Archive of Our Own

“Uncle Donald,” the triplets called as they ran into the living room, “we found something strange you could check out.”

Donald didn’t even look up from the book about anger management he was reading. It showed how bored he was that he actually started to read it.

“Is it another UFO?” he asked.

“No!” June exclaimed, “And that only happened once.”

“Yeah, everything else we found checks out,” June added.

Donald lifted one eyebrow.

“What about that circus that set fire to the cornfield?”

“Okay, so we made two mistakes,” April said. “This is actually real.”

“That is what you said about-”

“Do you want to know about it or no?” June interrupted.

Donald thought it over. The time after they finally managed to defeat Feldrake for the third time was mind-numbingly boring. At first, he was happy with finally getting a break from the back-to-back missions. Getting to relax and spent time with his friends and Daisy, without the threat of something going wrong. They spent their free time relaxing, catching up on movies and TV shows and waiting for the next Three Caballeros emergency. It was relaxing.

However after a month they did everything they wanted to do and were ready for the next adventure.

Expect nothing happened. The peace continued on long after its welcome. After two months José and Panchito started leaving the house to find something to do. The former started going out to swindle people out of their money and/or flirt with them. The latter started looking for tall buildings to jump off of or underground wrestling matches to take part in.

That was the time Donald realized that he didn’t have anything to do. He watched everything he had on his watchlist, read everything he wanted. Cooking didn’t take up enough time and he was not desperate enough to start doing chores.

He was currently reading through books people recommended to him. Which was why he was sitting here with a copy of ‘The Dance of Anger’ in his lap. If he thought about it like that it wasn’t a choice.

“So what did you find?” he said as he closed his book.

“Where is everyone?“ May asked, scanning the room.

“José and Panchito are somewhere in the city and Xandra went to visit old friends,” he answered.

“Can you call them?” May said. “It would be a lot easier to only explain once.“

“So what's the emergency?” Panchito shouted as soon as he threw the door open. He rushed forward and the door bounced and slammed closed with a bang. Donald glared at him. They didn’t need a broken door at this time of the year. At least he didn’t let much cold air inside.

Xandra smiled at him from next to the wall she was leaning against and the triplets giggled. José waved at him from where he sat on the couch next to Donald.

“Calm down, my friend,” José smiled at him. “The problem is not going to disappear in the next few seconds, so you can sit down.” He gestured at the free space on the other side of Donald.

Panchito grinned and threw himself down into the seat.

“I know, but I’m excited,” he exclaimed. “We haven’t had to anything to do in the last two and a half months!”

“That doesn’t mean you have to act like a bull in the china shop,” Donald frowned at him. “Just because Ari can fix the door in no time doesn’t mean you can break it.”

José reached out and ruffled the feathers on Donald's head. Donald turned to glare at José, hoping his anger masked the flush on his cheeks. He ignored Panchito’s snort and the resulting warm squirmy feeling in his stomach.

“I am sorry my friend, but you looked so serious I couldn't resist.” José’s smile was unrepentant and Donald opened his mouth to retort when Xandra cleared her throat.

“As amusing as this is to watch, we are here for a reason.”

She turned towards the triplets.

“What did you find?”

They jumped up from where they huddled together in the love seat and started explaining.

“We got an assignment to make a tableau of recent news in sociology class,” June started.

“So we were watching news from all around the world,” April continued.

“When we found this,” May finished and turned her phone towards them.

THE STORM ABOVE OENO ISLAND IS STILL GOING STRONG AFTER 9 DAYS

The headline read in large letters, under it a picture of a stormcloud above the ocean.

“What exactly are we looking at?” José asked the question that was on Donald’s mind.

“Yeah, I mean 9 days isn’t too long,” said Panchito.

“Yeah, that’s what we would have thought too,” April replied.

“Except that wasn’t what we found first,” May said, turning her phone back and swiping right on it.

“We know it seems normal, but we are pretty sure its magic,” June said.

“Found it!” May exclaimed as she turned the phone around.

On the phone a blurry video started playing, shaking as someone babbled over it in a foreign language. The same cloud could be seen as before. This time lightning curved around it, forming a cage around the cloud and the ocean under it. The arching lightning started as orange, but then changed color to green, then purple. It cycled through the whole rainbow before the video ended on an eye searing neon pink.

“There are a lot more videos like this, and articles and pictures,” April explained. “It’s real. Nobody would have gone through this much effort for something that isn’t even that unusual.”

“And we haven’t even started to talk about the island!” June exclaimed.

“The article did say something about an island,” Donald said, while squinting at the video. ”The video doesn’t show an island.”

José and Panchito leaned forward at the same time, leaning into Donald’s personal space. He leaned back as casually as he could and pretended very hard that he didn’t do it because he felt flustered. After all feeling warm when your friends touched you was a normal and friendshippy feeling to have.

