly hid behind the wall to avoid detection. It worked for what felt like the millionth time. As they kept going through the fortress, it only just now occurred to Elliot how candlelit it was; there were lanterns on the walls, chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, everywhere except the Forge, which made sense. Some of those chandeliers were held stable by ropes and pulleys that kept them in place. Elliot decided to keep this in mind for later.

After a while, he and his sisters had finally made their way to the room right before the dock. Even with the water on the floor, it was very recognizable.

"We made it!" Elliot cheered.

"That — you — have!"

The female red merguard jumped out in front of the kids, pointing her trident threateningly at them. The other two quickly emerged from the dark with her, blocking the kids up front. They became so nervous that June dropped the sword, which landed with a splash and a clatter on the floor.

"Let's just grab 'em and trap 'em again!" the blue one said with her signature maniacal grin.

"You really thought you could escape?" the green one laughed.

"We know you stole one of the stones!" the red one chided angrily. "We know why you came for it; you just want a source of fire for — whatever you surface dwellers use fire for, but no more! Too many travelers have come to steal the stones, some of them were our kind, and all have failed!"

"You can't make us give it to you!" May shouted bravely.

"Yeah! If you don't even know why we need it, lay off!" Elliot told the guards angrily.

The red one jabbed her staff threateningly at Elliot.

"You have no command over us!" she retorted shrilly.

"You probably just wanted it as a trophy to show you defeated us!" the male one bellowed. "Fat chance!"

"Like you kids deserve a trophy, you only defeated the beast!" the blue one laughed. "How do you manage to stop the beast and not us? Face it! You're just kids!"

Elliot's anger was starting to boil in him again, and now his confidence had definitely chosen a side. He wasn't going to let these guards push him and his sisters around like this, and he certainly wouldn't leave without the stone that would save the houseboat. He wouldn't let anything stop him from getting it back home. He had rescued Valta, he had led his sisters out here to get the stone, and he had stood his ground and made peace with the Snakes of sand. All he had done, and he was just a kid, not to be underestimated.

As he tried to think of a way to get out, he felt a drop of hot wax land on his beak. He kept himself from letting out any utterances of pain at all, and his eyes moved upward to where the wax had come from. Above the scene, Elliot saw a large, rusty chandelier, filled with lit candles that were melting and dripping wax. He looked around the room and saw the rope that held the chandelier, it went through a pulley and the end and was in its place in a bracket on the wall, outside of the barrier the guards had created. He quickly looked back at them with a determined look. He felt Valta's shell in his pocket, and with it, her bold spirit.