#personally I think Webby's fine. she needs a break from her brothers and my life is fairly tame

[cinderellaenjoyer]

Imagine your Icon has to spend a day as you. How well does it go for them

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Final Four: The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck Review! or The Batman Trial Episode but with Ducks, Sharks, And the Fonz

Hello all you happy people and welcome to the penultimate Ducktales review... for season 3 anyway. I still have most of season 1, all of season 2 (I did cover one but I’ll probably redo it), the tie-in comics, the 87 series, and even then i’ll never really be done with ducks between all the scrooge comics and other duck related shows like Darkwing Duck and Quack Pack. But as far as covering the show as it comes out as i’ve done for the past year, that’s’ts almost done. It’s honestly just starting to hit as I type this: this is the second to last episode. After next week while there’s always fan fiction (And I certainly aim to contribute to that), a possible Darkwing Duck Reboot under frank (though that’s in doubt) where they could show up, and a movie down the road given what we saw with Phienas and Ferb and the show’s popularity it’s still not the same as getting these well animated, well crafted adventures every week with breaks or the ocasional entire week of them. The show won’t go on, and whatever happens with the property next is a mystery no amount of ducks can solve. 

So with all that in mind naturally this episode is a breather episode: It’s not unimportant: like the rest of the season it ties off a lot of loose ends, adds in some stuff we didn’t know we wanted, and in general feels necessary like every episode this season. It’s something I credit the season for immensley: They knew this would probably be it so while they had more stories to tell, they made sure if these were their last, to leave no loose ends. And outside of ones they just never wanted to address in the first place like “What happened to Donald’s parents”, “Why was every trace of Della missing despite Scrooge’s search for her having just ended”, and “What did Della thing of the decades long seperation”, they’ve tied up pretty much all of them except for FOWL and what Beakly was lying about, and I feel both are about to ducktail into one another int he finale. Could be wrong but  I applaud them for tying off almost every loose end and character arc by this episode that isn’t related to FOWL in some way. Not every show can do that: She Ra was a masterpiece but still had a few things like Scorpia and Catra’s broken relationship, Hordak’s reformation and Adora’s Parents just left up in the air due to time constraints, Steven Universe ONLY got to go back and answer a lot of questions because they were lucky enough to get an epilogue mini series, and Star Vs... was not as good as either show by the end and by the finale about 80% of things it’d brought up all had the following answer:

My point is it’s VERY hard, even when you know the end is coming to tie everything up in a neat bow. And I can’t know how good the finale be or how satsifying it will be but given how well this season’s wrapped everything up so far,  i’m betting on immensely. But we can talk about that when it finally comes around next week. For now we have a trial episode to talk about that’s mostly good.. mostly. See why the mostly under the cut as I discuss and recap the episode with full spoilers.  Count it down!

We open in the Mansion, where a bunch of tribble like Fuzzy creatures are running amok. Unsuprisingly, Scrooge bought one for Louie as a pet to teach him responsiblity.. again. And once again he instead turned into a get rich quick scheme, didn’t read the manual and now they have an infestation. 

ONCE AGAIN, Louie is written like he’s barely changed at all in the past three seasons. Anyone whose been following my reviews regularly knows this has been a pet peeve of mine for the entire season. Despite having an ENTIRE arc about Louie growing as a character and learning the human cost of his scheming and to use his angle seeing talent’s wisely, the writers keep writing him as if he learned nothing. I went back to track it and while not as often as it felt I noticed a few things. The first is that it WASN’T like this for the first half of the season. No really. He even learns brand new lessons in The Trickening and Louie’s Eleven. Granted he also exploits his uncle in Louie’s Eleven but that’s mostly played for laughs.. still not a great bit but not a major part of the episode. 

So he was fine for the first act of the season... but then for whatever reason from Let’s Get Dangerous onwards (Again I don’t count the Christmas episode as both of those are meant to slot in anywhere and chronologically take place before this season for the timeline to make any sense), he’s just...

He’s utterly insufferable in his small parts of the first half of Let’s Get Dangerous! as he berates Huey for daring to look a gifthorse int he mouse.. even though everytime he’s seemingly got something for nothing or minimal effort it’s backfired and it’s something that seeemd to stick with “The Richest Duck in the World!”. He’s fine in Impossibin and alright in split sword as while he clearly hadn’t learned lying isn’t the best policy we at least got a good story out of it. He then went right back to obnoxious with New Gods on the Block where he, EPISODES AFTER THE SOLEAGEO FISACO again thinks an easy way out is the right way, and has NO guilt over possibly killing a bunch of people with his gold powers and in fact is disapointed he dosen’t get to keep a living being turned to gold!. He spents all of Fight for Castle McDuck being a huge dick to Huey AGAIN iwth no lesson, and now has yet another family endagering get rich quick scheme he feels no remorse about. 

I will admit when I”m wrong and I DID think it was in way more of the season than I thought. And let’s face it in real life personal issues don’t just go away and you can sometimes slide back, i’ve done it way too many times and i’m not proud of it. We’re only human. But this isn’t real life, this is cartoon ducks. And cartoon duck wise most character development has stuck or if a bad trait’s come back it’s been in a new way. Webby is still trusting, but knows how the world works now and while idolizing scrooge dosen’t think he’s perfect anymore. Huey is no longer a skpetic towards the super natural and hasn’t forced a party on anyone. Dewey hasn’t craved other people’s love or thought he needed to earn his mom’s love again. And that’s just the other kids. They aren’t the same people theyw ere going in, neither is Louie. So it’s grating when an episode acts like h’es exactly the same, let alone almost a fifth of the season.

What makes it even worse though is that he had an ENTIRE STORY ARC dedicated to learning some of these lessons already. With the others if one episode were forgotten i’d let it slide as it happens with tv, i’m used to it. It’s not a great look but it happens. Mistakes happen again we’re all human. But you can’t act like an entire arc of a series didn’t exist. While they ignore Della’s history somehow being hidden for the rest of the show they don’t ignore that Dewey spent a whole season looking for her, as he never hides something like that from his brothers again nor do they, and he’s out of them the biggets mama’s boy. While they did take a while to adress Lena, partly because the episode got pushed back, they didn’t act like season 1 never happened and she was still working for her aunt. Della still isn’t on the moon and Owlson still isn’t working for glomgold. Actions. Have. Consequences. That’s the whole point of this episode, but they act like none of it got through to louie and it makes his arc feel like a giant waste in hindsight. This episode even feels like it was SUPPOSED to be in that arc: Louie is back to his season 2 characterization, Scrooge is actively trying to mentor him again.. it just feels really out of place as our second to last episode in that way and drags it down a bit.

Thankfully after Scrooge bars the door, and possibly leaves everyone to their deaths but he presumably has enough faith in the kids, the twins and Beakley to take care of it, he gets a summons to court.. and gets kidnapped. He and Louie are whisked away to a mystic court presided over by a giant statue of justice holding scales, that judges someone based on Karma. Scrooge’s foes have brought him to court, blaming him for being evil and if he looses he looses EVERYTHING. And their proscutor? 

Sadly not Droopy, maybe next continuity, but searing the same Hannibal-Esque Getup is Doofus Drake to Louie’s horror. As for why he’s like this.. he thought iht was fun. Great gag. 

After the credits we find out why he’s doing this: He’s still pissed about Louie taking half his inheritance and giving it to his family, so he’s going to take LOUIE’S inheritance. It’s.. honestly a great setup: Doofus was already a villian I liked, being a nice weird evil mirror dewey instead of a walking fat joke like last series. So I was glad to both see him pop up one last time to make it a full trilogy of apperances as an angonist and to see him take a step up from his passive roll in the past: in his first two apperances while he was evil and abusive, and still is, his evil was mostly due to his own warped logic, feeling he could put shock collars on and control people and that Louie lying to him was enough to warrant making him into a pinata. He’s still a bad person mind you: kid or not he ensdlaved his parents, tried to enslave louie and goldie and in general REALLY needs some help empathizing with people. But my point is that before he didn’t come after anyone.. so it’s a nice capper to have his final turn as antaognist be him going after our hero.. and at his most dangerous. Before someone would’ve come for Louie eventually in Doofus’ first apperance and Goldie would’ve found a way out or Scrooge, despite grumbling about it, would’ve helped.. if nothing else than to lord having to save her from a 12 year old over her. Here if he wins the family is out on the street and three of their greatest enemies are now infinitely more well funded. 

So while naturally unnerved by his rival Louie offers to defend Scrooge who denies it despite the fact that Louie is REALLY good with words, and Scrooge, while not bad with them, can’t stop shouting and keeps pissing off the baliff, played by my boy Henry Winkler whose done a lot of voice work and also played Fonzie on Happy Days, is currently on the HBO series barry and in general is just a fucking delight. The irony is also not lost on me that he’s not playing a lawyer here despite being one on arrested development. 

We get our first witness: FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD. Hell. Yes. It’s nice to see him in his full glory one last time, as I don’t know how much he’ll be in the finale. Scrooge blows of the Duke Baloney thing, which is fair given that while Scrooge screwed up there, Glomgold still stole money from him right after and then spent his whole life trying to one up him. But Glomgold has a different tale in mind as he stole something else from him: the limelight. 

It was 1980-something and Glomgold was a bonified celebrity in Duckberg for his hot dogging, grandstanding and treasure hunting loved by all and took Baba Wawa, a nice mix of Barbra Walters and the parody of her on SNL by the late Gilda Radner, to a shark shaped cave to get the gem of the shark god, a ruby tooth at the end of the cave. Naturally Scrooge popped up and easily made his way through and stole the spotlight. As it turns out he wasn’t always well loved and it makes sense: he dismises Baba asking him about how disliked he is, and dosen’t care and even in the current story, or rather season 1 of it, he dismiseed PR entirely in Jaw$. He was rich enough and enough of a job provider he just didn’t see the need for fame or glory, that just came second so it’s logical no one liked him. Fortunes naturally reverse as you’d expect though: Glomgold dashes forward and ends up putting Baba and her camerabird in danger and being Glomgold he irrationally assumes she’s working for Scrooge and leaves her to die. Scrooge however, after getting the rock, goes out of his way to save her because it’s the right thing to do. He can be selfish at times, and as we’ll see monstrously so, but at his core Scrogoe is a good man who will do right when the chips are down. So this leaves Glomgold trapped and Scrogoe getting his good press instead and realizes he likes the attention. 

As the flashback ends Glomgold fills in the gaps, pointing out he was stuck with the sharks for days, but slowly bonded with them learned from them and they became family, helping him with traps, joining him for thanksgiving and even getting a heart taatoo with a shark on it. Awww. Look I didn’t really need to know where Glomgold’s love of sharks came from, nor that he had some weird tarzan origin story with them.. but my life is 100% better knowing all of this so thank you Frank and Matt. Thank you. I’m also entirely convinced the two have had this whole part of his backstory ready to go for three seasons and were waiting to use it, along with the other two bits we’re about to get to. This episode as you can tell is also a vingette episode, but one where the wraparound is way more improtant than usual.. but it works given the setting and allows the stories to be as long as they actually need to be, and it addds some nice stakes instead of just having Scrooge’s villians gripe about him. 

Scrooge protests and the Bailiff puts a clamp on his beak, so he has no choice in the matter when Louie steps up for the defense. Louie also proves that irresponsible he may be.. he’d be a damn good lawyer, as he easily picks things apart, pointing out Glomgold was ALREADY bad by then, Scrooge had no intent to steal the spotlight and Glomgold is currently planting dynamite under his chair, with predictable and hilarious results. So he gets put on the “good” side of the scale. Next witness.

Next up is Ma, and I was delighted that as I’d hoped and theroized this episode wrapped up one little plot point that while not major, was something I was curious about: Ma’s claims Scrooge stole Duckburg from her family.  This was also likely the backbone of the episode at one point as Frank pitched a beagle trial episode at one time, but Disney nixed it. Likely the magic stuff was added both to justify it better and to distract Disney Channel’s higher ups because they constantly underestimate what a child will like. It was for the best though as the beagles are just a bit weaker here: While Character Actress Margo Martindale is a delight and was specifically cast for the role, overall it just feels like they ran out of ways to make the beagles a big threat and releigated them to muscle when needed, to the point they only appeared in one episode besides this one this season as with FOWL about, they didn’t really need villians of the week and what ones they did use like Glomgold and Mark were far more entertaining villains who needed a coda to their stories.They aren’t bad characters, but in a series where their breaking into the bin or mansion wasn’t a story the crew was interested in they served no real purpose. 

So we finally get answers about the whole Deed thing: It was sometime in Ma’s childhood, good look guessing when, and the Beagles owned Duckburg having clearly overwhelmed Fort Duckburg at some point in history between Clinton’s defense of it and now, with Grandpa “Pa” Beagle finally making an apperance. In the comics he was basically what Ma is to both series: the scheming brains behind the beagles who showed up on occasion and it was a good idea to use him as the past version of her. 

Scrooge naturally comes a calling and unsurprisingly Ma was lying: Scrooge offered to buy the place first from Pa, he refused outright, and then when Scrooge showed off the money he was offering, Pa bet the deed for it in an arm wrestling contest. Not only that but as Scrooge finds out as he almost looses, Pa was cheating having a smaller beagle boy operate pull a lever in a device attached to his arm to give pa extra force. Scroooge simply dropped a few coins to distract the guy and claimed victory and the deed. 

Little Ma is left dejected though and Doofus claims he ruined his life, but Louie steps up, at this poitn Scrooge has learned to reign himself ina nd accepted Louie as his defense without saying anything, a nice subtle bit. He probably realized that while irrepsonsible.. Louie has everything to loose her and no reason to slack off and dosen’t even relaly have to lie for his uncle to get him off: he’s simply using his ablitiy to see all the angles to poke holes in their story. 

Case in point, he orders the “tape” to continue and finds Little Ma berating her dad for his failure and forcefully taking control of the family. LIke Glomgold, Scrooge may of cost her something.. but it was something she and her family hadn’t earned and they were still on a bad road. Scrooge just made it worse. 

But suprisingly, its MAGICA, who we’ve established is an uncaring monster, who has a story Scrooge genuinely feels bad about. Like the rest she was not a good person: Long ago she and her brother Poe were extorting a villiage, and lording over it as gods, changing the population into goats, toads and other things. The only diffrence from what Magica would do to the blot and presumiibly others later, is that Poe reigned in her manical tend ices, trying to get her to think things through. The goat transformation was so they’d have milk and at least get something out of it and as to not waste all their slaves. Poe is voiced by Martin Freeman of The Hobbit and Black Panther fame. Great actor, does amazing work here.  So like the others Scrooge changed things, and fought someone with bad intentions for his own self. He talked Magica into fighting him with both amulets by playing into her ego and Poe trying to talk her down, and easily deflected her bolt with the dime to turn her into a crow with her own spell. So far it’s just like the other tales in a nice mirror.. it’s what comes next that makes Scrooge into a  bad guy too. Not as bad as Magica and Poe.. but sitll not good. Poe dives selflessly in front of the coin.. and shockingly while she cared nothing for Lena.. that wasn’t the case for Poe. Magica is truly devastated, desperatly trying to put the amulet back on and begging scrooge for help while he just ignores her and fills up his sack. And while they both deserved it... Scrooge and Louie both recognize he was wrong as the flashback ends with Poe escaping and Magica sitll haven’t having found him to this day. And props to Catharine Tate here a she takes a normally hammy terrible person who was wholly unsympathetic and manages to make her painfully human.  

What makes the act so terrible is not who it happened to, they both desrved it, but Scrooge’s attitude, utterly callous to magica’s pain with not a drop of sympathy. While she deserved it as did Poe.. he’s not doing this to her as some justice for her crimes, or because she did something horrible to him or any valid reason.. he’s doing it because he’d rather get more of her and poes gold than lift one finger to help someone who had , for all his evil, selflessly sacrificed himself for his sister. For all Poe’s evil and tyranny.. there MIGHT of been a good man in them, in both of them.. and Scrooge could’ve cared less. He shut the door on Magica ever becoming a good person, ever getting her brother back to line his own wallet and to satisfy his own ego. See that’s the true mark of a hero: how they treat others, even the worst of them. And in his lowest moment Scrooge could’ve cared less about anyone but himself. 

Scrooge feels bad and Louie does finally get the responsibility thing and this is where things start to go off the rails: he apologizes to Doofus and admits he dosen’t want an enteral rivalry and h’es sorry for any pain he caused. The off the rails part is because Doofus is genuinely not a good person, ahs done very bad things and is trying to bankrupt Louie for the crime of “taking half your fortune after you used it to torment and enslave your own parents’. It just.. dosen’t play as well as they’d like. That said I DO like both Louie deciding to bury the hatchet instead of just avoiding him and Doofus showing some nobiity in accepting it. Maybe he’ll change. 

He goes off into the night, and Scrooge genuinely apologizes and accepts repsonsiblity... and here’s where the plot finishing going off the rails and into someone’s living room: the bailiff AWARDS THEM SCROOGE’S FORTUNE BECAUSE HE ADMITTED SOME CUPLABLITY AND WAS HUMBLE. 

This just.. it makes no sense, it will never not baffle me and it hurts my brain> Yes he admitted some wrong doing and apologized for it.. but it was also THROUGHLY proven the other two weren’t his fault, and he was simply being a good man which should get him some good. Thankfully the conclusion is a bit better, as Louie points out while they made him, he made you so who made who, who made you... okay i’m getting into the AC/DC of things point is these incidents all shaped Scrooge into a better person.  His mistake with Magica. is clearly learned from. He’s stopping a group of bullies in Ma’s story and saving a life without a second thought in the second. He learned to value others, to value family all because THEY showed him what happens when you don’t. By seeing the worst person he could be.. he became the best. So the trial’s thrown out his assets are returned, and their teleported out before magica can hit them with lighting. Lesson learned.. well kinda Louie tells scrooge to do it because he got the pet. 

Final Thoughts for The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck:

Great title aside.. this one is a mess. It’s not a terrible episode: the flashbacks are genuinely engaging, each one helping flesh out the villians and in Ma’s case pulling one last dangling plot thread. Glomgold’s was just entertaining , clevelry using his 80′s origns for an 80′s style news special and giving us the origin to his love of sharks that we didn’t know we needed., Ma’s tied up a loose plot threat with a fun flashback and Magica’s was genuinely heart wrenching and did the tall task of making us feel for someone that terrible. The wraparound.. was a bit weaker. Doofus was the best part, playing an excellent manipulative bastard lawyer, and being a genuine threat and his walking away peacefully was a nice touch, and Louie having to defend scrooge was great and showed him off better than ever. And Louie did get some moments to shine.. it was just wierldy bookened with him acting terribly AGAIN, in a way he should know better than in an episode where he acts fine for most of it and even then he thinks lying to a judge is a good idea! I know he’s 12 but he’s not this stupid and while as I made very clear i’ve seen this shit before, I haven’t seen it flip flop in the same episode. Louie deserves better than this. 

But it’s also in service to a responsiblility aseop that just.. dosen’t work as presented. Yes you should take responsiblity for your past, yes you should learn from your mistakes and own up to them, I have, and yes it’s all too easy to slide back> That’s all fine.. but him apologizing to Ma, whose family was terorrizing a town, and Glomgold, who he did nothing to, and having Louie apologize to Doofus, who while he tried to exploit him still enslaved his own parents and deserved to loose half his fortune AND loosing half his fortune wasn’t even the main thing Louie wanted to do as his main goal was getting BOYD a loving family.. it’s bullshit. Just pure Grade-A bullshit. Why are you booing them their right. It’s a good idea for a moral but it’s executed so overwhelmingly poorly it bogs down what was otherwise an exceptional episode, into just passable.  It’s just mind numbing and saddening to know the next to last episode wasted so much good ideas on a clumsy moral. Thankfully I have hope the finale will be better, and again at least we got some good out of this one. 

Next Time: Endgame Baby! Clan McDuck and their Amazing Friends Vs F.O.W.L. for the fate of adventure itself! One last ride! I can hardly wait!

This week on the blog: Ducks Ducks and more ducks.. and a top 12 list of my faviorite superheroines later today’s for international women’s day. But after that we have more of the Della arc, the last step in the Lena arc before Shadow War next week, and the 87 ducktales pilot treasure of the golden suns!

If you liked this review, share it around, follow for more, and you can comission your own for 5 dolalrs an issue or episode, or kick in some money on my patroen, link on my blog. Even a dollar a month helps and my next stretch goal is 5 dollars away and if we reach it i’ll review both the super ducktales mini series introducing gizmoduck AND a darkwing duck episode a month. Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure. 

[lettheladylead]

avoid the unhappy ending (ch11)

ships/characters: Goldie, Scrooge, Louie, Dewey, Donald, Webby, Huey, Beakley, Scrooge/Goldie words (ch11): ~4200 summary: Goldie comes to town to see Scrooge. Instead, she somehow manages to run into literally everyone else. ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108943/

[1 & 2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Here’s the final chapter! Thanks for reading :D

Dinner wasn’t a disaster. No, disaster would not be the right word to describe how it went. It was weird. It was...not terrible, but not good. Scrooge’s face was redder than the tomatoes on his plate when the kids were finished asking questions. Goldie had to admit some of their questions had her blushing as well, but at least she knew to just keep sipping her wine instead of trying to answer.

Kids were nosy; they asked a lot of questions. And there were just so many of them. Each one with their own questions. Well, except for Sharpie, who was content in watching the old people sweat. Little sadist.

At least the food was good. But Goldie would never tell Beakley that. Never.