“Yeah, I can’t see it either,” Panchito said.

“Where is it?” José asked.

“It is there,” May said.

“The cloud and lightning cover the entire island and a big chunk of ocean beside it.” April added.

Donald sat up.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“And the inhabitants?” José asked.

“It is a holiday island, so only a few dozen people are there at any given time. According to this article nobody heard from them since the storm started. But as it is we don’t know if they are hunkering down from the storm or if something bad happened,” May explained.

“So by now we know it's something magical,” said Donald, crossing his arms over his chest, “but what is it?”

“We tried to find more information, but the island is not famous enough. It barely has anything written about it in english,“ June glared at the phone.” If some of the inhabitants didn’t know english we most likely wouldn’t even have as much information as we do.

“The article we showed you is the only english source we found.”

Donald exchanged glances with José and Panchito.

“So,” he looked at the triplets, “we don’t know what it is.”

“It's a portal,” Xandra said, causing Donald to jump in his seat. She had been so quiet until now that he forgot she was here at all. Which was not an easy thing to do when someone was twice his size and could break him in half with one arm. He had a habit of not losing track of dangerous people, whether they were his friends or not.

Now she pushed herself away from the wall she was leaning against and walked to the coffee table in the middle of the room.

“Portal? What sort of portal?” he asked.

“In the ancient times,” she began as she opened her book,” the fabric between the worlds was flexible.”

Her book showed a picture of Earth, blue shining dots on different points on its surface. “In those times anyone with even a small amount of power could open a portal to any world.”

Here she stopped and the book showed pictures of different worlds. Some were almost indistinguishable from Earth, with creatures and landscapes unlike any on earth.

“This is interesting and all,” Donald said as he looked away from the pictures. He turned to Xandra, “but how is this going to help.” He crossed his arms over his chest and lifted one eyebrow.

“He is right,” José agreed. ”There are people on that island that need our help.”

Xandra opened her mouth and Donald got ready for a lecture on the importance of history. He had listened to quite few of them from her and Uncle Scrooge both. While he generally agreed, sometimes she went into more detail than he felt was necessary. But to his surprise she did nothing like that.

“You are right.” She closed her book with a decisive motion and smiled at them. ”We don’t have time for a long history lesson. Especially as this has been going on for more than a week.”

“So tell us the important bits,” June piped up.

“Right, the important bits.” Xandra nodded to herself. ”The people of the other worlds have a pretty big grudge against our world. They are not going to pull their punches.” She looked seriously at everyone. ”It’s important to defeat them as fast as possible and close the portal.”

“Sorry,” José said, ”but how can we be sure that they won’t open the portal again after we close it?”

“That is a good question,” she smiled at him. ”The answer is, to open a portal you need a lot of magical energy. That is why they don’t open one every few years. By my calculations, if you close it now they won’t have enough power to open a new one for at least 60 years, perhaps more.”

“Okay, so we beat them up and close the portal. We can do that with both arms tied behind our backs.” Panchito pumped his fists.

“And I can’t go with you,” she said.

“What?” Donald yelped. ”What do you mean you can’t come with us?”

“The lightning is there to keep anything supernatural out, ”she explained, ”and that unfortunately includes me. I can get you close by, but I can’t fight with you.”

“But that is not a problem,“ she smiled at them, ”because you don't need me to defeat whatever the world throws at you.” She squared her shoulders and looked at them one at a time.” You haven't actually needed me since you defeated Feldrake. You can solve this on your own.”

Donald preened. Sure he knew that he was capable, but to hear it from the goddess of adventure herself filled him with pride.

“You are right,” José said and smiled that sure smile that never failed to make Donald’s knees weak. In a friendshippy way. Because they were friends.

Donald missed to rest of what José said, but Xandra had a proud smile on her face, so it must have been inspiring.

“Well then, let's go!” he said into the proud silence, trying to cover up his inattention.

“Yes!” Panchito shouted as he grabbed José’s wrist in one hand and Donald’s in the other and yanked them towards Xandra. “We are ready for whatever gets thrown at us!”

Donald was trying to ignore the feeling of Panchito’s warm hand around his wrist caused. He let himself get dragged, but José dug his heels in.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, my friend,” he said, as he drew his hand back,” but we need our gear before we go.”

“Right, you are right,” Panchito said as he let go of Donald to rub the back of his head.

Donald definitely didn’t miss the warmth around his wrist.

Once they had their armor on and their weapons in hand, Xandra dropped them of at a neighboring island. The storm was visible from the cliffside, looming over its surrounding. The colored lightning arching down towards the ocean. This close even the rainbow colors couldn’t give it a less threatening air.

