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The day started out like any other day on the houseboat but it didn't stay that way, for the four of them didn't know it but this would be the day that changed everything. When Dewey woke up the first thing he wanted to do was go back to bed, it was his first summer break and he wanted to enjoy it, by sleeping. But as he heard his Dad making breakfast he knew that wouldn't be possible, the call of hunger would be too much and his older brother would probably pester him to get up soon anyway. So, with a moan, he got out of bed. He quietly made his way down the ladder of their bunk, he would've jumped down but it was way too early for that. Once he got down the ladder he carefully tiptoed his way out the door not wanting to wake his younger brother but had no such luck. "Dewey shut up it's too early for noise." Louie said with a groan as he put his pillow over his head. "Sorry bro breakfast calls, want us to wait for you?" "No." He mumbled already falling back asleep, Dewey smiled at his prone figure and made his way to the kitchen. When he got there he saw Huey dozing off at the table while his Dad was flipping pancakes which made him inwardly cheer, pancakes were his favorite! He went to the fridge and got some milk as his Dad noticed him and told him good morning, "Good morning!" He said back then went to sit next to Huey, he normally wasn't this cheery in the morning but pancakes were pancakes. He started to poke his brother's sleepy face which got him a poke back. Soon enough they were fighting even as the pancakes were put in front of them and their Dad gave them a disapproving look, well at least he got Huey to wake up more. "Louie sleeping in?" Donald asked as he sat down with them Dewey nodded as he dug in. Donald wasn't surprised by that Louie had been sleeping in a lot lately but he chalked it up to it being their first summer break and wasn't too worried about it. As the three of them ate he took the time to take the moment in, it wasn't often he got to have breakfast with his boys. He would've usually left to go to work by now but being a part-time secret agent had its perks like still getting a steady income when he didn't have other work, like right now. And he also got to see his boys more so he wasn't complaining. After breakfast was done he sent the boys into the living room while he did the dishes. When he was almost done Louie slowly staggered into the kitchen and to the fridge to look for something to wake himself up. "There's pancakes on the stove." Donald offered as he finished the dishes. Louie looked at them and made a face, "Not hungry." "Alright your choice. They'll be there if you want some later." Louie nodded and sat down at the table; Donald sat next to him and looked at him concerned, "How'd you sleep kiddo?" Louie shrugged which made him make a mental note to cast a sleeping spell on him later. Sleeping in late was one thing but barely getting any was another, Louie was only six he was too young to be having sleeping problems. "Why aren't you at work? Didn't you get a new job yet?" That was one of the problems with their current situation, he constantly had to be working just to get by and his boys worried far too much about expenses and things six-year-olds shouldn't worry about. "Don't worry about that Louie, I'll find a new one and in the meantime I get to hang out with you three. Someone has to keep you out of trouble." Louie smirked, "Good luck with that." He was right about that, his boys attracted trouble like a magnet. In their first year of school they had gotten sent to the principal's office more times then he could count but he didn't blame them for most of it. It was either a case of their identities being ignored or them sticking up for each other and he couldn't get mad over at, well he could but not at them. "Why don't you go watch TV with your brothers? I gotta finish cleaning up in here." Louie got up and went to the living room then snickered when he heard a crash followed by an angry shout, looked like Dad broke something again. When he got to where his brothers were Louie climbed the couch and sat next to them they greeted him before going back to the show. It was about a bunch of mythical creatures and it was one of their favorites. Huey was interested in the myths, Dewey in the creatures themselves and Louie was just content to be with his brothers. They continued to watch until their Dad came into the room and plopped down next to them then looked at the show with a grimace. It didn't seem so exciting when he had personally seen half of the things. But the boys really liked it for some reason, he guessed that was the Della in them but didn't care to ponder it for too long, he knew it would ruin his good day.After the show ended the boys looked at Donald, "We're bored." "There isn't another one of these coming on?" "Boooorrreeedd." Dewey repeated standing up on the couch and jumping on his Dad. He then touched his face and softly repeated again, "Bored." Donald rolled his eyes, "Ok I get it, what do you want to do?" "Park! Park! Park" They chanted and Donald agreed, the park would be a good chance time for them to get rid of their access energy and hopefully have them ready for naptime in a couple hours. So he herded them out the door and to the park; when they got there they took off to different places as Donald sat on a bench and carefully watched them. Dewey was playing on the equipment while Louie was trying to convince Huey to go on the seesaw with him but he didn't need to try too hard, as soon as he whipped out his puppy dog eyes Huey was a goner. They made their way over and got on as they talked, "We don't have to go on these every time we come here you know?" "Sure we do! Unless you don't want to..." Louie trailed off starting to get off but Huey was quick to stop him. "No, no! I do! I'm just sayin' there are other things to do." "I like the seesaw." He replied stubbornly as he tried to push up. Huey sighed and let him, it was easier to go along with things when it came to his brothers and it's not like he didn't like the seesaw and he definitely didn't want Louie to be unhappy. After they did that for a few minutes Huey suggested they go swing and Louie agreed then got a mischievous look on his face and called for a race then tore off. "That's not fair!" Huey shouted as he followed him but all Louie did in response was turn around and make a face at him before jumping on a swing. Dewey noticed both his brothers were near the swings and went to join them; he got on the swing next to Louie as Huey joined them. "How did you get here before me?!" Huey said incredulously and Dewey smirked at him, "Because I'm awesome Huebert." He tried to push off the ground before realizing his legs didn't touch the ground and started struggling, "Stupid short legs! Go! Fly! Do something!" He moaned as he stopped struggling and yelled, "Dad!" Donald looked up from his phone at them worriedly but saw that they were just struggling to swing and sighed in relief then made his way over. Dewey perked up when he got there and started trying to move the swing again, "Push please!" Donald went behind him and gave him a good push which made him giggle as he flew. Donald then turned to his brothers and asked if they wanted a push too. They both eagerly nodded and he pushed them as well which made them burst into giggles too; Donald smiled as he watched the three of them, he was really glad for days like today. When it was just the four of them and all he had to worry about was them being happy, which to be fair to him it wasn't hard to keep three six years old happy. He wished they could have every day be like this but knew it wasn't possible. So instead he resolved to make the best of the ones he did have. Once they got tired of the swings Donald figured it was close to nap time and called a cab to take them home, there was no way the three of them could make it back walking. They looked like they were about to drop off any minute, thankfully they were so tired they wouldn't notice he's extra spending of money of them. He knew it was always worth it but they didn't like it so he knew it was better just for them to not know about every single time, not until they could really understand that it wasn't a problem. When they got in the cab it only took the boys a couple seconds to fall asleep curled up next to each other which made him smile, it always made him happy to see how close they were to each other. He hoped they always stayed that close but he knew better than anyone else that that just didn't happen sometimes but these boys... they were different than he and Della was, he could tell even at this age so who knows what would happen? After he put them all to bed Donald collapsed on the couch, he loved those boys but a short break was definitely long overdue. And he knew he would get busier with them soon, not only was it summer break but he knew they would be getting their magic soon. He had it and they had shown signs of having it at a very young age, he had found out he had at about their age and was more than prepared for when they would. But he was scared about this honestly, magic was a dangerous thing even if you had a good teacher and he didn't think he'd be a good teacher. He'd teach them everything he could but if they weren't sorcerers like him he would be screwed and have to get them other teachers. Which would cost a lot especially if they were different types of magic users, he wasn't sure he could afford that but for them he'd try. He relaxed further into the couch and sighed, this whole magic business was tricky he had had years of practice and still struggled with it from time to time, he envied those who could master it. They probably put all of their time into it but he could never do it not even when he was growing up; he had things like school and Scrooge would drag take him and Della on so many adventures. Then when he became a young adult he started being a secret agent and then there wasn't even time for adventures. Which despite how much he complained about them he did miss it, that was when he started growing further apart from Della and then... the Spear of Selene happened. He wished he could say he's made his peace when it and that he knew and accepted that she was really gone forever, no one could survive the deep vacuum of space. But if anyone could it was her... He also wished he could say he's made up with Scrooge but even thinking about him leaves a sour taste in his mouth. Besides things were better this way the boys didn't need that old adventure junkie in their lives and he certainly didn't want him in his, raising his boys was adventure enough. He was jumped out of his thoughts by a sudden shout and rushed to their bedroom to see different things floating around the room and the boys huddled together on Louie's bed. Donald quickly made his way over to them and tried to get their attention, he didn't know which one was doing it so he had to calm them all down, "Boys it's going to be okay, do you know who's doing it?"Huey pushed himself further into his brothers and started crying, "I'm sorry!" Well, that answered that. "It's alright you have nothing to be sorry for, just try to calm down. Focus on bringing them to the floor." Huey shakily nodded and breathed, he slowly separated himself from his brothers and looked at his Dad unsurely and Donald smiled at him, "You can do it. I know you can." Huey breathed again then looked at the objects before raising his hand and lowered them. After he did that the boys looked at their Dad for an explanation which he would give later, right now he just needed to make sure they were okay. He carefully looked them over before hugging them, they hugged back and after they sat there for a few moments Donald asked, "Are you three okay?" They looked at each other before Dewey and Louie settled their eyes on their older brother knowing he was the most shaken and waited for him to answer,"I think I'm okay. What was that?" "It was magic, or part of it, and you can all do it." It was Dewey's turn to ask a question, "How?" "It runs on the Duck side of the family, I can do it too. And so could some of our ancestors but not everyone knows about it so you have to keep it between us okay?" "Yes Dad." They chorused and he smiled at them glad they understood. "How'd you know we could do it?" Louie asked as he climbed into his Dad's lap. Three of them stared at him curiously, he thought about it for a second, how to best answer that. "Well you've always shown signs, you all had a different energy than most people and weird things kept happening around you. I think I figured it out when you were about four actually. Dewey had taken a toy that he wanted from Huey without touching him or it and I put the pieces together." Donald finished with a chuckle and Huey looked at his brother. "I always wondered how you did that." Dewey raised his hands, "Hey, I didn't even know how I did it." Louie tapped his Dad's arm to get his attention, "What'dya mean by different energy?" "I can see people's energy because I'm a sorcerer. Most people don't have any traces of magic, then there are people that have small amounts but not enough to do anything, like some of the people in our family, and finally there are people like us who practically flow with the stuff." Huey tilted his head, "If you're a sorerer what are we?" "Sorcerer," Donald gently corrected him then sighed, "I don't know what you guys are yet, it took me years to figure out what I was and that was only because I had some help. I'll have to do some research to figure out what you boys are." Huey perked up at research while his brothers made a face which made Donald chuckle. He then eagerly stood up on the bed so he could be face to face with his Dad and earnestly asked, "Can I help?" Donald smiled at that, while he knew Huey loved doing research he also knew that he genuinely wanted to help, it did seem like a lot of work especially to a six-year-old. But he also also knew that having three six-year-old boys around magical things was not the best idea so he sought to gently let him down. "These books are very delicate and I'd hate for anything to happen to them or you. But you all can help me by trying to keep your magic under control and helping your brothers with theirs. Once I figure out exactly what you three are we can go from there. I'll do it later," He decided, "Do you have any more questions?" They looked at each other then Dewey joined his brother in standing up and asked, "Does this mean we can fly?!" Three sets of eyes landed hopefully on Donald and he struggled to keep in a laugh."Probably not, I can't even fly and sorcerers are some of the most powerful magic users but I can levitate." The boys shared an excited look and grinned widely. "Best day ever!" Dewey cheered as jumped on his Dad and brother. Huey winced as he landed and offered a hand to his youngest brother who looked at Dewey annoyed as he took it but Dewey didn't notice as he was too busy asking Donald all sorts of questions. Donald answered them as much as he could before getting an idea and grabbing Dewey and tickling him. He started hysterically laughing as he tried to get away but his Dad was stronger so he was helpless; Huey and Louie looked at each other and jumped off the bed then ran to the living room for safety. "Traitors!" Dewey yelled when he saw them, Donald stopped tickling him and laid back Louie's bed tiredly Dewey looked at him for a second before jumping on his stomach."Lunch?" He asked hopefully and Donald sat up a little and sighed, "Yeah yeah just give me a second." Dewey jumped off of him and ran to the living room, Donald got off the bed and made his way to the kitchen and started to make sandwiches as Dewey sat next to his brothers around the living room table and joined them in their conversation. "Why would you wanna make somethin' gold?" Huey asked curiously and Louie stared at him like he was crazy. "It's gold, why wouldn't I?" Huey shrugged and Dewey looked at him eagerly, "Make something float!" Louie looked at him just as eagerly and he looked around the room for a moment before he settled on the TV remote and focused on it. It just started to float when their Dad came in and broke his concentration, it landed on the floor with a thud and he looked at Donald sheepishly. Donald sighed and put the plates he was carrying on the table then grabbed the remote and put it there as well. The boys watched him nervously as they waited for what he would do next but he simply sat on the couch and gestured for them to join him. "Okay I think we need to set up some ground rules for this," He started as they did so, "No doing magic without me around and nothing you don't know how to do, I know this is exciting but it's also really dangerous and one of you could get really hurt. I understand that you want to learn more about this and I'm more than happy to let you as soon as I know more, as long as you're careful got it?" "Yes Dad." Donald smiled at them, "Good." It was silent for a few moments, "Can we eat now?" Louie suddenly asked and Donald quickly agreed then they dug in. As they ate Dewey got a curious look on his face something of which the others immediately noticed and questioned. "Do you think I could try making something float?" Donald thought about it for a moment, they had to learn something sometime and making something float was simple enough. "If you want," Dewey perked up and waited for his instructions, "Okay first find something to focus on," Once Dewey did that Donald continued as his brothers watched on awed, "Put all your energy into it, don't think about anything else, filter out all distractions. Now slowly lift your hand," Dewey started to do that but nothing happened which made him pout, "It's okay, just keep trying." He did and something suddenly started to float but it wasn't what Dewey was thinking of and Donald turned to see Louie holding out a hand out with wide eyes."I'm doing it?" He questioned unsurely and Donald got a wide smile, "You're doing it!" Louie looked at his Dad panicked while Huey noticed Dewey's troubled face and frowned then decided to help him. As he was doing that Donald was telling Louie how to carefully lower the plate. Once he did that he slouched back on the couch exhausted, "Magic is tiring." Donald ruffled his hair and turned back to Dewey who had finally lifted the TV remote thanks to the help of Huey. He was looking at it with an excited grin, "I did it! I did it!" He cheered which made him lose his concentration and made the remote fall back onto the table. As it landed Dewey sulked, "Aw man." "You did good for your first time you just have to focus on concentrating more." Donald said comfortingly and Dewey weakly smiled at him as Huey patted his arm. If concentrating was a big deal in magic he was in for a rough time. When they had finished practicing some Donald sent the boys to play in their room while he went to his own room to start on the research, he knew they would be fine for a couple of hours because of the protection spell he put on the houseboat after Dewey almost fell into the water a few weeks ago. That was fun. Donald opened his closet and undid the charm that hid all of his magic stuff then grabbed some books and got to reading. Donald collapsed on his bed with a moan when he finished the third book in his collection which told him nothing, he needed better books. He thought about contacting his old mentor about it but no one had seen that guy in years. He moaned again, he needed to know what the boys were and now; he needed to know how to handle this raising three boys was hard enough but three magical boys? He had his work cut out for him that was for sure but for their sakes he had to make it work, the beginning part of a magical journey was an important one. If he didn't do this right it could backfire on them greatly and he really didn't want that. So with that in mind, he called two people he hadn't talked to in years. The other thirds of The Three Caballeros. He really hoped they picked up he knew he could only do so much for his boys with this, he needed help and badly. "Hola Panchito here." "Panchito?" José asked confused. "José?" Panchito replied just as confused. Donald sighed in relief, "Oh thank god you picked up!" "Donal'?!" "Donald?!" They both said then Panchito paused, "Wait, how are you calling both of us?" "I have a smartphone!" He said defensively then shook his head, "Nevermind that! Look I know we haven't talked in a while but I need your guys' help." "Go on." José prompted. "The boys... they just got their magic and I have no idea what to do I don't even know what type they are." He admitted softly, "I prepared for it I just, now's that it's happened-""You do not know what to do next." Panchito realized and Donald sighed, "Yeah." It was silent for a few seconds and in that time Donald grew more and more upset. If they didn't know what to do he was screwed. But finally they answered, "You've been raising them for seis years now if you have handled everything else they have thrown at you, you can handle this. Besides how long did it take you to realize what type you were? Años!""Muitos Años." José cut in and both of them laughed as Donald sighed but bit back a smile. He really missed them, annoying as they could be. "Ok, so what kind of magic have they been doing so far?" "They just got their powers today but so far just making things float, I've been looking through my books but they're no help.""Those old things? Dios mío no wonder you could not find anything! They are as old as your old mentor!" José spoke up again before Donald could rebuke the insult, "Sorcery runs in the family, why not that?" "That's what I'm hoping for but I don't know..." He trailed off unsure how to continue when he heard a crash upstairs and let out a panicked quack, "Gotta go thanks for the help!" He quickly hung up before they could respond and ran to where he heard the crash. When he got there he saw a broken plant vase on the ground and three sets of guilty eyes looking at him from around the corner. Donald clinched his forehead and mentally counted to ten before turning to face them, "What happened?" They looked at each other but didn't answer, "I'm not mad but you have to more careful okay? Are any of you hurt?" "We're fine and sorry." Huey said quietly as they came to stand near him. "Yeah we were playing around and I didn't see it." Dewey admitted then rubbed his arm sheepishly, "Sorry dad." "Just be more careful next time." He finished cleaning up the vase and swung around to face them, "Now how about dinner?" Donald put the boys to bed after they completed dinner but that didn't mean they went to sleep. They were way too excited about what had happened today to sleep so instead they sat on Louie's bed and talked. Huey fell asleep after a few minutes but his brothers couldn't, for different reasons, so they decided to continue talking, at least until one or both of them fell asleep. Which Dewey eventually did and Louie smiled at both of their peaceful faces before settling down between them, he hoped that being surrounded by them would help him sleep. It did not.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Louie sighed as he looked up at his brother's bunk, another night of no sleep it seemed like. He carefully climbed out of his bed trying not to wake his brothers up, just because he had to suffer didn't mean they did, and tiptoed to the living room. When he got there he sat at the window and stared at the calm and peaceful night as he tried to lull himself to sleep. He watched boredly when the waves suddenly started to get a little stronger and widen his eyes, was he doing that? He concentrated on them and moved his hand in a whoosing motion and they got even stronger; he widen his eyes further and quickly stopped, he didn't have to be fully awake to know that that was a bad idea. "Louie?" Louie jumped and turned around to see Donald standing in the living room doorway tiredly, "Hi Dad." He said quietly. "What are you doing up?" "Can't sleep." Donald nodded understandingly, "Want me to make you some warm milk?" "Please." He made stretchy arms, Donald picked up him and carried him to the kitchen where he put him on the counter. Louie then started swinging his feet which made Donald smile. "Why can't you sleep?" He asked as he started to make the milk. Louie shrugged, "Dunno." "Louie... if something's bothering you I need to know." Louie sighed and stopped his feet, "It's the nightmares again." Donald handed him the milk and he took it with a smile, "Having them or being scared to?" "Both." Donald sighed and looked him over, he looked tired, too tired, more tired than a six-year-old had any right to be. It was silent as Louie finished his milk and Donald tried to think of a way to help him sleep, the only thing he could think of was a spell but now that the boys knew about magic he didn't want to do it without his permission. He was about to ask when he saw Louie dosing off and smiled; he picked him up again after putting his glass in the sink and carried him to his room. He carefully put Louie in his bed and the three boys immediately curled up together which made his smile grow. He turned to leave but then heard movement and whirled back around worriedly to see Louie's head peeking up, "Goodnight Dad." He quietly said sleepily then plopped his head back down. "Goodnight Louie." Donald replied just as quiet as he walked out then went to his room to go back to sleep hopefully uninterrupted this time, for everyone's sake a sleepy Donald was an unhappy Donald and no one wanted that. The next morning Huey was unsurprisingly the first one up, he sat up in Louie's bed as he rubbed his eyes and looked at his sleeping brothers with a smile before carefully going over them to get to the door. Dewey suddenly turned over and latched on to his arm which made him silently sigh and carefully try to get it back. After he did he made his brothers more comfortable then went to the living room to quietly watch TV before his Dad got up. He would've made himself breakfast but he could barely reach the kitchen table let alone the pantry selves, besides he wasn't that hungry right now he was okay with waiting for a while. But it turned out he didn't have to wait that long, during the middle of his first show Donald came out and sat next to him; Huey turned to him worriedly, "I didn't wake you up, did I?" "No my alarm did." Huey made an 'oh' noise and went back to the TV, "Are you hungry?" "Not really, I'm fine with waiting for the others." Donald nodded and tried to stay awake, 8 AM was too early to be up when he didn't have to be. But he did have to be up before, most, of the boys so he had to get up early. He also had to look for a new job, his secret agent income could only support them so long and he wasn't getting too much, just enough to get by. But he probably shouldn't look for a while anyway helping the boys with their magic would be a full-time job. A little while the other two got up and Donald started making breakfast, the boys sat at the kitchen table as they waited and Dewey and Louie tried to wake up more. Huey tried to help them but Dewey just brushed him off and Louie fell back asleep anyway so he sighed and got up to help his Dad instead. Donald let him prepare the eggs needed for french toast but shooed him away from the stove and added them. Huey sat back down as Donald finished up and gently woke Louie as they were served breakfast; their Dad sat next to them and broke up Huey and Dewey's fight for french toast slices then gave the boys an equal amount before getting some himself. As they started to eat the doorbell rang which made the boys look at Donald curiously, he sighed and gestured for them to stay there as he went to answer it. He was not expecting who was there though, Panchito and José. His annoyed face quickly became a cheery one and he tackled them in a hug excitedly."Squawk crow quack I got your back!" They recited as they did their handshake. Donald was so excited he didn't notice the boys walk in questioningly due to all the noise. "What are you two doing here?!" Panchito slung an arm around him as José glanced around the houseboat. His eyes landed on the boys and he smiled at them as Panchito answered Donald, "We are here to help! You are clearly in over your head here, you don't even know what type of magic the niños have! So we here to lend a hand." "Dad?" Dewey cut in, "Who are these people?" Donald turned to the boys and grinned at them,"Boys these are my friends Panchito and José, guys these are my boys: Huey, Dewey, and Louie." "Os patinhos we haven't seen you three since you were eggs!" José exclaimed as Panchito rigorously shook all three of their hands. They looked at their Dad for help but he was busy trying to fix up the houseboat. "Umm hi?" Huey said awkwardly and suddenly Dewey straightened up, "Breakfast!" He ran off to the kitchen and Louie followed behind him as Huey glanced at Donald again apprehensively before also going to the kitchen. José patted Donald on the back, "No need to straighten up for us amigo now how about that breakfast?" He and Panchito started to walk to the kitchen but Donald stopped them. "Look I'm glad you're here but you can't just barge in like this, I already have a lot going on-""But that is why we are here!" Panchito interjected and José nodded in agreement which made Donald slump down and sigh, "You don't have to do this." He protested but they both brushed him off. "We want to, we are the three Callaberos and we always help each other no matter what! Now breakfast?" Donald smiled at them, "Breakfast." The three of them made their way to where the boys were and sat down. It didn't take any time at all for the boys to start getting along with Panchito and José, which made Donald extremely happy, and they told the boys stories about their Dad as he cleaned up the kitchen. The three of them listened with vigorous intent eager to learn all sorts of new things about him; when they finished a story about one of the times they were brazil Huey looked at them curiously, "You can use magic too right? That's why you're here?" His brothers looked at him them as well and they glanced at each other before Panchito answered, "Sí, I'm a warlock and José is a conjurer." José perked up at the chance to show off and conjured some candy; the boys excitedly took some before Donald could say anything. He sighed and glared at José who looked at him sheepishly, "Not until after lunch.""Yes Dad." After that the boys ran off and the other two turned to Donald who was wiping down the stove and sighed, "Do you want some help Donal'?" Donald sighed and nodded so Panchito and José each grabbed a towel and started wiping down the counters. "There is no shame in asking for help you know." Panchito said as he moved onto the dishes, "Now about the boys, is there not a spell to see what they are?" "I'm not sure," Donald admitted, "I looked in my books but they haven't been updated in so long and I never have the time to do it. And I looked over their energy but I kept getting different things, I think they're too undeveloped to know for sure but it would help..." "That is a possibility... Why do we not just teach them the basics for now?" Donald turned to Panchito and raised an eyebrow, "We?" "You didn't think we were just gonna do chores, did you? Inconcebível, of course we're helping them with their magic!" "It will be a great chance to pass on my wisdom." Panchito added on and Donald smiled gratefully at them, he loved his boys but there was no way he could do this beginning part on his own. And he was so glad Panchito and José were the ones helping him. After the boys left the kitchen they went to their room and Dewey started to eat the candy José gave him but Huey stopped him and hid all of it in his drawer when his brothers had their backs turned. He then spun around and joined them on the floor where they were gazing at a ball, he raised an eyebrow wondering what they were doing but got an answer when Dewey started trying to make it float. "No, no!" Huey protested and ignored their groans, "Remember what Dad said? No doing magic without him!" "What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Louie lazily replied and Huey's eye started to twitch which made his brothers freeze, "Okay okay," Dewey held up his hands, "No magic we can..." He paused, "Just play with the ball instead." He offered; Huey smiled and extended them a sentiment, "I wanna know more too but we have to be patient. Dad will teach us and so will his friends." He threw the ball to Dewey who caught it with a sigh, "I know, but we just started and I'm already behind." He angrily threw it to Louie who barely caught it and threw it back just as angrily. This continued for a few moments until Huey intervened and took it."What are you talking about? Other than that first incident I have yet to make something float and Louie could barely float a plate, you're fine. And besides you almost got it, you just have to work on your concentration." He then went to the dresser and got out a piece of candy, "Candy?" Dewey took it with a smile, "You really do know how to cheer me up." But Louie raised an eyebrow, "Thought Dad said we couldn't have any till after lunch?"Huey looked at him, "This one time won't hurt." He offered one to Louie who took it with a smirk, "Bribery, I like it 'specially if it's candy." He knew he made those waves move earlier and that his brothers would probably wanna know about that but he also knew now wasn't the right time. He would tell them later. Huey nodded and got a piece for himself, "Noted." As they snacked Dewey looked over his brothers and noticed that energy that their Dad was talking about. It was swirling all around them, it seemed to be moving with them as if it were apart of them and he wondered if his was like that too. He tried to look at his own but found he couldn't and frowned, why couldn't he see his energy? He decided to get an answer and ran out of the room knowing his brothers would follow behind him, he went to where his Dad was talking with his friends and tried to get his attention. "Why can't I see my energy?" Donald stopped his conversation and looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?" Dewey climbed into his lap and started to explain, "I saw Huey and Louie's energy but I can't see mine, why?" The adults shared a look and Donald answered him while the other two boys joined him and Dewey on the couch, "Well, you can't see your own energy only other people's, that's just the way it is. What did it look like?" "It was swirling like this," He made swirling motions as the others watched interestedly, "And it was following them kinda like a shadow, it looked really cool is mine like that?""It is." Donald confirmed and Dewey cheered then José got a curious look on his face, "You know only sorcerers can see energy I bet all my dinheiro that's what you are." Dewey looked to his Dad for confirmation and Donald thought about it for a second before answering. Dewey could be one but he could also be something else, he had met one or two non-sorcerers that could sense magic. "It's a strong possibility but we still shouldn't rule anything out, if we start to train any of you in a specific type of magic that ends up not being your type the results could be really bad." "Eh, You know that from experience do you not tonto?!" The boys looked at their flushed Dad confused while the other two burst out into laughter. Donald glared at them and attempted to facilitate the situation, "That's not important! The important thing is making sure no one gets hurt during all of this and if you try something you can't do especially at a beginner level you will be hurt." José wiped his eye, "You're right Donal', as usual. So can either of you dois see the energy?" He addressed Huey and Louie who looked at each other before shrugging, "We haven't really tried." Huey then chose to focus on his brothers to see if he could see the energy as the others silently watched. After a few minutes he started to see a little flicker of energy from Louie which morphed into a sort of wave before energy started to swirl around both his brothers. He slightly jumped back in surprise and reached out towards it curiously. "Whoa." He whispered as it seemed to reach out for him as well, his brothers stared at him shocked and he knew they felt it too. He pulled his hand back to himself and the three of them looked at their Dad for an answer but he was just as confused as they were, he'd never seen energy do that before. He'd never seen magic with that strong a bond especially in beginners so he didn't know how to explain it but he would try, "I've never seen energy do that before," He started honestly, that was the least they deserved after all, "I think it just means that you three are very close and so is your magic, that'll definitely be helpful down the line." "So it's a good thing?" Huey asked unsurely. "Definitely." The boys perked up at that then Louie's brothers stared at him expectantly and he looked at them confused for a moment before realizing what they wanted and also try to see if he could see their energy. Unlike his brothers he saw the energy immediately, it was just like they all described it, swirling, but like a peaceful swirling that didn't hurt his head to look at like he thought it would, it was actually kinda calming in a way. Even still he looked away after a few seconds and to the others who were awaiting his response, "Looks cool." Was all he said. "Can we have lunch now? I'm hungry." His brothers nodded in agreement and they turned to Donald who looked at the clock and saw it was already about noon, so he got up after setting Dewey down and went to the kitchen. The boys glanced at each other, "Guess that's a yes." Huey said and the other two shrugged then they all turned to the other two in the room who gave them a questioning look. "If we can all see magic energy why doesn't Dad think we're sorcerers?" José and Panchito sighed, "He has reason not to, you tres are very undeveloped right now, we do not know for sure what you could be and we probably will not for a while. Besides, he was right earlier if we train you in something you can not do, well it will end up being a waste of time and/or a complete disaster.""He's just trying to protect you." José added on. "He is your papai after all and that's what papai's do." The boys stared at him curiously, "That means Dad right?" "Sim." He answered Dewey, "Very good menino." Dewey looked at him bashfully, "It wasn't that hard to put together." Whatever José was about to respond was interrupted by Donald walking in with lunch. The boys excitedly thanked their Dad before they dug in; he then handed the other two their lunch as well and sat back down on the couch. As they ate Donald thought more about the boys magic, it looked like they could be sorcerers and he honestly hoped they were, not just for money's sake but because he wanted to teach them all he could. And he wanted to be the one who personally taught them about magic, sure he would have José and Panchito in the beginning but ultimately he wanted to do it on his own. They were his boys if anyone was gonna teach them it was him, if he was able to. He really hoped he was able to. After lunch was over Donald took to the boys to their room to put them down for their naps and to make sure they actually stayed down. But he noticed they were more hesitant than normal and asked them why. "What if something like yesterday happens again?" Huey asked quietly and the three of them stared at Donald anxiously and he softened his eyes before gesturing for them to sit on Louie's bed. He knew he needed to take care of this before they got scared of their magic so he tried to comfort them. And he sat next to them as he started, "The only reason it happened was because your magic was trying to make itself known and you didn't know about it so you couldn't control it, but now you can, if it does it's probably settled down by now. My point is you're all learning to control your magic and it's not gonna be easy but you can do it. It's nothing to be scared of and I'm right here if anything does happen okay?" "Okay." They echoed and settled into the bed, Donald smiled at them and hoped this was the end of that conversation but knew it wasn't. He thought about leaving them for a second before pushing that thought out of his head, they clearly needed him right now. Hopefully José and Panchito would be okay for a while, he felt like a bad host leaving them alone but his boys came first. He didn't think anything would happen while they were napping but he could never be too careful especially considering how trouble always seemed to follow them. But, that came with being a Duck and he could already tell that these boys were full-fledged Ducks which was good and bad but he chose to focus on the good. The most important part was them showing almost no signs of being like Scrooge, Della definitely but he could handle that, for the most part anyway. He loved his sister, despite her actions, but he didn't want his boys running off for the thrill of an adventure and then never coming back. He didn't know what he'd do if that happened, he cared about them, more than he thought he would. Somewhere between Della taking the Spear of Selene and now they became his boys and he would do anything for his boys. He was shaken out of his thoughts by Dewey stirring a little and tried to hold still so he wouldn't wake up. If any of them woke up they wouldn't sleep tonight, Louie probably wouldn't anyway and one of them staying awake was bad enough. But he didn't have anything to worry about as Dewey simply turned over before becoming still again, Donald let out a quiet sigh of relief and decided to shut his eyes for a few moments. That turned out to be a mistake. Donald suddenly woke up a while later by someone climbing on him, Dewey gave him a sorry look as he rubbed his eyes and tried to wake up. "I'm awake now." Dewey said as he sat on him and he nodded, "I see that." "I woke you." "You did." Donald confirmed. Dewey looked down, "I'm sorry." Donald sighed and sat up more, "It's fine, I shouldn't have been asleep anyway." "You needed a nap too." He responded with that wisdom only a kid could have. Donald opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the other two waking up, they saw that he was in bed with them and attempted to climb on him and he smiled and let them. He let the three of them stay on him for a couple of minutes to wake up, and let himself wake up, but then lightly pushed them off so they could all get up. "I think we've left those two alone long enough, why don't we go see what they're up to." He got off the bed and made his way to the living room but the boys remained on the bed. Dewey poked a prone Louie curiously and he lazily swatted him away, Huey rolled his eyes and pushed Dewey off the bed. The two of them then followed their Dad but Huey paused in the doorway and looked at his youngest brother, "Are you coming?" Louie picked his head up, "I guess." He slowly got off the bed and the two of them went to the living room. When they got there they joined the other two in being stumped at how clean it was. Louie and Dewey then turned to their older brother puzzled,"Were you sleeping walking again?" Huey looked at them bewildered, "I don't think so?" He scratched his head for a moment, he very well could've he used to do it a lot. That was fun. However the four of them got their answer when their guests walked into the living room."Saludos amigos!" Panchito said to them cheerfully. "Did you have a nice siesta?" "Did you two clean up in here?" Donald asked instead of answering them. "Sim nothing we couldn't handle though, you clearly needed a sesta." Dewey looked at Donald, "To-old you." He said in a sing-songy voice, his brothers stared at him confused but he didn't say anything and Donald ruffled his hair, "You were right kiddo." He acknowledged and Dewey beamed at him. "Thanks for doing this guys, and I don't just mean cleaning up I mean all of this. It really means a lot to me." "It's our pleasure." José assured him and Donald smiled at him and Panchito while the boys shared a look and quietly went back to their room. Well, some of them were pushed as they befuddledly protested not getting why they were leaving when they just got up. But when they got to their room Huey paused, "Wait." "There he is." Dewey said and Huey turned to him and Louie. "Do they-?" "Yerp." Dewey confirmed as he went to Huey's drawer to get more candy. Huey's eyes widen slightly, "Wow." He blinked. "Didn't expect that." His brothers nodded and Dewey popped a piece of candy in his mouth, Huey turned to him with a 'really?' look and he held his hand out as an offering. Huey just rolled his eyes and shook his head exasperated so Louie took a piece instead. "So what's the plan we just stay in here?" "I guess. Hey that thing with our energy early, that was weird right? I know Dad said it was a good thing but he had also never seen anything like it before. Did you see that look on his face? Cause I've never seen it on him before and it didn't look like a good look. What is this whole thing really?" Dewey put his arms around his brothers, "Looks like we've got a mystery on our hands' boys." Huey perked up, "Duck Boys mystery!" His brothers grinned at him and he grinned back, their first mystery together how exciting. This whole magic thing was a mystery actually and he intended to find out everything about it. No matter what it took.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The boys stayed in their room until it was time for dinner they figured the adults wanted some alone time, either to catch up or for something else. But they didn't care too much Panchito and José being around made their Dad happy, er happier and that was what really mattered to them. Besides they seemed pretty cool, they had been a lot of places, they had fun stories to tell, and they were even gonna help teach them magic. So, pretty cool. Speaking of magic the three of them were more than eager to start learning about it. So far all they had done was make something float and as fun as that was, they wanted to know more. But Huey assured his impatient brothers that they would and they seemed pacified for now yet he himself was not, learning new things was a big part of who he was and he looked forward to knowing everything he could about, well everything. He guessed he just had to take comfort in the fact that their Dad wouldn't let them go too long without knowing something especially something this important. "I wonder what we'll learn next," Dewey said from where he was currently laying on the floor, his brothers and he were situated in a Y sorta formation and he was boredly bouncing a ball. "Maybe it's leitating!" He perked up and looked at them excitedly. "Definitely not." Huey immediately shot down for obvious reasons and Dewey pouted, "You don't know." He insisted but then both of them noticed how quiet Louie had been and looked at him. He was staring at the ceiling but seemed to realize they were looking at him and moved his head to stare at them instead then raised an eyebrow. "Why so quiet?" Louie shrugged, he just didn't feel like talking too much at the moment he got that way sometimes. But that changed when he realized he had something to tell them, but that meant admitting something he really didn't want to to them. Decisions, decisions. "So something happened last night, this morning, whatever." Louie brushed it off and continued while his brothers listened patiently, "I couldn't sleep so I went into the living room, for a change of scenery or something and I ended up at the window. After staring at the waves for a few moments I noticed them getting a little stronger and then realized I was the one doing it so I concentrated and they got even stronger then I stopped cause you know, boat." His brothers nodded. "I would've told you sooner but Dewey was freaking out and it didn't seem like a good time." "Does Dad know?" Huey asked as he looked at the ceiling, he didn't know how to feel about it just yet but he was glad he told them. Louie shook his head as he also looked at the ceiling, "I was too tired to tell him by the time I got a chance." "You should." Huey pointed out."I know. I will." They both twisted their heads to Dewey who had yet to say a word, he was absentmindedly messing with his ball with a neutral expression. When he noticed them looking at him he put in his two cents, "It's cool that you can do that, wish I could..." He shook his head, "I'm glad you told us but you should've done it sooner, I don't wanna be the one to make you keep secrets.""Let's make a pact." Huey suddenly said and his brothers turned their heads to him, "From now on we tell each other everythin'. No more secrets." "Deal." They both agreed and Huey smiled at them as the three of them fell into silence. He was really glad they agreed to it, he didn't want there to ever be secrets between them he knew they were much too close for that. But he still didn't know how to feel about Louie being able to do move the waves, it probably didn't seem like a big deal but when he thought about it it kinda was. His brother who yesterday could barely float a plate could move waves and very easily apparently, just how powerful were they? He wanted to know but he was also scared to find out however he knew he wouldn't do it alone, his brothers would always be right there by his side. But right now he was hungry and he could tell dinner was about to be ready from the smell coming from the kitchen. So he told the other two and the three of them went to the kitchen where the adults were chatting and cooking. When Donald noticed the boys he gestured for them to sit as he announced that dinner was almost ready and they responded that they could tell by the smell and asked what it was. "Enchiladas!" Panchito eagerly answered and Dewey and Louie looked at their Dad confused. Huey made an 'ah' face for a second before also looking at Donald confused, turned out he didn't know what it was either. Donald tried to explain but after fumbling for a few moments he decided to just let them try them instead and served them up as the other two sat down. The boys glanced at each other and shrugged before grabbing one from the baking dish and trying them, Panchito watched enthusiastically for their responses. But he didn't have to wait for too long as as soon as they took a bite they immediately liked it which made him extremely happy, he always liked cooking for other people. He then started to explain what was in them as the boys listened on; when he finished Huey caught on to something, "I didn't know we had all that stuff around here." "You did not. I went to the store while you cuatro had your siesta." "I wanted to go but apparently I've been banned from there." José put in and the others looked at him curiously as he shrugged, "Apparently I am very well known here. Oh well, can't say I blame them." "Where have you not banned from?" Panchito asked rhetorically. "Could ask you the same." He shot back as the boys tried not to laugh. Donald watched all of this fondly, he was really glad his friends were here they certainly kept things interesting. After dinner Donald sent the boys to the living room as he and the others started to clean up, or he and Panchito cleaned up as José watched. But after a few minutes they got annoyed and sent him to the living room as well, he rolled his eyes and went. Then they started to clean off the table and as they did that Donald sat down defeatedly, "I don't know where to start with this." He admitted and Panchito stared at him confused, "With this magic thing, I don't know what I should be teaching them first.""What did you learn first?" "What did I learn first?" He thought for a few seconds, "I know I figured it out after I made vines grow out of the farm floor but I don't know what I actually learned first. I didn't have anyone to teach me like they do, it was kind of trial and error for a few years." "So you start with the basics like we suggested." "But what basic do I start with?" Panchito opened his mouth to answer then also sat down and they stayed that way until Louie came in wondering what was taking them so long and raised an eyebrow when he saw them just sitting around. Donald quickly got up and tried to act casual but Louie immediately saw through it and asked what they were doing. "Nothing." His Dad reassured him. "We were just talking." Louie really didn't believe him but thought it was better to leave it alone for now. Panchito then took control of the situation and took Louie back into the living room, he protested for a second but stopped after the look he got. After they left Donald sighed and looked around the kitchen to see if anything else needed cleaning up but was relieved to find they finished it all. So he decided to go watch TV and worry about this later, which might not have been the best decision but maybe some downtime would help him think of something. And it did, after he sent the boys to bed he chose to consult his books to research what they had to say despite his friends teasing about how old they were. He spent a few hours reading through them and found some helpful information. Like how some good things to teach beginner magic users of any kind was how to safely use magic first off, which he couldn't believe he didn't think of, and how to make small things float or conjure small objects. The suggestions made a lot of sense and he wondered why he didn't think of any of them sooner but there was nothing he could do about it now. With that in mind he set to turn in for the night but before he did that he went to check on the boys as it was almost midnight and they should be asleep, so should he but he wasn't always the smartest. He quietly opened their door and peaked in to see them thankfully fast asleep but he also saw Louie in Huey's bed again which means he probably had another nightmare which made him sigh, well at least he was asleep. Eventually he would have to talk to Louie about them but that could hopefully wait for everything else to settle down. Dewey sat up after his Dad closed the door, he had been trying to sleep for a few hours but his mind wouldn't stop racing so he knew he probably wouldn't get to. He thought about bugging his brothers but knew Louie just got back to sleep so he chose to read one of his comics instead. He fell asleep after a few minutes. The next morning Dewey woke up to complete darkness and he started freaking out... until the comic fell off his face. He let out a nervous giggle then checked to see if he had woke his brothers up he thankfully hadn't. But then he noticed that it was still dark outside and wondered what time it was so he looked at the desk clock and tried to read it, then remembered he didn't know how. He quietly sighed and plopped back in his bed hopefully it wasn't too late and he could go back to sleep, he was a growing boy darn-it and growing boys needed their sleep. If only he could get some, for more than a few hours anyway. But he wasn't the only one who wasn't getting much sleep and he didn't know how he felt about that but he was too tired to care right now and he slowly drifted back to sleep. A few hours later he woke back up to the sound of quiet talking above him and immediately knew that his brothers were up so he decided to join them on Huey's bed. When he got up there they paused their conversation and greeted him. "What are you guys talking about?" He asked them curiously, "I was tryin' to get Louie to tell me about his nightmare.""I told you it was nothing serious stop worrying so much." Louie climbed out of the bed and went out of the room as his brothers worriedly watched. After he left Huey turned to his remaining brother, "How did you sleep?" Dewey shrugged and closed his eyes as he flopped down he felt Huey staring at him and barely opened an eye he then pulled him down and opened both of his eyes. Huey was looking at him surprised and annoyed which made him close his eyes then slowly open them again to see if that made the look go away, it didn't work. So he stuck his tongue out at him and turned around. "I'm gettin' up." Huey announced then climbed out of the bed Dewey turned back around and quickly followed him. He "accidentally" struck him with his foot as they both went down the ladder so by the time they were going out the door they were angrily shoving each other. When Louie got into the kitchen he was expecting his Dad to be up and making breakfast but instead it was his friends, he looked around the room confused and got their attention. Panchito explained that Donald was up really late last night and that he was still sleeping which made Louie curious, why was he up so late? Little did he know he and his brothers would get that answer later. He left it alone for now and determined that his Dad needed his sleep and that he would let him, he knew first hand how hard getting almost no sleep could be and his Dad needed the energy a lot more than he did. A few minutes later his brothers walked in and noticed the same thing he did when he first came in so he explained to them what Panchito told him. They also agreed their Dad needed sleep and joined him in the alcove as they waited for breakfast. They tried to get him to talk about his nightmare but he refused, he honestly didn't remember most of it anyway. And he didn't wanna trouble them with something that meant nothing or what he hoped meant nothing; if he couldn't remember it how important could it be? Donald came into the room as they were all having breakfast and tiredly made himself some coffee. As he drank it he sat down with the others and got a little bit of food, he usually wasn't that hungry when he first got up. He looked at the clock and saw how late it was and wanted to hit himself over the head but thankfully it looked like the boys were okay. Louie looked a little tired which was sadly normal lately but Dewey also looking tired wasn't normal and made him even more worried.As breakfast went on Donald started to wake up more and started to join the chatting, he wanted to bring up the boys magic practice but was waiting for the right time. He knew how much they wanted to officially start practicing and he wanted that for them too. Magic was a part of all of them and to not use it would be like denying themselves in a very important way. So when there was a lull in the conversation he took his chance, "So I know you guys really want to start practicing your magic and I know how patient you've been which I thank you for-""Why do I feel like there's about to be a but?" Dewey muttered to his brothers and Huey nudged him. "I've just had to get some things together and now that I have," The boys looked at him hopefully, "I'm ready to officially start teaching you!" Donald grinned as the boys cheered and tackled him excitedly. After they got off of him everyone starting clearing off the table of their breakfast stuff, the boys put their dishes in the sink while the adults handled the bigger things. Then they all went back as Donald started to explain everything, "The first and most important thing you need to learn is how to safely call upon your magic." Huey started taking notes. "Your magic is a part of you, a huge part of you and if you don't have any control over it not only is it harmful to other people, it's harmful to yourself. I'm not telling this to scare you but it is something you need to know. Okay, the first thing you need to do is focus, don't think about anything but your magic." He waited a few seconds for them to do that."Next, you need to feel it, feel it in you feel it all around you then slowly bring it forward. As you do that you need to give it something to do or somewhere to go, it's important that you have a goal in mind this is where it goes haywire if you don't. Then you let it go." The adults carefully watched as different things started happening. They were kind of surprised, they didn't expect them to pick it up so soon. After a few seconds the things stopped then the boys slowly opened their eyes they looked around in amazement and it became understood that they felt what they did. "Good job niños!" Panchito joyfully exclaimed and the other two nodded in agreement. "That felt weird." Dewey said summing up what all the triplets were thinking then jolted up excitedly, "Now can we learn to leitate?!" "Now," Donald replied with a pointed look, "You learn the basics." Dewey let out a weak cheer in response but his brothers were eager and wanted to immediately get to it. Luckily for Donald their enthusiasm was contagious and soon Dewey was eager too so he got three different small objects from the around the kitchen and put them in front of them. "Try to make these float." The boys looked at him confused, "Haven't we already done this?" "Practice makes perfect." José responded and Huey was about to object to that but then decided he'd rather make something float instead, it would certainly be more fun than explaining why that was wrong. He focused on the apple in front of him and tried to apply the things his Dad told him to it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something already floating and turned to his brothers. Louie was concentrating on a cup, which was the thing that was floating, but Dewey looked like he was unable to focus and was being helped by Panchito.With both of his brothers in check Huey chose to refocus on the apple and try to make it float, after a few seconds it did. He tried to keep his joy inside so it wouldn't ruin his concentration and it worked. He kept it in the air for a few more seconds before gently lowering it then took more notes about everything. Meanwhile Dewey had finally gotten his pen in the air and was struggling to keep his joy in check, but he wanted to actually do it this time so he could keep it in for a few seconds, no he couldn't. He quickly lowered it then started whooping which interrupted Louie's concentration and almost broke the cup he was floating but their Dad caught it with his powers just in time. Dewey gave them all a sheepish look, "Sorry." "Just try and be more mindful next time." He gave his Dad a confused look, "Mindful?" "Aware or careful." Huey smartly answered him not once glancing up from his notepad. Dewey peered over at what he was writing and became amazed by the detailedness of the notes. His brother noticed him looking and became bashful as the others also got curious and scanned everything he had been writing which had turned out to be a lot. And this was only their first lesson. "Huey this is..." "It's just some notes, uh observations. About everythin'. I've been hopin' by keepin' track of everythin' maybe I could understand it better." "Is it working?" Louie asked inquisitively. Huey had to think about it for a second, he understood little about this whole thing just that it was really cool but the notes were helping to keep his thoughts in check. And maybe later when they were more experienced he could look back at them as a sort of journey log. "I think so." The others excepted that easily enough, "To each his own I guess." Panchito had said and the whole thing was dropped as everyone went on to do other things. The boys decided this was the best time to go out onto the very back of the boat by themselves. Which they had been doing a lot before this all started but they were always immediately joined by their Dad, who always seemed to know where they were, this time was no exception. Donald knew if he didn't go out there one of them would probably end up in the water; they were at that exploring age and had to constantly be supervised. While Dewey and Huey were choosing to hang onto the rail Louie decided to sit with his Dad on the bench they had back there and told him about what he did last night. "I made the waves move, I didn't realize I was doing it at first. I stopped after a few seconds but I didn't think we could do stuff like that yet." "You can, some things take more energy right now and making waves is one of them but that doesn't mean you can't do it. But there are some things that take too much energy and you shouldn't do them, not yet. However, if something happens naturally then it happens naturally and you just have to go with it." Louie silently tried to process that for a few seconds, "So just because I can do something doesn't mean I should but if something happens on its own I shouldn't worry about it?" Donald nodded, "Yup. Thanks for telling me Louie, I need you boys to tell me whenever you do anything that has to do with magic, okay?" The other two turned to him and they all answered, "Yes Dad." After that conversation finished they stayed on the back deck and talked about other things until it was the boys' nap time. And Donald could tell that it was when he noticed Huey's head starting to droop from his new spot next to Louie. His brothers soon followed his lead and their Dad ushered them to their room; once they got settled into their beds he quietly left and went to see what his friends were up to. He found them in the living room watching something on the TV and turned it down so it wouldn't disturb the boys.Panchito turned around when he noticed the TV get quieter, "Saludos amigo! Where are the niños?" "Taking their nap." Donald replied as he plopped next to them on the couch and tried to relax. He knew they would be up in about an hour energetic as ever and needed to be prepared. "Don't fall asleep on us idoso." José teased him. Donald let out an undignified squawk as the other two quietly laughed at him. "I'm the same age as you!" "Yes but we do not have kids." Well, that was true."Did you ever think you would have kids?" José asked curiously and Donald didn't even have to think about the answer. "No, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. After what happened to Della...." He paused for a second as his friends waited patiently, they knew how hard it was for him to talk about her, "I knew I had to be the one to take them, it's what she would've wanted. But I'm glad I did, and not just cause I don't know how I would've dealt with it if I was on my own. They're good kids and if Della can't be the one to raise them I'm glad I'm the one who can. I just hope I'm doing a good job." "Are you loco? Of course you are! Who knows where those niños would be without you? Especially with their magic, they would be pretty scared right now without you. And you do so much for them, to keep them happy and safe, and most important of all they love you and you love them." "You said it yourself they're good kids, they wouldn't be without your guidance." José pointed out and Donald looked like he had just thought of that, which to be fair to him he probably had. The both of them were right until recently Donald was the only adult in their lives, they also had Gladstone but Gladstone was Gladstone, and they were only six yet they were some of the brightest most caring kids he knew, he had to give himself some credit. And he did love them, so much. "You guys are right it's just easy to forget that in this situation." Donald wasn't blind he knew a houseboat was no place for three growing boys specifically when those growing boys had magic. They needed room to move around and they shouldn't have to worry every time a storm came into town, it was just the only place Scrooge didn't own and he really didn't want Scrooge near them. About an hour later the boys woke up and, as Donald predicted, had a lot of energy so he decided that a trip to the park was in order. They excitedly agreed and with one last reminder from their Dad about their powers they all set ahead to the park. When they got there they were surprised to find almost no one there, it was the middle of summer it should've been packed but it wasn't. The boys seemed brushed it off and went to play on the equipment but the adults decided to keep an eye out, something seemed fishy they just didn't know what. But contrary to the adults' belief the boys also felt something off and were talking about it in the equipment. "It's weird no one's here its summer, kids like to go to the park in summer right? And it's not like there's anything else to do in this town." Dewey said as he tried to climb up between two bars of the rocketship. "Parents still have to work." Huey pointed out trying to stop his brother from his climbing which led to them wrestling. Louie ignored them as he looked out of one of the empty spaces of the rocket. He didn't know what he was looking for but he got his answer when he saw three weird big dogs. 'Oh no' he thought, 'that couldn't be good' he quickly whirled around to get his brothers attention and then pulled them to where he was before. They ducked down after looking and Huey turned to his brothers, "Who are those guys?" Dewey opened his mouth to respond that he didn't know when a shout broke from behind them. They peaked up to see their Dad and his friends fighting with the dogs and even though the dogs were bigger they appeared to be winning. After a few seconds the dogs ran off and the triplets let out a cheer. The adults turned around and sighed in relief when they saw the boys were okay and made their way back to the playground. "Who were those guys?" Huey asked again when they got in front of the triplets on the ground. "Yeah, and why were you fighting them?" Donald sighed, "It's a long story. And it's not important all you need to know is to stay away from them. They're bad." He couldn't tell them the truth that meant explaining how they were sons of an archenemy of an Uncle they didn't know they had. He would rather not have that conversation, ever really, not if he could help it. Luckily the boys were at an age were they excepted that easily enough and went back to playing on the rocket. He let them before he came to a troubling realization, this easily could've been an ambush, it made an eerie amount of sense it was probably why hardly anyone else was there, those Beagle Boys chased them away. And that meant Ma Beagle would now know what his boys looked like. They had to get out of there and now, they could be getting back up at this very moment. He swiftly got the boys off the rocket much to their disappointment and explained to them that they could come back another time when it was safer. They reluctantly agreed and all of them left the park; on the walk home Donald noticed how upset his boys were and tried to think of a way to cheer them up.He hated to see them so upset but he rather they'd be that than unsafe, they just didn't understand how dangerous the park was right now. Which was fine with him he didn't want them to grow up to be afraid of everything just cautious, and he didn't want them to feel like they couldn't go anywhere. But unfortunately right now they were at that age where everything was black and white and he knew that's how they would react if they found out just how dangerous that situation was, so for now they couldn't find out. All they need to know is that they couldn't be there right now. Fortunately they were also at the age where they got over being sad very quickly if it wasn't that important and by the time they were back at the houseboat they were back to normal. However the original problem of them having too much energy was also back so he decided to let them make a fort in the living room. It probably wouldn't be that big due to them not having a lot of pillows and blankets but it would entertain them for a while. And as they did that he tried to think of a way to keep them safe when they were off of the houseboat. After a few minutes he came up with the idea to cast a protection spell on them, he would tell them of course and explain why he was doing it, it was the best solution to this problem, at least for now. "Dad!" A voice shouted from the living room which broke him out of his thoughts. He went to see what caused it and was surprised to see the fort already almost done, he saw both Huey and Louie working on it but couldn't find Dewey. After a few moments, however, he spotted a twisted up blanket with a head poking out of it by the couch and determined that was the cause of the shout. "I'm stuck." Dewey said looking like he had lost a fight and Donald quickly set to untangle him. "How did this happen?" He asked as he tried not to laugh. Dewey's brothers, on the other hand, were doing nothing to hide their laughs. Dewey shrugged, "Couldn't tell you if I wanted to Dad. Freedom!" He cheered as his Dad finally untangled him. He gave him a quick hug and glared at the blanket then went to grab another and put it on the other strung up blankets completing the fort. Like Donald predicted it wasn't that big but the boys seemed to like it nonetheless by the way they immediately hurried inside.A few seconds later Panchito and José came into the room and also went into the fort as Donald rolled his eyes his friends were big kids but who was he kidding? So was he but he wasn't too sure all of them could fit in there so he decided to sit outside of it instead. However the boys weren't having that and kicked out the other adults much to their protests then pulled their Dad in.After they got settled back in he chose to bring up his idea of putting a protection spell on them, it was honestly something he should've done sooner but he never saw the need to, they were never in a situation where he couldn't protect them. But they were getting older and soon they would want to start going places on their own and they would get into situations like that. They would eventually need to know how to protect themselves but for now this would do. "I need you boys to listen to me for a moment," Donald started carefully and they stopped what they were currently doing then looked at him. "After what happened at the park earlier I think it's best that I put a protection spell on you. It's the only way I can be sure you guys'll be completely safe.""Why can't you keep us safe?" Huey innocently asked and Donald sucked in a breath. "I'm going to to the best of my abilities but as you get older... I won't always be there to do it, you'll all start wanting to do more things on your own and that's fine, but it means I won't be there and won't be able to protect you if a need for it arises. So are you guys okay with me doing it?" The boys looked at each other and nodded. They were a bit upset at that fact that their Dad wouldn't always be with them but they didn't wanna ever be in a problem where one of them would be hurt. With that Donald set to casting the spell, it was the boys first time seeing someone do magic and they could hardly sit still as they watched him. Luckily he didn't need them to be too still for this particular spell. After he was done they looked at themselves to see if anything was different or felt different but were disappointed to find nothing changed. But they trusted their Dad and knew that something was different and as a result felt safer. Which they were happy for, it was a relief for them to know that their siblings would be okay. And that was the moment they started to want to get stronger to protect each other, they knew they would do it the best. They were the ones who really could cause there would never be a moment when they weren't together. As far as they were concerned they would always be together and nothing would change that.
