DIZ’S ORIGIN STORY (written by @DisneyNerd26) Part 4: One Step At A Time (Music: One Foot - WALK THE MOON) After solid half-hour of stumbling about, Diz was walking on her own, with the help of an antique McDuck cane for balance. “Do y’all think I’m stable enough to go to Lena’s? If you think she wouldn’t mind, that is.” Diz asked of the adults, who all exchanged glances. “I don’t see why not. Beakley-“ Scrooge began, but Goldie held up a hand. “I can help her get dressed, if you don’t think Webby would mind us borrowing a dress of hers.” Goldie offered, and Mrs. Beakley nodded with a soft smile. “Webby already told me that if she wanted to come along, Diz could choose anything from her closet to wear.” “Perfect.” Goldie excitedly grabbed Diz by the hand, helping her up the stairs towards Webby’s room. Goldie opened the door to Webby’s room, taking Diz over to Webby’s walk-in closet. “I feel like you would look good in either a dark green or a royal blue. What do you think?” Goldie asked, flipping through Webby’s dresses. “I agree. As a human I’m quite pale skinned, and I look good in those colors- so I’d hope it’s the same here. Although, as a human I also have dark brown hair, so missing that may be a factor…” Diz replied, and Goldie spun to look at her. “You’ve never seen your duck reflection, have you?” She asked, and Diz shook her head. "C'mere." Goldie grabbed the girl by the shoulders and pushed her in front of a mirror in the back of the closet. "I... I look like me." Diz whispered, reaching up to touch her bill. She had ice blue eyes, pale white feathers, and shoulder length brown feathers sprouting from her head. "And you're still ashy from the fire. Once I pop you in the shower it'll be even better." Goldie said with a small smile, spinning Diz around to see her own tail poking out of her sweatpants. Diz grit her teeth, and her tail feathers swished gently. She grinned over at Goldie, then made her tail wiggle again. "I'm sorry, I don't have a tail as a human. This is a whole new experience." Diz apologized and giggled. "You'll get used to it." Goldie chuckled, her face falling as she met Diz's eyes. "I'm so sorry." "Look. I've always loved this show. So much. And honestly, I'm still not positive this isn't a big complex dream, so... I'm going to go enjoy the party, and worry about this whole situation later. There's nothing I can do now, so I may as well enjoy it." Diz said with a firm nod, Goldie nodding too and grabbing a few dresses off the hangers. She then escorted Diz to the master bathroom to help her get ready. A short while later, Diz was ready to go. "Thanks for everything." Diz whispered, and Goldie grinned. A knock came at the door and Scrooge waved his hand around the doorframe. "Can I come in?" "Yup! She’s all ready." Goldie called and Scrooge peered around the door. “You look lovely!” He chuckled, handing Diz her cane from where it was set against the shower. "Thanks Mr. McDuck.” Diz murmured with a grin, walking out the bathroom. "We're home!!" A loud voice shouted and Diz walked down the hall, hobbling down the stairs to see Della Duck, the triplet's mother, and Launchpad McQuack, Dewey's best friend and the McDucks' personal pilot/driver both standing there. Della's eyes went wide when she saw Diz, her mouth moving with inaudible words. "Hello Mrs. Della, I'm Diz McCallister-" "Okay whose girlfriend are you? Dewey, Louie or Huey's?" Della demanded and Diz felt her cheeks go scarlet. "Della! Della! It's okay. She's not dating any of the boys. I'll explain everything in a bit.” Mrs. Beakley rushed down the stairs past Diz to calm the overprotective mother. Della eyed Diz suspiciously as she walked up the stairs past her. Diz looked back down to see Launchpad watching her too. “Launchpad, please drive this young lady to Lena’s.” Mrs. Beakley asked, gesturing to Diz. “Will do.” He flashed her a broad goofy smile, holding out his hand to her. “I’m Launchpad.” “You can call me Diz. Nice to meet you.” She replied with a soft smile as he helped her down the stairs. “Thanks Mrs. Beakley.” She murmured as she passed the housekeeper, who just smiled. “Of course. I’ll explain it all.” “Thank you.” Diz grinned at her, leaning on her cane as Launchpad lead her out to the family’s limo. (Meanwhile at Lena’s…) “Thanks again for helping us out.” Lena Saberwing exclaimed as she hung up a large banner with her younger sister Violet. “Of course!” Louie exclaimed as he watched on, his gaze dwelling over Lena's bright blue bangs, and crystalline eyes. "You'd had better ask her to dance tonight." Dewey hissed, and Louie looked over at him. His brother was looking at him intensely, a small smile touching his lips. Louie's palms began to sweat and he stuffed them into his pockets, nodding firmly. He looked to Huey at the other end of the room for a second opinion, but his oldest brother was just staring out the window, eyes dim.