“This is as far as I can go.” Xandra interrupted the thick silence. ”You will have to find your way over on your own.”

“So we need to get a ship,” José said, hand on his chin.

“We can always swim!” Panchito raised his voice. ”There is no need to get a ship. Where would we even get one fast enough?” He licked his lips.

“There is no way we are not going to swim,” Donald said and side eyed Panchito. “Besides I know how to get a ship. I have done this before.”

“But,” Panchito jumped in front off him, waving his arms, “it would be much better to swim.”

Panchito grinned on of his most charming grins, but not even the squirmy feelings in his stomach could make him swim that distance.

“Not to mention,” Panchito continued, ignoring Donald’s glare, ”you need the exercise.” He gestured at Donald’s middle.

“What did you say!” he screamed. His hands clenched into fists. In that moment the only thing stopping him from punching that stupid grin of his face was the thin layer of responsibility he developed as a leader. A year ago he would have done it too, but he wasn’t going to sink to that level again. Instead he glared, gritted his teeth and strode forward. At least Panchito had the sense of not saying anything when Donald grabbed him and started dragging him.

“I am going to the village,“ he gritted out from between clenched teeth, “to get a ship.” He glared up at Panchito. “And you are coming with me.”

“What why?” he asked and Donald had to stop himself from screaming.

“Because if I come back and you're halfway to the island I am running you over with the ship,” Donald answered.

Behind them he could noticed José starting to talk with Xandra.

“So,” he said, “anything else important we need to know about this portal?”

Donald let his hand untense from its hold on Panchito’s wrist. At least José could be counted on not to be a complete idiot.

The village was more than ten minutes of walk from were Xandra dropped them off. By the time they got close enough to see it Donald was starting to consider going back in time to punch himself in the face. After a few minutes of silent walking Panchito decided that this was the opportunity to convince Donald that his idea wasn’t stupid. Donald’s glares unfortunately stopped affecting him after another five minutes. He thought longingly of José and how great it would be to listen to someone who wasn’t trying to commit suicide by ocean.

Reaching the village was a blessing. Panchito finally stopped talking and left Donald with beautiful silence.

The village was both what he expected and not. The houses were made of wood, the roofs thatch. The buildings were broken up every now and then with a copse of trees that gave the village a more natural feel. Conflicting this were the utility poles scattered around. The distorted voices from radios or televisions could be heard from inside.

The few people they encountered didn’t stay to talk, disappearing into a house once they caught them looking. Donald didn’t let that bother him. They needed a ship and they could find that at the harbor.

“You know,” Panchito spoke up, looking at the latest closed door, ”perhaps we should turn around.”

“We are not going to swim!” Donald barked at him and stormed off before Panchito could continue his stupidity.

The harbor was easy to find, with the familiar smell of seawater, raw fish and the sounds of people going about their work as his guide.

It was in comparison to the rest of the village more crowded, piers and buildings fighting for the limited amount of available space. Donald took a deep breath of the familiar air and let the frown flow off his face. He didn’t even realize how much he missed this, but now he couldn’t wait to be on the open sea. Now to find a ship.

Finding someone who would let them borrow their ship had - without the considerable money of the McDuck Industries - proved harder. No matter who they talked to, almost everyone looked at them with suspicion and left without saying anything. Even those that talked shut up once they brought up Oeno Island in conversation. The last person even pretended he didn't understand english. He did this even though they had a perfectly understandable conversation with him until they mentioned the storm.

Donald stomped away from that pier frustrated, dragging Panchito away before he could try spanish. Nobody wanted to talk about the mysterious storm, no matter the language. He trudged towards the next pier, ignoring the people that scattered when they noticed them. He was going to find a ship they could use, even if he had to fight the entire island.

“You are scaring them,” Panchito said. At about the fourth person they talked to he stopped talking about his stupid plan and started helping Donald. Unfortunately not even Panchito’s charm was enough to get through the fear that permanated the island.

Donald was on the edge of getting into a fistfight. If one more person left in the middle of his question he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

“Perhaps I could help you with your problem.”

When he turned to the voice he had to blink. The speaker was an old matronly dog. With wrinkles from years of life and grey hair pulled into a ponytail. She was wearing sunglasses and a heavy leather jacket. Her faded jeans were tucked into heavy combat boots. Every inch of visible skin on her arms and neck was covered with elaborate tattoos. She would not have looked out of place in a biker gang.

“Aren't you hot?” asked Panchito. Donald threw a pointed look at the pants Panchito insisted on wearing. Panchito ignored him. Or he hadn’t noticed. It was sometimes hard to figure him out.

“Aren’t you a bit young to ask me that?” The woman raised one of her eyebrows.

The two of them stared at each other, Panchito blinking and the woman with pursed lips.

