1Sheldgoose levitated Donald onto the altar and then fused the chains to it so that he could not break free. Donald struggled to get out of the chains but no matter how hard he tugged, he could not get free. Felldrake took control and laughed as he approached him.
"How refreshing it is to see you squirming in fear. You Caballeros have been a thorn in my side for far too long! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!"
The group pushed past the door at the end of the stairwell. Leopold was blocking the hallway. He growled and immediately lunged at José and Panchito. Jose blocked his swipe with his sword and Xandra blasted him away with an arrow.
"Keep going! I'll hold him off! Just find Donald!"
Xandra pulled back her string and formed three arrows. She launched them at Leopold and he flinched, jumping further away from the group. They continued down the mountain.
Felldrake pulled out an amulet from his pocket. It was a blue alexandrite stone amulet on a silver chain. He held the amulet up by the chain.
"I bind thine magic to this stone,
To fuel the power of my own."
The group burst into the next room. They gasped and dodged in different directions as a Cerberus snapped at them. June cracked her whip at the beast, forcing it backward. April pointed her spear at it and May smacked her staff against the floor, the resounding thud echoed throughout the room.
"Keep going!"
May shouted.
José and Panchito nodded and ran forward. Daisy looked at the girls.
"Are you sure you can handle this?"
June nodded.
"We've got this. They'll need you!"
Daisy ran ahead.
The amulet started glowing. Purple magic sparked and crackled around them. Donald's body started to glow the same color as the amulet.
"Now gather, magic as I command,
So, I can fulfill my desires grand!"
The amulet rose into the air. Donald could feel his magic responding to Felldrake's spell.
"Augh!"
He screamed in pain. His magic started to siphon out of him and collect into the amulet. Nothing had ever hurt as badly as having his life force being forcibly drained. Donald writhed in his chains.
José, Panchito, and Daisy were almost at the final door when they heard Donald scream. José wasted no time in busting it down. Daisy gasped in horror at the scene that greeted them. Felldrake was standing over Donald, cackling wildly as Donald's blue magic was sucked into the amulet above them. Panchito yelled and rushed forward, attempting to tackle him. He dodged, striking Panchito with a magical blast and knocking him back. Daisy and José charged but were parried with a sword made of magic. She jumped back but flinched when Donald shrieked in pain again. Panchito snagged Felldrake with his lasso, however, Felldrake teleported out of his hold.
"You're too late Caballeros! The ritual has already begun and once it's complete, you'll be down a member."
José's and Panchito's eyes widened in fear.
"No…" José narrowed his eyes and lunged forward again.
"We won't let you kill him!"
Their swords clashed again. Anger burned through José's veins and he put as much strength and magic as he could into his attacks. Felldrake parried the majority but he was being forced back with each strike.
"Donald! We'll save you!"
Panchito ran up to the altar and tried to slide the chains off of his friend. Daisy ran over and tried to cut them with her sword, to no avail. She glanced at Felldrake, then to Donald, and finally, onto the trail of magic that led to the amulet.
"Panchito! It's the amulet! You need to destroy the amulet!"
He nodded and swung his lasso at the object.
"No!" Felldrake yelled. He teleported beside Panchito and tackled him to the ground. Panchito managed to wrestle himself on top of Felldrake and pinned him down. It didn't last long though as Felldrake teleported out of the hold. José joined back in on the fray.
Thoughts whipped around in Daisy's mind as she watched the battle. Her attention was brought back to her boyfriend when he moaned in pain.
"Donald! You're okay, I promise we'll get you out of this."
She cooed at him. Her hand brushed the feathers on his head. He had become too exhausted to
"It's okay. You'll be okay. We're going to save you and then you'll be able to beat him."
She wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure Donald or herself at this point. He was getting weaker every second. She bit her feathers and glanced around the room. There had to be something she could do to help him. Daisy turned to Donald. He didn't look like he could last any longer. She took a deep breath and held out her sword.
Felldrake laughed as he caged José and Panchito in a magic bubble.
"You fools! Without the three of you, you could never hope to stop me. Don't worry though your friend though, you'll be ne- augh!"
Daisy slashed his back with her sword. The bubble popped as Felldrake's concentration broke. Panchito used the distraction to lasso the amulet and yank it down. The amulet smashed into pieces the moment it hit the ground. The magic in the air dissipated.
"No, no, no, no, no! I was supposed to win! Curse you, Caballeros!" Felldrake shouted, before disappearing.
Panchito sighed in relief and José rested a hand on his shoulder.
"You did it!
The two walked up to the altar. Donald's eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow.
"Donald? Wake up! The spell has been broken!"
Panchito shook him gently in an attempt to rouse him. Daisy slowly approached the altar.
"Donald?"
She watched as Panchito tried to wake him again. Xandra and the girls ran into the room.
"Did you guys beat him? Felldrake took Leopold and fled!"
Xandra questioned. She looked at the altar and noticed Donald.
"Oh, no… Don't tell me he's…"
They all gathered around Donald. Daisy took his hand in hers and felt his pulse. It was faint.
"Xandra, we need to get home now. He's barely alive. What do you know about magic drain?"
She hummed as she flipped pages in the atlas.
"The only way to stop magic drain is to destroy the item the magic is being sealed into. The problem is, Felldrake did his homework and used Donald's traditional birthstone. That makes the ritual far more powerful. I think at this point the only thing we can do is just take him home and let him rest."
Jose and Panchito gently sat him up and guide his hands over the shoulders. Once they were carrying him, Xandra teleported them home.
Bear Rug rushed to clear the sofa when the group returned. Ari made tea and served everyone a cup to help ease their nerves. Everyone in their ragtag family wanted to do more for Donald. In the end, they resigned themselves to watching and waiting.
May sighed as she looked away from her kinda-uncle to his best friends. She noticed that they had not taken off their ancestors' armor. That gave her an idea.
"You guys are connected by your ancestors, right? What if you tried to share some of your magic with him? Do you think that will help his recovery?"
José and Panchito shrugged and extended their hands over him. They took a deep breath and concentrated on sharing their magic with him. As the last of their magic wisped into Donald, everything went silent again. Everyone watched Donald with baited breath.
"Nngh."
Donald groaned. The others jumped in surprise. Donald's eyes fluttered and cracked open slightly.
"Ugh, what happened?"
"DONALD!"
He squawked as José and Panchito jumped him. Daisy let out a relieved sigh as the rest of the group started to cheer.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're alright meu amigo!" Jose nuzzled his beak against Donald's face. Panchito wrapped his arms around them both and lifted them into the air.
"We're the Three Caballeros once more!"
He cawed. Donald sighed and waited for Panchito to set them back down on the couch.
"What happened anyway? The only thing I remember is being in the cave."
Xandra kneeled beside the couch and hugged him.
"Felldrake tried to take your magic and seal it into an amulet so that it would amplify his own powers. However, the magic is a part of you. To be forcibly drained of your magic like that would kill you. Luckily, we were able to stop him but he got really close."
Daisy hugged him from behind the couch.
"Oh, it was just horrible seeing you like that! I'm so glad you're alright!"
Donald smiled and shifted so he could hug her back.
"Aww, you guys!"
Everyone smiled as Daisy kissed Donald on the cheek and he blushed bright red. Even though Felldrake escaped, at least their family was together again.
