Let the Adventures Begin!

Disclaimer - I do not own The Three Caballeros or any part of the Walt Disney Company.

Some days, you feel something in the air, some grand universal hint that fate is barreling toward you. You know, with some instinctual part of your mind, that something big is waiting impatiently to pounce, to ambush and change your life forever. You wait, breathless, as a sense of wonder envelopes your every action. In short, you know your life is about to change.

This was not one of those days.

Donald woke up grouchy and alone. Uncle Scrooge had taken Huey, Dewey, and Louie on some kind of adventure in Eastern Europe, and they would be gone for a few weeks at the least. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, to Donald's way of thinking. The triplets had been a special level of irritating lately, pulling some dangerous pranks and calling Donald a variety of insulting names when he asked them to dial it back a few notches. All in all, Donald had been thrilled when Launchpad came to retrieve the three rowdy boys. True, he had been less thrilled that the pilot had wanted to talk despite the fact that this pickup was at 5 a.m., but Donald had dealt with it.

Rolling over, Donald checked the time. Only 9 a.m. He groaned as he rolled out of bed and tried to shake off the bad mood by going to get his morning paper. Unfortunately, since he stubbed a toe and knocked over a vase on his way to the door, Donald's mood merely grew worse. By the time he arrived at the front door, the duck was muttering unintelligibly under his breath. He jerked the door open and was leaning down when a burst of purple dust hit him fully in the face. Without thinking, Donald drew in a quick gasp of air, inhaling most of the cloud. Before he struck the ground, he knew he had been hit with one of the triplets' favorite sleeping powders and cursed himself for not expecting a sneak attack.

All was dark.

Donald was conscious that he was sitting in a chair, and a quite comfortable one at that. He half expected to be unable to move his arms (Huey, Dewey, and Louie were known for playing some intense pranks), but they moved freely. He lifted a hand to his face and found himself to be wearing a sleeping mask, which the duck quickly removed as he stood up from what turned out to be a rather well-padded armchair.

Donald was in a house. It was quite a nice house, very spacious and clean, and he had never been in it before. He performed a cursory exploration, finding only long hallways of polished wood doors that opened into large empty rooms. After the sixth room, Donald became frustrated and went through a different door, a red one set with glass panels, and found himself in an expansive kitchen filled with mahogany cabinets, polished marble, and gleaming stainless steel appliances. Mumbling about how nice the place was, Donald pushed through another door, this time finding himself outside.

The air was heavy, filled with heat, humidity, and the sound of a thousand cicadas. There was a small section of manicured lawn edged with perfectly maintained flower beds, but the rest of the landscape was swallowed up by countless trees towering over the scene. Donald found a hedge maze, two different fire pits, and a large stream before deciding to journey back to the house. As he approached the door to the kitchen (which he had left slightly ajar), Donald could hear voices and laughter. His pace quickened, then slowed again as he realized that these voices weren't those of his young nephews, but of adults.

Deciding to announce his presence, Donald quacked out, "Mickey? Goofy? Is that you guys?" Gaining a bit of bravery, and a bit of temper, his voice grew louder and crabbier, "Why don't you ever just ask me to go somewhere, you bossy mouse-?" More laughter from the kitchen was the only response that Donald received and he grew even angrier. "Aren't you going to answer me?" he shouted as he burst through the kitchen door… then screeched to a halt when he saw two familiar figures; one short and green, one tall and red.

There was only a split second of silence before two faces crowded Donald's vision, each laughing, talking, and trying to shake his hand. Two accented voices vied for Donald's attention: "Señor Donald! It seems as though we have been apart for ma-" "Donald, mi amigo! How have you been? We haven't heard-" Donald shook his head, pulled his hands out of two firm handshakes, and took a big step back. "Joe Carioca? Panchito Pistoles? I can't believe it! I haven't seen you guys since…" Donald trailed off as he remembered the strange day he had been experiencing. He scowled. "Hey, what's the big idea? Where are we?"

José, dapper as always in a tan suit, laughed and plucked the ever-present cigar out of his mouth. "Oh, Donald! You always cut to the pit of the apple, my friend. We are in a house-" he was cut off by a sharp noise from Panchito and rolled his eyes slightly. "-a thousand pardons, ranch that Panchito and I have bought for the three of us to live in together!" Donald's jaw dropped, but before he could properly express how impossible that was, Panchito cut into the conversation.

"We have not yet mentioned the best part!" The bright red rooster tilted back his large sombrero and rested his hands on the butts of his pistols as he leaned forward earnestly. "We would love for your nephews to come and stay with us as well! We could never leave out your wonderful little sobrinos. We have heard much about their adventures and we think they would make a perfect addition to our group! Isn't that right, Joe?" José nodded his head so fervently that he nearly lost his panama hat.

Donald stared at the two open-mouthed, waiting for more madness to be thrown at him, but the pair remained silent, gazing at him with large, hope-filled eyes. The poor duck took a moment to gather his thoughts, then asked as gently as he could, "Joe, Panchito, what is this all really about?"