After dinner, most of the family went off to the living room to watch a movie. Scrooge started to complain about the quality of modern movies and how he hadn’t seen one since the 30s, but when Pink and her two little friends specifically asked Goldie to join them, Scrooge got a bit twitchy and followed everyone to the couch. He was a paranoid old man, that much was true. How was she supposed to steal while stuck on the couch surrounded by the whole family?

She was embarrassed when the girls all sat around her on the couch - she sort of anticipated sitting with Scrooge, but was ambushed by them and suddenly there were rugrats no matter where she looked. The De Spell kid seemed to have a protective arm around Pink and the hummingbird was sitting on the couch’s armrest and taking notes. About what, Goldie had no idea.

Sharpie sat on the floor with his brothers, but he was next to her feet and she felt a weird sort of instinct to pick him up and put him on her lap. Like hell that was going to happen - she shook it off almost as quickly as the urge appeared and tried to get comfortable so they could watch whatever the hell kid-friendly baby movie they’d picked out.

(Oddly enough, they picked a movie she and Scrooge had both seen before. Since when do kids like black and white movies?)

About twenty minutes in, she managed to sneak away from the group. Said she had to use the bathroom, but really she just needed a break from being surrounded by so many people.

Scrooge had watched her carefully as she walked away - she was sure he knew she wasn’t headed towards a bathroom and probably had Duckworth following her. To make sure no one was on her tail, she stepped into a water closet and shut the door for a minute, hoping to remove any suspicion. Then she snuck back out and quietly creeped towards the entrance to the Other Bin.

Tempting, but she had other things in mind.

Back in the Klondike Room, Goldie’s spine tingled at the chilly temperature and she quietly closed the door behind her. In less than a second, she launched herself across the bed to reach underneath and grab the lock box from earlier.

A quick flick and turn of a bobby pin from her hair and it was open without a hitch. She didn’t understand why Scrooge bothered with locks when she was the only one who was going after the treasure - they didn’t even slow her down.

She slowly lifted up the lid in anticipation, eyes glowing from the gold of the familiar nugget.

Three folded up pieces of paper and the gold nugget. The nugget distracted her - she scooped it up and just felt the weight of it in her hand. A moment later and she opened up the papers - deed, another deed, and a lock of her hair. It was still tied up in the same little ribbon it’d been tied up in over a hundred years prior, and though she still thought it was kind of weird that he kept it, a warmth spread throughout her chest. Especially knowing that just earlier that day, he was staring at it and thinking of her. How long had he been sitting there? She blushed the tiniest bit just thinking about him...thinking about her.

She frowned and looked at everything laid out on the bed. These were all things she already knew about; nothing new, nothing scandalous. Nothing for Scrooge to get all secretive about. Goldie grabbed the lock box and attempted to push and prod at every corner and angle in case Scrooge had added a secret compartment, but no. It was just the same old box as she remembered.

So Goldie put everything back in and shoved the box where it was before. She considered going back to the movie for a minute, but then remembered one other thing she wanted to check out.

As she made her way towards the stairs, Scrooge was just exiting the living room, clearly looking for her. He gave her a cross look and raised an eyebrow.

“What’re you doin’, O’Gilt?”

She smiled and walked closer to him, getting right up in his face. “No need to be suspicious, Scroogey, I was just admiring your decor on my way back.”

“Oh, sure,” he said with a scoff. “And I’m sure you didnae take anythin’ while you were alone.”

Goldie chuckled and grabbed his hands, dramatically shoving them into her pockets. “Check for yourself, Rich Boy.”

His face was red and he grumbled something about her being inappropriate, but he did shuffle through her pockets and even moved his hands to her back pockets as well - earning a completely predictable retort of, “Who’s the one being inappropriate now?”

Scrooge removed his hands and held his ground - no way was he going to apologize when they both knew his suspicions were justified. “Look, Goldie, if you don’t want to watch the movie, we could go somewhere else.”

“No, it’s fine,” Goldie said with a shrug, trying to think of how to get Scrooge out of her way so she could get back on her little treasure hunt. A moment later, she came up with an idea so bright she could practically see that weird little walking lightbulb again. “Though, since you mention it, there’s one place I’d love to go.”

“Oh? Where’s that?”

“Goldieburg.”

He froze, cheeks turning bright red. “I-...you-....what?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” she said with an obnoxiously innocent act. “I was in your office earlier when the oldest man I’ve ever spoken to rang. He was so upset that his ungrateful son hadn’t called his mommy.”

Scrooge’s face could not have been redder. “You-...you talked to my...parents?”

“For a minute.” She felt a malicious smile grace her face at Scrooge’s embarrassment. Good thing her parents were long gone. “They were very excited to hear from their little boy’s wee burd.”

If at all possible, Scrooge blushed harder, and he finally shook it off and shoved Goldie to the side to head up the stairs. “As soon as I’m done with this, I’m gettin’ rid of that phone!”

He didn’t even pay attention to Goldie as he ascended the stairs, heading in the opposite direction of where she needed to go. She smirked and waited another minute before continuing her path from earlier.

She flew up the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible, not wanting Scrooge to hear her and not knowing if Duckworth was still around to stop her. She had to admit, it was likely that whatever the ghost didn’t want her to see earlier in the day had absolutely nothing to do with Scrooge’s little anniversary gift, but she needed to check for herself. How could she have gotten as far as she had in life if she just trusted everything Scrooge McDuck said?

His bedroom door was slightly ajar, and she suspiciously looked around the room as she entered. No one was there, but Duckworth could appear at any time, so she needed to stay alert.

She kept her back to the wall and slid over towards the desk. There were a lot of drawers to unlock and she had no way of knowing which one contained whatever was being hidden from her. Or maybe it was multiple.

Either way, she sat down in his big chair, grabbed the same bobby pin from earlier, and went to work.

The first drawer she opened - top-left, of course - was just miscellaneous odds and ends. Stapler, pens, paperclips. Office supplies. Goldie dug around just in case, but it seemed to be a perfectly boring drawer. The fact that Scrooge had it locked was baffling to her - was he worried the kids would do an art project?

She shook her head and moved down to bottom-left. The lock was a little bit different, which probably meant each drawer had its own key. What kind of madman was he? At her own office she only had one locked drawer and she barely used it. Any smart swindler knew the safest place to keep something was on your person.

Scrooge knew that about his half of the Golden Lagoon map, but she supposed he didn't have enough pockets for all of his nonsense.

That drawer was filled with papers. A hodgepodge of papers - different sizes, colors, and importance. She was shocked at the lack of organization when she saw what was clearly one of Donald's drawings he did as a child next to the purchasing paperwork for some apartment complex in downtown Duckburg. Did he even know where this was?

She dug through again, but already knew she'd be coming up with squat.

Bottom-right, then.

It wasn't like she expected to find an ancient box of chocolates in the desk - or even a new box of chocolates, for that matter. She just felt like chocolate wasn't enough. Scrooge was acting too nervous and too ridiculous, she knew there had to be something else for her.

Inside the bottom-right drawer were some three-ring binders. She grabbed one and looked at the cover only to see it said FAMILY PHOTOS (2000-2020). She sighed and grabbed another one. Similar title, different set of dates.

Curious, Goldie flipped one open and skimmed through the pages. Donald and Della looked so different back when they were kids, but...somehow they looked exactly the same. She flipped through a couple more pages and was about to put the book down when she saw a familiar flash of blonde.

Her eyes darted to that photo and the photos around it. She did not expect to have an appearance in Scrooge's little family albums.

One of the photos with her in it was particularly nice, she had to admit. She and Scrooge were sitting next to each other on a large swing under an even larger tree. She didn't remember that day very well, but she remembered leaving after a few hours when she realized she was having a too nice of a time.

Goldie snatched that photo out of the album and stuffed it in her pocket before putting the binders back. She doubted some old photos were what Scrooge was hiding from her, but if she didn't find anything else, then she'd come back to it and skim through some more.

Top-right time. Assuming there weren't any secret drawers or false bottoms, she only had this and the middle drawer left. But the middle drawer was too small and thin to contain anything of note.

She felt her heart racing as she finished unlocking top-right, fully prepared to finally find whatever it was Scrooge didn't want her to see. She tugged it open and…

Keys?

Goldie frowned and stuck her hand in, shuffling around and checking for signs of hidden compartments. But her hand hit what was clearly the real bottom, and this drawer seemed to just be filled with keys. So, so many keys.

She frowned deeper as she realized the reason Duckworth chased her away was probably just because of this. Perhaps there was no special treasure Scrooge was hiding from her and this was just about preventing even more theft than she'd already stolen.

Goldie sighed and looked at the last drawer. She had a feeling it would just be push pins and packs of sticky notes for Old Mr. McBusiness, but she pried it open anyway.

For the most part, she was right. Office supplies again, and to her surprise there was even a backup pair of spectacles. She never considered Scrooge as someone to own backups of anything.

Next to the office supplies, there was a simple white envelope. With the label down, Goldie almost ignored it. But there was clearly an age to the paper - it was yellowish and looked fairly damaged from water and other elements.

Hesitantly, Goldie grabbed the envelope and flipped it around.

Her name was printed right on the front, in Scrooge's familiar handwriting. She felt her heart stop and she reached out her free hand to touch the ink, which dissolved under her touch, really showing its age.

She could feel how sensitive the paper of the envelope was and knew this would have to be a careful operation. Whether or not she wanted Scrooge to know she'd seen this had yet to be decided.

Slowly, Goldie opened up the envelope and tugged out the letter that was inside. She was embarrassed to admit to herself that she felt nervous. She had absolutely no idea what could be in this letter. It really all depended on when he wrote it.

Obviously it was after their first encounter, and based on the age, she figured it was probably before they went to Uluru. But that didn't give her much of a clue - they went on a lot of adventures together during those decades.

With a deep breath, Goldie opened the letter and started to read.

In less than two sentences, her eyes were sparkling and a bit watery, though she quickly wiped that away. This was definitely what he'd been keeping from her. What Duckworth didn't want her to see. What Scrooge definitely, absolutely, positively did not want her to read.

She cursed their younger selves for just a moment and considered how things could've been different had she seen this letter back then.

A moment later and Goldie was startled by a noise behind her. She turned her head in anticipation of an angry ghost, but instead there was Scrooge, standing in front of the door and smiling sadly at her.

She blushed. "I guess you caught me, huh?"

Scrooge hobbled over and breathed out a short laugh. “I’m just happy you’re still here. When the kids said you never came back, I figured you left.”

“Well...that’s understandable,” she said, turning back around and shoving the letter back in its envelope. She wasn’t sure if he saw her holding it and she wasn’t sure what to say to him about it.

“Duckworth mentioned you’d been trying to get into my desk earlier,” Scrooge said with a nonchalant shrug. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Goldie didn’t turn to him just yet, staring down at the envelope in her hands. She wanted to bring it up, but she didn’t know where that conversation would lead other than...places she wasn’t sure she wanted to go. It was from so long ago.

“Goldie?”

With a deep breath, she spun the chair and made sure Scrooge could clearly see what was in her hands.

He didn’t even flinch, though there was a light color on his cheeks that paired well with his smile. “Did you read it?”

Goldie played with the envelope, still staring down at it. “I did.”

“Ah.” Scrooge tapped against his cane. He took a few steps closer to her, but didn’t cross the room quite yet.

“Was this supposed to come with the chocolates?”

Scrooge chuckled and took off his hat, holding it to his chest and rubbing his thumb on the rim. “It was.”

Goldie stood up and closed the distance between them, stopping just in front of the top of his hat. “You said you lost them in an ice storm.”

“I did,” Scrooge said quickly. “But I got them back a few decades ago.”

“And you didn’t show me.”

“What would that have accomplished? I knew it was too late the next time I saw you.” Scrooge huffed and stared down at the envelope in her hands. “You were well out of Dawson already.”

“That’s true. I haven’t really settled in one place since then.” Goldie sighed again and tossed the envelope onto his bed. “But...I don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

“Maybe...maybe I would’ve said yes,” she finished her thought and finally looked up to lock eyes with him again, a deep blush on her cheeks.

Scrooge’s eyes sparkled and he sighed dreamily before freezing completely and then looking down at his hat. He glanced up at her and then down at the hat again.

“What’s wrong?”

He cleared his throat and avoided her gaze once again. “The chocolates may not have been the only thing I bought for you that day.”

She blinked a few times in shock at his confession. “Okay…”

“There was, um. One other thing.”

Her mind was reeling over the possibilities, though based on the content of the letter and his embarrassment throughout the day...one particular thought shone brightest. But the Scrooge of today wasn’t the same as the King of the Klondike. He wasn’t just frugal back then, he wouldn’t buy anything unless it was an absolute necessity. He wouldn’t buy...well. She hadn’t even thought he would buy chocolates for a pretty girl. Maybe he was full of surprises.

Scrooge tossed his cane to the side and stuck his hand into his top hat and shuffled around for a moment before stopping and then slowly pulling his arm back out. He tossed the hat towards his fallen cane and loudly exhaled before reaching down and grabbing Goldie’s left hand.

“What are you…-”

“Goldie, we’ve known each other a long time,” Scrooge started, hoping to whatever-was-out-there that she wouldn’t interrupt him. “And like you’ve said many times before, we’ve made countless mistakes.”

He took another deep breath. “When we were young again and you said you wanted to try startin’ over, changin’ things, fixin’ what we did wrong...there was one particular moment that came to mind. When I lost my sled with the letter and the chocolates, I still could’ve gone to Dawson. I could’ve just come with the shirt on my back and said my piece.

“But I felt like I couldn’t. That'd been one of the luckiest years of my life until I tried to get back to you and I thought that meant you were just bad luck. Losin’ that sled was a sign that I had to get back to work instead of going back to you.”

Goldie stayed silent - though she had a million comments to make, she could see from the look on his face that this wasn’t the time to make them.

“What I wanted to do back then, er…” Scrooge hesitated and looked down at his hand holding hers. “What I wanted to ask back then…”

He looked up and they locked eyes, both red in the face and sparkling. Scrooge opened his free hand to reveal a small, simple ring in his palm.

Goldie stared at the ring like it was something foreign. She knew what it meant, she knew exactly what he was saying and what he almost said to her so long ago. She picked it up and inspected it carefully, noting the simplicity and lack of any gems - there were no diamonds or rubies or pearls. It was engraved with a gorgeous Celtic carving, but was otherwise just a gold band.

She looked back at him, who was staring expectantly and starting to look nervous. She smiled sadly and curled her fingers around the ring, pressing it into her palm.

“Scrooge...you know I...I don’t -” Goldie felt herself hesitate. She wanted to just say yes and throw her arms around him, but it just didn’t feel right. Not with her. She wasn't ready...maybe she wouldn't ever be ready. The ring felt like it was burning through her skin - it wasn't painful, but there was an ache in her chest while she looked down at it. “You know this kind of thing just isn't me."

“I know, Dear,” Scrooge said softly, the expression on his face unchanging. “I’m not askin’ you to marry me, but...that ring was only ever meant for you. I want you to have it.”

She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes and quickly wiped them away, not wanting him to see. “I can’t believe you actually bought this.”

“It’s made from some of the gold you dug up while workin’ my claim.”

Goldie stared up at him in surprise, then back down at the ring, which suddenly felt lighter. Had she ever wanted to kiss him as much as she did in that moment? Her head started to feel funny - like she was laying on a cloud. She locked eyes with him again.

“I love you.”

Scrooge was breathless for only a moment, then simply smiled back at her - reveling in the moment and hoping it’d never end.

Goldie slid the ring onto her finger before she could stop herself. The burning sensation had stopped, and the dull ache from earlier was replaced by her heart pounding wildly as she stared at her hand. “It’s absolutely gorgeous. I never knew you had such good taste."

Scrooge grabbed her hand again and stared at the ring on her finger, rubbing his thumb on it and chuckling after a few seconds.

“What’s so funny?” Goldie asked, leaning her face closer to his.

“It took me a century to get a ring on your finger, Goldie Girl,” he answered softly, leaning in. “I never realized it’d feel this good.”

She pressed her beak against his and moved her free hand to the back of his head. “I can think of something that would feel even better…”

Scrooge kissed her back for a moment, but pulled away and laughed awkwardly, squeezing her hand lightly. “I know I’m gonna regret this, but...would you come back down with me? Finish the movie...spend a little more time with my family before bed?”

Goldie hummed and rolled her eyes. “You’ve asked so much of me today and I’ve been surprisingly accommodating.”

“You have.”

“And yet still you ask for more.”

He just smiled at her again - a familiar look of admiration that both frustrated her and made her cheeks light up.

Her hand moved around his head and she slid her pointer finger under his beak, stopping at the tip. “...alright.”

His eyes widened. “Really?”

“Really.” She pecked his beak one more time. “But I’m sitting on your lap for the rest of the movie. I wanna see how much PDA Beakley can take before she snaps.”

Scrooge smiled and his eyes sparkled again, squeezing her hand tighter and desperately enjoying the feeling of metal between their fingers. “You’re a devil of a woman.”

Goldie rushed out of the bedroom - Scrooge being dragged along by their connected hands, and she tried to deny the feeling of joy when she spotted some of the kids waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.

“I told you she was still here,” Sharpie said, taking a sip of his Pep and walking back to the living room.

Dewey let out a WHOOP! and pumped his fist in the air before following his brother while Donald, Huey, and Webby stood there and waited for the two lovebirds to reach the ground floor.

“Are you good…?” Donald asked Scrooge, clearly nervous as to what the answer might be. Yes or no could be equally disastrous.

Scrooge gave him a good slap on the shoulder. “Never better, Nephew! Let’s head back before the film ends!”

He, Goldie, and Donald made their way back towards the living room, but Webby and Huey trailed from behind and stared. Specifically, Webby stared directly at the old couple's locked hands, which felt...different. She couldn’t contain the feeling that something was being purposefully hidden from them.

She looked at Huey, who followed her line of sight with a raised eyebrow. He leaned to the side and angled his view to get a better look. Webby followed suit.

Only a second later did they both catch a glimpse of gold and they simultaneously gasped, covering their respective beaks to avoid screaming.

The three adults turned to them in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” Scrooge asked.

The kid’s eyes darted between Scrooge and his hand and then to each other, where they came to a silent conclusion.

“N-Nothing! It’s nothing!” Webby finally squeaked out, Huey nodding excessively next to her.

Though a little confused, the adults seemed satisfied with that and continued walking to the living room. Webby and Huey locked eyes again and once the others were out of the foyer, Webby started tapping her feet and Huey flapped his arms in excitement.

“What does this mean?!” Webby whispered as loudly as possible.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Huey squeezed his fists and held them close to his chest. “I’ve always wanted to plan a wedding!”

They clasped their hands together and danced around for a few seconds before Beakley popped her head into the foyer and stared at them.

“Are you two coming? It’s ending soon.”

Webby spun around and did some cartwheels towards her grandmother while Huey walked normally behind her. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

Huey sighed dreamily, leaning his cheek against his locked hands. “I’m just glad there’s a happy ending!”

Beakley stared curiously at the two children and shrugged. She didn't realize they'd seen the movie before.

[janetbrown711]

❝ the world is less scary when i am with you. ❞ Louie

Louie was practically pacing up and down the hallway inside the building that was next to the wedding venue. Louie and Webby had decided to do an outdoor wedding nearby (but not on) a beach, and the sky was just the perfect amount of cloudy that you didn’t have to squint to see anything, which would most definitely helpful so the guests could see Webby in her white dress. There was a light breeze that sent the smell of the sea into the air and everything felt utterly perfect. Hell, even Glomgold and Goldie had been civil during everything, even mingling with others (though there was a noticeable distance between Goldie and Scrooge, despite the fact that they constantly made eye contact before quickly breaking it up). 

However, none of that seemed to matter as Louie was still feeling like something was going to go terribly wrong. He pulled on his tie like it was his favorite hoodie’s strings, despite his eldest brother’s heeding to do otherwise. Huey and Dewey were trying to talk him down, but Louie wasn’t really saying anything, his mind holding his tongue hostage. 

His mind had been stirring since the previous night. The moment Webby left to go to bed in their suite and left him to go bunk with his brothers for the night, he thought about how he had actually invited someone who once tied her up and left her in a closet when they were 10 behind her back and she still wanted to marry him. He then began to spiral out of control, though he forced himself to take a sedative and fell asleep before too late. 

However, those thoughts returned as he awoke, and thus, the duck brothers found themselves in the situation that they are now in. 

“Louie, you need to stop pacing and take some breaths, everything’s gonna be fine,” Huey sighed and got up from sitting on the stairs. “Just relax.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re wearing a perfectly fine tie. My tie is disgusting,” Louie scowled, holding up his tie. 

“It was perfect five minutes ago, what’s wrong with it now?” Dewey raised an eyebrow. 

“Well- it’s just- I don’t know- it’s-” Louie sighed. “I don’t know. It just... sucks.”

“That’s not a very helpful statement,” Dewey said, and Huey shot him a look. 

 “It isn’t good enough, okay?! The pattern is weird and boring and lazy and she deserves a better tie!!!” Louie shouted before realizing what he had said and going silent; all of the brothers did. 

“This isn’t about a tie, is it?” Huey asked quietly. 

Louie sighed. 

“We’ve been together for so long and I still don’t feel... worthy...” Louie turned away from his brothers. Huey and Dewey shared a look, both struggling to find just the right words. 