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For the next few days things were pretty much the same, the adults trained the triplets in the basics of magic for a few hours, which they were getting really good at, and then they all did different things. Donald hadn't taken the boys back to the park since that incident but they never asked to go, they were content to hang out on the boat and in the fort that still took up most of the living room. Eventually though the fort had to be taken down and the boys were once again bored but still didn't ask to go to the park, they knew their Dad would say no.So, they found other ways to entertain themselves and for a while it worked, it wasn't hard for six-year-olds to keep themselves amused after all. However they really missed the park and thought that it was kind of dumb that their Dad wouldn't take them, he put a protection spell on them they should be safe. They knew there wasn't anything they could do about it though and that he probably had his reasons so they left it alone. Besides, he was already doing so much for them he didn't have to take them to the park even if they really wanted to go, they would be fine. But they didn't know the real reason Donald didn't want to take them, they were getting more advanced in their magic but they were still six and there was still a huge chance for them to slip up. They couldn't risk someone seeing that so until he was sure they could definitely control it he had to limit the amount they went outside. He hoped they would be fine before school started but soon he wouldn't have as much time to train them as he would have to look for another job soon and his friends had their own jobs to get back to. These first few days were very vital and so far the boys were doing fine they were actually doing better than he thought they would, they were naturals at this. Sure Dewey had concentration issues but once he focused he picked things up just as easily as his brothers. That's not the say there hadn't been missteps, they were starting to accumulate a pile of broken things but Donald had been no better when he started either and those things could easily be replaced. The important thing was that they were learning and getting better as each day passed so he was sure they would be fine by the time school started which was what really mattered. The last thing he wanted to do was pull them out, they needed their school education just as much as their magic one. And they needed the opportunity to have somewhat of a normal life and normal kids went to school. "Dad do you have a minute?" Dewey asked jumping him out of his thoughts. "Of course, what's up?" He responded as Dewey walked into his room where he was looking through the newspaper, before he got lost in thought that is. Dewey plopped in his hammock and laughed as it started swinging which made Donald smile amusedly as he waited for him to start talking. He seemed to remember what he was doing and looked at his Dad with as much seriousness as a six-year-old could have. Which Donald knew from experience was a lot. "I've been having trouble sleeping, like Louie, my mind just won't shut off and I was wondering if you knew something that could help?" He had started picking at the hammock as he was talking, a sure sign something was really wrong. "I know a couple of things but the most effective thing would be to cast a sleeping spell on you, would that be okay?" Now that they knew about magic and that he could do it he wanted to get their consent before doing anything involving it to them. He didn't want them to hate him later on for doing something to them without their permission. "If it'll help. What about Louie? Are you gonna ask him too?" "I am. I was waiting for this to settle down a little bit before I talked to him, you know he's been having nightmares." Dewey nodded. "Well those are gonna make doing a spell a little more difficult. There's not an easy fix for nightmares and the last thing I want is to make him suffer without being able to wake up.""That sounds awful." "It would be. That's why I want to have a full conversation with him, has he told you guys anything about them?" Dewey thought for a moment, "He keeps saying they're nothing serious but if they're keeping him up they have to be pretty bad right?" Donald sighed, "Only he knows and we won't know for sure until he decides to be open about them." Dewey didn't seem satisfied with that but that was how it had to be. They couldn't force Louie to tell them what was going on, that would just make things worse. "So how does the spell casting thing work? We do it now or...?" "Before bed. The thing with spells is that they tend to set in quickly, especially from powerful users like sorcerers and we don't need you falling asleep at the dinner table." "I guess that's true. Thanks for the help!" He hopped out of the hammock and rushed to give his Dad a hug which he accepted happily. After that he went to go find his brothers while fighting back a yawn, great, now he was getting tired, bedtime wasn't for 3 more hours! He sighed as he opened his bedroom door instinctively knowing that that was where they were. He sat with them on Louie's bed and joined in their conversation, "Dad wants to talk to you about your not sleeping." Louie moaned. "Of course he does." He shrugged, "Eh I'll do it later.""Procrastion at it's finest." Huey deadpanned and Louie pushed him annoyed. "How'd your talk with him go?" "We decided on a sleeping spell, he said it's the most effective." Louie raised an eyebrow, "Then why does he want to talk to me?" "Something about nightmares making sleep spells harder to do and he wants to talk about your nightmares too, speaking of...." Louie rolled his eyes. "Are you ever gonna tell us about them?" "Honestly I wake up and remember nothing. I don't think I want to remember to be honest, I'm not sleeping enough as it is." Huey furrowed his eyebrows, "It's like something's keeping you from remembering." He noted thoughtfully and the three of them looked at each other in realization, something was keeping Louie from remembering, but what? And why? What could be so important in his nightmares that something doesn't want him remembering? "Looks like my nightmares were more important than I thought." His brothers looked at him, "Is that why you didn't tell us?" Louie nodded. "I didn't wanna worry you guys over nothing." "It's not nothing if it's keeping you up." Louie didn't really believe that but he wanted to make sure his brothers thought he did. He wanted them to think he was fine, cause other than this nightmare situation he was. But his brothers knew him too well to know that he wasn't fine and that the nightmares were bugging him more than he let on. They wanted to help him through it but he wasn't letting them, little did they know that would become a recurring thing as they grew up.Everyone in their family was stubborn but Louie would have a hard time convincing himself that he was worthy of being worried about. So his brothers would have to do the convincing for him. Luckily, he trusted them more than he trusted anyone. But Louie wouldn't be the only one with problems, the other two would have their fair share as well and all of them would be put to the test more times than they could count but they would always be there for each other. However right now they only had one problem and they were very determined to solve it. Still they couldn't do it alone, they were only six and knew they needed some kind of help so they did the one thing they always did when they had a problem, went to their Dad. They told them him and his friends what was going on, Louie did most of the talking like he always did, and were hopeful they would get an answer. But they didn't want to admit to the boys that they had no idea what was going on. They had never heard of something keeping someone from remembering dreams. However they didn't brush it off as them being kids because that wasn't fair, they were really worried about this and they very well could be right. So they thought about what the first thing they should do was and quickly figured out that it was research. If none of them knew about it maybe a book did, they set to do that after the boys went to bed. Then Donald turned to Louie and he instantly knew what was about to happen, "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner I didn't remember them, it didn't seem like a big deal... I want them to stop, I'm really tired." He admitted climbing up into his Dad's lap."We could try a sleeping spell but there would be some... risks. The whole point of the spell is to sleep through anything and I mean anything that includes nightmares. So I don't think we should that until he we can get rid of them but it's your decision." "We could stay up with you if you wanted." Huey offered."Yeah I don't have to have the spell done now." Louie smiled at both of them, he appreciated the sentiment but knew that wouldn't solve anything. Besides if he couldn't sleep they should be able to. "I'll be fine. It shouldn't take too long to figure out what's going on, right Dad?" Donald sighed, of course they figured it out; they were very perceptive for their age. "Hopefully not. But you still need sleep so we're just gonna have to figure out another way to help you." "Like what?" Louie really didn't think anything other than getting the nightmares to stop would help but if they wanted to try he would let them, he would do anything for his family."Well there's drinking warm milk or counting backward from 100 in your head, even changing your breathing can help." Again Louie was doubtful, sure that would help him fall asleep but staying asleep was a different story and he was so scared to fall asleep that those might not even help. But he was willing to try. For them he was willing to try anything. When bedtime came and Donald had put the spell on Dewey the boys were put to bed and Louie tried to use some of those techniques. However every time he closed his eyes he would get flashes of his nightmares, not enough to remember but enough to keep him awake. Meanwhile the adults were going through Donald's library to see if he had anything useful, they didn't know what they'd do if he didn't though. Eventually José found something he thought was interesting and showed it to the others. It was about a being who inflicted nightmares upon others and then didn't let them remember, sounded just like what they were dealing with. Panchito nodded along to José's explanation. "Okay, how do we stop it?" He asked once he finished. "Screw that how do we kill it?!" Whatever this was was messing with one of his boys and that wasn't okay. Donald wanted it dead and he was gonna kill it himself if he had to. "Same way you kill anything else, magic." José said not looking up from the book he was reading. Neither he or Panchito were phased by Donald's anger they had known him long enough to know that was how he would react. And they were right there with him, anything that would attack children was better off dead. "Okay then, how do we get it so we can kill it?" "It can't be here." Donald added. "Not around the boys. Plus there's a protection spell on the boat. Whatever's doing this had to have gotten to him while we were in town somewhere." "There's a summoning spell we could do." José read off. "We could cast a protection circle around it and trap it. Then there's another spell that would kill it, that should reverse anything it's done." "And then this whole thing will be over!" Panchito cheerfully said. "So when are we doing this, now?" Donald thought for a moment. "Is there anything in particular we need for either of the spells?" "Just a lot of magic." José responded. He nodded, the sooner they did this the better. The boys would be okay for a few minutes and he had a special charm that let him know if they weren't. So the three of them started getting ready to end this and not a moment too soon, Louie had finally fallen asleep and the nightmares were starting to creep in.He started tossing and turning in his bed which disturbed his brothers' sleep. Both of them quickly hopped down from their beds and watched him worried, this one looked worse than the normal ones. They tried to wake him up but it was like something was forcing him to stay asleep, there was nothing they could do. Dewey ran to get their Dad as Huey gathered his littlest brother in his arms and attempted to soothe him. He struggled not to get mad as he watched Louie suffer but it didn't work, this wasn't fair why did something like this have to happen to them? Dewey then ran in but he was alone, "I can't find Dad or his friends." He told Huey panickedly. Huey nodded and calmed himself down, he was the oldest he had to be composed right now. He thought over everything as he tried to come up with a solution but what could they do? They were only six but this was Louie, he had to think of something and as he looked at Dewey he knew he felt the same way. Louie suddenly started struggling in his arms so in order to avoid injury to both of them he let him go. He and Dewey watched in terror as he began to fight something in his sleep. They desperately attempted to wake him up again but they were thrown back by something as Louie started screaming, "MAKE IT STOP!" They tried to get to him again but something blocked them, they were physically unable to reach him. So, they tried mentally. They started saying reassurances like about how they were right there and they weren't going anywhere no matter what. Eventually Louie woke up sobbing and whatever was blocking them from him went away and they both went to comfort him. Donald and his friends were finishing setting up the protection circle as he eyed the houseboat worriedly. They hadn't gone too far just onto the marina but he was still wary. He didn't like being away from the boys at times like this but this had to be done. He pulled out a spell book and nodded at Panchito, they then started saying the summoning spell. A shadowy figure suddenly appeared in front of them looking bored which made Donald's blood boil, it was harming one of his boys and it has the nerve to be bored?! His famous temper started flaring up so José calmed him down, that was what this thing wanted. There was one thing Donald wanted to know before they killed it, "Why are you doing this?!" "I draw my power from fear, the green one has a lot of it." It simply said. It was no secret that Louie was emotional, Donald thought, but scared? What could he be scared of? And why hasn't he said anything. He couldn't focus on that right now there would be plenty of time to ask him later; he hardened his eyes and started reading off the killing spell he was done with this.But this being wasn't going down without a fight and started trying to break out of the circle. The others were undeterred though and continued the spell; Donald momentarily froze as his charm started going off, the boys were in trouble he had to finish this and get to them. He was more determined now to end it and poured all of his power into the spell which he wouldn't regret later even with how tired it made him, he was going to protect his boys no matter what. However things were starting to take a turn for the worse as the being almost got out of the circle but Panchito also amped up his power. That seemed to be enough to keep it there as they finished up the spell. It started shrieking as it faded away, the others winched at the noise. "Well, that will haunt me for a while." Panchito calmly said after it completely faded away and the other two nodded in agreement before Donald remembered the boys and was about to take off. "Go." José said when he noticed him hesitate. "Are you guys sure?" "We've got this. Go take care of your meninos." Donald smiled at them gratefully then took off to the houseboat. When he got there he noticed it was eerily silent and instantly went on edge. He went to the boys' room and saw the three of them huddled together on Louie's bed, Huey and Dewey had a terrified Louie in their arms and were trying to calm him down. The three of them looked up when they heard him and he made his way over to them."Are you three okay?" He asked as he sat on the bed. "Did you get rid of it?" Louie quietly replied instead of answering. "We did." Donald confirmed. "It won't bug you anymore. What happened while I was gone?" He said calmly, it was very important that he stay calm in this situation, they were freaked out enough as it was. Louie buried himself in his brothers which made it clear they would be the ones to answer their Dad. "We woke up to a lot of movement from Louie's bed and we saw that he was having another nightmare only this one looked way worse than normal. And he wasn't waking up so Dewey went to go find you while I tried to soothe Louie. When Dewey came back he was alone so I tried to think of something but couldn't then Louie got really bad, he started struggling so I had to let go of him so he wouldn't hurt either of us." "Then," Dewey continued putting a hand on Huey in support as he started choking up. "Louie started fighting something in his sleep so we tried to wake him up again but something threw us back. He started screaming... so we tried to get to him again but something wasn't letting us so we talked to him instead. Eventually he woke up and we've been trying to calm him down ever since. I've never been so scared." Dewey admitted as he started crying. Donald's heart broke as he gathered them in his arms, he couldn't imagine going through that. There was the matter of whatever was blocking Huey and Dewey from their brother, he had his suspicions on what it was, but that could wait until later. Right now they all just needed to focus on pulling each other together again. After the boys calmed down a little bit they looked at their Dad. "What was blocking us?" Huey asked smally, he wanted to know why they couldn't get to their brother and he wanted to know now. Donald didn't really wanna go into it at the moment but he knew none of them would leave it alone until they got an answer. "Those were Louie's defensive powers. They typically kick in when their magic user is in danger and I guess in their senses they saw you as part of the threat." "He was just scared." Dewey was so sure of it that Donald didn't know how to respond. He knew that Louie was just scared, anybody in their right mind would be in that situation, but he thought he would have to explain that to them. He didn't think they would already know. "Besides they didn't hurt us they just pushed us away." "Louie would never hurt us." Huey confirmed quietly. Louie, who was on the verge of falling asleep, snuggled into his family as if agreeing with his brother. Donald started running his fingers through his top feathers which he knew always knocked him out, and within a few seconds Louie was peacefully asleep. The other two settled more into their Dad content that their brother was asleep and slowly drifted off as well. Donald got himself comfortable and was about to join his boys in their sleep when he saw movement from outside their door. He gestured for his friends to come in but put a finger to his beak as a signal for them to be quiet. "Did you guys get everything cleaned up?" They both nodded but awkwardly hung out in the doorway not sure if they were welcome right now. Donald gave them a look and they slowly came in. He motioned for them to join them on the bed, he needed them just as much as the boys needed him right now, this had been a long day. For everyone. And he needed a lot of comfort, now that the boys were asleep he could show just how scared he actually felt and boy did he feel scared.The way the boys described what happened... he never wanted any of them to go through something like that. He leaned into his friends and sighed contently before falling asleep all while never letting the boys go, he probably wouldn't be doing that for a while. But unknown to the adults the boys would wake up a few hours later the night's events haunting their dreams. And they would find comfort in each other as they always did and always would. Morning came and everyone slept later than they normally would've but they all needed it. When the first of them did wake up it was close to lunchtime; Huey really didn't feel like eating so he chose to stay where he was and wait for the others to wake up. But he wasn't the only one that was awake, José was up as well and unlike Huey he was hungry so he tried to move. He stopped however when he felt Donald stirring he didn't want to wake him or the other people who were still asleep, they'd probably get really mad at him. "Morning Tío José." José looked at Huey shocked and he froze. "Sorry, should I not have called you that?" He asked hesitantly. But he had nothing to worry about, José was just stunned not mad. "No no it's okay, really." He assured him and it was okay. In the short time he was here he had started thinking of the boys as his nephews and he knew Panchito very much felt the same way. Huey nodded and pulled his brothers closer to him he was still reeling from last night and needed their comfort. "Dad said you got rid of that thing that was messing with Louie, how?" José wasn't surprised he asked that, in the time he got to know Huey he realized that he liked knowing everything especially when it came to his family. But José didn't know how to answer that he didn't think you were supposed to tell a six-year-old you killed something. So he simply replied, "Magic." Huey rolled his eyes, "I know that. Was it like a spell or something?" "It was a couple of spells actually one for summoning and another for... banishing." He used for lack of a better word and thankfully Huey nodded satisfied. José really didn't want Donald after him for traumatizing one of his boys. Suddenly his brothers started stirring awake and Huey's attention went to them ending their conversation, for now. He knew there was something José was keeping from him but his brothers were his top priority right now. He checked them over as they became more awake, it didn't look like they had any obvious injuries they just looked really tired; he couldn't blame them, he was too. Once they fully became aware of their surroundings and remembered what happened last night they instinctively went to their older brother for comfort. Louie lightly winced as his wrist hit something and his brothers looked at him worriedly. "I must've done something to it last night." Huey hummed. "With all that thrashing around you did I'm surprised this is your only injury. Can I look at it?" Louie nodded, he trusted his brother not to make it worse. He handed his wrist over and Huey carefully examined it as Dewey held him comfortingly. Before Huey really knew what he was doing he was delicately grabbing Louie's wrist and letting his magic flow to it. The three of them watched in wonder as the magic poured into it and after Huey pulled away Louie slowly moved it and found that it was no longer hurting. "What was that?" Dewey asked voicing what the triplets were thinking perfectly. "Healing magic." A voice replied from behind them and they looked to see their Dad and Panchito fully awake and watching them. Huey stared at his hands in fascination, he felt something different using that kind of magic. It was indescribable but he knew he would be using it more often if not for his pure curiosity over it than for how much his brothers seemed to get hurt. "Cool." After that the adults left to go make lunch and the boys got into another conversation or, Huey and Dewey did, Louie was oddly quiet but after what happened last night they couldn't blame him. However that they didn't mean they were gonna let him suffer in silence and they slowly drew him out of the shell he was in. They knew that he had to talk about the things that happened last night, they all did. That didn't mean it would be easy though. "I still don't remember them..." Louie quietly admitted as his brothers patiently listened. "I don't know if that's a good thing but I think it'll be easier to get past all of this if I don't. I just wish I knew why this happened if I knew maybe I could change that." Huey grabbed his hand, "This wasn't your fault. It could've happened to any of us, to anyone. The important thing is that it's over and you'll never have to deal with that thing again." "I'm sorry you guys had to go through that, it must've been really scary." Louie suddenly widened his eyes when a thought came to him, "I didn't hurt you did I?" "We're both fine." Dewey ressured him. "But yeah that was scary, it wasn't your fault though, like Huey said it could've happened to any of us. And we know you would never hurt us." "I could've." He countered. "You didn't." Huey pointed out. "And that's all that matters." Louie didn't think that was true and he'd never forgive himself if he hurt one of them. But his brothers knew him too well and knew that he was being too hard on himself and that was the last thing he needed right now, he already had a lot going on. "Louie, we're gonna be okay there's nothing this family can't get through." He moved away from them and looked down, he knew they were gonna be okay and that this wasn't his fault, that wasn't what was bothering him. It was the fact that this could happen to any of them, he didn't remember much of the nightmares but he never wanted his brothers to go through that. It was bad enough they had to see him go through it. And the fact they were hiding how they felt to help him made him feel so much worse, they weren't supposed to keep things from each other they made a pact not to. So, he knew what he had to do. "Look, I know we're gonna be okay, I know it wasn't my fault. The thing that's really upsetting me is that it could happen to you guys, I don't want you guys to go through that, I don't want you to be terrified to fall asleep. I can get through this I know I can, but I don't know if I could get through something horrible happening to you." "Now you know how we're feeling." Dewey said after a few minutes of silence and Louie looked up at him. "Louie we've been so worried about you, something horrible did happen to you, is happening and we haven't known how to help cause you don't say anything." Louie sighed, he did keep a lot of things to himself, didn't he? He had to work on that. "I know but you guys also aren't telling me everything, I don't want you guys to keep things from me even if you think it will help. Cause it won't, it just makes me feel worse." His brothers looked at each other. "Okay if we promise to tell you how we're feeling you have to promise to actually tell us when something's wrong and what it is even if you don't know. Deal?" Louie nodded and Dewey continued, "Seeing you go through that... that's gonna haunt me for a while. You were screaming, so loud I'm surprised you didn't wake the whole dock to be honest. And no matter what you wouldn't wake up, there was nothing we could do to change that. I've never felt so helpless." After Dewey finished he and Louie looked at their brother and waited for him to start talking. "You said pretty much everything there was to say Dew. But I think I felt more mad than helpless, it's not fair that we have to go through something like this. I tried to be calm but how can you be calm during something like that? I don't know how Dad did it so easily and I don't think I ever want to. And then we suddenly weren't able to get to you and I started freaking out, you just kept getting worse..." Louie was silent as he tried to process all of that but he knew there was something he had to make clear, "I heard you guys, I didn't hear what you were saying but I knew your voices, I would know your voices anywhere. Knowing you guys were there really helped me, I know it probably didn't seem like it but it did, you were able to get to me you were able to help. You did so much for me, you're doing so much for me; you're not helpless please don't think you are." "Only if you don't think you could ever hurt us." Louie opened his mouth then closed it. "Try?" Huey pleaded and he nodded, he could do that. With things seeming to be resolved for now the three of them headed to go get lunch which had to be ready, they had been talking for a while. Dewey reached a hand to open the door but it flung open before he had the chance and they started at it not sure what just happened. Dewey looked at his hand curiously then moved it back bringing the door with it then moved it forward. He did that a few more times as a test then got a wide grin on his face, "Cool! More new powers!" He cheered and went to the kitchen. His brothers glanced at each other and shrugged then went after him while quietly talking between themselves. "I know you were asleep and scared but did you feel any different using your defensive powers?" Louie looked at him curiously, "A little. Why?" "Just wondering. I felt different using my healing powers, I don't really know how to describe it but I sorta felt more connected to it? Like it felt easier to use?""That's a description." Louie pointed out. "It's weird though, right?" Louie shrugged, he didn't know a lot about magic just as much as his brothers did. But he knew Huey hated not knowing something so he could understand all the questioning. If he were honest though that did sound a little weird but like he said, he didn't know enough about magic to dispute it. However he also knew his brother wouldn't let this go until he got some answers and he was curious as well so he would go along with whatever Huey came up with to find out. He was glad to get his mind off of last night, the sooner he moved on from that the better. Only he didn't think it would ever truly leave him it was just one of those things. But he was strangely okay with that, he just hoped everyone else would be able to move on cause he didn't know how he would be able to be okay with it if they didn't. It was true he felt a little better about putting them through this after his talk with his brothers but he still felt bad that this happened in the first place, even if he knew it wasn't his fault. He knew they deserved better. As he and Huey joined everyone at the table for lunch and a conversation went on, Louie thought about how lucky he was to have a family like his and knew that they were gonna be what made him okay again.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The day finally arrived when José and Panchito had to leave which made the boys very upset. They really liked them and didn't want them to go but their Dad explained that they had jobs they had to get back to and they couldn't be there forever. But they promised the boys that they would come visit whenever they could've and they seemed to be satisfied with that. They went to go play after saying a tearful goodbye to them and that left the adults alone which may or may not have been their plan. Donald hugged both of them, "Thanks for coming to help, this would've been a lot harder on my own." "Of course, what are friends for?!" "And anytime you need any more help you're more than welcome to call us. Or if you just want to chat, that works too." José said with a grin which Donald sheepishly matched. He knew he could do a better job at keeping in touch with people but raising three boys didn't offer a lot of downtime. However he missed talking to his friends so he would try and do a better job of it. "Will do." He promised. They did their handshake and then Panchito and José left. Donald sighed as he closed the door, his friends may have been annoying at times but he was sure gonna miss them. He leaned against the door as he looked around the houseboat before his eyes settled on the kitchen. They were running low on a lot of things and he was running out of cash, the bills for this month had just come and he barely had enough to pay them. He had to get back to work but he couldn't take the chance of leaving the boys with a babysitter, it was still too risky. He supposed he could find a sitter with experience with magic but they usually costed a lot more and he couldn't afford a lot more, he couldn't even afford to pay a simple sitter now. The only thing left he could think to do, expecting taking money from Scrooge it would be a cold day in hell when he did that, was to ask the agency for a raise. They would probably give him one, he was one of their best back in the day and they understood his situation. That would be enough for now, at least until the boys got back in school, if they could just get through next month they would be fine. But for now, he had to talk to Louie. After that night everyone had been too shaken up to really talk about it but it had to be done. According to that... thing Louie had a lot of fear and he needed to know what it was and since things were starting to settle down he needed to talk to Louie before it could be pushed aside. He went to the boys' room where they were currently playing and got Louie's attention. "We need to talk." He told him seriously which then got his brothers attention as well. They all looked at him and it was a little unnerving having all of their undivided attention on him but he didn't let him deter him. "So before we got rid of that thing I asked it why it was targeting you and it said it was because you had a lot of fear. Is this true?" Louie nodded. "What are you so scared of?" "I don't know, everything?" Louie said unsurely. Donald blinked, he wasn't expecting that. "Okay well why haven't you said anything?" "I didn't know how to explain it." He admitted. "I've been having nightmares for a while now, even before this whole thing started. Only I remember those but I don't know if they caused my fears or if they're because of my fears. I just know that I've been really scared and I don't know why." "There's nothing causing your fears, nothing any of us did?" Donald asked just to make sure that wasn't true. "No, you guys didn't do anything." Louie confirmed and Donald let out a quiet sigh of relief. "So you're just scared of nothing?" Dewey said confused. Louie shrugged, "I guess." He knew it didn't make sense but that was how it was. He had managed to get rid of the nightmares for a week or two but then that thing came and now he was back to being too scared to sleep. And it was way worse because he remembered them and he was constantly thinking about them. They were so awful, always about his family getting hurt or worse and then there were the ones about them leaving him, those might've scared him the most if only for how possible they seemed. But they were just nightmares he had no reason to be scared. "You still should've said something. I wish I could tell you there was nothing to be scared of but I would be lying. But no matter what happens none of us are going anywhere, we will always be here for you." Donald tried to reassure him with what limited information he had little did he know he hit the nail right on the head. Even if Louie wasn't sure of why he was scared that was at the core of it. He loved his family very much and couldn't stand the idea of something bad happening to them. Louie smiled at all of them, "Thanks Dad." "Wait I still don't get it how can you be scared of nothing?" Donald sighed, how to explain that to a couple of six-year-olds. "Sometimes there's something different with someone's brain and it causes them to function differently. They may find it harder to be happy or hear and see things that aren't really there or be scared for no apparent reason. But it doesn't mean anything's wrong with them it just means they're different." "Do I have that?" Donald was reluctant to say anything but he had a right to know, they all did. "I don't think so, nightmares can be pretty scary kiddo and they can keep you scared when you're awake. That's why we talk about them so that they don't seem so scary anymore, they can't have any power over you if you don't let them." Louie nodded, he'd have to keep that in mind the next time he had one. His Dad was pretty smart so he had to know what he was talking about. "Okay but I have another question, if you put a protection spell on us how did all of that happen?" "Protection spells can't protect you from what's already happened. But nothing like this should ever happen again." Donald knew it wouldn't, he'd make sure of it. "What were you nightmares before all this about?" Huey asked and Louie knew it wouldn't let it go, that none of them would, until he said something so he knew he had to. No matter how much he really didn't want to. It's not like he didn't like talking about himself, well okay he didn't, but he didn't like when so much attention was on him it made him feel weird. And he didn't like worrying everyone, as far as he was concerned they had more important things to worry about. Like anything other than him. "Just the normal stuff." He attempted to brush off. "Me getting hurt, you guys getting hurt, you all leaving me." He mumbled that last part hoping they wouldn't hear it, but unfortunately for him that wasn't the case. "I know you won't!" He quickly tried to reassure them after seeing their faces. "I don't even know why I'm worried about that I just am." "It's normal to worry about that stuff, everyone does. There's nothing you can really do against getting hurt except be prepared, even protection spells can't protect you forever but you three are already so strong and there's nothing you can't get through. And like I said none of us are going anywhere, family sticks together." That may not have always been true, especially regarding this family, but it was necessary to say. The boys had to learn from his mistakes and while right now he wouldn't exactly call removing Scrooge from his life a mistake it was still something he didn't want them to do in the future. They needed to stick together against the world because at the end of the day they were all they really had. Lucky for him though they bought it. "The thing all of you need to remember about this," He continued. "Is that you will get past it and that one day it will just seem like a really bad memory. But also that that doesn't undermine how you're feeling now and that it's okay to have those feelings. We may not always understand them but they're a part of life." They seemed satisfied with that and he had to be a fool to think all this was fixed but it was a good start. So he left them to their own devices for a while as he went to the kitchen and poured over the bills. He had to figure out how to pay them and still have enough left over for groceries. He would have to call the agency later but he was on his own this time. However little did know he was being watched by three figures who were too curious for their own good. It didn't take them long to figure out what he was doing and once they did they didn't like the stressed out look on his face. Was it because of them? Were they the reasons he struggled so much? Surely if they weren't there his life would be easier. Louie was about to ask his brothers about it but noticed that it was only him and Dewey. Dewey seemed to notice that at the same time he did and they both quietly went to check on their oldest brother. They found him pacing anxiously in their room and glanced at each other. They wondered how they could even begin to try to fix this, there was nothing they could really do and they were feeling the same way he was. But Huey always took things like this too hard and it led to nothing good. Before they could even try to comfort him though he was already speaking. "It's all our faults." He muttered. His brothers tried to reassure him otherwise but he wasn't having it. "No guys face it if we weren't here he wouldn't be having these problems! He doesn't need us, we shouldn't be here!" "How could you even say something like that?" Dewey asked quietly as he refused to look at him or anywhere but down really. And was so overcome with anger that it came out with no emotion at all. "We're better off-" "Don't!" Dewey warned fiercely glaring at him."Dead, we're better off dead!" The room went silent after that as time seemed to freeze. Dewey continued to glare at his frozen brother while Huey was torn between thinking how could he say that and how it was true. The one thing neither of them had been paying attention to though was their little brother which would prove to be a mistake. "You're so stupid, just because you think that doesn't mean we do." Louie bit out through his tears. "You can't deny that he's better off we without us!" Huey angrily protested. "No, I can't. But that doesn't mean we're better off dead. You wanna think so little of yourself, fine, but leave us out of it." And that was the thing about Louie, when he was angry he didn't yell. If you didn't know him well you wouldn't know he was angry at all. He was more like a bomb that could implode on itself at any minute and god help the people that were around when he did. "I'm nothing thinking little of myself it's the truth!" "Stop dragging me down with you!" Dewey finally cut in and Louie looked at him shocked. "Us stop dragging us!" He quickly tried to correct but it was too late, the damage was done and Louie turned his anger from one brother to another."Typical Dewey only thinking of yourself." Dewey knew Louie was only mad but so was he and that really hurt. "You're one to talk, that whole nightmare invasion thing only happened cause you didn't tell us anything but why should I be surprised? It's not like this is the first time that's happened! But no I'm the one only thinking of myself." Louie looked at him really hurt before running out but he was to mad to care and ended up unleashing the rest of his anger at the only one left in the room. "And you! We wouldn't even be having this fight if you didn't get so hurt by everything, maybe all of us are better off without you." He left before Huey could say anything and ran to a completely deserted part of the boat as Huey sunk down to the floor and started sobbing. Dewey blamed everyone for this fight Huey, Louie, even his Dad, everyone but himself. In his eyes he was the victim here and he had done nothing wrong, they were the ones who took things to far. Huey actually said they were better off dead and Louie, well he may have slipped up but Louie was the selfish one here not him even if he did defend both of them... Dewey quickly shook his head, that didn't matter what mattered was Louie thought he was selfish, how could his own brother think something like that? Even if he did call him selfish right back... No! This wasn't his fault he was sure of it. He was right and they were wrong, it was as simple as that. And he wouldn't even be in this situation if it weren't for Huey. They were all upset about their Dad's money problems, why'd he have to take it out on them? They were just trying to help him and he blew up at them. He was so stubborn, he wasn't even willing to hear them out! But Dewey guessed stubbornness ran in the family cause he wasn't willing to apologize to and/or forgive either of them. And the worse part about all of this was that Huey really thought they were better off dead and there were so many reasons why that wasn't okay. Dewey liked who he was and he almost always liked who his brothers were, he knew they weren't better off dead he just thought they knew that too. As soon as Louie had run out of the room he burst into tears once again. He couldn't believe either of them right now! They were just being so... awful and yeah he was too but he wasn't in the wrong here. Dewey was only thinking of himself no matter how much he denied it and Huey, he didn't even know what was going through Huey's mind right now but it was nothing good. If he really thought they were better off... dead then something was seriously wrong. But he was too mad at him to care right now because he included him and Dewey and Louie had enough self-esteem problems without that. And then Dewey had the nerve to call him selfish. He technically said it first but he was sticking up for both of them and Dewey didn't. He would've thought his brother would have his back but evidently he was wrong and this was the worse time for him to be wrong. He had very good reasons for not telling them about the nightmares and none of them were selfish, quite the opposite actually. And he tells them stuff all the time, except for that incident he was always very open with them but Dewey was so stubborn that he chose not to see that. Huey refused to move from his spot on the floor, he was just so upset about everything. He knew this argument was mostly his fault but they both took things way too far he was just being reasonable. Louie called him stupid and Dewey said they were all better off without him, to be fair he said maybe but it still hurt just the same. And he was acting like Huey was the only one who hurt by this when that had to be the furthest thing from the truth. Because Huey knew his brothers and knew that there was no way they weren't as affected by this as he was but Dewey was acting all high and mighty and that really made him mad.And Louie honestly thought he thought little of himself like he wanted to be dead, it was like he didn't know him at all! He didn't want to be dead he was just facing the facts, and the facts were that their Dad was better off without them. But Louie reacted like that was the worse thing he ever heard and lashed out in a way that was completely abnormal for him. Huey just couldn't understand why he couldn't see the truth, he couldn't understand why he took it so personally. Facts were facts, that was just how it was.The three of them did realize of course that this was their first actual fight but were currently too mad to be saddened by that fact. The houseboat was quiet for the rest of the day as the boys had no intentions of seeing each other and after about an hour silence Donald had noticed something was up. He probably would have noticed sooner but the bills were taking up a lot of his thoughts. He instantly became on edge, three boys in a small space meant there was always noise, even when they were sleeping. With that in mind he decided the bills could wait and went to investigate. What he found was something he hoped would never happen but knew it would eventually, the boys were having their first official fight. As long as he could remember the three of them had always agreed with each other and any small disagreements they had were easily resolved. Now was not the case. They were in a full-blown fight and he didn't know how to handle it but he knew one thing for sure, this couldn't go on. This wasn't good for anyone, they needed to learn how to healthily solve their problems and avoiding them wasn't it. The only problem was who to talk to first, since he didn't know why they were fighting he didn't know who would be willing to apologize first over guilt. He determined it would be whoever he saw first and that turned out to be Dewey who was sat on the back deck. Donald quickly went out there when he saw but was surprised to see him gloomily on the bench instead of leaning on the rail. He let out a quiet sigh of relief and sat next to him. "What's going on kiddo?" "This is all Huey's fault!" Dewey exploded in response and Donald jumped back not expecting that response. "If he didn't get so angry so easily we've could calmed him down and talked about it! But nooo he had to go and yell at us!" "Slow down. How did this happen?" Dewey suddenly remembered what they were fighting about and became hesitant. "... We saw you in the kitchen, you looked so stressed out. We know it's cause of us and I thought we would do something about it but then Huey flipped out, then we all started yelling and here we are now." Donald sighed, they didn't need to see that. He hoped they never would and that they wouldn't have to have this conversation but life rarely worked out the way you wanted it to. "You three don't need to worry about that, I'm the adult here I worry about things like money okay? What else was said?" Dewey looked down. "Louie called me selfish." He said quietly. "And I told him he was selfish and that his nightmare thing was his fault." "Dewey." His Dad replied upset. "I know I know! I shouldn't have said it! He just made me so mad." "You need to apologize to him. All of you need to apologize to each other and then you're going to talk this out, like you should've done in the first place." Donald said with a voice that left no room for argument.Dewey sighed and nodded. "I don't know where they are though." "Huey's still in your room, I'll go find Louie." They both got up and went in different directions. Donald hoped Dewey was going to see Huey but knew him well enough to know that might not be the case. They would be talking about this later so he decided to leave it alone for now and searched for Louie. He found him in his room in his hammock staring blankly at the floor. He sat next to him and started talking, "Dewey's just mad, it wasn't your fault. He had no right to say that just like you had no right to say he was selfish." Louie nodded absentmindedly. "He was just thinking of himself though, I was defending both of us but he didn't. He was supposed to back me up, Huey was way out of line. We were trying to talk about it but he refused to listen. He said something really bad Dad and it really worries me." "What did he say?" "That we were better off dead. I know that's not true and Dewey knows that's not true. I don't even know why he said that, I don't think he did either but it's really upsetting that he could say something like that so easily." Louie was right, that was really upsetting. He needed to have a talk with Huey when this was all resolved. "Are you ready to talk this out with them?" Louie nodded, "I've been ready since I ran out of the room. It feels weird fighting with them." It was only their first one but Louie already knew he didn't like it. His brothers probably also didn't like it but he knew he felt differently like it was something he would definitely try to avoid in the future. But as ready as he was to talk he was also scared, they were really mad at him, he deserved it but he still didn't want to deal with it. He knew he would have to though, this couldn't go on forever so he got out of the hammock and went to walk out of the room but hesitated. "Where are they?" Dewey looked up from his spot on the couch in the living room when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He figured it would be Huey coming to find one or both of them but it turned out to be Louie and their Dad. So he quickly glanced down and tried to ignore the upset look he knew was on his brother's face. That look would make him apologize immediately and this wasn't all his fault so that wouldn't be fair. But the thing was he doubted Louie even knew about that power. Dewey hated making either of his brothers upset and it always made him feel incredibly guilty but there was just something about Louie's upset face that made him wanna do anything and everything he could to make it go away. Even at his own expense. And right now that wasn't a good thing because he had really hurt him, both of his brothers had and they needed to talk about it. Louie sat next to his brother as their Dad went to get Huey and they both were silent not knowing what to say to each other. Well until, "I'm sorry I said it was your fault, it wasn't. I was mad but I still shouldn't have said it, it was pretty awful of me. I'm sorry." "You were supposed to be on my side and you weren't. You were supposed to have my back." Louie said glaring at him with such intensity that he flinched. "You were only thinking of yourself. Again. And yeah I may not have said anything but I had perfectly unselfish reasons for doing that." Dewey didn't know what to say to do, Louie usually got over things pretty quickly. He was expecting what he said to make everything okay. But it didn't and that made him feel worse. "I wasn't just thinking of myself if just came out like that... no that's wrong." If he ever wanted to get past this he had to be honest with himself, with everyone. "I was just thinking of myself I don't know why I was I just was. And I'm so sorry. You're my brother I should've had your back and I shouldn't have said those things." Dewey looked down so he missed the softening of his brother's face, he had always had a soft spot for family. Louie grabbed his hand which made him glance up and he gave him a small smile. "Thank you. I'm sorry for calling you selfish I know you're not. You made a mistake but that doesn't mean you're selfish, we're six we're gonna mess up, the important thing is that we get passed it. And I'm sorry for not telling you guys about my nightmares even if I had good reasons or what I thought were good reasons it wasn't right to keep it from you." "Thank you. Are we good?" He asked hopefully. "We're good." They smiled at each other as Huey and their Dad came out. Huey avoided both of their eyes as he sat on the couch and they shared a look but didn't say anything, just because they were good with each other didn't mean they weren't still mad at him. "I'm sorry for yelling at you guys. I was just mad I didn't mean to take it out on you especially when you were just trying to help. And I shouldn't have said we're better off dead I don't believe that, I don't. I was just looking at the facts and the facts are that Dad's better off without us but I still shouldn't have said that and I shouldn't have let my anger get to me so easily. I'm sorry." "I'm sorry for calling you stupid." Louie said next. He just wanted this argument to be over already and if he had to admit his mistakes then that's what he had to do. "I don't like that you said something like that so easily and I don't like that you included us in it. I have enough self-esteem problems without my own brother telling me that I'm better off dead. But you're not stupid, you're one of the smartest people I know actually." He admitted. "Even if you say dumb stuff sometimes." "And I'm sorry for saying we were better off without you that's not true and if I've ever regretted saying something it's that. Because that's the furthest thing from the truth, we would be lost without you. I didn't mean it I was just mad at what Louie said and you were the only one around to take it out on cause I didn't want to admit to myself that he was right. But that doesn't mean it was okay because it wasn't, I will never say anything like that to either of you ever again. I promise." And they all knew that Dewey never broke promises when it came to his brothers. Huey smiled at both of his brothers, "Thanks guys. Can we just agree that we all said dumb stuff and that we'll never say it again?" His brothers nodded. "So all of us are good, we resolved everything?" He asked just to make sure. And it was a good thing he did because his brothers shared another glance. "How could you say something like that so easily?" Huey sighed and looked down, how could he say that so easily? He didn't mean it, well he meant the part about their Dad being better off without them because that was still true but not the other stuff. "I got mad. I don't think when I'm mad. But I didn't mean it and even if I did I shouldn't of dragged you guys down with me. But I promise that I don't think little of myself." He finished offering them a small smile which they readily returned. And since it seemed like everything was smoothed over Donald decided to bring up what caused the argument in the first place. "I need you three to listen okay?" He started seriously which made them look at him and nod. "You don't need to worry about our money situation that's my job and I have it under control. And I will never be better off without you I'd probably be worse actually, taking care of you three is what got me out of my grief over your Mom, who knows where I'd be without that? The most important thing the thing you always need to remember is that I chose to take care of you. And I would choose to do it again in a heartbeat, you three are what matters most to me now and I will always take care of you." He held his arms out and they ran to give him a hug. After the hug broke up Donald sent Dewey and Louie to go play while he talked to Huey about something else. "I need to know that you really don't think you're better off dead." He pleaded as he gently grabbed him. "I don't. Like I told the others, I was just mad." Donald nodded. "Then we need to talk about your temper." He led Huey to the couch and sat them both down. "I know it can get the best of you, better than anyone does. But I also know that you need to learn to control it it's dangerous enough without your powers. And I know you would never intentionally hurt your brothers but it can easily happen or you could easily hurt yourself. So can you try and control it?" "I can try, I am just six." Donald smiled at that and rubbed his head. He wished he could say it would get easier with age but he knew first hand that it wouldn't, he was confident Huey would figure it out though. With that conversation completed Huey went to go play with his brothers as Donald got out his phone and made a call that was long overdue. The boys were more observant than he realized, he would have to be careful of where he did their money management in the future they didn't need another day like today. They should have never seen that, he was supposed to be looking out for them not worrying them! But all he could do now was do better in the future and he would, there's wasn't anything he wouldn't do for those boys. When Huey got to their room he wasn't that surprised to find his brothers not playing. While the fight between them was resolved they still felt bad that they were making their Dad's life harder. Because as much as he wanted them he couldn't deny that fact. But this time would be different, this time the three of them were actually going to talk this out and try to come up with a way to make his life easier. There would be no more fighting today. "Can you guys believe we had our first fight today?" But they would be talking more about it apparently. "It was bound to happen eventually." Huey replied quietly as he joined his brothers on the floor. "Yeah but no one said it would be this bad. I was full blown mad at you guys and until now I didn't think that was possible." Dewey admitted. "Me either." Cause yeah they had bickered before but it was nothing that wasn't forgiven after a few seconds. Fighting between them was unheard of until today. "I didn't like it..." Louie said as he curled in on himself. His brothers shared a knowingly look that said they wouldn't be fighting in front of him in the future. They hated seeing him like that and they hated it even more when they were the cause. "We're okay now." Huey promised. "No one's mad anymore. But we do need to figure out a way to make Dad's life easier." "Any ideas?" Dewey asked and Huey shrugged. "No." He said honestly. They both slumped down and Louie looked up at them, he hated seeing them so sad. He tried to think of something and eventually did even if he didn't like it. It involved them asking for less stuff and he loved spending money especially if it wasn't his but this was for their Dad, he could go without a few things. "What if we ask for less? Like only stuff we really need?" He suggested. His brothers looked at him and honestly didn't know how to reply, Louie was a known spender. But if he was the one suggesting it then they should probably consider it. So, they both agreed. With an idea in mind the boys started to relax a little. They had had a long day and they just wanted to rest for a while before dinner. They'd put in their plan in action later, it wasn't much of a plan but it was the only one they had right now. And who knows? The money they didn't waste on dumb stuff could start to add up, hopefully, they didn't have another plan. But they really wanted to do this their Dad had already done so much for them, they wanted to pay him back. They loved their Dad and there wasn't anything they wouldn't do for him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
After everything had settled down Donald decided to further the boys' magic practice. They had mastered the basics so the next step was to teach them simple magic. Kinetic magic could be the simplest of them all. And coincidently was the one Dewey connected to so while his brothers struggled a little bit he picked it up with flying colors. This was unknown to Donald who was amazed he got it so fast but not his brothers who were happy he was finally catching a break when it came to magic. And since they helped him out so much before he helped them as much as he could've. Which turned out to be a lot. With his help they finally got it and while they weren't as good as he was they were still pretty good. But the three of them wondered how Dewey was so good at it and why the other two were more connected to certain types of magic. So they did what they usually did when they didn't know something, they asked their Dad. "It's your specialty." He explained. "The type you're drawn to and will be the one you're the best at. But that doesn't mean it's the only one you should do you shouldn't limit yourselves." "So that's why I was good at it, not because I'm good at magic." Dewey said disappointedly and Huey put a hand on his arm sympathetically. "You are good at magic." Donald assured him. "Just because it's harder for you doesn't mean you're bad at it. And it's not your magic abilities that are the problem it's your concentration skills and that isn't your fault, you have ADHD and it makes things like concentrating more difficult for you. But you are good at magic, just the fact that you boys already know your specialty speaks volumes. Or that you even have one at all, many magic users don't." "Do you?" Huey asked curiously. "I do." Donald confirmed. "It's spellcasting." The boys let out ooing noises. "Are we gonna get to learn that?!" "Eventually. Spellcasting is... tricky, things can go very wrong even more so than most types of magic and no matter how well you're doing you're still just beginners." He knew they would understand that, he may have done spellcasting as one of the first things he learned but they had a proper teacher. And there was no way he was letting them do that. Them learning their specialty was a good thing though, it meant he finally knew what type of magic users they were, only sorcerers had a specialty. He was so glad they were sorcerers, for so many reasons. It meant that he could continue teaching them and that he didn't have to worry about spending money on tutors, he would've if he had to but thankfully he didn't. And it also meant he could help them a lot more, only a sorcerer knows sorcerer problems. He knew that he had to tell them so he quickly got their attention again. "So you know how I said I had to do some research to figure out what kind of magic users you guys are?" They nodded. "Well I finally know, you guys are sorcerers." "Like you?" Huey asked excitedly. "Yup! Just like me." They cheered and started eagerly talking amongst themselves as Donald got up to go get lunch started. They were happy they were finally getting answers about everything but a couple of questions still remained and they were ones no one had the answers to, the boys would have to figure them out themselves. And it wouldn't be easy but they would do it together. "So do you think there's a reason we're connected to the types of magic we are?" Huey asked his brothers and they shrugged. "I just think it's really interestin' that out of all types of magic those are the ones we bonded with, it's gotta mean somethin' right?""Could just be a coincidence." Louie played off, he knew how his brother could get about this type of stuff and how he wouldn't let it go until he had an answer, even if there was no answer. He usually found it best to try to nip it in the bud despite that hardly ever working. "It seems too weird to be a coincidence though. Like no offense Louie but you can be kinda closed off sometimes and yours is defensive powers, and I'm protective and mine is healing powers. It just seems like it stems from a core part of our personalities." "So how do you explain mine being kenetic powers?" Cause as far as Dewey was concerned there was no explanation. "Kinetic, and well, it's the movement of stuff and you have a hard time sittin' still, you constantly have to be in motion." Huey told him matter-of-factly. And Dewey shrugged that did sound like him, and who knew him better than his brothers? "So, say you're right and it's not just a coincidence, why those traits in particular? Why not any of our other traits?" Dewey asked. Huey had to think about it, one of the things he loved and hated about talking like this with his brothers is that they challenged him. They asked him things he honestly didn't know the answers to and it drove him crazy not knowing something. But he also loved learning something new. "It makes up the most of who we are?" Huey guessed. "Like I know we can't be described with one word but if we had to be those would be pretty close to the top of the list. Reserved, protective, restless, that's the core of who we are and our magic can sense that." Dewey nodded. "Makes sense." Cause Huey was right if he had to describe himself with one word it would be restless. And Huey was definitely protective, they all were in their own right but he always took it a step farther. And as much as he knew about Louie he was still very reserved, and if you hadn't known him as long as he had you wouldn't know much about him at all. "I'm not that reserved." Louie protested and his brothers gave him a look. "Okay I am but why couldn't have mine been something to do with the part of me that loves money?""No one person should have that kinda power. Especially not you." Dewey teased him as he lightly nudged him. Louie batted him away but decided that was probably true. "Fine but I still wanna learn how to make things gold." "And I wanna learn to leitate!" Dewey shouted as he stood up. Huey smiled fondly at both of his brothers, he hoped they never changed. Donald called them for lunch and they ran into the kitchen ignoring his shouts to not run; the four of them then settled into the booth and started eating. As they ate they talked about a lot of different things like what would come next in their magic studies and what would happen once the boys went back to school. Donald also mentioned that he wasn't getting another job until they were back in school, which worried them a little bit but he assured them he had it under control.He knew they would start being more cautious about money and he wouldn't say anything against that. He hated not being able to get them whatever they wanted but he simply couldn't afford to. And it might not have been the smartest move waiting until they were back at school to start looking for a job, but he was needed more here than at a job right now. Besides, he was looking forward to spending the rest of summer with them. The rest of summer went by quickly and soon the boys were back in school. They were nervous and, like most kids, really didn't want summer to end. Their biggest fear was accidentally doing their magic in front of other people but Donald was confident enough in their abilities that he knew they would be fine. They had grown much more powerful in the last month and they had a better sense of control, which is what he hoped would happen. He knew they were ready for school. That didn't mean they wanted to go though and Donald had to convince them to. It wasn't easy but he was eventually able to do it and by the first day they were willing to go, even if they didn't want to. Donald had to admit it was hard saying bye to them he had gotten used to seeing the most of the day every day again but knew that they had to go to school and that he had to get another job. They had made it through July thankfully but they needed more money and now that the boys were back in school he had no reason to not look for a job. The search for one was difficult as most business owners knew who he was and knew about his famous temper. But after a few days he was able to find one. The pay wasn't great but he would take what he could get, he always would. First grade was hard on the boys, between school work and their magic practice they hardly ever had time to just have fun. Don't get them wrong magic was fun but it was also a lot of hard work, and they found themselves constantly wanting time where they could just hang out and do nothing. They were also trying to make friends, they were too scared to attempt to hang out with anyone else during kindergarten due to being wary of school. But now that they were more used to it they wanted to venture out further. The other kids didn't really like them though, they thought it was weird that they were color-coded and never really made the effort to try to tell them apart. Some of the kids had even gone as far as to start bullying them. It usually never lasted long though, the boys always told their Dad when it was happening and he always took care of it.But it wasn't all bad, the boys had started developing interests. Huey was into academics and was in a couple of clubs that had stuff to do with them. Dewey was very into sports and was pestering Donald to let him join the soccer team in town. And Louie was into art or more specifically, drawing and painting, he had no interest being in the art club though and just wanted it to be something he did whenever he felt like it. Throughout the year Donald had gone through a bunch of jobs his longest one lasting just over a month and times could get kind of difficult. But no matter what happened he made sure to always make time for the boys. If a job kept him out at odd hours and he hardly ever got to see them he quit it. Because not only did he need to spend time with them, he had to help them with their magic. They were getting better at it and were taking to it just as naturally as he did and he was so proud of them. When second grade came there were a lot of changes, Donald got a steady job with a good income and the boys were starting to expect that not that many people would like them, just because of them being triplets. It upset them but their Dad was quick to assure them that if people couldn't see past that then they weren't worth their time. They had a hard time expecting that but eventually did, they were still at an age were the believed everything their Dad said. They also had started developing more interests. Huey had fallen in love with reading and was reading a couple of levels ahead of his age group. Dewey had started showing an interest in singing and dancing and was very excited to audition for the upcoming play at school. Louie excelled at anything to do with numbers and was constantly trying to help Donald with anything to do with them. To which he let him, when Louie first came to him he was surprised at just how good he was with them, certainly better than Donald was. And while all of that was going on the boys were progressing even further with their magic. Donald was starting to teach them some of the different types since they mastered simple magic last year. And they were taking to each type with little or no setbacks, whatever trouble they did have was always quickly resolved either by the help of each other or their Dad. They kept growing more and more powerful and Donald was starting to wonder just how strong they really were. Their magic's bond was also getting stronger and they all could see it. It was getting to the point where their energies were starting to permanently intertwine with each other. They were no closer to figuring out why their magic was bonded or what would happen with it next. They just had to wait and see, none of them really liked that but there was nothing else they could do, only time would tell. By the next year Donald had lost his job and they were back on hard times. He had to ask the boys to cut back on what they asked for without saying why, but he knew they had some idea on how bad it was from the permission slips he never got. They wanted to help him in any way they could and started thinking of ways to get money. Not that he knew, he would try to stop him if he did so they chose to keep it a secret from him. It was for the best, they rationalized. Third grade also brought a lot of hardships, things were starting to get more difficult for the boys academic wise. Huey was keeping up just fine but his brothers were starting to slip, Dewey especially. Donald helped them as much as he could've but between everything else going on it was hard to keep up with. Due to that and many other things Dewey and Louie stopped caring so much about how they did in school and only kept up with their grades cause they had to. In addition to that, the boys had started bickering with each other more. They could hardly agree on anything and were secretly worried that that meant that they were starting to drift apart. But they didn't need to worry as they always managed to make up with each other. And whenever one of them brought that up the other two were quick to assure him that that wouldn't happen and that they were feeling similarly. So, they decided, if they all worried about that then it wouldn't happen, they would make sure it didn't.But the one thing that was going good was their magic, they were delving into some harder types and Donald was starting to teach them some simple spells. He was nervous about that at first but felt that they were at a place where they could safely start doing some, only around him of course. It was a little harder than simple magic but they rose to the challenge just as much as he expected them to. And by the end of the year they could do most simple spells with ease. They were also becoming more active and Donald had to sign them up for the Junior Woodchucks so they would stay busy. Only Huey stuck with it. They were nine the first time Dewey ended up in the hospital, someone had been messing with his brothers and he hadn't taken lightly to that. It was nothing bad just a broken arm but it scared everyone just the same. His brothers refused to leave his side until he was all better and he couldn't blame them, he'd be the same way if it was one of them. The three of them also worried about how their Dad would be able to pay for the hospital visit and it was something Dewey felt guilty about for weeks. But Donald was quick to curb that, he had nothing to feel guilty about, Donald was their Dad and it was his job to take care of them. Huey had wanted to heal his arm the minute it got broken but Donald reminded him that people would ask questions and told him it was best to let it heal naturally. He started to protest but stopped after Dewey had said that it was fine and that 'it probably wouldn't be the last time he broke something'. Which made him and Louie shared a look in worry. School was getting a lot harder for the boys between the workload and the bullies there were days even Huey didn't want to go. But then one day the bullies stopped and Louie started getting called 'the evil triplet', it wasn't hard to put two and two together. It never bothered Louie though and even his brothers started calling him that jokingly. This was also the year where they stopped trying so hard to make friends and were just content to hang out with each other. Sure, they liked doing their own thing sometimes but they were also as inseparable as could be. Their magic was continuing to go good, they were moving onto medium difficulty spells and Donald was beginning to get amazed at just how fast they were progressing. They picked up on everything with ease and were always wanting to learn more, they were fascinated by it. It was the one thing that could always get their full attention and it was the thing they pestered him about the most. Which he was happy about, he thought that they would grow out of being excited by it eventually but it didn't look like that was happening. By the time summer came Donald was out of a job again and had to leave the boys with a sitter as he went to an interview. He knew they could keep their magic in check for a couple of hours, this wasn't the first time he left them with a sitter. But unknown to him this time would be different, the boys would devise a plan so that their sitter never showed and they could go to Cape Suzette. And it would almost work to until Dewey started the boat too earlier. But that wouldn't happen for a few minutes and right now Donald was running around the boat panicked as Huey and Louie attempted to help him. True it was mostly to get him out of the boat by 10 but they wanted him to have a successful interview too. Too bad they seemed to be making things worse. And if Donald wasn't so stressed he would be more patient with them but this interview was a big deal and he still had so much to do to prepare. Eventually 10 came and Huey and Louie pushed their Dad out of the boat and assured them they could watch after themselves for a couple of hours. That was when the boat started. Donald went to find it was Dewey doing it, because of course it was Dewey, and gathered them in his car then drove to the one place he swore he'd never go again and the place he swore he'd never take the boys to,McDuck Manor. As they drove there Donald reminded the boys to not use their magic to which they exasperatedly agreed to. Anytime they went somewhere new their Dad had to tell them that and they were kind of sick of it. But they were too excited about getting to meet Scrooge McDuck to dwell on it. And when they got there they were giddy with anticipation as their Dad talked to him. Which grew into full-blown excitement as they overheard him call him Uncle Scrooge. They got out of the car as their Dad introduced them to him and told them the other rules. "Remember no tricks, no lies, no trouble." "Yes Dad." They replied like they had done it a thousand times, which they had, and didn't see the look Scrooge gave Donald. "I wasn't talking to you." Donald said glaring at Scrooge before looking at them and softening his eyes. "Be good, I'll be back later. Call if you need anything." The boys nodded along and started to push him to his car. "Good luck at your job interview, you'll do great!" Huey encouraged him. "Yeah don't worry about us just focus on acing that interview." Louie coolly added on. "We're in a mansion with Scrooge McDuck what could possibly happen?" Donald hesitated at that but the boys forced him into his car and told him that he was running late. He gave them one last look before starting his car and driving away. After he left they turned to their Uncle who was already starting to walk towards the manor and followed him. Once they got inside they looked around in wonder and pretty much stayed that way until they were forced into a room. "Great, now we've got a boring Uncle." "So we're totally ditching this room right?" "Yup, and I know just how to do it." He waved the bag of marbles around and then threw them off somewhere. "Telekinesis is part of my specialty after all." Huey raised an eyebrow, "Dad said we couldn't use our magic." Dewey gave him a look, "It's either be stuck in here or break a rule, and not for the first time. Besides we're the only ones in here not's like anyone's gonna see." Huey had to give him that and soon he was using his telekinesis on the door handle. He got it open after a few seconds and his brothers cheered. "Come on guy's, let's go touch some expensive stuff." As soon as he finished that sentence something told him to leap back so he did and narrowly avoided the rope headed straight for him. "What the?" He raised his hand but Huey quickly shook his head and tried to take control of the situation. "Who's there?" He called out. No one answered. The boys looked at each other and slowly walked towards the door when the rope came back and grabbed them. There was a slight form of miscommunication before the person who had taken them, who they would come to know as Webby, found out who they really were. She quickly let them go and after a brief conversation they were all headed into the vents. Where Dewey had heard something he would have rather not and it spoiled his mood, at least until they got into the treasure room and had found that cool picture of their Dad.After that the triplets ooed and awed at everything in the room until Louie accidentally knocked over a treasure chest and let out a ghost. He let out a yelp and ran behind his brothers. And once again Dewey was tempted to use his magic but Huey gave him a look so he glanced around and found a sword and grabbed it. It ended up flying off on its own into the ghost. He hit his head in frustration, of course it would do that.The situation kept getting worse and a headless horseman ended up in the mix until their Uncle came in