Chapter Text
“Even a basic death trap still has the word ‘death’ in the title!” Scrooge said disdainfully, pulling his blue nephew backward. He passed his cane through the first of the lasers as a test. Immediately, two columns of fire shot up on either side of the bridge, making the two of them jump back a little.
“We’ll find another route, it’s not safe for amateur adventurers.” Scrooge held a hand against his nephew’s chest and started to turn back the way they had come.
“That sounds like a challenge!” The boy leapt forward, facing the rope bridge with confidence.
Scrooge turned back around in disbelief that any relative of his could be so foolhardy. “I have to stress, that is not a challenge.”
“...Is exactly what you’d say to dissuade the weak of heart from accepting the challenge!” The child pointed at Scrooge with determination and excitement on his face. “Well, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!” He said as he started running toward the bridge.
“There is no challenge!” Scrooge called after him angrily.
The boy leapt through the first set of lasers, miraculously managing not to trigger them. But now the problem was that he was out of reach and in great danger.
“Dew-dew-dew-dew!” He started singing to himself, as if reciting a personal theme song, and stepped toward the next set of lasers.
Scrooge looked around desperately for a way to get to the boy before he set off the trap. If challenged with crossing this chasm on his own, he simply would have used his cane to slide along the sturdy-looking rope that had once probably served as a handrail for the bridge. However, that method wouldn’t allow him to stop in the middle of the bridge where the child was dancing- Dancing? Really? -Towards the deadly trap. Before Scrooge could come up with another idea, his nephew slid sideways in what he obviously thought was a stylish fashion, and interrupted the beams of two lasers at once.
At once the columns of fire erupted again, this time near the middle of the bridge, right behind where the boy was dancing. He turned around as he felt the heat on his back, and stumbled away. The fire stopped erupting, but the damage was done. The whole section of the bridge was burning, separating nephew and uncle.
“Ahh!” The boy cried out, backing away from the burning wood. In doing so, he triggered the next set of lasers and another spout of flame set the bridge alight behind him as well.
“Scrooge! Help!” He called, trapped between two burning sections of bridge. He glanced down at the chasm beneath him, but the bottom was in darkness. It could have been twenty feet deep or hundreds. He looked back at his uncle in desperation, all bravado gone.
“Hold on, lad!” Scrooge called, desperately scanning the room for a way to get to his nephew. Mind racing, he considered his options. His original plan had burned away along with the sturdy rope. The bridge was quickly thinning as the fire spread, cutting off any escape route the boy could take himself. The ceiling and walls of the chamber were all too far away for him to utilize the cracked stones to climb, and-
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” Scrooge heard a loud crack and a yell as the bridge started to collapse. He turned to see parts of the structure falling into the darkness, and the boy trembling as the boards he stood on lost their support. Reflexively, he reached out his hand as his nephew fell into the chasm with the burning remnants, but it was too late.
~~~
Huey was still trying to help Launchpad through the temple hall. That snake venom had really done a number on him, though thankfully it didn’t seem to be lethal. Huey was just pulling out his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook to check the section on snake venom when he heard a noise at the far end of the chamber.
“Huey?! Louie?!” Donald came around the corner to find his nephews trying to drag Scrooge’s pilot out of a hole.
“Uncle Donald?” Huey asked. “What are you doing here?”
“Me? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be safe back at the mansion!” Donald sputtered.
“Scrooge decided to take us on an adventure. So far though there’s been a disappointing lack of treasure.” Louie piped up.
Donald exploded into a cursing fit for a few minutes before regaining his composure. “Where’s Dewey?”
“With Uncle Scrooge.” Huey said casually. “They went on ahead.”
“Oh no they don’t,” Donald muttered. “I’m not letting him go off alone with you boys again!”
“What’s the big deal, Uncle Donald?” Louie asked. “It’s not like-”
Louie was cut off by a distant scream. Everyone looked toward the opening at the far end of the hall.
“That sounded like Dewey…” Huey said nervously.
The group finished pulling Launchpad out of the shallow pit and headed towards where the noise had come from. Before they reached the exit, Scrooge walked through it alone.
“Uncle Scrooge, what happened?” Huey said, running up to the man as he reentered the room. “Where’s Dewey? I heard him yell…”
“Dewey…” Scrooge muttered, seeming dazed. “So his name was Dewey…”
“Yeah, that’s- wait, what do you mean ‘was’?” Huey looked up into the shell-shocked face of his uncle, his idol. He took a step back.
“Uncle Scrooge, where’s Dewey?”