“Louie-” 

“Look, whatever you’re about to say, I know. Trust me, I’ve tried telling myself everything and nothing has changed my mind,” Louie cut Huey off before he could even try. That made the brothers feel even worse and both of them pondered if they should get someone more experienced (Donald) involved. Eventually, Dewey stood and put a hand on Huey’s shoulder, telling him he’d give it a shot and Huey backed down and sat on the stairs again. 

“Maybe you aren’t worthy,” Dewey simply said. Huey looked at Dewey like he was crazy, but Dewey shot him a look that translated to ‘let me do this- I swear I’m going somewhere- I just started. Damn’. Louie exhaled as he slumped his shoulders and looked down at his green tie. 

“But that doesn’t change the fact that Webby loves you, man. She chose you for a reason, bro. You may not feel worthy, or may not even be worthy, but she loves you and nothing is going to change that,” Dewey said. Louie paused a second to digest what he had said. 

“B-but...” Louie tried.

“There’s no way around it Louie. She loves you, and she loves you a lot. Plus, if you break her heart, I know there’s at least one very powerful witch who would kick your ass,” Dewey joked to lighten his spirits, which worked a little as Louie managed a chuckle. 

“Yeah... you might have a point,” Louie rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I do have a point,” Dewey punched his arm. That made Louie laughed. 

“Alright, alright, you have a point,” He admitted. “I love Webby, and she loves me, whether I’m worthy or not, and the last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt her.” The brothers nodded. 

“You feeling ready to get married now?” Huey asked, standing once again. Louie nodded. 

“Good, because it’s time.”

.o0o. 

The first people to go down the aisle were the groomsmen, best men, and the bridesmaids, who paired down as they went down the aisle (Violet with Huey, Lena with Dewey, and Amber with Boyd. Then came Louie, then Scrooge, who was officiating, then shadow demon formed Duckworth was the flower girl, and lil’ bulb was the ring bearer. Finally, everyone stood and watched as Beakley who was handing off Webby. 

When Louie saw Webby, all of his previous worries vanished into thin air. She looked absolutely heavenly. There simply weren’t any words outside of that to describe her. 

When she finally stood across from him at the aisle, he was smiling like a dork and managed a simple “Hi” to which Webby blushed and said the same. 

Scrooge then began to do the usual speech with “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today blah blah blah,” but Louie and Webby were too distracted by each other to pay too much attention, even when Scrooge included a little joke about Louie’s laziness and Webby’s rambunctious attitude. However, they were forced to pay attention when it was time to say their vows. 

Louie went first. He took in a deep breath, unfolding a piece of paper that had been poorly folded in his pocket and rewritten several times, and began. 

“Webby, Webby, Webby... where to begin? I could start with how the first day we met I tried to teach you how to lie and failed, or how you tried to instruct me on how to properly die in the pyramid of Toth-Ra, or any of our other countless tales, but you and I already remember those and while I can weave quite the tale, I’d rather not waste anyone’s time.” That line got a small chuckle from the guests. 

“Webby, you are everything I’m not and then some; you’re inquisitive, excitable, a knowledge seeker, a hard worker, you’re far more determined than I’ll ever be, and you are very, very selfless and kind. Simply put: the world is a lot less scary when I'm with you. I love your humor, your optimism, how you don’t care what others think of you not even for a second, and in many ways, I aspire to be you. Nobody is perfect, not by a longshot, but I think I can safely say without a doubt that I am marrying the most perfect woman for me.”

 “I promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my days, and to be a better person, which I know is possible because simply being around you makes me want to be that. I love you, Webby, and I’ll do anything for you.” 

With that, Louie was pretty sure he could hear Donald already trying to stifle tears of his own, and failing quite a bit. Webby looked as though she might cry, but she held it back (probably because her makeup was hella expensive). 

Webby took in a deep breath, and it was her turn. 

“Louie, I am the luckiest girl in the whole world today, and I know it’s terribly cliche, but it’s true. I’m lucky to have met you, I’m lucky to have dated you, and I’m lucky to be marrying you,” Webby sniffled, proving Louie’s theory. 

“I feel incredibly grateful to have met you. You’ve taught me so many things over the years. Were most of them related to lying and scheming? Yes, absolutely, but each and every one of those lessons helped me become who I am today. You’ve lifted me up more than I could ever know and you helped me learn what it was like to just be a kid who did kid things.”

“Louie, you are far greater than you will ever know. You are kind, you are emotional, you are empathetic, you’re hilarious, and I simply cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise to love you and to care for you for the rest of our lives. I love you, Louie, to the moon and back. I really, really do,” She looked up from her paper and saw Louie was crying almost more than Donald. his heart swelled with emotion and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but they had to go through with the rest of the ceremony before that. 

Finally, they exchanged rings, and said their “I do’s” and Louie was finally allowed to kiss the bride (though it was Webby who grabbed him and dipped him into one of those cheesy kisses you see in movies). Everyone cheered and threw confetti as Louie and Webby held each other’s hands and ran down the aisle, smiles as wide as the day is long. 

Finally, when they went inside the building again the couple kissed again. 

“That was really sappy Webs,” Louie said with a smile after he wiped his face.

“Sue me, I love you,” Webby shrugged and kissed him again. 

“We have to sign-”

“Shut up, it’s our wedding. What’re they gonna do? The reception is scheduled for later,” Webby smirked. 

“I love you so much Webs,” Louie said, kissing her again. 

“I know. And I love you too, Lou.”

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

[localscissors]

Triplet De Spell Oneshot (Part One)

Part Two 

@cinnabunni5123 ‘s writing motivated me enough to clean up my old writing and get it posted. I’ll get the rest of this out tomorrow, but if you want more of this AU writing then I seriously suggest visiting @cinnabunni5123 ‘s Ao3 page (where she’s writing a brilliant multi-chapter fic of my AU) or @pilyarquitect , who has written several amazing one-shots. Both are more reliable than I’ll ever be (plus they’ve got some awesome fics in general. Other than that, this is just one of my earlier ideas in which the triplets kinda bond with everybody in an episodic-type way. Really suggest checking out their writing though, I love everything about it.

The best thing about stealing the identity of a missing child? Is that you get to steal their life too. And the real Dewey Duck,( wherever he might be), had the best, most loving family ever. Dewey de Spell loved his fake life.

And Della was the coolest adult Dewey had ever met. She gave him hugs and kisses and had as much enthusiasm for trouble as he did. The real Dewey was so lucky to be born into this family. Who knew such cool moms existed?

So when Della invited him and his brothers to go on an adventure with her, Dewey immediately agreed. Every second he spent with Della were the best seconds of his life. He wanted more of them. He wanted all of them. He wanted to hoard as many as he could before Magica blew everything away.

So, given the choice between searching for the dime with Huey, or going on an epic adventure with his fake mom, he chose fake mom.

“But Dewey, we need you to search for the dime!” Huey shouted.

“Can’t. Gotta go with Della on an epic airplane adventure. Sorry you guys weren’t invited! I’m already late gotta go byyeee!” Dewey ran out the bedroom door before Huey could say any more, leaving his two brothers alone. He could still hear Huey screaming his name, but he was already out the hall and down the stairs. They had loads of time to find the dime. He could help any other day, but going on adventures with Della? That was limited.

Besides, getting the McDuck family’s trust was part of the plan anyway, and his siblings were doing a horrible job of that. Dewey was happy to pick up their slack in that regard.

When he made it outside to the Sunchaser, he saw Della dutifully polishing her plane with a rag, and Scrooge impatiently checking his watch. A sudden bubble of excitement rose in his chest, driving him to run forward and wave to both of them. Della waved happily back, but her smile immediately fell when she only saw him. His steps faltered. Did he do something wrong?

“Are Huey and Louie coming?” She asked.

From what he knew about mothers, they were supposed to love all their children equally. From what he saw on TV, they got worried when one of them went missing. Knowing all of this, and knowing he was being very unfair to his brothers, Dewey felt an overwhelming ball of possessiveness roll up his throat. Why did she ask? Does she prefer them to him? Did she not want him there? If she found out he said they weren’t invited, would she shut him out?

All of these feelings were pushed down with a simple shrug and lie. “They didn’t want to come.”

“They didn’t want to..?” Something troubled passed over her features, and all at once, the feelings rolled back up at full force. She’ll shut him out, send him away. Say the adventure wasn’t worth it if it was just Dewey on the plane. Huey was so much smarter anyway, and Louie was more likeable. They weren’t loud or annoying or destructive or—

“More seats for us then, am I right?” Della laughed and threw an easy arm over his shoulder. “Double the leg room. We’ll have fun, just the two of us.”

‘Just the two of us’ became Dewey’s most favorite string of words, ever.

They boarded together, Scrooge following closely behind. Dewey could feel him staring, but ignored it. Della was smiling at him and he wasn’t going to let Scrooge ruin this moment for him.

“So which ones are the torpedo launchers?” The young duckling asked, ogling at the array of buttons and levers.

“Yer thinkin of submarines, boy,” Scrooge grumbled.

Della laughed and sat in the pilot’s seat, gesturing for Dewey to sit down beside her. “Yeah, no torpedos. Here, I’ll show what these buttons do.”

Scrooge left for the back of the plane. Dewey could feel the old man’s irritation just below his forced calm facade, and that’s why he forced himself to stay completely still until he heard Scrooge take his seat. Angry adults were unpredictable at their best, and he didn’t want to do anything to set him off. Once Dewey was sure that Mr. McDuck was at a safe distance, he relaxed and let Della show him how to steer.

Dewey peered out the window as they lifted off, amazed at how quickly they rose. Aunt Magica sometimes told them about her flying broom, old and broken and sitting unused in the corner of the closet. He wondered if she felt this happy when she flew.

____________________________________________________________________

Huey, meanwhile, was fuming. “I can’t believe he would just walk out like that! Doesn’t he care at all—!”

Louie shrugged. “Eh, who needs him anyway. Let Dewey waste time with our fake mom if he wants. We know where the real treasure is.”

Huey sighed, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. We know our priorities.” After a moment, he tilted his head. “...do you really think Della didn’t invite us? Actually, never mind. Doesn’t matter.”

The thought of not being invited did sting, but honestly, it sounded like the exact type of lie Dewey would spin.

“Where are we searching today?” Louie asked.

Huey pulled out two pieces of paper from his coat pocket and unfolded them. One was a map of the mansion grounds, and the other was a neatly organized checklist. Huey visibly brightened at the sight of his own handiwork, proud of the neat lines and careful planning.

“According to our checklist—”

“Which you wrote,” said Louie.

“—Our next stop in the Money Bin. That’s where Scrooge keeps all his treasures.

Louie grinned and rubbed his hands together greedily. “I wonder how much he’s got stocked in there? I’ve heard, he only piles up his gold to swim in it!”

“That’s so gross.”

“Maybe to you, but to me?” Louie put a fist over his heart. “this is the kind of wealth I aspire to.”

Huey snorted and shook his head. “Well, he’s got all his money in there. So logically, he’d put the dime in there too.”

Louie silently disagreed. If he had an important all-powerful dime, he’d store it someplace special! Not with all the common treasure. But Louie rarely spoke his opinions out loud. Coming up with plans (especially plans for Magica) was a risk, and Huey willingly took that risk every time. It was so much easier to follow than lead.

Also, he really, really wanted to see the Bin. No way he was ruining this chance by expressing his doubts now, of all times.

“Let’s get going then,” Louie said, pushing his brother out the door. “We’ve got treasure to see and dimes to steal. Let’s go, go, go!”

“Okay, okay. Wait, one minute. Just… there’s a problem. We don’t know how to get in, and it’s probably locked.”

“So? That’s why we’ve got magic, Huey. I’m a magical lock-smith.”

Huey shook his head. “That’s not enough. Haven’t you seen how many protection wards there are in this mansion alone ? I can’t even imagine how many guard spells he’s got at the money bin. I was hoping Dewey could maybe break through them, but he ran off—”

“What are you guys whispering about?”

“AGH!” Louie jumped backward, clutching his heart in fright at the third unexpected voice that appeared above them. Looking up, they saw Webby hanging out of a ventilation shaft in the ceiling, grinning sheepishly.

“Wha—WEBBY! Were you spying on us!?” Louie cried.

“Not on purpose. I was just coming over to see what you guys were doing.” She hopped down and landed easily next to them.

Louie’s heart was still racing, and knowing that Webby could’ve been listening to them at any time scared him. He was unable to keep the irritation from his voice when he snapped,“That’s creepy. Just knock on the door like a normal person.”

Webby winced, sheepishly pulling on her sweater. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see what you were doing.”

Huey was also startled, and made a personal note to be more aware of the vents next time they planned. He was annoyed, but didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “It’s fine, just please don’t do that again.”

Webby nodded seriously, and then tilted her head. “What were you guys talking about anyway? I couldn’t hear anything from up there.”

“Nothing,” Louie answered.

“Secrets,” Huey blurted.

Webby squealed and rocked on her heals excitedly. “Secrets are my favorite! I’m so good at keeping them. Let me tell you one of mine! I’ve hidden several spears all over the mansion, so that I’m always ready for attack.”

Louie smacked a hand on his forehead. Huey was the worst at lying. Why couldn’t he keep his beak shut?”

Webby continued. “I told you one of my secrets. Now what’s yours?”

While Huey panicked at the question, fumbling for words, Louie, saw an opportunity. He put a hand on Huey’s shoulder and squeezed, silently assuring him that he could handle this.

“We’ve got a lot of secrets,” Louie grinned. “But you wanna know our biggest one?”

Louie could feel Huey tense behind him while Webby nodded eagerly. Louie paused for dramatic effect, eating a good few seconds before revealing, “We’re McDuck nerds. We love all things Scrooge McDuck.”

Webby gasped. “You too!? I thought I was the only one!”

“Well, you’re not. We’ve been researching the McDuck family four entire lives.” Which was technically true. Magica has repeatedly cursed every aunt, uncle, and cousin of the McDuck family for as they could remember.

“That’s amazing! What do you wanna talk about first? The time he saved an entire city from King Akhum’s curse? Or how about that time he outsmarted a village of evil seers, who foretold false prophecies of death? Or maybe we should go all the way back to his birth; Glasgow, 1867. The night was cold, and the air was—”

“We already know all that,” Louie interrupted, waving away her words. Then he faked a sad expression. “That’s the problem. We already learned everything there is to know, but we still haven’t seen the real thing. His artifacts, his treasures, his adventures...”

“Oh. That’s because he keeps it all in his Money Bin,” Webby said.

Louie brightened. “Really? You’ve seen it?”

Webby laughed. “Of course I have. Uncle Scrooge takes me there all the time.”

“Do you think you can get us in?” Huey asked hopefully.

Webby immediately stepped back, rubbing her arm anxiously. “Um, I don’t know. I’m actually not allowed in there by myself…”

“You won’t be by yourself, you’ll have us,” Louie encouraged. “C’mon, we’re all experts. You can be our guide. Uncle Scrooge and Della are out, so they can’t escort us anyway”

Webby shook her head, still unsure. “I can ask my Granny… she can take us.”

“Please?” Louie begged. “This has been our dream our entire lives.”

Webby looked away, and he realized he needed a different angle. He crossed his arms, and changed his tone from pleading to accusing.

“This is the type of stuff friends do for each other. I thought you were our friend.”

Webby jerked back, as if burned by his words. He felt bad, but it had the exact effect he wanted.

“N-no no! I am! I am your friend! I Just don’t want to—”

Louie rolled right over her protests. “This is the type of stuff friends do for each other. It’s not even a big deal, you’ve been there a hundred times.”

Webby looked so torn and hurt that Louie almost apologized right then and there, but he hardened himself. He was good at exactly one thing and he wasn’t gonna backtrack just because of a little guilt. He looked toward Huey, silently hoping he could top this off with a little bit of his natural good cop routine.

Thankfully, he stepped in.

“You’re our best friend, Webby,” Huey said sincerely. “It would mean the world to us if you could show us around.”

Louie held his breath as Webby thought on their words, still torn between house rules and peer pressure.

This is… this is what friends do for each other, right?” Webby asked.

“Oh yes, definitely,” Louie assured. Huey also nodded. This is what friends did on TV, after all. They always snuck around behind the adults’ backs.

Webby sighed decisively,her expression determined. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

[ducklooney]

Problems in the Mallard family

Here, I got to the important part. From now on, my fanfiction will relate to a crossover between two series or between two super heroes or between two ducks living in the same world who have similar traits and personalities, similar problems, and both are parents. Yes, this story refers to it as well as the later story of the hero's fight against the villains. I know I'm not the only one who writes like this, there are others who wrote it, but no one but me (and I mean another person) has ever written fanfiction related to the Donald Duck comic book, Ducktales (above all I mean the 1987 version), Darkwing Duck and on the Quack Pack (as far as I can see no one has ever written a crossover between Darkwing Duck and the Quack Pack), so maybe I'm the first to write about this and maybe not. What I'm going to write now is from my point of view and the way I see it. If there is anything I did wrong, feel free to correct me. Before I go any further, let me just inform you about some things, so that you can understand later my story, that is, the continuation of my fanfiction story. First, I'll use Darkving Duck or Drake Mallard from the original series (1991 version), so this Drake has nothing to do with Jim Starling or Drake Mallard from the Ducktales reboot. Secondly, as far as Launchpad is concerned, there is no need for me to explain, since one knows what kind of person he is, just to emphasize that he is not too stupid, that is, he is not too idiot as some think. Third, Gosalyn and Honker will be in their teens (between 13 and 15 years old) as Webby and Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck in my previous chapters of my fanfiction story, and that I use the Webby version from the original Ducktales series, not the Ducktales reboot, similar to the Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck I use their Quack Pack version and have nothing to do with the Ducktales reboot version. Let’s understand, I have nothing against their Ducktales reboot version except for some things, but in my fanfiction story I’ll use their Quack Pack version so you understand later what I’ll write about them. So Gosalyn, Honker, Huey, Dewey and Louie are the same age, and Webby is one year or two younger, you know. I always wondered what Gosalyn and Honker would look like as teenagers, I know there is some fanart about it, and I'll probably describe them based on my vision in my fanfiction story. Fourth, they will meet again (this is their second encounter, their first encounter as children, their second encounter as teens, I think of Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby, Gosalyn and Honker) because they have met before (based on the comic book "Dangerous Currency" when they met Scrooge McDuck and Darkwing Duck and saw their first encounter). Yes, I do not forget, Gosalyn will have similar personalities as in the original, except that she will have some traits (and personalities), typical of teens and that her trait (personalities) will be similar to those of Huey, Dewey and Louie. Fifth, Morgana Macawber in my fanfiction story will be different, in terms of her appearance, namely that she wears wavy hair, not a comb of hair (if that's on what I think it is). The rest will be the same as the old one, but Honker's brother Tank will be an older boy, older than Honker and a little more awkward, and let me just say that I'm not a fan of Honker's brother Tank because he's a really uncultured and uninteresting character, at least to me. I told Donald and Daisy in my fanfiction story earlier. And this is it for now, if there are any questions regarding this, feel free to ask me, I'm free to give you answers. And here I am to continue my story where I left off.

Chapter Four

It was four in the afternoon, at St. Canard was still hot during the month of July and was quiet in one part of the city, since there were no skyscrapers or heavy traffic in that part of the city, and there were all kinds of houses. At one of those houses, a duck entered his house tired of the hard work he had been doing for most of the day, since the morning. as soon as he entered his house he said: "I am the terror that flaps in the night...ah, I forgot the other day, and I'm not even dressed as a super hero. Oops, I have to close the door so someone won't hear me whispering," said the tired Drake Mallard, realizing that he still hadn't yet to say his famous phrase by which he is known as Darkwing Duck (his secret superhero alter ego). As soon as he closed the door, he made his way to his room, seeing his friend, and partly his partner, Launchpad McQuack, watching TV showing sales of some goods, known as the TV Shop. "Hi Drake, you're probably tired now after the hard work you've had. Here, I'm looking at selling comfortable pillows where you can have a good night's sleep. You want me to order it?" Said Launchpad Mcquack to Drake. Launchapd himself was in a Hawaiian T-shirt, a little different from Donald's shirt and in short pants, while Drake was in one business man's suit except that he was not wearing pants. "Yes, Launchpad. Free."-replied Drake, changing his mind for a moment and becoming a little dissatisfied, "Wait, just a second. Is that a pillow that shakes a little like it relaxes me? Is that an advertisement ?!" "Yes, that's the one," Launchpad replied. "Well, I certainly won't.After all, I don't believe in these silly commercials and TV shops at all. Last time I bought a pillow that makes me dream, I almost choke. Not to mention the vacuum cleaner that destroyed my forehead. Please Launchpad, change the channel quickly so I don't throw this purse in my hand right on the TV."-Drake replied dissatisfied. "Fine, I will. But you really won't buy a pillow, maybe it's just the right pillow to help you sleep." "Thank you, Launchpad, but no. I am no longer naive to believe those silly messages to whom they want to push us through their wares and steal our money from this vicious people who have to pay taxes immensely." "Hm, isn't the goal for them to make some money for themselves through their goods?" "Exactly, Launchpad. You see you're not stupid as many people talk and know how to insult," Drake said, taking off his tie and slim coat. "Just a Launchpad to get to my room to change and go back immediately. God, how hot it is for me, it's too warm here," Drake said, sweating and taking quick steps to his room to change and put on his Hawaiian shirt and return be back after one minute. "Of course, but you see the fan working so it's no problem," Launchpad replied. "Yeah, just because he cools you down, not me at all. Just drink this lemonade," Drake said, and took the lemonade that was on the table, drank it, but spit it out at the same time (sorry for the expression). "What's this lemonade? Sour and not cold at all ?!" Drake complains. "Well, lemon is sour," Launchpad replied. "I mean the juice," Drake replied. "You meant lemonade ?! And, this lemonade shouldn't be, maybe I put lemon in the water too much," Launchpad said, scratching his head a little as he thought about it. "Did you put some sugar in?" "Yes, I did not, at all. I forgot completely." - Launchpad replied, slightly embarrassed. Drake glares at him, "Launchpad! Well, he has to put some sugar in the lemonade to make it sweet. Isn't that right ?!" "Yes, of course. Although when I drank it, it wasn't sour at the time, it was sweet to me," Launchpad replied. Drake looks at him a little puzzled and starts to think that he didn't overdo it a bit and starts to slowly drink one glass of lemonade again, but sip at the sip. "Well, it doesn't look so bad. Well, it tastes good, but a little bit, but it's still sour. Of course, Launchpad thank you and sorry for the moment." "You don't have to apologize to me. It's okay and it's happening. Maybe you're a little nervous considering you're tired." "You're right Launchpad. I have to sit down and rest for a moment," Drake said, sitting in his armchair. Drake continued, "Yes, I'm exhausted, tired, nervous, and a little more worried about some things. First, my Morgana. For now, we're engaged, I don't know when we're going to get married. I'm worried I'll have to share some things." with her that I don't like at all, like the dishes she prepares. " "Don't worry Drake. She knows Morgan, what you don't like, and I don't believe you will break up for some little things. Admittedly, she loves you as a Darkwing Duck, not like Drake Mallard." "Yes, Launchpad, but I told her my secret identity so she knows. She doesn't like Morgan. When something is said against her that she loves very much, it breaks her heart a little and makes her very angry. Not to say, how does she it has spiders and bats behind it, and it also deals with magic, which many people view as some kind of witchcraft. ”Drake replied anxiously. "Did you tell Morgana about having to adjust to a life where she doesn't need to use some of her abilities to keep herself from explaining herself?" "I'm not a Launchpad. After all, if you told her that, you would be mad at me." "I don't think so. Morgana, you may be a dangerous woman, but she is very caring. She saved your life several times." "I know Launchpad as I do to her. And my Gosalyn likes it too. My Gosalyn loves Morgan as if he were his mother, and I'm sure Gosalyn would love to have his other parent as well." 