and took care of it. Which they were excited about until he started to reprimand them. Until he hit the gong. Pishu came to life and started heading towards the money bin so Scrooge grabbed on it with one more shout for them to go to their rooms. They ignored that and teamed up to save Scrooge. The triplets talked amongst themselves as Launchpad flew all of them to save Scrooge. They would've included Webby but this was a conversation about magic, more importantly whether or not to use it. They ended up deciding to only do it if necessary and soon they were diving down to save Scrooge. Since they didn't come up with a plan before they were pretty short-sighted when it came to finding out how to stop Pishu. Eventually they decided on the Medusa Gauntlet Louie had secretly brought aboard and Pishu was turned to stone. After everything had settled down Scrooge started to reprimand the kids once again until it turned into praise and he began talking about how they were trouble and how he missed trouble and it ended up with them going to find the lost city of Atlantis. "And no one tell yer Uncle Donald!" Scrooge finished up and the boys looked at each other as everyone else started cheering. They had hardly ever heard someone call their Dad their Uncle, it was weird. It made it seem like he wasn't actually their Dad and he was. Once they got on the sub the boys debated on whether or not to bring it up before deciding to cause they didn't like people calling Donald anything other than their Dad. And they would be with Scrooge for the rest of the weekend. The three of them looked at each other to figure out who would do it then Dewey and Louie pushed their brother forward. He glared at them before going to tell Scrooge who gave him a weird look when he told him but didn't say anything. Though it was easy to see he was uncomfortable with it for some reason. Huey sat back next to his brothers but Dewey got up and started to bug Scrooge until he made him sit back down. The rest of the ride to Atlantis was pretty boring as the kids ended up sleeping for most of it before Dewey woke up which woke Huey up. He noticed his brother make his way back towards Scrooge again and sighed knowing it wouldn't end well. He quietly called him back and made him sit, "What are you planning?" He asked him suspiciously."Nothing now." Dewey pouted. "I'm bored Hubert, I thought going to find a lost city would be more exciting." "I'm sure it will be once we get there." Huey told him but didn't know if he believed it himself, so far this entire trip was kind of a letdown. But both of their spirits were lifted back up when they saw Atlantis. They woke the others up as Scrooge started explaining for it was possible for them to be there. The kids pretty much ignored him though as they raced to the window. "The whole thing is upside down." Huey noted. Louie stared at it for a moment before answering him, "Must've turned when it fell into the water." "How does a whole city fall into water anyway?" Dewey asked and they both shrugged before turning to their Uncle. "Let's go find out." The kids cheered and followed him out of the sub. The answer turned out to be really simple and as his Uncle explained it further Dewey snuck into the temple. He heard a shout of his name from outside and rolled his eyes knowing it was Huey. He then walked further into the temple and heard buzzing above him, wait above him? He looked up to see buzzsaws above him and sat on the ground with a huff. Stupid upside down temple, he thought. When the rest caught up to him he complained to them hoping to get some sort of sympathy from his brothers but just got reprimanded by his Uncle. After that they continued on until the found a room with a bridge going from one side to the other with a bunch of lasers on it. Dewey started to cross it but was pulled back by his Uncle which annoyed him further, he wanted to prove he was a great adventure but he couldn't do that if his Uncle kept holding him back. So, he started to cross it anyway. Meanwhile when Donald first went to his job interview he wasn't expecting it too good like this and he certainly wasn't expecting Scrooge to take the boys to Atlantis. But he really should of, it was Scrooge after all. He just didn't expect him to lie about it, oh no wait he expected that too. And he expected Louie to lie to him about, he excepted something like this whole situation to be honest. But he wasn't expecting to go to Atlantis himself, however he was glad he did cause now he could look after the boys because Scrooge clearly wasn't doing a good job of it. He could yell at him later, he decided. Right now he needed to think of a way to protect Dewey as he recklessly went across the bridge above him. Because even though he hadn't done it yet Donald knew his boys well and knew as soon as he saw it he would try to cross it. And as soon as he saw him leap on to the bridge, he knew he had to act. He quickly casted out a fire stopper spell which went across the floor and put blocks on all the fire traps covering the floor. Thankfully he had been around enough traps to know which ones were which. Dewey safely crossed the bridge which made him sigh in relief then panic and look for his other two boys. They weren't in the room. His charm wasn't going off so he tried not to be too worried but when fire broke through his charm and burnt the bridge he stopped. But Scrooge shouted something at Huey and Louie who had just entered the room with what looked like a girl around their age and Scrooge's driver and Donald thought for the first time that maybe he had the situation under control. Except then Dewey hopped down a wall and he lost all hope. Then Glomgold and the others caught up to him, Glomgold said something about him finding a shortcut to the treasure room and he was helplessly dragged along. He was starting to think the other workers didn't like him too much. Dewey hopped down the stairs, or what he thought we're stairs, it was hard to know in an upside down place and briefly wondered why the bridge traps hadn't gone off, maybe he subconsciously did something? Or maybe his brothers had felt something was off and acted accordingly, their magic's bond had done weirder stuff. He vaguely heard Scrooge grumbling behind him and ignored it he didn't want to waste his time on someone who didn't even remember his name. Even one of his brothers' names would have been better than bluey. He quickly forgot about that though when he saw that the treasure room was below them and that they weren't the first ones there. But his surprise turned to anger when he saw they had his Dad. Before he really knew what he was doing he lept into action. "Let go of my Dad." And since Huey wasn't there to stop him from doing magic it was only his own conscience that would, and his Dad's stern look. "No." Dewey blinked. "I wasn't prepared for that." But it seemed Scrooge was as he hopped out of the gold behind Glomgold. As Scrooge took Glomgold down and argued talked with his Dad Dewey thought. Was this the job he had an interview for? And was he the one who saved him earlier? Because there was no reason for those lasers not to work and he definitely would felt if he or his brothers did something. "Yer new job is with my sworn enemy?!" Scrooge said. Yup, called it. But then Glomgold revealed that Donald was his prisoner and Dewey felt the Duck temper for the first time. Which grew as his Dad was carelessly thrown back into the room and the trap was activated, this was so not how he wanted to die. He figured it'd be much cooler than walking into a trap. Wait! His brothers, surely they would feel something was wrong maybe they could do something. "Junior Woodchuck rule 841: there's always another way around." Huey said resourcefully. He suddenly started to feel like something was wrong and looked at Louie who was talking with Webby, he looked upset but fine. So that meant, "Dewey!" He gasped which made the others turn to him and Louie immediately felt the same thing he did. They both started to race for the next room but were stopped when a bunch of people came out of it. "Take them down." A duck with a Scottish accent said and Huey and Louie shared a look then charged forward. They may not have been able to use their magic but they had learned another thing or two from their Dad. The adults weren't expecting them to do that so they were able to get the upper hand for a few seconds but then they began fighting back so they had to start relying on their small stature which worked in their favor. "We gotta stop the water!" Dewey cried as he ran to do so. He felt his side of the bond change and momentarily paused before sharing a look with his Dad. Who had felt his charm go off and rushed even more to plug the holes, they had to get out of here.He couldn't believe Scrooge had gotten the boys into this mess and told him as much but then Dewey started taking the blame for what happened. Then cut himself off by noticing the gem on the floor which ended up saving the day and making Donald rethinking a lot of things. Mainly the amount of trust he had in them. But then remembered his charm going off and rushed out of the room."Huey and Louie!" He got there just in time to see them take down Glomgold's last employee. "Are doing okay." Dewey quickly tackled his brothers in a hug glad they were fine and they hugged him back feeling the same way. After that Glomgold had sent a rocket from his sub to destroy the temple and the rest of them ran to their own sub. Once they, as well as Glomgold's other employees, got in they took off just in time for the temple to collapse. "That was some quick thinkin' yew may be an adventure yet, Dewey." Dewey smiled at his Uncle and thought that maybe this day wasn't an entire waste after all. When they got to the marina Scrooge interrupted Glomgold's speech and immediately got the attention of the news people there as the rest of them climbed out of the sub. And after Donald saw Mrs. Beakley's heartfelt talk with Webby he decided he needed to have a talk of his own with his boys. It was probably long overdue. So, as much as it pained him to do so he walked over to Scrooge who started to explain but he held up a hand and stopped him. "Stop. I admit, I'm a little overprotective.""A little?!" Louie cut him off as he joined the others. "No matter what I do these boys will get into trouble, maybe you can teach them to get out of trouble.""Dad?" "That might be okay if the boys travel every once and a while." He bent down and hugged them as they cheered but then started to explain his conditions. He was cut off by an explosion and everyone turned to see it was the houseboat then glared at Dewey."Oo, I may have left the engine running in the houseboat." "I may have a dozen or so spare bedrooms in the mansion." Scrooge offered and the boys looked at their Dad who let a nervous chuckle as a sign of agreeing then started to celebrate. Donald let the boys celebrate as he put out the houseboat fire as best as he could've without causing suspicion and wondered how the heck he was gonna fix it. But he didn't have time to dwell on it for too long as the boys pulled him into the celebration. Eventually it ended and Donald pilled the boys into the car so they could drive to Scrooge's manor. He knew they were excited but he wasn't, it was no secret he didn't get along with Scrooge and now he had to live with him, he would do it for the boys though. It didn't mean he would be happy about it. When they got to the manor the triplets immediately ran inside to go pick out a room, the thought of them not sharing hadn't crossed their mind once. They looked through several rooms before deciding to just go with the next one they saw. It was getting kind of late and they had had a long day, they just wanted to relax for a while. But that wouldn't be happening for a few minutes because as soon as they picked their room their Dad came in with a 'we need to talk' look on his face. So they sat on the bed in there and waited for him to start. "We need to set up a few ground rules. We're guest here and we need to be respectful of that, Scrooge didn't have to let us stay here but he did so we have to be on our best behavior. Just try not to make too much trouble, okay? And my rule about adventures from before doesn't change, you're not going on them every day and certainly not on a weekday. And this is my last thing I promise, it's about your magic." They perked up at that. "I'm not telling you not to do it, right now this is our home and you should feel comfortable here but I'm asking you to be careful. It's for the best if they don't know we have it." He finished and they took all of it in. "Are you still gonna teach us?" "Yup you still have a lot to learn. Though until I can get the houseboat enterable again we're gonna have to do it somewhere in here and somewhere the others don't go to a lot. So if you guys can find a space like that while I'm at work I'd greatly appreciate it." They eagerly nodded. "We're on it!" Dewey cheered and Donald smiled, he knew they could count on them. "I'll let you guys get settled in now and I'll see about getting you a tri-bunk bed tomorrow." "Thanks Dad!" Donald left after that and headed to his old room, it had been a long day for him too. As he got there he passed by a door next to it that hadn't been opened in years and sighed. He thought about opening it himself but quickly declined that, he wasn't ready. He didn't think he'd ever be ready.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Donald kept a close eye on the boys the rest of the day after the Funzone incident, he was starting to worry about things like that becoming a regular occurrence and he hated it. But that came with living with Scrooge McDuck. And a good thing did come out of it surprisingly, it reminded him he needed to update the protection spell on them. And make it stronger there were more things to protect them from now. Once he did that he sent them off but Huey stayed behind for some reason. Donald looked at him curiously, "What's up?" "The protection spell, that'll stop anything from hurting them right?" Donald sighed, Huey was ever the older brother even by a few minutes. "Physically yes but it can't protect you from thoughts or emotions. And like what happened with Louie a few years ago if something's already happened there's nothing it can do. I know you want to make sure they never get hurt." He said softly, he understood the urge, he felt it too. "But that's just not possible. The best thing you can do is help when they do get hurt and let them help you when you get hurt." "I can do that." Donald smiled at him, "Good." Huey ran off after that and he headed towards the houseboat, it may not have been livable just yet but he couldn't stay in the manor any longer, there were too many memories. He ran into Scrooge on the way and barely suppressed the urge to sigh, he was not in the mood to deal with him right now. It had been a long day he just wanted to relax before dinner. Looked like life had other plans. "Donald lad can ae talk ta yew aboot somethin'?" This time he actually did sigh, "What?" Scrooge hesitated for a moment, "It's aboot the boys." He narrowed his eyes, "What about them?" "Ae've noticed they call yew Dad and that yew let them. Yew dinnae owe me an explanation but it seems a bit weird." And Scrooge was right he didn't, but he knew he wouldn't let it go until he had one. "They've always called me that even after I told them I was their Uncle, they've always been adamant that I'm their Dad even if it's not biological. I might as well be their Dad anyway, I'm the one who raised them and I'm the one who knows them best. I don't care what you think about it but keep it to yourself, I don't want them to get upset about it. I'll let them call me their Dad as long as they want to." After that he pushed past him and went back on his original path. Once he got to the houseboat he sadly looked around. With the boys gone it was too quiet, he used to like quiet but know he hated it. But there was nothing he could do about it, they wanted to stay in the mansion and he wanted to give them what they wanted for once. No matter how much he hated it. After Huey's conversation with his Dad had ended he went to find his brothers but got lost in the mansion and decided to call one of them instead. Once it was over he started to look around where he was. He didn't find anything too interesting it looked like any other part of the mansion, which is why he got lost, but he did notice a door that looked like it hadn't been opened in a while and hummed. He decided to wait for his brothers to find him before opening it. And when they got there the three of them stared at it for a few seconds before Dewey opened it. The room was pretty small and they could tell by the dust everywhere that it hadn't been entered for some time. Louie coughed and started to walk out but Huey stopped him so he sighed and waved his hand to clear the dust. "This looks like the perfect room for us to do our magic lessons." Dewey said going through the desk. Huey batted him away from it and they started fighting as Louie looked around. It looked like any other room only it hadn't been entered in a while and he questioned why that was. Before getting bored and not caring anymore. "So are we gonna tell Dad about this room or what?" He asked his brothers to get them to stop fighting. They both agreed and they went to find him. They were surprised to see he wasn't in his room and went to the houseboat, they thought he might be working on it again. But they instead found him resting in the living room so they thought about coming back later but he woke up and saw them. "Everything okay?" He asked them worriedly. "Why are you resting in here?" Dewey asked back instead of answering. "Oh, I'm... moving back in here it's easier than having to deal with all of Mrs. B's rules." He told them, it wasn't the whole truth but it was what they needed to know. "So we're not gonna be in the same place anymore?" Huey said quietly.Donald softened his face. "No, but you three are welcome in here anytime, just as soon as I fix it up a little more, and I will let you know when that happens. And it's not like I'll never see you, nothing else has to change. Now, what did you want?" They shared a look, they knew there was something he wasn't telling them. "We just wanted to let you know we found a room for our magic practice. Huey got lost." Dewey added on like that explained everything. Or to tease his brother, he wasn't sure, maybe both? "It could've happened to any of us!" He defended himself. "Thank you that helps a lot. I'll check it out and we can start practice again in a few days." Donald said to stop any further fighting. With that settled the boys went back to the mansion and he tried not to sigh. This whole thing was bittersweet for him, he was glad they were happy but it all reminded him of everything he couldn't give them. And he knew what he said to Scrooge earlier but he couldn't help but think of how better off they'd be if they were raised here. And then he thought about Atlantis and got over that. They were definitely better off with him. "So what do you think the real reason Dad moved back into the boat is?" Huey asked his brothers as they walked back to the mansion. He had an idea but he wasn't too sure about it. He wanted to know what they thought, but he always wanted to know that. Dewey shrugged, "Maybe it really is Mrs. B, she has a lot of rules." "There's gotta be more to it than that. Maybe it's Scrooge? You said they were fighting in Atlantis, Dewey." Louie pointed out. "Yeah but it was just cause he thought Scrooge put us in danger, he would've fought with anyone over that." And with that in mind they were back at square one. But they would figure it out, and if it really was Scrooge they would come up with a plan to help them get along. They would be seeing a lot of each other there was no use in always fighting. Besides, their Dad always said family stuck together and Scrooge was family. As they roamed around the mansion they ran into Webby and the four of them ended up in her room. They talked about nothing in particular just trying to get to know each other until she asked a very invasive question. "Why do you call Donald your Dad? I don't think it's weird or anything!" She tried to mend. "Just curious." The triplets looked at each other and Huey answered. "We call him that because he is our Dad, even if he's not biologically he's still the one who raised us and calling him our Uncle doesn't feel right." "Oh, that makes sense." It got awkward after that as none of them knew what to say to each other. Until they eventually decided to just change the topic. Webby asked the boys about life on the houseboat and they asked her what it was like growing up in the mansion. But the response she gave was one they weren't expecting, she talked about how lonely it was and how she had her Granny but it wasn't really the same as having friends. "No one wanted to be our friend." Huey admitted. "You know, since we're triplets and color-coded and stuff, that's weird to them. We used to be upset about it but now we know they weren't worth our time. Besides, we have each other.""And now so do you!" Dewey said cheerfully and she looked at them hopefully. "Really?" "Yeah!" They said at the same time then glared at each other and started fighting which made Webby worried, she didn't know it was a regular sibling thing and that they were more annoyed at each other than anything. So they had to explain it to her after she got them to stop, she didn't look like she got it but they didn't blame her. They knew she would eventually. This whole thing was a learning process after all, for everyone. After a while the boys made their way back to their own room and noticed the amount of empty space in it. All there was was their tri-bunk bed that had got there a few days ago, a desk and their clothes scattered across the floor. "Is all our stuff still on the houseboat?" Huey asked them as he started picking up said clothes. "Guess we've been so excited about being here we forgot to get it." Louie said sitting on his bed. His brothers also got on it but he wasn't that surprised. He was pretty used to it actually, they hung out on his bed anytime they didn't feel like climbing up to theirs. He did roll his eyes when they got comfortable though it was still his bed after all. But he was glad they were there, it made not thinking about what happened earlier easier. His first time getting kidnapped was something he wasn't sure he'd ever forget. Thank god Webby was there. "Hey are you guys okay after what happened earlier?" Dewey said. Because he knew his brothers and knew how sensitive they were. And if he were being honest it was a little unnerving for him too. But Dad had told them life with Scrooge McDuck wasn't easy and he was always right about that stuff. Louie shrugged but didn't say anything and Huey nodded, "I'm okay now, I had a talk with Dad that helped. My biggest thing was you guys being in danger." "Same." Louie said quietly and Dewey had to agree with that, he never really cared what happened to him, so long as his brothers were okay. But what worried him was that they had the same mentally too and he knew they had the same worries as him. Which is why they all looked out for each other they certainly wouldn't look out for themselves, them being okay wasn't as important as their brothers being okay. A bad mentality to have but it was one they shared nonetheless. A few days later was the boys first magic practice since they moved into the mansion and they were very excited about it. With all the commotion that had been happening lately they hadn't had as much time to use it and they missed it. Which is why as soon as they saw their Dad that day they asked him about it. He could sense their excitement from a mile away so he told them that they were good to go and they raced to the room where they were doing it ignoring his shouts not to run. Just like always.Once they all got to the room Donald started getting things ready as the boys impatiently sat on the newly placed bench. When Donald found what he was looking for he turned around holding three books and handed them to them. "These are beginner spell books, they'll help you get extra practice in... You boys are at an age where I feel I can trust you to start doing it without my supervision, I don't think I have to tell you what a huge responsibility this is but I know that you can handle it. You've all come so far over these past few years and while you still have a while to go you already so powerful. And I'm also giving you access to my library, so long as you ask me first, I know you'll be careful with my books, and whatever else you find in there." He told them as they flipped through their books mystified. "So these are our books?" Huey asked trying to take everything in. He had wanted access to his Dad's library since he first heard about it and now they were finally getting it! "Yup they're all yours. So, are we ready to begin?" They eagerly nodded and he jumped into the lesson. It was about elemental magic and the different elements themselves. And it was continuing from where they left off a few days ago. Air magic. "So air magic works like any other elemental magic only you can't see it. Because of that it can be a lot harder to control and why if you do lose control it's a lot harder to get back. So, with this particular type you need to focus more on feeling it than seeing it. But it also has a lot of ups, because you can't see it it's harder to evade and block. And once you do have good control with it it can be used in ways other types of magic can't be. For insistence, it's a good type of magic for saving people since it won't inherently hurt them like fire and it can get in places the other elementals can't, like if you ever need to get anything without causing any kind of damage to it. And that's what I want you all to try and do today, try and get something from the room in front of you without damaging it." Donald finished up and the boys nodded. They each chose something and began. Since elemental air magic was technically a type of kinesis Dewey was the first to do it, he got better at cheering about it over the years so all he did was high five himself with a quiet woo and see if either of his brothers needed help. They didn't look like they did so he turned to his Dad instead. "Did it!" Donald nodded. "Now do it again, you can never have enough practice." Dewey would have to disagree with that, once was usually enough for him, but he did it anyway, it was either that or sit there boredly. And he hated boredom. After they each did it a couple of times Donald was confident they had the hang of it and moved on to something harder, using it defensively. He may have had ulterior motives behind that, now that they were living with Scrooge they needed it more than ever. Louie was the first one to really get the hang of it, a surprise to no one and Dewey shortly followed. But Huey was struggling a bit and it wasn't until Dewey had accidentally almost injured Louie that he finally did it. He looked over his hands as Dewey profusely apologized to their brother. So his powers kicked in when his brothers were in danger, interesting. He wondered if he could now do it without there being an immediate danger and tried it. He could. Donald stopped practice after that knowing Dewey felt too guilty to continue, he would probably try to avoid his brothers the rest of the day and that had to be handled now. He knew something like this would happen eventually, in a way he thought they all did but he was glad no one got hurt. But he knew that didn't stop Dewey from feeling guilty. So he bent down to his level and tried to comfort him. "Dewey it's okay you just need to be more careful." But that wasn't enough to convince him so Louie gave him a hug and told him he was okay and that he knew it was just an accident. That seemed to work. "I'll be more careful next time." Dewey promised them. And he would, that was too close for comfort he never wanted to have a close call like that again. He never wanted to hurt his brothers period. Donald started packing things away after that and the boys started to help, well Huey did his brothers looked at each other and shrugged before also doing it. When they were done they left the room and after he closed the door Donald moved his hands around the doorframe as the boys watched curiously. "What're you doing?" "Putting a charm around the door, so that the others can't get in just in case they come over here for some reason." Donald explained and they nodded, that made sense. Once he did that he noticed the time and told them they should probably head down to dinner. Huey and Dewey agreed but Louie made a face, seemed like this was one of his days where he didn't eat a lot. They were pretty used to it by now but he hadn't had one in a while, they chalked it up to the events of a few days ago and knew he would get past it on his own. When they got the dining room they saw pretty much everyone else was already there and that they had done practice a lot later than they should've. Thankfully no one questioned where they were though Webby did ask the triplets if they wanted to hang out after dinner. They agreed wanting to have some downtime yet with Webby they weren't quite sure what would happen. It would probably be exciting however. As everyone ate they talked about what they did that day and when Donald mentioned he was looking for a job Scrooge got a look like he had an idea. Donald did not like that look. However if Scrooge wanted to offer him a job he might have to take it, they may of been living in the mansion but he still had to take care of his boys. But the thought of working for Scrooge McDuck... He would do it for the boys. And he would talk to Scrooge after dinner. Meanwhile with the kids Dewey was starting to pick food off of his brother's plate and Louie was letting him. He had eaten about half of the things on there which was good for one of his bad days but he couldn't do anymore. But that was fine, his brothers would eat the rest like they always did. Even if they could afford to waste food here, old habits died hard. He just hoped no one would say anything about it cause he really wasn't in the mood to deal with it. After dinner the kids ran off somewhere as Donald turned to Scrooge, "What was that look for earlier?" Scrooge hesitated and it was the first time he saw him like that since he got here. "How bad do ye need a job?" "Pretty bad." He answered truthfully. "I still have to take care of the boys and the houseboat needs a lot of fixing." He narrowed his eyes. "Why?" Scrooge avoided his eyes, "It just so happens ae need a new secretary my last one err... left." Donald rolled his eyes at that. Left, suuure. "And it's hard to keep up with everythin' on me own so the jobs yours, if you want it." "Fine. But I'm putting the boys first, if they need me for something for some reason I'm gonna be there, no matter what I was doing before. If you can't except that there's no point in me taking this job." Donald let him know. Scrooge looked taken back, "Of course ae except that Nephew! Ae'm not heartless and ae care about those lads too. But dinnae think ae'm gonna go easy one ye, just cause yer family doesn't mean yew can slack oaf." Donald rolled his eyes again. "Wouldn't dream of it." He replied sarcastically. "When do I start?" The kids aimlessly ran around the mansion playing different games until Mrs. Beakley made them stop, which was around the time something almost got broken for the fourth time. She suggested they do something more mellow or go play outside but it was getting dark and the boys knew their Dad wouldn't let them out. So they all decided to go hang out in the den until it was bedtime. Which was fine until they couldn't decide what to watch, they each wanted something different and none of them were willing to compromise. They kept arguing up til it was time for bed and Donald and Mrs. Beakley came in and broke it up so that they could get ready for bed. They said goodnight to each other and agreed to actually watch something tomorrow as they were led to their respective rooms. When the boys got to their room Donald looked around and told them they'd start moving their stuff in tomorrow after he got home from work. "You got a new job in 2 hours?" Huey asked him confused and he told them about how Scrooge gave him a job. They were happy about that maybe that would help them start getting along or maybe it would make them fight more, only time would tell really. But, they were hopeful. After Donald made sure the boys were in bed and were headed to sleep, he knew it would be a while before they got there but as long as they weren't actively trying to stay up he was happy. He went to the houseboat so he could get some sleep, he had to be up pretty early tomorrow. But as he was about to lay down his phone started ringing so he quickly looked to see who it was and was happy to see it was Panchito. "Saludos amigo!" He said as soon as Donald, forgetting he was about to go to bed, answered. "'Chito!" He cheered happily. "What's up?" "I had some down time and decided to call my two favorite people." Before Donald could question the two Panchito continued speaking, "Let me just call José in." It was silent for a few seconds as he did that. "Hey! Haven't heard from you dois in a while! What's been going on?" As Donald filled both of them in on everything that had happened he thought about how it had been a while since they had talked. Over the years they managed to do it a couple of times a month but the last time he heard from them was almost two months ago. They had all gotten so busy lately that it was hard for them to find any downtime. Donald had been pretty busy with his previous job and raising the boys, their ninth year was a hectic one, Panchito had been getting more gigs and José had been flying a lot more, it was hard to call someone from a plane. So, with all that they were pretty tired by the end of the day and just wanted to sleep, thankfully it looked like that cycle was over. "So Scrooge really gave you a job?" Panchito asked disbelievingly when he finished up and he groaned. "Yes and I start tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it at all but I need money. The houseboat won't fix itself and the boys are still my responsibility, I know Scrooge won't pay for things they need or want." "What's it like being back there?" José asked quietly. "... It's weird. I always told myself I'd never come back here and that I would never ever bring the boys but both are wrong. I'm hiding out in the houseboat just to avoid Della's door, I don't know how I'm gonna survive working for Scrooge I can barely be around him five minutes. This whole thing is just a mess." He softly admitted but then a small smile grew on his face, "There are some good things though, the boys made a friend. She's a little intense but her heart's in the right place. And Scrooge does seem to care about the boys in his own Scrooge way. It's not all bad." "That's good. Those meninos deserve all the friends they can get." José said and that was one of Donald's favorite things about them, they cared about his boys almost as much as he did. He listened as they both told him what was going on in their lives and gave them advice about things that were troubling them. For a while the three of them complained about different things, laughed about past things they did and agreed that they needed to meet up again. The last time they saw each other was that time José and Panchito came down to help Donald when the boys first got their powers, a reunion was long overdue. Only they knew it would be a while before that could actually happen, they're busy lives made it hard for them to take a break. Donald then noticed how late it was and told them that he had to get up early and he should probably head to bed. They agreed and they all promised to call each other sooner, Donald hung up after that glad they had made that promise, he really missed them. He missed all of his friends actually Mickey, Goofy, the whole gang unlike the other two he hadn't spoken to any of them in years. He would have to change that, after things settled down here a little bit. He bit back a yawn and decided to really go to sleep. After their Dad had left their room the boys hopped out of their beds and grabbed their spell books before plopping on the floor and combing through them. It was some stuff they knew some stuff they didn't and a lot of stuff they wanted to try. They were glad their Dad was trusting them with all of this and couldn't wait to explore it all. Dewey watched Louie try one of the spells and opened his mouth, "Don't." Louie said before he could say anything. "I already forgave you. I know it was an accident, we're okay." "Just making sure." He went back to searching through his book and did that until a particular spell caught his mind. He didn't know why it stood out but it was one he really wanted to try. A spell to find something out. There was something he really wanted to know, what happened to their Mom? He quickly bookmarked the page and thought about telling his brothers but decided to do it in the morning. They probably wouldn't remember this late anyway, Louie looked like he was seconds from falling asleep and Dewey himself wasn't too far off to be honest. "We should head to bed." Huey said as if reading his thoughts and he agreed then climbed up to his bed as Huey helped their brother to his. After they all got settled in they said goodnight to each other and turned to fall asleep. But Dewey found he couldn't, his mind was racing too much so he grabbed his spellbook again and quietly looked over the page that he bookmarked. The spell looked simple enough, just a simple chant and it looked like he could do it himself. However he quickly shook that thought out of his head, he and his brothers would do it together they didn't keep things from each other. Not since they made that pact when they were six and he wasn't about to start now. Tomorrow, he promised himself, he would tell them tomorrow. He would also tell them about the secret room he and Webby found the other day at the money bin. He knew he told Webby they couldn't tell anyone but Huey and Louie weren't anyone and they had a right to know too. He just hoped they wouldn't be too mad for not telling them before. He should have but things happened and it crept to the back of his mind and it stayed there until now. Well not anymore, tomorrow he was definitely telling them. Now if he could only fall asleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Donald groaned as he woke up, six am was always too early to be up. Especially with how late he went to bed which he knew he would regret in the morning and he did. But it was still worth it, any time he got to talk to his friends was well worth the tiredness. After he finished getting ready he deiced to check on the boys before he left like he always did though it took him a minute to remember they weren't on the boat anymore. Six am was way too early to be trekking up and down stairs but he needed to make sure they were okay before he could leave. He wasn't used to getting up this early, babysitters never came around until at least seven and he wasn't leaving them alone if he didn't have to. But now he didn't have to worry about that which was one of the only good things that came out of this move. However it also meant he could now get up at times like six and that wasn't so good. Once he got to their room he quietly opened the door. They were peacefully asleep in their beds and that made him smile as he went and kissed each of their heads. Which woke Huey up. "I'm heading to work." He explained to him quietly. "This early?" Huey murmured which made him silently chuckle."Unfortunately. I'll see you boys later okay?" Huey let out a noise of acknowledgment before falling back asleep. Donald smiled as he made his way down the ladder and out of their room. He felt a little better knowing they were safe in bed but wasn't looking forward to working for Scrooge at all. He knew his Uncle well and knew he had a long day ahead of him. But he could deal with it, he had to right now it was his only chance to get some money and he needed money. Badly. It was hard to keep his eyes open on the way to work and by the time he got to the money bin he had already gone through his first cup of coffee. This was going to be a long day. When he entered the building his first thought was that he hoped he wouldn't run into Scrooge this early, his second was that he probably should've gotten some breakfast. With that in mind he went to see if there were any vending machines before he got to work. He found one, but saw someone was already at it and that they were kicking it for some reason? It was probably out of order he figured but hoped that wasn't the case. He needed more than coffee if he was going to get through this day. "Is it broken or did it just eat your dollar?" He asked making the person jump and turn around. "It ate my dollar. Ugh, it's too early for this. Wait," They looked at him. "I haven't seen you around here before, who are you?" "I'm Scrooge's new secretary, unfortunately. Who are you?" "Gyro Gearloose, head of research and development." Gyro, why did that name sound familiar? Wait...He narrowed his eyes, "You're the one that gave my son that crazy robot, aren't you?" Gyro brushed him off, "I've given a lot of things to people and I also don't have time for this." He started to walk away but Donald stopped him. "I haven't formally introduced myself, Donald Duck Scrooge's nephew." Gyro paused and Donald hated using his Uncle's name like this but would make an exception for one of his boys. "He wasn't happy when he found out what you did and neither was I. I'm still not by the way. And you really don't want to be on my bad side, my temper's famous for a reason." He then walked away leaving a stuttering Gyro behind him, good, let him squirm. It wasn't until he got to Scrooge's office that he realized he never got any food and slammed his head on his desk. When the boys first woke up their first thought was to take their kayak out to sea since it had been a while since they last did that. After they had some breakfast, they were all starving. As they walked down to breakfast Dewey brought up the idea of inviting Webby to come with them and his brothers readily agreed, they all knew she needed to get out of the mansion more. Once they asked her she lit up and almost jumped out of her chair in excitement. She asked her Granny if she could go after she served breakfast and she agreed glad Webby finally had some friends. The rest of breakfast seemed to go by pretty fast and pretty soon the kids were at the beach and getting in the canoe. Only there was a small problem, there was only room for three. Huey tried to give his spot up but Webby wouldn't let him and she seemed to be okay with it so they took off. "We should do something with her when we get back." Huey decided and his brothers nodded, they felt pretty bad for leaving her behind and wanted to do something to make it up to her. Dewey then absentmindedly handed the map to Louie who tried to give it back to him but he was already distracted by something else. Which made him sigh and put it in his pocket, no use in reading it now, with it in his possession they were already lost. Oh well, they had gotten back before they could do it again. The kayak suddenly started going in circles and Huey and Louie glared at their brother who now only had one oar. He didn't say anything but looked towards the bottom of the ocean clueing them into what happened. Huey sighed and conjured another one then took the one Dewey had, "I'll row." "That's fair." Dewey then started looking around for the map and looked towards the bottom of the ocean again before Louie pulled it out of his pocket making him glare at him. "You gave it to me!" Dewey nodded, he remembered doing that. But he didn't take it back, seemed he didn't learn the first time. "Alright but we're gonna get lost again." Dewey brushed him off, "We'll be fine. Hey, a thing!" He pointed at something off in the distance and tried to take the oars from Huey so they could go there. But he wouldn't let up and they started wrestling as Louie looked boredly at his phone. "Wonder how Dad's doing at work." Donald was doing horrible at work and it wasn't even the middle of the day. His whole morning had been filled with doing pointless errands for Scrooge and barely having a minute to sit between those errands, he was starting to see why his old secretary quit. This was some form of torture. The minute he finally got a second to relax he went looking for lunch. He never got to have breakfast and he was starving. As he walked around the money bin he sent a check in text to Huey and got a weird response but didn't feel his charm go off so he didn't worry about it too much. He knew they were currently out on the kayak and that Louie was probably in charge of the map like he ended up being every time they went out. They were probably lost or close to getting lost and that worried him. But he was trying to trust them more and knew they had always found their way back in the past so he wouldn't full-on panic unless he felt his charm go off. That thing really came in handy at times like this. Now he could fully focus on getting lunch. He tried to remember where the cafeteria was and suddenly stopped walking when he realized he could've gone there for breakfast. He let out a sigh, this day. He would be glad when it was over. When he got to the cafeteria he immediately went for the food and got almost a plate full. And as soon as he took a seat he was joined by Gryo who he raised an eyebrow at. He had a good idea of what he wanted but wanted to see how this went. It was probably his fault he came up with whatever his plan was anyway, he was the one who name-dropped. "Can I help you?" "Umm, look I wanted to apologize for earlier. I was pretty rude and I probably shouldn't have given a child something as unstable as Lil' Bulb. So, I'm-""I can't get you any favors with Scrooge." Donald abruptly interrupted just wanting to go back to his lunch. Gryo looked at him confused then sighed and nodded. "My Uncle and I aren't on the best terms right now." He explained. "And even if we were, why don't you just ask him for whatever you need?" Gryo sighed again and slumped into the chair across him, "It's not that simple, the funding for the lab is being lessened which means I have to chose which experiments I do. Except that I can't because for some reason he wants me to look into magical defensives, which I see no use for." Donald rolled his eyes at that, he knew there was plenty of reason for it. "But it's not like I can say that. And- you probably don't want to hear all this." Gyro realized and started to get up but Donald stopped him. "Wait, it sounds like you could use a friend." He said sympathetically. He knew what that was like. "And I know how my Uncle can get, better than anyone, but he does have a good reason for this. With the boys around he wants to be careful, I can relate. And it may seem dumb to you but if you saw half the things I have you wouldn't be complaining." "That does seem like good reasoning." Gyro admitted quietly. "I guess I can try to work with it, he is the only reason I have this job. And I guess if we trying this 'friend' thing I really should apologize for giving...""Louie." He supplied. "Louie, Lil' Bulb. He's very convincing when he wants to be." Donald rolled his eyes fondly, "I know. You should see him when he really wants something." He shrugged, "Kids, am I right?" "You wouldn't believe what Lil' Bulb gets into. One time..." And with that Gyro launched into a story which lasted the rest of his lunch break and Donald found himself thinking for the first time that this wouldn't be so bad. "We're lost.""We're not lost!" Dewey said to Louie for the fifth time in the past few minutes but that didn't change the fact that they were indeed lost. It was really his own fault for giving him the map but he didn't want to admit it. Huey meanwhile was trying to find some way to get them back to the mainland. It was getting pretty late and the sun would be going down soon. Their Dad was probably getting worried about them so they needed to go home soon. His phone had run out of bars a while back and he hadn't had any way to contact him. Now if only he knew which way mainland was. Once it got quiet again Dewey decided to speak up. He didn't think telling them about their mom in a small kayak was the smartest way to do it, but now was as good a time as any. "So I got something to tell you guys and I really hope you won't be mad at me." They both looked at him and he gulped. "So a few days ago, when Webby and you, Louie, and me went to the money bin her and I had snuck off to the library to look for information about something... Mom." He looked to see what their reactions were but their faces were blank so he hesitantly continued. "We found a whole room with a bunch of stuff about her in it and we found a note. It said she took something called the 'Spear of Selene' and that she was sorry. And I told Webby we couldn't tell anyone anything but you guys aren't anyone and she's your mom too. Then when we were looking through our books last night I found a spell to find something out and I thought we could use it to figure out what happened to her." He finished and waited for their responses. "That's a lot to take in." Huey said quietly. "I know, are you mad at me?" And they both guardedly looked at him. "I'm not happy you waited this long to tell us but no, I'm not mad." Huey truthfully admitted and he probably should've been madder but Dewey very easily couldn't have told them but, he did. "So we could finally know what happened to her?" It was one of the few things their Dad refused to talk to them about. Every time they brought it up he either found some way to change the subject or got incredibly sad. They stopped trying a few years ago. Dewey smiled at his younger brother. "Yeah, we could. We just have to get back to the mansion first." They both looked at Huey who still didn't know how to get back to the beach. He started panicking a bit before forcing himself to calm down, freaking out would just make things worse. He needed to think about this rationally, they had gotten lost before and they found their way back. They could do it again. "How did we get back the last time?" He asked his brothers who tried to remember. "We had a compass." Dewey realized after a few moments. "Which we forgot this time." Louie pointed out and they all sighed. "Wait, we can just make one!" Dewey then started to try to do it but found he couldn't. Which surprised him, when was the last time he had trouble with his magic? Actually, he knew the last time he just didn't like thinking about it. He remembered what his Dad told him and really tried to focus but he still couldn't do it. It was like something was blocking him. "I can't do it." His brothers then also tried but found they couldn't either. "Of course." Louie deadpanned. Huey then got a thoughtful look on his face, "I wanna try something." He told them and they nodded trusting him to get them back to shore. "What if we were the map? I saw something about it in my spellbook as I was flicking through it last night. We have to be at three different points and have to envision a map. If we do it right we should be able to see map lines every way. It may not get us to shore but it will tell us where we are and I can figure it out from there." "Let's try it." So they did. They got in three points as best as they could've on a kayak, grabbed each other's hands, and began focusing. After a few moments they each had a map in their mind and when they opened their eyes they were able to see all sorts of lines. "I know where we are!" Huey exclaimed breaking their concentration, thankfully he already had an idea of which direction to head in. He quickly grabbed the oars and went in that direction as three of them giddily talked about what they just did. Truthfully he was a little worried it wouldn't have worked but when the three of them were together they could do anything. After a few mintues they saw the mainland and cheered. They couldn't wait to get back and back to the mansion, it had been a long day. And that spell had taken a lot out of them. Louie clambered out of the kayak as they pulled up to the beach and collapsed on the sand as his brothers gracefully got out and looked around noticing something was amiss. "Where's Webby?" The rest of Donald's day was relatively uneventful, things had thankfully slowed down in the afternoon as Scrooge was stuck in meetings and couldn't find time to give him trivial things to do. He spent most of the rest of the time sorting through paperwork and doing other normal secretary things. And soon it was six which meant that he could go home. Hopefully the boys were back from kayaking by now, it was getting late. As he was walking to his car he ran into Scrooge who seemed like he was looking for him for some reason, that couldn't be good. If he was going to try to make him stay later... "Ae wanted ta tell yew good first day today." Donald blinked, that was a new one. He wasn't really used to getting compliments from Scrooge. What did he want? "What's the catch? You want me to stay later?" Scrooge looked at him taken back. "No ae just wanted ta give yew a compliment, honestly Donald." He replied disbelieving and Donald blinked again. "Oh, well thanks." He said unsurely, he didn't know how to handle getting an honest compliment from him, Della was usually the one who got them. And as if the thought of his sister triggered something in him he angrily continued to walk to his car. What, did Scrooge think he could make things better with a compliment or two? Cause if he did he was sorely mistaken. He would be mad at him for the Spear of Selene for the rest of his life, he didn't care that he and boys were living with him temporarily, that didn't make everything better. Quite the opposite actually. And as soon as he fixed the boat they were out of there. When he got into the mansion he was excepting to be greeted by the boys but it seemed to be devoid of life which worried him immensely. So, he went looking for Mrs. B and he found her preparing dinner. "The kids aren't back yet?" Because he knew his boys and knew the definitely invited Webby to go with them. She shook her head which fuelled his worries even more and he pulled out his phone to call Huey. "Hey Dad!" He answered immediately. "Where are you?" "We're on the way home now, we got lost for a little while but managed to find our way back," The phone cut out for a second and Donald knew that he was probably saying something to the others. "We'll tell you about it when we get home! It was really cool!" The phone cut out again and he could hear a faint 'I'm on the phone!' which made him smile softly. "Sorry about that, Dewey and Louie are fighting again." "You should probably deal with that, I'll see you kids soon." "Yeah, definitely!" Huey answered even though it wasn't a question. He hung up after that and Donald relayed the information to Mrs. B who nodded and said how nice it was of the boys to invite Webby along. To which he replied that they were nice boys and started to help with dinner. He was a pretty good cook when he wasn't mad and he had gotten over his anger on the drive home. After Huey got off the phone with his Dad he fully turned his attention to his arguing brothers and sighed. They needed to find Webby and their fighting wasn't helping. Where could she have gone? He hoped nothing bad happened to her... What was he thinking? This was Webby, there was nothing she couldn't handle. But they still had to find her. And they still had to work together to do it."Guys!" He snapped at them pausing their argument. "We need to find Webby, stop arguing." "Sorry." They said quietly. The three of them walked in silence after that, they had no idea where she could possibly be. Then Dewey got his idea face and ran off forcing his brothers to follow him. They stopped in front of the park after a few moments and Dewey's brothers looked at him. "What? She's never been here." They shrugged and the three of them walked in looking around. They stepped into the playground and Louie was suddenly tackled by an unknown assailant as Webby tried to stop them and Huey and Dewey fought the urge to use their magic. "Lena no these are the guys I was talking about!" 'Lena' made an oh noise and dropped Louie. "Lena this is Huey Dewey and Louie." Once the kids walked into the manor the boys were swept up into a hug by their Dad and realized just how late it was. When he set them down they started to explain but he told them they'd talk about it after dinner. They agreed only cause they were hungry and the kids rushed to the dining room. After they got there the boys apologized to Webby for leaving her behind and promised they'd actually do something with her tomorrow. She smiled at them gratefully before digging into her dinner and that was the end of that. Dinner was eaten quickly and soon the boys were asking their Dad if they could move some of their stuff into their room. Donald was about to say how it was too late to do that but saw their excited faces and agreed. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long and they could tell him why they were so late while they did it. He made them start talking as they made their first trip to the houseboat and they had a lot to say. "The kayak only had room for three people so I volunteered to stay behind but Webby said that she would and that it was fine. We feel pretty bad about it though so we're planning to do something with her tomorrow. We ended up getting lost for a while after Dewey lost one of our oars and saw something and made us go towards it even though we had no way of knowing where it was in relation to the shore." Huey was about to continue but Dewey cut him off. "In my defense it looked cool. So after we got lost we tried to think of a way to get back to shore and tried to remember how we did it last time. We realized we had a compass then but forgot it this time so I tried to make one but... it didn't work. So Huey and Louie tried to too but they couldn't either but then Huey remembered this thing he read in his spellbook last night. Something about being our own map so we tried that and it worked! You should've seen it Dad it was so cool!" He gushed which made the others smile then Louie took over. "Then Huey used map lines to get us back to the beach but when we got there we saw Webby was gone. We went looking for her and found her at the park, apparently she made a new friend while we were gone and they got into trouble with Ma Beagle. So we had to deal with that which took way longer than it should've." He finished without specifying why it took so long. By the time they finished the story most of their stuff had been carried from the houseboat to their room and it was Donald's turn to talk. He sighed. "Boys I'm trying to trust you more but you've gotta tell me the truth. I know you're trying to keep me from worrying but I'm your Dad, it's my job to worry about you. And every time you do lie to me it just makes it harder for me to trust you. I want the truth from you because I need to know if you're safe or not and I need to be able to help if you're not. How can I do that if I don't know the truth? And I know this worked out but it could've gone a lot worse. You're only ten you can't always get through these types of situations on your own. You're very capable for your age don't think I don't know that but that doesn't change the fact that you're still ten and that there's still a lot you don't know." The boys guiltily looked down, "Sorry Dad." Donald's face softened and he pulled them in for a hug. "I love you three and I'm gonna worry about you no matter what so tell me the truth from now on." They readily agreed and asked if they were in trouble. "I don't think I want you leaving the mansion for the next few days." He said honestly. "But that should give you plenty of time to make this up to Webby." They smiled and hugged him. He then ushered them to bed and asked them to tell him more about this map spell tomorrow and they said they would. After good nights were said he turned out the light and made his way to the houseboat to go to bed himself. It had been a long day. Something good came out of it though, he had a new friend. Once their Dad left the boys conjugated to Dewey's bed with one thing on their mind they wanted to talk about. Lena. They had all felt her energy and knew she was some type of magic user. "Do you think Webby knows?" Huey asked his brothers and they both shrugged. They didn't, but they guessed she didn't. She would have said something, she wasn't the best at keeping secrets. "They just met, maybe Lena's waiting to tell her." Dewey suggested. "Maybe. But it feels like she's hiding something, I mean, so are we but her's seems bad for some reason. I think we should keep an eye on her." Louie said and his brothers agreed. Webby was already like their sister, they wouldn't let anything hurt her. They also agreed that while they would start being more truthful with their Dad they wouldn't tell him they were researching their Mom, they didn't know how he'd react. But they knew it wouldn't be good. Then they saw how late it was and said that they would do the finding something out spell tomorrow.Huey and Louie went back to their beds and they all got settled in for the night. Even if two of them probably wouldn't get any sleep. Dewey couldn't settle down and Louie couldn't get his mind to stop racing so most nights they just, didn't. They were pretty used to it by now though and knew how to deal with it. Sleep spells were amazing.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next morning Huey was the first one awake to his not surprise and he turned off the alarm clock before it could go off. After that he went down the ladder and woke his brothers but Dewey glared and hit him with a pillow and Louie rolled back over so he let them sleep a little longer. He then got comfortable at their desk and reread his Junior Woodchuck guidebook as he waited for them to wake up on their own. But as it turned out that wouldn't happen for a few more hours. So he ended up reading through most of his spellbook as well. By the time they got up it was almost lunch and Huey worriedly asked them why they slept in so long, they were usually up a little after he was. "Just one of those nights I guess." Dewey replied. "Can we go get lunch now?" "What about that spell?" Louie sleepily asked. "I can't do magic on an empty stomach, let's do it later." "Ok," Huey agreed. "But we can't start putting it off, we're doing it sometime today." His brothers agreed and they made their way to the kitchen. Once they got there they started searching around for lunch before deciding to just have sandwiches. Sometime while they were eating Webby joined them and they asked her what she wanted to do which made her look at them surprised. "You aren't worried it might be too intense?" The triplets looked at each other and shrugged. "Nothing we can't handle." Huey assured her. "Besides, we owe you for yesterday. So, anything you wanna do we'll do it." She surprised them by suggesting a simple game of hide and seek but they agreed before she could come up with something else. Dewey and Louie shared a look then grabbed Webby and ran off before Huey could say anything. "You're it!" Dewey shouted as they did that and he sighed and started counting. Once he finished he started looking around and figured he could find his brothers by finding their energies but knew that would be cheating. So he decided not to do it, he wasn't a cheater. Instead he succumbed to the idea of looking for all of them the rest of the afternoon, why did this mansion have to be so big? After they ran off the three of them split up and Dewey immediately knew where he wanted to go. Until he saw Louie was already there. He made a noise and looked for another spot as he saw Webby crawl into the vents and knew she probably won. Why didn't he think of the vents first? Briefly he wondered if there was a magical way to find the best spot before deciding it would be too much work. He would win the non-magic way. He kept looking around until he heard footsteps and panicked going into the first place he saw. "Welcome." Louie said and he let out a quiet groan. How did he end up with one of his brothers every time they played this game?!? Once the footsteps left he quietly opened the door and peaked out. It looked like the coast was clear. "Well this was fun but I'm leaving now." "Good luck." But whether he meant winning the game or leaving in general he didn't know, maybe both? He didn't know which way Huey went so he was probably safest in here, at least for now. Them being grouped up like this for too long was not a good idea. He let a few minutes pass before trying to leave but saw Webby looking around and got confused. "Wait Webby, you've been found? I thought for sure that would never happen." Webby whirled around and looked at him. "Yeah." She rubbed her arm sheepishly, "He sneezed and I said bless you, it was a reflex! Granny raised me to have manners." He nodded then got a scared look on his face, "You won't tell me I was here will you?" She shook her head and he grinned. "Thanks Web you're the best!" He gave her a quick hug and ran off as she looked where he was previously hiding and found Louie. He sighed and came out. "You know where he is now?" She hesitated, "Ummm...." "Aha!" A voice said from behind him and he groaned turning around to see Huey triumphantly standing there. "Found you." He said in a sing-songy voice. "Congrats. It only took you thirty minutes." Louie deadpanned but Huey didn't let that get him down. He only had one more person to find. "Dewey went that way." Louie said pointing in the opposite direction Dewey went. Huey narrowed his eyes at him trying to decide if he believed him or not. Louie raised an eyebrow as if challenging him and he huffed and took off in that direction. After Huey left Louie turned his attention back to Webby, "So your new friend seems cool." "Oh yeah, Lena's the best. It'll be nice to have what you guys have with someone." "Yeah..." He said distantly. He didn't know if that would end up happening. It took Huey way longer than it should have to realize Louie had led him in the wrong direction. With another huff he turned around and went back in the direction he came from. But he didn't have to go back too far, he spotted a hint of blue going into a door and went after it. As soon as opened the door he noticed a figure in the corner and slowly crept towards it, he had him now. He reached a hand out to grab him but what he grabbed didn't feel like Dewey so he did what anyone would do in that situation. He screamed. As soon as the others heard a scream they raced towards it and found Huey petrified in a room. They looked around to see what could've caused it but found he was alone. So Dewey and Louie sent Webby to get Scrooge as they tried to calm their brother down. He tried explaining what happened but they just shook their heads and led him out of the room. Once they got him into the hall they tried to get him to breathe before he started having a panic attack. He had had only a couple over the years but they were never fun to watch. When Scrooge and Webby arrived Huey had calmed down enough to tell everyone what happened. By the time he was finished his brothers were practically clinging onto him worriedly and he didn't know how to comfort them, he was still scared himself! Scrooge went into the room to investigate as Webby joined the boys on the floor. "Do you think it was a ghost? Oo or a demon?!" She asked excitedly and he had to admit he hadn't thought of either of those until now. He was glad she was excited about it though, someone should be. Scrooge came back out of the room after that and said that he didn't see anything in there and that whatever it was must've left. He made the kids go somewhere else and went to find Mrs. Beakley so that they could deal with this. Huey wordlessly walked into his room as the others concernedly followed behind him. He continued to not say a word as he climbed to his bed and Dewey and Louie looked at each other trying to figure out how to help."Do you want to be alone?" Dewey asked. Huey quickly shook his head. That was the last thing he wanted right now. So his brothers started to climb up to him and Dewey looked down at Webby questioningly wondering if she was gonna join them. Once she figured out what he was asking she climbed up the ladder too. Huey looked at the three of them and gave a small smile before getting comfortable. Or as comfortable as he could get right now. He still didn't feel like talking and he didn't even know what he would say. There really wasn't anything to say, he said it all earlier. But it seemed like they didn't want him to say anything right now, they just wanted him to feel better. And he could do that, it would just be awhile. He couldn't do anything but feel whatever that was on his hands at the moment and he wanted nothing more than for that feeling to go away. Maybe there was a spell for that. But he couldn't check with Webby around so he just had to deal with it for a while. "What do you think it was?" And he knew why Dewey asked that, Huey was scared of hated the unknown. And the only one to make him not hate it was asking a lot of questions. "I have some theories but I can't focus on them right now. All I can focus on is seeing that, thing." He clenched his hands and Dewey placed a comforting hand on him. He knew he had to play oldest brother for a while and would have to take up most of the comforting. Which he did as he did anytime something happened to Huey, seamlessly. "Maybe if you do something else it'll go away." He suggested and Huey found himself agreeing. He needed a distraction for a little while. But he didn't know what he could do, he couldn't even leave his bed right now. Luckily Dewey was the best at distracting. He lept out of the bed and grabbed his newly bought courteous of Scrooge laptop and rejoined them in the bed. Then he opened it up and started playing episodes of the Ottoman Empire, they ended up staying there the rest of the day. When Donald got a call from Scrooge in the middle of the day his immediate thought was that something was seriously wrong. Unfortunately for him he was right. As soon as Scrooge explained what happened he wanted to rush to the mansion but Scrooge told him he had it handle. He didn't believe him but one of the boys hadn't called him yet so he chose to stay put. The rest of that day was the longest of his life. Once he finally got to the mansion he instantly started searching for the boys; he found them in the first place he looked, their room. He also found Webby there which was a pleasant surprise and saw that they were all watching something on Dewey's laptop. He looked each of them over to determine if they were okay and told himself he'd talk to Huey later, right now he had to find Scrooge. To no surprise he found him in his office, he was reading something probably trying to figure out what Huey saw. He had a few ideas but he couldn't know for sure. "Find anything?" He abruptly asked which made Scrooge looked up at him startled."Nothin' yet." Scrooge replied once he calmed down. "Huey didn't see any definin' characteristics so we're workin' with nothin' at the moment, ae'm afraid. How's the lad doin' now?" "He looks okay but I haven't spoken to him yet, I'll see if he remembers anything when I do. How did whatever it was even get in here? I thought you had protection against that stuff." Donald said accusingly, he knew something like this would happen if they moved in here. "It must've been attached ta an artifact, Beakley's lookin' fer it now. Gyro's workin' on more magic defense right now and when he's done I'll be addin' it ta the mansion but at the moment we have ta deal with what we have. Which unfortunately doesn't repel that kind of stuff. Ae have ta admit ae didn't really care about that befer yew and the lads got here, but ae'm workin' on it now." He promised and Donald wanted so badly to believe him, to believe he really cared about the boys but he had trust issues when it came to him. To everyone really. The next time Donald went to check on the kids it was close to their bedtime. He told Webby her Granny was looking for her so she told the boys goodnight and told Huey she hoped he'd feel better which got a smile out of him. "Goodnight Mr. Duck!" She then cheerfully told Donald. "It's Donald, Webby." He gently reminded her and her smile dimmed a bit. "Right sorry, goodnight Donald." She left after that and he turned his attention to the boys who had turned back to the laptop. He coughed to get their attention and they looked at him curiously. "How are you boys doing?" Dewey and Louie shrugged, they felt better but were really worried about their brother. He hadn't said a word since earlier and that really wasn't like him. "Okay I guess." Huey spoke for the first time in a while. "I didn't really see anything just a figure." He told his Dad knowing that was one of the reasons he was in there. "Scrooge said it was something attached to an artifact. Mrs. B found the artifact earlier and took care of it so whatever it was should be gone but we'll keep an eye out." Donald let them know, he could feel how scared they were about this from where he currently was. And he really hated that this happened. It should have never and a small part of him blamed Scrooge but the rest of him knew that there was no way he could've known this would happen and was just as upset as he was. He just really wanted to be mad at someone. And Scrooge was always the easiest person to aim that at. "I've been trying to keep my mind off of it." Huey admitted. "Dewey said that would help and it did but I'm still scared." His brothers echoed that sentiment and Donald let out a sigh. He knew they would be scared for a while. But he also knew just what to say to help. "I know it was scary but you've still got the protection spells on you, it can't hurt you." He assured them but they still looked uneasy about something. "What about Webby? She doesn't, what if something goes after her?" And Donald was touched at how much they cared about her in such little time. She was definitely already a part of this family. "It's sweet that you're worried about her but I think we all know she's more than capable of taking care of herself." They agreed and looked a little better so he told them it was time to go to bed. They didn't argue but didn't move either and it became clear to Donald that they were all gonna stay in Huey's bed. He didn't blame them. But he did take Dewey's laptop after it was handed to him.Once they got settled in he climbed up to them and kissed them goodnight, he secretly worried about the day they started to protest that but it didn't look like today would be that day. After that he left and bit back a yawn making him realize how tired he was. But he couldn't go to bed just yet. He had something to take care of first. Earlier when he was talking to Scrooge about all of this it reminded him of just how overworked Gryo was. And he had to do something about that, Gryo was his friend he couldn't just sit by and watch him work himself to death. He knocked on Scrooge's door but didn't wait for a come in and got right to the point. "Gyro needs an assistant." "Hello ta yew ta nephew." Scrooge replied raising an eyebrow. "Yeah hi. Look, Gryo's overworked, he has no one helping him down there and he always looks like his two seconds away from passing out. All that work you have him doing is too much for one person and he's gonna burn out if this continues to happen." He waited for Scrooge to say something. "... Since when are yew and Gryo friends?" "That's not the point!" Donald took a breath and tried to calm himself down. "He needs help down there and it's your job to provide it." Scrooge stood up, "Actually Donald that's yer job, ye can look into it tomorrow. Hire whoever yew think's best." Donald blinked, "You're letting me handle this? I haven't even done this a week!" "Ae trust yer judgment. And ae have ta take care o' some other things then, yew'll do just fine with it. Ae wouldn't make yew if ae didn't think yew could." As he talked he led Donald out. And by the time he was done he had closed the door in his face and he was wondering what just happened. He decided to not think about it too much and that he would look into it. He did say he was doing something about it. A little while after their Dad left Louie realized they were doing the thing they said they wouldn't do, putting off doing the spell. He told his brothers as much and they both groaned as Dewey put an arm over his eyes. "Tomorrow, we'll do it tomorrow." "This is the exact thing we said we wouldn't do!" Louie protested. He was right and they both knew it, but it had been a long day and they were tired. So they promised him that they would do it tomorrow and the three of them never broke promises when it came to each other. He was satisfied with that and they all drifted off to sleep. Until Huey woke up from a nightmare. He looked to make sure he didn't wake his brothers up too and sighed in relief when it looked like he didn't. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anytime soon so he tried to get out of the bed but was stopped by Dewey grabbing onto his arm. Of course. Since it was obvious he wasn't getting up he got settled back into bed as Louie woke up and buried himself in him with a moan. "What's got you up?" He asked him muffledly but he understood anyway. "Nightmare, you?" "My body hates me." Huey waited for him to elaborate but he didn't so they just laid there in silence. Until Louie asked him another question. "Why do you have a Dewey on you?" He let out a silent chuckle. "I tried to get out of bed and he grabbed onto me." He felt Louie nod and smirked slightly. "Why do I have a Louie on me?" "Cause life hates me." He shook his head and nudged him up slightly. "Life does not hate you." Louie just stared at him tiredly. "And neither does your body for that matter, you just have a hard time sleeping, so does Dewey it's just something some people go through." "Well, I wish we didn't." Huey had to agree with that, he hated that they had to deal with that. "What was your nightmare about?" "What happened earlier today... I don't really wanna talk about it, okay?" Louie tiredly nodded and slumped back into his chest. As he drifted off again Huey knew that he would bring this up in the morning. He would deal with it then. Now if he could go back to sleep too. By the time he ended up falling back asleep the sun had started to come up, he didn't know that of course as he was asleep. But he would later. And he would know why Louie thought his body hated him. Though all of this wouldn't happen for a few more hours, right now the three of them were peacefully sleeping. Dewey tiredly opened his eyes and looked at the alarm to see that it was almost lunchtime. Two days in a row, he thought, that couldn't be good. He sluggishly turned his head to where his brothers were still asleep and sighed knowing he would have to be the one to wake them up. They had all had a long day yesterday so he decided to wait a little while before doing that, but had to find some way to occupy himself in the meantime. He settled on staring at the ceiling. Huey was the next to open his eyes, he wondered why he had slept so late but then remember he woke up in the middle of the night. He then noticed he wasn't the first one awake and wondered why Dewey was staring at the ceiling. He lightly hit him and gave a questioning look. "There's not much to do up here Huebert. I wanted to wait a little before waking you guys up, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to sleep all day. Louie definitely wouldn't mind that." They both let out a quiet laugh. And Huey wondered just how late he fell asleep, he still felt really tired. But they had things to do today so he had to find some way to wake himself up. "How are you doing today?" "Better." He said honestly and he was, other than being tired he felt fine. Or maybe he was too tired to feel anything but that, he was too sleepy to know for sure. He'd figure it out later. The two of them continued to talk about random things for the next few minutes as they waited for their brother to wake up. They could've left without him but he was still clinging to Huey and they didn't want to wake him. You only made that mistake once. After he did wake up the three of them went down to get lunch so they could have full stomachs when they did the spell. And they had to do it before something like yesterday happened again. Otherwise they would end up coming up with an excuse to push it back again and none of them wanted that. When they sat down at the table and started eating Louie questioned Huey about his nightmare again like he knew he would. But he still didn't want to talk about it. Now that he waking up a bit he realized he was too tired to feel anything else. However he knew they wouldn't let it go until he did. "It was basically just a repeat of what happened yesterday, only somehow worse. I was too scared to scream so you guys never found me and that thing got out and went to terrorize the rest of you and I was still too scared to anything. It made me feel so helpless." He quietly admitted. His brothers didn't respond to that, they knew words wouldn't help. So they offered magical assurance instead. They both let their energies swarm over and comfort him, the three of them had always found it much more powerful than physical comfort and this time proved to be no different. Within a few mintues Huey was feeling much better, he wasn't over it and wouldn't be for a while, but it was a start. After that they went back to their room and started setting up for the spell. They were both nervous and excited, and wondered what they would find out. Once they had done everything they needed to do they looked at each other to make sure they all wanted to do this. They did. They wanted to do this more than anything else they ever wanted. Dewey opened his spellbook to the page that had the spell and they started. They said the chant and watched as the wind began to swirl around them and held onto each other so they wouldn't get caught in it. "Is this supposed to happen?" Huey shouted over the noise. "Maybe?" Dewey responded unsurely. "MAYBE!" His brothers yelled at him and he flinched but realized he probably should've read through it more thoroughly. When the wind finally settled down a piece of paper fell to the floor. They looked at each other before Dewey slowly picked it up. It said one word,SPACE They shared a confused look, "That's it?" Huey asked. "All of that and that's all we get?" "What a ripoff." Louie said upset. And Dewey tired to think of something to make them feel better but he was feeling pretty upset about it too. He thought for sure this would give them a lead. Wait. "Huey do you have that note Mom wrote Scrooge?" "Yeah, why?" He replied taking off his hat and grabbing his Junior Woodchuck guidebook. He flipped it opened and got the note out before handing it to Dewey questioningly. "What if the Spear of Selene somehow got her to space, like a transporting spear or something?" "And it got broke or sent back to earth and she's been stuck in space ever since!" Huey realized. He and Dewey started excitedly theorizing about different things but didn't seem to notice Louie hadn't joined them. He was stuck on one thing, how would she be able to survive in space for so long? She obviously had to left after they were layed and ten years was an awfully long time to be stuck somewhere. By now she was most likely... He couldn't think it. But he wasn't like his brothers, he was more realistic than they were and that was the most realistic thing. But how could he tell them? The boys spent the rest of the day in their room with Huey and Dewey theorizing different things and Louie trying to think of a way to break the news to them. It wasn't going well. He couldn't think of a scenario that didn't end up with yelling. Eventually his brothers noticed how quiet he was and asked him what was up. "I know you guys don't want to think of this," He started hesitantly. "But have you considered the fact that she might be," He gulped. "Dead." They gaped at him and quickly tried to explain himself. "I don't like thinking about it either but she's been out there for ten years, no one can survive that long in space. I'm not saying she is." Yes he was. "I'm just asking you to at least consider it." The unspoken I don't want you to get hurt was heard by all of them. And it made Huey and Dewey look at each other, they couldn't be mad at him for this. He was just trying to get them to think of everything so in case she was, they wouldn't be so surprised. "Okay." Huey said slowly. "We'll consider it but Louie, what if she is alive? What if she, despite all the odds, managed to survive? What then?" Louie looked at them determinedly, "Then we get her back home." Because if they really believed in something so did he. And if they really thought there was a chance she was still alive they had to look into it.Family helps family, always.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The second Donald allowed the boys to leave the mansion they took full advantage of it and went with Webby to the park. Even though their last time there was a disaster it was really one of the only things to do in Duckberg and it didn't cost money, which they had none of. Webby asked if she could invite Lena and the triplets reluctantly agreed. They weren't happy about it, but Webby really liked her for some reason and they liked Webby. So if they had to put up with Lena every now and then, then they had to put up with her.When they got to the park they each took off for different things. Dewey started playing on the monkey bars and ignored Huey's calls to be careful. Break your arm on it once and no one ever lets you forget it, he thought annoyed. He got that they were worried but there was no way that could happen twice. Besides, he had gotten a lot better at landing. Considering how distracted he could get it was kind of a necessity. It wasn't like he meant to get distracted, it just happened. Side effect of the ADHD is what his Dad said, and it had gotten easier with time and medicine but it still happened more than he cared to admit. But today that wouldn't happen, he would make sure of it. Last night he had asked Huey if there was some sort of focusing charm and he said there was but that he shouldn't use it because he could get too focused on something. He ignored him. So far it was working, he still took his medicine but had also put the charm on, in the form of a bracelet like his Dad. He figured that would be the least noticeable, Huey would yell at him if he knew and he didn't want that. But both of them together seemed to be working pretty well. Huey sighed as he gave one last warning to his brother and headed to the swing set. After he sat down he looked around for the others, Louie was taking a nap in the sun and the girls were on the seesaw. With everyone accounted for he relaxed and starting swinging while resolving to keep an eye on Dewey, something was off with him today. But after a few minutes he got bored and decided to see if there was any kind of Junior Woodchuck badge he could get here, that he hadn't already gotten. When he found one he took to the few trees in the park and starting searching around which caught the attention of his littlest brother. "What're you doing?" He sleepily asked. "Trying to get a new badge. Have a nice nap?" Louie nodded as he stood up and stretched then squinted at something in the distance. Huey wondered what it was and turned to see Dewey extremely focused on whatever he was doing on the monkey bars. "He didn't." Louie turned to him, "Didn't what?" Huey sighed, "Last night he asked me if there was a charm to help him focus more and I told him there was but that he shouldn't use it, it would make him too focused. But, as always, he didn't listen. We have to get it off of him." Louie agreed and they went over to where he was. But, as Huey worried, he didn't notice them and continued doing what he was doing. It was too dangerous to try and break him out of it while he was up there so they had to find a way to safely get him down. They looked at the girls and then each other and nodded, they would have to use magic. Luckily levitating things was the first thing they learned and while they hadn't quite mastered a person, together they should be able to do it with no problem. They glanced at the girls once more then held out their hands and placed their brother safely on the ground. Once they did that he looked around confused and met their stares with a sheepish grin. Huey marched to him and took the focusing charm off of his wrist. "That's fair." "What were you thinking? People with ADHD can't use focusing charms, things like that happen!" Huey said gesturing to the monkey bars. "You could've gotten hurt, it's bad enough you broke your arm once on there. Do you really want another injury?" "I'm sorry!" Dewey snapped and his brothers shared a look before Huey sighed. "What's going on Dewey, you never needed a focusing charm before." Dewey also sighed and plopped on the ground. His brothers shared another look and joined him. It was silent for a few moments as they waited for him to talk and when he finally did it was the quietest he'd ever been. "I don't like that I have trouble focusing, either too much or too little, I just want to be able to do it the normal amount, like you guys." "I've never focused on anything a day in my life." Dewey lightly hit his younger brother but laughed. "Things are different for you Dew, that's not a bad thing. They're different for all of us, that's why we work so well together. If your medicine isn't working you should tell Dad but if that's not the case you should keep in mind that the ADHD is a part of you, just like your magic or anything else. And good or bad it's what makes you, you." Dewey smirked, "Dork." He said teasingly and the three of them laughed. "But thanks, you guys are the best." After that they got off the ground and Huey made the charm disappear to his brothers amazement. "I forgot we could do that." Dewey nodded in agreement but thought it was good they had, who knows what they could make disappear? Best to leave it to Huey. They met up with the girls after that as they had been there for a while and were ready to go. "Hey do you guys wanna go see a movie later?" Lena asked as they walked out of the park. Webby eagerly agreed having never been to the movie theater and the boys wanting to keep an eye on the two of them and having nothing better to do also agreed. The only problem would be convincing their Dad to let them go, it would probably be really late when they went and he didn't like them being out when it was dark. He ended up agreeing to let them go, but presumably only cause Mrs. Beakley was going too. She didn't trust Lena either it looked like, but definitely not for the same reasons. After they assured their Dad they would be fine and would check in with him they left with the others to met up with Lena at the movies. Sometime during the journey they were joined by Launchpad for some unknown reason but they weren't complaining, he was cool. When they got the theater they saw Lena was already there and that she didn't look happy to see Mrs. Beakley. The boys chatted about what movie they wanted to see as Webby filled Lena in on why her Granny was there. After deciding what movie to see they all walked in and got food and drinks. Huey got out his wallet to pay for him and his brothers but saw he had no money and got confused, he swore there was a twenty in there. He looked at the usual suspects and asked, "Did one of you guys take my money again?" They shook their heads and Louie snuck a peek at the others before conjuring a twenty and handing to him. He gave him a look but took it and handed it to the concession worker as he wondered where his twenty went. But before he could dwell on it too long they were headed into the movie. After it was over and they were outside the theater the boys were more than wanting to go back to the mansion. The movie was fun and everything but their Dad had a point about it being unnerving at night. But then Huey got caught up in a conversation with Webby and Dewey and Louie got distracted by Launchpad. And soon it seemed like they were never going home. Especially after Huey, Webby and Lena disappeared. Louie was apprehensive of going into the subway, it was dark and small and he didn't like going in it during the day, let alone night. Of all places why did they have to go in the subway? Maybe he should've paid more attention to their conversation, maybe he could've stopped Huey then. The only relief out of this was that he didn't seem to be in danger as Louie's side of the bond was calm. So then they were fine and Huey was being the reckless one for once, great. Dewey could feel how nervous his brother was and put an arm around him hoping to calm him down. It didn't seem to work, but he knew Louie appreciated the sentiment. To be honest he didn't feel like going into the subway either, but their brother was down there and they had to go get him. So they could yell at him. Cause seriously, this was kind of dumb and not at all like him, not unless... He had something to prove. All logic went out the window when he had something to prove. He sent a text to their Dad saying they'd be a little late. And was torn between ratting out Huey and not wanting to upset his Dad, before deciding that they had decided to be more honest with him and told him why they'd be late. Huey wouldn't be too mad, he was the one that always said honesty was the best policy. He got a text back saying okay and thanking him for telling him the truth and he knew he made the right decision. He still felt bad though, he didn't like getting his brothers in trouble. "You okay?" Louie asked him as if knowing something was wrong which wouldn't surprise him. "I told Dad why we'd be late." He admitted and Louie nodded in understanding. "Huey won't be mad at you, Dad deserves to know things and he knows it. We can't hide stuff like this from him, it won't end well for anyone." Dewey looked at him surprised, "Since when did you get so wise?" "The day of today." Dewey rolled his eyes and suddenly noticed where they were, in the subway system. He had to find some way to distract Louie before he noticed as well. The last thing any of them needed was for him to panic. So he started talking about a TV show they had watched a few days ago and while Louie instantly knew what he was doing he didn't say anything. He really needed a distraction right now. Dewey kept talking until they all reached an abandoned subway cart. Mrs. Beakley made the boys stay put but they shared a look and went in anyway. And Louie moved just in time to avoid a rock. "Hey watch it!" After Donald got that text from Dewey his first response to be worried and head to the movie theater. But then he remembered that Mrs. B was with them and that he was trying to trust them more. So he said okay and thanked Dewey for telling him. He knew that must've been hard, he hated getting his brothers in trouble. But Donald was proud of him for making the right decision. The only thing he was really concerned about now was that it was Huey who ran in, that wasn't like him. He would have to talk to him when they got back. Which he knew wouldn't be for a while so he decided to get some work done on the houseboat. With how busy he had been with work and the boys he hadn't had a lot of time to do it. But now he had no excuse and it had to be done. He gave a quick search of the area to confirm he was alone and got to work. He didn't really like using his magic for this, but it would take too long if he didn't. But he couldn't use it too much, if the boat got fixed too quickly it would be suspicious. It was a tricky situation to be sure. He set his phone on the table after turning it up to full volume and grabbed a couple of boards. As soon as he started putting them in place his phone went off making him let out a quack and quickly grab it. It was a text from Louie saying they had found Huey but the cart they were in didn't work and Launchpad and Mrs. B were trying to fix it so it would still be a while. He let out a sigh as he texted him okay and to keep him updated. He got back to work on the boat and continued until he got interrupted again. This time it was by Scrooge and he wanted nothing more than to just ignore him. But he knew that wasn't possible so he turned to face him. "Yes?" He asked shortly. "Have yew heard from the kids lately? It's gettin' late and they are back yet." Scrooge replied attempting to be causal but Donald saw right through it. "I heard from Louie a while back. Huey, Webby, and Webby's friend snuck into the subway system for some reason and now all of them are trying to get back out of it." Scrooge hummed and Donald turned back to his boat. "Yew aren't worried?" Scrooge hesitantly asked after a few moments. He knew his nephew well so it was a surprise he was acting so calm. He didn't have to be around him and the boys long to know that they were his whole world. "I'm terrified." Donald said flatly. "But Mrs. B is there and I'm trying to trust them more." He hoped that made the conversation done but wasn't counting on it. So he waited for Scrooge to talk again as he checked his phone, he hadn't heard it but better safe than sorry. Nothing. He sighed and placed it back on the table, what was taking them so long?As they were walking to the mansion Louie realized that he hadn't texted his Dad in a while. He had gotten caught up in everything that had happened and didn't have a chance to. So he did it now. He let him know they were okay and on their way back then turned back to his conversation with his brothers and Webby. "That book really has everything?" Webby asked Huey unbelievingly, and to be fair to her it was a small book. "Yup, there's nothing that the JWG doesn't know." He proudly responded. "Like I said what isn't already in here I add myself, it's foolproof. Everything I know it knows." "What about things you don't know?" She said not seeing Dewey and Louie's heads frantically shaking and Huey froze. Things he didn't know? He knew he didn't know everything but somehow always managed to forget that. After a few seconds he managed to shake himself out of his shock and shake off his brothers' concerned looks. "Things I don't know I learn." He simply responded. And before they could say anything else they found themselves in front of the mansion's doors. So, for now, that was the end of that. They walked into the mansion and the boys were surprised to not immediately see their Dad. They shared a look and headed for the houseboat as they told Webby they'd see her tomorrow. She brightened up at that unknown to them and let her Granny walk her to bed. When they got the houseboat they saw Donald working on it. But they also saw Scrooge there trying to talk to him which was weird, but they chose not to question it. Instead they got their Dad's attention to let him know they were back. He stopped what he was doing to acknowledge them and after a short conversation about what happened they were being sent to bed. They didn't make any move to move though and just looked at each other hesitantly. "You aren't gonna come tell us goodnight?" Huey quietly asked. Donald softened his face, "Of course I am, just give me a minute." They nodded and went to their room after saying goodnight to Scrooge as Donald started packing things up for the day. Now that the boys were home he would probably head to bed too. But before he could tell them goodnight he had to deal with Scrooge. So, with a sigh, he turned to face him. "Why are yew livin' on the boat nephew?" Donald glared at him, "You know why." He walked off after that trying to cool his temper before he reached the boys' room. He just couldn't believe Scrooge sometimes. When he got to their room he saw they were in their beds waiting for him and smiled. It was nice to know they still needed him. He told them each goodnight and that if they had time tomorrow he would give them another magic lesson. And right before bed probably wasn't the right time to tell them as they got really excited but the damage had already been done. He knew it would wear off eventually and they would go to bed. Which it did, and when he checked on them in the morning they were all passed out. Once Dewey woke up he determined that it was later than usual but figured that he was just readjusting from yesterday. He never wanted to use a focusing charm again, Huey was right they were bad for people like him. Too bad he learned his lesson the hard way. He got out of his bed and got ready for the day as he wondered where his brothers were. They usually waited for each other before leaving but they probably got hungry. He ran into Webby on his way of finding them and remembered that he had yet to fill her in on his brothers knowing about their Mom. "A few days ago I told my brothers what we know about my mom." He told her. "You said not to tell anyone?" She said confused. And that reminded him that she didn't have siblings before. "I know. They aren't anyone and I can't lie to them, we made a pact not to keep things from each other, I'm not gonna be the one to break it. Plus, she's their Mom too, they have a right to know." She agreed, "So how they'd take it?" "Well I told them while we were on the kayak, which probably wasn't the smartest but I couldn't keep it from them anymore. They took it pretty well actually, they weren't happy I hadn't told them sooner but they were excited to finally be able to know what happened to her, I am too honestly." He knew there was more to the story than that and he wanted so badly to tell her but he couldn't, then she would know they had magic and his Dad said she couldn't know that. He understood why, or he did after Huey explained it to him and Louie, but he still wanted to tell her. So to keep himself from thinking of it he changed the subject. "Do you know where Huey and Louie are?" "The den I think." He nodded and they both headed there. After they got there he realized she was right, they were in there watching TV. They turned around after hearing them and gave a greeting. "Feel better Dew?" Huey asked him and he knew how worried they both were when Louie didn't turn back to the TV. So he had to tell them the truth. "Yerp, sleeping helped a lot. What about you? You were acting very... reckless last night." Huey looked down and didn't answer which prompted him to sit next to him on the couch. Webby hesitated before joining him not sure if she was welcome at the moment, she relaxed when none of them said anything. "Yeah sorry about that I don't really know what got into me." His brothers gave him a look to suggest that they did and he continued. "I wasn't really thinking and I could've put us all in danger, I guess I don't think when I have something to prove. And I don't like that so I have to work on it. And I'll find some way to make it up to you guys, I swear." Huey finished as he tried to not to cry, as far as he was concerned he ruined last night. "You're too hard on yourself, we already forgave you." Louie told him and the others nodded in agreement which made him lightly smile. "Yeah the subway was way more fun than the movie!" Webby added on. "I still can't believe we saw real Terra-firmians! They were everything I'd thought they be," She started going on a tangent but stopped after she noticed she was rambling making the triplets look at her confused. "Sorry, I was rambling." Huey raised an eyebrow, "So? Dewey does it all the time." Dewey agreed, "Yerp it's kinda my thing." She smiled but didn't seem to have anything else to say so he continued talking, "I told Webby that I told you guys about Mom. And now that we all know everything, how do we figure out what happened to her?" Cause he and his brothers knew she ended up in space but they didn't know how. The others looked at each other but didn't answer as they didn't have one. Dewey sighed and tried to start putting pieces together but they weren't many to be put together. They knew two things, she took the Spear of Selene and she ended up in space, and until they got more information that was all they would know. Great. Donald sighed as he walked into the money bin office. Scrooge was once again trying to talk to him but he really didn't want to talk to him, he knew taking this job would be a mistake. But he wasn't gonna quit, he wasn't a quitter and despite all its problems it paid really well. So he would just have to learn to ignore Scrooge when it wasn't business related. He got ready for another long day and started getting to work putting in the final things for Gyro's new assistant, that was his top priority right now. He had found someone he thought was promising but had yet to do the interview. Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera, a bright young scientist who had just gotten out of college. When Donald looked at all he already accomplished he knew he'd be the perfect fit with Gyro. The only thing now was getting Gyro to agree to it. He was as stubborn as Donald was, and that wasn't a good thing. But he didn't see Gyro until it was lunch time, as usual. Both of their schedules left almost no time for idle chit-chat. He was talking to Huey on the phone when he was joined by him. He raised a finger to tell him to give him a minute and finished up the call. "And one of you will call me if you decide to leave the mansion?" "Yes Dad. We probably won't though, still recuperating from yesterday." He nodded even though Huey couldn't see it, it made sense. The boys didn't grow up adventuring like he did, which was a good thing, but it meant they needed days like today a lot. "Alright, I'll see you later." Huey responded the same, they hung up and he turned his attention to Gryo. "How's your day been going?" "Long as always, I'm almost done with the magical defensive project so that should clear up some time. What about yours?" "Doing pointless tasks, avoiding Scrooge as much as possible, the usual. Speaking of clearing up time, I've noticed how swamped you've been lately and I've thought of a way to help. I've been looking for an assistant for you." "I don't need an assistant." Gryo brushed him off and he tried to think of a way to get him interested in it. He found only one. "What about an intern?" He raised an eyebrow, "I'm listening." When Donald got back to the mansion he wasn't surprised at all to see the boys waiting for him. Nothing got them more excited than magic practice. And even though he had had a long day he had told them that if there was time today he would give them one. And there was time, he got to leave work early today as Scrooge had things to take care of here. Since he finished what he had to do for the day, there was no use in being there if Scrooge wasn't. The interview with Fenton had gone better than expected and he practically hired him on the spot. He ended up really liking Fenton he just hoped Gryo would too. But that wasn't the focus right now, right now it was time to give the boys their next magic lesson. This time it was about how to combine different elemental magic. As they covered the last of the elements with air this was the next step in this subject. But it was very difficult and he wanted to make sure they knew that. He doubted they'd care much though, they never did when it came to magic. He started the lesson simply despite that. The best way to do this was to ease them into it. They had no problems with the easy stuff like always but once he got onto the harder stuff they started having problems. That wasn't unusual, what was unusual was that they didn't grasp it after he helped them like they usually did. This was one of the harder topics but he was so sure they could handle it. He stopped the lesson after them not getting it after he helped them for the third time and asked what was going on. "Sorry Dad, guess we just have a lot on our minds." Huey answered him. "What's going on boys? Is this about yesterday?" They looked at each other but didn't answer and he guessed that that was it. It was, but there was more to the story. "How come you're working so much?" Louie asked after a few minutes. "You're never here when we wake up and when you get home it's almost our bedtimes, we miss you." His brothers nodded and Donald sighed, he knew he had been working awful hours but that was Scrooge's fault, not his. He just didn't know how to tell them that. They liked Scrooge and he didn't want them to get mad at him. "I know. I'm sorry this is one of those jobs, I'll try to talk to Scrooge, see if we can get my hours fixed. And I know this move has been difficult, it's not just us anymore, but that's a good thing. You boys have a friend and an Uncle who takes you on cool adventures sometimes, you have a whole mansion to run and play in, and you have everything you need. You don't need to rely on me as much as you used to." He finished trying not to be sad about that. They really didn't need him as much as they used to. "You're our Dad, we'll always need you." Huey stated and his brothers said similar things. He tried not to cry, he said it a lot but he really did have the best boys. "Boys... I promise I'll talk to Scrooge tomorrow." If he was being honest these long hours were kicking his butt. He was constantly so tired, he barely ever wanted to do anything but sleep. And that wasn't good, he had a lot of other things to do too. "How long has this been bugging you three?" "It didn't really start until today." Dewey admitted. "We were waiting around for you to get here so we could do the magic lesson and it made us realize that we hadn't really seen you much. With everything going on we hadn't had much time to think about it, but it sucks and we miss you." As he was talking Dewey had started fidgeting and before he really knew what was happening he was absentmindedly combing dirt clods and water into a sphere. He froze when he realized what he was doing as did the others and he tried to keep doing it but it fell apart after a few moments. "Aw man." He sulked. His brothers excitedly hugged him and cheered. He hugged them back and smiled at his Dad who gave a smile back and mouthed good job. After the hug broke up he tried to do it or something similar to it again but couldn't and tried not to be to down about it. Their Dad did say it was really hard, maybe this was something that required more than one lesson. And more concentration, that too. Also having that in mind Donald concluded the lesson and said they'd pick it up again tomorrow. He thought about getting some work done on the houseboat but decided to do something else with the boys instead. They asked if Webby could join and he automatically agreed, he liked Webby she was a good kid. And she seemed to fit right in with the boys which was, new to say the least. But, he wasn't complaining. The five of them ended up reenacting one of Scrooge, Donald and Della's adventures. It was nice for him to be able to do that but it did make him feel things he'd rather not, he'd deal with it later. He just wanted to be able to have fun with the kids for a while. And that's exactly what he ended up doing. They stopped a little before dinner time and as they walked into the dining room Donald finished up telling them what happened on that adventure. When they sat down Mrs. Beakley started serving dinner then went to go get Scrooge. Dewey and Louie were about to start eating when a look from Huey made them stop. They always hated that look. They were finally allowed to eat when Scrooge joined everyone which they did happily, none of the kids had had a lot to eat today but that wasn't by choice. Things just kept happening and they would get distracted. As they ate Scrooge brought up the idea of going on an adventure soon and was met with great enthusiasm from the kids, and apprehension from Donald. The kids had just gone on their own adventure and he didn't want them to get overloaded or something like that. He made Scrooge promise to wait a few days and then the boys asked if their Dad would come too. "If I can have that day off sure." He agreed and they looked at Scrooge pleadingly. Donald raised an eyebrow and waited for his answer even though he knew what it'd be. "Of course yew can!" Or maybe he didn't. That wasn't what he was expecting at all. The boys cheered but he found himself to be suspicious, what was Scrooge trying to do here? He decided not to worry about it this time and be glad he could spend more time with his boys. Speaking of them, they and Webby were already eagerly talking about where they could be going. They were bummed they had to wait a few days but were overall excited. They each had a different idea and started pestering Scrooge to see which one was right. He said he hadn't thought of where to go yet but he would take their ideas into consideration. They were content with that and ran off to Webby's room where they started planning on what to do about the Della situation. They had a lot of ideas about that too and it wasn't long until the bickering began. Or it was bickering for a few moments before it turned into an argument between Huey and Dewey and that was not ideal but it was fine, until it wasn't. They were drawn out of their argument by the door slamming and suddenly realized what they had just done. Yelled in front of Louie, and that was something they promised never to do a long time ago. "Oh no." Huey said echoing his brother's thoughts exactly. Oh no indeed. They left a worriedly looking Webby telling her they'd fix this and went to find their brother. It wasn't hard to do that, they knew exactly where he'd be. Where he went every time he got scared, the back of the houseboat. And they knew that yelling scared him, their's especially, especially if it was at each other. It was why they made that promise in the first place, they hated scaring him. When they got to where he was they went and stood on either side of him waiting for him to talk. He did, but it took a few minutes. "Sorry for running off like that." He said quietly. "Not your fault." Dewey said just as quiet. And he was right, it wasn't, it was theirs. "We shouldn't have done that, we know how you are about us yelling." He grabbed Louie's hand. "I'm sorry." Huey grabbed his other one, "I'm sorry too. We should've been more careful." And since Louie had always had a soft spot for family, his brothers especially, he forgave them. That didn't mean they felt better about it though. They would though, eventually. In the meantime the three of them would really talk about how to handle this situation. Not just the Della one but this whole thing, moving into the mansion, going on adventures, everything. It was a talk that had really been a long time coming and it was one they all needed. By the end of it they were feeling much better and even though they hadn't come up with an exact solution they were positive they'd find one eventually. It would take some time but that was okay, as long as they had each other they would be fine.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The adventure ended up coming in the form of Gladstone Gander, who was in Macaw and had called them for help for some reason. Much to Donald's displeasure. It was no secret he wasn't the biggest fan of him but family helps family and the boys really wanted him to go. And he wanted to spend more time with the boys, he had talked to Scrooge about changing his hours up a little bit and he had surprisingly agreed. He said they had already talked to him about it and he thought it was nice how much they cared about him. So now he didn't have to go into work so early and he got to leave a little earlier as well. He also had weekends off which was honestly more than he expected but he wasn't complaining. But he was complaining about having to go help Gladstone. He really didn't want to do that. Growing up with him had been awful and half the time he had only tolerated him cause of Della. And even then... It was just better if he didn't have to see him. But now he did and he knew this wouldn't end well. He would have to keep it together for the boys, they were so excited to see him, for some reason. He couldn't ruin that for them. When they got off the plane the kids immediately took off for the casino which forced him to go after them. Once he caught up he told them that they couldn't do that, that it was way too easy to get lost in places like that. Scrooge then caught up with them as well and they headed for the elevator. Where it became apparent how nervous Louie was about seeing him again but Louie got nervous about a lot of things so he didn't pay too much attention to it. Which would later turn out to be a mistake. After seeing that there was no danger Donald was more than ready to leave, a sentiment echoed by his Uncle. But the kids, of course, were in no hurry so they were forced to stay while they explored. It wasn't long until Gladstone was up to his normal shenanigans which annoyed him greatly and made him want to leave even more. And they did, or they almost did until Louie wanted to stay. There was no way Donald was leaving him alone with Gladstone so he decided to stay behind as well. The others started to leave after that but Huey and Dewey lingered and it became apparent to the triplets that this would be the first time they were separated on an adventure like this. They didn't really know what to think about that. But they had a silent conversation and then the two of them reluctantly left. After that Louie turned to his Uncle and asked if he could show him around now. He agreed and the two of them hopped out of the tub and as Gladstone changed Louie talked to his Dad. "Why don't you like Uncle Gladstone?" Donald sighed, "It's complicated. Are you sure you don't wanna go see that cricket?" Louie made a face. "That's what I thought. Alright we can look around a bit but be careful, places like this are traps." Louie looked at him, "But we're too smart to be trapped, right Dad?" "We are. Can't say the same about certain people though." He said as an obvious shot towards Gladstone. Louie snickered and looked at his phone wondering what his brothers were up to. He had to admit it was weird them being separate like this. They had done things on their own before but this felt different somehow. He only hoped they weren't too upset by his decision to stay. He had nothing to worry about though. As it turned out, they weren't, they understood why he wanted to stay and that something like this would have to happen eventually. They didn't have the same interests and it was natural that sooner or later they would split up like this. That didn't mean it didn't feel weird however. Cause it did feel weird, very weird. But they couldn't say anything cause the others wouldn't understand so they just had to deal with it themselves. Or at least they would until they met up with Louie again but who knew when that would be? In the meantime they just tried to enjoy going to see that cricket, that did seem like a lot of fun. But it seemed like it would a while until they got to go as they were lost in the casino, despite what their Uncle said. Their Dad did warn them; but they were with Scrooge McDuck, he would get them out of there no problem. They weren't worried. And as a result of that they got distracted by different things, Huey by the water floor show and Dewey by a tiger and it took them even longer to find the exit. But at that point they had stopped looking for it, they were having a lot of fun in the casino. They were only snapped out of it when they felt a disturbance in their bond which made them look at each other worriedly, they hadn't heard from Louie in a while. Their worry grew even more when their Dad rejoined them. Just their Dad, there was no Louie in sight. "Where's Louie?" Huey got his answer as he and Gladstone came running behind the former looking a little off. As his brothers were getting distracted by different things Louie was getting showered with all sorts of free stuff courtesy of his Uncle. He was so taken in by it all he didn't notice his Dad's downridden look. Which kept getting more down as Gladstone gave Louie more things. He finally did notice though, and wondered what it was about, sure Gladstone was fun and got him free stuff but he wasn't the one who had raised him and his brothers for ten years. And he may of thought Gladstone was the coolest Uncle but Donald was definitely the coolest Dad. "Gladstone's cool but you're pretty cool too Dad." He assured Donald which made him smile. But that quickly turned into a frown when Gladstone tossed Louie a pair of car keys. He tried to butter him up after that but he was done, he just wanted to get out of there and go home. So he stormed off as Louie rejoined them but Louie paid it no mind and said they should hit the big winners tables. "I don't need you, I need him." Gladstone went after Donald after that leaving Louie there stunned. Did he really feel that way? He followed his Uncle hoping that would lead him to the others, suddenly he just wanted to go home. When he met up with them he instantly wanted to tell his brothers what had happened but knew it had to wait until they were all out of there. It would be a little while until that happened though as it was revealed that Gladstone had been trapped there and they had to find some way to get them all out. As the race went on Louie hadn't said a word except to encourage his Dad, something he was sure his brothers noticed. But he didn't care about that too much, maybe it would get them to ask what was wrong. Except that he didn't really feel like talking about it anymore. He felt bad for idolizing Gladstone when he had been nothing but a jerk to their Dad. And he felt awful about idolizing someone who would treat him like that. His silence continued on the way home which worried his immediate family greatly but they wouldn't confront him about it on the plane. They'd wait till they all got home and go from there. So instead Huey and Dewey decided to talk about something else. "That felt weird to you guys too right? Us being split up like that?" Huey asked and his brothers nodded. "Yerp, it shouldn't have felt like that right? We've done things separately before, why was this time so different?" "It was our first adventure separated, we were bound to feel something about it." Huey answered Dewey. Louie had nothing to say on the matter, or he did but he really didn't want to talk. "Well hopefully that feeling will go away eventually, we can't do everything together." His brothers nodded in agreement, though Louie's looked more absentminded like he was only half paying attention to the conversation. But to be fair to him he kind of was. He wanted to pay more attention but his mind was only focused on one thing at the moment. "I can't believe you actually rode a tiger." Huey remarked to his younger brother after a few moments of silence. "You WHAT?!" The rest of the plane ride was spent with Donald arguing with Scrooge and reprimanding Dewey, telling him how dangerous that was and how he could've got hurt. Dewey, of course, knew all of that but he didn't really care until he got in trouble for it. A common theme with him. Donald calmed down by the time they got back to the manor and was more than ready to call it a day, but when Louie sulked off it told him there was something else that needed to be taken care of. "He didn't say a word on the way home." Huey informed him as he and Dewey walked with him to their room. He nodded, "I was afraid something like this would happen, Gladstone's probably upset him in some way." That didn't surprise him in the least, he had always had a way with words. "But he'll be okay, right?" Dewey asked worriedly. It was no secret Louie was the most emotional out of them, who knew how hard he was taking this? "Hopefully he will be once we talk to him." But they didn't get that chance as he was fast asleep when they got there. And since it had been such a long day Donald told the other two to also go to bed and that they would talk to him tomorrow. They didn't agree with that but they didn't want to wake him up so they nodded and also went to bed. It had been a long day for them too. The next day Louie was the first one up so he decided to get up and leave before his brothers could ask him questions. He wouldn't be able to answer them on an empty stomach. And he wanted to talk about it with them, he wasn't feeling much better than yesterday but he no longer felt like being silent. Which was definitely a good thing for him, it would be so easy for him to close off into himself but he didn't want to do that. He wanted to talk about it so he could get past it. But he needed to eat first. When he got to the kitchen he saw there was already someone else in there and was surprised to see it was his Dad. He offered him a smile which he shakily returned then started to look for something to eat. "You the first one up?" Donald asked as he watched him do that. "Surprisingly." "Any reason why?" "I don't know." He answered honestly. A lot had happened yesterday, it could've been any of it. But that question reminded him that there was something he needed to tell his Dad. "I'm sorry for being a jerk for most of yesterday, and for making you think I thought Uncle Gladstone was cooler than you. That wasn't cool." Donald smiled at him, "Thank you. You know you were the reason I got back up yesterday." "Really?" "I would've given up without your pep talk. You really came through back there Louie. Was that the only thing bothering you?" He asked even though he knew it wasn't. It would give Louie a chance to admit it himself. But whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Dewey slamming the door open making their attention go to him. "Morning!" He said cheerfully as Huey came in behind him. It was clear to Louie that they had gotten worried when they had woken up and found him not there, though he didn't know how. But he didn't care to question it right now, there was already too much happening. And as their silence got longer Louie started to understand that they wanted him to talk. So he got himself some cereal and did just that."Yesterday Uncle Gladstone said he didn't need me, it hurt. I just thought he was so cool and stuff and then he said that, and he was a jerk to Dad and I wasn't much better. It was just a lot." He softly admitted. The others looked at each other trying to figure out what to say but Louie usually only allowed a limited amount of time before he got lost in his thoughts. And it seemed like that time was up. So when Dewey spoke next it scared him to say the least. "You said it yourself Lou, he's a jerk and jerks say dumb things. And do dumb things. They're just dumb." He said resolutely then turned to his Dad guilty. "I'm sorry for saying those things, it was mean.""Me too." Huey added on. Donald smiled at the both of them, "Thank you boys, that means a lot. It's just always bugged me how life always seems to go his way. But there's more to life than just getting everything you want. And he's missing the important things, the value of hard work, self-reliance, family. And in that way he's unlucky." The boys grinned at him and he realized for the first time just how lucky he was. He was the one who got to raise them after all. After breakfast was over Donald got a call from someone he really didn't want to talk to. Speak of the devil, he thought. He sighed and thought about not answering but decided that he might as well get it over with, he would just keep calling until he talked to him. "What do you want Gladstone?" "Whoa cuz, no hello?" "Hello, what do you want?" He said shortly, he really didn't want to talk to him. "Look, things got pretty crazy yesterday and I acted uncoolly-""You were a complete jerk. Not that that's anything new." "Right." He sighed, "I'm sorry." Donald blinked, he was surprised that he apologized he had never done it before. But as grateful as he was for it, there was someone else who needed it more. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. Louie told us what you said, you know that kid idolizes you. Idolized." He corrected, he was sure he didn't anymore. "How could you tell him something like that?""... I don't know Don. You're right, I need to talk to him too. But I was a complete jerk to you and that wasn't okay. So, I'm sorry, and I'm sorry for the times I'll do it in the future." He added on and Donald wanted to stay mad, he really did but it just wasn't worth his time to. Gladstone was apologizing, that was a big step for him. But he couldn't forgive him just yet. "Talk to Louie." He told him before hanging up. And a good thing had come out of that call, it reminded him he needed to call Panchito and José as it had been a while since he did that. And as he did that Louie got a call; he saw who it was and debated whether or not to ignore it, he ended up ignoring it. He didn't want to talk to his Uncle, he wanted to be mad at him. But he wasn't, he was sad and he hated that. Even when they deserved it it seemed like he could never get mad at his family. His brothers noticed his shift in mood as they always did and asked him what was wrong. They thought he was better and that he was over what their Uncle said but it looked like that wasn't the case. He told them immediately, he couldn't even try to keep things from them, they always saw through it. He told them everything, how he wanted to mad but wasn't, how upset he was. When he finished they suggested he talk to Gladstone and since they both thought that was a good idea he did it. "Hey greenbean, what's up?" Gladstone said as soon as he picked up. "You tell me." He sighed. "I'm just gonna get right to chase, I shouldn't have said that and I'm sorry. It was a stressful situation and I took it out on you and that was a crummy thing to do. I do need you Lou, you're my nephew of course I do. You're the only one that's ever liked me for me and not cause of my luck and I shouldn't have treated you like that. I'm really sorry." Louie was speechless for a few seconds which made his brothers wary but he quickly found what to say, "Thanks Uncle Gladstone, did my Dad put you up to this?" He asked knowingly. He knew he did but he wanted to see what he would say. "... In my defense I was gonna call you eventually." Louie rolled his eyes. "Goodbye Uncle Gladstone." He hung up before he could say anything else and turned back to the TV making his brothers look at him questioningly. He pretended not to notice. It only took them a few seconds to realize that and once they did they shared a look and hit him with pillows. "Hey!" "So, are you and Uncle Gladstone good?" Huey asked ignoring his cry. "I'm still a little upset but I'll be fine. He apologized, which is more than I was expecting, so I guess I'll forgive him, eventually." He didn't like holding grudges unless it benefited him in some way and this time it didn't. He'd be fine with his Uncle the next time he saw him. And he wasn't lying to his brothers when he said he was pretty much fine now. They would've seen through it anyway. They always did. The three of them stayed in the den until it was lunch time and sometime during their time in there they were joined by Webby. To which they weren't complaining about, but they could tell she was having a hard time sitting still. Dewey, also usually having that problem, offered her his Rubix cube and she had been trying to figure it out for the fifth time when her Granny called for lunch. After lunch was over Huey had expressed interest in going into his Dad's magic library for the first time and his brothers eagerly jumped on that idea as well. The three of them had yet to see any of it and they desperately wanted to. Their Dad agreed to let them go in, by now the houseboat had been fixed up enough that it was safe for them to go in and he was glad they asked first. The only thing he asked of them was that they'd be careful, which they readily agreed to as they really wanted to go in and that was that. He opened the door to let them in and they looked around in awe. Huey raced off for some of the books as his brothers stood there not sure what to do. Donald saw that and got some things he knew they'd be interested in. For Dewey it was a book on magical creatures and for Louie it was a tame magical artifact that he felt was safe to keep out in the open. He bent down to his level as he explained what it was. "Nunzi's Sheild- if used right it can send out a blast so powerful everything is blown away from it." Louie looked at it with wonder and Donald smiled, he knew he'd like that one. "I got it a few years ago on an adventure in Rome. I haven't had to use it but it's nice to have around, never know when you'll need a shield." As Louie looked it over more Dewey started excitedly talking about all the different creatures in the book. Donald began explaining things he knew from experience about them and Dewey dropped his jaw. "You've seen them?!" "We saw a dragon our first day here." Huey pointed out from where he was. Which was in the middle of a pile of books, he would definitely want to stay in there for a while. "This is different!" He insisted. "We've seen one dragon, one! Dad's seen everything in here!" "Pretty much." Donald confirmed. "Adventuring with Scrooge McDuck will help with that. But trust me, once you see most of these things in person you'll wish you hadn't." Dewey brushed that off and continued asking him for information. Which he readily gave, maybe if they had it they would be more prepared when they inevitably ran into one. Like he said, adventuring with Scrooge McDuck helped with that. He left them in there after that, he had other things to do around the houseboat and he trusted them to not do anything they weren't supposed to. He told them to let him know when they were done in there so that he could close it up. The others didn't come on the boat, but better safe than sorry. "Do you think there's a book in here about magical bonds?" Huey said after he completely left. It was so out of nowhere that it made his brothers look at him confused. So he elaborated, "We've been wanting to know more about it for years and now we have the chance to, shouldn't we take it?" They looked at each other and shrugged then stopped what they were doing and started looking through the books. Dewey got bored of it after a few minutes and wondered if there was an easier way to do it. He knew there had to be one, he just had to think of it. While he was trying to do that Huey was skimming through different book titles on the shelves hoping to find what they needed. He was having no luck. It seemed like his Dad had nothing on the topic. He thought he would, that he would be just as curious about it but there was nothing. Or at least nothing he could find. He looked at his youngest brother who had gotten bored shortly after Dewey had and was now scrolling through his phone. He wondered what had happened to him that caused the disturbance yesterday, he didn't appear to be physically hurt when they saw him. And the only time it had been disturbed in the past was when at least one of them had been in danger. But it had alerted them before they were all in danger and he couldn't figure out why. "Hey yesterday right before we all met up, were you in danger in any way?" He asked him getting the attention of both of his brothers. Louie looked at him confused, "No, why?" He shared glanced with Dewey, "We felt something in the bond, like something was wrong but that's never happened unless we were in danger." "No I was just really upset cause of what Uncle Gladstone said." It got quiet after that as none of them knew what to say, something like that had never happened before. Sure they knew what one of them was feeling but that was only after being around them. Their bond had never alerted them to feelings before. But they had never needed it to, they had never been separated like that. "So it's adapting to our situation?" Dewey asked. "It seems like it." Huey answered him. "Maybe as we adjust so does our bond. We've never been separated like that so we never needed it to alert us to what we're feeling. But now we do. We're definitely gonna separate like that again and that's, fine." The break in his voice confirmed it was not fine. "And our bond knows that and is reacting accordingly." "Makes sense. Is there really nothing here about it?" "Looks that way, we'll have to get our information some other way." Huey's brothers groaned but he was kind of excited at the thought of that. Even if it meant they weren't getting answers right now. "What other way is there?" Louie said which made him falter. "I don't know." In the end they ended up finding more questions than answers but they did get some answers so it wasn't a total loss. But could they really consider those answers? Everything was just stuff they had guessed, there was no actual proof they were right. Huey was usually right though so his brothers took comfort in that.They had to figure out some way to get information on their bond. They knew very little about it, too little for such an important part of their lives. All they knew was that it could tell them when they were in danger, and now apparently when they were upset, and that it helped with their magic. Multi-person magic came easier to them according to their Dad. And they found after a particularly straining lesson that when they were weak they could draw on each other's power. They could also find each other's energies if they concentrated hard enough. So they knew a lot about it actually but it didn't seem like a lot. And none of it answered the biggest question of all, why were they bonded? They certainly didn't mind that they were but they were curious about it. When they first found out they were their Dad said he'd never seen anything like it, that their energy reaching out for each other wasn't normal but he never said why. Maybe he didn't know why either. That didn't comfort them in the slightest.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Dewey fell asleep that night the last thing he was excepting was a nightmare but, unfortunately, it happened. He woke up with a jolt and quickly covered his mouth before he could make any noise that would wake his brothers. That was the last thing he wanted. He silently got out of his bed then wondered why he did that. He guessed he was just used to being able to go into the kitchen and get something to drink but he couldn't do that there, he would wake someone up for sure. But he was already out of bed so he figured he didn't have a choice. As he made his way to the kitchen a door swung opened and he was tackled. His first instinct was to use his magic but then he realized it was Webby and tried to push her off instead. "Webby it's just me!" He said as loudly as he could without waking anyone else and she hopped off him with an 'oh'. "Sorry, can never be too careful you know?" He sleepily blinked at her. "No, what are you doing up?" She shrugged and was about to head back to her room when she noticed the look in his eyes. "Everything okay?" "Yerp just a stupid nightmare. I'll be fine." He said as a reflex. It was what he told his brothers every time he had one in the past not wanting to worry them, it slipped out. But, like them, she didn't really buy it. And he should find it comforting that she already knew him so well but he was tired, he just wanted to get a drink and go back to bed. "What about?" "Honestly I already forgot. It wasn't important." He should probably find that worrying, last time someone couldn't remember their nightmares... That whole thing still haunted him, but he didn't think he was being targeted by something. It was just him forgetting something again. That, that couldn't happen again, not to any of them. He continued downstairs ignoring Webby's excessive questioning and his own troublesome thoughts. He hadn't thought about that in years, why did it have to pop up now?And he hadn't had a nightmare in a while either, those were usually reserved for his brothers. Maybe it was cause he had a stressful day, arguing with one of his brothers was never fun but Huey had really gotten on his nerves with his attacking of his work ethic. But they had made up hours before, there was no need to dwell on it now. He was kind of worried about Huey though, he hadn't gotten that mad in a while. But if he was being honest he probably would have been upset if he put in a lot of hard work and someone else got a higher position for doing basically nothing. So he could understand the anger, it still worried him though; but he was always worried about his brothers in some way. After he got into the kitchen he was surprised to see Webby had followed him. He figured she'd just go back to bed, she must've been more worried about him than he thought. But he was still too tired to really care. He made his way to the fridge and got out a water as he tried to think of more pleasant things so that he could go back to sleep. That was easier said than done. Once a thought got in his head it stayed there until he got another one stuck in there. Currently any thoughts that could get stuck in there were just as unpleasant. Looked like the rest of tonight would be a sleepless one. It wasn't like that was the first time that happened but he hated every time it did. "You can go back to bed Webby." He told her after he noticed she was still there. "Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?" "There's nothing to talk about." He assured her. "If I can't remember what it's about it's not important." His brothers would disagree with that statement but, she didn't need to know that. She hesitantly said okay and gave him one last glance over before she left. After she did that he sighed in relief and finished his water, it wasn't that he didn't want her there, he was just too tired to deal with her questions. He could do that in the morning, hopefully, if he got more sleep. He quietly crept back into his room and barely made it two steps before Huey shot up and looked around tiredly. Dewey froze hoping he wouldn't see him but was disappointed when his eyes landed right on him. "Dewey? What are you doing up?" He asked voice full of sleep. Dewey didn't know how to answer him without saying the truth so he didn't say anything at all. Which was a good plan, for all of two seconds. Huey continued to scrutinize him waiting for him to answer and since he just wanted to go back to bed he eventually did. "I had a nightmare." He simply said leaving out the part that he couldn't remember what it was. That would go over well. "Do you wanna sleep up here?" Was all Huey said knowing his brother wouldn't want to talk about it, but maybe he would want some company. Dewey nodded and climbed up to his bed. And as soon as he got settled in they were joined by their younger brother who collapsed as soon as he got there. His brothers shared a quiet chuckle and soon followed him into sleep. They lasted ten minutes. Dewey bolted up once again waking both his brothers this time and groaned, he just wanted sleep! They watched as he calmed himself down once again and after he managed to do that it slipped out of his mind, once again. This was becoming a problem. He had just managed to get a normal sleep schedule, he couldn't mess it up now. He layed back in Huey's bed and tried to go back to sleep but the feeling of eyes on him stopped him. They wanted him to talk about it, nightmares weren't normal for him, two in one night was even more worrisome. He would talk to them, but that would make them more worried. It would bring up things that were better off forgotten, and it would keep all of them up even longer. It was better not to. That didn't mean they would leave it alone though. But they wouldn't push him, they would let him talk about it when he was ready. Little did they know that would be never or at least Dewey thought it would be. "I had a nightmare a few days ago, about that thing." Huey whispered out of nowhere making his brothers look at him curiously. They knew what thing he was talking about. "I know that it couldn't hurt me but that the way it felt." He shuddered. "That will always stay with me. Sometimes, sometimes I can be doing something that has nothing to do with it and feel it, like outta nowhere. It's just there, in my hand. And no matter what I do I can't make it go away. The nightmare was like that but ten times worse. Somehow it managed to hurt me, to hurt everyone and there was nothing I could do." It went silent as everyone tried to process that and a few minutes later Louie spoke up. "I still have nightmares about what happened when we were six." He confessed and his brothers weren't really surprised by that, they still had nightmares about it too. "I think that was the most scared I've ever been. And no matter how hard I try I can't move past it, not completely like some part of me is trapped there. Sometimes I think it'll always be stuck there. And sometimes I see glimpses of, whatever that thing was. Like I know it can't be there, it's impossible for it to be there, it's gone but sometimes I just, see it. I remember these nightmares and that's somehow scarier, I see how scared I was, how scared you guys were, and I see Dad and his friends not being able to get rid of it. And it just keeps messing with me and making me even more scared. Then I wake up and climb in bed with one of you and try to forget it." "Why are you guys telling me this?" He knew they were struggling, that they weren't over what happened to them, they didn't need to tell him."We were hoping it would make you want to talk about yours." Huey replied as he sat up. "Talking helps Dew, you just have to actually do it." "There's nothing to talk about. It just happened cause of how stressful today was but I'm better now." "Then why the second one?" Louie said annoyed though his brothers knew he was just tired. They would keep up with this until he gave them a clear answer, he knew that too well. "Because I couldn't remember the first one and it worried me." He whispered sheepishly and winced at his brothers' looks. "Dewey!" They both said."I'm sorry, I knew if I told you it would worry you and bring up things that shouldn't be brought up and keep all of us up longer than we needed to be. I thought it was better to keep that part to myself." "... I don't want to be the one to make you keep secrets, that's what you said when we were six." Louie spat out hurt. "Did you think that only applied to you? I don't want that either! You shouldn't be keeping things to yourself, anything, even if you think it's for the best." "I didn't want to upset you-""I'm already upset." Louie climbed out of the bed before his brothers could say anything else and went back into his own bed. Huey and Dewey glanced at each other and Dewey sighed before running a hand through his hair and collapsing back in the bed. Huey looked at him disapprovingly and he sighed again before hopping out of the bed and going to talk to Louie. But Louie had put a barrier in front of his bed that was blocking him from doing that and he figured he should give him some time. He debated between going back to his bed or Huey's before decided he needed comfort. This day was such a mess, first he fought with Huey now he was fighting with Louie, and he didn't want either to happen in the first place. They just did and he couldn't do anything about it. He plopped back in Huey's bed and let him run his fingers through his hair calmingly. That felt nice. "Let him calm down a bit and try again." He suggested though that's what Dewey planned to do anyway. He still appreciated it. Meanwhile Louie was deep in thought in his own bed and that was never a good thing. Once he got lost in there it was hard for him to get back. But he was just so mad at Dewey for basically being a hypocrite. They had promised not to keep things for each other, why was he being so bad at that? Surely they were easy to talk to. He knew Huey was, he did it all the time, maybe it was him. Louie never felt the need to hide just how sensitive he was around them, they always seemed to know anyway. But maybe that was the problem, maybe he was too sensitive. He was the one who just stormed off... Donald wasn't expecting to suddenly wake up much less for no apparent reason. He thought about going to check on the boys before deciding that if they really needed him they would come to him. They had always done that in the past. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep but a few seconds later they popped open, one of those nights then. There were only a few things that he could do that wouldn't wake anyone and that included going through his magic books and finally updating them. It was a few years overdue. And by the time he was done hopefully he would be able to sleep. He got out of his hammock and made his way to his closet/library. When he got in there he looked at all the books and sighed then started to get to work. As he worked he started thinking, about Della, about Scrooge, trying to figure out some way to get over his anger over the whole situation. It had been ten years and he still found none. He just couldn't move past it and some part of him still didn't want to. Which he knew was a problem, a big one but it was easier to hold onto his anger than to let it go. And that was a problem all on its own. He wasn't dumb, he knew he had a problem with his temper and that he had passed it down to Huey which was way worse. And that he should get a handle on it if nothing else than to help his kid. But it was easier said than done, however there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his boys and that included things that were impossibly hard. So he would try, he would try as hard as he could and he would get a handle on it. And maybe that would help him move past what happened to Della. Maybe he would finally be able to think about her without being sad, maybe he would be able to rebuild his relationship with Scrooge. But it couldn't be done overnight, especially on a night where he had almost no sleep. So he decided to just focus on updating his books, which did require a lot of concertation but was so tedious it was really easy to get lost in thought. And he always had a lot to think about. More than a normal person did but when was he ever normal? He was used to it by now. That didn't mean it wasn't exhausting, and now that he was up he didn't feel like going back to sleep. At least, not yet he still had books to update and if he didn't do it now he would never. And they really needed to be updated. Especially if the boys were going to be reading out of them. Them not being updated would just make it harder on them and he didn't want that. But there was just no way he would be able to finish tonight if he wanted to get any more sleep. He had been here for at least twenty minutes now and he wasn't even close to halfway done. Though to be fair to him he had a lot of books. Growing up nothing interested him more than magic and he wanted to know everything he could about it, and that meant getting a lot of books. So as tedious as this was he wouldn't change anything about the amount he had, he truly believed he needed each and every one of them. And everything else in there, over the years he had managed to get quite a collection of magical artifacts as well. From his adventures with his Uncle and sister to his days' as part of The Three Caballeros, he had had plenty of chances to find them. His Uncle had most of the interesting ones they found but he had managed to sneak a couple past him. That hadn't been easy, but it was easier to keep them secret after he moved out of the manor. And now they were on the boat where they would stay until they were needed. He really hoped they would never be needed. Huey sighed as he watched Dewey sulk next to him. It was true he had been mad at him earlier that day but now he was past that and just wanted him and Louie to make up. He got why he had kept something else from them, he didn't want to worry them but Louie was also right to be hurt by it. It was a tricky situation to be sure. And one he knew would definitely keep them all up until they resolved it. Shame they were both stubborn, but he was stubborn too. And tired, he was really tired. "Maybe you should try talking to him now?" He suggested though they both knew it wasn't a suggestion. Dewey sighed and nodded then went down to do that. He came back up a few seconds later. "His barrier's still up." Huey figured it was his turn to try and patted his brother before going to see his other one. He wasn't surprised when he could get past the barrier, he wasn't the one Louie was mad at. He crawled next to him and sat as he waited for him to start talking. But he knew he would have to wait a while as Louie wasn't known for openly talking about his feelings. So he started talking, "You know I was pretty mad at Dewey earlier, I was working really hard to get that internship and he was just slacking off. Yet he still got the higher position. But then he told me why he was doing that and I got less mad. You see where I'm going with this?" "I should hear him out." Huey nodded. "But I don't wanna!" Louie whined. "I want to be mad at him, I always forgive you guys too quickly.""Why do you think that is?" Louie sighed, "Because I hate being mad at you. Because I love you. Because it's better when we're getting along. Any of those reasons, take your pick." Huey chose to pick all of them. "Those are good reasons. Look, I don't blame you for being mad but I really think you should talk to him. I know I felt better after I did." Louie weakly smiled at him but didn't get up. Which kind of confused Huey but he didn't say anything, he knew they would work it out before the night was over. Otherwise none of them would be getting any more sleep and that would really suck. They were growing boys and growing boys needed their sleep. "I don't want to talk to him, I know I should but I don't. And I don't know why." "Maybe it's because it's not the first time he's done this after we made that promise. You think that if you forgive him he'll do it again." "I won't!" Dewey's voice said from above them making them both look at the bottom of his bunk. "I won't ever do that again. I'm done keeping secrets, I promise." His voice now came from beside them; they turned their heads and saw him standing there sadly. Louie lowered the barrier and he instantly tackled them in a hug repeatedly saying how sorry he was. "I'm sorry too," Louie replied. "I'm too sensitive. That's why you felt you couldn't tell me, right?" "I told you why, because I didn't want to worry either of you and I didn't want to bring up things that shouldn't be brought up. Not because you're too sensitive, which you're not. And you shouldn't be worried, it was just me forgetting something. But I'm sorry for not telling you guys. Really." And he looked so upset about it that Louie couldn't help but forgive him. He may of been too forgiving when it came to family but they usually deserved it. People made mistakes, it was just a part of life, all they could do was do better in the future. Huey smiled as he watched them talk it out, he knew that they would be able to. Maybe now they could finally get some more sleep. But that turned out to be wishful thinking as none of them could fall back asleep. Something still felt like it was wrong. Like they still had something to talk about, but what? What else could be bugging them? He got his answer when Dewey suddenly started crying. That was really troubling, Dewey wasn't known for crying, it was usually him or Louie. What could be upsetting him so bad he was crying? "Dewey what's wrong?" "I don't want to go back to sleep." He and Louie looked at each other, "Why?" "Because the last time someone didn't remember a nightmare was awful." Huey immediately understood. Seeing Louie like that was scarring, even to this day. "I know that it's me just forgetting it but it brought up all these awful things. I don't want any of us to ever go through something like that again." Huey didn't know how to respond to that, he couldn't very well tell him that wouldn't happen. In their family it could easily happen, too easily and there was nothing they could do about it. But he couldn't tell him that, that would just make things worse. He had to find some way to fix this. Or maybe he didn't, while he had gotten lost in thought Louie had taken it upon himself to try to comfort their brother. It seemed to be going well so far which he was grateful for, but wasn't surprised, they had always been able to comfort each other. And this time was clearly no different but he did feel bad for not doing something as well. So he decided to help, but whatever he was about to say was cut off from a loud boom outside. Donald looked on in amazement as a Sword Horse broke out from the mansion. He continued to stand there as it charged towards the boat before letting out a sigh and casting a protection bubble around said boat. The horse ran into it and got furious that it couldn't burst it, it kept ramming into it as Donald sighed again and conjured a rope to wrangle it in. Thank god for Panchito and his rope throwing lessons. Once he got in under control he wondered how to get it back in the manor, and how it got out in the first place. That was something he definitely had to look into. But, in the morning, after the first part of his wondering was handled he wanted to go back to bed. It was too late for this crap. He only hoped no one was awakened by all the noise but knowing his luck... someone absolutely was. Three someones actually, but he didn't know that and they had been awake before all the commotion. But even if they weren't awake then they would be now, they hadn't heard a noise that loud since, ever. They were very curious as to what made it and as soon as they had heard it they went to investigate. What they found was, strange to say the least. Their Dad was trying to get a Unicorn into the mansion for some reason and the Unicorn was trying it's hardest not to go in. And it looked like the Unicorn was winning. "Why are you wrestling a Unicorn?" Dewey asked as he and his brothers fully stepped outside. "Sword Horse." Donald corrected not looking the least bit surprised that they were awake. "It broke out of the mansion and it's better off in there than running through the streets. But it doesn't seem to think so." He said putting emphasis on each word as he pushed it further into the mansion. "Do you want some help?" "No!" Donald shouted making them jump. "I've got this, go back to bed." The boys looked at each other which made him raise an eyebrow. "We've been up for a while." Dewey admitted. "It's one of those nights I guess. So what's the difference between a Unicorn and a Sword Horse?" He asked eager to change the subject. "Unicorns are usually more peaceful, Sword Horses are very aggressive and their first instinct is to attack." Donald explained as he dragged it to Scrooge's other bin where he knew it escaped from. The boys curiously followed behind him despite his warning not to, Sword Horses were very dangerous. When he got to the entrance of the other bin he made them wait outside as he went to put it back in and discover how it got out in the first place. Now that he knew the boys were up he needed to make sure it wouldn't get out as opposed to waiting until tomorrow to deal with it. He put the Sword Horse back in its room; he did a quick search around it and quickly got the answer as to how it got out from the weird glow from one of the walls. It was some kind of portal, could Sword Horses do that? Not from what he remembered. It had to have been something else, but what? He sealed the portal as he thought about what could've made it but got distracted from a noise outside. The boys.Before he could get mad at them for coming in there after he told them not to his charm started going off. He swiftly sprung into action and ran to find them. They hadn't come in like he thought they did but they were dealing with a Cerastes. It looked to be going well but that could change at a moments notice so he charged forward with his famous temper and took it down. After their Dad went into the place they didn't know what it was called the boys stood outside of it boredly. Dewey tried to sneak in but Huey quickly stopped him, "It could be dangerous." He explained, there had been enough danger for that night they didn't need anymore. That rarely stopped Dewey though, he kept trying to go in there and got more and more frustrated every time Huey was able to stop him. Eventually he gave up and chose to just go back to their room when the wall next to them exploded and a large snake slithered out. It locked eyes on them which made them freeze and it shot forward. Louie put up a barrier before it could reach them but it crashed into it making them fly back. They got back up to fight it and managed to be successful for a few moments but then it was taken down by a mysterious force which turned out to be their Dad. Once he made it go unconscious Huey checked over his brothers and healed any injuries they had before they made him do the same. Donald looked them over as well then turned to the Cerastes. He had to get this thing out of there, it definitely didn't come from the bin. It was way too dangerous. And there's no way Mrs. B would've let something like that be so close to Webby. "How did that thing get in here?" Huey asked voicing his thoughts exactly. "I don't know but I'm getting it out of here before it wakes up... It didn't bite any of you did it?" They shook their heads and he sighed with relief, "The Cerastes's venom is very deadly, not even magic could save whoever was bitten by it, that's why it's so dangerous." He explained. "And that's why you have to stay here." They started to protest but he cut them off, "Stay here. I'll be fine I promise. But I'll be distracted if you're there and something bad could happen, so please just stay here." "Ok, ok we'll stay." Dewey's brothers were about to protest when they noticed the serious tone in his voice. He rarely used that tone so they knew they had to listen. Donald nodded thankfully and gave them a hug as he told them he'd be back later and to go to bed. They weren't gonna listen to that part but they made him think they would, they wouldn't be able to sleep until they knew he was back okay. After he left after making sure they were in bed they got up and went to the living room of the houseboat. They knew he would be mad when he got back but they were too worried to care. He was their Dad they didn't know what they'd do if something happened to him. Dewey could feel how anxious his brothers were and tried to get their minds off of it. It didn't really work but they appreciated the effort. When Donald got back to the Cerastes he discovered it waking up again and cursed his luck before knocking it out with a box that was next to him. Which ended up breaking it, but he didn't have time for that, who knew when that thing would wake back up? He lifted it as best as he could and stumbled a bit then made a portal that would take them both far away. He ended up in a place he couldn't immediately recognize and figured that was good enough. It looked to be completely deserted so he felt that it was safe enough to leave it there and did just that. He then quickly left before it could wake up and resolved to figure out how it got in the mansion in the first place in the morning. It had been a long night, he was exhausted and just wanted to go back to bed. Too bad it would still be a while before he could do that. When he got to the houseboat he saw the boys hanging out in the living room and sighed. He wasn't really surprised but he also didn't want them up this late. He didn't want to be up this late. "Boys?" They looked at him and quickly ran to tackle him in a hug. He assured them that he was okay and that the Cerastes was gone. "Time for bed." He then told them but they didn't budge. "Okay, how 'bout you stay here tonight?" They agreed to that and he led them to his room. "Are you gonna tell Uncle Scrooge about those things?" Huey sleepily asked as Donald helped them get into his hammock. Normally he would be worried it would collapse while they sleep, but he had magically reinforced it to the walls that morning after it collapsed on him for the third time that week. "In the morning." Even if he wanted to tell Scrooge now he was pretty sure he would kill him for waking him up that late. "Do you know how they got in the mansion?" "The Sword Horse was here before, from one of Scrooge's adventure but I don't know about the Cerastes." He patiently answered. It was true he was tired but they were clearly worried and he always hated when they were. He would stay up the rest of the night if it meant easing those worries. "And nothing can break in here?" "Just redid the protection spell around the boat." They seemed satisfied with that and started drifting off to sleep. Mindlessly he began humming as he always did when they were together like this, it helped the boys sleep and that's all he cared about. Even if he wasn't a very good hummer. After a few seconds they managed to fall asleep which made him softly smile as he stopped humming. Then Louie stirred and he started again trying to figure out why it sounded so similar. And then it hit him, it was Della's lullaby.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Huey sighed as he leaned back in his seat in the plane. This adventure had gone less than ideal, Louie and Webby had gotten separated from them then when they found them they all had to deal with a living Toth-Ra. And a bunch of other stuff had happened in between, some he didn't even know about cause Louie wasn't talking and it was clear he was hiding something. But he could find that out later, right now he just wanted to relax for a few moments. Ideally he would want to until they got back to the mansion but in this family that wasn't really possible. He wasn't complaining though. But he was tired and even though they weren't saying it he knew his brothers were too. They just weren't used to this adventure life and this was only like their second one. He knew it would be a while until they were. And that was okay cause they were in it together and he was more than convinced they could get through anything together. Once the plane crashed landed he and the others got out and went into the mansion where the boys were immediately checked over by their Dad. His charm must've gone off while they were dealing with Toth-Ra. They assured him they were fine just tired though they didn't think he totally believed them considering that Louie was refusing to look anywhere but the floor and Dewey looked like he was two seconds from crashing. He probably didn't look much better himself. Their Dad made them go up to bed and gave Scrooge a look that only Huey saw. He was too exhausted to ask about it. After their Dad helped them into their beds he asked them if there was anything they wanted to talk about at that moment. They said there was nothing that couldn't wait until tomorrow so he told them goodnight and that they'd talk then. Once he left Huey immediately lent over his bed to look down at Louie and saw Dewey do the same. "What else happened in there?" He sleepily asked him. "... A lot of arguing." Louie started honestly, he knew they wouldn't sleep until he talked about it so he figured he didn't have a choice. "I may have done that thing where I try to make a situation better but I just make it worse. She even came up with a name for it, 'pulling-a-Louie' fun right?" He asked with a false happy tone."Wrong!" His brothers replied. "She wasn't wrong though I was. And that seems to happen a lot. I don't know maybe I should leave that stuff up to you guys. But that isn't what's really bugging me... it's not like this was the first time we were separated but this felt different.""You were the one in danger." Huey supplied and he was kind of right, that did have something to do with it, but there was something else. And something else he had to tell them. "There's more. So I somehow managed to back myself into a corner and I didn't see any other choice... I sacrificed myself to Toth-Ra." Louie winced as he waited for his brothers' responses, they wouldn't be good ones. And he was right, they weren't. They hopped out of their beds and down to his, he didn't have to look at their faces to know they were upset with him. He didn't really want to. "I'm sorry, I was scared and I knew you guys were close by and I didn't want him to hurt you, I didn't see any other option." Their faces softened and they sat on his bed. At that moment he knew they understood, they would've done the same. "We were so scared when we found out you were trapped in that chamber, even though we felt you weren't in any danger, at first at least. We were terrified that would change and we wouldn't be able to do anything about it." Louie nodded, he had felt their terror and he hated every moment of it. "This felt different for me too but that wasn't the only reason, we've been in danger before and we've been apart before so why was this so different?" "We weren't separated by choice." Huey realized. "Before it had always been our choice to be separate, this time it wasn't. You and Webby went down a different chute than us, we couldn't control that. It was different because we didn't know where you were Louie and if you were okay, we only had our bond to go on and that was the first time that's really happened. And it was probably different for you because you didn't know if you would be able to get back to us." "It makes sense. But we're okay now, that's what matters right?" Louie's brothers were quick to agree to that but they knew it wasn't the only thing that mattered. That could wait until morning though. Once they made sure Louie had told them everything his brothers made their way back to their beds. They didn't think they were staying there long though, one of them was bound to get a nightmare that night. That always happened after stressful days and this was a very stressful day. But it wasn't anything they weren't slowing getting used to, which was a relief if they were being honest. The next morning the three of them were surprised to see that they had stayed in their own beds, none of them had had a nightmare. There was of course the possibility that they did and just chose to stay in their own bed but that didn't seem very likely. Especially after they confirmed that they didn't in fact have any nightmares. "Are we finally starting to get used to this life?" Dewey asked as he got dressed. "I don't know how to feel about that." "Well, I hope we are." Huey stated grabbing his Junior Woodchuck guidebook and putting it under his hat. "Because now, we have to talk to Dad." His brothers groaned, it was too early for that. They just wanted to go eat and then forget about yesterday, it was easier than actually dealing with it. "Can't we eat first?" Louie nodded in agreement which made Huey sigh. "Come on Hue aren't you hungry?" He faltered, he was hungry. But this was more important, then again... "Let's go eat." His brothers cheered and the three of them made their way to the dining room where Webby and Scrooge were already seated. They were surprised to find that their Dad wasn't also there but their Uncle quickly made the reason why clear. "Yer Dad's gone ta work early ta figure oot what exactly happened a couple o' nights back. With the Sword Horse and Cerastes, ae'll be joinin' him shortly. Ae heard that the three o' ye managed ta hold yer own against the Cerastes, good on yew." Scrooge said with a proud smirk and the boys looked at each other confused. "You did?" "Donald told me all aboot it, he's really proud o' ye. A little worried but he's always worried, once he started talkin' aboot how ye were fightin' it ae couldn't get him ta stop! And ae didnae want ta, the way he was talkin' aboot it, whoo-wee it sounded like quite the adventure!" The boys grinned and Webby turned to them with a gasp. "You guys fought a Cerastes? That's so cool, tell me all about it!" She gushed and the boys started to sputter, they didn't know how to without mentioning their powers. So they just tried to change the subject. They asked their Uncle if he knew how those things happened but he said he didn't and that that was why he was headed into the office today. He and Donald were fully planning to spend the whole day looking into it. The kids then asked if they could help but Scrooge replied that it was probably better if they didn't. "It's mostly going ta be tedious and borin' research, ae'm sure there are better ways fer yew four ta spend yer day. Go ta the park or that place with all the games and such that yew like so much." Scrooge suggested but the boys didn't feel like going out. Or doing anything really, they were still trying to recover from yesterday. That meant that after Scrooge left they made their way to the den where they were content to stay all day. They knew they would have to talk about yesterday eventually but they figured they were in the clear until their Dad got back. Even Huey who would normally be pushing his brothers to was fine just hanging out. Donald sighed as he looked through another one of Scrooge's books in his archives. There was a whole section on mythical creatures there, much bigger than his own library so he thought it was a good idea to look in there. So far he had found nothing which was very frustrating to say the least. He really didn't want to spend all day in there but it was looking more and more like he wouldn't have a choice. At least Scrooge would be joining him, it was better than being alone or he hoped it would be anyway. He heard the door open and looked up to see if it was his Uncle but was surprised to see it was Fenton instead. "Hi Mr. Duck! Dr. Gearloose sent me in here to check up on you. Don't know why he didn't come himself, there's nothing a lot going on in the lab right now. But he wants to know if you're okay, you've been in here all morning." Fenton managed to say in a couple of breaths and if he hadn't raised Dewey Donald wouldn't have gotten any of it. "Oh hey Fenton, you can call me Donald by the way. Mr. Duck makes me sound old. You can also tell Gyro that I'm fine, just doing some research." He replied holding up the book he was reading. "Research? What about?" Donald had blinked at that not used to people being too interested in what he was doing and explained, "A couple of nights ago a Sword Horse broke out of Scrooge's other bin using some kinda portal, only they can't make portals. And a Cerastes had somehow gotten into the other bin and so far I don't know how either of those things happened. Scrooge should be here to help me soon but until then I'm on my own." And what a thought that was, this had to be the biggest library he had ever been in. "Maybe I could help?" Fenton suggested. Donald smirked, "That boring in the lab?" "No just, eager to help!" Donald nodded in understanding, Huey was a lot like that. And so was he in some ways, especially with the people he cared about. Fenton also seemed like the type to want to be everybody's friend, just like Dewey but that was not something he could relate to. He never felt the need to go looking for friends that was more... Della. But since he could already see a lot of his boys in Fenton he figured he would end up adding him to his recently growing friend's list. He was surprisingly okay with that. Fenton ended up hanging around until Scrooge had finally gotten to the office. Donald didn't think he had been in any hurry, no matter how much he had claimed the contrary. Donald knew his Uncle well and knew that neither of them were looking forward to going through all these books. But it had to be done, they had to know how those things happened. And they needed to know sooner rather than later. Which meant they had to stay in the archive for however long it took to get answers. Even if that was all day. Even if it meant he had to be in there with just Scrooge. After Fenton left it became awkward as neither of them really knew what to say to each other. So Donald decided to catch him up on things, "I haven't found anything yet and Panchito and Jose don't know anything either." Truthfully after all of that happened his first thought had been to call them but he didn't end up doing that until after he talked to Scrooge. He had really hoped they would've had some kind of knowledge about it. "Why would they?" Right, as far as Scrooge knew they had just been a college band. It was probably better that way. If he knew what all they got up to he would have a ton of questions. He raised an eyebrow, "You weren't the only one I adventured with." But he wasn't telling him any more than that. They had a lot of work to do. Scrooge gave him an unreadable look but left it alone and grabbed a random book. "Ae told the kids what we're up ta by the way. They wanted ta come help but ae thought it best if they didn't. Why should they have ta be bored, right?" Donald let out a huff and nodded, he didn't want to be bored either. Why was research always so boring? "Ae also told the lads what yew told me, aboot them fightin' the Cerastes and how proud ye were of them. They seemed quite happy to hear that, like it made their whole day."Donald looked at him surprised, "Really?" And it wasn't that he didn't think they didn't care about his opinion, he just didn't think they cared that much. That made him feel a lot better about having to look through all these. It reminded him why they were doing it, he had the best boys in the world and he would do anything to keep them safe. And that meant he had to ask Scrooge his opinion on all of it. "Well," He started. "Ae know for sure that Cerastes didnae come from the Other Bin, it's much too dangerous ta ever be kept in there." Donald nodded, that was what he had figured. "And ae don't know many creatures that can make portals but ae'm guessing whatever let the Sword Horse out let the Cerastes in. Probably some type of magic user." He spat out 'magic user' like a curse and suddenly things became awkward again, or at least they did for Donald. It was always hard to hear that Scrooge didn't like a part of him, of the boys. And it reinforced the idea that he couldn't know, that it wouldn't end well. So he tried to change the subject. "It could've been anything, that's why we need to look through these books." And he went back to doing just that. They both did, until around lunchtime then they decided to take a small break. Scrooge went to eat in his office while Donald went to the cafeteria, he thought about inviting him before deciding they weren't there yet. He was starting to have hope they would be eventually. When he got to the cafeteria and saw that Gyro and Fenton were already there he decided to join them. But before he did that he wanted to check in on the boys. He had meant to talk to them before he left for work but it was really early and he didn't want to wake them. They had seemed like they got through the whole night just fine anyway. He still wanted to check in though. He called Huey who picked up on the first ring and asked him how things were going. "Fine, we've mostly just been hanging out in the den. How are things going for you guys? Find anything yet?" Donald sighed, "Nothing yet. But we're not gonna stop looking until we find something. We might be back a little late but I promise we will talk about yesterday." He felt bad that they had to wait so long to do it but he was sure they talked about it a little themselves. "I know, no hurry though we're fine just hanging out right now." Huey assured him and coming from him that was strange but he decided to leave it alone for the moment. Even though something bad had to have happened for him to not want to talk about it. He started to second guess his decision before Huey said that their lunch was ready so Donald let him go. He would just have to figure out what was going on when he got home. Huey sighed after he got off the phone with his Dad, it was true lunch was ready but he didn't think he was very hungry. And he could tell that his brothers weren't either, but they had to eat otherwise the others would think something was wrong. It was, but they didn't need to know. He made his brothers get off the couch and the three of them walked to the kitchen. When they got there Dewey was really the only one who lunged towards the food, he had suddenly gotten really hungry. After he saw his brothers weren't making any moves towards the food he frowned and gestured them over. They didn't end up eating very much but Dewey thought he ate enough for all of them. He thought that was pretty weird for Huey, to not eat much and came to the conclusion that yesterday must be bugging him more than he thought. If he was being honest it was still bugging him too, especially after Louie admitted that he almost sacrificed himself to Toth-ra. That had been fun to hear. He could understand the reasoning behind it but it still upset him, he didn't like that his quick thinking brother couldn't come up with another solution. It made him feel like he didn't even try. But right now his focus was Huey and he knew there was only one thing that could cheer him up. "Hey do you think the Scrooge's library has anything about Cerastes's?" He asked him and as he knew he would Huey immediately lit up. "There's only one way to find out!" Huey ran out of the room and Louie glared at him, "Thank you for that." Dewey shrugged, "It seemed like the only way to cheer him up. He doesn't want to talk about yesterday, that's not normal for him. And I don't think he'll want to until Dad gets home, I mean I don't either but..." Louie nodded and the two of them went after their brother. As they walked to the library they ran into Webby and told her what they were up to. She excitedly agreed to help before they could ask her and they assured her they did want her help before she could take it back. "What do you think let it in?" She asked curiously. "Dad said something about a portal in the Sword Horse room so whatever it was has to be able to make them." Dewey noted. "The only thing I can think of that makes portals is a magic user." She replied as they walked into the library where Huey was already looking through a bunch of books. Webby gasped, "Maybe it's a wizard, or a sorcerer!" The boys shared a look, wouldn't they be able to feel if it had been a magic user? But so would their Dad... Maybe they couldn't feel it unless the user was actually around? That made the most sense. And they couldn't afford to rule anything out. So the three of them joined Huey in looking through the books though it wasn't long until two of them were bored. Research was never really their thing but it seemed to be cheering Huey up so they weren't complaining. He stopped being so cheery after they looked through more books however and they could tell he was a few seconds away from having a meltdown. He was stressing himself out again, they hated when that happened. "Even if we don't find anything Dad and Uncle Scrooge will." Dewey said trying to calm him down. It worked. "Yeah, that's probably why they didn't check here first. Thanks for trying to make me feel better though." He had known what Dewey was trying to do the whole time, that didn't really surprise him. He nodded and placed a hand on him comfortingly, "I know yesterday was a lot and I would be lying if I said I was over it but we're here and we're okay." Huey shot a quick look and Louie who smiled at him reassuringly and Dewey continued, "And we're gonna get through it, just like we've gotten through everything else so far." While they had that conversation Louie and Webby had their own. Louie wasn't really mad at her for what she said while they were in the pyramid, he thought she had been right to say it even if his brothers didn't agree. But it was clear she felt bad for saying it, but he knew people lashed out in tense situations, and that had been very tense. So she had no reason to feel bad and he made sure to let her know that. "That doesn't mean I don't." She argued. "It was really mean of me to say that stuff, and I know you had the best intentions, so I'm sorry." But he waved it off, "Already forgiven, like I said you have no reason to feel bad. It was a tense situation and you don't have to be related to Huey to know that people tend to lash out in tense situations." He ignored the 'hey!' from behind them and continued. "It's not like you were wrong anyway, I do 'pull-a-Louie' a lot, that's not news to me... But, thanks." She smiled at him, "Of course, friends apologize when they mess up right? I'm really asking, I don't know how these things work." Louie nodded in confirmation and she sighed in relief. "So we're good?" "We're good." He confirmed. She squealed and hugged him. He wasn't really used to be hugged by someone who wasn't his brothers or Dad, it was nice.Once both conversations wrapped up the four of them left the library and Huey knew his brothers were expecting him to talk more about yesterday but they weren't talking either. He had already decided he wouldn't talk about it until he had to and it looked like they had come to that same conclusion. Which worried him but their Dad would be home soon enough, something he was both hoping for and dreading. That was new, he'd never really felt dread before but they had never been in situations like that either so he figured it was justified. He only hoped it would go away soon, he hated feeling it. Donald sighed as he looked through what felt like the thousandth book, he was beginning to think this was a hopeless cause. Plus it was starting to get late and he was tired of staring at books, he just wanted to go back to his houseboat and sleep. But, until they had answers, that couldn't happen. There had to be at least one book in here with something. And as he got to the next chapter of his current book he felt he finally found some. It talked about how certain magic users could create portals, and it confirmed what he feared. He knew all about magic users that could create portals, he was one himself, but he had really hoped it was something else. All this would do was further Scrooge's thought that they were all bad and further the chance that he would say something in front of the boys. But he had to face the facts, a magic user was behind this. Oh phooey. He had to find some way to tell Scrooge, and some way to figure out what type of magic user was behind this. And how to find out who exactly it was, and how to stop them from doing it again. He planted his head in his book, they were never going home. But he had to, he had to see the boys sometime today and he had to talk to them about yesterday. And with the way Huey was acting on the phone earlier he had to do it soon. But he also couldn't let Scrooge do all that other stuff himself. And he still had to tell him what he found out, "Scrooge I found something. Turns out you were right, this was some kind of magic user." "A-ha! Ae knew it! Now, how do we find out what kind?" Donald gave him a look, "It's late, can't we do it tomorrow? I'm tired, I want to see my boys then go to bed. What about those magical defensive things Gyro's been working on?" He suggested when he noticed his Uncle hesitate. "He's done with them, can't we install those tonight and look into this more tomorrow?" "Ae suppose that'll work, it has been a long day. Go home nephew." "Are you planning on staying here?" Scrooge nodded and he sighed. "You're gonna work yourself into an early grave old man." Scrooge glared at him, "Mind yer elders lad." He rolled his eyes and nodded towards the archive's doors. "Come on, we both need to head home." He was surprised when his Uncle easily agreed, he was sure he would've put up more of a fight. They left the archives and after a quick stop at Gyro's lab they were headed home. As he drove Donald thought about how pleasant this day had ended up being. He was so sure that him and Scrooge being alone for that long would've ended in a fight, but it didn't. They had actually managed to be nice to each other for a whole day that was a lot more than he was expecting. He only hoped it would last. When he got to the mansion he was shocked to find that he had beat his Uncle, then remembered who was driving him and became less shocked. He entered the mansion and started looking for the boys. He found Dewey in the backyard and found his brothers shortly afterward but wasn't surprised. Cause after all, where one was the other two weren't far behind. He quickly got their attention and gestured for them to come meet him; which they did, confused. "I think you three know what we have to talk about." They looked at each other and nodded. He noticed they seemed more reluctant than usual and frowned. "What's going on? What's making you so hesitant to talk about it?" Huey shrugged, "This time was different, we weren't separated by choice and it was scary." His brothers nodded in agreement. "We didn't know what had happened to Louie and we didn't know how to get him back again. If we didn't feel through our bond that he was okay we probably would've been hysterical." Huey admitted and Dewey agreed, he may have been acting like he wasn't that terrified but he was. He just didn't want to show it. "If we hadn't gone into a chamber full of treasure I would've been pretty freaked out too." Louie also admitted. "I don't know, it was just scary to think that I might not get back to you guys. But I did, that's what matters, it has to be." "It is." Donald interjected. "Look, I think you three are forgetting one very important thing, Scrooge McDuck was there and for all of the crap I talk about him he's a great adventurer. And he cares about you boys very much. No one gets left behind with him around, especially not family. I trust him with you boys, if I didn't I wouldn't let you go on these adventures. You need to at least try to trust him too.""Yes Dad." They chorused and he smiled at them. "Something else you need to remember is that you three always find your way back to each other. And I know it's scary, being separated like that but that's one of the good things about your bond, you always know if one of you is in danger. In situations like that that can mean a lot, staying calm is how you get through those things and that's a lot easier to do when you know that you're all okay." The triplets nodded, that made a lot of sense. And it made them feel better about the whole situation, not completely but they knew they would eventually. Their earlier conversation helped with that. But there was something they were curious about, "Did you guys find anything out about what happened a few nights ago?" Dewey asked curiously. "It took all day but yeah we did, it was a magic user. We're looking into more tomorrow, Scrooge and Mrs. B are installing some magical defensive items around the mansion and in the Other Bin so something like that shouldn't happen again. Now, these items mean that magic can't get into the mansion not that it can't be in the mansion so nothing's gonna happen to you if you use your magic in there. But I think that now that the boat's fixed up a bit we should move our magic lessons in there." The boys excitedly agreed and he made a note to give them their next one soon. With all that's been going on lately there wasn't as much time to do it but he had to make time, they needed those lessons. "I've been doing a lot of reading on magic users recently and I've noticed there are only two kinds that can make portals, sorcerers and warlocks. They're the only ones that seem stronger enough to do it." Huey told him and he remembered reading something similar in one of the books in his library. And the fact that he didn't decide to check there first made him want to hit his head. "Well, that narrows it down. I wonder how many sorcerers or warlocks Scrooge has made mad...." It was probably a lot and that didn't help them at all. He would deal with it tomorrow. Right now he felt like he would pass out at any moment. And his boys didn't look too far off from that either so he said that it was everyone's bedtime and took them up to bed. Once he made sure they were in bed he made the trek down to the houseboat. He thought about updating Scrooge on what he found out but decided he was much too tired to. That could wait until tomorrow, for tonight everyone was safe and would stay safe, that was what was most important. He only hoped they would stay that way but as he looked at the mansion glowing in the moonlight he had a strong feeling they would be.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Everything that was currently going on came to a standstill after Scrooge took the kids to Mt. Neverest. Donald couldn't see why he possibly thought that was a good idea but they still went and Scrooge didn't think to let him know. The boys did, they had called him just as soon as they realized he didn't know but Scrooge didn't once think to. And they were just starting to get along too, that was over. He would work with him on finding out who exactly was behind the attack on the mansion and how to find them but that was it. There just wasn't a word to describe how mad he was at Scrooge. And he really didn't want to find one. But he guessed he shouldn't have expected any less from him. Why would he think for a second to tell the boys' guardian he was taking them on a dangerous summit? It wasn't like he would be extremely worried if he didn't know where they were or anything! But that was the problem with Scrooge, he did things without a second thought and without a regard to how anyone else might react. It was maddening, especially in times like this. Eventually they did come back and after he checked the kids over and sent them to play he turned to Scrooge and told him what a terrible idea that was. That he had to know where the boys were at all times, that he deserved to know that. And that he couldn't just take them on adventures whenever he wanted, they were still recuperating from what happened in Toth-Ra's pyramid. If they went on too many adventures they would get worn out and just to really drive the nail in he told Scrooge it would be all his fault. Scrooge glared at him as he told him he was too over-protective and that was the end of that conversation. He sighed as he joined the kids in the den, he could be over-protective at times, he fully acknowledged that, but he wasn't this time. This time he was in the right to be worried. Anything could've happened to them, until the boys called him he had no idea what was going on. And that was every parent's worst nightmare. But they were here now and they were safe, he had to focus on that. Huey waved him to the couch when he noticed him and he gladly sat with them. They were watching some show about ottoman's that he couldn't care less about but he needed to spend some time with them after being worried all day. The five of them spent the rest of the day sitting there, the kids wanted to relax and he didn't want them out of his sight. And soon enough it was their bedtime and he also decided to call it a night, he had gone to bed rather late for the past few days and wanted to catch up on some sleep. Good thing tomorrow was Saturday. Because he was so tired he didn't end up waking up until he was woken up, which was worrying but he needed the sleep. He looked to see who exactly woke him and wasn't surprised to see it was Huey. He had probably noticed how late it was and had gotten worried. "I'm okay Huey just tired." He assured him and he grinned. Donald slowly got out of his hammock and started getting ready for the day. "What are Dewey and Louie up to?" "They're playing with Webby, I was too before I noticed how late it was. And I was wondering something," Donald looked at him curiously. "When's our next magic lesson? It's been a while since we had our last one. I know everything's been really hectic lately and a lot's been going on but you said we had to stay on top of that stuff, that it was important we still have them." "You're right, it is important and it has been a while so why don't you let me wake up a little more and eat, then we can do it." Donald suggested and Huey eagerly nodded. "I'll go find Dewey and Louie and tell them!" He ran out of the houseboat and Donald smiled as he watched him. After that he walked into the kitchen and made himself some breakfast, or lunch with how late it was. He didn't mean to sleep this long but he had had a strong feeling he would, it had been a long week. But that had become the normal after Scrooge came back into his life.As he ate he heard the boys outside of the houseboat and looked out a window to see what they were doing. They looked like they were talking to someone else and he glanced towards the mansion to see if he could see who. He quickly wished he hadn't when he saw that it was Scrooge. He was probably trying to convince them to talk to him about yesterday, but he had planned on not doing that for a while. Or at least for that day, he had more important things to do anyway. He heard footsteps above him and called the boys down to where he was. When they got there they joined him at the table but not before getting some food for themselves. And it made him happy that they still felt at home there enough to do that. "Who were you talking to up there?" He asked them even though he knew the answer."Uncle Scrooge. He wanted us to talk to you about yesterday but we're kinda mad at him for it too." Dewey admitted. "Yeah, we thought he told you otherwise we wouldn't have gone." Huey promised. "I know. You're okay, I'm not mad at you." He told them and noticed they became slightly more relaxed. And he didn't know how they could've thought he was mad at them, he knew them well enough to know that they wouldn't have gone if they knew he didn't want them to or if he didn't know they were going. That was how he raised them. The only one he was mad at was Scrooge but he didn't want to focus on that so he moved all of their plates and started the magic lesson. "So after all the adventures you've been going on lately I thought it was a good idea to teach you defensive magic." "What if we need to be on the offense?" Dewey interrupted him. And he had to think about how to answer that, that had been a worry of his but defensive magic was more useful in his opinion. He would teach them offensive magic eventually but for now they needed defensive. So he decided to appeal to their needing to protect each other senses. "It's more important to learn defensive, it's how you can best protect each other." They nodded at that satisfied and he continued. "Sometime in your lives you're gonna come across a situation where you need to go on the defense, whether it's from one of those adventures or something else. And there are plenty of ways to do it: shields, barriers, spheres, even protection magic is a type! It's just a matter of finding what works best for you.""What if they all work best for you?" Louie asked curiously and Donald wasn't shocked to see he was particularly interested in this lesson. "Well that's not surprising, it is your specialty kiddo. If all of them work best use all of them." He said simply, cause it really was that simple. That was the thing about specialties, they were called that for a reason. Louie nodded and it was Huey's turn to ask a question, "How do you do defensive magic? I've seen Louie use it a bunch but I've never actually done it." "The same way you use any other kind of magic, call upon it and give it somewhere to go." He stopped talking and let them do just that. Louie was the first to do it as he had had the most experience with it and his brothers picked it up shortly afterward. Though not without some hiccups. Huey had almost broken a plate trying to make a barrier and Dewey had made a sphere he couldn't get out of. But despite that they had gotten the hang of it, with a little help from their Dad and brother. And soon enough the triplets were asking their Dad about offensive magic again. "I'll teach you that eventually, right now just focus on getting better at defensive." He hoped that would be enough to keep them content and it seemed like it was. They kept trying different kinds of defensive magic and he helped them whenever they had trouble. But after those mishaps they didn't have much and he wasn't expecting any less. He knew by now that they were very powerful and adept when it came to magic, just as much as he was. He figured it was just something else they got from him. And he was glad they did, of all of the things they had in common magic was the best. It was something he was certainly glad they could bond over. Once the lesson was over he expected them to go off and do something with Webby but was surprised when they stayed put. He was about to ask them why when Dewey spoke up, "How do you know if someone's hiding something?" Donald blinked not expecting that and quickly tried to think of an answer. "Umm, a couple of different things: when you ask them a question their eyes move across the room and/or their voice changes, they may seem really jumpy for no reason, they disappear and reappear randomly. Why do you ask?" The boys looked at each other, "You know Webby's friend Lena?" Donald nodded. "We think she's hiding something, something bad." "She has some type of magical energy around her." Huey added on. "And we know she hasn't told Webby because Webby would've told us." Donald took a moment to take that in, if Lena was really hiding something he didn't want her near the kids. But the parent in him also wanted to believe she had a good reason. He had only met her once or twice but he could tell she didn't have an easy life, and she did really seem to like Webby. "It's a tough situation but I don't think you should make any judgments until you know everything. But don't try to force it out of her or anything, she'll tell Webby when she's ready. Just, be careful around her okay?" They nodded. "Anything else?" They looked at each other again, "Can we just hang out with you?" "Of course you can." They didn't need a reason to be around him and he had to stop assuming they did. It wasn't anything against them, he just never really thought of himself as someone to hang around. No one except Della had ever really made the effort to and he suddenly realized that that was the Della in them. And of all the things they could have in common with her he was glad that was one. After some time the boys left the boat to go hang out on their own for a while, and talk about something important. They really wanted to learn offensive magic, they could see the value behind defensive but they knew they needed to know offensive too. And sooner rather than later. They trusted their Dad's judgment but with what happened a few days ago and the fact that it could easily happen again they needed to know how to fight. But they didn't want to go behind his back to do it. So they didn't know what to do, and it was really frustrating. "I just don't know why he's not teaching us offensive magic as well." Dewey admitted. "Maybe he thinks it'll be hard for us to learn them both at the same time?" Louie guessed and his brothers agreed with that. However the three of them knew they could handle it, or at least they thought they could. But at the end of the day their Dad was the one in charge of what they learned and he knew best. That was something they didn't doubt for a second. Huey opened their door, "Well he did say we'd learn it eventually, so we just have to be patient." "What if something happens before he teaches us?" Louie had a good point but Huey didn't have a good answer. He didn't know what they would do if that happened, especially if they were on their own. "I guess we'll just have to do the best with what we have." He knew that wasn't particularly comforting but it was the best he had. And he felt bad that it was the best he had, which his brothers immediately saw and assured him that it was enough. It didn't feel like enough though. But if they really thought it was then he had no choice but to believe them. Which was definitely their plan, what could he say he knew his brothers well. Once that conversation was done they each moved to do their own things. Huey got settled in at their desk and starting writing in his Junior Woodchuck guidebook, Dewey began reading one of his comics as he sat in their beanbag chair, and Louie climbed into his bed and pulled out his phone and some earbuds. He scrolled through his phone for a few moments before deciding to watch stuff on DuckTube. And that's where the three of them stayed for the rest of the day, perfectly content. Donald sighed as he looked through his library for the book Huey was telling him about the other day. He knew exactly what book it was too, he just didn't know where it was. He groaned this time, he really needed to have a better organization system in there. That was a problem for another day. Right now he had to find that book, he just hoped it wouldn't take the rest of the day. One whole day in a library this week was more than enough. But at least it kept him occupied and not thinking about... Scrooge. He really didn't want to think about him and how mad he was at him at that moment. Eventually he found the book he was looking for and almost sobbed in relief. All that searching was so tiresome but thankfully now it was done. He opened the book and skimmed through it until he found a certain page. This page contained a spell to find out who exactly was behind the attack on the mansion and was the reason why he was looking for the book in the first place. Once he read through the spell he was fairly certain he could do it so he began setting up for it. It only took about a few minutes and soon enough he was starting it. But just as he was about to say the spell he heard a knock from upstairs and let out a panicked quack. He quickly left his library and closed it off then went to see who was knocking. And of course it was the last person he wanted to see cause life really hated him sometimes. He thought about not answering but knew Scrooge would just continue to knock or worse, come in. With that in mind he let out a quiet huff and opened the door. "It has come ta my attention that ae was wrong aboot yesterday." Scrooge started and Donald looked at him apprehensively, Mrs. B must've been behind this. But he did just admit he was wrong, and he never did that.Donald crossed his arms, "I'm listening.""Ae should've told ye ae was takin' the lads and ae shouldn't have called yew overprotective. Yer their guardian, yew have every right ta know where they are and yew have every right ta be worried when yew dinnae." He rubbed his neck, "Ae should've realized that sooner and ae'm sorry ae didnae." "And you'll ask me before you take them on an adventure from now on?" "Yes, yew have my word. Ae promise ae wouldn't have let anythin' happened to them." He added on and Donald nodded, he knew that. "I know but that doesn't change the fact that I need to know where they are, even if it's with you. I need to know they're okay." And that was the one thing he needed to know more than anything, so you can imagine how upset he had been when he didn't. Scrooge agreed with that and then asked him if he wanted to look further into the attack on the mansion. He politely declined. After his Uncle left he went back down to his library and started up the spell again. This time he was able to get through it without being interrupted and found out for sure who it was. And it was the last person he expected, his old mentor. Ozahn Tsmor. But what could he have against Scrooge? He didn't know but he would find out, Ozahn may have been his mentor at one point but he still put the kids in danger and that wasn't okay. The only problem was there was no way to find him, he didn't even think a spell would work. Ozahn knew how to disappear really well. There had to be some way to find him though, he just had to find it... He looked towards his bookshelves and dropped his head in despair. He couldn't believe he had to look through his books again. But he would do it, maybe after he got some dinner. He went into the kitchen and started making something as he wondered what the boys were up to, he hadn't heard from them since they left a few hours ago. Though he had been in his library since then so it was probably his fault. He would have to check in on them before he went to bed. For now he would eat then go back to his library where he would probably be until he went to bed. He ended up being right about that much to his displeasure. But he did find a way to locate Ozahn so it wasn't a total loss. He would have to do it tomorrow, it was late and he was tired. He just wanted to check in on his boys and then go to bed. The walk to their room was more exhausting than usual though him being more tired than usual probably had something to do with that.Once he got there he wasn't surprised to find them all asleep, though he was surprised that Louie was the only one in bed. He picked up Dewey first as he was the heaviest sleeper of the three of them and carried him to bed then did the same with Huey, giving them both a goodnight kiss as he did so. After that he climbed down to Louie's bed then took out his earbuds and placed his phone to the side. He pulled the covers over him and also gave him a goodnight kiss. "Night Dad." Louie sleepily told him. "Goodnight." He replied. He then left the room turning out the light as he did so and made his way back to the houseboat. His journey there was interrupted by Mrs. B who had looked relieved when she had run into him which set him immediately on edge. "Ah, Donald there you are. Mr. McDuck is in one of his moods again and refuses to go to bed, perhaps you can help?" He couldn't help but noticed how worn out she looked so he agreed, "Sure, go tell Webby goodnight." She nodded at him gratefully and told him he was in his office. He made his way there wondering what his Uncle was up to this time and knew he wouldn't like the answer. He opened the door to see Scrooge obsessively looking over something at his desk. He let out a sigh, "It's late, go to bed. Whatever that is can wait 'till tomorrow." Scrooge looked up at him surprised, like he didn't hear him come in. That didn't shock him in the slightest. "Donald lad ae've figured oot whae attacked the mansion!" He raised an eyebrow, this should be good. "It's an old sorcerer by the name o' Tsmor, but he went into hiding years ago so ae cannae figure oot why he attacked or how ta find him. And ae won't rest until ae do!" Donald groaned, he really was in one of his moods. Wonderful. Though he was curious about how Scrooge found out it was Ozahn. That was nothing that couldn't wait 'till tomorrow. Scrooge continued talking but he ignored him and pulled him out of his chair. He started dragging him to his room but he seemed like he didn't even notice as he kept on rambling. He did notice however once Donald forced him into bed and started fighting him. "Ae dinnae need ta go ta bed ae'm fine! Ae need ta figure oot how ta find that sorcerer!" But Donald just ignored him again, sometimes it was just easier to do that. His Uncle was surprisingly strong when he was tired though so they ended up fighting for a few more minutes until Donald convinced him to go to bed. Once he was sure he would stay in bed he left and went to his own, where he promptly collapsed from exhaustion. The next morning Donald woke up on his own but it was once again around lunchtime. He didn't know if that was an improvement. But he had a set plan for the day: he would eat, check up on the boys, and then he would locate Ozahn. After he did that he would find someone way to tell Scrooge without revealing how he did it and they would go see him. He didn't want to fight his old mentor so he hoped it wouldn't come to that but he would if he had to. When he finished eating he went searching for the boys and found them looking like they were getting ready to go somewhere. "Webby's hanging out with Lena so we thought we'd head down to Funzo's," Huey explained. "We were just about to come find you to ask if we could go." "Sure you can just be back by sunset." They nodded in agreement and turned to leave but he still had something to tell them so he stopped them. "I might not be here when you get back. I found out who was behind the attack a few days ago, once I locate them Scrooge and I are gonna go see them." "Are they like, dangerous?" Dewey quietly asked. He had a look he rarely had on his face, fear. And his brothers had similar looks which reminded Donald that they had been there during most of it, heck they fought off the Cerastes by themselves! They knew that the person behind it wasn't someone to be trifled with, and they were right, Ozahn was not someone you wanted to mess with. Donald gave them a reassuring look, "They're nothing we can't handle, I promise. And we get back you can tell me all about your day." They smiled at that and gave him a hug before leaving. Once they left his face morphed into one of dread, he wasn't looking forward to this encounter at all. He had always wanted to see Ozahn again but not under circumstances like this. But he had no choice, he had to make sure he wouldn't do something like that again. With that determination in mind he went back to the houseboat to take the next step in ending this whole thing once and for all. It wasn't an easy step, and he had been doing so much magic lately that it was starting to drain him. He wouldn't let that stop him but he would start being more careful. Luckily for him the thing he needed to locate Ozahn didn't take much energy, though it did take a lot of concentration, runes were funny like that.And this particular one wasn't an easy one, it was a rune designed to bypass any sort of protection charm. Which was the only way Ozahn could've disappeared as well as he did. He a had fleeting thought that maybe he should've asked the boys for help but quickly pushed that out of his head, they would've asked questions he didn't know how to answer. No, it was better if he did this on his own. So alone was how he would do it. He began writing the rune after he sat at a table in his library and got all the things he needed to do it. Which wasn't much, just the book he found the rune in, a piece of paper, and a magical pen. Once he finished drawing it the paper turned into a map and pointed out the location Ozahn was in. Looked like he was going to Japan. Now he just had to go find Scrooge and tell him, and think of a way to tell him. Cause this would be easy to explain. He sighed as he got up and again after he sealed up his library, sometimes he thought he wasn't really made for this kind of life. Though sometimes he also thought that the boys didn't need him so what did he know? That was obviously false. When he reached Scrooge's office he wasn't surprised to see him back at his desk obsessively looking something over. He knocked on the door frame to get his attention and spoke up once he did, "I found Tsmor. He's in Japan." He placed the map on his desk to let his Uncle see it. Scrooge looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "And how exactly did ye do that?" That was a good question, what could he tell him? "Turns out Gyro's devices are good for more than just protecting." That apparently. He seemed to buy it and soon enough they were head to the Sunchaser. When they got there they saw that Launchpad was working on it and asked him to fly them to Japan. He did it no questions asked and it made Donald think he did that sort of thing a lot. On the ride there he and Scrooge made a plan on how to deal with Ozahn. And at one point during that Donald asked him how he found out it was him in the first place. Turned out one of the security cameras caught him. "Leave it ta a geezer ta not know aboot modern technology." Donald had raised an eyebrow at him, "You're like two hundred years old." He pointed out and Scrooge had gaped at him incredulously. Donald had snickered. After that they got back to planning and by the time they got to Japan they had a pretty solid one. They would use reasoning and try to talk things calmly out with him first and if that didn't work they would have to use violence. They had both had plenty of experience going up against magic users so they felt pretty confident. But Donald also felt a little nervous, he had seen what Ozahn was capable of first-hand. He had always dreaded the day he might've ended up on the receiving end. He hoped today wouldn't be that day, that they would be able to talk things out peacefully, but he wasn't counting on anything. The plane suddenly lurched and he knew they had landed, his nerves abruptly shot up. This was not something he was looking forward to. But he couldn't act like it or his Uncle would ask questions. So, as they entered the cave Ozahn was in he hoped his false confidence would turn real. He would certainly need it to deal with him and he would be able to detect if it was false, he always had in the past. And now that Donald was against him that wouldn't end well. Ozahn seemed to be expecting them when they walked in which wasn't surprising in the least. And certainly nothing he wasn't used to, though it did unnerve him and that was the last thing he wanted at the moment. He let Scrooge take the lead while he calmed down a bit and that might not've been the best move. As Scrooge tried to talk to him Donald noticed Ozahn kept looking over at him as if he couldn't believe they were related. Sometimes he couldn't either. When it became clear Scrooge was just making things worse Donald decided to talk to him himself. "Look whatever you have against Scrooge needs to be settled here. There are kids in that mansion, one of them could've gotten hurt." Ozahn's face softened and he nodded, he may have been mad at Scrooge but he wasn't heartless. And Donald knew that. "So, what did he do?" Ozahn sighed, "Before I disappeared I was guarding the Temple of Westerford, it had a very dangerous artifact in it and only certain people could contain it. I was one of those people. Someone stole the artifact and I never found out who, until about two weeks ago. Once I found out it was Scrooge I sent those things after him in hopes that he would return it. I did not know other people were living with him." "Okay, so all we have to do is return it." He said to Scrooge. That sounded simple enough. "Where is it? In the Other Bin?" Scrooge sighed, "No, ae realized how much trouble that thing was and ae tossed into Glomgold's mansion." Donald ran a hand down his face, of course he did. "Ta be fair ae dinnae think he even noticed, could probably sneak in there and grab it withoot him knowin'." "Great, then that's what you'll do." Scrooge looked at him shocked, "Wait what?" "This is your problem, you fix it. I'm going home." He started walking to the plane but not before catching Ozahn's eye and giving him a meaningful nod. They would have to catch up sometime soon. He had a lot of people he had to catch up with. Maybe he would start doing that. But after he got his sleep schedule back to normal err, or to what it was before. He had never had a normal sleeping schedule. And that was mostly his fault but he liked to put some of the blame on his Uncle and his adventuring lifestyle. It was easier that way, and it gave him a justified reason to be mad at him besides, well, the obvious. He did miss his old sleep schedule though and this new one clearly wasn't working so while Scrooge was fixing this whole thing he would try and fix his sleep habits. That was easier said than done, But he was definitely up for the challenge. He always was.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As soon as Dewey found out where their Uncle Scrooge was taking them on their next adventure he ran to find his brothers. He wasn't sure if he was meant to find out as he had overheard him and his Dad talking about it. But that part he was choosing to focus on is that he did and his brothers definitely needed to know. He found them in their room and quickly got their attention. "Guess were we're goinnnnnnnnng?!" He said in a sing-songy voice. His brothers looked at him, "Where?" "Greece!" He wasn't sure exactly why they were going there, but he didn't care. He was just so excited they were going there in the first place! He had always wanted to go to Greece. And now they were actually doing it! "Wait! You know what's near Greece?" Huey pulled out his JWG and flipped to a certain page. "Ithaquack! Also known as the home of many legendary greek artifacts!" "Like the Spear of Selene!" Louie realized. Dewey then got a look on his face and ran to get Webby while his brothers shrugged and waited for him to come back. A few seconds later he ran back in with her excitedly in tow and they filled her in. "So this means we can finally figure out what happened to your mom!" She eagerly summarized. "The only question is how do we get there?" "Sabotage." The others looked at Louie confused and he shrugged, "We could sabotage the plane to make it crash, not like badly just enough for us to be able to stay there for a while. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to convince Launchpad something was wrong. We do that, he panics, we crash, and we're 'forced' to stay on Ithaquack." Huey wanted to object to that but it was actually a pretty good plan. Launchpad had crashed enough times for him to be a professional at it and they had always managed to get out of it and home just fine. Plus, he really wanted to know what happened to Della.There was really only one problem with that plan, "All four of us can't go off to find the Spear, our Uncle will know something is up then. Two of us will have to stay behind." Webby was about to volunteer when Louie said that he would. "Exhausting and probably dangerous adventure or a relaxing time on a beach. I'm choosing the beach." Huey was about to say that he wanted to go but he saw Dewey's face and how excited he was about this and said he'd stay behind as well. He knew how excited he and his brothers were to know more about Della but Dewey was a tad bit more excited. It was probably because everyone kept comparing the two but Dewey had always felt the closest to her and that was a fact his brothers knew well. Huey wasn't mad about it or anything, they had all dealt with not having a mom in different ways. That was his. "Then it looks like the two of us are going on an adventure!" Dewey said to Webby and they high-fived excitedly. After that the four of them hung out until the adults came to find them. They explained what the plan for that day was, which the kids already knew but the fact that Donald was coming along was a surprise. A pleasant one, especially for the boys, but one nonetheless.Once they finished talking Webby ran off to get what she needed for the trip and the boys began gathering things as well. They didn't know exactly what to bring but Huey packed for any eventuality like he always did. It made his brothers feel safer, like it always did. After they finished packing they went to meet up with the others and found that the Sunchaser was already ready to go. Which made them wondered how long the adults had been talking about this trip. They decided not to worry about it too much and got on the plane as they waited for Webby to be done saying bye to her Granny. As they did that their Dad and Uncle fell silent for some reason and while Dewey and Louie decided it was something else they didn't want to worry about Huey couldn't help but be curious. But when he asked his Dad about it he said that it was nothing and that he shouldn't worry about it. Huey knew he was doing that thing adults did where they tried to make something not seem like a big deal when it actually was to keep him at ease. That made his curiosity turn into concern and he resolved to look into it more when they got back. The trip to Greece itself was actually quite uneventful although the kids were really just happy to be there. They went to see a bunch of different things as Scrooge broke off from the group to take care of his own business. And after he was done with that they all loaded back on the plane and headed for home, through a dangerous storm. Which is when the kids decided to put their plan into action. Which worked pretty well all things considering, they certainly didn't plan for the storm but it seemed to actually work in their favor and soon they were on Ithaquack. As soon as the kids got on the actual island Dewey and Webby snuck off with a thumbs up to their brothers. Louie went to lay on the beach but before Huey could join him he was scooped up by his Dad. Then Louie was as well. "Where's Dewey?" Their Dad then asked them and Louie spoke up before Huey could, which was probably for the best. "He and Webby ran off somewhere, what's the hurry? We're gonna be here for a while." Louie pointed out and Donald sighed,"The hurry is that our magic is heavily affected by this island, not only are there artifacts here there's also a lot of beings whose power is a lot more than the best sorcerors. There's so much magic pulsing here that it makes it hard for us to even breathe." The boys shared a worried look, they didn't know that. Donald contuined, "The last time I was here was torture, which is why I made a certain charm in case I ever had to come to a place like this again. I made three more after you boys were born but we really need to find Dewey before it gets to be too much for him." He conjured two charms and handed them to them, they swiftly took them and put them on. They could immediately feel the difference. Both of them were then put down and started to think about how far their siblings were away from them. Hopefully it wasn't too far at that point and they could catch them before something bad happened to Dewey. The three of them were about to start searching for Dewey when Donald was swiftly picked up. Huey and Louie looked worried for a second before they realized the unknown person wasn't hurting their Dad and was instead happily exclaiming things and tossing him into the air. That just made them confused. "Oh glorious day! May the fates sing of your return friend Donald! Sailor of the sevens seas!" The stranger then noticed them and picked them up, "Be these colorful creatures your kin? By Hephaestus's Hammer grown heroes in the making!" Huey asked who he was as he put them down, "Your Uncle must've told tale of Storkules, colossus of Corinth, hero of Heliopolis, and my proudest accomplishment: best friend to Donald Duck." Storkules made their Dad do a handshake with him as the boys looked in confusion. They had met their Dad's best friend, both of them. Neither were Storkules. But the fact that he knew Storkules made him cooler than they already thought he was. "Get out! The Storkules, of Greek legend, is your friend?!" Their Dad explained that he was more of an acquaintance which made more sense. He seemed more annoyed with him than anything so the boys figured that it was only Storkules that thought they were friends. Scrooge then peeked his head from the plane and told them to get on board but before Huey and Louie could think of a reason to not to do that another figure came down on a cloud and yelled at Scrooge. Looked like they were staying a while then. "What if my mom explored this very path? What if I'm walking in her exact footsteps?" Dewey leaned down to smell the ground but had a hard time getting up. Something was off about this island and it was making him feel weird. He wondered if his brothers felt it too and instinctively reached into their bond. They seemed fine, a little excited but nothing more than that so he relaxed. If they were fine then things were fine and he was just feeling things. But something else told him it was more than that and that he should be concerned. "We know Della took the Spear of Selene and betrayed Mr. McDuck and Donald-" Dewey lept off the ground and ignored his body's protest as he defended his mom. Webby didn't know what she was talking about, Della was a good person, he knew she was. And he would prove it to her. No matter what it took. But as he staggered behind Webby into the temple he questioned what exactly the price would be. He was already starting to feel worse and was almost fully relying on his brothers' energy to make him feel fine. That wasn't a good sign. When they came across the first chamber Webby immediately jumped into action and started making her way across the pillars, Dewey however, didn't. He instead leaned against a wall and tried to catch his breath. After entering the temple he only started to feel worse and wasn't sure if he could continue on for much longer. He would try, but it would be really hard. He would also have to get it together before Webby noticed, if she did she would start asking questions he didn't have answers to. And even if he had them he wouldn't tell her, this was definitely some kind of magic problem. Realizing that made him wish they didn't run off as quickly as did, maybe his Dad would've been able to help him. But he couldn't dwell on that now, he had to find a way to get across the chamber. And he had to do it fast, Webby was already halfway across she would realize he wasn't behind her any second. He thought about trying to teleport before deciding magic probably wasn't the best thing to use at the moment, and he had never attempted it before. So instead he sighed and started crossing manually. It took almost all his effort but he was able to get to where she was before she could notice. Because of that he had an almost impossible time getting the rest of the way across. But he was able to do it, while setting off almost all of the traps. "It was all worth it to find the Sword of Selene!" He happily exclaimed his thoughts perfectly, who cared how hurt he got as long as they found the sword, wait sword? "Wait what? This isn't what we're looking for, where's the Spear?" "It's a big temple we must have the wrong antechamber." "Then we'll just have to find the real one! Nothing will stand in our way!" But then the sword started to glow, the room started to shake, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He put the sword back in its slot after Webby told him to and almost everything instantly stopped. He still couldn't breathe. But he knew he had to try, Webby couldn't know something was wrong. He still didn't know what was wrong. And it was really starting to worry him. Donald zoned out as Zeus started talking about the last time he and Scrooge were here. He really didn't want to hear about it. He was vaguely aware of Storkules trying to get his attention and ignored him instead trying to think of a way to find Dewey and give him his charm. He cast a look at Huey and Louie to see how they were doing and saw they were completely enraptured by Zeus' story. However he also noticed that they looked a little tired and part of their energies were floating off somewhere. That must've been where Dewey was. He tried to sneak away but before he could he was grabbed by Storkules, "Now that you have returned Storkules, noble Donald, and his fiery sister- halt! Where is Della?" Storkules looked around confused and he turned his head towards his boys then looked down sadly. "I see, then we shall embark on a rousing adventure to honor our fallen compatriot!" Donald shook his head, "I don't adventure anymore." Storkules became surprised for a second before going on about a feast. Which his boys looked excited for but Scrooge and Zeus didn't, acting as upset as him about the whole thing. He knew they had some rivalry, mostly on Zeus' side, that he didn't particularly care about but he wanted to leave a lot more than Scrooge did. Storkules brought up something that he hadn't wanted to ever think about again, what happened to Della. It wasn't that he didn't love his sister it was that he did, he loved her so much that it still hurt to think about that. He knew it probably always would which is why he tried not to. Which is why he hated going to places the three of them had gone in the past. Before he knew what was really happening Zeus was calling for a contest and Donald's internal bells were going off. They had to get off of there immediately. Scrooge seemed to have the same idea because he started hoarding the boys towards the plane even at their protests. But Zeus noticed and cast some sort of barrier around all of them. "You're not going anywhere." "Oh phooey." Donald said, voicing his thoughts exactly. He really didn't want to do this but he seemed to be alone in that regard. And he couldn't exactly leave so he walked to the start line and waited for this whole thing to be over. Once Zeus shouted for them to start though he noped and turned around. He managed to walk a few steps before being blown back into a pillar, of course. He was forced to watch the rest of the race unable to move and ended up being really proud of the way Huey was able to stop the wind. Then he fell and got annoyed once more. After that there was a disk throwing game which he barely participated in and somehow managed to win. His boys cheered and that lifted his spirits a little but he was still ready for this to be over. Following there was a chariot race, he won that too, by hitting a rock. Something was up with this island, why was he winning so much? That had never happened before. He wasn't really used to winning and you'd think that'd make him happier but he still hated every second of this contest. And he was beyond worried about Dewey, he could tell from Huey and Louie that he wasn't doing too well. He would have to find some way to sneak off and find him. He thought he had the chance to during the clay sculpting contest but he was caught and forced to participate in it. He made a lump. And Storkules made a giant buff sculpture of him, because of course he did. That ended up setting Zeus off and he called for the 'ultimate challenge'. Whatever it was it didn't sound good and set his alarms off even more. It ended up being stealing something from a child, and he wanted no part in it. It was too easy, there had to be a catch and it was one he wasn't interested in finding out. So he stormed off. He heard footsteps behind him but ignored them and kept going. But he stopped at Storkules' voice and sighed, "Ah look, you're a nice guy but-" Storkules interrupted him and he got angry, he was done with this day. "Nonono I'm through with adventure, someone always gets hurt!" "But getting hurt is part of the adventure! What would fierce Della say if she could hear you now?" "Well she can't!" He sighed, "Someone always gets hurt." He walked off after that trying to not think about Della. He had to find some way through the barrier and find Dewey. And he had to do it quickly, before it was too late. Dewey hurriedly got out of the path of one of the sea monster's tentacles, or as hurriedly as he could've. He ended up just missing it by a second. He was starting to feel even worse and was beginning to question how Webby hadn't noticed at all. She must've been really determined. That thought cheered him up a bit, it was nice to know she wanted to find out what happened to Della just as much as he and his brothers did. Speaking of his brothers, he could see parts of their energies surrounding him and knew they must've felt something was off. He tried to concentrate on them to make himself feel better and for a few seconds it worked. Then it stopped and he was forced to deal with whatever was wrong with him again. And it was really bad timing cause the sea monster had got caught them and was getting madder- and did he just say Spear of Posideon?"I'm sorry the spear of who now?" The sea monster confirmed what he heard and he groaned, "Man, we got the wrong chamber again!" Webby told the monster what they were looking for and he gave them directions as he put them down. They then ran off though Dewey's was more like a jog, he really didn't know how much longer he could keep going. Hopefully they would be done soon. The walk to the Garden of Selene was a long one for him. He kept having to break every few seconds to catch his breath and kept getting further behind Webby. Thankfully she still didn't know anything was up. As he continued to walk he noticed the room starting to spin and looked towards Webby to see if she was feeling it too. She wasn't. So it was just him it looked like which meant that he was getting worse and he needed to find his Dad soon. Just as he thought of doing so they reached the Garden of Selene and Webby quickly got distracted. But he couldn't blame her, he was distracted too and had been for this whole adventure. He came into this being so excited to find out what happened to his mom but now he just wanted it to be over and to leave the island. And then never return. There was something really wrong with this place and he didn't want to know what it was. He was cut out of his thoughts by a light coming out from the wall behind them and shinning on a weird looking door. The door opened and he vaguely heard Webby gasp, this was it they were finally gonna know the truth. This was the moment he had been waiting for his whole life. Suddenly writing appeared above the door and he asked Webby what it said. But her response didn't make any sense, his mom wouldn't have put their family in danger, that wasn't her. Webby had to be wrong that was the only explanation. The alternative meant... They weren't gonna find out, he wouldn't let them. His mom was a good person end of the story. There was nothing else to know. Huey and Louie watched on as Storkules paced. Their Dad had stormed off a while ago and their brother was in danger, this day had turned into such a mess. Louie, just wanting to get this over with, decided to grab the fleece. He brushed off Huey's shout but they were interrupted by the girl starting to sing. They plugged their ears after their Uncle told them too and became shocked when Zeus revealed the truth about the girl. He then told Storkules to attack them and they got scared, what could they do against a God? Even if they wanted to use magic their Uncle was there, they couldn't use it in front of him. They were in big trouble.Storkules started chasing their Uncle around and tried to think of something to stop him but then he started chasing them as well. It was hard to think of something after that. They ended up being backed into a wall with their Uncle and did the only thing they could think of. Screamed. Thankfully it got the attention of their Dad and he started fighting Storkules. That wasn't a fair fight, for Storkules. They knew how good their Dad was at fighting, they had seen it before. Even when it looked like he was getting beaten pretty badly they had full fate that he would win, especially after their Uncle Scrooge joined in as well. While the two of them did that Huey and Louie tried to think of a way to get the siren to stop singing. Huey ended up remembering a spell he had seen in his spellbook and looked to see if Scrooge was watching before using it. It worked but the siren got really mad for him interrupting her but before she could do anything Louie sweet-talked her into calming down. Once she did Huey gave him a grateful smile and he nodded back but then they remembered a very important thing. Dewey. They tried to feel him through their bond but got worried when they felt almost nothing. They had to find him, now. "Let me through you no good- AAAAA. Never-AAAAA, adventure-AAAAA, again-AAAA!!!" Donald landed on the sand after the last shock and thought about just staying there forever when he remembered Dewey needed him. There had to be some way through the barrier, and he was gonna find it. But before he could begin to try he heard Huey and Louie scream and raced off towards them. When he got to where they were he saw Storkules backing them and Scrooge into a corner and became furious. "Hey you big palooka nobody gets hurt today." With that he charged forwards and tackled Storkules. Between his size and anger he knew he had the upper hand and fought accordingly. He was doing really well until he was grabbed by Storklues, his weird string of bad good luck had to end sometime he guessed. But then Scrooge jumped onto him and made a knowing remark that caused Donald to smirk. Scrooge managed to hold him off from doing any worse until the boys were able to make the singing stop. He was grabbed in a hug as soon as Storkules was out of being mind controlled and just accepted it, he was too tired to try to do anything else. Once that hug stopped he felt two small figures hug him as well and looked down to see that it was Huey and Louie. That hug he didn't mind at all. He hugged them back and rapidly checked them over. They assured him they were okay and just tired and that was when he remembered that they still needed to find Dewey. Dewey tiredly fought Webby off and ended up having to use the tiny chimera as bait, he just had to hold her off long enough for the door to close. And once it did he could find the others, go home, and forget this day ever happened. But she started to fight him again and had almost managed to be successful when he grabbed her leg, but then she pinned him down. And that was when she asked him what was going on."Because, what if my mom was a bad person?" He finally let whatever was wrong with him fully sink over him and stayed that way until Webby spoke up. He noticed how upset she looked as she walked away and decided that they needed to know. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room just as the door shut and they walked through the garden. "I need to know the truth, whatever it is." They continued walking until a mysterious lady jumped in front of them and scared them. She became surprised when she saw them and said something that interested him. When Webby told him who she was he became struck with awe, his mom was friends with a Goddess, that was so cool! After Selene explained what she did Dewey knew he had to ask her something, "So where's the Spear of Selene, Selene?" She became confused. "The one Della took from your garden." He explained but it didn't seem to help much. "You mean the Sphere of Selene?" She said making a sphere appear in her hand. Dewey became annoyed, "Why does no one get what I'm saying? The Spearrrrrr of Selennnnnee." She then told him she never had a spear and tried to give him directions to her sword. Which made him get mad, she had to have a spear nothing else made sense. "The Spear of Selene! The one my mom took! The one that's our only clue to finding her!" He shook as he tried not to start crying.Selene stood up and spoke knowingly, "Ah you're Della's kid, I should've realized! You're just like her." She then went on to say how she hadn't seen Della in years and that she didn't know what the Spear of Selene was. Great, they were back square one and his mom being a bad person. But then Selene said something that gave him hope and Webby realized something that actually made a lot of sense.Selene gave him her sphere as she told him a few more words of encouragement and he ended up so overcome by emotion that he hugged her, then pulled Webby into the hug as well. After that they left the nayosk and joined back up with the others. By the time they got back to them Dewey didn't feel any better, worse in fact until his Dad put a charm on him. Then he felt better almost immediately. Then he was hugged by his brothers and felt bad in a different way. They must've been so worried about him. But before he could apologize he dropped the sphere and ended up invoking 'the wrath of the Gods' as Webby put it. He wasn't willing to stay to find out what that was and ran with the rest of his family to the Sunchaser. Once they got on it Scrooge ordered Launchpad to take off as Dewey slumped in one of the seats. He still felt tired though he guessed it was from all the adventuring more than anything. His brothers fell on either side of him and let out a sigh, it was clear they were just as happy to be off of Ithaquack as he was. "I'm sorry for worrying you guys." He whispered then spoke a little louder, "I didn't know that would happen, what was that?" "Dad said something about the magic on Ithaquack being really powerful." Huey told him and that made a lot of sense. Dewey thought he was done but he continued on, "He said the last time he was there it was really hard for him to breathe and he made charms just in case any of us had to go there. But you sorta ran off..." Dewey nodded, "I know, ugh I felt awful that whole adventure. But," He perked up, "We found some stuff out I'll tell you when we get back to the mansion." He promised as he saw their Dad was coming over to check on them. He couldn't know what he and Webby were up to. He just couldn't. Which is why Dewey had to come up with something quick after he asked him where he ran off to. "Webby wanted to see the temple thing." He decided to go with. "She talked me into it, it did seem really cool." This whole thing did, before he started to feel bad. "I know I should've come to find you as soon as I started feeling bad but I didn't know how to without alerting her. I'm really sorry." He added on, cause he was, he just hoped they'd forgive him. Donald sighed, "You're not the only one at fault, I could've told you boys sooner or stopped you from running off. I'm sorry too." He then noticed how tired they looked and suggested they take a nap. They agreed. When they next were awake it was because of their Dad shaking them and letting them know they were back. They looked to see that was true and that they had somehow managed to sleep through Launchpad's crash, they really were tired. But they didn't feel that way anymore so they decided to hang out in their room for a while. Once they got there Huey and Louie looked at their brother for information and he showed them the sphere. "It's not the sphere we were looking for but Selene said it was one Della never got. We also came to the conclusion that the Spear of Selene isn't a artifact, so I guess we're kinda back at square one." "There's more isn't there?" Louie correctly guessed and he sighed. He told them all about how he had gotten worried that their mom was a bad person. That Webby had come to the wrong conclusion of her betraying the family and it freaked him out so much they almost didn't go into the Garden of Selene cause of it. Then he told them about how they did and that Selene told him all sorts of things about their mom. "And that's how I got the sphere." He finished up then he noticed that his brothers were looking at him weirdly. "What?" "You're okay now? Now that you know more about her?" Huey asked and he nodded, he was. Now that he knew she wasn't bad he felt a lot better. And now that they were far away from Ithaquack.They seemed content with that and changed the subject, "How do we find out what the Spear of Selene actually was? Is there like a spell or...?" Huey then perked up and went to get his spellbook. While he did that Dewey laid back in Louie's bed and assured him he was okay after seeing his worried look. He didn't know how he was okay but he chalked it up to his taking a nap. Huey joined them back on the bed and started reading from his spellbook, "From the Latin Mors Lumine wait," His brothers burst out laughing as he sighed, "Who messed with my spellbook?" But neither of them answered and just kept laughing so he let it go. He fixed it and continued, "From the Latin Est Arcanum Incantatores the secret's spell is designed to show you something an object is hiding. If we use this on the note mom left Scrooge maybe we can figure it out. But we should do it tomorrow, it's been a long day doing magic will just make us tired again." His brothers agreed and they all decided to just take it easy for the rest of the day. But their version of taking it easy included excitedly catching each other up on what they had missed while they were separated. And they wouldn't have it any other way.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The first thing Huey noticed when he woke up was that he wasn't in his bed, then he remembered Dewey's close call yesterday and it became clear why. Anytime any of them had a close call they didn't like to be apart from each other for a few days afterward. Then he noticed how late it was and looked to see it was almost midnight, of the next day. They really had been tired. But he wasn't surprised, between doing Zeus's contest, Dewey zapping most of their energy, and Dewey being really affected by Ithaquack they were bound to be exhausted. If he was being honest he was still kind of tired but something was keeping him from going back to sleep. He didn't want to find out what. He closed his eyes and tried to drift off again but was unsuccessful; he quietly sighed as he opened them, why couldn't he sleep? His answer came in the form of Dewey uneasily shifting around, ah, his big brother senses had gone off. Before he could wake his brother up he jolted awake and frantically looked around. He met eyes with Huey who was watching him worriedly and started to calm down. Once he did that Huey also became calmer and waited for him to talk. It took a while but he eventually did. "It was about what happened on Ithaquack." Huey nodded, he had been expecting that. "Only this time I wasn't okay, I got back to you guys too late." Dewey stopped after that as he was too upset to continue and Huey pulled him close to him. "You can't worry about what if's, you'll drive yourself crazy. You're okay, that's all that matters. And on our next adventure you'll be more careful." He finished knowingly and saw that Dewey looked a little better. That was good. Then Louie as if feeling his brother was upset reached out and patted him before shifting closer and dropping back off. Dewey smiled at him and got comfortable between his brothers, that was just what he needed. To know they were both there for him. "I'm okay now." He promised Huey. "Let's go back to sleep." Huey hesitated to do so, "We've been asleep for a day now." "We've WHAT?" Huey quickly shushed him and pointed at the alarm clock. Dewey looked at it in shock, "How tired were we?" He whispered then tried to get up but remembered Louie was still fast asleep next to him and stopped. He still felt tired anyway. And it was super late, the best thing to do was go back to sleep. He'd worry about the consequences tomorrow, or later that day. He was able to do that in a few moments but Huey still couldn't. Something was still keeping him up, he couldn't believe it, what could it possibly be? But this time he didn't get an answer, nothing else happened. He just couldn't sleep.Briefly he wondered if the universe wanted at least one of them to have sleep problems before deciding that was dumb. How could the universe control something like that? Maybe his thoughts were keeping him up. Who thought about the universe at midnight? Him apparently. So it wasn't the universe that hated him but his own mind, he could believe that. Eventually he was able to fall asleep and the next time he woke up it was a normal time to be awake. For him at least. He carefully got out of Louie's bed and got ready for the day. By the time he was done Dewey was up too and Louie looked like he would be joining them soon enough. Things were going back to normal then. He couldn't be more thankful for that. As he waited for Dewey to finish getting ready he looked him over to see if there was anything noticeably wrong. There wasn't and he had to admit he found that a little weird, it was like the day before yesterday never happened. But if Dewey was fine then he wouldn't question it. He had other things to question. Like what was going on between his Dad and Uncle, and what the Spear of Selene really was. The later he could figure out right now if he wanted to but he was still waking up and doing magic while tired was never a good idea. And he was hungry. But he hadn't eaten in a day so he wasn't too surprised by that. By the time Dewey finished up Louie started waking up so they had to wait for him. Or they did until he told them to go eat. They looked at each other and shrugged before leaving. After they did that Louie sighed and laid back in his bed, then his brothers came back in and pulled him out. Louie grumpily sat in a dining room chair as Mrs. B served breakfast. He couldn't believe he was awake. Actually he could, his brothers could be real jerks sometimes. But he wouldn't stay mad at them for too long, just until he was fully awake. They had things to do today he couldn't afford to be mad at them.He didn't know how to feel about this whole Della thing if he were being honest. But none of his siblings had called him out for it yet so they didn't know how to feel either, that comforted him. And scared him a little since Huey had always been so sure of his feelings. If he was confused, this was bad. Louie didn't know how to handle something bad. He did know that he wasn't alone, he would never be alone and as long as he knew that things would be okay. Once breakfast was over the triplets went back up to their room. Now that all of them were feeling okay they wanted to do the spell. Huey grabbed his spellbook and Della's note and starting setting up the spell. As he did that his brothers had a conversation, "How are you feeling Dew?" "Completely fine. It's a little weird but after that nap we had on the Sunchaser two days ago I've been feeling better, like it never happened at all. I didn't think naps were that powerful but I might start having them more now." Louie nodded deep in thought and Dewey looked at him confused, what was he thinking? Before he could ask Huey announced he was done setting up, he would have to ask him later. Huey started reading out loud from his spellbook as his brothers stood on either side of him to form a triangle, Della's note in the middle surrounded by a circle. As he read the note started to levitate then it began glowing as well. It glowed brighter and brighter as Huey continued on until it got to the point where they couldn't look at it without their eyes hurting. Once Huey finished it stopped glowing and floated down; when it was completely on the floor Dewey went to grab it but was held back by his brothers. They held onto him a few more seconds then let him pick it up. "Whoa." He said as he did so. The spell had worked, and it showed something very surprising. The Spear of Selene was a rocket, there were also some dates written down with the one of the week of their birth circled. Did she leave on the week they were born? He showed his brothers and they became just as shocked as he was. "Well, at least we know she's alive." Huey said weakly. His brothers looked at him. "Think about it, rockets have supplies on them and if anyone can figure out how to survive on those for ten years it's someone in our family." Dewey nodded enthusiastically though it seemed a little forced and Louie, well he looked like he was two seconds from bolting. "Louie? You okay?" He hesitantly asked him and he quickly turned to him."What, yeah fine." He said just as quickly. Neither of his brothers believed that but they weren't okay either so they chose to leave it alone for the moment. He would talk about it eventually. They all would. But right now they were eager to change the subject, they didn't want to think about what this meant. Dewey turned to his little brother, "Before Huey finished setting up you looked like you were deep in thought, what were you thinking?" Louie had to think for a moment before he answered him. "It seems weird that all you did was take a nap and you felt better. We could feel it, you weren't even close to being okay, the farther end actually and you shut your eyes for a few hours and you're all better? I don't buy it, something else is going on." Dewey immediately latched on to that statement wanting to think about anything else than what they had just learned. But he quickly regretted it, it made sense, naps couldn't be that powerful as much as he had really liked that idea. Something had to have happened, but what? He had to find their Dad, he would know. And it seemed his brothers had the same thought as the three of them got up at the same time. They went down to the houseboat where they hoped he'd be, it was where he had always been since they moved into the mansion like he was afraid of going in it. Why would this time be any different? Luckily for them it wasn't. He was out there working on it just like he always seemed to be, they worriedly wondered if he ever took a break. They would have to make him if that wasn't the case later but right now they wanted answers. After breakfast was over Donald had decided to get some work done on the houseboat, and that was going well until his luck started kicking in. He put one board back up and two fell down. He looked around before using his magic to fix the section that had fallen down, hopefully it would counteract his luck. As soon as he did that he heard footsteps behind him and jumped. The boards fell again. He sighed and turned around to see it was his boys and quickly put a smile on his face. He didn't want them to be upset or feel guilty, it was an easy fix anyway. He proved that by magicking the boards up again then asked them what was up. "After what happened on Ithaquack after my nap I felt completely better, like it never happened it the first place. I, well Louie came up with it really, the nap couldn't've done it so we were wondering if you knew why." Dewey stammered through then silently cursed. What was up with him? He has felt off ever since they learned the truth of the Spear of Selene. Donald watched him concernedly before answering, "While you three were napping I put a spell on you. You weren't looking too good Dew, I didn't know what would happen if I didn't." "Oh." He replied quietly. "The important thing is that you're better now, you are okay right?" Dewey grimaced, "Guess that whole thing bothered me more than I thought." While that wasn't what was bothering him it wasn't exactly a lie. It bothered him a lot. But he'd rather be bothered by that than the other thing. His brothers nodded in agreement and Donald gave them a sympathetic look. There had been a lot of change lately, he was worried about whether or not they could keep up with it. But his boys were resilient and they had each other, they would be fine. Still, he thought a break was in order. And he could use one too, so he offered one up. Which they readily agreed to and asked him what he had in mind. He didn't know to be honest, he would have to wing it. But he knew they would be happy with whatever he planned, which they were. For the rest of the day the four of them hung out and took the break they so desperately needed. And it may not have seemed like much but it was the most fun the boys had had in a while. The next few days nothing had really happened, it wasn't until Dewey had gone with Launchpad to the money bin after he had gotten his drivers license that that changed. And after he had told his brothers of his adventure they wondered how he was still going. It was worrisome to be sure. But he brushed them off and continued his story, he was fine. He was Dewey Duck of course he was fine! They were worried over nothing and they'd see that soon enough. Then maybe he'd know that for sure too. But he wasn't the only one struggling with everyone, Huey and Louie had been acting differently as well. And they started up the same time he did, cause they always fell into the triplet stereotype of doing everything together. But they knew the reason for it, the Spear of Selene or more specifically, Della Duck.They didn't know what to think of her anymore, she had taken off if a rocket and left them. This wasn't the cause of a freak accident like what they had thought before, she purposely left them and even if she thought she'd be right back it still hurt. But she was still their mom and their Dad still had nothing but nice things to say about her the few times he spoke of her. So to say they were confused was an understatement. The only way they could not think about that revelation was to occupy their minds with something else. And for Dewey who shifted through thoughts faster than the speed of light it was easy but the other two had a little more trouble. Once they got something stuck in their heads it wouldn't leave. So while Dewey hung out with Webby and forgot about everything they stayed together and tried to help each other through it. It was nice, for them to know they had each other. They knew they had Dewey too but he was lucky enough to be able to distract himself, they didn't want to disrupt that. Though as lucky as Dewey was it didn't stay and soon he was thinking about their mom just as much as his brothers were, only he didn't say anything. He didn't know why he just didn't, like it was a bad idea or something. They would understand, they always understood him, but he couldn't say anything and he wasn't sure he wanted to know the reason for it. He wasn't sure he would like the answer. Soon Webby was asking them about what they wanted to do next about the Spear of Selene and they remembered that they hadn't updated her and felt bad. They had gotten wrapped up in their thoughts about it and completely forgot. So they let her know what was going on, while leaving out certain details of course."How did you figure out it was a rocket?" She asked them after they finished. They quickly had to think of something, but surprisingly it was Huey who came up with an answer,"I rubbed a pencil over it." Webby nodded but he felt like hitting himself, why hadn't he actually done that? It would have been way easier. "So she took the Spear from Scrooge and just, vanished, probably into space and she's been there ever since?" Webby summarized. The boys nodded along but really wanted to change the subject. To bad once Webby caught onto something she kept going. "Where could she be? I mean space is literally infinite, she could be anywhere in it! Sorry." She apologized after noticing their faces. But they tried to brush it off, "It's fine. But you're right she could be anywhere in the universe, ten years is a lot of time and it moves differently out there, we don't even know how long it's been for her!" Huey started pacing. "Everything we find out just leads to more questions and we can't get answers to most of them unless we go to our Dad and Uncle. Who have been acting really weird around each other and, wait Dewey, didn't you say Dad mentioned something about the Spear in Atlantis?" Dewey nodded, "Yerp when we were in the treasure room, as it was filling with water. He was really upset that Uncle Scrooge had gotten me into trouble..." He trailed off as he came to a realization. "It was Scrooge's rocket, that's what it said in the note! Did, did he build it?" He softly asked as if he couldn't believe it. "And Dad blames him because of it." Louie added on quietly. Wow, they were finding out a lot of life changing things lately. "Do we?" "It's not like he knew she took it, cause she left the note. He didn't tell her to take it she just did. We don't know why he built it or if he actually did, I don't think we should blame anyone until then." Huey said and his brothers agreed. The only person they would blame was her, she was the one who left them. Just then Scrooge came in and started talking about a golf tournament he was competing in and the kids quickly forgot their previous conversation. It wasn't an interesting topic for one of them but Louie thought it was better than the one before. Something that would become a common theme with him. And as the others said they wanted to tag along he knew he had no choice but to go. It was still better than before. Louie held onto that belief up until the end of the mystical golfing, then the stone golfers statues were revealed to be people and all thought flew out of his head. He should've stayed at the mansion, but his brothers would've still been here so maybe not. But then the murder ponies said something interesting, 'wait are we mortal?', he questioned as he tried not to freak out. Guess he was about to know for sure. "Guys, Webby, No!" Dewey panicked as he saw his siblings turn to stone. He told Scrooge to take his shot but then he told Dewey that he couldn't and for him to do it. Scrooge lifted him up with one last encouragement as he also turned to stone. Okay, he could do this, he just had to focus but he quickly lost his focus when he heard something below him. "We're alive? We're alive!" A newly freed Huey cheered but then noticed something, "Why are we still here? Why are there others still stone?! What is going on?!" "No time!" Dewey replied. "I have to focus!" The tower stumbled slightly and they both looked to see Louie struggling with it. "Take the stupid shot already!" He said as he tried to hold still. It wasn't clear how much longer he could do it so Dewey quickly tried to focus again. He panicked again when he noticed how close the fog was and hit the ball, then turned to stone. The other two watched the ball as it rolled into the hole and sighed with relief. The next thing they knew they were back at the circle of magical stones, and falling. Once they got off the ground they shared a hug with their brother before he was grabbed by Scrooge. As they walked back to the limo the triplets shared a look and knew that as soon as they could they were talking about what happened. On the drive back to the mansion each of them was silent as they tried to figure out what it meant. They couldn't come up with an explanation. It had something to do with them being sorcerors they knew that much but nothing else. They didn't know much of the perks that came with it, just that they could do magic and this made them want to know more. But they couldn't do that until they got back to the mansion. Which is why as soon as they got there they took off for their room. When they got there they let each other know they hadn't been able to think of anything and went looking for their spellbooks. Maybe they would have an answer. Huey found his first as he always knew where it was and flipped through it, he found nothing. He sighed and was about to let his brothers know when there was a knock on the door,"Boys Scrooge said you ran right up here as soon as you got back, everything okay?" Their Dad asked from behind it concernedly. They shared a look and nodded, "Not really." Dewey answered him honestly. A second later the door opened and their Dad walked in, he scanned them over then leaned against the doorframe as he waited for them to talk. They told him about what happened during their golfing adventure and he listened not saying a single word until they were done. Whatever happened was clearly bothering them and when he found out what exactly it was it became clear why, that was a big topic. "We can't figure out what happened, and our spellbooks aren't able to help. Do you know Dad?" Huey asked and Donald nodded, he did. But it was tricky to explain and he wasn't sure he fully got it either. "Well as Sorcerors we have certain, benefits that other people don't have. The most obvious being able to do magic but there are others as well, like what happened earlier today. We're not mortal but we're not quite immortal either," The boys looked at him confused and he tried to further explain, "We have a longer life span and things that affected mortals either affect us temporarily or not at all but we still eventually die. Of course that's not something you'll have to worry about for a while. Try not to focus on it too much." That was what he did and it worked pretty well. Sometimes. "What other benefits do we have?" It was Louie's turn to ask. Donald thought about it for a second, how to start? "While we have magic we also have magic immunity, so if someone were to try to cast a spell on us it wouldn't work and things like mind control and body manipulation don't work on us either. But other stuff like elemental and offensive magic do. We don't have 100% of a benefit, there's always a downside. Another thing is we're stronger and more durable, it takes a lot to get one of us down. And even without healing magic we heal faster than mortals." As he talked he moved further into the room without even noticing, by the end of his explanation he was in front of the boys. They didn't mind. Once he realized where he was he looked around confused which caused the boys to laugh. He let them with a fond smile before noticing how messing their room was. He told them they had to clean it up before they did anything else and they reluctantly agreed. It probably wouldn't take that long anyway. After that he left them to do that and did something that was a long time coming. Sat down and wrote a very important letter. Ozahn didn't have a phone so it was the only way to contact him. But catching up with him was something he said he'd do as soon as he fixed his sleep schedule and he finally had. He filled him in on what had been going on, telling him everything from the boys having magic to his current job. He only left one thing out, what happened to Della. It was easier if he didn't have to think about it, to think about her. Besides Ozahn didn't need to know about it, he wasn't sure he even knew he had a sister. The only thing they had ever talked about was magic. After he finished the letter he sent it off with a rune and sunk back in his chair with a sigh. There were other people he wanted to catch up with but something was stopping him. It had been ten years, did they even want to hear from him anymore? Even if they didn't he had two other friends who did, the last time he talked to them was about two weeks ago. Maybe he should call them. A sudden boom came from inside the mansion and he forgot all about his previous train of thought as he raced to see what it was. He shooed the kids away and went into the room where he saw Scrooge wrestling with an artifact. Then he closed the door and turned to the kids, "Boys, did you finish cleaning your room?" They nodded. "Good, good." He said absentmindedly; he started walking away from the room and the kids shrugged before following him. They asked him what was going on in there but all he told them was that it was best if they didn't get involved and that Scrooge had it under control. He didn't know if that was necessarily true, but he didn't really care, he was not getting entangled in it. He didn't want to be a part of that world anymore, no matter how much it seemed to want him to be a part of it. Raising three magical boys was enough adventure for him and he was happy with that. It was the best thing he would ever do, that was something he would always be sure of.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
After the mess that was Scrooge's birthday the boys decided to take a day off, they invited Webby but she already had plans with Lena, just like always. They chose to spend the day in the den watching whatever was on TV and it was going pretty good until the three of them reached for the remote at the same time. Then they had a problem. Without even a second passing they lept for the remote and started wrestling over it. They got over their anger after a few moments but continued to wrestle anyway finding it too fun to stop. This went on until Scrooge entered the room and tried to break them up. He was unsuccessful but they stopped anyway. Once they settled he asked if he could talk to Dewey and he shared a look with his brothers before agreeing. The two of them walked into the foyer and Scrooge told his nephew about an adventure opportunity he just got."You interrupted us for that? No thanks." Scrooge looked at him shocked, "Yew'd rather be wrestling with yer brothers than go on a rip-roaring adventure?""YES!" Dewey replied in a way that implied Scrooge was missing something. "Can I go back in there now? I wanna see if I can steal the remote without either of them noticing." His Uncle nodded so he did so.When he got back to the couch he saw that his brothers were wrestling again so he snuck around them and tried to grab the remote. He was pulled back into the mess before he could. They wrestled for a few more minutes before they got tired and called it a draw. Like what always ended up happening. "What did Scrooge want?" Louie asked Dewey after they all got resituated on the couch. "Something about an adventure opportunity, it was weird." "I think he was trying to spend some time with you Dew." Huey told him and Dewey made a face of realization. "Oh I did not get that. Eh, maybe next time." He shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the TV which made Huey frown. His brothers didn't look like they noticed so he sighed and dropped it. It was just one time, there would be plenty more in the future. Plus today was supposed to be an off day, they didn't adventure on off days. He briefly wondered why their Uncle had asked just Dewey before deciding it was probably something he thought he and Louie wouldn't be interested in. That didn't bug him but it made him wonder why he hadn't attempted to bond with him or Louie, did he have a favorite? Most adults did so he wasn't really surprised by it but he had thought family was different, their Dad certainly was. He didn't hold it against Dewey though, that wouldn't be very fair. He was a bit upset at Scrooge and would probably get more upset if this wasn't him jumping to conclusions. Only the next few days could tell. For now he was gonna hang out with his brothers and not worry about that stuff, it was an off day he should be relaxing. And he was arguably the one who needed to relax the most. They stayed in the den the rest of the day and were eventually joined by Webby, who excitedly told them all about what she had done that day, and their Dad, who looked like he was two seconds from falling asleep. That had pretty much been the norm with him since they moved into the mansion and it was starting to make the triplets worried. They loved their Dad and always wanted him to be okay. As they watched TV Dewey had told the new additions about the conversation he and Scrooge had earlier. They had the same explanation as Huey and if he and their Dad thought something was true it definitely was. But why was Scrooge only attempting to spend time with him? His brothers were great he should want to spend time with them too. And Webby for that matter, she had been at the mansion a lot longer than the boys and he barely knew anything about her. What made Dewey so special? He certainly didn't feel special he was just, Dewey. His brothers were the special ones, always have been. Louie didn't particularly care if Scrooge wanted to spend time with him, he didn't want to spend time with Scrooge. The last time he had one-on-one time with him he was almost killed by a crazy lightbulb, no thank you. Though he did wonder why he called for just Dewey, Huey liked adventures as much as he did and Scrooge knew that. Did he not like Huey? If that was the case then Louie was going to have to have a long talk with him, nobody treated his brothers like that. By the time it was bedtime it was clear that each of the triplets had something on their minds, to each other and everyone else. But they weren't saying anything and it was unnerving to say the least. Their silence wouldn't last long though, as soon as they entered their room they burst open like a dam. They each took turns telling their brothers what was going on and offering whatever comfort they could. "Maybe we're overthinking this." Huey suggested after it got quiet. "We don't even know why Uncle Scrooge wanted to bring just Dewey.""That's the problem." Louie cut in. He wasn't wrong, that started this whole thing. "I know, but until we find out maybe we shouldn't assume things. And you definitely shouldn't have any kind of 'talk' with him, I'm fine." "None of us are fine." Dewey silently argued. He wasn't wrong either but Huey really wanted to believe he was. He wanted to believe he was fine, they were fine, he didn't know what to do if they weren't. "But you're right we shouldn't assume things, although if our assumptions end up being correct I wouldn't be opposed to Louie talking to him, he should want to spend time with you, both of you." He added on with a pointed look towards Louie who shrugged. He still didn't care if Scrooge wanted to spend time with him or not. But he appreciated Dewey's mentality anyway. "Nobody is doing anything until we know what's going on." Huey made clear and his brothers knew he had a point. If they ended up being wrong then they looked like jerks, they didn't want that. But if they ended up being right there would be a big problem. When it came to the three of them nobody was excluded and nobody was a favorite. That was the way it always had been and the way it would always be. They decided to head to bed after that and let the next few days speak for themselves. It was all they really could do, besides worrying themselves to death. And that was the last thing they wanted to do. But it turned out they had nothing to worry about, the next day Scrooge came and pulled Louie aside. So it looked like it was just him wanting to spend more time with each of them, that was a relief. Or it was until they had their conversation. "Ae was aboot ta head ta the money bin fer a money meeting, care ta join me?" "Meeting? Gross no." Scrooge raised an eyebrow at him, "Really? Even though it's aboot money?" Louie stuck to his answer but Scrooge just thought he was being lazy so he kept persisting. He knew that as soon as his nephew's eyes started tearing up he made a mistake. He was about to backtrack when Louie ran off; he thought about going after him but his other nephews did before he had the chance. They would handle it, he had a meeting to get to. As soon as Huey and Dewey got to their brother they noticed he looked a little better and knew he had gotten himself out before any real damage could be done. He would be fine after a few minutes, but that didn't change the fact that they wanted to yell at Scrooge for doing that to him. Nobody treated their brother like that. Once Louie was better the three of them talked about how wrong they had been, and how glad they were for it. They didn't want to start an unnecessary fight so they were glad in their decision to wait to see what happened. And now that they knew for sure what was going on they could relax. At least until the subject of Huey being pulled aside next came up. He didn't know what he would do if that happened. He wanted to spend some time with his Uncle but his brothers had declined so he probably should too. If Scrooge wanted to spend time with them he would have to do it with all of them, including Webby. They wouldn't do anything with him without her. She was part of the family too and it was time he started acting like it. So when it was Huey's turn to be pulled aside it went differently. The triplets told Scrooge that if they were going to be doing anything with him they would be doing it together, unless something came up naturally, that was fine. And they also declared that he would have to invite Webby too. He agreed to their terms but then asked Huey about this time and he immediately said no. It wouldn't have been fair to say yes and he kind of didn't want to. Something told him it probably wouldn't have ended well. It was presumably his gut and he always listened to it, it hadn't steered him wrong before. But the question of why it wouldn't have ended well popped into his head. Maybe it was something about the place Scrooge wanted to take him to, something seemed, off about it. Just the name alone put him on edge and one look at his brothers said they felt the same. He decided to go to the mansion's library to try to find out more about it. And who better to help him than a fellow bookworm?As soon as he asked Webby to help she agreed and it made him realize that they hadn't really hung out together just them. Well, since Dewey and Louie would rather die than go into the library again he figured now was a perfect time. But before they went into the library he asked her what she knew about Caerdean, which was the place Scrooge wanted to take him to. "Not a lot, just that outsiders really aren't allowed. I wonder why Scrooge wanted to take you to a place like that?" Huey thought for a moment, "Probably cause of the mystery, but as soon as I heard the name I got chills like something was wrong about it." He opened the door to the library, "And that's why I'm here! And why I invited you, I'm gonna need some help with this." She grinned at him but then got confused, "Why didn't you ask your brothers?" "Cause books and them don't go well together." He answered with a smirk. They then made their way over to one of the bookshelves and started looking through it, fully prepared to spend the rest of the day there.While those two did that Dewey and Louie decided to hang out themselves. It had been a while since they did it just the two of them and they thought it was long overdue. Only they didn't know what to do, the mansion was a big place but everything that entertained them both was off limits. And getting into trouble without Huey just wasn't the same. Eventually they ended up in the backyard, they shrugged before choosing to stay out there. They sat at the pool edge and watched the houseboat move back and forth on the water. It was silent for a few moments until it was broken by Louie, "Do you miss staying on the houseboat?" He asked his brother quietly. Dewey hummed as he thought about it, it took him a while to answer but when he did Louie was kind of surprised by it. "I mean it was our home for ten years, in a way it still is. The mansion's cool but it's not home you know?" Louie nodded. "And it feels like less of a home when Dad's still staying out here. We know why, he blames Uncle Scrooge for what happened to mom and doesn't wanna be near him more than he has to, but it's weird the four of us not staying in the same place. So yerp, I do. What about you?" Louie stayed silent for a while too but it wasn't like Dewey's, it was like he already had his answer and just didn't know how to say it. Something that was common theme with him. But he knew Dewey wouldn't let him get away with not answering so he did, "Sometimes. I miss Dad, nothing else about it." He said no more but he didn't have to, Dewey understood. The three of them always understood each other. Donald walked into the mansion tiredly and wondered what had the kids so occupied that they weren't there to greet them. He was about to go look for them when Scrooge came into the foyer and asked if they could talk. He guardedly nodded. "Ae need yer help on bondin' with the lads, ae've been tryin' ta do it fer days now and haven't had any luck." "I don't know how to help you with that Uncle Scrooge," Donald admitted. "You can't really force bonding, it just happens. And the way you made Louie cry I'm not surprised you haven't had any luck." He said with a hint of judgment, but that wasn't a big shock this was his boys they were talking about. "So ae pushed him a little bit, it builds character. Ae did the same ta yew and yew turn out fine." Scrooge brushed off and Donald shook his head, he really didn't get it. "I'm a mess." He said flatly. "And it's because you did that, and other things. I'm not letting you do that to them so either figure out how to be a better Uncle or forget about seeing them after I get the houseboat fixed up. I know they don't want that and I know you don't either, do better by them Scrooge that's what I'm trying to do." He walked off after that and left Scrooge to think that over. And he wasn't the only one who needed to do some thinking. Donald was almost done with the boat and while he knew Scrooge wouldn't kick them out after he finished he really didn't want to be there. But he knew the boys did, that they liked living in the mansion and he was glad that they did. And he wasn't planning on leaving them there while he took off with the houseboat, that was the last thing he wanted. Maybe Scrooge was better for them though, he could provide for them in ways Donald couldn't. But he also didn't know them like Donald did. The boys needed both of them and Donald was gonna have to find some way to be okay with that. He was gonna have to find some way to forgive Scrooge and that was gonna be the hardest thing he ever had to do. When he reached the backyard he saw Dewey and Louie hanging out near the pool, good, it had been a while since they hung out just them. He walked over to them and coughed to get their attention. They turned around and grinned when they saw him. He joined them on the pool's edge and asked where Huey was. "Library. He and Webby are looking stuff up about the place Scrooge wanted to take him to. Something felt off about it." Louie nodded in agreement. Donald asked them where that was and stilled when he heard the answer. Caerdean, also known as the biggest mystery in the world. He could see why Scrooge wanted to take Huey there but the boys were right to be off-put by it. There was no way to know how dangerous a place like that was. But if the name alone could induce chills then it was probably a lot. It was better left alone, as were most places Scrooge was interested in.He was starting to wonder if the financial security was worth it. Donald was able to push all thoughts like that out of his head until he said goodnight to the kids. And when he also started saying it to Webby he didn't know but it was a welcome change. But it also made it that much harder when those thoughts came back, he was beginning to think of her as family, his boys thought of her as family. It wouldn't be fair to take them away from that just because he wasn't Scrooge's biggest fan. But Scrooge was just not the best uncle and he didn't realize it, or rather he was too stubborn to. And he knew Scrooge loved his family and honestly thought he did good by them, no one had ever told him different. Donald was trying to now but it wasn't getting through to him, he just thought he was mad about Della. And he was but it was more than that. He still cared about his Uncle and wanted him to do better, especially with the boys looking up to him as much as they did. His uncle was capable of change, he just didn't know he needed to.And that was the problem. And it was one Donald didn't know how to solve. But most importantly it was one he didn't want to solve, he had enough of his own problems he didn't need his Uncle's too. What he needed was to go to bed, he had another long day of work tomorrow. But he had come to realize that he rarely went to bed when he wanted to, life always had a way of preventing that. This time it was due to a phone call and it was one he had been looking forward to. So he wasn't complaining. He eagerly picked up the phone and was immediately pulled into a Panchito story. It was nice that they were close enough to skip pleasantries, if they asked him how he was he wouldn't have known how to respond. But they would ask him that eventually so he had to think of an answer, while trying to not make it obvious he was doing that. Then they would know something was up for sure and would make him talk about it. And he did not want to talk about it. Once Panchito finished his story he asked them how they were doing. Exactly what Donald had feared, and he didn't have an answer. So when José spoke up he was more than happy to let him take control of the conversation. They would notice how silent he was being eventually but for now he could listen to his friend complain about being a flight attendant in peace. However after his story finished the phone went silent and Donald knew he was expected to speak. He still had nothing. "I'm almost done fixing up the houseboat." He weakly offered. The phone stayed silent and he sighed, "It's just the usual, Scrooge being Scrooge... I don't know what I'm gonna do when I finish with the boat, the boys like it here and they like Scrooge but, he's just not a good Uncle. He's already messed me and, Della up I don't want him to do that to them too." "So why don't you just tell him that?" José asked. "I've tried, he thinks I'm just upset over what happened to Della. And I am but this is about more than that and if he can't see past that for the sake of the boys then I don't know if he should be near them." Donald admitted and hearing it out loud made it that much worse. "You are their Dad. You have to do what is best for them." That made him feel a little better. Panchito was right, he was the parent he had to make the hard decisions. And this was one hard decision. The kids met up in the boys' room after Huey and Webby were done in the library. They hadn't found out a lot about Caerdean but what little they did they wanted to share. It seemed pretty important. Huey caught his brothers up to speed, "It's known as the biggest mystery in the world, so big that nobody really knows what it is. Webby told me that outsiders weren't allowed but I guess everyone counts as an outsider since no one's ever been there. The books in Uncle Scrooge's library only contained legends nothing that was actually fact, I don't even know how he found it. But all the legends said the same thing, it's the most dangerous place in the world.""Dad pretty much became a statue when we told him what you were up to." Dewey informed him. And Huey nodded like he was starting to put things together. "So nobody knows what it is but it's a place?" Louie asked confused. That didn't seem right, it couldn't be both. "The way it's described makes it seem like a place and Uncle Scrooge seems to think it is. But there's really no way to know for sure since, as I just said, nobody's ever been there. It's just an estimated guess." It was then Dewey's turn to ask a question, "If it's the most dangerous place in the world why did Scrooge want to take you?" Huey didn't have an answer for that one so he didn't say anything."Maybe he didn't know?" Webby offered. It was a nice thought but he didn't think it was true. No matter how much he wanted to believe it was. Wanted to believe that his Uncle wouldn't put him in danger just to try to figure out a mystery. And he didn't know if it seemed like him or not since he didn't know him very well, none of them did. Wait, maybe one of them did... He turned to Webby, "Does it sound like Scrooge to put someone in danger for a mystery?" She didn't even have to think about it for a second. "Someone? Maybe. Someone in his family? No, no way he cares about you guys too much to." "Us, you're family too Webs." Dewey corrected her. She attempted to brush it off but when his brothers also started agreeing she gave a small smile. It was clear that she didn't think of herself as part of the family but as far as they were concerned she was. She would get there eventually but for now that was enough. But it also made it that much harder that they had to keep a part of themselves from her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Donald woke up the next morning it wasn't to his alarm clock which immediately shocked him awake, he had somehow unplugged it and was now running late. Of course he did. He hurriedly got ready for work and ran out the door without even having breakfast. The last time he was late for work Scrooge made him work through his lunch, he did not want to do that again, ever. He needed his lunch break, he wouldn't be able to be around his Uncle all day without a break.Since he was running so late he didn't check in on the boys like he usually did. But it wasn't until he was about halfway to the money bin that he realized that, and it shouldn't have been a big deal but he was a worrier. And even if he was trying to let them be more independent he still worried. He was their Dad, that's what parents did. They also made hard decisions and he still had yet to come to one about what to do when the boat was completely fixed. But he was starting to lean more towards them moving back to the marina, especially after he was one minute late for work and Scrooge took away his lunch break. He wasn't sure how much longer he could put up with him. It wasn't very long though. And it became even shorter when he got back to the mansion and was told by Mrs. B that he had taken the kids out on another adventure. And had done so without asking him, something he said he wouldn't do again. To say he was mad was an understatement. He was furious but since they weren't back yet he had no one to unleash it on. That might've been for the best, it gave him time to think about what to say. And to get a good reading on Lena, who was waiting for Webby. He hadn't really gotten to talk to her but he could feel what the boys were talking about when they had that conversation a few days back. She was definitely hiding something and it definitely had something to do with magic. She was practically oozing with the stuff. But if she hadn't said anything then she probably had a good reason, it's not like he could judge her for it he was hiding his abilities too. She had probably heard that Scrooge wasn't the biggest fan of magic, that wasn't exactly a secret. He couldn't figure out why she didn't tell Webby though, or maybe she did and Webby just hadn't said anything to anyone. He had come to find out that she wasn't the best at keeping secrets but if someone wanted her to she would try her hardest. And it was that reason that he hoped the boys hadn't told her about their magic. The fewer people who knew the better. But other than the fact that she was hiding something Lena seemed like a pretty good kid. A bit snarky but he had been the same at her age. He did wonder what her home life was like though, she was over here a lot. Maybe it was just to hang out with Webby but his gut told him otherwise. He would have to ask Mrs. B to see what she thought since she had spent more time with her. His thoughts were cut off by a sound from the foyer. He went in there to see Scrooge and the kids back from their adventure with Dewey and Huey rolling a giant coin for some reason? He quickly helped them carry it before Mrs. B came in and lifted it with one hand. After that he set his sights on Scrooge and was about to start yelling at him but Mrs. B started getting onto him so he decided to let her lecture him now and he'd do it later. He had three boys he hadn't seen all day and wanted to spend some time with. When he got up to their room he saw that the door was open so he walked in, just in time to see Louie hide something in the floor. He raised an eyebrow at his innocent look but chose to drop it and asked the boys how their adventure was. "Pretty fun," Huey answered him. "Though we did almost crush an orphanage. That wasn't so fun." "And Scrooge took all the treasure." Louie sulkily cut in. Although something told Donald that he hadn't taken all of it. And that it had something to do with whatever he was hiding in the floor. He didn't want to know. "We got to go up a giant beanstalk! Like Jack but there wasn't a giant up there. Just a castle, it was kind of a letdown but the amount of treasure made up for it. You should've seen it Dad the whole place was filled with it! Louie almost fainted!" Dewey excitedly rambled. Louie nodded, "I did." "Sounds like fun. Did Scrooge say anything about me knowing about it?" The boys looked at each other confused. "It didn't come up, why?" Huey asked. Donald brushed it off, "No reason. What else happened?" He listened as the boys filled him in and tried to think about how best to confront Scrooge. Huey confirmed what he already thought, he had gone behind his back and didn't tell the boys. Knowing his Uncle it was to keep them from getting upset at him and it just mad Donald angrier. Scrooge knew they wouldn't want to go if he didn't know about it and had decided to lie to them. That was all his Uncle did apparently. And it was one thing to lie to him, but his boys? That was inexcusable. And he did it a lot more than Donald was okay with. They had to have a talk. But later, right now his boys were in the middle of a story and he wanted to give his full attention to them. After they finished they asked him why he asked about Scrooge. And he would never lie to them, maybe just not tell them some things, so he told them. "He didn't tell me he was taking you on that adventure, again, and I wanted to see if he told you or not." He noticed their looks and sighed, "Look sometimes Scrooge just doesn't think and makes bad decisions, but no one's ever told him he was making them so he thinks they're good. Ever since we got here I've been trying to talk him into making good ones. It's easier said than done. He does care about you three and genuinely wants you to like him but he's got a lot going on, most of it he doesn't even realize. But that's not for you to worry about, me and Mrs. B got it covered, okay?" They nodded, "Is that why you're mad at him?" Huey asked him. "Part of it. Some of it has to do with some other stuff. But that's not for you to worry about either, it's between me and him. And it's something for us to work out." But saying that he wasn't sure if he wanted to. His anger hadn't vanished at all and sometimes it felt like all he could feel towards his Uncle was anger. Things like this kept happening. They kept fighting. He didn't want that, he didn't want the kids exposed to that. They needed to talk. But first he had to get some kind of hold on his temper. He couldn't go into it yelling, he had to have some semblance of calm otherwise it would just turn into another fight. And what better way to get calm than to be with his boys, they always made him calm. Well, not always but most times. He knew this would be one of those times. He wasn't sure how he knew, something to do with parental intuition but he wasn't gonna question it. It's not like he had a real reason to, they made him calm that was all he needed to know. "You guys are gonna work it out, right?" Dewey said hopefully. Donald looked at them, "You three really like it here don't you?" They nodded and he tried not to sigh. That just made this whole thing harder. There had to be a way to get through to Scrooge. Dewey's hopeful expression fell when he noticed the look on his Dad's face. It was a look that said he didn't think they could work it out. That whatever was going on between them couldn't be fixed. But then what did that mean for them staying here? He liked it here, his brothers liked it here, he didn't want them to leave. Why couldn't they just work it out? What was so bad that it couldn't be fixed? He shared a look with his brothers and knew they were thinking similar things, he didn't like that. It was bad enough he was worrying about it but for them to be too... He didn't like it. He gave them a smile to try to make them stop but knew that wouldn't really do anything. They would still be worried but they would appreciate it anyway. Now if there was only some way for him to do more. Wait, he had it!After their Dad left, which was a few minutes after their conversation ended, he suggested they go crash the girl's sleepover. His brothers smiled at him and each of them grabbed a pillow as they ran to Webby's room. The boys groaned as they landed against the wall. As Huey questioned why they thought that was a good idea Dewey knew he had to think of something else. Which he did, then the three of them were off to the money bin. But not before they passed their Uncle and Mrs. B the former slouching angrily in a chair. Louie was the only one to question it. And even then it was only for like a second, he had other things on his mind. But hopefully he would be able to forget about it when they got to the money bin. Which he knew was Dewey's plan. He really wanted it to work, for all of their sakes. And not just cause Dewey felt like it was all he could do to help them, he wanted him to be able to forget about it too. He knew he was just as worried as them even if he didn't act like it. But Dewey was like that sometimes, he just hoped he wasn't doing that with anything else they were dealing with. When they got to the money bin they snuck in and Huey asked Dewey what they were doing there. "Swimming, ah duh." He answered. Huey got a worried look on his face, "Swimming, in Scrooge's gold? Are you crazy? We could get hurt or lost, there's a lot of gold in there you know." "What'd you think we were doing here?" "I don't know that's why I asked you!" Louie shushed him and pointed out where they were. Right in front of the archives, where Miss Quackfaster was sure to be lurking. The three of them quieted down as they crept past it. The last thing they wanted was to alert anyone that they were there, they would get told on for sure. As soon as they got it past it though Huey brought up his concerns once again. But Dewey reminded him they had magic and could easily heal or find each other. He went quiet after that. At least until they got to the elevator. Then he brought up his concerns about something else. Something the other two had been hoping to forget about. But Huey just couldn't, it was worrying him too much. He wanted his Dad and Uncle to make up, he wanted them to act like they were family, he wanted to know why they weren't. All they really knew was that their Dad was mad at Scrooge for building the Spear of Selene but they didn't know why. And he knew if they could figure it out they would be able to help them make up. But maybe it was better if they didn't. Or that's what his brothers told him at least and he had always been inclined to believe them. That didn't mean he was dropping this though. He would while they were at the money bin since that had clearly been Dewey's plan, but as soon as they were back home he would start thinking about it again. Even if that wasn't the best idea. He wanted his family to get along, was that such a bad thing?He didn't know all he knew what that his brothers wanted to forget about it for a while and he wasn't going to be the one to make them think of it, again. And he wanted to forget about it momentarily too, he knew that if he thought about it for too long it would make him sad. Him being sad would ruin the evening and he didn't want to do that. All he wanted right now was to have fun with his brothers. After they got to Scrooge's office they realized there was a problem, the money bin was locked. Dewey shrugged and shot a blast of magic at it but it bounced off and around the office making them cower in fear. Dewey's brothers glared at him and he gave them a sheepish grin. As that was going on Donald decided it was his turn to confront Scrooge. He pulled him aside from whatever he was doing with Mrs. B and told him they need to talk. He looked confused at that and Donald tried not to let it get to him, he had to stay calm. "You took the boys on an adventure without telling me, again. And you lied to them about it. Sometimes you do things without thinking about it and people get hurt, how long before one of the kids gets hurt?" Donald asked but all Scrooge did was look down so he continued. "We fight, constantly, do you really want them to be around that? To think that it's something a normal family does? Why do you keep acting like nothing's wrong? Like you're doing nothing wrong?" Scrooge glared at him, "Ae am doin' nothin' wrong! Ever since yew got back yew've been on my case aboot everythin'! Nothin' ae do pleases yew! Ae gave yew a job, gave yew and the lads a place ta stay and all yew do is complain!" Donald let out a huff, "You really haven't changed a bit. Here I was hoping that ten years away from your family would make you realize somethings but I was wrong. I'm grateful for the job and for you letting us stay here but you're still doing the same things you did when I was growing up here! And I am unbelievably messed up because of those things and you act like you don't even care! Like you don't know you did anything wrong!" Breath, Donald, breathe he reminded himself. They didn't need to get in another fight, they needed to work this out. "Yew blame me fer everythin' that's gone wrong in yer life, why dinnae ye take some responsibility fer once? Ae'm not the reason yer life is such a mess, ae did nothin' but raise ye and provide ye and yer sister with the best life ae possibly could've. Yer the one who doesn't know how ta be an adult. And that is not my fault." "I don't know how many times we have to have this conversation before you realize that is. You tell me to take responsibility, you should be telling yourself that! Every time something happens you put the blame on someone other than yourself." "Name ane time." Scrooge dared with narrowed eyes. "The Spear of Selene." Everything went quiet after that, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then Scrooge glared at his nephew, "Ae was not responsible fer the Spear of Selene." He said with an icy tone. Donald just shook his head disbelievingly, this wasn't worth it, it just wasn't. Scrooge was never gonna change and Donald was an idiot for thinking he was. He was done. He walked away after that leaving Scrooge to call after him madly, he didn't care let him be mad. But he was through fighting with him when there was just no point. He was through trying to get through to him when that clearly wouldn't happen, Scrooge didn't care about him enough. Maybe if he was... He swallowed and continued walking, no, don't go down that path. It never ends well. He went into the houseboat and made his decision, as soon as it was done they were out of there. He only hoped the boys wouldn't get too mad at him. Huey and Louie panicked as they ran to find the girls, they had just seen their brother get eaten by a money shark and that was not something they ever wanted to see. They knew he was okay and just scared due to their bond but that did little to ease their worries, how long would he be okay for? They had to find some way to save him. And their answer came in the form of Launchpad, and the houseboat. Their Dad would kill them if he knew they took it but they figured he wouldn't find out. They'd make sure of it, their brother was in trouble and they had to help him. As Launchpad flew them to the money bin Huey noticed Lena was acting weird and was about to point it out to Louie when he noticed how quiet he was being. His face softened and he pulled him into a side hug. "He's gonna be okay Lou, we'll get him out of there." And he sounded so confident that Louie couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Lena's acting weird. I hate to think it, but this might have something to do with her." "Do we know her well enough to know when she's acting weird?" Huey hummed. "Good point but we should keep an eye on her anyway. Just in case." Louie nodded absentmindedly, he had already started thinking about something else. He was worried about Dewey, he could feel him trying to stay calm for their sakes and that just made him more worried. And he could tell Huey was worried too but was trying to be a big brother and not show it. Unlucky for both his brothers Louie could always read them like a book. But he let them do it, up until he and Huey got thrown into the money shark. Then all bets were off the table. Dewey let out a worried gasp as his brothers fell into the money shark. He quickly shot out his hands and lowered them down to where he was before they could get hurt. Then stumbled a little bit as that took a lot of energy. Once they were safely down the three of them shared a hug and then his brothers started looking around for a way out. "There's no use, there's no way out 'cept the mouth. We're stuck in here 'till the others can get us out. Who'd you bring anyways?" Dewey said as he watched them, he couldn't for long before he started getting dizzy and had to sit. "Webby, Lena, and Launchpad. As long as the girls are still out there we should get out of here pretty soon." Huey replied as he also sat down. He figured there was no point in wasting his energy, all they could do right now was wait. Dewey was in no state for them to try to magic their way out of this. And, how would they explain that to the others? The best thing for them to do was wait. Louie observed his brothers for a moment before joining them in sitting, he was trying really hard not to freak out but it was easier said than done. They were trapped inside a money shark how could he not freak out?! There had to be some way to get out of this, not that he didn't trust Webby, and Launchpad to a lesser extent, but they couldn't just sit there. There had to be something they could do. But first, "If you guys could stop acting like you aren't worried that would be great." He spoke up and they looked at him surprised before sighing and giving him apologetic smiles. "I know what you guys are trying to do but we aren't gonna get anywhere if we hide how we're feeling. We shouldn't lie to each other about that stuff, for any reason." He noticed Dewey look down and was about to address it when Launchpad and the houseboat came flying into the money shark. The triplets looked at each other and sighed. Hopefully the girls were having some luck. As they sat around Huey noticed how damaged the houseboat had gotten and winced, their Dad wouldn't be happy. But maybe it was a good thing it was like that, it would take him longer to finish it and they would have to stay at the mansion. And that meant there was more a chance for him and their Uncle to make up. Or maybe their already strained relationship would become even weaker, to the point where they wouldn't be able to make up. To say this whole thing made Huey anxious was an understatement. It made him really really anxious.This whole night was making him anxious actually, and what better time to dwell on it than when he was stuck inside a money shark? Not only was he worried about his Dad and Uncle, but he was like 99 percent sure the money shark had something to do with Lena. It appeared the night she was spending the night, that couldn't be a coincidence. And she didn't want them to get Scrooge, she said it was because he would feed them to the money shark if he found out they snuck into the money bin but there was something else. He wasn't as good a people reader as Louie but he knew when someone was lying. She was definitely lying, since when did she care about their wellbeing? She didn't, she only put up with them for Webby's sake and the three of them knew it. So why did she suddenly start acting like she cared about them? She had to have something to do with the money shark being in the bin and didn't want Scrooge to find out, that was the only explanation. But why would she do that? All of a sudden he felt eyes on him and looked to see his brother watching him worriedly, he must've been quiet for a while. He gave them a smile to convince them he was okay and just thinking. Then looked to see where Launchpad was and told them what he was thinking. "It makes sense," Dewey said after he finished. "But why would she have a money shark? Can you conjure a money shark?" Huey thought about it, "You'd have to be a really powerful magic user and she doesn't seem that stronger, her energy is weaker than ours. And we definitely can't do that. Maybe it's like attached to something." His brothers looked at him confused. "Like an artifact or something and it draws its power from," He paused as he tried to figure it out. "The gold." Louie realized for him and he snapped his fingers. "So what if we cut it off from the gold it should stop?" Dewey asked. Huey shrugged, "Maybe, only one way to know for sure." The three of them stood up and made sure Launchpad was out of sight before starting to use their magic. They didn't get very far though as as soon as they began Scrooge fell into the money shark. "Hi Uncle Scrooge!" The three of them said. "Everybody." He acknowledged back then started surveying the situation. If the boys' were being honest it was starting to look hopeless. There was nothing they could now that their Uncle was there and Lena might want them to stay in there, if she really was the one behind it. All they had was Webby now and she could do a lot, but take down something that even Scrooge couldn't? It wasn't looking too great. So Dewey, seeing this moment as a good opportunity, asked his Uncle a very important question, "Which triplet am I?" His brothers looked at him confused but he ignored them, this was something he had to ask. "...Bluey?" He gaped at him, "Unbelievable!" The money shark started to move again, "Dewey we have bigger things to worry about right now." "We're gonna die in here. We're gonna die in here and I never had the chance to be a billionaire!" Louie panicked and then suddenly Dewey's attention was off his Uncle, and on his brothers. He would worry about that answer later. Maybe, he had a lot to worry about right now.But most of it needed to be pushed to the side so they could deal with the current situation. Which, as soon as he heard Webby's voice he knew, was becoming more and more precarious. So he did what he did every time there was danger, turned to his brothers. If the three of them put their heads together they would be able to come up with something. All they were able to come up with was that there was nothing they could do. And for a second they thought about doing magic anyway, that that was their only way out of there, but before they could the money shark exploded and they were released. They looked at each other relieved but before they could dwell on what they just thought Scrooge was coming towards them. They started to back away from him and began explaining, leaving out certain details so as not to single one of them out. Because at the end of the day the boys will always back each other up. Even if it got all of them in a lot of trouble. But it wasn't like they were the ones who made the money shark, no they had concluded that that was definitely Lena. And while they didn't know what to think of that they did know they didn't want her hanging around Webby. Donald was startled out of his sleep when he heard a big splash in the pool. He looked to see the houseboat in ruins and Launchpad cheerfully saying something to him. He didn't know what, he couldn't hear him over the shock ringing through his ears. All his progress, gone, he would have to start all over, he would have to be around Scrooge even longer. And he wasn't sure he could do that he had already made the decision to leave and then this happened. This had to be the universe's idea of a sick joke, and he didn't even know how it happened! He had to get some answers but he was pretty sure that involved talking to the last person he wanted to right now. But even if it caused another fight he had to know what happened. He had to know who to blame. Donald stalked into the mansion and saw Scrooge pacing in the foyer. He angrily went over to him but he shook his head and pointed at the den, Donald frowned and looked at him confused. "They waited up fer yew." Scrooge explained as both of them walked into the den. They watched the boys for a few seconds and the way Louie clung to his brothers made Donald aware he would wake up from a nightmare at any moment. So he went over and shook him awake before that could happen. Which woke the other two up.When the three of them noticed it was him who woke them they instantly got guilty looks on their faces which made him frown again. "We're sorry!" They cried. "We didn't mean for the houseboat to get destroyed, honest!" Huey said. Oh. That explained the looks. He sat down as he tried to get a hold on his temper and told them to explain. After they finished he informed them that he wasn't mad about the houseboat, that it could be easily fixed, but was he mad at them for sneaking into the money bin. That it was irresponsible and one of them could've gotten hurt."I'm sorry. That one's on me, Dad." Dewey said. "I noticed how upset Huey and Louie were earlier so I suggested we'd go invade the girls' sleepover and after that failed I thought going there would get our minds off of things." Donald sighed, he knew why they were upset. This was his fault. "Boys, I told you not to worry about that stuff but I get that it's easier said than done. I didn't tell you that to worry you, I told you cause you asked and I don't like lying to you. I'm sorry for making you worry so much." "We don't want to leave, we like it here." And that was when Donald remembered how smart his boys were, and how quickly they could put things together. It made things like this really hard. "Well, lucky for you the houseboat is totally wrecked, we're gonna have to stay here longer. And when it gets close to being done again, we'll talk. But for now it's late and you boys need to go to bed." He looked at Scrooge, "And I need to talk to Scrooge. I'll come tell you goodnight in a few minutes, alright." They nodded and slowly left. After he was sure they were gone he turned to Scrooge to see him staring after them with an indescribable look on his face. "... They're really worried huh?" Donald nodded. "Aboot us? Are things really that bad?" He paused. "Were yew really thinkin' o' leavin' once the houseboat was done?" "Yes, to all those questions. Scrooge I've been trying to tell you but you're just not listening. I can't continue to be around you, and not just cause of Della, you have a lot of problems and I can't fix them. I have my own to worry about and three boys to raise, I can help you but you don't even realize you need help. And until you do nothing will change. Until you put your pride aside and your family first I'm not changing my mind: things between us can't be fixed. No matter how much we want them to be." He went to see his boys after that and wasn't surprised to see them sitting on Louie's bed waiting."You're still worried aren't you?" He asked them softly and they nodded. "Okay, I know you guys are gonna worry no matter what I say and the last thing I wanna do is upset you. But I'm not gonna lie to you and say Scrooge and I'll be on good terms again, I don't know if we will or not. But I do know that I don't want to be the person who says you can't see him or any of the others. So no matter what happens I promise this family will never be split apart again. That is something you don't have to worry about." "You would keeping being around Uncle Scrooge for us?" Huey asked him. "I do anything to make you boys happy." He told them. "That's what parents do." They grinned at him and raced forward to hug him. And that was when he knew that as long as he had his boys things would be okay. And as they continued to hug him he realized they knew that too.