One corner of Panchito's mouth quirked up in a sad smile. "Señor Donald, nothing goes beyond your understanding. Let me start from the beginning- or at least, the last time we saw each other. I had just gained some money from the necklace of the Chief and was going to buy a ranch. Well, I did buy my ranch, and it was wonderful. I had a pond for fishing, much land for exploring, a garden to grow all the things I wished… My pride, however, was a large barn filled with horse friends for my favorite four-legged partner Martinez. But sadly, I had made some powerful enemies in my search for wealth. They tried and tried again to destroy my beautiful property. The windows in my house were broken and almost nightly, someone would throw an explosive in, destroying even more. All the fish in my pond were killed when someone placed a chemical in the water. Worst of all, one enemy attempted to burn my barn on three different occasions. After the third time, my barn was burnt to ashes. I decided to give the towel in and take a visit to my friend José."

José bowed his head slowly and put out his cigar. "Meanwhile, I had become very popular at the club. I was so famous that I performed every night, often headlining the entertainment. I did not finish my sets until very late each evening, but there was always an audience to cheer for me. Men wanted to shake my hand and women- oh, all the beautiful señoritas!" The three exchanged wistful smiles as they recalled the times they had torn the land apart chasing women, but their grins faded as José slowly went on, voice softer than before. "However, the fame was not to last. One night, I stood on stage and I could not sing. My wonderful voice, gone! All I could do was croak in a voice not befitting the lowest of geese. I was booed offstage and, shortly after, out of the building. All of my fame, all of my fans, turned away from me and vanished. But out in the darkness, I found that Panchito was waiting for me."

Donald's heart twisted. How had the two funny and carefree guys he had known long ago been so completely changed? But as powerful as their stories had been, there were still some questions left unanswered. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you guys, but I still don't get what's going on. Whose house is this, and why are we all here?"

Panchito and José smiled, all hints of sadness gone. Panchito cleared his throat. "First of all, it's not a house, it's a ranch. And when I met up with José, we sat out in the darkness and talked. Neither of us was happy. We were lonely and many things in our lives started to collapse at once. Both of us had saved up some money and we remembered you talking about sending your nephews to college after we cleared out the silver mines. Since that fell through, we thought that we could at least come and help out with the boys. And while we were at it, we bought this place with plenty of room for all of us and the adventures we'll have. What do you say?"

Donald was still in shock. What was one supposed to do when the explanations made less sense than the questions? He shook his head. "No, no! I can't let you guys do all of this. You have lives in Brazil and Mexico that need you. Everyone has problems, but we have to face them or they'll just get worse and worse. You can't run here and escape everything. Life isn't that easy." The duck began slowly easing back toward the door that led outside. "But, hey, it was great seeing you guys again, and best of luck when you get back home-" Donald turned to leave, but Panchito and José stopped him with hands on his shoulders.

"Where are you going to, Donald?" José laughed. "You have no idea how to get home, or even where you are right now."

Donald wheeled around and pegged the parrot with a glare. "Yeah, what's the big idea, knocking me out? If you really wanted me to come and see the house you could've just come by and invited me out here!"

José's grin widened. "And all of us know that you would have found an excuse to stay at home. Let us face it, Donald; you are not the most adventurous of fellows."

Donald clenched his fists. "That's not true, Joe! I've done more in my life than you can even imagine! I have had plenty of adventures! I go on adventures all of the time!"

José gave a little chuckle. "Donald, you may have been dragged along on a few journeys, but you must admit that you are far more comfortable staying in your own little house with your own boring life." Seeing that the duck was about to explode, José dropped his final challenge. "Fine, there is one way that we will be convinced about your adventurous spirit: You must move in here with Panchito and me. We will have many, many adventures, and you can be a part of all of them. How do you answer to that?"

There was a pause, a moment of complete silence before Donald spoke again. "I know what you're doing, José. You think if I get upset enough, I'll agree to move in with you guys just to save my own ego. Well, it won't work." Donald started back for the door. "It was nice catching up, but I have a house and life that need my attention since I don't run away from my problems."

Behind Donald's back, Panchito and José exchanged glances. It was time to bring out the big gun, their final hope of getting Donald's participation. Panchito launched a noisy sigh and sadly said, "Well, José, it looks like Donald will not be joining us. It will be a shame to see him missing out on such fine adventures. Maybe Mickey would want to come along instead."

Donald's shoulders tensed visibly as he paused in the doorway. Panchito nodded at José, who picked up where the rooster had left off. "Yes, that is a good idea, Panchito. I have heard that Mickey Mouse possesses a most daring and adventurous spirit. He is fearful of nothing. Do you have a way of contacting him?"

It was Panchito's turn again. "I am not sure. Maybe we could call the House of Mouse? Or- wait, Donald, could you kindly let Mickey know that we need someone to take the spot of number one Caballero?"

Before either of the two could so much as blink, Donald had turned around and was bellowing at the top of his lungs. "I am number one! I am the third Caballero! And I am way more adventurous than Mickey Mouse will ever be! I'll be moved in by the end of the day." He whipped around and walked outside, pulling out his cell phone and muttering angrily to himself as he dialed someone to help him bring his belongings to the large ranch.

Behind him, Panchito and José were doubled over in silent, shoulder-quaking laughter. When their mirth faded, they shook hands heartily, both thinking the same thing:

Let the adventures begin.

Author's Note - I am a fairly new fan of The Three Caballeros, but I have tried to do my research where the trio is concerned. If anyone finds an issue that I've overlooked, I would very much appreciate the feedback. At this point, I only plan to update the story every two weeks, but as long as I can keep thinking up new adventures for the boys, I may start updating more often. Thanks for reading!