"Then the matter is resolved. Just make a deal with her, she'll understand you and the finished thing," Launchpad replied cheerfully. "Thank you Launchpad, but there's one problem," Drake replied sadly. “What ?!” Launchpad asked. "I'm moving." "Well that's not bad." "Not bad, considering I don't have to suffer those Muddlefoot except Honker certainly, but it's bad that I'll be further from my Morgan." "Why?" "Because in a month I have to move to Duckburg. I got a new job." "Duckburg ?! Well that's great, considering I lived there for a while and worked there. I'd love to go back there," Launchpad said excitedly. "Yes, to work again with that miserable rich duck who just orders ?!" "Yes, I worked for Mr McDee as a pilot for a while, and I haven't seen him in a long time. Like the boys, Webby, Donald, Duckworth, Beakly, Fenton ..." "Fenton ?! You mean Gizmoduck ?! That crazy duck ?!" "I don't know if he's a Gizmoduck and I don't know if he's crazy, but yes, I'd love to meet Fenton again. Wait, aren't you and Fenton friends ?!" "Friends ?! Nah. Maybe, we're more partners, and Fenton isn't interesting to me either." "Why ?! He really is to me." "For you yes, for me not. He is loved more by people than by me." "Don't be jealous. I think you misunderstand the point. They prefer him as a super hero rather than as a common man. As a common man and his accountant, everyone goes out except Scrooge, and his job is easier now than before," Launchpad replied. 

"Okay, maybe I misjudged Fenton. But again, I don't like Scrooge. His last encounter with him was bad for me, since he won me the bet, and he's a bastard." "He may have won you a bet because he always wins, but you beat the Beagle Boys, Magica de Spell, Negaduck and a few villains together and I see no reason to be angry." "Launchpad, I know you're praising because you worked for him, even if he paid you poorly, unlike me, but again he can't be a partner for me. Not to tell you he got you out of work." "He didn't drive me away. He sent me on a forced vacation and gave me a few years to do whatever I wanted, and I'm happy with that, because so far I've mostly been with you," Launchpad said, getting up and hugging Drake. "Good Launchpad, let me go." "All right," Launchpad said, letting go of Drake and returning to the couch. "Launchpad, it's actually a cancellation. You've been fired, not a vacation of several years. It doesn't exist," Drake said angrily. "Any dismissal, man. I was told by Mr McDee that I had a vacation and I took it. I don't see what the problem is?" "Good Launchpad. You've got a break. And if you go back to Duckburg now, what are you going to do there ?!" "Hm... He would probably go back to work with Mr McDee again as a pilot anyway." Drake looks at him angry seriously, but after a few moments he goes on, "Okay, let's just leave it at work. I leave your job to you and do what you want. But you have to know I'm moving to Duckburg and I'm serious this time." "Good. You'll probably bring both Gosalyn and Morgan with you." "Gosalyn yes, but I'm not sure about Morgan. I don't know how she would look at that." "She would definitely go with you." "I don't know, I'm not sure. I should talk to Morgan about it so I'll see how it will be. But I'm worried about Gosalyn again. Otherwise, where is she?" "In her room, she plays video games on her computer." "Oh, yeah. Wait, he's playing games on this hot day ?!" "Don't worry, she's got a fan in her room, and she has a cooler in her computer, so don't worry. It's cold in her room." "Good, Launchpad. I just hope she's okay. I'm worried she'll respond to the eviction, since she hangs out a lot with Honker, as well as some friends at school, even though she doesn't have many friends there, since she's most avoid her and mock her sadly. Poor my Gosalyn, neither guilty nor obliged to suffer for some of the things she is not at all guilty of, and I don't know how she would fit in Duckburg. " "Don't worry, Drake. I'm sure she'll fit better in Duckburg than St. Canard. And I have great friends Gosalyn would definitely hang out with." "I hope you're right Launchpad, since I don't worry for no reason. Launchpad, you know that she's no longer a sweet little girl, she's a teenager now and she's slowly changing. I'm worried she won't get into more trouble .I care enough and as an ordinary father, I also worry enough as a super hero, since she goes with me as a Quiverwing Quack and the older she gets, she gets involved in even more dangerous wreckage. I don't know, I'm afraid that because of some of her extreme actions, she won't fall into the trap she would really suffer from. As a father, I must not allow such things. " "Don't worry, while you're near her, she won't get hurt, and you have to let her be a little alone." "I know, Launchpad, but again, I worry. This world is too cruel where no one cares about anyone and I care how Gosalyn will adapt to it." "Drake, you worry too much. Relax, if you talk to her about some things, she will certainly have an understanding for you as well as you for her." "Thank you Launchpad. Maybe you're right. I worry too much. But then again, I'm going to be sorry for Honker. He's a very good boy and I'm worried about how he will accept our departure. I wish I could take him, but unfortunately I can't. " "Well, I mean, it would be sad, certainly, but since there are social networks now, it might not be that much. Gosalyn and Honker would certainly talk over social networks. You know, technology itself is changing." "I know, Launchpad, but it's not the same when you see yourself on mobile or computer or live for real." "Fine, but I know they certainly can't separate even if they're far away. Since they're best friends, I'm sure they'll find a way to get along." "I hope you're right Launchpad. I just have to say ..." Drake said, but as he wanted to continue, there was some loud noise outside. Someone broke through a fence and accidentally hit a tree. And a loud trumpet from the van was heard. "what the hell ?! Who broke this into the yard ?!" Drake asked suddenly. "Let's check it out," Launchpad replied, and the two got up and checked who it might be. They opened the door and saw that half the yard was in chaos, and in the middle of the yard was a van that hit a tree. That van was a van that was a small house considering it had beds, a kitchen and a toilet. Drake reacted to this by opening his mouth wide and watching as part of his yard was destroyed. He gets out of the van, two people who were anthro-ducks, one male with a Hawaiian shirt, and the other was a woman with very beautiful hair and a beautiful pink dress suitable for a TV presenter and beautiful pink shoes with heels. Launchpad looked at everyone with excited looks, partly in love, which was typical of Launchpad when he always saw beautiful ladies. At that moment, a duck with a Hawaiian shirt said, "Ah phooey! I got a tire pierced, and I have to take the van to a car mechanic, and I don't have enough money for it. Why it has to go wrong," Donald Duck said and hit with his foot in the van and after that Donald leaps upwards, holding both of his hands by the knee of the leg that hit the van. "Donald, are you okay?!" Daisy asked carefully. "Yes, Daisy. It's just that I have to take the van to the car mechanic, and I don't have enough money to repair it," Donald said angrily, not angry at Daisy, but at the van. "Don't worry, Donald, I'll pay for you. Just don't be mad, okay ?!" "All right, Daisy," Donald replied, calming. At that moment, he came out of the van and Louie Duck, with green shorts, a green sleeveless T-shirt and a backwards cap, said anxiously, "Uncle Donald! Aunt Daisy! Are you okay?!" "We're fine, Louie. It's okay. How are your brothers and Webby?!" Daisy said. "The brothers are ok, they just have a little head, now they will come out too, and Webby is fine too," Louie said. "Good. Thank God!" "Louie, could you please bring someone close to you who is expert in repairing the van, since..." - Donald asked Louie, but at that moment Donald glanced casually toward a house where two men were looking at them, one excited and shy eyes, others opening their mouths wide. Donald is surprised, too, and with him Daisy looking right at Drake and Launchpad. These were the views that would change their relationships.

[kiddoryder]

Nevermore

Hey guys! I just want to say thank you for liking my first Ducktales story I really appreciate it!

 Anyway, this story is about Scrooge getting an amulet that have deadly consequences.

So, relax and enjoy the story!

 It was just another day in Duckburg, but today was different because today was the annual Swap Meet. Scrooge and the kids were there looking for something good to either keep and sell. Donald would have come with them, but he wanted to fix the houseboat again because he feels more comfortable living there and in Scrooge’s pool. They also just wanted to do something normal and a break ever since they defeated Magica and save the town.

 Webby - *amazed* “Wow. My first annual swap meet. I haven’t seen this much people since...ever actually!”

 Huey was noticing a lot of people selling and trading things. They were trading stuff like old clothes and toys or new junk. They were even selling stuff you didn’t expect like a boat or even a tank.

 Huey - “Man the annual swap meet gets bigger every year.”

 Dewey - *excited* “Yeah well that because they have this awesome stuff they want to sell! I mean I just bought this cool shirt that plays sound when you pressed a button.”

 Dewey put on the shirt, pressed the button, and it played some wacky noises. It made his brothers and Webby laughed while Scrooge just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

 Louie - “And look at all the other cool stuff they have! It’s cooler than the garage sale.”

 Scrooge - “Yeah But make sure they aren't expensive junk. Or some useless magic junk because that stuff is nothing but trouble and the lazy way to live life.”

 Then he noticed a golden amulet on some mystery hooded wearing guy was selling. He was selling a bunch of other weird stuff too like eyeballs in jars, spell books, dreamcatchers, voodoo dolls, etc.

 Guy - “Would you like to buy the Golden Amulet? It’s the special one I have.”

 Scrooge - “Oh please that rubbish. I bet it’s just a worthless fool’s gold jewelry.”

 Louie however, looked amazed at the amulet and picked it up. He examined it and said:

 Louie - “Ooh! yep, that's real gold, not like that fool’s gold.”

 Guy - “It's a special amulet. Some say it have something inside that can change everything. It can even change your heart and mind

Scrooge - “Well I guess buying it wouldn’t hurt. How much is it?”

 Guy - “105 dollars.”

Scrooge - *shocked* “What?! 105 dollars for that amulet?”

 Huey - “Come on Uncle Scrooge think of the mystery that amulet can have.” Dewey - “It can unlock a new house or something.” Louie - “Plus it made of gold and you can sell it for more money.”

 Scrooge - *doubtful* “Hmm…” Webby - “Plus I bet you will like it. Just like the drawing I made for you and you like it.”

 Scrooge - “Well I guess buying it wouldn’t hurt me.”

Scrooge took out his money and bought the amulet. It started glowing a little, but they didn't notice. Then they arrived home and while Scrooge wasn't looking Webby takes it secretly and exams it to see it closely.

 Webby - *suspicious* “Hmmm this amulet does look familiar.”

 Webby see some strange symbol on it and was about to question it, until she it glows like the dark purple color. Webby was shocked about it until she heard:

 Scrooge - “What are you doing with the amulet?”

Webby did a jump scared and saw Scrooge crossing his arms.

Webby - “Uhh nothing.”

 Scrooge - Well it's getting late. I think it's time for you to go to bed.”

 Webby: alright She goes to bed but was puzzled about the amulet but shakes it off as it was nothing and went to her room. Then Scrooge was getting ready for bed as he puts on his pajamas and brush his teeth. He went to his bed, put the amulet on his table near his bed and he fell asleep. However, the amulet began to glow and a shadow with red eyes and evil smile came out and went inside Scrooge's body. The next morning, everybody was waiting for Scrooge at the table, but he didn’t show up.

 Dewey - “Man what's taking Uncle Scrooge so long? Huey – “He’s probably still sleeping.”

 Louie - “Yeah I mean it's a Saturday I mean it's a perfect day to sleep in.”

Webby - “Maybe he's also counting money. I read in his book that he likes to wake up early in the morning to do that and swim in it.” Then the door opened, and Scrooge came in. But he looked emotionless and cold and was wearing the amulet. He sat down in his chair and read the newspaper.

 All - “Good morning Uncle Scrooge!”

Scrooge just looked at them and didn't say a word as he began to go back to reading his paper. This made the kids a little surprised because he always happy in the morning and say good morning back to them. Mrs. Beakley came in with his tea and toast and seat it on the table. Scrooge didn’t say anything which annoyed Mrs. Beakley.

 Mrs. Beakley - “Well? Aren’t you going to say something?”

 Scrooge - *cold* “Yeah. Beat it! I’m reading the paper.”

 Mrs. Beakley growled in anger and left the kitchen to get the rest of the food for the kids and Donald. They were all surprised by Scrooge’s mean attitude because he’s never like that with Mrs. Beakley.

 Huey- *concerned* "Uhh are you feeling okay?" Scrooge - “I'm fine.”

 Louie - “You sure? You look like Uncle Donald when he woke up cranky.”

 Donald - *offended* “Hey!”

 Scrooge - “I said I'm fine child.” Dewey - “Uh, you do know his name is Louie, right?”

 Scrooge - “Meh.” The kids and Donald looked at each other in confusion, though Webby notice the amulet's glow a little and she knew something isn't right.

 Donald - “Will you excuse us for a minute?

 Donald took the kids to the other room and left the kitchen. Then he said:

 Donald - “You boys noticed your Uncle Scrooge been acting weird right?”

 Huey - “Yeah he’s acting so..., cold.”

 Donald - “It’s probably cause it’s Friday the 13th: Bad luck day. But there is good news, a full moon comes out and before the incident...Your Uncle Scrooge and I would watch the full moon together. Maybe that would cheer him up. I’ll go get my telescope and some snacks to be ready.”

 Donald left to the houseboat to get the telescope and snacks ready for the full moon. Webby however thought differently about Scrooge’s new cold personality.

 Webby - “Something isn’t right.”

 Huey - “What do you mean?”

Webby - “I just saw the amulet glow.” Louie - “Huh. Well the guy did say that it does things to your heart and mind.”

 Huey - “It’s probably one of those opposite amulets. It can change your personality the opposite.”

 Dewey - “If that’s the case then we need to get the amulet off of him.”

 Louie - “But how?”

Huey “Easy: We can distract him, and one of us can ask him if we can see it, and when he takes it off, one of us can take it.” Webby - “Oh that’s good idea!”

 Louie - “Let me do it. I got the perfect charm.” Louie goes in and sees Scrooge reading a book and eating his toast.

Louie - “Hey Uncle Scrooge what are you reading.”

 Scrooge - *rudely* “Edgar Allen Poe poems what does it look like?”

 Louie - “Oh cool...Anyway, the amulet I noticed you brought can be worth more money that usually, so I can get take it off your hands- “

Louie was about to grab it, but Scrooge grabbed his wrist and squeeze it hard. Louie looked surprised and scared because Scrooge never did that to him.

Scrooge - *threaten* “Don't. Touch. The amulet.”

 Scrooge roughly let go of Louie’s hand and Louie held on to his wrist and left to the others. They were shocked on what they just witness.

 Louie - *scared* “Okay my charm didn’t work. All it did was has my wrist nearly broken.” Huey “Don’t worry let me try. *goes to Scrooge* Uh, hey Scrooge why don't I polished that amulet for you? It looks filthy.”

 Scrooge - “Its fine. Don’t touch it.”

 Huey - “But I- “

 Scrooge - *threaten* “I said it’s fine.”

 Huey looked scared and ran to the others again.

 Huey - “Okay this is getting really scary.”

 Webby - “I do have this one last idea.”

 Webby took out a homemade fake amulet. It was made of fool's gold and have glitter, fake gems and stickers on it.

 Webby - “I made it and wanted to give it to Scrooge for some time now but didn’t find the right time. I think maybe this will help him.”

 Webby goes to Scrooge and he looked mad and annoyed that the kids are still bothering him.

 Webby - “Hey Uncle Scrooge I was thinking why you don’t try this *shows him her homemade amulet* I made it myself you know.”

Scrooge - *disgusted* “Yuck! You know that I hate fake jewelry because how cheap and worthless they are! Don’t be daft!”

 He takes the homemade amulet and threw it against the wall. The triplet and Webby gasp in horror at what Scrooge has done. Fed up with the kids, Scrooge said:

Scrooge - “I'm going to my office. Don't bother coming. Clean this mess up!”

 Scrooge leave the kitchen and walk pass the boys ignoring them. The boys came to the kitchen and they look at Webby whose eyes were watering because what Scrooge did and how he yelled at her. She even grabbed the broken pieces and looked hurt. Dewey place his hand on her shoulder.

Dewey - *comforting* “Hey, it's okay we will get it off of him.”

 Webby - *sad* “Right…”

Louie - “Don't feel bad I mean you know Scrooge would never turn down something like that.”

 Webby - *cheering up* “Yeah I don’t blame him…*angry* “It’s that stupid amulet’s fault! We need to get it off him now!”

 Huey - “Maybe we can take it off at the full moon sighting. He will be distracted so it would be a perfect time.”

 All of them - “Perfect!”

 ()()()()()()()

 It was sunset, and Scrooge just came back from his office. He still looked colder and more emotionless but was ready to go to the pool to see the full moon with Donald. He saw the kids grabbing snacks and chairs for the full moon sight.

 Scrooge - “And where do you think your children are going?”

 Dewey - “To see the full moon with you and Uncle Donald.”

 Scrooge - “You four aren’t coming with me.”

 Webby - “But- “

Scrooge - *anger* “I said no! You are staying here and that's final!”

 Dewey - Why? Scrooge - *cold* “Because children should be seen and not heard. Or better still, not seen and not heard! *pointed to a closet* Get into that closet!”

 Huey - *Scared and confused* “W-what, why?” Scrooge - *angry* “Because I said so! Now get in the closet! Scrooge shove them in the closet, close it and locked it. Then he leaves ignoring the banging in the inside. Mrs. Beakley saw this and was shocked and walked up to Scrooge.

Mrs. Beakley - *shocked* “Mr. McDuck! What you do think you are doing?!”

 Scrooge - “They will be fine.”

 Mrs. Beakley - *angry* “No they won’t! How could locked up the kids- “

 She was about to grabbed him, but Scrooge grabbed her hand and squeeze it hard. Mrs. Beakley was shocked because Scrooge wasn’t that strong but when he turned, his eyes was glowing red and Mrs. Beakley eyes widen in horror realizing who that is. Before she can do anything, Scrooge through her against the wall and she was knocked unconscious and left the room. Louie was still banging on the door.

 Louie - *shouting and banging* “Come on! Let us out! I’m too young and awesome to be locked in a place like this.”

 Dewey - “Out of all places we had to be locked in, it’s gotta be the closet. Why couldn’t it be the pantry? At least it has food.”

 Huey - “Scrooge been acting more meaner and scarier ever since that stupid amulet. We need to get it off him.”

 Webby - “Don’t worry guys. Like many other rooms, there’s always either vent or a secret passage door.”

 Webby moves some junk and saw an air vent.

 Webby - “Bingo! *opened it* Come on Guys.”

 Dewey - *confused* “What, where did that come from?”

Webby - “Have you ever watch any spy movies?”

 Dewey - “Good point.”

They crawled into the air vent to look for Scrooge. When they were in the air vent of the library, they saw Scrooge in the library and he got a crystal ball and reading a spell book.

 Huey - *whispered* “I thought he hated using magic.”

 Webby - *whispered* “He normally does but I never seen him use it before.”

 Dewey - *whispered* “Guys Look!”

 Scrooge was finished reading the spell and the Crystal ball began to glow. Then a light appears, and it was Magica who was busy working on reading spells from books.

 Huey - *shocked* “It’s Magica!”

 Webby was angry and held the air vent bars tightly. She still hated and furious with Magica for taking her best friend Lena away from her. But then she had to calm down, so she and the boys wouldn’t get caught.

 Scrooge - “Hello Magica.”

 Magica turned and saw Scrooge using the Crystal ball.

 Magica - *confused* “Scrooge? Why are you using the Crystal ball? Don’t you know only magic people like myself only use it as a phone? *angry* oh I see, you are here to gloat about defeating me and making me powerless aren’t you!?”