“Okay, this is going nowhere,” Donald interjected into the staring competition. ”You said you could help us.” He glowered at her.

“Yes, I did,” she nodded her head and crossed her arms. “I have a ship I would be willing to let you borrow.”

“What do you want for it?” Donald narrowed his eyes. In his experience, people who appeared when you needed them the most often asked for difficult things. Things you wouldn't give in less desperate circumstances.

“People stopped going to the island a few days after the storm appeared,” she said, looking away, her shoulders tense. ”When the first bodies started to wash up on the shore.”

Donald gritted his teeth at the mention of bodies and exchanged a look with Panchito. He looked grim, but neither of them said anything. This was not the first time they couldn’t save everyone. They were already too late for them, but they couldn't freeze up. If there were still people alive on the island they needed to save them.

“But you still want to go there,” she continued, still not looking at them and missing their look. “I don't know if you know something or don't have a sense of self preservation, but in the end it doesn't matter.“ She looked back into Donald’s eyes. “ My granddaughter and her friends left two days after this whole thing started, to check it out and they didn't make it back. I need someone to help, because going alone is suicide.” She squared her shoulders. ”My relatives are ignoring the problem, hoping it will go away.” she spat the last words.

“You want to come with us?” Donald asked. That was a new one. People mostly asked them to bring their loved once safely back.

“Yes,” she said, glaring at them. “This is my condition.”

She didn’t look like someone they could convince to stay on the sidelines. They couldn’t do anything. They needed her ship. No one else even talked to them.

“This is going to be dangerous,” Panchito interjected, but he sounded resigned.

“Do you think I don't know?” she snapped, breaking Donald from his thoughts. “I have spent the last week on the beach, looking for my granddaughter’s body to wash up on the shore!” Her voice wavered, but no tears escaped her eyes. “I need to bring her back.” She took a deep breath. ”Even if just to bury her.”

“You can come with us,” he said, ignoring his misgivings. She needed to do this and he couldn’t do anything to stop her.

“Then follow me,” she said, turning and striding away. Donald followed her and ignored the way she reached up to wipe her eyes.

The ride over took longer than Donald was comfortable with it. The cloud and lightning cage hovered above the horizon, blanketing them in shadow. It didn’t even seem to grow, no matter how close they got to it.

Aiata - the old woman - kept steering, her eyes never leaving the cloud. At the start of their journey Donald offered to help her with the ship, that he had experience, but she had politely, yet firmly declined. Since then he stood on the bow, trying to figure out how far they had to go. The thought of people in danger kept him from enjoying the ride, no matter how much he missed the wide open ocean and the glide of a ship under his feet.

Not everyone enjoyed it like him however and now he understood why Panchito was so fixated on swimming. Whenever the wind slowed he could hear Panchito losing his breakfast over the railing. He was green when stepped on the ship, but the worst only started once they left the relative safety of the harbor. Since then he hadn’t let go off the railing, clutching it even when he wasn’t busy heaving. Donald, with his inability to grasp how someone could feel ill on a ship, left before he said something stupid. José remained behind to assist in any way he could, so Donald went to the front of the ship to keep an eye on their destination.

He was so focused on the clouds that refused to grow closer, that he didn't hear the footsteps until someone clapped him on the shoulder.

“Donald, when do we-“

José cut himself of when Donald jumped about a foot in the air. Donald unfortunately tried to turn around and get farther away at the same time, which only resulted in him almost falling overboard. José was used to Donald falling or tripping or dropping things. He caught Donald’s arm before he tumbled off the ship and yanked him back. What he didn't count on however, was that Donald’s clumsiness was incapable of stopping before it completely embarrassed him. Thus when José grabbed him Donald tripped on nothing, crashed into José and brought them both to tumble into the ground.

Donald landed on his friend, and if he could have he would have stayed laying there, feeling sorry for himself. As it was he could feel José’s winded breath on his cheek and he scrambled off, accidentally elbowing José in the gut. Once he was sitting safely with his back to the railing did he look back at José. The parrot was still laying there and as Donald watched, he threw his arms out and sprawled out on the ship.

“You know, I wouldn't mind if you kept laying on me,” he said, staring up at the sky. There was a faint flush on his face from the gutpunch.

Donald flushed. José and his insincere teasing never failed to ruffle him.

“What did you want?” he asked to change the subject. He was sure José noticed it, but thankfully he didn’t say anything.

“And did you leave Panchito alone?” he tacked on with a frown.

José sighed and sat up, scooting back until his back was to the railing across Donald.

“However much I want to help him I can't stop the ocean,” he said. ”He is only going to get better once we are on solid ground again.” He frowned at the back of the ship, where the faint sounds of retching could be heard. ”This is why I came here.“ He turned to Donald. ”Do you know when we are going to reach the island?”

