World of Disney 3

Chapter Nine: No World to Bring In a Child

"I'm not going to jail!"

"Yeah, you are! Those are the rules!"

"That ain't fair!"

"No one ever said losin' was fair."

"Well, it's not when you fellas are playin'!"

Victoria sat lotus style on Yen Sid's workshop table while Huey, Dewey, and Louie settled on the floor and played their board game, the rules of which were in close relation to those of Monopoly. One rule was for the player that got sent to jail to wear a mask designed with the face of a Beagle Boy, whereas the winner won all the money in Scrooge McDuck's money bin (with a gold-plated toy model to brag over). When the winner turned out to be Louie and the loser Dewey, the latter put up an argument.

"Louie took an extra turn when he wasn't supposed to!" Dewey alleged, pointing a livid finger at his victorious brother. "He's the one who has to go to jail and wear the mask!"

"Awe, stop bein' such a baby and put on the mask, Dewey!" Louie retorted, practically clutching the gold toy money bin in his feathery hands.

"No! You put it on!"

"No! You!"

"You!"

Huey had enough of the bickering between his brothers. "Victoria? Can you do somethin' about these two? They're drivin' me nuts!"

Victoria hardly recognized that she was being addressed. She had really not been focusing on them or their game. Her mind was solely on what Anne-Marie told her earlier - the inevitability of Fantasia's destruction. The thought of being unable to prevent it truly angered her. As much as she and the other Guardians could do - have already done - for the worlds within the Disneyverse and those beyond it, they could not stop one world from being destroyed by those from another, despite knowing exactly how and when it will happen. It was outrageous.

"Hey, Victoria! You O.K.?" Dewey asked, his concern no longer on the game but on their troubled friend.

Victoria snapped out of her thoughts, finally noticing the worried stares she received from the boys. "I'm so sorry, my darlings. What were you asking me?"

They were almost too concerned for her well-being to bother her over their squabble; yet Dewey just could not let it go. "Louie took an extra turn and won the game, so I'm the loser. That's not fair, is it?"

Victoria smiled. As odd as it seemed, this issue among them was just the stress-reliever she needed. Compared with the heavy burden Anne-Marie laid on her, the sibling quarrel between Louie and Dewey was nothing to have a headache over. She unfolded her legs and hopped off of the worktable, joining with the boys down on the floor.

"Tell you what," she began, "How 'bout we start the game over, so that I can join you. Four-way-even. That way we can be certain who is or isn't cheating to win. And you boys can trust me not to."

They nodded in agreement.

"You don't mind wearin' the Beagle Boy mask if you get sent to jail?" Huey questioned with the aforementioned item in hand.

Victoria smirked. "I'm already wearing a mask. Another certainly wouldn't hurt - especially not one as dreadful as that."