 Scrooge - *confused* “Huh? *realized* Oh! Excuse me.”

 He gagged two time and some a stream of inky blackness started to come out his mouth.

Louie - *disgusted* “Ew he's puking!” Huey - *shocked* “Worse! Look!”

The stream of inky blackness also began to come out of Scrooge’s eye sockets. Then the inky blackness turned into evil shadow with red eyes and came out Scrooge while Scrooge body lies on the floor unconscious. But the shadows were wrapped around his eyes and chest and his eyes was fully white. The kids looked in horror and Magica looked surprised and squeal in happiness. Poe - “Hello Magica. Missed me?”

 Magica - *happy* “Oh Poe! My dear brother of mine! I say, how long has it been since we see each other?”

 Poe - “It's been 15 years since you and Scrooge fought. He thought he killed me when we were battling. But he didn’t destroy my shadow form.”

 Magica - “Oh yes, I do recall that day. He also imprisons me in the dime but now I am back!”

Poe - “Yes, but once again, you have been defeated by Scrooge and his so call "family".”

 Magica - *ashamed* “I know. Now I have to do my magic by square one.”

Poe - “Don't worry today is Friday the 13th and once I see that full moon, Scrooge's body will be my new vessel and his soul will go in the amulet. Isn’t that right Scroogey?”

 Poe used the shadows to pick up Scrooge’s body and made his head nodded yes. Both Poe and Magica laughed at that.

 Magica - “Oh I love it when you always make shadow puppets. They were so funny! Especially when you use them to control people.”

 Poe - “I know. I manage to get Scrooge to buy my amulet by pretending to be a mystery hooded seller in that Swap Meet. It was so easy to trick him into buying it!”

 Magica - “Well you better get going cause the moon is coming out soon. Not only you would get Scrooge’s body, but I would have his number 1 dime to restore my magic!”

 Poe - “Exactly! I’ll see you soon.”

 Poe “hanged up” the Crystal ball and went back inside Scrooge’s body and left the room. The kids were horrified on what they just witness and got out the air vent. Louie - “We need to think of something fast!”

 Huey - “Well he said that if he sees the full moon, Scrooge’s soul goes inside the amulet. The only way it won’t happen if he doesn’t see the moon *gasps* I got an idea!

 ()()()()()()()()

 “Scrooge” was standing in front the house looking at the moon. It was halfway full, and “Scrooge” did an evil smirk knowing the time is almost here. Then Dewey came out:

 Dewey - “Hey Uncle Scrooge! I just found a rare red heart diamond in the backward?”

 “Scrooge” - “A rare diamond you say?”

Dewey - “Yeah it's really cool!”

 “Scrooge” - “Hmm... *but shook his head* Ah beat it kid! Why don’t you go solve a mystery or something?”

 Dewey - “Okay here’s one: what would you do if somebody blindfolded and pounce on you

 “Scrooge” - *confused* “What?”

Dewey - *shouting* “Okay now!”

Webby jumped on “Scrooge’s shoulders and covered Scrooge’s eyes with a white towel. “Scrooge” was moving around blindly trying to get the towel and Webby off him and the boys try to get the amulet off Scrooge.

 “Scrooge” - *struggling* “Get off me you brat!”

 Louie - *irritated* “Webby keep him still!”

 Webby - *irritated* “Well...He keeps...On moving!”

 “Scrooge” - *angry* “I said GET OFF!!”

 He pushed Webby down and the boys away. He walked to Webby and his eyes was now glowing red and had an evil look on his face.

 “Scrooge” - “I should have done this before!”

 He raised his cane up to hit her, and Webby closed her eyes in fear. But she didn’t feel they can strike her, and when she opened her eyes she saw Donald in front of her, struggling to keep the cane from hitting her by holding it tightly. “Scrooge” was even more irritated.

 Donald - *struggling* “Uncle Scrooge! What are...you are doing?!”

 Huey - “Uncle Donald! That’s not Scrooge!”

 Louie - “He’s possessed by that amulet!”

 Donald - *confused* “What?”

 Donald sees the amulet and “Scrooge’s eyes glowed red and had an evil smiled on his face. Donald suddenly remembered who that is.

 Donald - *fearfully* “Oh no!”

 Scrooge pushes Donald away with his cane and then “Scrooge” snapped his fingers and shadow whips appeared tying up the boys, Webby and Donald. They were struggling to break out, but they were too strong.

 “Scrooge” - “Well look at that, my powers are forming. Although it would take some time for my powers to appear in my new vessel. And guess what? The moon is nearly full and you all can witness me gaining my new body and you can saw bye bye to your precious Uncle Scrooge when his soul goes into this amulet!”

 He turned around to look at the moon and smiled evilly believing that he has won. The others were struggling to break free and Donald was trying to break free.

 Donald - “GET OUT OF MY UNCLE’S BODY!”

 “Scrooge” - “Finders keepers!”

 He saw the moon was almost full and he let out a scream, was freed from the shadows grip and tackled “Scrooge” on the ground. The kids gasp in shocked.

 Donald - “I already lost my Uncle Scrooge before, I’m not letting you take him away from me!”

 “Scrooge” pushes Donald off him and walked up to him, putting his cane under Donald’s chin.

 “Scrooge” - “You can’t do anything. I’ll already defeated your pathetic family. There’s no one left to defeat me and you’re not strong enough to beat me!”

 “Actually, there is!”

 Confused, “Scrooge” looked up and Mrs. Beakley punched him in his face. It caused the shadow whips to free the kids.

 Mrs. Beakley - “I knew you would come back and try to do something like this Poe! That’s why I pretended to be knocked out and wait for the perfect time to strike!

 Mrs. Beakley then hold on to “Scrooge” in a tight gripped and he was struggling to get free and she even covered his eyes.

 Mrs. Beakley - “Donald! Now!”

 Donald then ripped the amulet off Scrooge’s neck and threw it as hard as he can which landed on a Raven’s neck and the Raven looked at the full moon. The amulet glowed, and it caused Poe’s shadow form to leave Scrooge’s body and went inside the Raven’s body instead. When Poe opened his eyes, he saw that he was now a Raven.

 Poe - “You stuck me inside a Raven?! Ohhh I’ll will now plot my revenge on you jerks!”

 Poe then flew away to Magica and the kids and Donald cheered that they defeated Poe. Mrs. Beakley smiled, but then she noticed Scrooge was limped and wasn’t moving. Worried, she touches his forehead and realized it was burning up.

 Mrs. Beakley - *concerned* “I think we should stop cheering now. Mr. McDuck is burning up with a fever!”

 They quickly stopped and ran up to Scrooge and saw how drained, pale and sick he looked. Donald felt Scrooge’s forehead and Mrs. Beakley was right: Scrooge was burning up with a fever.

 Huey - “He doesn’t look too good!”

 Donald - “We need to take him to bed now!

 ()()()()()()()()

 “...Is he...okay?”

 “Don’t know…. he...high fever…”

 “Look! I... waking up!”

 Scrooge opened his eyes halfway and felt ill and drained. Like his body was basically a punching bag. He saw that he was in his bedroom in bed with his pajamas on. Then he saw that his family and Mrs. Beakley was at his bedside happy that he was awake.

 Donald - “How are you feeling Uncle Scrooge?”

 Scrooge - *weakly* “Drained...What the heck happened?”

 Huey - “That amulet you bought had Magica’s evil brother Poe inside of it.”

 Those words made Scrooge eyes widen shocked. Normally hearing something like this would have made him jump in shock but he felt so weak and tired that widen his eyes is the only thing he can do.

 Scrooge - “Poe? I haven’t seen him since the battle with Magica 15 years ago.”

 Webby - “But don’t worry we managed to free you from his shadowy grasp by kicking his shadowy butt!”

 Louie - “Plus he’s in a Raven’s body now.”

 Dewey - “And won’t cause much trouble now.”

 Scrooge - “That’s good” *coughs*

 Mrs. Beakley - “Unfortunately side effect of after being possessed is a high fever and being weak. Luckily for you, you should feel better in a few days.”

 Scrooge - *weakly* “That’s...Good…”

 Mrs. Beakley - “Well come on along, Mr. McDuck need his rest.”

 They leave the room to let Scrooge recovered from being possessed by Poe. Half an hour early, he woke up feeling a little better but felt his forehead wet yet cooled down. He took the rag towel and saw it was a sailor rag towel design and remembered it was Donald’s. Scrooge realized that Donald put the rag on his forehead while he slept to cool down his fever. He looked at his nightstand and saw some liquid medicine, an envelope, and a present. He first saw the envelope, opened it and it was a get-well card made by the boys and left him three dollars in there. Scrooge smiled and when he opened the present, he saw it was Webby’s homemade amulet she made earlier, but it was all fixed up.

 This touched Scrooge’s heart because how his family still cared and loved him. He hasn’t felt this complete since Della. He puts on the homemade amulet, drank the medicine, put the rag towel back on his forehead, and fell asleep so he can recover from his fever. For the first time in 10 years, he felt like the missing piece of his heart came back, but it was better than ever because he finally got the thing he wanted:

 His family back.

 Hope you all like it!

[animationnut]

The Ornament

Rating: K+ Characters: Louie Duck, Webby Vanderquack, Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck Note: My secret Santa gift for @missette128. Merry Christmas!

A towering pine tree dominated the foyer, the top branches looming just above second-floor balcony. Cardboard boxes of decorations were stacked near the foot of the tree and Huey held the ladder so Dewey could hang glittery silver baubles on the tips of the branches. After Dewey hung five ornaments, they would switch places. Webby, wearing a Santa hat and covered with tinsel, eagerly ran around the tree and tossed the silver decoration wherever she could reach.

“Even distribution, Webby, even distribution!” called Huey. Turning to Dewey, he then said, “Separate the ornaments! Don’t keep them close together!”

Dewey rolled his eyes and complied with Huey’s instruction, knowing it did no good to argue with him when it came to decorating the Christmas tree, which Huey was very particular about. Hanging a sparkly glass icicle, Dewey turned to glance below. “Louie, are you going help us or not?”

Their sibling was currently rifling through the boxes, pulling out tissue-wrapped ornaments and inspecting them. Critically eyeing a gold bauble with green gemstones, Louie eventually deemed it of no value and tossed it back in the box. “In a sec,” he replied. “I’m looking for my ornament.”

“Your ornament?” asked Webby curiously, peeking around the tree.

“Yeah, you know. Everyone has that one ornament that they like more than the rest, and it’s their ornament.”

“No, she wouldn’t know, considering this the first Christmas tree she’s decorated,” pointed out Huey. “Your decoration is already here. It’s in that box.”

Webby went over to the box Huey indicated. It was smaller than the rest, and in better condition than the ones Beakley found stashed in the attic. She pried open the top and found a collection of hand-crafted decorations and special occasion ornaments.

“Aw!” she squealed, lifting out a tiny brown bear wearing a green scarf that read Baby’s First Christmas. “That’s so cute! Is this your ornament?”

“No,” scoffed Louie.

“It’s the snowflake,” added Dewey. “It’s the shiniest ornament he has and you know how he likes shiny things.”

“It reminds me of treasure,” said Louie happily.

Webby carefully removed a silver snowflake, which was covered in jewels in varying shades of blue. When she twirled it, it caught the light, reflecting it across the floor in a shimmering wave. She placed it neatly back into the box and looked at the remaining ornaments nestled inside.

“How come you haven’t put these ones on the tree?” she asked. “Aren’t they your childhood ornaments?”

“Yeah, but we’ll put them on when Uncle Scrooge is finished with his work and can help us,” replied Huey. “And we like doing ours with Uncle Donald.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s, uh, probably somewhere thinking,” muttered Dewey, the cheerful glint disappearing from his eyes for a moment. “He usually does that whenever the tree goes up.”

“Oh,” said Webby, folding her wings in front of her. “Duh. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Dewey flashed her a smile. “He’ll be fine when he starts getting into the Christmas decorating.”

“Louie, be careful!” cried Huey, noticing his brother toss aside a plain silver bauble. “Why do you need another ornament anyway?”

“Come on, Uncle Scrooge has to have something valuable in all this stuff,” exclaimed Louie.

“I don’t think so,” piped up Webby. “This is the first time in my whole life Mr. McDuck has ever decorated for Christmas. If he had something valuable in that box, he wouldn’t leave it in the attic. The garage, sure, but not the attic.”

Louie made a face, knowing that Webby had a point. “Darn.”

Dewey made his way down the ladder and Huey collected some ornaments. “Now that there’s nothing of value you can pilfer, are you going to help us now?” asked Huey.

“I guess,” sighed Louie. He reached into the box he had been rummaging through and grabbed a handful of ornaments. He turned to the tree and frowned when he noticed that only the bottom half was decorated. “Don’t you have a taller ladder?”

“Uncle Donald doesn’t want us going any higher until he’s with us,” said Dewey.

“Psh, it’s not that high,” dismissed Louie.

Huey’s eyes widened when Louie started to climb the tree, causing the ornaments to jingle when the branches shook. “Louie, knock it off!”

“Relax,” said Louie, pausing when he made it three-quarters of the way up and started to hang his ornaments. “I got this.”

“Seriously, just wait until Uncle Donald and Uncle Scrooge are here,” said Dewey, eyeing the trembling tree nervously. “You’re going to break something!”

Louie rolled his eyes, attaching a silver-and-blue snowman to the tip of a branch. “I’m not going to—”

His words ended with a startled gasp when he suddenly slipped, sending him to a rough landing with the cold, unforgiving floor. His shoulder throbbed with pain and his head spun, and he barely processed the panicked cries of his siblings and Webby.

“Dude!” shouted Dewey, hurrying to his side. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” said Louie dazedly, sitting up. He glanced down, smiling triumphantly when he noticed the ornament still intact. “See? Didn’t break—”

The silver star, made out of entwined wire and gemstones, crumbled apart the second he lifted it up. “…anything,” finished Louie.

“Oh no, Mr. McDuck is going to be mad,” whispered Webby with wide eyes.

“Way to go,” said Huey with a scowl, ire coursing through him now that he knew Louie was all right. “It took forever for us to convince Uncle Scrooge to decorate for Christmas. Now he’s probably going to get Beakley to toss the tree right out the front door.”

Louie started to gather the pieces together. “I’ll just hide it. He’ll never—”

“What in blazes is goin’ on in here?”

Scrooge appeared in the entrance of the foyer just as Donald stood at the top of the stairs. Louie let out a huff. “Geez, my timing is off today.”

Donald’s eyes zeroed in on Louie sitting on the floor, the broken ornament in his hand. “Louie!” He rushed down and lifted Louie to his feet, inspecting him anxiously. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fine,” said Louie with a sigh, letting the threads of wire and gemstones to fall back to the hardwood. “Just slipped.”

“Yeah, right out of the tree,” muttered Huey.

Eyes narrowing, Donald demanded, “Were you climbing hazardously high places again?”

“Depends on your definition of hazard.” When Donald glared warningly at him, Louie crossed his wings and muttered, “Yes, I was.”

“What have I told you about doing that?” snapped Donald. “You could’ve broken your neck!”

“I was just trying to decorate the tree.”

“Didn’t your brothers tell you I’d be down to help you shortly?”

“Yes,” chorused Huey and Dewey.

“I’m fine,” said Louie irritably.

“Barely,” said Donald with a scowl. “You broke an ornament this time and there’s not going to be a next time for you to try and break a bone. You’re grounded. Now what do you say?”

Louie followed Donald’s pointed look to where Scrooge was staring down at the broken pieces of the ornament. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll…uh…buy you a new one,” he added, silently hoping that its appearance meant it was as cheap as it seemed.

“Ye cannae just buy me a new one,” said Scrooge abruptly. “There is nae another one like this in the whole world.”

“Wait, was it priceless or something?” asked Louie in bewilderment. “It looks kinda lousy.”

Scrooge spun around and reached out, grabbing Louie by the front of his hoodie as he growled, “How dare ye? It was nae lousy tae me.”

Too stunned by the rage in Scrooge’s voice to answer, Donald reacted for him. He wrenched his nephew free of Scrooge’s grip and said angrily, “He didn’t know. It was an accident.”

“Of course he did nae know,” said Scrooge spitefully. “How could he? Ye do nae tell them anything.”

Despite his words being deliberately vague, Donald knew exactly what he meant by it. “Don’t start,” he hissed. “You don’t have the right when it’s your fault.”

Scrooge straightened and he sent Donald a hard look. “Ye were as clueless as I was. I will not shoulder the blame alone.”

“What the heck are you talking about?” cried Louie.

“Shut up,” snapped Dewey, exchanging a quick look with Webby.

But Louie’s exclamation broke through the simmering, red haze of the two feuding ducks. “Never ye mind,” said Scrooge tensely. “But the matter remains that ye have no respect for my personal property.”

“I do,” insisted Louie.

“It took ye long enough to offer an apology.”

“Leave him alone,” snapped Donald. “He didn’t do it on purpose. It’s not him you’re really angry at, anyway. Don’t take it out on him.”

“With such little discipline it’s a wonder they do nae tear up more of my possessions for fun.”

Shoulders hunching forwards, Donald’s face flushed puce. “Don’t you ever criticize how I raise them.”

Scrooge swung his cane up to point accusingly at Donald. “He breaks something of mine, something very important, and tae top it off he calls it lousy. And all ye do is defend him. But why should it matter? It’s only me. I’m the cause of all your problems, are I nae? Hard tae teach respect when ye have none yerself.”

“What do you know about respect?”

Scrooge stilled for a moment, his eyes narrowing. As they stared at each other Louie finally understood what the phrase ‘silence is deafening’ meant. He glanced between them, beak opening and closing helplessly. He wished he had some magic power that would allow him to fix the stupid ornament and make his uncles stop fighting. Huey and Dewey had unconsciously clustered closer together, nervously awaiting what furious outburst would come next. Webby clung the tinsel to her chest and darted her eyes between the occupants of the room.

“I never liked Christmas and nao I’m remembering why,” Scrooge finally said quietly. “It’s all just a bunch of bother.”

The kids flinched when he slammed his cane into a box, crunching glass sounding like gunshots in the tense atmosphere. Donald’s wings trembled slightly by his side. “These kids are getting Christmas. If you refuse that, we’re leaving.”

Scrooge turned, avoiding the desperate gazes of the kids, for if he met their eyes his heart would only shatter into a thousand pieces. “Then go.”

He disappeared through the entryway without a backwards glance. Donald felt his mind whirl, old emotions conflicting with new and he wasn’t sure if he should be enraged or heartbroken. Knowing the latter would happen if he looked at his kids, he said softly, “Pack your bags, boys,” and moved upstairs as quickly as he could without sprinting.

“I…I…” Louie fumbled his speech, a hundred thoughts rushing through his head and unable to focus on any of them. “I didn’t mean…”

He reached down and lifted the top part of the ornament, the wire pieces jagged and gemstones hanging by thin strings of aged glue. He noticed for the first time a tag attached to the string and he flipped it over, reading the clumsy, cursive handwriting.

‘Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge! Love your favourite niece, Della.’

Louie’s blood turned to ice. He didn’t have time to truly react, though he probably wouldn’t have moved of his own accord for several minutes if Dewey hadn’t shoved him hard from behind, sending him sprawling out across the floor.

“Louie!” Webby exclaimed, hurrying to help him up. “Dewey, what was that for?”

“It was from Mom!” Dewey cried, his small body shaking with rage and shock and grief. “The ornament he broke was from Mom to Uncle Scrooge, and you called it lousy!”

“I didn’t know!” retorted Louie.

“That’s all you ever say! You didn’t know, it was an accident, it’s not your fault. You knew something might break if you climbed that tree. You knew and you still took the chance anyway, and look what happened! Uncle Scrooge kicked us out and it’s all your fault!”

“I’ll talk to him, okay?” insisted Louie.

“You’re not going to be able to talk your way out of this one.” Huey levelled Louie with a disappointed look, his eyes shimmering with tears. “We were finally going to have a nice Christmas. Uncle Donald wasn’t going to be overworked and stressed. It was going to be our first one with Uncle Scrooge, Webby and Beakley. But you had to go and pull a Louie.”

“I didn’t…” Louie started, but his brothers stormed off, disappearing up the stairs.

He looked after them, helplessness crashing down on him. He wanted to talk to Scrooge, to insist he didn’t mean any disrespect, that it really was an accident. But his great-uncle’s rage was a crystal-clear image in his mind and he feared going against it alone. He wanted to speak with Donald, to be comforted and advised on what to do, but he was ashamed. He had broken a trinket that his mother, that Donald’s twin sister, had made, and called it lousy and thought it was stupid.

And what caused a searing, white-hot guilt to cut through his chest was that they were right, and Donald’s defense of him was undeserved.

Webby lingered in the foyer, suddenly feeling ridiculous draped with tinsel given the seriousness of the situation. She hastily shook it off and hesitantly approached Louie. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out,” said Louie hotly. “We’re leaving in the morning and we’re probably never coming back and it’s because I’m an idiot.”

“That’s not—”

Louie turned and bolted out of the foyer before Webby finish. He blindly shoved his webbed feet into his boots before swinging open the front door. He slammed it shut on Webby’s frantic call of his name and started to run, tearing down the salted pathway and bursting through the iron gates. He ran as hard and fast as he could, lungs heaving with every step and tears streaming down his face. The bitter wind slapped at his exposed feathers and he jerked up his hoodie to guard his ears. He didn’t register the sting of the cold, ignoring it as he pressed on. He just wanted to get away, to avoid the consequences of his actions.