“I don't know how far the island is,” Donald answered. ”I could tell you roughly how fast we are going, but that wouldn't help us in this case. And,” he threw a glance toward the bridge, ”I don’t want to bother Aiata.”

“Yes, our captain doesn't seem like she would be happy if we interrupted her.” He followed Donald’s line of sight. “That is why I came to ask you.”

They looked at the bridge in silence.

“Perhaps I could ask her? She likes me more.” Donald broke the silence.

“Ahh,” José nodded, ”the mystical bond you seafarers share.”

“More like I didn't immediately try to flirt with her.”

“I wasn't flirting, I was just being polite,” he proclaimed indignantly.

“Yes, kissing her hand was just being polite.” Donald raised one of his eyebrows.

“Of course it is polite.” José thrust a finger into the air. “A good first impression is very important.”

“It didn't work on her,” Donald pointed out.

“It works on most people. A few duds here and there don’t change the power of being polite. Besides,” He turned to Donald, his smile turning mischievous. “it worked on, you didn't it?”

“You never kissed my hand,” he spluttered.

“Different people need different kind of politeness,” José explained. “Besides, I can make up for it now if you want,” he added with an impish grin.

Donald flushed again, wasting all the effort he put into getting his face back to its normal color.

José didn’t look mocking as he smiled at Donald and that was the only reason Donald didn’t punch him. That and being angry at that smile was hard. Because they were friends. And no other reason. Certainly not the cute way his beak crinkled when he was smiling. Which was not something Donald noticed, or even looked forward to

Donald was interrupted from his increasingly embarrassing train of thought when Aiata shouted at them:

“If the two of you would stop flirting and pay attention, you would realise that we arrived.”

Next to him José let out a soft curse, but Donald didn’t pay attention to that. Now that they were almost in the cloud it seemed even bigger than on the screen. It stretched from on side of the horizon to the other, filling their whole view, the rolling darkness only broken up periodically by lighting.

Their staring was interrupted by Panchito. He screamed ‘Land!’, staggered out from behind the cabin, jumped over the side of the ship and landed in the ocean with a splash.

There was a second of silence as Donald and José shared a disbelieving look. Then Donald gritted his teeth and jumped after him.

The water was warmer than he expected, and that disoriented him more than cold water would have. He surfaced with a gasp and the resolve to handcuff Panchito to himself before their next adventure. The way he was going someone needed to stop him, before his lack of a survival instinct made him do something particularly stupid. More stupid than jumping overboard when he didn't know what was on the other side.

Panchito was already treading the surface, which only soured his mood further. He jumped headfirst into the water for nothing.

Panchito either sensed his foul mood or he was just that cheerful, but he smiled at Donald.

“Isn't the water nice?”

“No, it's not,” Donald snarled at him.

The grin on Panchito’s face didn't diminish and that just flustered him. It was hard to be angry at him for long when he was this cheerful.

A rope ladder splashed into the water next to them, stopping Donald from sinking in embarrassment. At least he could blame his red face on anger.

“Come on up,” José called down to them, ”we still need to get closer to the island.”

Donald reached for the ladder when he noticed Panchito hesitating.

“I would rather swim the rest of the way,” he said when he noticed Donald staring.

Donald looked at his still faintly green face and nodded.

“I am not swimming with you,” he added and pointedly grabbed the ladder.

“Thanks.” Panchito grinned at him, then turned and started swimming.

Donald grumbled, but started climbing. He was still muttering curses at the ocean and stupidly cheerful roosters, when José grabbed his hand and helped him over the railing.

“Panchito is swimming the rest of the way,” he announced once both of his feet were safely on the deck.

“I can see that,” José replied, glancing at the water.

The water before them was broken up by boulders sticking up out, barely visible in the rolling clouds. Panchito was skillfully avoiding them, but their ship wouldn’t be nearly as graceful.

The last leg of their journey was spent in relative silence. It was periodically broken up by the two of them shouting warnings to Aiata about emerging obstructions. They were moving at a snail's pace, the clouds darkness reducing the visibility to a few yards. Donald didn’t mind too much, because this way they could keep an eye on Panchito. The rooster was still going strong, not showing signs of slowing down, but even he couldn't have kept pace with a ship going full speed.

With every new boulder they had to avoid the frown on Aiata’s face became more pronounced, until she spoke at last.

“There isn’t supposed to be anything baring our entry into the harbor.”

“What?” Donald asked. Out of the corner of his eye he could see José frowning.

“Did you think everyone who came to Oeno had to go through an obstacle course?” she snapped and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“I thought we were going around and docking somewhere far from the harbor,” José said and Donald nodded his assent.