“Huey?” Louie asked quietly, and Huey spun to look at him. “Hm?” “Diz is under Beakley and Goldie’s care. She’s going to be okay.” Louie murmured, immediately understanding Huey’s distress. “But Louie, she’s stuck here, because of my stupid plan to speed up the retrieval of Gosalyn’s grandpa. I should have been more attentive! I was aware that by accelerating the transmogrification process, the probability of adjacent molecular structures being pulled along increases 10 fold, but I decided to disregard the odds. I should know to never disregard the odds!” “English please?” Dewey asked, and Huey rolled his eyes. “By speeding up the process by which Dr. Waddlemeyer turned back into who he is here, the chance of pulling nearby people or things along with him becomes extremely likely. I figured it wouldn’t be a problem, I thought maybe I’d pull along a few rocks, or a small structure perhaps… Instead I stole a teenage girl away from her family, her friends, her pets apparently, her familiar body- her whole world. Because I wanted to show off. Because I went against what I know.” Huey sighed, slumping over and hugging his chest. "And there's no way to fix what I did. Solego’s Circuit would take decades to rebuild, and millions. It’d be too late for her to enjoy the last of her youth by the time we got her home. Who knows if she’d even want to go home after 15 years! She’s stuck.” Huey sighed, and Louie chewed at his lip. Huey let out an anxious groan, grabbing at the hem of his shirt and twisting it in his hands. “Huey.” Webby reached out and grabbed his hands, pulling them away from his shirt and cradling them in hers. “Breathe. It’s going to be okay.” She said soothingly, glancing back at Lena for help. “Oh, Huey, I read about this in a book yesterday. It might help.” Lena suddenly sat up with a small smile, rubbing her palms together, a soft teal glow developing around her hands. “Lean forward.” She ordered, and Huey obeyed, closing his eyes. Lena gently set her fingertips against his temples, inhaling deeply and chanting under her breath. The glow transferred to her fingers, turning to lime before seeming to soak into Huey’s skin. A cool, tingly, but warm sensation, seemed to emanate from her fingertips, spreading to fill his whole body. His heart rate and breathing slowed, and a gentle gust of wind swept across his brain, picking up every bit of his anxiety, every drop of his tension, everything that was worrying him, and tucking them away. His eyes opened to see everything was enveloped in a soft emerald haze. He inhaled sharply, the glow fading as she pulled her hands back, smiling. “Whoa. What was that?” Dewey demanded, looking between his brother and Lena. “I don’t know, but it felt incredible.” Huey breathed, setting a hand against his chest. “It’s called a green breeze. It’s a cooling, calming sympathetic magic. I get myself calm and cool, relaxed, then transfer the feeling to you. It actually can work the opposite way too. If I get myself worked up and angry, or anxious, I can deal you what’s called a carmine clout… Either way, did it help? You’re kinda my Guinea pig for sympathetic magic.” Lena probed excitedly. “Yeah. I think it did.” Huey beamed. “Sometimes it pays to have a sorceress as a friend.” Lena just grinned. “Hue, you can’t give Diz back what she had. But you can do your best to make her comfortable here.” Violet (Lena’s younger sister) murmured, and Huey gave her a firm nod. “I’ll talk to Dad, we have plenty of rooms in the mansion, so I’m sure she can stay with us. That’s a start.” Webby added with a broad smile. “That’s a start.” Huey repeated softly. The doorbell suddenly rang, and Louie lifted his hand to pause everyone. “I’ll get it.” He opened the door to meet a pair of blue eyes. “Hey!” Diz laughed, leaning heavily on a cane at the doorstep. “Can I come in?” “Yeah, come on!” He beaconed her in. “Look at you, up on your feet!” Louie laughed, and she beamed, pushing up her glasses. “Hey guys!” She waved to the other brothers, Lena, and Webby. “Ah, so you’re Diz! Heya!” Lena waved back, grinning. Huey was silent. Louie looked over to see him fruitlessly groping for words, bill opening and closing with no sound. “Disney! Hey! Nice dress!” Dewey whistled at her with a grin from across the room, before continuing to plug in party lights. Diz’s cheeks became rosy, and she looked around the room again. “Thanks Dewey… Anything I can help with?” Diz asked, starting to walk towards the kitchen when Huey lunged and caught her by the shoulder. “Hm?” “Diz! Maybe you should rest? You’re not used to being on Duck feet.” Huey choked, smiling awkwardly. “Im alright, I’ve been practicing. But thanks Huey.” She let out an soft laugh. “You can give me a hand with this tech stuff!” Dewey called, and Diz nodded excitedly, hobbling over to him…