Avoidance seemed to be one of the few things he was good at.

Wings shoved into his pockets, Louie hunched his shoulders against the wind as he moved briskly down the sidewalk. It was thankfully quiet that afternoon, which meant he didn’t have to worry too much about plastering on a smile and hiding his tears.

Eventually he made it to the park and he collapsed onto a bench, shivering as the frigid steel met his uncovered legs. He couldn’t handle the cold as well as his siblings, which was why he wore a whole snowsuit as opposed to just a winter coat. He shook violently, arms curling around himself to try and keep some parts of his body warm.

A short, humourless smile crossed his beak. Running off without his winter gear—yet another example of pulling a Louie. Acting without thinking. Making impulse decisions. Not listening and disobeying orders, only to cause trouble by doing exactly what he had been told not to do.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent in the cold, curled in on himself and crying into his arms. A shout alerted him to another presence in the park, and when he listened more closely he realized his name was being called.

“Louie! Louie, where are you?”

“Webby?”

The girl appeared at the end of the path, decked out in her pink and purple jacket, mittens and hat. Her concern evaporated from her expression when she spotted him, but it remained in her voice when she cried, “Louie! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

She handed him his snowsuit, which he gratefully wrestled into, the warmth immediately engulfing him. “Thanks. You didn’t have to.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I did.” She gave him a pointed look. “You can’t run out into the snow with just your hoodie. You’re going to get pneumonia.”

“Sorry. I just had to get out of there. How did you find me?”

“Your boot tracks.” When he sent her a quizzical glance, she cheerfully explained, “You’re a size six and a half and the tread is unique to the brand of shoe that you have. It was easy to follow.”

Louie chuckled. “You never cease to amaze me, Webbs.”

“Aw, thanks.” Webby took a seat beside him and said, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I messed up big time.” Louie kicked at the snow miserably. “I don’t even know if I can fix this one.”

“Sure you can! There’s always a solution to a problem.”

“Not this one. I know Uncle Donald and Uncle Scrooge don’t really get along and this just made it worse. I don’t really get what they were talking about, but I guess it was about Mom.”

“Seemed like it,” agreed Webby carefully. “But you didn’t know. You just have to explain that to Mr. McDuck.”

“It won’t matter. Because it shouldn’t matter if it was an ornament from Mom or not. I broke something of his and I honestly didn’t really care. He has a ton of stuff. Me breaking a few things accidentally didn’t seem all that important. I only cared when I saw how much it meant to Uncle Scrooge and why.” Louie let out a quiet scoff. “I really am disrespectful.”

“You are not,” insisted Webby.

Louie looked at her in disbelief. “How can you say that?”

“Because I live with you! I hang out with you. You don’t disrespect me. You might not listen all the time, but you always acknowledge when I was right and you were wrong. You apologize and you mean it. You have so much respect for Donald, I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at him.”

“Some respect,” muttered Louie. “After everything he’s done for us I still get on his case for being boring and unlucky.”

“You used to,” corrected Webby. “You stopped after we left the House of the Lucky Gander. You realized the effect your words had and that Donald took them more seriously than as jokes. If you didn’t care or respect him, you would have kept doing it.”

“Maybe,” said Louie, though he was doubtful. “But I’m always pulling a Louie. I never learn enough to stop doing that.”

Webby flinched and averted her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said guiltily. “I really shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t anything against you. It’s just…you have a certain behaviour…and I just sort of called it that. It’s not a bad thing! Not always. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

Louie bumped shoulders with her gently, getting her eyes to met his again. “You didn’t. You were right. Pulling a Louie sometimes works in my favour, sometimes it doesn’t. Today it didn’t. I just did what I wanted to do and didn’t bother to think about the consequences. I do that a lot.”

“It’s something you have to work on. Not everyone is perfect. Just because you have flaws doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person. Today was an honest mistake, Louie. I know you feel bad, but you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself. You’re pretty great.”

Her bright, earnest smile caused Louie’s spirits to lift. Rubbing away a few last tears, he said, “Thanks Webby. I still don’t know how I’m going to fix this. We’re supposed to be gone in the morning.”

“We’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Webby determinedly. She reached into her pocket and carefully removed a paper bag. When Louie peeked inside, he discovered it contained the pieces of Della’s ornament. “We can put it back together and then we’ll give it to Mr. McDuck! Maybe then we can get him to talk to Donald.”

“It’s worth a try,” agreed Louie.

He would do whatever it took. He had just found Uncle Scrooge—he didn’t want to lose him now.

…

The suitcase had been sitting on Donald’s bed for almost two hours. He alternated between staring at it, pacing the tiny length of his houseboat and bustling about, tidying shelves and dusting furniture. He hadn’t even begun to pack. He didn’t want to.

Della’s disappearance (he refused to say death—no one ever found out what truly happened to her) was a soul crushing blow he never recovered from. He pinned the blame on his uncle, who should have known better than to speak to Della about potentially powerful, dangerous artifacts. It was like luring a moth to an open flame.

Della loved mystery. She loved superstitions. She loved myths and legends. The idea that there were things in the world that were undiscovered, forces that could not be explained, thrilled her. He had always been cautious. Wary. Suspicious. He supposed that’s why Scrooge always clicked better with Della.

He was against the Spear of Selene from the start. Very little was known about it, other than it held power that was not known to man, harnessed from the cosmos, most of it theorized to come from the moon. Scrooge wanted it. Of course he did. But Della…she had wanted it more. Her curiosity had always gotten the best of her. This time it was too much.

One day she was there and the next she gone, leaving nothing but the note behind. Scrooge and Donald had searched weeks for her, exhausting Scrooge’s list of contacts. They couldn’t find her. They couldn’t find the spear. She was gone. And both of them knew she would never have left behind the triplets—she thought she was coming back, from wherever she had gone.

Donald was suddenly the caretaker of three babies. He was stressed, grieving and destroyed. And from early on, he swore that if it weren’t for Scrooge and his insistence to pursue this mythical weapon, Della would still be here. Their relationship was never the same after that.

Anger was still there. Resentment. Bitterness. But above all else, guilt and shame. And perhaps neither of them were able to accept they were both at fault. They had to blame one another, because Donald knew if he dared to acknowledge it was his fault, he would not be able to bear it. He was her twin. He should have known something was off. That her attention, while always distracted, was particularly flighty. That her note-taking was more rapid, frantic, almost desperate. She grew quieter. He attributed it to one of her moods. He didn’t bother to inquire if anything was wrong.

Maybe she wouldn’t have told him regardless. But the fact he never asked ate at him. The only thing that kept him sane was that Scrooge hadn’t paid attention either and it was easier to blame him, the one who dragged them all into the mess in the first place.

Yet, with all of these thoughts broiling in his mind, he couldn’t bring himself to pack his loose items and prepare to take his houseboat to another harbour. He had gone so long without Scrooge he thought he was better off without him. But being back in the mansion, back with the duck who taught him so much, brought forth a rush of memories and emotions that were happy and pleasant. No, he and Scrooge hadn’t always gotten along. But they did love each other. And as much as he tried, that didn’t change.

Raking a wing down his face, Donald let out a sharp sigh. He was always the overthinker. Always the overreactor. He supposed he should have been stricter with Louie, who had a tendency to forget to be careful with another’s belongings. But Louie’s apology was sincere and Scrooge honestly hadn’t really minded all that much when his items had been broken before. It just happened to be Della’s ornament, and it just happened to open wounds that had never fully healed.

It was two weeks before Christmas. He couldn’t drag the boys out now. Not when he had no money for a tree or presents or a meal. The boys would claim they didn’t care, but he knew they did. They deserved a Christmas. And Scrooge deserved to have a reason to celebrate again. So did he.

Closing his eyes and knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy, Donald left the houseboat and crossed through the yard. He entered the sliding glass door, dutifully brushed off the snow to the mat under Beakley’s watchful gaze as she mopped the kitchen nook floor.

“You’re not gearing up for another explosion, are you?”

Donald sent her an unimpressed look. “No. It’s not just my fault, you know.”

“I do,” she replied sincerely. “I only wish you could put aside your differences, especially for the holidays. I’m afraid Webby’s never really had a true Christmas, as much I tried to make them special.”

“You never once got angry with Uncle Scrooge for refusing to celebrate, even when Webby was here?” asked Donald, slightly bewildered.

Beakley lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Not really. Webby is an easy to please child and she was happy enough. Christmas isn’t about the sparkle and material items, after all. It’s about family. I don’t think I’d want to celebrate either if I lost my family.”

“Yeah,” muttered Donald, a pulse of guilt going through him, as it so often did. “I’ll see what I can do.”

He started through the mansion but before he went to Scrooge’s office he decided to check on his boys. He went to their room and swung open the door, where he found Huey reading and Dewey playing a hand-held video game.

“You guys okay?”

“Us?” Immediately attentive, Dewey set his game aside. “We’re fine. What about you?”

“I’m good. Not the first time I’ve gotten into it with your uncle.”

“Are we really going to leave?” asked Huey hesitantly.

“No. I’ll talk to him, let him know we’re staying.” He couldn’t help but smile when Dewey and Huey cheered and high-fived. The smile slipped and he asked, “Where’s Louie?”

“Oh—we haven’t seen him for a while.” Dewey averted his gaze and tugged on the hem of his shirt. “We kind of got into a fight and we stormed up here. Louie didn’t follow.”

Donald’s brow furrowed. “What happened?”

“We blamed him for you wanting us to leave and for getting Uncle Scrooge mad,” he replied, growing shame-faced. “It was wrong, I know. But it was going to be an awesome Christmas. You would finally get to relax and be happy instead of worrying.”

Donald went over and rubbed Dewey’s head, a warm smile on his beak. “It’s not your job to worry about me, but I appreciate it. I’ve always been stressed, probably since the day I was hatched. But I’ve never not been happy at Christmas. I have you boys. So long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Huey scrambled over and helped Dewey seize Donald in a tight hug. “We are. Very happy.”

“You shouldn’t blame Louie for this. Go talk to your brother. Fighting isn’t worth it. I love you.”

“Love you too!” they chorused.

Huey bolted out of the room first, but Dewey lingered. He had a million questions, most of them about his mother and what happened. But he didn’t ask, knowing very well it was topic neither Donald or Scrooge wanted to talk about. Instead he ventured hesitantly, “Do you love Uncle Scrooge, Uncle Donald?”

“Yes.”

Brightening at this, Dewey grinned and went after Huey. Donald paused for a moment, realizing that he didn’t have to think about the answer, and wondered how love could still exist amongst all the grief and angst that existed between them. He supposed it really was the strongest force on earth.

Donald finally entered Scrooge’s office. The elderly duck was at his desk, reviewing a file, and didn’t look up when he came in. Donald struggled with his words for a moment before finally saying, “We’re not leaving.”

“Fine. Whatever ye wish.”

But Donald did not miss the way his shoulders sagged with relief. Rubbing the back of his neck, he said quietly, “She wouldn’t have cared, that it broke.”

Scrooge lifted his head, suddenly looking every year of his age and Donald hated it, hated thinking of his uncle as old. “I know. I do nae know what came over me. Is Louie all right?”

“Huey and Dewey are looking for him now. They got into a fight of their own and separated for some cool down time.”

“Nae much of a holiday this is turnin’ out tae be,” muttered Scrooge.

“It’s not really a holiday without some family fights,” said Donald with a shrug.

“I should nae have said the things I did, nor did I mean them. Ye did a fine job raising those boys, Donald. Ye did it by yerself. Ye did it far better than I ever could have.”

Donald could only nod, not trusting that his words would be coherent if he spoke. Before he could collect himself, Huey and Dewey burst in, both of them clearly distressed. “Louie’s gone!” cried Huey. “We kept calling his name but we couldn’t find him. We checked the closet and his coat is gone!”

“So is Webby’s,” added Dewey. “She must have gone after him!”

“Curse me kilts, if he has nae been with ye, that means he and Webbigail have been gone for over two hours!”

Everyone turned to stare out the office window, at the steady snowfall and frozen landscape. Heart in his throat, Donald ordered, “Go upstairs!”

“We’re coming with you,” insisted Dewey. “This is our fault too. We shouldn’t have yelled at him.”

“It’s freezing out there and it’s going to be dark soon. You’re not coming.”

When Huey and Dewey remained defiant, Scrooge set a wing on Donald’s shoulder. “I’m afraid you’re nae going tae change their minds. Family should be together during Christmas, after all.”

When Donald relented, Huey rushed to get Beakley, who had already contacted Launchpad and was preparing the limousine for departure. In less than ten minutes they were off, with both Donald and Scrooge vowing that they would never forgive themselves if something happened to the kids.

…

“Where does this piece go?”

“In that curved part.”

“Webby, it’s a star. There are a lot of curved parts.”

“You’re not looking at me! I’m pointing at it!”

Louie and Webby were seated at a table in a corner of a café, using a portable glue gun to reassemble the ornament. They put the gemstones back into place and reattached the wires so that they once again formed a perfect five-point star.

“We did it,” said Louie with a grin, cradling the repaired decoration in his wings. “Thanks, Webby. I couldn’t have done it without you. Mostly because I don’t own a glue gun.”

Webby shot him a playful glare. “Very funny.”

Louie folded the ornament into several brown paper napkins and slipped it in his pocket. “Let’s go home.”

Webby accepted the wing he extended towards her. Linked together, they started out of the café and down the sidewalk. They had barely made it down the block when a familiar vehicle pulled up beside them, the horn giving a short, sharp blast.  

“Granny!” cheered Webby and rushed at Beakley the second she stepped out of the limo.

“You know very well you cannot leave the mansion without speaking with me first,” said Beakley sternly as she embraced Webby.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I was just worried about Louie and didn’t really think of anything else.”

Louie charged into Donald’s waiting wings. “I’m leaving the mansion, I’ll be back in a few hours?” he offered with an innocent smile.

“A little late, dontcha think?” Donald asked, trying to scowl and failing. “Children who climb Christmas trees and run off without telling me aren’t on track to get presents from Santa.”

“That’s okay,” said Louie honestly. “I probably don’t deserve any.”

“Don’t be silly, of course you do.” Expression softening, he ran his wing down Louie’s back. “You kids are going to be the death of me one of these days.”

“I’m sorry,” said Dewey miserably, coming up next to Donald. “I didn’t mean anything I said.”

“Yeah,” agreed Huey, shame-faced. “You didn’t ruin anything. We’re sorry we made you feel that way.”

Louie stepped over to embrace them, grinning when Dewey gave him an affectionate noogie. “Nah, you were right. I was being a jerk and I caused Uncle Donald and Uncle Scrooge to fight.”

“Ye did nae cause anything, lad.”

Perking up at Scrooge’s voice, Louie looked up as his great-uncle finally approached them. “Uncle Scrooge?”

“I’m afraid I tend tae be in a horrid mood during this time of year,” Scrooge said with a sigh. “I took it out on ye and that was wrong. I’m sorry, Louie.”

“But I did break your ornament. I should have cared, whether I knew it was Mom’s or not. I’m sorry for being disrespectful. I’ll be more careful with your stuff from now on.” Louie reached into his pocket and removed the star. Scrooge’s eyes widened in surprise as Louie handed it to him. “Webby helped me fix it.”

Touched, Scrooge smiled and opened his wings for a hug. Louie eagerly accepted, embracing Scrooge tightly. “Thank ye, Louie. And ye’re not disrespectful. Ye’re a good lad. I’m glad tae have ye kids with me.” He extended a wing towards Webby and she happily joined the hug. “Though I could do without ye running off with nae a word.”

“We’ll try to be better about that,” said Webby sheepishly.

“Key word being try,” added Louie cheekily. After a pause he then asked more hesitantly, “Can we stay for Christmas?”

“Of course ye can,” said Scrooge immediately, feeling a surge of guilt for implying he did not want them there. “I really did nae want ye tae leave.”

Louie peeked over at Donald uncertainly, who flinched and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to leave either. I said it in the heat of the moment and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry for making you think we weren’t going to spend Christmas with Uncle Scrooge.”

Beakley cast a glance at the horizon, where the sun was rapidly setting and it was getting darker by the second. “If all apologies have been said and accepted, I do believe we should be getting back. We have a Christmas tree to finish decorating, do we not?”

“Yes!” whooped Webby. “Race ya!” She started to charge towards the limo, but her foot struck a patch of ice and she found herself landing hard on the cold cement. Hardly dazed, she sat up and grinned sheepishly as the boys laughed while the adults eyed her in concern, Beakley hoisting her back up. “Never mind.”

Chuckling, Louie turned to Donald. “Can I make a quick stop before we head back to the mansion?”

Donald eyed him suspiciously. “Where to?”

“The little antique store on the corner. I saw something in the window when I walked by and I just realized it’s the perfect present for someone.”

Though a little puzzled, Donald nodded. “You got ten minutes.”

“Got it.” Louie leaned forwards to give him another hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” returned Donald, tickling Louie’s cheek. “More than anything in this world.”

…

Christmas music played in the background, a soft melody against cheerful chatter. Beakley manned the ladder, critically watching each child as they scaled the steps to hang ornaments on the top branches. Louie adamantly refused to take his turn, but coaxing from his brothers and Webby eventually caused him to cave. Launchpad was given charge of the tinsel and the wooden ornaments, as Scrooge preferred not to have any more of his decorations broken.

“Ooh, candy canes!” said Webby gleefully, eagerly tearing off the plastic. “Can we hang them now?”

“How about you hang this one first?” offered Louie. He reached into his pocket and removed a small wooden box. Curious, Webby accepted it when he handed it to her. At her confused expression, Louie explained, “You never really got to have your own ornament. When I said I had to grab something at the antique store, it was this.”

Webby pried back the lid, a soft gasp escaping her at the sight of the angel ornament nestled in bubble wrap. It was ceramic, with a gold halo and glittery wings and a sweet, painted face. “Louie…this is amazing!”

“I’m glad you like it,” said Louie with relief. “I didn’t pay much attention to it at first, but when you came after me this afternoon…well, you were my angel today.”

Webby’s eyes welled with tears and she engulfed Louie in a bear hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, hesitating for a brief second before giving him a light peck on the cheek.

Turning red, Louie muttered, “Don’t mention it.”

“I know exactly where I’m putting it!” Approaching the tree, Webby hung her new ornament right beside Louie’s snowflake. “There! Wanna help me with the candy canes?”

“For sure. But before we start hanging them, we have to eat one first.”

As the pair began to deck the tree with candy canes, Donald watched Huey hang his last childhood ornament before moving on to Scrooge’s collection. Rummaging through a box, he stilled upon spotting a familiar ornament. He slowly lifted it out, a gold star with silver beads glued on.

“Ah, there it is,” mused Scrooge, appearing beside his nephew. “I wondered where it had gone. I thought I had put it with Della’s.”

“I didn’t think you kept mine,” said Donald at last.

Scrooge glanced at him. “Would nae make much sense tae keep Della’s and nae yers. Ye made it for me, did ye nae?”

“Well, yes, but…” Donald trailed off, knowing what he wanted to say but fearing what the answer might be.

But Scrooge was no fool, never had been. “We may have gotten along better, but I appreciated ye as well. When Della found out I had no homemade ornaments of me own, I did nae expect both of ye tae actually make me some.”

“Every tree needs homemade ornaments,” said Donald honestly. “And it was fun.” The last word came out strangled as his sister’s smiling face flashed through his mind and her bubbling laugh echoed through his ears. He let out a cough to try and get past the lump in his throat and he managed a half-smile. “We probably could have avoided the fuss if Louie had just broken mine.”

Scrooge shifted his gaze to glance at Louie, who was currently lifting Webby up by the waist so she could hang some candy canes on the middle branches of the Christmas tree. Huey was trying to rearrange the baubles so that the colours were separated instead of clustered together, while Dewey snuck up behind him and reversed his methodical work.

For so many years, Scrooge had spent Christmas alone and in isolation. But now the mansion was filled with warmth, laughter and cheer, and for the first time in a long time, it finally felt like he was home for the holidays.

“I suppose,” he replied. “Ye are here tae make me a new one, after all.” Taking the ornament from Donald, he hung it gently on the branch right beside Della’s star. He took a step back and put a wing on Donald’s shoulder. “Merry Christmas, nephew.”

“Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge.”

[starrygrays]

The Ornament (Secret Santa gift)

Title: The Ornament Rating: K+ Characters: Louie Duck, Webby Vanderquack, Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck Note: Hi! I’m your DuckTales Secret Santa. Merry Christmas, missette128! I hope you have an enjoyable holiday and a bright new year!

…

A towering pine tree dominated the foyer, the top branches looming just above second-floor balcony. Cardboard boxes of decorations were stacked near the foot of the tree and Huey held the ladder so Dewey could hang glittery silver baubles on the tips of the branches. After Dewey hung five ornaments, they would switch places. Webby, wearing a Santa hat and covered with tinsel, eagerly ran around the tree and tossed the silver decoration wherever she could reach.

“Even distribution, Webby, even distribution!” called Huey. Turning to Dewey, he then said, “Separate the ornaments! Don’t keep them close together!”

Dewey rolled his eyes and complied with Huey’s instruction, knowing it did no good to argue with him when it came to decorating the Christmas tree, which Huey was very particular about. Hanging a sparkly glass icicle, Dewey turned to glance below. “Louie, are you going help us or not?”

Their sibling was currently rifling through the boxes, pulling out tissue-wrapped ornaments and inspecting them. Critically eyeing a gold bauble with green gemstones, Louie eventually deemed it of no value and tossed it back in the box. “In a sec,” he replied. “I’m looking for my ornament.”