“I turned the ship so we would go to the smaller, least used harbor of this island,” she said, ”but it still needs to be accessible.” Her voice took on a worried cast. ”I would have heard about it if this happened recently. These boulders are not supposed to be here.”

Donald and José exchanged a glance. The two of them have been in enough battles were the landscape was thrown around, either by their enemies or Xandra when she lost her sword. The innocent bystanders who got stuck in the middle a high stakes battle like that rarely escaped unharmed.

Not that either of them was going to tell Aiata this. By the grim expression on her face - as she surveyed the visible part of the harbor - they didn't need to.

Their journey through was only broken up when Panchito shouted back to them.

“I am trough.”

Indeed not even half a minute later the ship slowly slid out of the cloud and barely managed to stop before ramming into the remains of the harbor.

Panchito already got out of the water and was wringing out his jacket on one of the bigger rocks.

By the looks of it, whoever came through the portal didn't want anyone to leave the island. Entire houses were ripped from their places and dropped into the water. Ships and boats of all sizes were shattered on the shore or under boulders bigger than any they encountered on the way. There were chunks ripped from the earth farther inland and hurled at the lightning cage. To get out maybe. Or their enemies just destroyed the island for destructions sake. He hoped it wasn’t that. The most destructive people always went for the living first, before tearing up the surroundings.

By the time Donald stopped taking stock of the damage and looked towards Aiata she was already halfway off the ship. José seemed to realize what she was doing at the same time and started towards her. Donald caught his shoulder before he could do anything.

“We can’t stop her,” he whispered to him. Telling her to stay on the ship would only slow her down. Still he couldn't just let her leave without saying anything.

“Aiata,” he waited until she turned to him, ”be careful.”

She looked at him for a moment, her gaze unreadable. “Don’t worry, I don't plan on getting killed before I find my granddaughter.” Then she her jumped over the side of the ship and started towards the less broken part of the harbor.

Donald looked after her until she disappeared behind the wreck off a mostly intact ship on the other side of the harbor, and then turned to José.

“We have to find the portal and close it,” he sighed.

José was looking at where she disappeared and answered without turning to him.

“Yes, we have to,” he exhaled, ”before more people die.”

Donald nodded, even though José wasn't looking at him.

In front of the ship, obvious to what went down on it, Panchito was inspecting the wreck off what looked like two boulders colliding with a warehouse. He looked up when Donald and José joined him.

“Finally,” he exclaimed, jumping down from a smaller boulder. “I was starting to think you got stuck in something.”

“You are the one who gets stuck in things.” Donald scowled as he elbowed past him, but he appreciated the change in mood. Panchito was good at cheering people up.

“Really?“ he said and Donald didn’t even need to look at him to see the shiteating grin on his face. ”Because I distinctly remember the time you somehow got stuck in two plastic lawn chairs.”

Donald flushed in embarrassment, but didn’t slow down. That would be admitting defeat. He could hear the sounds of José and Panchito snickering and ignored it with practiced ease.

“Come on, we can't let Donald go alone,” José said, the smile still audible in his voice.

“Yeah, or he could find a few plastic chairs,” Panchito smirked.

Donald picked up the pace. The faster they got to the portal the faster he could kick some alien ass and get back to his comfortable couch. He wanted to sit in front ofthe TV that never brought up embarrassing things he wanted to forget.

The forest next to the harbor was quiet. Donald - who has spent a big chunk of his childhood running around in the forest next to his grandma’s farm - felt unnerved by it. Forests shouldn’t be this silent. Panchito stopped his good natured ribbing once they got under the tree cover. Even José - who grew up only seeing forests on fieldtrips - sensed something off. The conversation gradually died out.
When Panchito let out a sudden whistle it seemed twice as loud as it broke through the nervous silence.

Donald jumped, then spinned around to glare back at him, halfway ready to shove his face into the nearest tree. Before he could do anything Panchito lifted his hand. He wasn't even looking at Donald, staring over his shoulder into nothing.

“Do you hear that?” He whispered, not moving an inch.

Panchito’s seriousness drained Donald’s anger, until all he felt was worry. Now that he wasn't focused on his anger or keeping his own footsteps as quiet as possible he could hear something. Things crashing together, howling too unnatural to come from this planet and under all that a faint crackling that didn't stop.

“That sounds like the portal.” José whispered.

“How do you know what the portal sounds like?” Donald asked.

“Xandra showed it to me when we were waiting for you to get a ship.” he said”But I’m not sure.”

“Then we go closer.”Donald decided. He didn’t wait for an answer, before he started walking again, this time in the direction of the sounds. Panchito and José followed him silently.

They were laying on a small incline, surveying the clearing with the portal in the middle. Its darkness was swirling like the clouds that surrounded the island. From behind some bushes they got the first look at the people who opened the portal and caused the destruction of the harbor.

