Tales of the Disneyverse

Last Ditch Effort

            Scrooge McDuck entered the dungeon of Yen Sid's castle to the animalistic screams of its current resident, Michael. The dungeon, a large, wide-spaced catacomb lit only by torches holstered upon a dozen pillars that ran parallel across the room, was where Donald and Goofy had been keeping watch over Michael ever since he was brought in by Adrienne. Michael was chained to a damp stone wall by his wrists and ankles with enchanted shackles that were meant to hinder his powerful magic. Between his barbaric, crazed nature and the sinister glare he would give them every ten seconds, Donald and Goofy were absolutely terrified. But what scared them the most were his attempts in lunging at them, only for his chains to restrain him.

            "RELEASE ME!" He screamed the moment Scrooge entered.  

            "Oh, shut up!" Scrooge barked back, walking right in between Donald and Goofy and staring down Michael straight in the eye. "You have no say in this matter, lad! You are a monster that must be kept locked away!"  

            There suddenly was a bright flash that shined over the shoulders of Scrooge, Donald, and Goofy; none of them noticed but Michael did, driving him further into rage as he saw someone from behind them. Noting his increase in attitude and the direction his eyes were looking, Scrooge, Donald, and Goofy turned to see what the subject of Michael's growing fury was. They found a young woman with long brown hair, some of it covering her forehead and stunning blue eyes, wearing a paperboy-styled blue cap with a white crescent moon and stars design over it. She appeared in the dungeon seemingly from nowhere, leaning against the wall near the entrance with her arms folded and a buoyant smile on her face.  

            Her presence heavily agitated Michael, which Scrooge quickly took notice in. "Whoever you are, young lady, you have no business bein' here! Now be gone with ya!"  

            "Just give me five minutes with him, Scrooge." The young woman requested.  

            "How do you know my—" Scrooge was cut short from his question once he heard Michael's chains violently jingle behind him, as well as his roar of anger in this young woman's presence. "No! I cannae allow you to even go near him! Trust me – it's for your own good!"  

            The young woman nodded. "M'kay. How 'bout this? Would you still deny my request if you knew it came from Yen Sid himself?"  

            Scrooge swallowed hard as he heard this; he hesitantly conceded. "You got just five minutes. After that, you must leave this monster alone."  

            "I am not a monster." Michael defiantly said through gritted teeth.  

            "No, you're not." The young woman acknowledged. "You're a Guardian like me."  

            Hearing this, Donald and Goofy – and especially Scrooge – were finally clued in on the importance of the mysterious visitor. "You're the Guardian?" McDuck exclaimed.  

            "But we just met the Guardian earlier!" Donald said.  

            "Yeah, and she was really scary." Goofy added. "This girl ain't so scary."  

            "Aww. Thanks, Goofy...I think." The young woman remarked. "That scary woman you met earlier was another version of me named Adrienne – she's got a few loose screws, but she's somewhat harmless. My name's Theresa, and I'm – as far as I know – completely harmless."  

            Scrooge felt his head spinning from all that was transpiring there in the dungeon. Looking towards Michael, he asked, "So...he's...you?"