“Your ornament?” asked Webby curiously, peeking around the tree.

“Yeah, you know. Everyone has that one ornament that they like more than the rest, and it’s their ornament.”

“No, she wouldn’t know, considering this the first Christmas tree she’s decorated,” pointed out Huey. “Your decoration is already here. It’s in that box.”

Webby went over to the box Huey indicated. It was smaller than the rest, and in better condition than the ones Beakley found stashed in the attic. She pried open the top and found a collection of hand-crafted decorations and special occasion ornaments.

“Aw!” she squealed, lifting out a tiny brown bear wearing a green scarf that read Baby’s First Christmas. “That’s so cute! Is this your ornament?”

“No,” scoffed Louie.

“It’s the snowflake,” added Dewey. “It’s the shiniest ornament he has and you know how he likes shiny things.”

“It reminds me of treasure,” said Louie happily.

Webby carefully removed a silver snowflake, which was covered in jewels in varying shades of blue. When she twirled it, it caught the light, reflecting it across the floor in a shimmering wave. She placed it neatly back into the box and looked at the remaining ornaments nestled inside.

“How come you haven’t put these ones on the tree?” she asked. “Aren’t they your childhood ornaments?”

“Yeah, but we’ll put them on when Uncle Scrooge is finished with his work and can help us,” replied Huey. “And we like doing ours with Uncle Donald.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s, uh, probably somewhere thinking,” muttered Dewey, the cheerful glint disappearing from his eyes for a moment. “He usually does that whenever the tree goes up.”

“Oh,” said Webby, folding her wings in front of her. “Duh. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Dewey flashed her a smile. “He’ll be fine when he starts getting into the Christmas decorating.”

“Louie, be careful!” cried Huey, noticing his brother toss aside a plain silver bauble. “Why do you need another ornament anyway?”

“Come on, Uncle Scrooge has to have something valuable in all this stuff,” exclaimed Louie.

“I don’t think so,” piped up Webby. “This is the first time in my whole life Mr. McDuck has ever decorated for Christmas. If he had something valuable in that box, he wouldn’t leave it in the attic. The garage, sure, but not the attic.”

Louie made a face, knowing that Webby had a point. “Darn.”

Dewey made his way down the ladder and Huey collected some ornaments. “Now that there’s nothing of value you can pilfer, are you going to help us now?” asked Huey.

“I guess,” sighed Louie. He reached into the box he had been rummaging through and grabbed a handful of ornaments. He turned to the tree and frowned when he noticed that only the bottom half was decorated. “Don’t you have a taller ladder?”

“Uncle Donald doesn’t want us going any higher until he’s with us,” said Dewey.

“Psh, it’s not that high,” dismissed Louie.

Huey’s eyes widened when Louie started to climb the tree, causing the ornaments to jingle when the branches shook. “Louie, knock it off!”

“Relax,” said Louie, pausing when he made it three-quarters of the way up and started to hang his ornaments. “I got this.”

“Seriously, just wait until Uncle Donald and Uncle Scrooge are here,” said Dewey, eyeing the trembling tree nervously. “You’re going to break something!”

Louie rolled his eyes, attaching a silver-and-blue snowman to the tip of a branch. “I’m not going to—”

His words ended with a startled gasp when he suddenly slipped, sending him to a rough landing with the cold, unforgiving floor. His shoulder throbbed with pain and his head spun, and he barely processed the panicked cries of his siblings and Webby.

“Dude!” shouted Dewey, hurrying to his side. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” said Louie dazedly, sitting up. He glanced down, smiling triumphantly when he noticed the ornament still intact. “See? Didn’t break—”

The silver star, made out of entwined wire and gemstones, crumbled apart the second he lifted it up. “…anything,” finished Louie.

“Oh no, Mr. McDuck is going to be mad,” whispered Webby with wide eyes.

“Way to go,” said Huey with a scowl, ire coursing through him now that he knew Louie was all right. “It took forever for us to convince Uncle Scrooge to decorate for Christmas. Now he’s probably going to get Beakley to toss the tree right out the front door.”

Louie started to gather the pieces together. “I’ll just hide it. He’ll never—”

“What in blazes is goin’ on in here?”

Scrooge appeared in the entrance of the foyer just as Donald stood at the top of the stairs. Louie let out a huff. “Geez, my timing is off today.”

Donald’s eyes zeroed in on Louie sitting on the floor, the broken ornament in his hand. “Louie!” He rushed down and lifted Louie to his feet, inspecting him anxiously. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fine,” said Louie with a sigh, letting the threads of wire and gemstones to fall back to the hardwood. “Just slipped.”

“Yeah, right out of the tree,” muttered Huey.

Eyes narrowing, Donald demanded, “Were you climbing hazardously high places again?”

“Depends on your definition of hazard.” When Donald glared warningly at him, Louie crossed his wings and muttered, “Yes, I was.”

“What have I told you about doing that?” snapped Donald. “You could’ve broken your neck!”

“I was just trying to decorate the tree.”

“Didn’t your brothers tell you I’d be down to help you shortly?”

“Yes,” chorused Huey and Dewey.

“I’m fine,” said Louie irritably.

“Barely,” said Donald with a scowl. “You broke an ornament this time and there’s not going to be a next time for you to try and break a bone. You’re grounded. Now what do you say?”

Louie followed Donald’s pointed look to where Scrooge was staring down at the broken pieces of the ornament. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll…uh…buy you a new one,” he added, silently hoping that its appearance meant it was as cheap as it seemed.

“Ye cannae just buy me a new one,” said Scrooge abruptly. “There is nae another one like this in the whole world.”

“Wait, was it priceless or something?” asked Louie in bewilderment. “It looks kinda lousy.”

Scrooge spun around and reached out, grabbing Louie by the front of his hoodie as he growled, “How dare ye? It was nae lousy tae me.”

Too stunned by the rage in Scrooge’s voice to answer, Donald reacted for him. He wrenched his nephew free of Scrooge’s grip and said angrily, “He didn’t know. It was an accident.”

“Of course he did nae know,” said Scrooge spitefully. “How could he? Ye do nae tell them anything.”

Despite his words being deliberately vague, Donald knew exactly what he meant by it. “Don’t start,” he hissed. “You don’t have the right when it’s your fault.”

Scrooge straightened and he sent Donald a hard look. “Ye were as clueless as I was. I will not shoulder the blame alone.”

“What the heck are you talking about?” cried Louie.

“Shut up,” snapped Dewey, exchanging a quick look with Webby.

But Louie’s exclamation broke through the simmering, red haze of the two feuding ducks. “Never ye mind,” said Scrooge tensely. “But the matter remains that ye have no respect for my personal property.”

“I do,” insisted Louie.

“It took ye long enough to offer an apology.”

“Leave him alone,” snapped Donald. “He didn’t do it on purpose. It’s not him you’re really angry at, anyway. Don’t take it out on him.”

“With such little discipline it’s a wonder they do nae tear up more of my possessions for fun.”

Shoulders hunching forwards, Donald’s face flushed puce. “Don’t you ever criticize how I raise them.”

Scrooge swung his cane up to point accusingly at Donald. “He breaks something of mine, something very important, and tae top it off he calls it lousy. And all ye do is defend him. But why should it matter? It’s only me. I’m the cause of all your problems, are I nae? Hard tae teach respect when ye have none yerself.”

“What do you know about respect?”

Scrooge stilled for a moment, his eyes narrowing. As they stared at each other Louie finally understood what the phrase ‘silence is deafening’ meant. He glanced between them, beak opening and closing helplessly. He wished he had some magic power that would allow him to fix the stupid ornament and make his uncles stop fighting. Huey and Dewey had unconsciously clustered closer together, nervously awaiting what furious outburst would come next. Webby clung the tinsel to her chest and darted her eyes between the occupants of the room.

“I never liked Christmas and nao I’m remembering why,” Scrooge finally said quietly. “It’s all just a bunch of bother.”

The kids flinched when he slammed his cane into a box, crunching glass sounding like gunshots in the tense atmosphere. Donald’s wings trembled slightly by his side. “These kids are getting Christmas. If you refuse that, we’re leaving.”

Scrooge turned, avoiding the desperate gazes of the kids, for if he met their eyes his heart would only shatter into a thousand pieces. “Then go.”

He disappeared through the entryway without a backwards glance. Donald felt his mind whirl, old emotions conflicting with new and he wasn’t sure if he should be enraged or heartbroken. Knowing the latter would happen if he looked at his kids, he said softly, “Pack your bags, boys,” and moved upstairs as quickly as he could without sprinting.

“I…I…” Louie fumbled his speech, a hundred thoughts rushing through his head and unable to focus on any of them. “I didn’t mean…”

He reached down and lifted the top part of the ornament, the wire pieces jagged and gemstones hanging by thin strings of aged glue. He noticed for the first time a tag attached to the string and he flipped it over, reading the clumsy, cursive handwriting.

‘Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge! Love your favourite niece, Della.’

Louie’s blood turned to ice. He didn’t have time to truly react, though he probably wouldn’t have moved of his own accord for several minutes if Dewey hadn’t shoved him hard from behind, sending him sprawling out across the floor.

“Louie!” Webby exclaimed, hurrying to help him up. “Dewey, what was that for?”

“It was from Mom!” Dewey cried, his small body shaking with rage and shock and grief. “The ornament he broke was from Mom to Uncle Scrooge, and you called it lousy!”

“I didn’t know!” retorted Louie.

“That’s all you ever say! You didn’t know, it was an accident, it’s not your fault. You knew something might break if you climbed that tree. You knew and you still took the chance anyway, and look what happened! Uncle Scrooge kicked us out and it’s all your fault!”

“I’ll talk to him, okay?” insisted Louie.

“You’re not going to be able to talk your way out of this one.” Huey levelled Louie with a disappointed look, his eyes shimmering with tears. “We were finally going to have a nice Christmas. Uncle Donald wasn’t going to be overworked and stressed. It was going to be our first one with Uncle Scrooge, Webby and Beakley. But you had to go and pull a Louie.”

“I didn’t…” Louie started, but his brothers stormed off, disappearing up the stairs.

He looked after them, helplessness crashing down on him. He wanted to talk to Scrooge, to insist he didn’t mean any disrespect, that it really was an accident. But his great-uncle’s rage was a crystal-clear image in his mind and he feared going against it alone. He wanted to speak with Donald, to be comforted and advised on what to do, but he was ashamed. He had broken a trinket that his mother, that Donald’s twin sister, had made, and called it lousy and thought it was stupid.

And what caused a searing, white-hot guilt to cut through his chest was that they were right, and Donald’s defense of him was undeserved.

Webby lingered in the foyer, suddenly feeling ridiculous draped with tinsel given the seriousness of the situation. She hastily shook it off and hesitantly approached Louie. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out,” said Louie hotly. “We’re leaving in the morning and we’re probably never coming back and it’s because I’m an idiot.”

“That’s not—”

Louie turned and bolted out of the foyer before Webby finish. He blindly shoved his webbed feet into his boots before swinging open the front door. He slammed it shut on Webby’s frantic call of his name and started to run, tearing down the salted pathway and bursting through the iron gates. He ran as hard and fast as he could, lungs heaving with every step and tears streaming down his face. The bitter wind slapped at his exposed feathers and he jerked up his hoodie to guard his ears. He didn’t register the sting of the cold, ignoring it as he pressed on. He just wanted to get away, to avoid the consequences of his actions.

Avoidance seemed to be one of the few things he was good at.

Wings shoved into his pockets, Louie hunched his shoulders against the wind as he moved briskly down the sidewalk. It was thankfully quiet that afternoon, which meant he didn’t have to worry too much about plastering on a smile and hiding his tears.

Eventually he made it to the park and he collapsed onto a bench, shivering as the frigid steel met his uncovered legs. He couldn’t handle the cold as well as his siblings, which was why he wore a whole snowsuit as opposed to just a winter coat. He shook violently, arms curling around himself to try and keep some parts of his body warm.

A short, humourless smile crossed his beak. Running off without his winter gear—yet another example of pulling a Louie. Acting without thinking. Making impulse decisions. Not listening and disobeying orders, only to cause trouble by doing exactly what he had been told not to do.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent in the cold, curled in on himself and crying into his arms. A shout alerted him to another presence in the park, and when he listened more closely he realized his name was being called.

“Louie! Louie, where are you?”

“Webby?”

The girl appeared at the end of the path, decked out in her pink and purple jacket, mittens and hat. Her concern evaporated from her expression when she spotted him, but it remained in her voice when she cried, “Louie! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

She handed him his snowsuit, which he gratefully wrestled into, the warmth immediately engulfing him. “Thanks. You didn’t have to.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I did.” She gave him a pointed look. “You can’t run out into the snow with just your hoodie. You’re going to get pneumonia.”

“Sorry. I just had to get out of there. How did you find me?”

“Your boot tracks.” When he sent her a quizzical glance, she cheerfully explained, “You’re a size six and a half and the tread is unique to the brand of shoe that you have. It was easy to follow.”

Louie chuckled. “You never cease to amaze me, Webbs.”

“Aw, thanks.” Webby took a seat beside him and said, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I messed up big time.” Louie kicked at the snow miserably. “I don’t even know if I can fix this one.”

“Sure you can! There’s always a solution to a problem.”

“Not this one. I know Uncle Donald and Uncle Scrooge don’t really get along and this just made it worse. I don’t really get what they were talking about, but I guess it was about Mom.”

“Seemed like it,” agreed Webby carefully. “But you didn’t know. You just have to explain that to Mr. McDuck.”

“It won’t matter. Because it shouldn’t matter if it was an ornament from Mom or not. I broke something of his and I honestly didn’t really care. He has a ton of stuff. Me breaking a few things accidentally didn’t seem all that important. I only cared when I saw how much it meant to Uncle Scrooge and why.” Louie let out a quiet scoff. “I really am disrespectful.”

“You are not,” insisted Webby.

Louie looked at her in disbelief. “How can you say that?”

“Because I live with you! I hang out with you. You don’t disrespect me. You might not listen all the time, but you always acknowledge when I was right and you were wrong. You apologize and you mean it. You have so much respect for Donald, I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at him.”

“Some respect,” muttered Louie. “After everything he’s done for us I still get on his case for being boring and unlucky.”

“You used to,” corrected Webby. “You stopped after we left the House of the Lucky Gander. You realized the effect your words had and that Donald took them more seriously than as jokes. If you didn’t care or respect him, you would have kept doing it.”

“Maybe,” said Louie, though he was doubtful. “But I’m always pulling a Louie. I never learn enough to stop doing that.”

Webby flinched and averted her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said guiltily. “I really shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t anything against you. It’s just…you have a certain behaviour…and I just sort of called it that. It’s not a bad thing! Not always. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

Louie bumped shoulders with her gently, getting her eyes to met his again. “You didn’t. You were right. Pulling a Louie sometimes works in my favour, sometimes it doesn’t. Today it didn’t. I just did what I wanted to do and didn’t bother to think about the consequences. I do that a lot.”

“It’s something you have to work on. Not everyone is perfect. Just because you have flaws doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person. Today was an honest mistake, Louie. I know you feel bad, but you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself. You’re pretty great.”

Her bright, earnest smile caused Louie’s spirits to lift. Rubbing away a few last tears, he said, “Thanks Webby. I still don’t know how I’m going to fix this. We’re supposed to be gone in the morning.”

“We’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Webby determinedly. She reached into her pocket and carefully removed a paper bag. When Louie peeked inside, he discovered it contained the pieces of Della’s ornament. “We can put it back together and then we’ll give it to Mr. McDuck! Maybe then we can get him to talk to Donald.”

“It’s worth a try,” agreed Louie.

He would do whatever it took. He had just found Uncle Scrooge—he didn’t want to lose him now.

…

The suitcase had been sitting on Donald’s bed for almost two hours. He alternated between staring at it, pacing the tiny length of his houseboat and bustling about, tidying shelves and dusting furniture. He hadn’t even begun to pack. He didn’t want to.

Della’s disappearance (he refused to say death—no one ever found out what truly happened to her) was a soul crushing blow he never recovered from. He pinned the blame on his uncle, who should have known better than to speak to Della about potentially powerful, dangerous artifacts. It was like luring a moth to an open flame.

Della loved mystery. She loved superstitions. She loved myths and legends. The idea that there were things in the world that were undiscovered, forces that could not be explained, thrilled her. He had always been cautious. Wary. Suspicious. He supposed that’s why Scrooge always clicked better with Della.

He was against the Spear of Selene from the start. Very little was known about it, other than it held power that was not known to man, harnessed from the cosmos, most of it theorized to come from the moon. Scrooge wanted it. Of course he did. But Della…she had wanted it more. Her curiosity had always gotten the best of her. This time it was too much.

One day she was there and the next she gone, leaving nothing but the note behind. Scrooge and Donald had searched weeks for her, exhausting Scrooge’s list of contacts. They couldn’t find her. They couldn’t find the spear. She was gone. And both of them knew she would never have left behind the triplets—she thought she was coming back, from wherever she had gone.

Donald was suddenly the caretaker of three babies. He was stressed, grieving and destroyed. And from early on, he swore that if it weren’t for Scrooge and his insistence to pursue this mythical weapon, Della would still be here. Their relationship was never the same after that.

Anger was still there. Resentment. Bitterness. But above all else, guilt and shame. And perhaps neither of them were able to accept they were both at fault. They had to blame one another, because Donald knew if he dared to acknowledge it was his fault, he would not be able to bear it. He was her twin. He should have known something was off. That her attention, while always distracted, was particularly flighty. That her note-taking was more rapid, frantic, almost desperate. She grew quieter. He attributed it to one of her moods. He didn’t bother to inquire if anything was wrong.

Maybe she wouldn’t have told him regardless. But the fact he never asked ate at him. The only thing that kept him sane was that Scrooge hadn’t paid attention either and it was easier to blame him, the one who dragged them all into the mess in the first place.

Yet, with all of these thoughts broiling in his mind, he couldn’t bring himself to pack his loose items and prepare to take his houseboat to another harbour. He had gone so long without Scrooge he thought he was better off without him. But being back in the mansion, back with the duck who taught him so much, brought forth a rush of memories and emotions that were happy and pleasant. No, he and Scrooge hadn’t always gotten along. But they did love each other. And as much as he tried, that didn’t change.

Raking a wing down his face, Donald let out a sharp sigh. He was always the overthinker. Always the overreactor. He supposed he should have been stricter with Louie, who had a tendency to forget to be careful with another’s belongings. But Louie’s apology was sincere and Scrooge honestly hadn’t really minded all that much when his items had been broken before. It just happened to be Della’s ornament, and it just happened to open wounds that had never fully healed.

It was two weeks before Christmas. He couldn’t drag the boys out now. Not when he had no money for a tree or presents or a meal. The boys would claim they didn’t care, but he knew they did. They deserved a Christmas. And Scrooge deserved to have a reason to celebrate again. So did he.

Closing his eyes and knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy, Donald left the houseboat and crossed through the yard. He entered the sliding glass door, dutifully brushed off the snow to the mat under Beakley’s watchful gaze as she mopped the kitchen nook floor.

“You’re not gearing up for another explosion, are you?”

Donald sent her an unimpressed look. “No. It’s not just my fault, you know.”

“I do,” she replied sincerely. “I only wish you could put aside your differences, especially for the holidays. I’m afraid Webby’s never really had a true Christmas, as much I tried to make them special.”

“You never once got angry with Uncle Scrooge for refusing to celebrate, even when Webby was here?” asked Donald, slightly bewildered.

Beakley lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Not really. Webby is an easy to please child and she was happy enough. Christmas isn’t about the sparkle and material items, after all. It’s about family. I don’t think I’d want to celebrate either if I lost my family.”

“Yeah,” muttered Donald, a pulse of guilt going through him, as it so often did. “I’ll see what I can do.”

He started through the mansion but before he went to Scrooge’s office he decided to check on his boys. He went to their room and swung open the door, where he found Huey reading and Dewey playing a hand-held video game.

“You guys okay?”

“Us?” Immediately attentive, Dewey set his game aside. “We’re fine. What about you?”

“I’m good. Not the first time I’ve gotten into it with your uncle.”

“Are we really going to leave?” asked Huey hesitantly.

“No. I’ll talk to him, let him know we’re staying.” He couldn’t help but smile when Dewey and Huey cheered and high-fived. The smile slipped and he asked, “Where’s Louie?”

“Oh—we haven’t seen him for a while.” Dewey averted his gaze and tugged on the hem of his shirt. “We kind of got into a fight and we stormed up here. Louie didn’t follow.”

Donald’s brow furrowed. “What happened?”

“We blamed him for you wanting us to leave and for getting Uncle Scrooge mad,” he replied, growing shame-faced. “It was wrong, I know. But it was going to be an awesome Christmas. You would finally get to relax and be happy instead of worrying.”

Donald went over and rubbed Dewey’s head, a warm smile on his beak. “It’s not your job to worry about me, but I appreciate it. I’ve always been stressed, probably since the day I was hatched. But I’ve never not been happy at Christmas. I have you boys. So long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Huey scrambled over and helped Dewey seize Donald in a tight hug. “We are. Very happy.”

“You shouldn’t blame Louie for this. Go talk to your brother. Fighting isn’t worth it. I love you.”

“Love you too!” they chorused.

Huey bolted out of the room first, but Dewey lingered. He had a million questions, most of them about his mother and what happened. But he didn’t ask, knowing very well it was topic neither Donald or Scrooge wanted to talk about. Instead he ventured hesitantly, “Do you love Uncle Scrooge, Uncle Donald?”