They were a lot more inhuman than Donald expected.

He couldn't even tell what they looked like, aside from the vague shape, because they were covered head to toe in something long and dark. It looked like fur at first glance, but was gently hovering around their bodies. The creatures were the size of a pony and walked on all fours, except beneath the fur he could make out more legs than a simple four. The legs made them move with a strange skittering gait. That, combined with the fur and the shadows from the storm made the entire clearing look like it was from another world.

The portal in the middle was normal by comparison. It was small, perhaps the size of an one story building and lightning arched of off the dark tangles. A clear patch in the middle showed green sky and alien buildings.

As they watched three creatures went into the portal and were replaced by two, who joined the others in roaming around the clearing. There was no clear leader and none of them moved with purpose, just meandering around.

“So what is the plan, my friend,” José whispered, glancing at Donald from the corner of his eye.

Donald mulled it over. On the one hand they had no idea how these things fought, but on the other hand they couldn’t exactly sneak into the middle of an enemy camp. Or at least they couldn’t when there were no buildings or convenient ways to disguise themselves. So he turned to José, who currently knew the most of the enemy.

“What did Xandra tell you anything about these things?”

“She hadn’t said anything,” José shrugged his shoulders. “She didn’t know who exactly we would be facing.”

“Doesn't this portal lead to somewhere?” Panchito interjected, not taking his eyes off the clearing. “She should know what’s on the other side.”

“Ah no,” José answered, ”that's not how this portal works.”

Donald turned to stare at him, trusting Panchito to keep an eye out. He didn’t even have to do anything more than that to get José to flush in embarrassment. That didn’t stop Donald from wanting to chew him out. After dozens of portals they encountered that all worked like that, he really could have said something. But now was not the time for this, so instead he gestured for José to continue.

“This portal works like a train station,” he said with the confidence of someone who was quoting someone else. ”Because if you see a train at a train station you don't automatically know where it came from. Just like with this portal.”

“Trains have their destination written on them,” Panchito said.

“That is a good point,” José hummed, ”Xandra said these portals have their destination coded into them, but you need a lot more knowledge in magic to read it. Perhaps-” he trailed of thoughtfully.

“And we don't have that.” Donald knit his brows. “Not that it matters. Even if we could read it, we wouldn't know anything about the inhabitants.”

“That is also a good point.” José smiled at Donald.

Donald ignored the flutter that smile sent down his spine with ease born out of practice.

“And that brings us back to the plan.”

“They haven't noticed us yet,” Panchito said, “we have time to plan.”

“Okay,” Donald nodded, ”did she say how we could close the portal?

“She said we should beat them back as much as we can. People from other worlds know what happens if they mess with Earth. Why do you think they choose the most out of the way portal?”

Donald narrowed his eyes.

”Did she tell you what it was exactly they were afraid of?”

“No she didn’t.” José shrugged. “But she assured me that we would be alright.”

“We don't know enough to make a better plan,” Donald sighed, ”so we will have to attack head on.”

“Then let's go,” Panchito whispered, jumping to his feet.

Donald’s arm snaked out and grabbed him by his belt.

“I don't mean attack right now,” Donald hissed.

“Are you afraid?” Panchito grinned at him, raising a cocky eyebrow.

“No,” he ground out.

He let Panchito go once he was sure he wouldn’t go running off. His hands curled into fists on their own and he grit his teeth. He was not going to let Panchito goad him into doing something rash. Not again. No matter how much he wanted to kiss that grin off of his face.

Wipe! He meant wipe the grin off of his face.

“No matter how much I enjoy your challenges,” José said and Donald forced himself to pay attention, ”now is not the time for it.”

“Yeah,” Donald said and took a deep breath. He needed to concentrate on the important things, not on the stupidity of his mind. When he exhaled, he let the last vestiges of his distracting feelings out.

“It would be better if we attacked from three different directions…”

Donald surveyed the clearing again while he waited for the signal.

They decided that Donald was going to attack from where they started, so he wouldn’t have to move. Unfortunately that meant he didn’t have anything to do but wait. When he waited he had enough time to start worrying and second guessing his plan. He knew he was distracting himself by checking the clearing, but it was effective, so he didn’t complain.

Even after minutes of staring he still couldn't tell how many legs the creatures had under their fur. That was one thing that worried him. There could be anything hidden there. Poisonous barbs. Razor-sharp claws. Four sets of teeth. Stingers. They had no way of knowing.

Before he could work himself into a worried frenzy, he heard a barn owl hoot twice, a small pause and another two hoots.

The signal.

No more time to worry. He shoved his thoughts back. If the creatures did have barbs, they would deal with it.