“Yes.”

Brightening at this, Dewey grinned and went after Huey. Donald paused for a moment, realizing that he didn’t have to think about the answer, and wondered how love could still exist amongst all the grief and angst that existed between them. He supposed it really was the strongest force on earth.

Donald finally entered Scrooge’s office. The elderly duck was at his desk, reviewing a file, and didn’t look up when he came in. Donald struggled with his words for a moment before finally saying, “We’re not leaving.”

“Fine. Whatever ye wish.”

But Donald did not miss the way his shoulders sagged with relief. Rubbing the back of his neck, he said quietly, “She wouldn’t have cared, that it broke.”

Scrooge lifted his head, suddenly looking every year of his age and Donald hated it, hated thinking of his uncle as old. “I know. I do nae know what came over me. Is Louie all right?”

“Huey and Dewey are looking for him now. They got into a fight of their own and separated for some cool down time.”

“Nae much of a holiday this is turnin’ out tae be,” muttered Scrooge.

“It’s not really a holiday without some family fights,” said Donald with a shrug.

“I should nae have said the things I did, nor did I mean them. Ye did a fine job raising those boys, Donald. Ye did it by yerself. Ye did it far better than I ever could have.”

Donald could only nod, not trusting that his words would be coherent if he spoke. Before he could collect himself, Huey and Dewey burst in, both of them clearly distressed. “Louie’s gone!” cried Huey. “We kept calling his name but we couldn’t find him. We checked the closet and his coat is gone!”

“So is Webby’s,” added Dewey. “She must have gone after him!”

“Curse me kilts, if he has nae been with ye, that means he and Webbigail have been gone for over two hours!”

Everyone turned to stare out the office window, at the steady snowfall and frozen landscape. Heart in his throat, Donald ordered, “Go upstairs!”

“We’re coming with you,” insisted Dewey. “This is our fault too. We shouldn’t have yelled at him.”

“It’s freezing out there and it’s going to be dark soon. You’re not coming.”

When Huey and Dewey remained defiant, Scrooge set a wing on Donald’s shoulder. “I’m afraid you’re nae going tae change their minds. Family should be together during Christmas, after all.”

When Donald relented, Huey rushed to get Beakley, who had already contacted Launchpad and was preparing the limousine for departure. In less than ten minutes they were off, with both Donald and Scrooge vowing that they would never forgive themselves if something happened to the kids.

…

“Where does this piece go?”

“In that curved part.”

“Webby, it’s a star. There are a lot of curved parts.”

“You’re not looking at me! I’m pointing at it!”

Louie and Webby were seated at a table in a corner of a café, using a portable glue gun to reassemble the ornament. They put the gemstones back into place and reattached the wires so that they once again formed a perfect five-point star.

“We did it,” said Louie with a grin, cradling the repaired decoration in his wings. “Thanks, Webby. I couldn’t have done it without you. Mostly because I don’t own a glue gun.”

Webby shot him a playful glare. “Very funny.”

Louie folded the ornament into several brown paper napkins and slipped it in his pocket. “Let’s go home.”

Webby accepted the wing he extended towards her. Linked together, they started out of the café and down the sidewalk. They had barely made it down the block when a familiar vehicle pulled up beside them, the horn giving a short, sharp blast.  

“Granny!” cheered Webby and rushed at Beakley the second she stepped out of the limo.

“You know very well you cannot leave the mansion without speaking with me first,” said Beakley sternly as she embraced Webby.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I was just worried about Louie and didn’t really think of anything else.”

Louie charged into Donald’s waiting wings. “I’m leaving the mansion, I’ll be back in a few hours?” he offered with an innocent smile.

“A little late, dontcha think?” Donald asked, trying to scowl and failing. “Children who climb Christmas trees and run off without telling me aren’t on track to get presents from Santa.”

“That’s okay,” said Louie honestly. “I probably don’t deserve any.”

“Don’t be silly, of course you do.” Expression softening, he ran his wing down Louie’s back. “You kids are going to be the death of me one of these days.”

“I’m sorry,” said Dewey miserably, coming up next to Donald. “I didn’t mean anything I said.”

“Yeah,” agreed Huey, shame-faced. “You didn’t ruin anything. We’re sorry we made you feel that way.”

Louie stepped over to embrace them, grinning when Dewey gave him an affectionate noogie. “Nah, you were right. I was being a jerk and I caused Uncle Donald and Uncle Scrooge to fight.”

“Ye did nae cause anything, lad.”

Perking up at Scrooge’s voice, Louie looked up as his great-uncle finally approached them. “Uncle Scrooge?”

“I’m afraid I tend tae be in a horrid mood during this time of year,” Scrooge said with a sigh. “I took it out on ye and that was wrong. I’m sorry, Louie.”

“But I did break your ornament. I should have cared, whether I knew it was Mom’s or not. I’m sorry for being disrespectful. I’ll be more careful with your stuff from now on.” Louie reached into his pocket and removed the star. Scrooge’s eyes widened in surprise as Louie handed it to him. “Webby helped me fix it.”

Touched, Scrooge smiled and opened his wings for a hug. Louie eagerly accepted, embracing Scrooge tightly. “Thank ye, Louie. And ye’re not disrespectful. Ye’re a good lad. I’m glad tae have ye kids with me.” He extended a wing towards Webby and she happily joined the hug. “Though I could do without ye running off with nae a word.”

“We’ll try to be better about that,” said Webby sheepishly.

“Key word being try,” added Louie cheekily. After a pause he then asked more hesitantly, “Can we stay for Christmas?”

“Of course ye can,” said Scrooge immediately, feeling a surge of guilt for implying he did not want them there. “I really did nae want ye tae leave.”

Louie peeked over at Donald uncertainly, who flinched and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to leave either. I said it in the heat of the moment and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry for making you think we weren’t going to spend Christmas with Uncle Scrooge.”

Beakley cast a glance at the horizon, where the sun was rapidly setting and it was getting darker by the second. “If all apologies have been said and accepted, I do believe we should be getting back. We have a Christmas tree to finish decorating, do we not?”

“Yes!” whooped Webby. “Race ya!” She started to charge towards the limo, but her foot struck a patch of ice and she found herself landing hard on the cold cement. Hardly dazed, she sat up and grinned sheepishly as the boys laughed while the adults eyed her in concern, Beakley hoisting her back up. “Never mind.”

Chuckling, Louie turned to Donald. “Can I make a quick stop before we head back to the mansion?”

Donald eyed him suspiciously. “Where to?”

“The little antique store on the corner. I saw something in the window when I walked by and I just realized it’s the perfect present for someone.”

Though a little puzzled, Donald nodded. “You got ten minutes.”

“Got it.” Louie leaned forwards to give him another hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” returned Donald, tickling Louie’s cheek. “More than anything in this world.”

…

Christmas music played in the background, a soft melody against cheerful chatter. Beakley manned the ladder, critically watching each child as they scaled the steps to hang ornaments on the top branches. Louie adamantly refused to take his turn, but coaxing from his brothers and Webby eventually caused him to cave. Launchpad was given charge of the tinsel and the wooden ornaments, as Scrooge preferred not to have any more of his decorations broken.

“Ooh, candy canes!” said Webby gleefully, eagerly tearing off the plastic. “Can we hang them now?”

“How about you hang this one first?” offered Louie. He reached into his pocket and removed a small wooden box. Curious, Webby accepted it when he handed it to her. At her confused expression, Louie explained, “You never really got to have your own ornament. When I said I had to grab something at the antique store, it was this.”

Webby pried back the lid, a soft gasp escaping her at the sight of the angel ornament nestled in bubble wrap. It was ceramic, with a gold halo and glittery wings and a sweet, painted face. “Louie…this is amazing!”

“I’m glad you like it,” said Louie with relief. “I didn’t pay much attention to it at first, but when you came after me this afternoon…well, you were my angel today.”

Webby’s eyes welled with tears and she engulfed Louie in a bear hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, hesitating for a brief second before giving him a light peck on the cheek.

Turning red, Louie muttered, “Don’t mention it.”

“I know exactly where I’m putting it!” Approaching the tree, Webby hung her new ornament right beside Louie’s snowflake. “There! Wanna help me with the candy canes?”

“For sure. But before we start hanging them, we have to eat one first.”

As the pair began to deck the tree with candy canes, Donald watched Huey hang his last childhood ornament before moving on to Scrooge’s collection. Rummaging through a box, he stilled upon spotting a familiar ornament. He slowly lifted it out, a gold star with silver beads glued on.

“Ah, there it is,” mused Scrooge, appearing beside his nephew. “I wondered where it had gone. I thought I had put it with Della’s.”

“I didn’t think you kept mine,” said Donald at last.

Scrooge glanced at him. “Would nae make much sense tae keep Della’s and nae yers. Ye made it for me, did ye nae?”

“Well, yes, but…” Donald trailed off, knowing what he wanted to say but fearing what the answer might be.

But Scrooge was no fool, never had been. “We may have gotten along better, but I appreciated ye as well. When Della found out I had no homemade ornaments of me own, I did nae expect both of ye tae actually make me some.”

“Every tree needs homemade ornaments,” said Donald honestly. “And it was fun.” The last word came out strangled as his sister’s smiling face flashed through his mind and her bubbling laugh echoed through his ears. He let out a cough to try and get past the lump in his throat and he managed a half-smile. “We probably could have avoided the fuss if Louie had just broken mine.”

Scrooge shifted his gaze to glance at Louie, who was currently lifting Webby up by the waist so she could hang some candy canes on the middle branches of the Christmas tree. Huey was trying to rearrange the baubles so that the colours were separated instead of clustered together, while Dewey snuck up behind him and reversed his methodical work.

For so many years, Scrooge had spent Christmas alone and in isolation. But now the mansion was filled with warmth, laughter and cheer, and for the first time in a long time, it finally felt like he was home for the holidays.

“I suppose,” he replied. “Ye are here tae make me a new one, after all.” Taking the ornament from Donald, he hung it gently on the branch right beside Della’s star. He took a step back and put a wing on Donald’s shoulder. “Merry Christmas, nephew.”

“Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge.”

 AHH Thank you so much! I loved it!!! @animationnut

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales: Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks! and Quack Pack! Review/Thoughts

Hello errybody, I’ve decided being a huge fan of this verison of Ducktales, and someone who likes reviewing stuff and going on and on at length about it, to review this season’s episodes as they come out, both to get me writing critically again, and to get more non chat content on the old tumblr.  First, while you likely don’t care a little about my history with the ducks; While I , sadly though i’m trying to correct it, haven’t read MUCH of Carl Barks classic donald duck comics nor that of his avid fanboy and clear sucessor in quality and talent Don Rosa, I did read Rosa’s utter classic “The LIfe and Times of Scrooge” mcduck in high school and the story stuck with me sense. I’ll go into Life and Times another day hopefully, but naturally when the reboot was announced I was excited.. a great voice cast, and donald,my boy, as part of the main cast. The show has been a joy to behold and with steven universe having taken a bow JUST a week ago and Covid ravaging our lives, it coudln’t of picked a better time. But do these episodes keep the momentum from an utterly marvelous second half of season 2? The short answer is “Fuck yes” but the long answer is under the cut. 

Challenge of the Junior Senior Woodchucks! While “Challenge of the x” is a popular snowclone title I can’t help but think of superfriends with the title... or now I thought of it shortly before writing this, hearing “Meanwhile at the legion of doom” when they cut to fowl.. or rather “Meanwhile at FOWL” but in that same announcers voice. I”m a dork, that should be obvious But I was hyped for both episodes: Violet is a faviorite mine, I ship her with huey so them interacting for the first time was wonderful to me, and.. okay the subplot didn’t hook me and we’ll get to that, but we had her dads and one of my other faviorites (I have several, get used to it now) , Lena , at least putting in an apperance. And honestly.. the main plot lived up to it. As I said I didn’t really dig the sub plot, more on that in a second, but I REALLY enjoyed this. From the begining Huey was my faviorite of the three triplets, easily, as it’s fairly easy for me a grown ass dork with anxiety, self confidence, anger issues, depression and constant self doubt, to relate to a little duck with the same and I’ve loved Danny Pudi since community, so naturally I was excited for his turn for a spotlight season.  And again the show didn’t disapoint.. Huey has a rather decent arc with some unexpected turns: First unexpectly, the trailer lied as while Huey and Violet look ultra competiive, theirs no real confilct..s econds after that bit the two shake hands (after a good 20 seconds of adorable and hilarous failure to do so that fits both like a glove.), and try to be good sports. The problem is instead internal: As Huey muses to his siblings (Webby very much included, getting her own great bit of encouraging Huey while also assuring Violet she’s also great he just needs it more, which is accurate) “If i’m not hte best junior woodchuck who am I”. Like Louie last season towards the begining (when he didn’t have a clear purpose in their adventuring dynamic) and towards the end (When della nearly took it away from him), he’s nothing without his sense of who he is. It’s easily why he’s the one to comfort him when his other siblings are either torn between two friends or you know, Dewey. Louie knows what it’s like to be rattled about who you are.  And WHY Violet outclassing him rattles him so much is intreating and to me makes a ton of sense: Huey’s identity to me is so wrapped in his intellegence and woodchuckery because , besides being oldest, it’s what he HAS on his brothers. When you think about it, Louie is the charmer, Dewey is charsmaticin his own way and loves hogging attention not to mention being fairly athletic... to stand out Huey NEEDS his brains to be the one with facts, and plans and his book.  He may not be the first on the front lines but he’s the first to solve a trap or figure out where they are if scrooge or his mom hasn’t already.. and if someone’s markdely better at that, and worse in an activity that’s wholy his own and now it’s been revealed impmortant to his mom.. just who is he.  The poor kid simply breaks down at the thought and takes bigger and stupider risks, which is sad to watch.. and thankfully lightned by his delightful mental brekadown in the form of the stephen root voiced JW Guidebook, a talking hallucination who gives huey his knowledge and edge back in the contest.. but it’s STILL not enough. And that’s when the other intresting bit comes into play: Huey.. has a moment of weakness. Despite the guidebook saying to always save your fellow woodchucks when violet gets stuck slipping in a tree.. he does nothing and leaves, despite JW  , whose now become his concious, begging him not to. It’s a sad, well done moment, and one that makes the story richer. Naturally violet escapes and when huey falls off the lava bridge to the finish line in a nother moment of desperation, and after a returning JW burns because apparently ducks and sabrewings are fireproof but imaginary manfestations of knowledge arne’t, she saves him... and is a good friend and woodchuck in NOT chastizing huey for his moment of weakness earlier, but comforting him, revealing she’s tried three times before and adding some more depth to her character: Despite her awkardness with people, she’s a kind, caring person, and gives Huey the lesson he needs: faliure, and the ocasional bout of moral weakness, is okay.. what matters is you learn from it, dust yourself off and keep going. Huey bows out due to this, as while violet is more than willing to let him pass with her, Huey knows he hasn’t earned it, yet, but he can keep trying and that this is her moment, not his. And in that, I feel learns that he dosen’t NEED recognition to be his best self.. he just needs to be a good person and a good woodchuk. I’ts a damn fine story and despite not being the intended premire, works as a great one.. mostly. And also yes I ship them.. as much as two ten-elven year olds can be, but they are adorable and geninley have a good repore.  And before I get to the dispaointing subplot, i’d be an idiot if I left out Violet’s family: We meet her dads, hilariously wearing shirts that say i’m with dad which is also really fucking adorable, and have our first onscreen conformation that Lena’s now her adopted sister, with Lena loudly screaming it in one of the best lines of the episode.. it’s clever to me: it over the top makes sure that we know yes, these men are gay and her parents.. but in a needed way given disney’s tendncy to dance around that or loudly proclaim a minor character no one cares about is gay in a way they can edit out. It’s a great step forward for the channel and the company and good on the crew for going ahead with it and good on disney for not beign dumb about it, nor, like again they have a bad habit of doing, loudly shouting about it to the media. Excellent work. 

Now i’m done rambling about Huey’s psyche and america’s new faviorite gay couple, I gotta get the suplot out of the way: while the whiporwill is freaking adorable as is dewey’s bond with it, otherwise this plot is.. really damn weak: it has some good jokes (Louie’s blunt no when Scrooge asks if hte family wants to fight a bear, Webby’s disapointment when she finds their not walking in the path of literal giants, Donald’s runner with the spy drone mosquito (and Della’s instiance to just let it suck his blood), and Della proving she has the family temper with her own donald brand angry dance) it’s just.. not enoguh. It feels like it’s an oblogiatory plto for the family and while it does set up the season’s overaching plot with a strong character, as it’s intresting learning that Scrooge had an idol at adventuring and thus is following a legacy himself, overall the subplot itself is just there and distracting from the much more intresting A-Story. That being said it was at least sorta worth it for the ending bit where huey and violet suprisingly find launchpad at the end of the trial in a cave.. as do the duckfamily, both groups crying out “Launchpad?!” with launchpad giving out a hilarious “that’s me, i’m launchpad” and while the setup for it was weak, the idea of the family going around the globe to find missing mysteries wile fighting fowl over them is a great concept. Overall a really damn strong start to the season with a weak b-plot and i’m gald even if this isn’t what htey planned to start with it’s what they went with.  Quack Pack: Quack Pack.. is one of disney’s secret shames.. I mean it’s not SO secret as it’s on D+ while this show’s predecessor wonder over yonder and superhero fantasy classic american dragon jake long are not for reasons I sitll don’t get, but that’s a rant for another day. It clashed badly with ducktlaes,was meiocre most of the time (It helps the two episodes I did watch were donald focused as he, a nicely redeisgned dasiy, and their co-worker kent were the highlights), with the boys somehow being more obnoxious than they were at their worst in the original ducktales.  Now that’s off my chest the episode itself.. is really damn good and a nice take on sitcom parody, with the family getting ready for a photo. Dewey’s “since the internet” line in paticular killed because, having watched boths ome of the best sitcoms (roseanne, designing women) and some of the absolute worst (My wife and kids, last man standing,home imporvment etc), most modern ones i’ve seen, even the good ones, have kids written this terrible way. Otherwise though it was highly enjoyable and having Jaleel “Urkel/Sonic the Hedgehog” white here to take the piss out of his former genre as Gene (and doing such a great job I really want to see Gene back next season), is the icing. That and Huey going half insane trying to figure out what’s going on, as well as the unsettling reveal of the studio audience.  Really the ep is a laugh fest, as well as the glorious arrival of goofy who to my relief, wasn’t a hallucination.. which itself is a great gag as is the offscreen internal thought of “okay so now htey ahve to take goofy with them on this deadly adventure all the way back to the states?”. The using of the adults old designs, as well as having dewey do the triplets dance and wear an outfit similar to theirs from “Mr Duck Steps Out” (Which I saw earlier this year and other than daisy’s horrifying early voice it wasn’t half bad). It’s just hard to go into and throughly enjoyable. But analysis right the real meat is in my boy donald: Going into the ep I genuinely expected Dewey to be the obvious source of the wish: while knowing gene was involved meant it was easy to see it was his fault HOW was a good question.. but having Donald do so and throughly enjoyable, and naturally gives us two great gags int he rwo: Donald’s VERY donald response “I wish for that 6 times a day! how wsas I supposed to know I was rubbing up against a magical lamp” and everyone spouting off their catcphrases, all either actual ones, basically something she does all the time turned into one (della) or poor beakly who gets “i’m not a spy” for some reason an dis cross about it. But the fact Donald not only figured it out quickly but wants to stay.. is perfectly in character. Donald in general, and especailly here, dosen’t WANT to be an adventuer anymore: he does it for his family, but he’d probably perfer the tgif lifestyle where problems are minor and solved with heartwarming lessons.. not full of lingering restiments, damage you caused, or loosing a decade of your sisters life and having to struggle to care for her kids. The rest of the familys looks when he gives his reasoning say it all: they really get why he wants this.. but Huey, who nicely got to be the one to break the sitcom news to them on top of everything else, makes an even better one: their lives are who they are.. this.. isn’t real. LIkea tgif sitcom it’s a plastic imitation of life that’s nothing like it: it’s comforting sure since hte real world is fucking complicated and miserable at times.. but hiding from it dosen’t fix things.  And while Donald, of course angrily denies this while his family ends upf ighting the studio audience, it’s Goofy, loveable guest star and everyone’s other faviorite dad, who gets his friend to see the truth: eveyr family has thieir own normal. He and max are  widower and his kid. Just a family of three (I”m counting PJ since , by his tene years at least, Peg is missing, though Iw ish she’d come back as her and goofy would be cute and she deserves better than Pete but whatever, and his dad is an emotionally abusive douchehead). But their happy, they make memories even if goofy like donald can’t walk five feet without the universe, and that’s what counts> it’s a touching sentiment and i’m happy Donald now has a friend whose also a parent and probably made similar sacrifices, and some Donald hasn’t had to just yet and probably won’t now dellas back, but made it through. So donald helps his family fight the  humanoids, take sa picture and it’s just a genuinely sweet ending... a great episode with a great concept that also opens the door for the return of the world’s other best dad more times. And again I want to see him smooch pete’s ex wife. This is the hill I will die on apaprently.. and with that I leave you. it was a good start a fun thing ot dive into and I hope for more.. oh and before I go, while i’m not a GIANT max and roxanne shipper, Idon’t dislike the ship I just don’t hav ea large attachment, it was absolutley WONDERFUL to see that they went to prom together. Okay i’m done, until next week, courage and stay safe.