He pulled his sword from his scabbard in one smooth motion and leapt into the fray to Panchito’s battle-cry.

The first creature didn't have time to react before Donald attacked. It crumpled and didn’t get back up again. In the ensuing surprise he managed to stab another one in the back off the neck. Then his luck ran out. No time to think, as the others were on him. He wrenched his sword out of the body and into a block. One of them crashed into it and collapsed silently. Three surrounded him. He didn't wait for them to react. His sword sliced. The one on the right staggered back. But it didn't go down. The one on the right jumped at him. He sliced at it, already turning to the next one, when his blade stopped with a jolt.

What the-

One of them rammed into his side and he fell. He kicked at it until it let go and rolled over. He raised his sword in a block. It was just in time to stop one from landing on him. The sword stopped with a lurch.

“There is something solid under them!” he screamed.

Its weight grew, pushing him down, its fur covering his face. He spluttered, trying to get it out of his mouth, his view covered in black fur. It wasn't as heavy as it looked, but his arms were getting tired.

“Teeth. Holy f-” José’s yelp caused Donald to flinch and lose his grip. It was only for a moment, but it was enough to push the flat of his blade into his chest. It also meant he was close enough that he could see what they had on their stomach.

Teeth.

The possibility of getting his face bitten off gave him a boost. He gathered his remaining strength into his arms, pushed ia a bit higher, curled his legs under it and kicked it straight into its teeth. He could feel the cuts on his soles, but it flew several feet and landed with a satisfying smack. It didn’t get up again.

Donald scrambled to his feet. Movement on his right. He jumped to the side and slashed. His blade met flesh and it fell to the ground. He turned to the portal, but four more of them stood in the way.

He lifted his sword and grit his teeth. Where did they come from?

“José!”

The scream jolted him and he wildly turned, looking for him. Did something happen? His eyes roamed over the clearing.

But no, there he was perfectly alright, running towards the portal.

Why did Panchito scream? Why did-

The portal. The portal floating above the middle of the clearing, absolutely surrounded by more enemies than there were here at the start.

They sent more thought.

And José was running towards it, not stopping even though he should know he was outnumbered. José hit the first line of defence, jumped over one of them, danced out of the way of a lunge and didn’t even slow down.

And then Donald’s face hit the dirt.

He forgot about the creatures he was fighting against. He fell on one of his hand and now it was trapped under his body. More weight flopped on him and his breath was violently expelled from his lungs. He needed to get it off his back as fast as possible. In his panic he lashed out with his not trapped elbow. The creature tore into it.

He screamed.

“Help him!”

José’s alarmed scream broke him out of the pain. He grit his teeth and tried to breathe. José was on the middle of the biggest pile of enemies, ducking and weaving to get closer to the portal. He was also glancing backward and he couldn’t afford to be distracted.

Donald wanted to shout at him to keep his eyes on the enemy, but he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs to shout.

With a gasp he looked for the friend that wasn’t surrounded by every single enemy that wasn’t dogpiling him.

Who was just standing there, unsure. He gripped his spear tight enough that his knuckles stood out, staring back at Donald.

“Help him!” José screamed again, shriller than before and dogged another lunge.

Panchito jumped at the scream and finally started moving.

Towards Donald and why was he doing that. He wasn’t the one who needed help. José was almost at the portal and he wasn’t slowing down. What the hell was he doing.

He blinked and Panchito was there. He stabbed the pile with a vicious motion and left the spear stuck. Instead he tore into them with his bare hands. He really had nice arms. Perfect to fistfight a monster with.

He was ripped out of his thoughts with a choked scream when his arm was wrenched backward.

“I'm sorry I didn't…” Panchito trailed off. “I need to…” he tugged the creature again.

Donald grit his teeth, but a whimper still escaped his lips. By the time the pain dulled he was panting and Panchito’s face was pale. The ache was still there, but now he could breathe again and he knew what he had to do.

“Go,” he croaked.

He didn’t need to say it twice. Panchito jumped up and flung himself towards the portal. And José-

Where was he? Donald scanned the clearing, becoming more panicked with each pass as he didn’t find him. The only places he could have gone was…

The portal.

José went through the portal.

What? Why would he? Donald tried to push himself up. That was suicide.

With only one creature on his back he managed to push enough to get his hand out from under himself. But even using two hands he couldn't get enough leverage to get that thing of off him. He clawed at the ground. Panchito was almost at the portal and he couldn't even get out from under this thing. He yanked his injured arm in desperation and almost blacked out from the pain.

A wail rent the air.

For a moment he thought it came from him, but then he looked up.

Panchito was on his knees, surrounded by dozens of creatures and the portal was...

The portal was...

Gone.

Its place was empty, not even a trace to show that there was anything there a moment ago.

The portal was gone.

And so was José.