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As much fun as Dewey always had with his brothers he needed a break from them. He needed the chance to do his own thing for more than five minutes, he needed an only child day. Perhaps it was a bit extreme, but what was he if not extreme? The only problem was getting Huey to agree, he knew Louie would as he tended to go along with whatever most times. But Huey would be harder to convince. And that was when in the end he just decided to draw on his sibling calendar with a marker. Needless to say, he was not happy when he found out. But he ended up being forced to agree to it, and so Only Child Day had begun. It didn't get off to the best start, Webby being convinced he was some sort of doppelganger but once that got resolved it started to turn around. For him at least, he wasn't sure how his brothers were doing and for once didn't feel like reaching for their bond to check. He probably should've been worried about that but he was too focus on what he wanted to do for the day to be. Now that he was getting some time alone he could finally tape the sample episode of his talk show Dewey Dew Night. So that was why as soon as his brothers left he started setting up their room for it. It took him longer than it should've to realize he could use magic to do it but once he did he finished in no time. All he needed now was an extension cord. He made his way to the nearest closet and started digging through it until he found it. After that he ran into the security bot, then ran away from it when it started chasing him. There was something off about that thing but he couldn't put his finger on it, oh well. He brushed it off and plugged his camera up. The episode started off pretty okay, a flat joke here and there but nothing he couldn't fix. He didn't reach his first hiccup until he realized that talk shows required guests, and he kicked out everyone who he would've wanted as one. But, that was nothing that couldn't be fixed too! He knew his brothers exceptionally well he could just pretend to be them. And sure, his interpretation of Huey might've been a little mean but he was mad at him right now. However he wasn't mad at Louie so his interpretation of him was better. And it seemed like this would end up pretty okay, until the security bot broke into the room. He ran out of the room afraid but not before grabbing his 'brothers'. He didn't know why, it's not like they were his actual brothers but he wasn't thinking clearly. There was danger and he had to get them to safety, even if it wasn't really them. He found himself back in the closet he was searching through earlier and tried to come up with a plan. When he couldn't he turned to his 'brothers' but since they weren't real they were no help. He was starting to hate Only Child Day. But before he could dwell on that thought for too long a laser made its way around the doorframe and made the door fall back. Then the security bot started advancing on him and began saying things that made him realize what was off about it, Webby was in there. He made her reveal herself and questioned how she got in there as she climbed down. They talked for a few moments but it was interrupted by the security bot coming back to life. It made them put their hands in the air; after they did it continued the countdown and Webby told him she cut some of the processing circuits. As it started getting closer to one he knew what he had to do. He charged forward with a yell and lept on it making it go haywire as it flew out of the mansion and into the woods. Crashing into Doofus Drake's house where both of his brothers were, huh, funny coincidence.Donald sighed in relief as the clock in Scrooge's office struck 11, that meant it was time for lunch. And that meant he could get a break from Scrooge. For some reason his Uncle had been hauled up in his office all morning. He wasn't sure why but he thought it might've had something to do with what happened a few days ago. Scrooge had been acting weird since then. But he didn't have time to worry about that right now, he only had a certain amount of time for lunch and he wanted to spend it with his friends. Huh, he never thought he'd ever consider Scrooge's other employees as friends but he was glad he did. They were weird but the best kind of weird, like his other friends. He got up to go to the cafeteria but before he could leave Scrooge stopped him. "Do yew think we could talk?" "Now?" "Preferably." Donald sighed and walked back in. He waited for Scrooge to start but when he didn't he started to leave again. "Ae'm sorry!" That made Donald pause, Scrooge never apologized. "Ae've been doin' some thinkin'. When ae realized ye wanted ta move back ta the marina and saw how upset the lads were ae figured out how bad things between us had gotten. Ae dinnae want yew ta leave Donald, not again." "Right now I don't know what I want, other than what's best for the boys. But if you're ready to start working things out between us then I'm willing to try, but only if you're willing to admit you were wrong too and are ready to put your family first." "Ae admit that's gonna be difficult fer me, but ae'm willin' ta try. This family's better tagether than apart, wouldnae yew agree, nephew?" Donald had to admit there was some truth in that. Things had always worked best when it was him, Della, and their Uncle but there were also things that didn't work, things that needed to be changed. And for the first time in a while he felt like that was possible. His Uncle had reached out first, he never did that, Donald was always the one who went to him. Maybe that meant he was finally realizing just how stubborn he had been. Donald had been too, but he had been willing to admit it and to put it aside for the boys' sakes. And it looked like Scrooge was starting to do the same. "Do yew really think ae'm a bad uncle?" He asked quietly. "Sometimes." He honestly answered. "You raised me and Della, after what happened to our parents and I'll always be grateful for that. But you're also one of the most stubborn people I know and at times it seems like you care more about money than your family. You do things without thinking and make bad decisions, and you don't seem to get that it doesn't affect only you. I know you care about the boys, about me, and that's why I've been so understanding but you've lied to all of us and for no reason. I'm happy to let them adventure with you if you just tell me when. I don't know how many times I have to stress that I need to know where they are before you get it." "Ae guess ae have a lot ae need ta work on. And ae should start by apologizin', Donald ae'm sorry ae never meant ta hurt any of yew. But ae did, and that's somethin' ae have ta acknowledge and make right. And ae'm startin' now." He said it with such conviction that Donald had no choice but to believe him. He quietly sighed, he knew what he had to do. "I need to apologize too, after what happened to Della I wasn't thinking and I needed someone to blame it on. And while some of it was your fault you didn't deserve all the blame, you didn't deserve to lose the rest of your family too. We need each other more than ever at that time but we both pushed each other away, that's one thing I'll always regret." "Well, you're here now, that's what matters." They gave each other light smiles and Donald felt like they were finally getting somewhere. It was about time in his opinion but was also worth the wait. Despite everything that happened his loved his Uncle, he never stopped but he came to love three people even more. They were the driving force behind his decisions ever since they were born, including this one. But maybe he himself was also a driving force this time. And maybe that was okay. While Dewey decided to do his talk show Louie set out to do what he told his brothers he was going to, see Doofus Drake. Normally he would've listened to them about him but today was Only Child Day, he didn't have to. Something he would quickly come to regret. It wasn't that Doofus was crazy, okay it was. But he was also rich and had more toys than Louie had ever since in his whole life. He could put up with crazy for a few hours if it meant he got to play with all his stuff. Especially if he got a cool bracelet out of it. Only, there was something weird about it, Doofus said it was a present but as soon as he put it on he got a strange vibe from it. Like he immediately wanted to take it off. He ignored it making it out to just be his nerves and starting playing with Doofus. He didn't know why he was nervous exactly, they had done their own things before, but something about being on his own for more than a few hours freaked him out. Or maybe it was still Doofus. But he was sure he could handle whatever situation he got himself in, he did have magic after all. He quickly forgot about his worries as they continued to play. Sure he was kind of creepy, but he also had a million toys and was one of the richest ducks in the world. He couldn't be too bad. Maybe he was like Webby and just didn't know how to interact with people since he hadn't been around them. And now Webby was one of his favorite people, he just had to warm up to Doofus. He managed to hold on to that believe up until he got out of the photo booth. Then he got really freaked out and wanted to go home. But when Doofus told him to follow him he felt like he didn't have a choice. He was brought to a room with priceless antiques in it. Doofus explained that that was where he came to blow off steam and broke a Stradivarius violin in half, yup, this kid was crazy. But maybe he was the good kind of crazy, the rich kind. And with that thought in mind he started destroying things as well. It was pretty fun until he almost wrecked the portrait of Doofus's grandmother, then it was back to being scary. If he were being honest he didn't know how much more of this he could take, maybe his servants knew something. He didn't want Doofus to know he was scared though so he approached them calmly. It was hard to stay that way when he got told they were his parents. He didn't know his birth parents but the thought of doing something like that to them was unimaginable, let alone who he thought of as his real parent. How messed up was this kid? The answer was very, he was very messed up. Louie didn't care that he used to be a sweet kid, he didn't care that money changed him. All he cared about was getting out of there. He even considered using his magic to do it, anything to get him out of there. And as Doofus noticed him trying to leave the situation got direr and he started feeling like he had no choice. But before he could he was forced to floor and became to panicked to try. He was starting to hate Only Child Day. He cried out for help despite knowing it was useless, some part of him thought his brothers would hear anyway. And that was when he remembered their bond, it had let one another know when one of them was in danger in the past, maybe he could use it to send some sort of distress signal to them. It was worth a shot. He looked around to see if Doofus was around before trying it. He wasn't exactly sure how to do it but his magic hadn't failed him before. Not when it really mattered at least. He reached for their bond and could instantly feel each of their panics, that wasn't good. Looked like he wasn't the only one that got himself into some sort of trouble. Well, they did everything else together. His thoughts were broken by the sound of the door slamming open and Doofus walking in. And since he couldn't count of his brothers to save him right now he knew he would have to. But that would be hard, Louie was many things but brave was not one of them. As Doofus made his way over to him he started trying to talk his way out of it, that was what he was best at. But it turned out crazy didn't really like to talk and was soon pulling out an umbrella and walnuts. What did he get himself into?Before he could do anything to Louie a tree fell through the roof and everyone's attention was on that. Then he noticed Huey and became relieved. He was safe, but more importantly, so was his brother. At least until they were surrounded by Doofus and the beagle boys, then he got aware of how bad the situation had gotten. Huey was obviously the least excited about Only Child Day but he still went along with it. Both of his brothers were excited about it, he didn't know how to feel about that, but he didn't want to be the one to ruin their excitement. Even if he did really need them today, he couldn't help but think Dewey picked this day in particular for a reason. That just made him madder. Especially when he found out Launchpad wouldn't let him do the cookout without them. He tried to prove he could do the work on his own however found he couldn't without using his magic. And Launchpad wasn't the brightest but he surely would've noticed. Probably. So he was forced to drop out, at least until what were obviously beagle boys came around. Well, he had worked with worse. And he really wanted that badge. If he didn't get it it would be a lopsided sash, and that was the worst thing in the world to him. Okay maybe not the worst but it was definitely top 5. The absolute worse was something akin to this day. The thought of them splitting apart terrified him, even if it was for one day. To him it was the start of something greater, the start of them splitting apart for good. And the other two didn't see it, that scared him more than anything. But the beagle boys weren't that bad. True they were trying to kidnap him but they were just so, bad at it. He almost felt sorry for them, which is one of the reasons he decided to help them out. He didn't want to be kidnaped but if he was going to be it was going to be done right. And when they weren't trying to do that they were actually quite helpful. It seemed like they appreciated teamwork as much as he did and that was a breath of fresh air. His brothers certainly didn't. And most of the time he was okay with that, they were who they were he didn't want to change that. But there were times when he needed them, like now, and they didn't pull through. He got that they didn't have the same interests as him but did Dewey really have to make up a whole holiday to get out of it? Maybe it was better if he stopped trying to drag them along, that way he wouldn't get hurt. He just wanted to always hang out with them but maybe that just wasn't plausible. He was starting to see the benefit in being around people with the same interests as him anyway. Maybe this Only Child Day wasn't such a waste after all. But he didn't want to focus on that right now, not anymore, the only thing he wanted to be on his mind was the cookout. He still had to earn that badge after all. Once they finished setting up the cookout stuff he asked 'Tim' what he wanted to eat and became disconcerted at his response. Things must be really bad at the junkyard, he guessed with a hint of sympathy. He explained to them how things worked with the Junior Woodchucks and 'Tim' started to cook. When he finished he handed some to Huey who was hesitant about eating it until he saw his face. His big brother instincts came out and he tried it, it was surprisingly good. He should really know better than to judge a book by its cover. After that he hung up the stew in a tree and heard arguing behind him. He thought nothing of it more than used to arguing but he would realize that to be a mistake. Though it wasn't like it was his fault, how was he supposed to know they would kidnap their own brother? He raced towards the tree where Big Time was tied up and realized why he should never be nice to beagle boys after his words from earlier got thrown back at him. They didn't even care that their own brother could die, and only because he was nice to them. They even called him new Big Time! He did not want to be new Big Time! And he got on about his brothers a lot today but he certainly wasn't lonely, they were the ones who made him feel the complete opposite of that. And these two didn't know as much about brotherhood as he thought. That would've been okay to realize in any other situation but this one was quite literally life or death. His life included when they started to chomp down the tree, it was like they took everything he said too precisely. And sometimes he had a problem with that, but they really had a problem with it. But he had to admit they were doing it very well. Of all people to actually listen to him. Things got worse when they began climbing the tree and soon it was crashing down. He was starting to hate Only Child Day. They landed in Doofus Drake's mansion where he immediately noticed Louie and raced towards him. He was so happy to see one of his brothers, and that meant he didn't notice the others until it was too late. After he and Louie calmed down a bit they started to struggle but Bouncer was too strong. So they came up with another plan. Huey shot a slight blast of magic at Bouncers off just strong enough so that he would let them go. As soon as he did that they raced away from the others but before they could think of what to do next Dewey came flying through a window on a drone of some sort. What had they gotten themselves into? The drone raced towards Huey and Louie which made their brother fall on top of them. They filled each other in on the basics of what happened to them and agreed to be brothers again. Then with a cry of triplet threat they went off to fix one another's problems. Huey took on the drone, Dewey took on Doofus, and Louie took on the beagle boys. It wasn't easy but it was easier than their own problems, and that was when they realized they were better together than apart. Something they thought they already knew but it turned out they needed a reminder. After they finished they left Doofus's mansion and met up with Webby in front of it. Where they told her that they weren't splitting up and the fact that Dewey was the one who said it made Huey feel better about his worries earlier. He was right, they did need each other but they had to be their own person too, and that was okay. After some more talking they split off again, only to wind up back together at the end of the driveway. It seemed like they were done being apart for the day. The walk home was filled with the triplets giving a more detail story as to what happened to them. They agreed that it was for the best if they weren't apart for more than a few hours. There was no reason for a day like today to happen again. It was bad enough it happened once. Dewey was the one to bring that up, saying how bad of an idea Only Child Day was. His brothers were quick to shoot that down. "It made me realize that we don't have the same interests and it really isn't fair of me to try to drag you guys into mine." Huey admitted. "Just cause we don't have the same interests doesn't mean we don't wanna hang out with you." Louie pointed out, he wanted to make sure he knew that."I know." "Besides you are the one who makes sure we all have an equal amount of time to do things we like," Dewey said. "You don't drag us into anything, we do things with you cause you do them with us. But that cookout..." He shuddered and the other three laughed. "Fair enough. But maybe next time you can just say something?" Dewey agreed and Huey turned to their brother. "You know, one of these days you're gonna make the wrong person mad." Louie shrugged, "Probably."Dewey gaped at him, "Why are you so nonchalant about this, I don't like it!" "You guy's'll be there, what do I have to be worried about?" Neither of them had an answer for that but they were worried. They probably would be there, however if the person was as unhinged as Doofus Drake they weren't too sure of all they'd be able to do. And that was a scary thought. But they would use their magic if it came to it, and knew he would do the same for them. The rest of the walk home was filled with mindless chatter and by the time they were back to the manison they were trying to figure out what to do with the drone. Huey was saying how Webby had messed with it too much to fix it when the front door opened and Mrs. Beakley came out. She looked at the four of them, "I was wondering what happened to that." The kids started to try to explain but she held a hand up. "I don't want to know, get rid of it before Mr. McDuck sees and makes you pay for a new one. I highly doubt you want that." They didn't so they quickly chucked in the garbage. Once that was taken care of they walked into the mansion to hear lighthearted chatter in the den. They looked at each other confused and went into to see Donald and Scrooge happily talking about something. That was new, but certainly not unwelcome. "What did we miss?" Dewey asked which broke up their conversation. They looked at each other and then the kids before Donald answered, "A long-overdue conversation. What have you kids been up to?" It was the kids turn to look at each other, maybe it was better if the adults didn't know everything. They probably wouldn't be very happy at the trouble the boys managed to get themselves into. So they only gave them a simplified version of what happened. After they were done they asked the adults what they had been talking about. "Just aboot the time Donald got us lost in Merrowmoor Forest." Scrooge answered and Donald glared at him."It was not my fault! You're the one who said we didn't need a map!" The kids glanced at each other worried expecting them to break in a fight but the slight smile Donald had on his face made them calm down. "You guys were in Merrowmoor Forest?! Oo, were you looking for Quetpe's Amulet?! I read that it's so well-hidden that even the Psaoudorans could never find it. How could you find something like that without a map?" Webby wondered and Donald threw up his hands. "Thank you!" "I have several questions." Dewey cut in confused. "Who is Qu-qua-quetpe?" He asked stumbling a bit on the pronunciation of Quetpe. "Yeah and who are the Psaoudorans? Was the amulet valuable? Answer that one first." Louie said. Scrooge gestured for the kids to come sit down with them; once they did that he responded to their questions. "Quetpe is a Psaudoran goddess and her amulet was very valuable. See the Psaoudorans were a race o' people who lived a long time ago..." And with that he launched into a story with Donald offering something every now and then. He didn't know as much as his Uncle but he knew some stuff. As the story went on he noticed how enthralled the kids seemed to be with it and got happier. This is what he had been missing, sure something was still missing but this was pretty good too. He wanted moments like this to keep happening, he had missed out on it for ten years, he didn't want to miss anymore. After the story ended and the kids ran out of questions everyone went off to do their own things. Webby caught up with Dewey as he walked to the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed her knowing she wanted something. "So you guys are okay right?" "They're my other halves Webs, I wouldn't be me without them." He simply answered. She smiled contently at that and left him alone. But he wasn't alone for long, as soon as he reached the kitchen he saw his brothers were already in there. Thank god, he didn't want to be alone right now. He had been alone enough today. They greeted him when they saw him then went back to what they were doing. "Are we not gonna talk about today?" Huey asked after a few minutes. He wasn't sure if he wanted to but he knew his brothers needed to. They had been through a lot and they would keeping dwelling on it until they talked. "What's there to talk about? We clearly can't be away from each other for more than a few hours, and honestly I'm fine with that. I don't like being away from you guys for too long, it's weird." Louie admitted. "It is. But I mean you were in a psycho's house for half the day, you don't wanna talk about it?" Dewey asked concernedly. He couldn't imagine what that was like, he didn't think it was anything good though. And he knew Louie was doing that thing the three of them sometimes did, trying not to worry their brothers. It wasn't working. Louie shrugged, "Yeah but he was a rich psycho, it evens out. Plus he had like a thousand toys I got to play with." "He wanted to keep you as a present." "Which means he liked me." He had, which was something Louie didn't want to think about at the moment, if his brothers hadn't shown up... "Being rich has changed you." Huey said jokingly. "No it hasn't, I'm still the same old humble Louie I was before." Dewey snorted, "Humble." Huey laughed but Louie gave him a fake glare to which he playfully stuck his tongue out at. "Seriously though, are you sure you don't want to talk about it? And what about you, Huey? Being around the beagle boys all day couldn't have been easy." He hoped that by turning the attention on both of them they would forget he had gone through something too. But they were both smarter than that and would make him talk after they finished. "He was a creep but I was handling it, though for how much longer I'm not sure," Louie confessed. "I tried to talk my way of there but crazy doesn't really listen to talking. And it's not like I'm good at anything else. Well I mean there is magic, which I almost had to use. I did use it actually, to try to let you guys know I was in trouble but you were too. So I was on my own and it was scary. I'm not used to being on my own, I can't do things on my own, especially in situations like that." "You are good at other things. You see things that the two of us can't, you're able to pick apart a situation and figure out how it will end just from a few sentences. You should give yourself more credit." Huey said and Louie gave him a small grin which said he didn't really believe that but he was grateful for the attempt nonetheless. He then gestured for him to start talking. "The beagle boys weren't as bad as I thought they'd be. Sure they were trying to kidnap me but they weren't any good at it. And they were listening to me and actually doing things I told them to! It was nice, until they went too far. I guess I just don't understand how someone can be so mean to their own brother." "Some people are just jerks. At least we'll never be like that." Dewey offered. "We're closer than they are and we actually like one another, that's all that matters... I was having fun for most of it just Deweying my own thing then Webby came in and scared me half to death with that robot. And I couldn't think of a plan, and not just cause I was too panicked I genuinely couldn't think of anything. I'm not good at coming up with plans, that's more you guys. It just made me feel so useless." And that was what he didn't want to talk about, but his brothers had a way of drawing it out of him. Speaking of his brothers, they had gone silent with shock when they heard that, it made him worried. "How could you ever think you're useless? Dewey, just because you couldn't think of a plan one time does not mean you're useless! You've come up with tons of plans before! And you always know just what to say to help us, that doesn't sound like useless to me." Huey stated. "I guess I didn't think of it like that." "You should, you're great. And yes I see the irony of telling you that." His brothers chuckled. "But, you shouldn't think things like that, neither of you should. It never ends well... I would know. Guess we all have problems huh?" Louie said wryly. It was a sombering moment for all of them. However something good did come out of it, it was proof that they really needed each other. They were the only ones who could say things to combat those problems and they would believe them. They smiled smally at one another, today had been a mess but right now wasn't so bad. They were together again after all.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The boys were more than prepared to spend the whole day watching the Ottoman Empire marathon, which is why they didn't give it much thought when Scrooge said he was leaving. They weren't really listening that much anyway, at least not until he said something that made them. “If ye need anythin' yer dad’s in the pantry.” They looked at each other, “Wait, what?” But he had already left so they raced off the couch and went to the kitchen. Where they could hear the telltale signs of their Dad being trapped somewhere, it wasn't the first time he had gotten himself locked in something. They quickly opened the pantry and he flew out in a fit of anger before realizing they were there. They watched worriedly as he calmed down and waited for him to say something. When he noticed that he grinned at them and tried to ease their worry, "Thanks for getting me outta there boys. What are you up to?" "Ottoman empire marathon." Huey said as the triplets shared a glance. "Uncle Scrooge went somewhere, I think he said on some sorta trip? And I'm pretty sure Webby snuck off after him. Do you think we should tell Mrs. B?" Donald agreed with that so the four of them went to find her, only to come up empty-handed. She wasn't anywhere in the mansion. "That explains where they went." Donald said as they got to the foyer. "Well, whatever happened to her she's more than capable of getting out of it, and Scrooge and Webby are on their way to find her. I don't think there's any reason to worry too much." He wasn't pretty sure there wasn't actually, though he was a bit worried about Webby being out there. But he trusted Scrooge to look after her, he just hoped Mrs. Beakley wouldn't kill him when she found out Webby was with him. "Cool then we can get back to our marathon." Louie replied and his brothers perked up at that. The three of them started to make their way back to the den before turning around and asking if their Dad wanted to join them. But he had a better idea. "Since no one's here and it's been a while since your last one, how about another magic lesson instead?" They hesitated, "Isn't the houseboat kinda, broken right now?" It was, but that was beside the point. They would just have to use the room they were using before. And that was fine with him, they needed those lessons. Maybe not as much as they did when they were younger but they still had a lot to learn. And he still had a lot he wanted to teach them. The four of them made their way to that room and once they got there Donald opened the door to reveal all the stuff that was there before was back. "I thought it was best to bring them back up ahead of your next lesson." He explained and started setting up for their next lesson. Once he finished he turned to see the boys eagerly waiting and smiled, it still blew his mind how excited they were about magic. He couldn't blame them though, it was pretty exciting. Especially the lesson he had planned for today, "Today I'm teaching you about runes. Now runes can be used for all sorts of things and each has a different design, it's a little hard to wrap your head around at first but your spellbooks should have the basic ones. I want you to try to remember those, you'd be surprised how much they can help you out." "I thought runes were a type of alphabet?" Huey said confused. "They are, but magic runes are a little different. Like any other type of magic you use them with intention and/or to manifest something, and sometimes they're easier to use than a spell, like if you don't have a lot of time or are in a tight situation. At their source runes are just another thing we use to embody our power, they're a physical symbolic representation of it. But it's one of the most important forms of magic to learn." "Cause we can use them for anything?" Donald nodded in agreement and the boys accepted that. They opened their spellbooks and flipped to the runes section. "There's so many." Dewey said as he widened his eyes. "How are we supposed to remember all of them?" "You're not, even I don't know every single rune." Donald answered him. "The point of is this lesson is to try to remember, and I've found the ones I do remember are the ones I end up using the most." Huey got a thoughtful look on his face and started studying but his brothers still had questions. And they were good ones, ones that Donald really had to think about. But that was good, it meant they were really interested and there wasn't much that held their interest for too long. Magic always seemed to be the exception though. For the rest of their lesson time the boys studied up on the runes in their books and occasionally pointed something out or asked their Dad something about them. By the end of it they had one or two completely memorized and a few ones that they could vaguely recall. That was actually pretty good for a first lesson. After they wrapped things up Donald started putting things away and the boys shared a look. "Are you and Uncle Scrooge okay now?" Dewey asked and his Dad paused for a second before answering. "We're getting there." He honestly answered. "Things like this take time. But yesterday was a good first step, it feels like we're finally on the same page." The boys got relieved at that answer, maybe now things wouldn't be so weird between the two of them. Maybe they could finally stop worrying about their relationship. Which meant they could worry about other things, they weren't sure if that was good or bad. But they were happy their Dad and Uncle were actually talking to each other, that was really huge. And something they weren't sure was ever going to happen. Once the room was secure Donald noticed the time and wondered what was taking the others so long. Surely a couple of hours was long enough for a rescue mission unless... something happened. Or maybe Scrooge was just being extra cautious since Webby was there. Yeah, that was probably it. Though it didn't do much to dwindle his growing worry. But Scrooge and Mrs. B could handle whatever was thrown at them, he was just being overly perturbed. As usual.So with that in mind he decided to try to get himself to think of something else. It wasn't easy but when the boys expressed wanting to go finish their marathon he knew he had his answer. Nothing like good old mindless TV to get his mind of off things. And maybe that was what all of them needed right now. The rest of the day was spent with the four of them in the den and that was exactly where the others found them when they got back. And where they left them, they figured they deserved to be undisturbed. When the next day came rolling in everyone was off doing there owns things again and it was really only the boys who stayed together. There was no real reason for it they just wanted to hang out together. Okay, so two of them might have had an ulterior motive but they did want to hang out with their brothers, they just had something they wanted to talk about while doing it. Their mom. Della Duck. They had been thinking about her for a while now and after a lot of confusion had settled on how they felt about her, only they hadn't told each other. With everything else that was going on they felt they didn't have the time. But now they did and they wanted to talk about it. Only neither of them knew how to start. So Dewey, not knowing what was really occurring, decided to. "Why're you guys so quiet?" Huey and Louie looked at one another and Huey chose to answer. "I wanna talk about mom." Louie nodded in agreement but Dewey noticeably stiffened. He did not want to talk about her. But he'd never seen his brothers' faces like that before so he gave them a smile to let them know it was okay, even if he wasn't. Huey let out a breath, "Okay, where to begin? For a long time I didn't know how I felt about her, and that scared me cause usually I know how I feel. This is different, she's different. I mean she's our mom and she loved us, I'm sure she did, but she also left. And she didn't just leave us, she left everyone and we don't even know why! But I think the thing that really gets me is that she left Dad, I don't know if I can like someone who would do that to their sibling." "I'm mad at her." Louie admitted. "I'm really mad, I've been mad since the beginning, since we did that spell. I was confused and there were a lot of other emotions but anger was always at the top. And I get so angry every time I think about her and then I feel bad cause I know that would upset you guys and Dad. But I know I'm allowed to be mad at her, I know we all are." He gave Dewey a pointed look as he said that then continued. "I don't wanna know why she did it, I don't want to know what she was thinking or if she even was at all; I just want to forget she even existed." The room went quiet as Louie confessed that and he opened his mouth to explain then shook his head, they didn't want an explanation. And he didn't have one. "You're not exactly in the wrong for wanting that Lou. But she did, she does." Huey may not have liked her but he wasn't giving up hope that she was alive, not yet. "And we have to accept that. You can be mad, we can all be mad but we can't just write her off, it's not fair to us. We have to acknowledge her existence, we wouldn't be here without it." Louie knew he was right, he really did but he didn't want him to be. It would be so much easier to forget about her. But whether he liked it or not she was apart of them. Dewey, on the other hand, wasn't sure how he felt about her but he knew he still didn't want to tell them about it. And he still didn't know why. He had a lot of complex feelings about Della, feelings he didn't want to ponder, it was easier to just not think about her. But at times like this he knew he didn't have a choice. His brothers were right, all of their points were right, which is why it was so hard for him to come to some sort of conclusion about her. He wanted to like her but she left, he wanted to hate her but she was their mom. This whole thing was just too confusing. He didn't like when things were confusing. When they were they usually required serious thought and he always had the hardest time with that. He wanted to think deeply about things but his brain just wouldn't let him, he would get distracted or sidetracked by something and forget all about it until it came up again. He blamed it on the ADHD but he blamed a lot of things on that, and now he was getting sidetracked again! This was hopeless. He would never be able to think about her long enough to form any kind of opinion. But maybe that was okay, if he couldn't form an opinion he couldn't feel anything bad towards her, she could just be Della. Besides, it's not like he would ever have to face her anyway. She was somewhere in space and they had no way of knowing where, he didn't have to know how he felt about her, there was no reason for him to. Still... He didn't like not knowing how he felt about something, it wasn't as easy for him to ignore as everyone thought it was. It would gnaw away at him until he exploded, the important things always did. And this was definitely important, even if she wasn't here she was still part of their lives, somehow. And maybe that thought should comfort him but he didn't really need it, he already had parental assurance from his Dad. That was more than fine with him. And another thing he had to consider with this whole thing, his Dad. Della had really hurt him, Dewey knew it from the way he got when they used to ask about her, but he also missed her more than anything. He was conflicted, just like Dewey was. He didn't know how he felt about her either, which meant that it was okay for Dewey not to know. But it also messed his Dad up in a lot of ways and he didn't want that for himself. Actually he didn't want that for either of them but he wasn't sure how he could help his Dad, he couldn't make him come to a decision about Della. But he could make himself. Even if that wasn't a good idea. "Dewey are you okay? You've been silent for a while, you know, you can talk about her too." Huey said and he suddenly remembered that he wasn't alone, and that he hated keeping things from his brothers. "I'm fine, just thinking." But he had to. And he hated himself even more for it. While the triplets were talking Donald and Scrooge decided to do some talking of their own, to try to work on some things. To say they had some unresolved issues was an understatement, there was a lot of things that were wrong with their relationship. But, both of them were now willing to do something about it and to Donald that was a great relief. Finally, he wasn't the only one putting in the work, finally, his Uncle realized something was wrong. If only he was willing to start the conversation too. Well, one step at a time. "It's great that you're willing to work on things now," Donald said with a soft smile. "I really appreciate it Uncle Scrooge and I know the boys do too." Scrooge nodded, "Ae want yew four ta stay around, yew make my life better." And for his Uncle to admit something like that was a big deal. It meant he was starting to be okay with being open about his feelings and for their relationship to get better that had to happen. But Donald also had to be okay with that and sometimes talking about stuff like that wasn't easy, but if his Uncle was willing to then so was he. "You make our lives better too. I don't mean just cause of the money, that does help, but you also do a lot of other great things for us. And a lot of things that aren't so great but we're all learning. This situation is new and I shouldn't have gotten on to you about the little things, I shouldn't have expected you to not make any mistakes, so I'm sorry for that." "And ae shouldnae have been so quick ta become defensive, it led ta a lot o' unnecessary arguments. Ae should've realized yew were just tryin' ta look oot fer the lads, like any good parent does." Donald gave him a grateful smile and noted that that was the first time he heard Scrooge refer to him as their parent, it felt nice. "Donald... ae think we both know we have ta talk aboot the Spear o' Selene." Donald's smile faded and he solemnly nodded. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen Uncle Scrooge, I know you didn't think she'd take it like that, but I still don't understand why you built that for her when she had kids on the way. She should've been here, with them, and I'm glad I am but I shouldn't have to be their Dad. I just wish both of you would've thought things through more... I wish she was still here." Donald said as he started tearing up. "Ae do ta lad, ae do ta." Scrooge grabbed him in a hug and they both started sobbing. But it was the good kind of sobbing, the kind that was ten years overdue. And it was something they both really needed, neither of them had really allowed themselves to grieve her disappearance. It was like something had been physically stopping them, however the truth was that they were simply too stubborn to. They were still stubborn now but it slowly seemed to be lessening. Once they had both stopped crying the hug broke apart and they gave each other shaky grins. Thinking about her was never easy but at least now they weren't doing it alone.Wanting to turn to a lighter topic after that Scrooge brought up the boys again, "They're good kids lad, yew've done a great job with them." Donald nodded. "I may not be that lucky but I get to raise the three best boys in the world so that has to count for something." "Ae'd say yer lucky in different ways." Scrooge replied referring to Gladstone. "Soooo, which ane is yer favorite?" He innocently asked and Donald glared at him, "I don't have a favorite. I don't play favorites, unlike you." He mumbled that last part which made Scrooge look at him with astoundment. "Ae dinnae play favorites, ae've never played favorites ae was just curious!" Donald disbelievingly stared at him and it made him think that maybe he had played favorites in the past. He just saw a lot more of himself in Della, it was easier to relate to her and Donald had never really seemed too interested in getting along with him. But maybe he had read his nephew wrong, maybe he did want to get along with him and Scrooge was the one who pushed him away. Huh, he really did have a lot to work on."Ae never meant ta play favorites, honest. And ae dinnae now, ae'm tryin' not ta." He quickly corrected, they both had to be honest with each other if they really wanted this to work. "Those kids are the best thing that's happened ta me in a long time, ae dinnae want ta do anythin' ta mess with that. But ae shouldnae have played favorites with yew and Della, ae never thought ae did however it appears that was wrong. Ae'm sorry, ye deserved better than that." "... Thanks Uncle Scrooge, I'm glad we can talk about this stuff now. For so long it felt like I couldn't tell you about things." But there was still something he still couldn't tell him about, something he was so sure he would take badly. His magic. And now that they were starting to get on better terms he was starting to feel guilty about it. But he couldn't, he knew he couldn't, he had his boys to think of and he wouldn't let them go without part of their family just because he wanted to tell their Uncle something. It wouldn't be fair. He had kept them from them for long enough, he wouldn't do that again. He wouldn't keep himself from the rest of their family again. And that was a promise.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Huey rolled his eyes as he watched Louie take advantage of their brother. He knew how badly Dewey would take it when he found out, how desperate he was for Louie's attention and support but he wasn't sure if Louie knew that and it was one of the few times he wanted to yell at his youngest brother. He wouldn't though, that wouldn't end well, besides he had other things he had to worry about, and Dewey and Louie were fully capable of working things out between them when they inevitably would fall out over this. Right now he had to think of a way to keep Tenderfeet a secret. He was bad at lying, particularly to his brothers so he knew they would find out eventually but as long as Scrooge or Mrs. Beakley didn't things would be fine. Well maybe fine was a stretch, there was a gigantic creature in their house after all, okay was probably a better word. Okay was all he could really hope for, especially after he knew Louie could tell he was acting weird. He only hoped he wouldn't confront him on it. But as he walked back into the room he knew that hope was misplaced, his brothers always could read him well. It was both a blessing and a curse, at the moment it was a curse. Well, maybe it was a blessing too, now he could get them to help him out. Louie didn't like this, he really didn't like this. There was something off about Tenderfeet and there was something to be said that he was the only one that noticed it. He knew Dewey was really perceptive so the fact that he hadn't seen it meant that Tenderfeet was more clever than he thought, luckily his brothers had him. Even when they were being major jerks. Now all he had to do was figure out what Tenderfeet was up to. Should be easy enough, everyone slipped up sooner or later. He just had to wait for the moment. That was easier said than done, especially when his brothers were involved. But eventually the moment did come. "Gavin out indeed." Gavin tried to act like a normal bigfoot before realizing he was caught, "Alright you got me, but it's not like anyone's gonna believe you." "There are two people who will always believe me so you're wrong there." Gavin got off the couch and stood in front of him threateningly. "Hate for something to happen to them cause of it." Louie gave him a death glare and knew that he just sealed his fate, nobody threatened his brothers. But he had to be smart about it, he had to come up with some sort of plan. And he had to do it on his own, maybe later he would tell them about it, but right now he couldn't risk it. He wouldn't let them get hurt. As soon as Gavin and his brothers left the room he started planning. Wait there was someone else he could tell, someone who had been on the hunt all day... He just had to be sneaky about it, he had to do it in a way that Gavin wouldn't somehow find out. And he had to find where his Uncle was. Why did the mansion have to be so big? Wait, he had magic! How did he always manage to forget that? Whatever, it didn't matter right now, all that mattered is he had a way to get Gavin out of there. Once he performed the spell and found where his Uncle was he went there to let him know what was going on. "So you were right, there is something in the house. His name is Gavin and he's a bigfoot. And normally I wouldn't be telling you this, but he threatened Huey and Dewey and I want him gone." Scrooge nodded and turned to him. "Thanks fer tellin' me, lad, would ye happen ta know where he is?" "Our room I think. But he can't find out I told you and neither can my brothers... Just trust me on that." He must've sounded as scared as he felt because Scrooge agreed with an understanding look. And it made Louie really appreciate his Uncle for the first time. Anyone who wanted to protect his brothers was good in his books. Scrooge left after that and Louie assumed he was going to take care of Gavin so he decided to go hang out in the den. On his way there he ran into his brothers who told him that Scrooge found out about Gavin and made him leave. To which he sympathetically nodded along to and acted like he was confused. "Wow, wonder how he found out?" Dewey looked at him suspiciously, "You didn't tell him?" "I've been in the den this entire time. Maybe he found out through the security cameras?" Huey hit his head and started mumbling. "Well I'm sorry Scrooge did that, I know how much you guys liked Tenderfeet." And that was genuine, he hated seeing them so upset. His brothers smiled at him, "Thanks Lou." And he was reminded of why he did this in the first place, his brothers were the best, even if they didn't always act like it. They always came around and that was what mattered. After that they left, probably to go sulk and Louie thought about going with them but he knew if he did he would tell them the truth. And maybe that wouldn't have been so bad but he thought it best if they didn't know. The same couldn't be said for Webby, however, who was already in the den when he got there looking like she knew something. "Uncle Scrooge told me about Gavin." Ah, she did. He figured she would. "He also said you didn't want to tell your brothers, why? Did you think they wouldn't believe you?" A fair assumption, but he had always had an immeasurable amount of faith in his brothers. "They probably would've if I told them, I suck at lying to them. I was surprised Dewey bought that story actually. No... Gavin threatened them, I quite literally couldn't tell them." "Are you going to now?" Louie shrugged. "Well, I think you should, they deserve to know." Maybe she had a point. But there was some part of him that said they wouldn't take it well and would try to fix a problem that had already been solved. That part was his triplet intuition and it had never been wrong before. Why chance it now? No, this was better kept to himself, and now Webby. It would be hard to keep it from them, he didn't really do that, but it would be worth it. He knew it would be, he hoped. "Who deserves to know what?" Huey said from behind him and he turned around as nonchalantly as he could. He and Dewey were both standing there looking at him for an explanation and he subtly glanced at Webby who made a shooing motion with her hands as if to say 'tell them'. Well, it was nice while it lasted. "... Tenderfeet was conning you, he could talk like us and his real name is Gavin. I told Uncle Scrooge about him and didn't tell you guys cause... cause he threatened you and I didn't want him to hurt you, I wouldn't let him hurt you. I'm sorry." His brothers looked at him confused, "Why are you sorry? He was the jerk, not you. You were just trying to protect us... even when we were being mean to you. We're the ones who should be sorry." Huey said and Louie was tempted to brush it off, he had honestly forgotten about that after his conversation with Gavin. All of a sudden all that had mattered was that his brothers were safe. And even now that was what mattered, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the apology. "Thanks." He said with a smile to let them know they were forgiven and they smiled back. And the great thing about the three of them was that that was all it really took, as soon as someone apologized all was forgiven. With how close they were it was easier for them to just not hold grudges. He noticed Dewey looked strange and raised an eyebrow. "So I may have had some idea..." Louie glared at him, "Why didn't you say anything?!" "I was mad at you! You used me!" Louie looked away at that, he did do that. "I was just playing along to annoy you, I didn't know he was so mean to you or that he threatened us, really! I didn't know it got that bad. And I was quick to follow Uncle Scrooge's lead in getting him out of here, I knew he had to go too." Louie nodded, "Okay, I probably deserved it. I'm sorry for using you like that, it wasn't cool." Dewey grinned at him and he knew he was forgiven too. Which was honestly a relief, but now he wanted to put this whole thing behind them. Especially before either of his brothers could go looking for Gavin, which he knew they would given the chance. He was not giving them the chance. He hadn't protected them all afternoon just to let them possibly get hurt now. After that the boys went into the den as Webby went to look for Lena again glad things were back to normal. She was also a little surprised of just how protective Louie was of his brothers, it was sweet, and kind of scary. And she was by no means scared of Louie but he could be slightly unnerving when he wanted to be. Like today. She would have to not get on his bad side. That seemed easy enough, just don't hurt his brothers and she didn't want to do that anyway. She just hoped the three of them wouldn't hurt her either. As he and his brothers watched TV Louie thought more about the day, much to his annoyance. He didn't want to, but something was making him. Maybe it was the fact that he was still kind of worried. Gavin knew where they lived and the only thing stopping him from coming back was Scrooge, which to be fair was a good thing but he was still worried. And he wasn't sure how long it would last. But as he looked at his brothers he knew it would go away eventually and they would be there until then. And that was why he did things like what he did today, to keep them around. He needed them and he had never really been shy about admitting that. But he never really had to, they always just knew. Maybe it was their bond or the fact that they were triplets or maybe a combination of the two but the three of them knew each other exceptionally well, it was why he wasn't good at lying to them. They always saw through it. And it was also why he may of not been on the 'good' side but he was always on theirs. He never didn't want to be. Who else would ever be able to read him so well? The boys looked away from the TV after they heard movement and saw that it was Lena. And with a glance at each other they were off the couch and headed in her direction, she had some explaining to do. She was too close to Webby to let her secrets stay secrets. And they were too close to Webby to let her be hurt by those secrets. "You're leaving? Thought you were staying the night?" Huey asked suspiciously after Lena reached the front door. She quickly whirled around and looked at them with surprise. "Something came up." She hastily said and Louie narrowed his eyes at her, she was lying, again. "What?" "Something." She repeated and turned the doorknob to leave. The boys had to think of something fast, they couldn't let her leave. "We know you had something to do with the money shark." That stopped her.She spun to face them again and denied it, "I don't know what you're talking about." "Enough with the lying Lena! We know you had something to do with it and we know you're lying to Webby! Just admit it!" But she didn't and wouldn't no matter what they said. Because unknown to them she wasn't Lena at that point, Magica had possessed her. But even if she hadn't she probably still wouldn't have said anything, she just would've been nicer about it. A little nicer. As they kept arguing it was clear to the boys that this wasn't going anywhere and that it was pointless. They were starting to trust her less and less, and they didn't trust her a lot to begin with. And they certainly didn't trust her to be around Webby. So that's what they told her. "You can't stop me! Webby can hang out with whoever she wants!" She protested and that was true, but they were her brothers and they were gonna protect from things she needed to be protected from, and that included Lena. Even if she didn't understand why. Even if they didn't really understand why she was keeping so many secrets. That wasn't the point, they didn't care why she was doing it just that she was. Webby deserved better than that. Which is why they also hated that they were hiding a secret from her as well and knew that they were kind of being hypocrites for being mean to Lena over hers. But hers were different, they could feel it. "You should go." Huey simply said. Lena glared at them but did so and with the slam of the door they were left alone in the foyer. "We did the right thing, right? She can't be trusted." "Right." Dewey confirmed. "But we trust Webby, so maybe we shouldn't tell her who to hang out with? Like I know we want to protect her but she can look after herself, we've seen it.""She wants to be Lena's friend so much, she's blinded by it. That's not good, Lena's clearly using her for something and she can't see that. She's gonna get hurt." Louie replied. "Using her for what?" "My guess is something to do with Scrooge, I mean that money shark was after his gold, she has to of had a reason for doing that. And she was using Webby to get close to him. I just can't figure out her reasoning for it, and if I can't figure that out I can't figure out if we should tell Scrooge or not. Eh, she's gone now, I don't think it's a problem anymore." Louie shrugged off and so did Dewey but not Huey. There was something he didn't like about this. There was something he didn't like about Lena. And something told him she wasn't as gone as Louie thought. Something told him that this wasn't over just yet. But for right now, it was. And for right now that was good enough for him. Donald raised an eyebrow as he watched Gryo pace back and forth, that wasn't anything unusual for him but it was still worrying. He thought about asking him what was wrong but he wanted to enjoy his lunch in peace, and he would probably start complaining soon enough anyway. So it was a surprise when he stopped pacing and looked at him in surprise. "You seem happier." He noted. And he was, things were going pretty good for him right now. He didn't expect it to stay that way but he would enjoy it while it lasted. By this point he'd learned that was all he could really do. If he worried about how long it would last it would be over before he knew it. "Yeah, I know I give Scrooge a hard time but I'm really glad we're reconnecting. It's better for everyone, me, the boys, that's what really matters." "Well, then I suppose I'm happier too, with the two of you finally getting along he's putting less work on me and that means I can get what's most important done. But something has been bothering me, I've been looking into what happened a few days ago with that weird shark thing and I can't for the life of me figure it out." "Magic." Was all Donald offered. Truthfully he was curious about that too, his boys hadn't offered much when he had asked them about it and they clearly knew more than they were letting on. But they always did, they were Ducks. All that he had managed to figure out was that magic had been involved and that it was after something of Scrooge's... The boys did call it a money shark but the way his Uncle talked about it made him think it was going after a particular thing, like a number one dime...Gyro rolled his eyes, "That's your family's answer for everything." And Donald couldn't say anything to refute that, because it was true. For someone who hated magic Scrooge sure was involved in it a lot. Really it only made sense that part of his family possessed it. But he wondered if Scrooge knew that shark was after his dime or if he thought it was just targeting his money. And if something was going after that dime they had a big problem. He didn't see Scrooge until he got back to the mansion and once he did he immediately pulled him aside to talk to him. They had to talk about this sooner rather than later, so even though he was tired and just wanted to relax he asked him about it. "What do you think the money shark was after?" "My number ane dime obviously." Donald nodded, "Good so we both think that. But why would a shark go after your dime? And where did it even come from?" He hoped his Uncle had some idea because he had nothing, he was as clueless as Gyro was. "There's only ane person whose ever been interested in my dime." He replied gravely and Donald stiffened. No, not her. Anyone but her. "Are you sure? There isn't anyone else." Scrooge shook his head and Donald gulped, this was not good. This was really not good. "Wait, isn't she still trapped in it? How would she be able to get the money shark in the bin? And how would she be able to get out of the dime once the shark got it, she would have to have someone help her..." "This was an inside job." Scrooge confirmed. "Ae dinnae know who though, ae trust my employees with my life, sure they're all nuttier than a squirrel but they wouldnae work with someane like Magica. They're good people Donald." Donald nodded, he had known his fellow employees long enough to know that was true. But then who was behind this? Who was helping her? And why? Who else could it be? It wasn't like Scrooge was close to a lot of people, or trusted them for that matter. There was no else it could be. But something didn't make sense about that, Scrooge always did extensive background checks before hiring someone. If something was even slightly amiss he wouldn't hire them, so yeah they were all crazy but crazy enough to work with Magica? No way. His Uncle made sure it of, for good reason, when you're Scrooge McDuck something like this could happen at any moment. It was one of the reasons he kept the boys away for so long. And that was something else they had to consider, how were they going to keep the kids safe with Magica around and an unknown person helping her? "We have to figure this out, if she really is back the kids are in danger." Scrooge nodded in agreement. "Where are the kids anyway? The boys didn't come find me like they usually do." "The lads are in the den and Webbigail is with Beakley, her little friend Lena was supposed ta stay over but ae think she left." Scrooge shrugged it off and Donald walked over to den and peeked in. "Hi, Dad!" Dewey said after he noticed him. His brothers turned and said hi as well, he softly smiled at them in response. They were okay, they were here and safe. For now. He had to make sure they stayed that way. He went back over to Scrooge and sighed. "I'm really worried about this Uncle Scrooge, if she can animate a shark from inside the dime what else can she do?" "I know lad, that shark was just the beginning o' this and we need ta figure out what could be next." They heard a noise from behind them and whirled around to see the boys standing there hesitantly. "You were talking about the money shark?" Huey questioned and at their nods continued, "We know who's behind it." Donald looked at Scrooge worriedly, if they were right... That was his worst nightmare, they couldn't know about Magica De Spell, how would they have found out? He certainly never said anything about her, and he was sure Scrooge didn't either. Magica was serious business, the less they knew about her the better. "Who?" "Lena. We confronted her about it earlier, and pretty much confirmed our suspicions. The money shark appeared when she was spending the night, she didn't want us to tell Uncle Scrooge we snuck into the money bin, and she didn't directly deny it just evaded our questions. She never said she didn't do it. If she didn't have something to do with it why would she do that? Why wouldn't she just say she didn't have anything to do with it? There are too many variables for this to just be a coincidence, she has to be behind it." Huey explained and Donald found that that made a lot of sense. It would explain why she had been over there so much. But if that was the case then that meant she was working for Magica, and that she had been using Webby to get close to Scrooge. The sad thing was that that made a lot of sense. "Does Webby know?" The boys looked at each other, "We don't know how to tell her." And they probably never would, they didn't want to upset her. But she had to know and he told them as much. They exchanged another look and went to find her. After they left he turned back to Scrooge. He hadn't said much since the boys joined them, it was weird. "Scrooge? You okay?" "Ae just cannae believe ae dinnae see it, ae had no idea the lass was workin' with Magica. Ae've been... distracted." He admitted and Donald got what he meant, his missed having his family around and wanted to catch up on lost time. There wasn't anything wrong with that. "Ae know," Scrooge said after he told him that. "But now we've got a problem, and a big ane at that. As long as Magica's in my dime she cannae do any actual harm and as long as we keep Lena away it should stay that way. But we need ta prepare fer the worst-case scenario. We need ta know what ta do in case she gets oot." And that was something Donald definitely agreed with. Magica was the worst kind of magic-user, the kind that didn't have any morals. The kind that didn't care who she hurt as long as she got want she wanted and had a very great capacity to do serious damage. She was the kind that made Scrooge hate magic and made him sick to his stomach. Magic wasn't supposed to be used in the way she did, it was supposed to create and heal and make things better for everyone. He hated people like her, people who used it for awful, awful things. People who he swore he or his boys would never be like. And with that, they started planning.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Donald sighed as he looked at the state of the houseboat, with everyone else out he had no reason not to work on it. Only, after another long day of work, he was tired. And it certainly wasn't a good idea to do construction when he was tired. There was his magic but the amount required to do a good chunk of work would just make him more tired. They would be gone for a while, maybe he should take a short nap. That sounded like a good idea. As he made his way to the pool floatie to do so he wondered how things were going with the others, it was no secret Scrooge and his dad didn't get along great but he hoped they would put it aside for the kids' sakes. Or at least hide it. They deserved to have a good time while they were there and he wished he would've been able to go along with them to make sure they did, but the boat had to be worked on sometime. But only after his nap. Dewey thoughtlessly scrolled through Selene's sphere looking at different pictures of Della. Only after a few seconds he sneakily passed it to his brothers so they could instead and turned to look out the jeep's window. He still didn't know what to think about her and he still didn't think he could tell them. But what made it worse was that he wanted to, but something was stopping him. He didn't want them to mad at him, he did say he was done keeping secrets. And once he inevitably had to come clean about this he was, for real this time. But he didn't know if they'd believe him. "Dewey, you okay?" Dewey jumped and turned to Webby who was watching him worriedly. "What? Yeah, totally, why wouldn't I be?" Webby looked at him suspiciously, "You're being really quiet. And you just passed over the sphere like it was nothing! Are you still worried about your mom being a bad person? I thought you were over that." "I am. Just thinking." And he really was, he was still confused about her but he was past thinking she was bad. He just wasn't sure if she was good either. But that was the last thing he wanted to think about right now, they were going to an unknown place and he was really looking forward to exploring it. Though he did think it was weird Scrooge wasn't telling them anything about it... Their Dad agreed to let them go, it couldn't be bad. Once they pulled up to the place it was clear why Scrooge hadn't said anything, it was his parents' place. He never really talked about his parents, Dewey thought they were dead, he must've not gotten along with them very well. Dewey didn't want to know what that was like. "So this is the actual home of Clan McDuck?" He asked Scrooge's mom. "Indeed, child. Within these walls lies the secrets and mysteries of all your ancestors." Which meant there was information about... oh boy. "Dewey, there could information about your mom here!" Webby excitedly told him then gasped, "Everything McDuck. Mysteries, secrets untold ooo wheeeee!" And she was gone. He pointed it out to the others then looked up at the castle with despair, why couldn't he catch a break?! Donald stretched as he woke up and fell out of the floatie with a surprised quack, he should really be used to that by now. But the most important thing was now that his nap was done and he was well-rested he could start working on the houseboat. He out got of the pool and went to go grab some supplies giving a wave to Mrs. Beakley as he did so. Once he was done for the day he would have to talk to her about Lena, she knew more about her than he did. Maybe she could figure out why she was working for Magica. And that was another reason Scrooge had taken them to Dismal Downs, Webby had not taken the news well and what better way to cheer her up than letting her see all of Clan McDuck's history? The adults were really hoping that would work, if it didn't they were out of ideas. But he would have to wait until they were back to see if it worked and for now he had a boat to work on.He dragged the supplies onto the boat and started to get to work. Due to his luck, however, it wasn't long before things started to go wrong. As they always did. Luckily for him he had had plenty of time to get used to it and plenty of ways to counteract it. And he hated having to rely on his magic for stuff like this but it was the only way it was getting done. Otherwise it would take too long, and he wasn't in any hurry but with the risk of Magica getting out of the dime he had to be prepared. He wouldn't let her hurt his boys. As he worked he let his mind start to slip, a dangerous thing when dealing with magic. But he couldn't help it, he had a lot to think about at the moment. And doing a menial task was the perfect time to do it. Until he almost wrecked the boat even more. After that he decided he should think about that stuff at another time. Which made this all the more boring. He had to sit there thinking of nothing while he repaired the boat, it was kind of nice but he knew he had to think about everything eventually. He had to come up with some sort of plan. And he knew his Uncle and Mrs. B were helping with that and that he didn't have to do it on his own but some part of him felt like he did. He had to make sure his family stayed safe. He loved his Uncle but there really wasn't much he could do against someone with magic and there was no way he was getting the boys involved. This fell on him. And god if that thought wasn't terrifying. But he would do it, he had to. His family was the most important thing to him and he had just gotten part of it back plus some, he wasn't losing it again. He realized he had gotten lost in thought again and looked to see the damage done but was surprised to find none. In fact he had gotten a whole section finished, maybe the thinking was keeping him focused after all. A board then suddenly fell down. Maybe not. Dewey vaguely listened as Scrooge's mom went on about different relatives from his family. Normally he would've been more interested but he just wanted to get out of there. Unfortunately he seemed to be the only one. And he couldn't exactly say anything, he hadn't seen Webby this excited since they told her about Lena. It wouldn't be fair to try and get them to leave because he was uncomfortable. "So we all pitched in to buy a lump a hair from the local barber." Well, he was listening now. And feeling a lot better about being there, he couldn't believe their Uncle had a pet clump of hair! That was the best thing he heard all week! No no no all year! And one look at the others said they thought similarly. After Scrooge got in an argument with his Dad and he and Webby left, Dewey and his brothers continued to look around. Only stopping once they came across a portrait of their Dad. And promptly busted out laughing over it. That was even better than Scrooge's pet lump of hair! They kept laughing until Huey accidentally knocked the portrait down and they saw a note on the back of it. "If borrowed crown is what you seek then venture below and follow your beak." Dewey was about to continue reading when they heard Scrooge's mom call out for them. "Stall her, I'll fix the painting." His brothers nodded and ran to do so and he quickly put the painting back up with his magic. After he did that he looked over the note again and thought that the handwriting looked kind of familiar... He widened his eyes as he realized it was Della's and let out a quiet groan, why here, why him? He had to find some way to get them uninterested in it, he couldn't think about her right now, he wouldn't. "Just because there's a weird riddle in a mystical castle doesn't mean there's a mystery." He said to protest Huey's statement. His brothers raised an eyebrow at him and he gave them an innocent smile. "Rightttt." Louie replied disbelievingly. They were catching onto him he had to think quick. He magicked the suit of armor down and ran off ingoring their cries. He had to hide the note, or burn it, there was no way he was going on this quest!There was a way he was going on this quest. He really wasn't sure what happened but all of a sudden they were standing by some bow and he was pouting. Why was this happening?! He was a good kid, for the most part, he didn't deserve this. Or maybe he did, maybe this was some kind of karma for keeping another secret, he didn't like it. Karma was dumb. "So you knocked over the suit of armor why?" Louie asked as Huey scanned the note. He got a elated look on his face and starting plucking the bow which revealed a secret passageway as Louie continued to look at their brother for an answer. "Oh you know me, clumsy Dewey." He attempted to brush off. "You did it with your magic." Huey pointed out while grabbing a torch and starting down the passage. "You've been acting weird ever since we got here. What's going on?" He turned to look back at Dewey and he quickly hid his guilty face. Why did they have to be so caring? It made this so much harder. It made him want to come clean, and he almost did but stopped himself just in time. That was close. His brothers gave him suspicious looks but continued onwards which made him quietly sigh in relief. But he thought he should offer some sort of explanation. "I dunno, I just think it's kinda weird Uncle Scrooge doesn't get along with his parents, or at least his Dad. I can't imagine not getting along with our Dad." His brothers nodded in agreement and Huey looked over the note once again. He widened his eyes just as Dewey had and he knew he realized the same thing he did. "Mom wrote this." Louie paused in his walking and peered over his shoulder to also confirm it but Dewey went completely still. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen. "Dewey?" Huey asked after he noticed; Dewey shook himself free and gave them a smile. "I'm okay. Let's keep going." He raced ahead of them so he didn't see their exchanged worried looks before they followed after him. He didn't really want to keep going, if it were up to him they would've turned back before they even began, but it wasn't up to him. He sure wished it was though. The houseboat was already almost halfway finished, Donald couldn't believe it. He had only been working for about thirty minutes and he had already gotten so far, this required a break. He entered the mansion to get out of the heat and let out a sigh in relief. Much better. The kitchen was empty as he went into it but it didn't stay that way for long. Mrs. B came in shortly after he did and he was reminded he wanted to talk to her. Might as well do it now. "What do you know about Lena? I've been trying to figure out why she's working for Magica but I can't." "I only know what Webby's told me which is a bit... skewed. I think it's more than obvious she developed a bit of a crush on the girl, poor dear." Donald hummed in sympathy. He really couldn't imagine what she was going through right now. "But from what I've seen Lena really does care about her, you can't fake that kind of emotion. Which is why I can't figure it out either, something doesn't add up.""That's what I was thinking. But I only have what the boys told me to go on and that's also skewed. They haven't liked Lena from the beginning, they knew she was hiding something. They didn't want her to hurt Webby, but it looked like that happened anyway. But you're right, it seemed like she really did care about her, maybe... maybe she isn't doing it willingly, maybe she's being forced to." "That is a strong possibility. We both know how Magica is, unfortunately, we know she is fully capable of taking advantage of a child. Maybe if we try talking to Lena, to let her know she doesn't have to work for her, that we can help her out with whatever Magica's holding over her." Donald nodded in agreement. "I guess the only thing now is getting Mr. McDuck on board." "Oh. That'll be easy. But we can't say anything to the kids, not yet. Not until we know for sure." "Agreed." She turned to start cleaning the kitchen and he looked at her back with empathy. It couldn't be easy for her to see Webby going through this, it wasn't easy for him either but if it had been one of his boys... He couldn't imagine. "Hey, how're you doing, with Webby being so upset over this?" She paused in her cleaning, "I don't quite know, I just hope this adventure is able to cheer her up." That was something he agreed with. But he also hoped it helped Dewey get over whatever was bugging him lately. Cause he wasn't blind, he was their Dad, of course he knew something was up with him. All the boys really but it was affecting Dewey the most. He just couldn't understand why he wouldn't talk to him about it, but he had to trust that either he eventually would or would solve it on his own. Once Dewey got far enough ahead Louie turned to Huey, "He's acting weird, right? Like weirder than Dewey weird." Huey nodded, "He's been like this ever since we got here, I don't understand what could be upsetting him so much. You think he's just worried about Webby?" "There's more to it than that." Louie said as he shook his head. And Huey found he had to agree with him, he just wished Dewey would talk to them about it. After they caught up to him they found him staring blankly at a wall; he tried pushing it open but it wouldn't budge. So he gestured for them to help him because there was no way they were turning back now so he might as well embrace it. Their combined strength still wasn't enough to budge it and he found himself hopeful that they would have to turn back but was quickly disappointed by Huey opening it with his magic. His brothers were stubborn, he'd give them that. They found themselves in a room with a lot of cages and Dewey was instantly creeped out, why was this here?Before he could dwell on it too much they came across a pile of rubble blocking their way. They looked at each other and started to climb. Once they were at the top they saw a door and before he knew what was happening Huey was taking the note from him and reading part of it. 'Purest key of gold?' What did that even mean? He got his answer when the three of them fell into a pile of gold keys. Oh. This was a lot of keys, maybe now they would have to turn back. He really could only hope. They had to be close to whatever the note was alluding to by now which meant they were closer to something to do with... Forget what he said earlier, there had to be a way to get them to turn back! He couldn't do this... He couldn't even think her name anymore. He tried to come up with some sort of plan while he watched Louie talk about gold but all he could do at this point was keep trying to convince them to turn back. They may see through him eventually but at least they wouldn't be here any longer. At least he wouldn't have to deal with this any longer. They made their way down some stairs and to some room with a bunch of doors. Why did this place have so many weird rooms?! And what even was this one?"The crypt of Clan McDuck. The final resting place of all our ancestors." Well, that answered his question. "But how do we know which is the right tomb?" Huey was interrupted by their brother and they went over to see what he was looking at. Their Dad's room. "Wait, the riddle was hanging on a portrait of Dad." Then that meant it was meant for him and that... wanted him to find his own grave. "That is messed up." Louie said taking the words right out of his mouth. Dewey's brothers ran to the door after that and he tried one more time to get them to stop. It didn't work. He started to inwardly panic as they tried to budge the door and quickly attempted to put a handle on it before they could feel it, stupid magical bond. This was one of the few times he wished they didn't have it.After they got the door open the three of them went in to see a tomb with a bag on top of it, that was strange. He zoomed in on the name patch to see that it read D. Duck, no, it was her bag? They came all this way, he went through all this turmoil for her bag?! He was about to throw it in frustration when they heard a growl from behind them. They froze and clung to each other and Huey and Dewey subtly pushed Louie behind them. As was the normal protocol when there was danger. The demon dog came charging at them so they rushed to slam it closed. It started banging against the door and the force pushed them back onto the floor. Huey said that they needed some form of distraction so he quickly tossed the bag to him. He did not want that thing around anymore. But Huey hesitated, "It was the only thing in here, that has to mean something." "Just throw it already!" His brothers looked at him strangely and he knew it had something to do with the fact that normally he'd be agreeing with Huey. Because he was right, it did mean something but that didn't mean it was a good something. "Just get rid of it we don't need it!" "Why are you being super weird? This is a bad time to be weird!" And that was when he knew it was over, it was time for him to come clean. Well, it wasn't the best time, the dog pounding on the door supporting that, but he didn't have a choice. He brought this on himself when he kept another secret from them. He deserved whatever was about to happen. "Because it was mom's!" The room fell silent. After his conversation with Mrs. B ended Donald went back to the houseboat to further work on it. He was aware that he had probably done enough for the day but he felt like he could still do more. He had always been told he was an overachiever. It had mostly been teasing and had mostly been by... Della. Who he found he hadn't really thought about in a while, maybe it was a sign he was moving on. But did he want to move on? He wanted things to get better with Scrooge but he didn't want to forget his sister to do it. Maybe there was a way for him to move on without forgetting about her, maybe then he could finally answer the kids' questions about her. Cause he knew Webby had questions too, she was just too unsure of her place to say anything about it. And him refusing to talk about Della hadn't really helped things. It was just too hard to talk about her, brought up too many things. But the kids deserved better, they deserved to know who she was. He deserved to be able to talk about her without getting sad, he just wasn't there yet. But he knew he would be eventually hopefully they could wait until then. He turned his attention back to the boat and started working on it again. However he was quickly distracted by his charm, his boys were in danger. But he forced himself to calm down, they were with Scrooge, Scrooge knew what he was doing, he wouldn't let them get hurt. He had to trust Scrooge, but that was easier said than done. He wanted to, he really wanted to but things were still bumpy with them. Maybe this adventure would be a step towards him trusting him, if the kids came back unharmed he'd know that Scrooge handled whatever was going on. Or maybe the kids would handle it, whatever kept them safe. Scrooge wasn't the only one he had to trust. However the problem with trusting the boys to take care of themselves was that it meant they didn't need him anymore. And for ten years that had been his greatest fear. Those boys... his boys, they were his whole life, he didn't know what he'd do if they didn't need him. But what was he worried about, they were only ten of course they still needed him. He hoped, he really really hoped. He forced himself to stop going down that road and refocused on the boat, if he wanted to get any more work done he had to completely focus on it. That was what he told himself. "Then why do you want to get rid of it?" Huey asked as he went to hold the door shut. "It's mom, why don't you want to keep it?" Dewey sighed, "Because I don't know how I feel about her and I don't want to think about it. You guys have been able to figure it out and talk about it, but I haven't! And I wanted to tell you but didn't and I don't know why. Something kept stopping me." "Did you think we wouldn't understand?" "No, that's not it. It sorta felt like a bad idea to say anything for some reason? And I didn't want to find out why cause I wasn't sure I would like it." Huey lost his poorly kept grip on his temper at that; bad idea, wasn't sure he would like the reason? They were his brothers! "Why would it be a bad idea? We're supposed to be in this together, Dewey!" "You don't think I know that?! I hate keeping things from you guys!" Before Huey could respond Dewey noticed how silent the other side of the room was and turned to see Louie looking down as he tried not to cry. "Louie? You okay?" "You kept another secret, that is not okay." Louie quietly replied and Dewey honestly felt like kicking himself. But before he could do that the dog broke through the door and they were forced to split up. As Louie ran from the dog he thought about how upset he was. It probably wasn't the best time to do it but he couldn't help it. Dewey kept another secret, after he promised he wouldn't. He'd never broken a promise before. Why did he do it this time? Why did Della make him act so weird? Well, she made all of them act weird but Dewey... Dewey, she made him act weirder. Different. He didn't like it, it seemed like Della brought out the worst in him. And that wasn't okay with Louie. And he wanted to be mad at Dewey over this, he really did, but he couldn't. He was just, upset, and hurt. He couldn't understand why he didn't just tell them, but neither could Dewey. Which made it harder for him to be mad at him, Dewey was just as confused as they were about this whole thing. But it still hurt. It hurt so much. And he wasn't so sure a simple apology would make everything better this time. Huey, on the other hand, had no trouble being mad, he couldn't believe Dewey kept this from them! They would've understood, he even knew that! But he chose not to tell them. And he didn't even know why! He just, didn't do it! Huey thought he would've treated them better than that, that the fact that they were his brothers, his triplet brothers would've meant something to him. They didn't keep stuff like this from each other, they just didn't. But Dewey did and he was just as hurt by it as he was mad. He said he wouldn't, said that he hated keeping things from them. He must not have hated it a lot if he still did it. It was like the things he said were just things he said, that he didn't mean any of it but Huey knew that just wasn't true. But he was also too mad to see that. It was like Dewey didn't think about how his actions affected everyone else. Affected his brothers. And Huey didn't really want to think that that was the case. He was broken out of his thoughts by a distant sound and knew instantly what it was. Huey could probably sense his brothers' distressed screams from 100 miles away. One of them was in trouble. All other thoughts flying out of his head he leapt into action and ran to find them. He didn't care if he had been mad before, nothing could happen to them. He wouldn't let it. Dewey let out panicked noises as he was towered over by the dog, after all that running it still caught up with him. He couldn't deal with this alone, he needed help. He needed his brothers. But what was to say they would come for him? They were mad and hurt and rightfully so, he wouldn't blame them if they just left him there. But then the dog was being shoved back and they were there, standing protectively in front of him blasting all sorts of magic at it. They were the best. "You came back!" Louie slightly turned to give him his signature grin, "We're the Duck boys." "Good or bad whatever we do we do it together!" And that was all the motivated he needed. He quickly surged up and stood in an aggressive stance next to his brothers. The three of them would defeat this dog, he was sure of it. Without even a single glance at each other they each shot out a blast of magic and the dog ran off scared. "Duck family victorious!" Huey cheered. And while his brothers celebrated he got a strong urge to hug them. So he did. Once the hug broke up he looked away from them and rubbed his arm nervously, "I'm sorry, I should've told you, even if some part of me felt like it was a bad idea. I should've ignored it. I didn't want to hurt you, but that's all I did. And I still don't know why I thought it was a bad idea, I don't know what was stopping me. But no more, I won't let anything stop me from telling you guys something ever again! I promise, and I not breaking another promise." His brothers smiled at him and even if he knew the three of them weren't completely okay they were okay enough for now. "Welp, I guess it's time to see what's inside this bag." Louie opened it up and despite Dewey not wanting anything to do with it before he was now curious. It turned out to be a hat. Their Dad's hat. Well, that explained the riddle. "I can't believe Della wanted Dad to find his own grave, even for a prank that's kinda messed up." "Well, it was a very elaborate prank." The three of them burst out laughing and it was the best Dewey had felt since they got there. This is what he needed, his brothers, as long as he had them things would be okay. After the laughing died down he pulled out the note he was still holding onto. "You know when I first heard there was information about Della here I got really upset and just wanted to leave. I didn't want to think about her if I didn't have to, I still don't but now... I'm kinda glad we came, the truth had to come out eventually." "Whenever you ready to fully talk about it we're here." Huey promised. Then looked at the note, "We're missing something here, I just know it." "We still don't know why Uncle Scrooge built the rocket, or why she took it. Those things have to be connected, somehow. But how do we figure it out? Dad and Uncle Scrooge are on better terms but it still feels like a bad idea to ask them. What do we do now?" Louie asked. "We'll figure it out, together." Donald had done it, he had finally finished working on the houseboat once again. He hadn't expected to finish that night, but the others were gone longer than he thought they would be. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He got his answer when the boys came bursting through the backdoors. "Whoa, you got the boat finished already?" Dewey marveled as the three of them made their way over. After he affirmed that he asked how the trip went and frowned at their uneasy glances. "Well most of it was pretty er... weird but by the end of it things turned out pretty okay. Oh! And we found this." Dewey handed him something he thought he'd never see again and he gently held it. "Where did you find this?" His old hat. He thought he'd lost it forever. He listened as the boys explained the adventure they had gone on and how Della had set up an elaborate prank for him all those years ago. He felt like crying. He wouldn't, not in front of them but he really wanted to. "I suppose you have some questions?" And he hadn't become suddenly ready to talk about her in the last few hours but if they had questions he would try to answer them. "Did she do stuff like this a lot?" Dewey said with a curious tone. Donald let out a wet laugh, "Yeah, she did. Course I always got her back, then it would escalate into a war that Uncle Scrooge would inevitably have to stop. Then we teamed up against him." He got a sad smile on his face. "Sometimes I see so much of her in you three." And that had always made things a little easier, knowing he always had a part of her. At least that's how it was in the beginning, then it became easier for different reasons. Somewhere along the line, when they had become his boys instead of her's, that was when he started to get better. He had something else to live for, something else to love and protect. Everything got easier after that. Things started to matter again. He started to matter again. These boys were the best thing that ever happened to him. "... Is it hard to think about her?" Louie quietly asked. "Very hard, but sometimes... sometimes we have to think about the hard things, so that we can deal with them." He noticed Dewey look down at that and thought about addressing it before deciding the boys had probably been through enough for the day. He did seem a little better so whatever had happened to them was hopefully for the best. "Anything else?" They looked at each other. "Can we stay here tonight? We just wanna be around you." Huey answered. And Donald had to hold back his tears for the second time that night. His boys. His wonderful, amazing boys. They always seemed to know just how to cheer him up without even knowing something was wrong. "Of course you can, you never have to ask." They quickly smiled and ran to hug him. As they did that his worries from earlier completely vanished. They really did need him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When the boys got up that morning the first thing they did was went to see Webby. After their trip to Dismal Downs she had felt better, but not for long. And now she was back to being upset over Lena. They couldn't blame her, but they hated that she was. Especially since they felt like it was partially their faults. They hadn't wanted to tell her but their Dad was right, she deserved to know. They just didn't get why they had to be the ones to tell her. Why couldn't one of the adults have done it? Well, they must've had their reasons and it was too early in the morning to really question it. They reached Webby's door and looked at each other before Dewey knocked. There was no answer. Dewey opened the door and went in anyway. "Webby?" He called out. Still no answer. "Maybe she's not here?" He suggested unsurely. "She hasn't been anywhere else since we got back." Huey pointed out. Louie pushed passed his brothers and climbed the ladder to her actual room. They shrugged and followed him. When the three of them got there they saw she was buried in her bed and sighed. Huey sat on her bed his big brother instincts kicking in while the other two stood uncertainly in front of them. They weren't sure how to handle this. They didn't even think Huey was. "Hey, Webs, you've been up here for a few days now. I know you must really be upset, whatever you need we're here for you." Webby weakly sat up and started picking at her blanket. "Thanks guys, I'm just really upset you know? I thought she was my friend, and you guys are great but it was different with her. Like I had what you three have with someone of my own. And she was so cool! And she liked me, she actually liked me, or so I thought..." "It's her loss." Louie said as he joined them on the bed. And less than a second later Dewey was there too. Webby smiled her first real smile in days and even though it was weak it was still there. "Seriously Webby you're amazing, I'm really glad you're my sister." His brothers agreed and Webby's smile grew as she moved forward to hug them. "As long as you guys are still around I know I'll be okay." She broke the hug, "Now, let's talk about something else, I need to... not think about that for a while. What about your Mom? What's your plan to find out why she took the rocket?" "We don't have one." Huey said. "We didn't find out anything about her at Dismal Downs, Dad told us some stuff though. She liked pulling pranks... and he sees a lot of her in us. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. But it's kinda comforting. I still don't like her, like that she left everyone, but I want to know why. It's the least we deserve. But how do we figure it out?" "We take the information we have so far and go from there. We know she took the rocket, we know that Scrooge maybe built it? And we know that her leaving caused Mr. Duck to take you guys and leave and not talk to Uncle Scrooge for ten years. But from what Granny's told me he didn't try to reach out either. And... that's it, that's all we know." Webby responded. And while she had been talking Dewey had started getting more and more uncomfortable. But this time he said something. "Are we sure we want to know more about her? I'm still confused about everything we know so far, why add to it?" "Because knowing is better than not knowing, I'm sure of it." Huey replied, he wasn't surprised by Dewey's apprehension but there was some part of him that wished he'd make up his mind like he and Louie did. They couldn't be confused right now, not with so much at stake. And that had been the end of that conversation, at least until Scrooge brought up going to Monochrome. With it being such a long flight to get there they figured they could use the time to try to piece everything together. The only trouble was getting it past the adults, but that was where Louie came in. So as Lauchapad packed up the jeep and the other kids distracted their Uncle And Mrs. B, he gathered up everything they had on Della and stuffed it into a bag. He looked down at it once he was done, they were finally on their way to getting answers, but were they ready for it? And did he even want them? The answer to his last question was no, he still didn't care but he knew his brothers did even if one of them didn't. And he would do anything for his brothers. Even if he really really didn't want to, something was telling him this was only gonna end badly. "Are you sure you don't wanna come along, Dad?" Dewey asked after he noticed Donald walking by. "I'm sure. I've got some, uh, things to take care of." He shared a discreet look with the other adults. "But you kids have fun, and stay outta trouble." They agreed but then waved Louie over after they noticed him and Donald had left. They would definitely be staying out of trouble. The four of them got in the car with the adults and then Launchpad drove it into the plane. The most important adventure of their life was beginning. Donald sighed as he watched the plane take off, he wanted to go with them but he had some thinking to do. Now that the houseboat was done he had to think about his and the boys' living situation. He and Scrooge had made up, they still had a long way to go but it was a far cry from where they had been a few weeks ago. There was only one real reason to leave... Magica DeSpell. She was going to get out of the dime eventually and when she did... He didn't want his boys anywhere near it and her first target would be without a doubt Scrooge. And he wanted to help his Uncle with her, he really did but he didn't want to endanger the kids to do it. And those four were just as attracted to danger as the rest of their family was. The less they were around it the better. But he couldn't just abandon Scrooge, that wouldn't be right. His Uncle need his help with her even if he didn't know it, especially if he didn't know it.He had never gone up against Magica herself, thank god, but he had gone up against people similar to her. He usually had had help but he knew how busy his friends' lives were; he, Scrooge, and Mrs. B could handle this, hopefully. That didn't mean he wanted the kids to be around when they did though. And that definitely didn't mean he wanted Magica to know about the boys, the kind of magic they had. How powerful it was. If she somehow got a hold of it... They were better off being away, far, far away. But did he have to uproot them again just to do it? They had just started to get comfortable there, he had just started to get comfortable there. After being away for ten years it was finally starting to feel like home again. He wasn't sure he wanted to lose that. The kids minus Dewey started looking over the information that they had while wondering what was taking him so long to get there. It was like he was stalling or something, which he probably was but they still wished he would hurry up. And that was exactly what Webby had said. "He thinks he doesn't want answers so he's taking his time," Louie replied. "... I don't want answers if I'm being honest, I'm still team 'don't care what happened' but I'm also still mad at him for keeping his feelings from us for so long so..." He opened the latch and quietly shouted, "Dewey, hurry up!" "I know what you mean, I'm still mad too but we have to work together on this. That's the only way we'll get anywhere. Even if half of us aren't really into it, okay, this is fine. Everything is fine." Huey said unconvincingly and Louie tried not to wince. Huey pretended not to see, it was what both of them needed. And the thing was, he knew Louie didn't care, he knew Dewey thought he didn't care and up until now that had been fine. But now things were getting really serious and they had to treat it that way. At least Louie was still helping. When Dewey finally entered the box he shrunk back at his brothers' glares and went to overlook what they had as Louie explained where he got it and what it was. Huey and Webby started piecing the paper together but by the time Louie was done they discovered one piece was missing. Dewey would be lying if he said he wasn't kind of relieved. They looked around the box for it before Webby pointed it out hanging off a side of the entrance. Huey raced forward to get it but the plane suddenly moved and it flew out of the door unknown to the kids. "Quick if they find out we're researching his darkest secrets, Scrooge'll shut down our investigation for good." He said after he noticed Mrs. Beakley wondering where they were. The four of them rushed to hide everything and quickly left the box once they were done. They went into the view of her and Launchpad and started acting nonchalant, some were better than others. After a few words she was off to see Scrooge and the kids let out a collective sigh of relief. That was close. However their relief quickly morphed into concern when they realized what had happened. Their Uncle had crashed the plane, and it was a bad crash. Like their lives were in danger bad. And things only got worse after he made the plane spin. The piece they were looking for ended up in the jeep's back door as Dewey was quick to point out. They were about to go towards it when the adults headed to the jeep themselves, that wasn't good. They needed a distraction, but their distraction guy looked to be a few seconds away from a panic attack, and then they remembered where they were. Huey looked towards the piece anxiously then back at Louie; his decision was made, the piece could wait. "Come on, let's go see what's going on." He suggested and his brothers were quick to latch onto the idea, albeit for different reasons. "Uncle Scrooge, what's going on? Should we be worried?" He asked when they reached him unaware that was probably a bad time for his Uncle to be asked that. "Why would ye need ta be worried? Ae've taken yew kids on countless adventures and we've been fine. Why would this time be any different?" "We're stuck on the peak of a mountain, if any of us make even just one tiny wrong step this whole thing could come crashing down- and I've made it worse haven't I?" Scrooge looked at him confused but Huey didn't have to look at Louie to know that was true, he could feel his brother's panic getting stronger. It was starting to get suffocating. "If we die I'm coming back to haunt you!" Louie yelled at Scrooge. "Bold of you to assume we wouldn't also haunt him." Dewey replied watching their brother worriedly, though it wasn't obvious unless you knew what to look for. Louie took off towards the seats after that and his brothers shared a look before going after him, Webby following after them. As much as Dewey hated to admit it he was kind of glad for the distraction. He hated that Louie was so scared, he really did, but he wasn't sure he wanted them to get that piece. He didn't know what they would find out if they did. But really, what else was there for them to find out? She took the rocket and left them, that was all that mattered. But maybe she didn't want to leave? Argh, he was just getting confused again! Why couldn't he just make his mind? His brothers did, what made him so different? Why couldn't this be easy? He couldn't think about that right now, and he was aware he kept pushing it off but he really didn't care. Eventually it would catch up with him but now was not eventually and he had bigger things to worry about. Not the fact that they were stuck on a mountain, he had full faith in his Uncle to get them off, but Louie's panic was becoming more and more overwhelming. And sure in the past he had always felt his brothers' emotions, he probably would've even without their bond, but this time was different. It was like they were back in Ithaquack expect this time it was Louie who was causing the disturbance. But he knew he had to fight through it, he and Huey both did, the only thing that mattered right now was calming their brother down. However they also knew that that was easier said than done. And then of course there were the others to factor in, if they saw that they were so affected by Louie's panicking they would ask questions, questions that they couldn't give answers to. Well, this adventure was going downhill quickly. Something was wrong, Donald was sure of it. His charm had been going off like crazy for the past five minutes and no one was answering their phones. He knew he should've gone with them. He paced around in the houseboat as he thought about what to do. It wasn't like he could go after them, he didn't know where they were right now and he couldn't find out without eventually needing to explain to them how. As much as he didn't like it he knew he had to leave it to his Uncle and Mrs. B, trust that they could get everyone out of whatever situation there were in safely. Well, he trusted that Mrs. B would, he wasn't quite there with his Uncle yet. With that in mind he knew he had to do what he had originally planned to do that day, the whole reason he didn't go on the trip in the first place, he had to find Lena. He knew from Webby that she usually hung out at the abandoned amphitheater so he decided to start there. On his way there he thought about what he would say to her, how he would convince her she didn't need to work for Magica. He only hoped they weren't getting to her too late. By the time he got to the amphitheater he realized he had a problem, she couldn't really understand what he said and for this to work she had to know what he was saying. There was no way to fix this problem, he couldn't exactly make himself understandable, if there was a magical way to do it he would've done it a long time ago. So there was no way for him to be able to talk to her, why couldn't Mrs. B have stayed behind as well? He knew she needed a vacation but why did she have to take it now? He was really starting to believe the universe hated him.One problem at a time. He looked around the amphitheater but didn't find Lena and his hope slowly started to dwindle. It seemed like they were too late, whatever Magica was planning was starting to take place. And they didn't even know what it was, wonderful. But they had to figure it out, if they didn't know what she was up to they couldn't stop her. It was obvious she was going after Scrooge's dime and she wanted to use it to free herself but what was her plan after that? What was her actual aim? And he was worried about Lena, she shouldn't be involved in this, she was just a kid. He had to find her, somehow. But where else could he look? Where else could she be? He barely knew her, but magic could help him with this. He just needed something of hers to do it; he spotted a grey striped t-shirt on the stage, that'll do. He grabbed it and conjured the other things he needed for the spell but as he started to set up his charm began going crazy. Scrooge and Mrs. B had it under control, he trusted them to look after the kids, they would be fine. He breathed in to calm himself down as he thought those things and forced himself to believe them. If he was going to successfully do this spell he had to believe them. Once he finished setting up he performed the spell and found out where she was, in front of the mansion. She must've not known everyone was gone or maybe she did... He had to get there quick; he teleported himself there but ended up landing in the pool, well, it went better than last time. He shuddered, last time. A sound came from the front of the mansion and he went to investigate as he tried to think of how he would talk to her. He still had nothing. "Lena!... You're not Lena." He said after he got to where she was and realized that there was something off about her. That wasn't Lena's energy, it was Magica De Spell's. Huey and Dewey tried to calm their brother down but it wasn't until they told him how much he was affecting him that he really started to. And they felt bad for making him feel bad but it seemed to be the only way he would. "We're going to get out of this. We're with Uncle Scrooge, he's not gonna let anything happen to us." Huey told Louie once he fully came out of his panic. But he knew they all needed to hear it. "Okay, now that we're all calm we need to figure out how to get that piece." But only Webby seemed to be on board with that and he tried not to get angry at that, but they all had to be on board. And his brothers knew it. "It's not like we can move a lot, we don't even know if it's still in the jeep." Louie pointed out. Webby peered down to the jeep and confirmed it was. "Nevermind then. But seriously, how can get to it without moving the plane?" "Yeah, and how are we gonna get there without getting the adult's attention?" Dewey added on. And the triplets got the same idea at the same time, one look to each other said so. They would have to use magic. And they would have to distract Webby to do it. So while his brothers did that Huey used his air magic to make the piece float up to them. He still wasn't as good as it as Dewey was though so it ended up stuck on the railing next to the ladder. Great. He moved his hand slightly to get it unstuck but he may of moved it too much because it flew directly into his face much to the amusement of his brothers. He sighed and grabbed it then stuck in under his hat, where it would stay until they could get back to the rest of the paper. But he had a feeling that wouldn't be for a while. There was no way they could get back there without tipping the plane, looked like they would have to continue from where they were. But how could they do that if they didn't know what the paper was? He was starting to think this was hopeless. Dewey noticed the look on his brother's face and sighed. He didn't want to figure this out but Huey did, and never let it be said that Dewey didn't do absolutely anything for his brothers. Even at his own cost. "We need to figure out a way to back to that stuff." "What about the piece?" Webby asked and the triplets hesitated, how could they possibly explain it to her? But just then Huey's hat flew off and the piece came out from under it. "Oh! There it is!" Huey looked around as he put his hat back on and saw Dewey give him a wink. Finally, he was on board. "Yeah but now we're back to the same problem we had before, how do we get there without moving the plane?" Dewey tried to think of a response to Louie but found he couldn't. No matter what they did the plane would move but maybe there was a way to make it so it wouldn't move too much. He told the others this and Huey lit up as he started to explain Junior Woodchuck rule number 18. Huh, him being a nerd was finally useful. "So what two of us just walk in opposite directions 'til we get there?" He asked confused. "Not exactly, we do need two of us to get the stuff but the other two need to go in the opposite direction to counteract it. Webby and I'll go for the stuff, you two start counteracting." "I'll call out the steps!" Webby announced into her walkie talkie. The others nodded and everyone started moving. At last, they were actually getting somewhere. But Dewey still didn't think that was a good thing. And one look at Louie said he was thinking the same thing. Louie looked back and they both nodded, Huey wanted to know, that was all that mattered. "How right you are, Donald Duck." Magica said in reply to him. "I haven't been that welp for a while now." "Scrooge isn't here." He simply replied. "I knew that!" She exclaimed in a way that said she didn't. "Anyway I'm here for his dime, and you're gonna give to me." "That isn't here either." She let out a curse and he fought back the urge to roll his eyes. He had to figure out a way to get Lena back, and it wasn't like Magica was much of a threat to him on the other side of the gate. There was no way she was getting let in there unless she was let in. And there was no way he was doing that. "Look, whatever your planning leave Lena out of it, she's just a kid." "But that's why she's the perfect vessel. I mean, who would hurt a kid? Certainly not you considering you have, what is it four now?" Donald glared at her and tried to hold back his anger, she couldn't know how much she just got to him. "You're crazy if you think we'll let you hurt them." "Maybe I am but how would you stop me?" She smugly walked away after that and once she was out of sight he let go of his anger, his magic sending a strong wave throughout the whole front yard. He was seething, she thought she could threaten his kids and get away with it? Let her try to hurt them, it wouldn't end well for only her. And maybe Lena, this was a problem indeed. They couldn't do anything to her until Lena was free from her and she knew it too. That had to be top priority and as soon as the others got back he would fill Scrooge and Mrs. B in. And they would have to go from there. Now, he had to figure out a way to keep the kids safe. He wouldn't let her hurt them. But there was really no way to keep them out of it, they were too smart, they would know something was up immediately. But maybe that was a good thing, maybe they should be allowed to help, just in a way where they were in no danger. They needed all hands on deck for this, and that included them. However he knew that if they knew what was going on they would want to be on the frontlines and that simply wasn't happening. There had to be a way to have them involved without them being in any danger, he just had to find it. Dewey worriedly watched his siblings as they moved towards the box. He knew how much was a stake here, one wrong move and the whole plane came down. Of course, Louie knew that more. He nudged his brother slightly and gave him a reassuring smile, if push really came to shove they could just use their magic. It probably would've been hard with just two of them but he was sure they could do it. Now if Louie could only be sure of that too. They kept walking at Webby's direction until Louie suddenly pulled him down. He gave him a questioning look until he saw where they were. Right next to the cockpit, where all the adults were. "What do we do now? If we keep moving they'll notice us." "We don't a have choice, they're almost there." Louie gestured to where their siblings were only a few steps away from the box. "We just have to be sneaky." But the walkie talkie didn't account for sneaky. Webby's voice came through and Dewey stumbled to grab it and turn it off before the adults could notice. However it was already too late, they had heard and whirled around to see both of them on the floor. They gave them cheesy smiles. "What are yew two doin'? Where are the others?" Scrooge demanded to know and Dewey looked at his brother for an answer. "We just wanted to see what you guys were up to, see what the plan was." Louie lied. "Then where are the others?" Scrooge repeated but then the plane suddenly lurched and Dewey turned the walkie talkie back on. "Stop moving!" He shouted into it. The plane stilled. "We've been caught." The adults zeroed in on Louie and Dewey. "Explain, now." Mrs. Beakley said and they looked at each other, they didn't want to do that but it seemed they had no choice. "And you two, get back up here, slowly." However Huey and Webby hesitated, not only were they so close, but they were sure that if they went back up the plane would tilt too much. "Get back up here or ae'm headin' down there." They didn't move so Scrooge grumbled and started climbing down the ladder, much to the protests of Mrs. Beakley. He inched his way over to them but after a few steps he couldn't move anymore so he tugged the parachute from Launchpad. But the force of it sent all three of them crashing into a wall and made the plane move again. Which dislodged the box and sent it flying towards them. They got out of the way in time but the impacted broke it apart and revealed all the kids had been working on much to their utter dismay. Mrs. Beakley reached into Louie's hoodie pocket and pulled out the piece of paper that had been sticking out of it. "Children, what have you been up to?" She sadly asked after seeing what the paper was. They looked down, it wasn't like either of them really wanted this. Any of it. And was when Dewey got mad. He never wanted any of this, he only went along after he saw how much Huey wanted it. He didn't want to figure this out, he was already confused enough. Sure in the beginning he wanted to know more about her but after he did he didn't get to settle on a feeling like his brothers did. And he was aware that was his own fault but he just didn't care. He was the one that went looking for this, and now he was the one that was paying for it. It wasn't fair and he had had enough. After the others made their way back up he grabbed the piece from Huey and made his way out the window before any of them could stop him. "Dewey!" "Nooo! Lad!" But it was too late, he was already out there and he wasn't coming back in until he got rid of it. Donald watched his charm go off in a way it never had before and determined that whatever was going on was something Scrooge and Mrs. B couldn't handle. He needed to know what was happening. Magica be damned, his kids were in trouble now. He did the same locating spell he did earlier and didn't like what he found at all. He felt his anger burning up again, Scrooge had done a lot of stupid things but getting them stuck on the peak of a mountain took the cake. He hoped his Uncle survived, so that he could kill him when they got back. This was the last straw. As soon as they got back he and the boys were gone. He would help him deal with Magica but after that he was out of their lives. For good. He knew it had been a bad idea to bring them there, but he had had no other choice. And by the end of the Atlantis adventure he had thought Scrooge might've been good for the boys. It was like he said, no matter what he did they would find trouble, but he never wanted them in this kind of trouble. He had been wrong, their Uncle was nothing but bad, for everyone involved. He only wished it hadn't come to something like this for him to figure that out. And sure he had known it before but he had still been willing to let him be around the boys, what a huge mistake that was. And it was an even bigger mistake to try and make up with him, he was past his involvement with what happened to Della but that didn't mean Scrooge was any better. He was still the same Scrooge he was ten years ago, reckless and uncaring of the danger he put his family in. But this time the kids were there and that really wasn't okay. It was one thing when it was him and Della but when it was his kids... That something else entirely. The plane wobbled as Dewey made his way further out but he didn't care. He could feel his brothers' panic though and he did care about that. But it became less when he saw Scrooge come after him, why wouldn't he just let him do this? He just wanted to get rid of it, he just wanted this to stop. Cause he did care, he did want to know, she was their mom how could he not? She was their mom, how could she leave them? He looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and clenched his fist angrily. He was still confused but he knew one thing, he didn't like her."Dewey," Huey's voice suddenly cut through the walkie-talkie. "I know you're confused about all of this, I know you're hurt that she left us and I know you're mad at yourself for keeping your feelings to yourself, but throwing that piece away won't solve anything, you know it won't. Just come back in the plane and we'll talk about it." Dewey hesitated and that was when Louie's voice came through. "Dewey please, we can figure this out together and you can feel however you want to feel, as long as you come back inside. We need you." There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his brothers, but maybe this time he was doing it for himself too. He needed them as well. He turned to look at Scrooge and glared at him as he tried not to cry. "Enough secrets, tell us about the Spear of Selene." Scrooge looked taken back for a second before nodding and holding a hand out. He took it and they both made their way back to the plane. Once they got inside Dewey was tackled in a hug from his brothers and he tightly hugged them back. "I'm-" He started to say, but they shook their heads. "We're just glad you're okay." Huey said. Louie sniffled, "Really glad." The three of them smiled at each other and walked over to where the others were. Where Scrooge had almost finished piecing together the paper, he seemed to be waiting for them to place the final piece down. After everyone looked at him Scrooge sighed and started telling the story with a sad smile, "It was just befer yew were hatched. Yer mother, yer dad, and ae had been goin' on amazin' adventures fer years and things were grand! Except, we'd been just aboot everywhere. Ever the aviator yer mother devised a plan ta explore the greatest uncharted territory o' all, outer space." He said as he slid the final piece into place revealing him standing in a spacesuit in front of the Spear. The boys' gasped, Scrooge had made it after all. And for her. Scrooge continued, "Della had already been over the air she wanted ta give yew boys the stars. Donald thought it was too risky, especially with yew three on the way. So, ae did the only logical thing, ae built the rocket and didnae tell Donald or anyone. It was meant ta be a surprise fer Della ta celebrate yer birth. But yer mother was always good at sniffing out surprises. She found the rocket and decided ta go fer a little test run in orbit. Neither of us could've predicted, that cosmic storm." The triplets shared a look."But we both knew a little pangalatic precipitation wouldnae stop her after all, she was Della Duck! Curse me kilts was that girl stubborn! Ae tried ta talk her through it, thought if anyane could make it it was her. Until that very last bolt. Ae couldnae keep her safe, the rocket and yer mother were lost to the inky abyss o' space. Yer Dad and ae never spoke again, until yew three showed up on my doorstep." He finished with a smile. The triplets didn't even have to look at each other to know they were on the same page here, "So it's your fault she left?" Huey angrily whispered. "If you hadn't built that rocket she'd still be here!" "And you encouraged her to keep going when it got too dangerous." Louie added on quietly, his whole demeanor changed. It had been a quick shift but Dewey had been looking at Louie just long enough to notice. And all bets were off the table, no one made his brother look like that. "Dad was right about you, you are the worst." Everything froze after that no one really knowing how to respond until Scrooge glared at all of them and furiously spat out, "After everythin' ae do fer yew yer all nothin' but trouble!" He was suddenly interrupted by Launchpad who announced they were falling. Everyone started screaming as the plane descended and froze when the plane almost safely landed Launchpad commenting on how weird it was. The plane then crashed into the side of a mountain, "There we go."The walk back to the mansion was tense with no one saying anything to each other. The boys were having a silent conversation between the three of them, Huey and Louie letting their brother know that they had now fully forgiven him. There were bigger things to be upset about. But the problem was that none of them could settle between mad and upset so they were both. They were mad and upset at Scrooge, at their mom, and even a little at themselves. The only ones they weren't those things with were Webby and their Dad. In fact they were kind of sorry for their Dad, they couldn't imagine what he was going through. The thought of one of them doing that... It was unbearable. When they got back to the mansion the three of them immediately made their way to the houseboat, they didn't want to be there anymore and they were pretty sure Scrooge didn't want them there either. "Boys!" Donald called out revealed when he saw them. "We know about the Spear of Selene." Dewey simply replied and Donald sunk down slightly, he always dreaded this day. But he was too worried and revealed to see them alive to let them simply go back into the houseboat. So when they walked past him he followed and put a barrier around the boat to make sure they were undisturbed. He found them huddled together on the couch. And the triplet cuddle pile was usually centered by whoever needed the most comfort and if that was no one it was claimed by Louie, but this time they all needed comfort. His heart broke just watching them. He knew when they eventually found out about it they wouldn't take it well but he had been hoping he could be the one to explain it to them. Hoping that that would make it easier and maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad but that hadn't happened. And now here they were. He sat next to them on the couch and pulled them into his lap. "I'm so sorry you found out like this, I always hoped I'd be the one to explain it." "We've been looking for information about her for a while." Louie admitted. And he wanted to ask them why they didn't tell him sooner but he knew the answer to that, they didn't want to upset him. He nodded, "When you're ready to talk about it all I'll listen. But just know you can tell me anything, even if you think it'll upset me. I would've answered any questions you had about her if you just asked. It's hard for me to talk about her, it always will be, but I'll do it for you boys. Is there anything else you want to know about her?""She left, what else is there to know?" Huey asked and Donald found he couldn't answer that. She did leave, she left all of them, and he still hadn't forgiven her for that. But right now his feelings didn't matter, his boys needed him. "Why didn't they listen to you?" They looked up at him and he sighed. "I don't know, kiddos, I really don't. I wish they did though." He said sadly. "Us too." They started crying and he held onto them tighter, it was all he could unfortunately do right now. And he couldn't find it in himself to get mad at Della often after she left, but he hated that she was doing this to them. He hated that Scrooge had made the rocket in the first place, he hated everything about this situation. But these boys, his boys, he had nothing but love for them. The only good thing that came out of this situation was that he got to be their Dad. He just wished he hadn't had to lose everything else to do it. "We love you, Dad." The three of them said as they hugged him like he was their only source of security and comfort.But it was worth it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Donald sighed as he watched the kids, well most of them, load boxes onto the houseboat. He knew he was making the right decision to move them back to the marina and they clearly wanted to, but something felt wrong about it. But he was still too mad at Scrooge to really think about. Once the boys got more settled in and he calmed down a little he would have to go see him though, they still had Magica to take care of. And maybe part of him was worried about his Uncle. The problem was that this was the perfect time for her to strike, when Scrooge was at his lowest and they still had no idea what she was up to or how to stop her. And she was still possessing Lena, and Donald hadn't told Scrooge before they left, he had been too mad to think about. This was a problem indeed. But as he looked at the boys downtrodden faces he knew it was one that had to wait. He didn't know how to cheer them up and it was killing him, all he could do was offer snacks that they clearly didn't like. But wait, there were only three, "Where's Dewey!?" He was about to run to the engine room when he spotted his son sulkily sitting on the stairs. "Nope, right here. Not stealing the boat." Donald let out an 'oh!'. "Yup, back to the good ol' days. Woo-oo!" He half-heartedly cheered as he put on his lifevest and Huey and Louie echoed his cheer. Donald frowned, he really didn't like this, there had to be something he could do. There had to be something that could cheer them up. Dewey angrily threw his Druid's cup into the sea and waited for his brothers to do the same with their things, they didn't need them anymore. They were better off without them. Without Scrooge. It was the three of them against the world again, just how it was supposed to be. They didn't need anyone else, except their Dad, and Webby, and Launchpad was really cool... Ok, so they did need other people, they just didn't need Scrooge. And that was more than fine with him. He was the one that gave Della the means to leave, and he was still confused about her to be mad at her so he was mad at Scrooge. His brothers on the other hand, were mad at both of them. So Huey had no problems sending his shirt out to sea with a Viking send-off meanwhile Louie was having problems. They weren't for sentimental reasons, Scrooge was pretty much dead to him, but he really liked his khopesh. And if his brothers weren't so mad they'd see that. But he knew how upset they were, and how upset he was, so with a sigh he tossed it into the bay. Only for Dewey to send a blast of magic at it that made it sail away. At least for a few seconds. "Ah-ha!" Louie cheered as the khopesh came back. "WHAT!" His brothers shouted shocked and stopped him from diving into the water to get it. "It came back! It wants to be with me!" Louie protested as he struggled against them. Donald sighed as he watched them, it seemed like the khopesh bonded to Louie. Which meant it wasn't going anywhere. He walked over to where they were which got their attention and made them stop fighting; he reached into the water and pulled the khopesh out. "Huey, Dewey, if Louie really wants this he should get to keep it." He said as he handed it to Louie. He cheerfully took it but then noticed his brothers' faces and became sad, he didn't want it if it would make them upset. Donald noticed. "Besides, it looks like it bonded to you, it's not going anywhere anyway." Louie looked at it in amazement. "So cool." He whispered and the boys' attention seemed to shift to that, to which Donald was glad for. And as they focused on that he took the time to thank Launchpad and Webby for their help. And noticed how down they looked. "Hey umm, I know this sucks but we're not going anywhere, not yet at least. I still have something to take care of with," He looked at the boys, "Scrooge. And that'll take a few days. I don't know what we'll do after though, they're really upset and rightfully so. But maybe they'll calm down in those days and the four of them can talk it out." He said to try to cheer them up. "Five." Webby corrected and he looked at her confused. "She was your sister Mr. Duck, aren't you allowed to be upset too? Aren't you allowed to talk it out too?" He looked at her with a fond smile, "That's Uncle Donald to you. And yes, yes I am." She grinned at him and raced to give him a big smile as Mrs. B came onto the boat and watched them with a smile of her own. They met eyes and he nodded at her before he let go of Webby and let her run off to the boys. "That meant a lot to her, you know. She really looks up to you." And Donald wasn't really sure why she looked up to him, but he was glad he could make her happy. "Now then, what are we gonna do about Magica? You know she's going to try to use this to her advantage." "Magica DeSpell's back!?" Launchpad shouted and the other two quickly shushed him and looked towards the kids to see if they had heard. They hadn't. "There's more to it than that, she's fully possessed Lena and I didn't have time to tell Scrooge before we left. And the kids can't know." Donald stressed towards Launchpad. "Not until we can figure out a way to let them help safely, we need all hands on deck for this one." "Agreed. Especially if she's going to try and use them against Scrooge." And that was when Donald remembered their conversation from yesterday and told the other two about it. "Wonderful." Mrs. B said sarcastically. "Someone needs to go check on him." "I did earlier, he wasn't letting anyone in, not even for ice cream." Launchpad interjected. "Besides how's Lena, Magica, Magilena? Supposed to get in there if the kids aren't there?" The other two blinked at him. "Good point, Launchpad." The kids, meanwhile, had moved into the living room and were sitting on the couch. Or three out of four of them were, Huey was pacing as he tried not to think about everything that was happening. It was a lot, too much for his mind to be able to fully handle. He could feel himself starting to break, but he couldn't, he was the oldest. He had to hold himself together, so he turned his attention to the only thing that would let him do that: His brothers. Only they saw through it almost immediately. "Huey stop! Stop acting like you're okay! You don't have to take care of us right now! No one's expecting you too!" Louie vehemently said. Huey looked down for a few seconds before lunging at his brothers and hugging them. "I don't know what I'm doing." He admitted, knowing they would be able to feel it. "Too much is happening, I don't know how to handle it. I'm supposed to be there for you guys but I can't if I'm like this." "We're brothers. We're there for each other. Especially in times like this. Stop trying to act like you have to handle everything on your own, we'll get through this but only if we're together." Huey smiled at Dewey. He was right, they had to be in this together which meant a certain someone had to confront his feelings. "Okay, but Dewey, this has gone on long enough, no more not thinking about Della. You have to figure out how you feel about her. I know it's hard but you can't keep avoiding it. It's only doing more harm than good." Dewey looked away from the others, he didn't think now was the best time to think about that but Huey had a point. He needed to know. And he needed something to think about other than how mad he was at Scrooge. Della was their mom and she loved them, that was a good thing. She left them and everyone else right before they were born, that was a bad thing. She made their Dad and Scrooge not talk for ten years and basically split their family apart, that was a very bad thing. She left their Dad alone and he was forced to raise them while still being upset, that was the worst thing. He loved his Dad and was glad he was his Dad but he saw how hard it was on him, raising the three of them. He couldn't help but think of how much better things would've been if she'd stayed. But, he also couldn't help but think of how much he liked his life now. They were doing fine without her. And that was more than okay with him. She left, she split their family up, everything else she did and was took a back seat to that. He didn't like her, he didn't hate her but he didn't like her. And that was what he told the others. But it still felt like there was something more to it, something deeper. But what else could there be? Scrooge... he compared him to her a lot, said he was just like her. Was that it? The thought of being like her, of doing something like this to his family... He didn't want to be like her. "I don't want to end up like her." He whispered. The room went silent. "You're Dewey not Della, why would you end up like her?" Webby asked confused. "So many people compare me to her, Scrooge, Selene, even Dad's done it once or twice! I know it's supposed to make me feel better about her not being here but it doesn't! All it does is tell me I might be the one to split our family apart someday! I don't want to do that, I don't!" He started crying and the others quickly wrapped him in a hug. They started telling him things like that it wasn't true, that he wasn't capable of doing something like that. The scary part was that he thought he was. But his brothers, they didn't and they knew him better than he did. Maybe that was what mattered, as long as they kept thinking that things would be okay. The last thing he ever wanted to do was disappoint them. "Maybe we should have a dinner, all seven of us, together." Donald suggested to the other adults. "I'm really worried about the boys, I've never seen them like this. It doesn't seem right to focus on Magica when they're this upset. Even if she is a huge threat." Mrs. Beakley and Launchpad agreed and they set out to make a dinner plan. Hopefully that would cheer the boys up, and open them to the possibility of talking to Scrooge. If they were gonna take down Magica they had to be in it together. All of them. As they set things up to make the dinner Donald peered into the living room to see how they were doing and found them and Webby curled together on the couch. He smiled. Then noticed how agitated the boys' energies were and frowned. He sure hoped their magic didn't lash out because of this. That wouldn't end well. He watched them for a few more seconds then turned back to the food in front of him. "Do you think this'll work?" Mrs. B asked him as they started cooking. "It has to." The rest of the time they prepared the dinner was spent by the three of them trying to come up with a plan for Magica. And as they did that Donald also thought about his Uncle, he was tired of being mad at him, even if it was well earnt at times. This wasn't one of those times, Launchpad could've just as easily crashed them onto that peak. His Uncle knew how to get out of even the most slippest situations, it was just hard for him not to get mad when the kids are involved.But he knew Scrooge and knew he worried for their safety just as much as he did, knew that he had been a parent once too. Knew that the one situation he couldn't get out of completely destroyed their family and everyone blamed him cause it was easier to do than blame someone who was basically dead. But that wasn't fair and for ten years Donald had been the main contributor, that stopped now. He had to let it go, had to let himself really move on. And that started with helping the boys. They had to be able to move on too, to forgive Scrooge just as he had. It wouldn't be easy but hopefully this dinner would be a good start. They just had to get one more person in on the plan. Webby had been just as eager to help as Mrs. B said she would, she was worried about the boys too. "They helped me when I was upset over Lena, I wanna help them now." Is what she had told them. Donald had smiled, ruffled her hair, and let her decorate the cake they made as they finished up the final touches on everything else. After that he went to call the boys in and found them staring blankly at the floor, he sighed. "Boys, dinner." He announced quietly. They didn't move. He sighed again and sat next to them wordlessly. "Is it bad that we don't like her?" Huey softly asked after a few minutes. "No, of course not. She left you, choice or not, you don't have to like her. But hiding yourselves away from the people who care about you, not talking about how you're feeling, that's not how to deal with it. Trust me, I made that mistake and it messed me up for years, don't let it do the same to you." He got up and went back into the kitchen, hoping they would really think about that. They followed him after a few seconds and gave him a look that he knew meant they would. The seven of them sat down at the around the table a couple of them having to sit in chairs since there were a lot of them. It was silent for a few moments before Launchpad decided to speak up. "Man I love family! Nothing better than family! Can't get stuff like this anywhere other than with family!" The boys looked at him confused and weirded out while the other adults tried not to hit their heads. Meanwhile Webby came up with a plan of her own, she had just gotten all of them, she wasn't going to lose them. "A toast! The dictionary defines 'family' as 'a group of people bound together by commitment and unwavering loyalty.' So let's each say one nice thing about a particular relative of ours. Ahem. Boys?" The boys looked at each other and Dewey let out a noise, "Fine. I'll go with Dad, because well, he's devoted to his family. Unlike others." "Yeah, and he's thoughtful.""Don't forget passionate." Louie added on and Donald smiled at the three of them as he tried not to cry. "Ugh! Okay, we all love Uncle Donald. But how about a relative that is not in this room, who is over 80, and is very, very rich?" Webby suddenly cut in and the boys looked at her suspiciously. "What's going on here?" Dewey demanded to know. The room went silent as the others tried to think about what to say. "We made you this dinner to try to cheer you up." Donald admitted. "We're worried about you. I know you're hurting, I get it, I do. And I know you're mad at Scrooge, I was for ten years, but it wasn't entirely his fault. And losing her, losing us, was the hardest thing that's ever happened to him. He did everything he could to get her back, he told himself, he nearly went bankrupt over it! That's how much he cared, cares. He loves his family more than anything." The boys looked at him unsurely. "Distancing yourselves from him is not going to fix this, talking is. I know that from experience." He got out of his seat, "Uncle Scrooge needs us and we need him. Our family has been apart too long, it's time for us to come together." He started tearing up and crouched down. "Come here, boys." They immediately raced towards him with tears in their own eyes and latched onto him. He was right, about everything. "Now then, we need to get back to the mansion before-" Mrs. Beakley was cut off by a loud explosion and all of them ran outside to see a surge of purple magic coming from up Killmotor Hill and Magica DeSpell manically laughing from inside it. "Oh phooey." Was all Donald could say. They were too late. Everyone jumped as their shadows flew out from beneath them and the boys staggered slightly, they could feel Magica's energy from here. Donald stealthily put his hands on them to steady them and shared a look with Mrs. B. This was not good at all. They had a plan now, but she was stronger than they anticipated. And she was only getting stronger. Donald suddenly felt a tug on his shirt and looked down to see the boys worriedly watching him. "What's going on, Dad? Who is that?" "Magica DeSpell." He gravely answered. Huey let out a gasp but his brothers looked confused. "Uncle Scrooge's greatest enemy and a very powerful sorcerer. She disappeared about 15 years ago and didn't show up again until a few days ago." He paused and looked anywhere but Webby. "By possessing Lena." The kids gasped and the boys immediately looked at Webby. She furrowed her brow, "Then that means she... wasn't doing those things by choice." She turned to the adults. "We have to help her!" Mrs. Beakley nodded, "We will, dear, her and Scrooge. And we have to do it before anything else-" She was cut off once again this time by some sort of seaweed creature climbing onto the boat. Everyone screamed as it did so until it revealed itself to be Manny; he pulled Gyro onto the ship and Lil Blub followed behind. Donald let out a relieved sigh, at least one of his friends was safe. Gyro started going on about what happened as Donald began thinking, Scrooge and Lena needed them, they were wasting time just sitting there. "Everybody listen up! Scrooge is in trouble it's up to us to help him!" The boys nodded but everyone else looked confused. "Did anybody understand him?" Launchpad asked and the boys affirmed that they did but they seemed to be the only ones so Gyro sighed and handed Donald something. "Here, take this. The Barksen Modulator! Able to transmit neuro-pluses into sonic transmissions." Everyone looked at him blankly. "It's a voice box." Donald nodded and took it, knowing if this was going to actually go somewhere people needed to be able to understand him. "Rubber baby buggy bumpers, rubber baby bugger bumpers, rubberbabybuggerbumpers! Wow, never been able to say that before!" He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, Uncle Scrooge is in trouble and it's up to us to help him! Adventure is in our blood, we've faced down perilous foes and endless danger every day! But we always prevail because these ducks don't back down! Our plan from before won't work anymore, we need to stage a coordinated attack. Gyro, you and your team will storm down the bridge to distract Magica's shadow forces. Launchpad, head up the air attack to draw her attention, do you think you can crash into the bin?" Everyone laughed. "Alright, alright, alright. Beakley, while the others distract Magica you and I will sneak around back in my newly fixed up houseboat." "And we!" Dewey cheered. Donald looked at their hopeful faces and knew what he had to do. They would understand eventually. "Will stay here and out of danger." He said as he put a lifevest on Dewey. He and Webby protested so Donald continued. "This isn't an adventure, this is Magica DeSpell! Under no circumstances are you kids to come to the bin, understand?" "Yes, Dad." "Yes, Uncle Donald." He gave them a salute and hopped off to the engine room to start the boat. As soon as he pulled it a little away from them he looked to see them taking off their vests and smirked, perfect. The thought of them in the middle of this was still terrifying, especially with Magica's threat still in the front of his mind but he knew he had to trust them with this one. They had each other, the boys had their magic, and Webby was Webby, they could handle this. "So we're totally sneaking into the money bin, right?" Dewey asked and his brothers immediately agreed. He knew the three of them were scared to do this, that this would be the biggest challenge they'd ever faced but they'd do it together. Even when it felt like the world was falling apart, he could count on his brothers. The only question now was how they were going to take on an entire shadow army, their magic was good, but not that good. And there was still the whole thing of Webby not knowing. "The Ducks don't back down!" He said in response to Huey. "Now, if only we knew someone with experience breaking into places." He and Huey looked at their brother who looked back at them confused. "Oh right, me!" He realized. "Yeah I can definitely get us into there but there's still the whole thing with the shadow army, and Webby hasn't said anything in like five minutes." He pointed out and three of them turned to see her staring out at sea. Huey gently put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "How are you?" "Worried, upset, a little mad at myself, but mostly worried. I was so messed up when I found out what she was doing that I didn't even think to ask her why! And now she's..." She trailed off as she gestured vaguely and the boys nodded. "We're going to get her back. Her and Uncle Scrooge both." Webby smiled at them but then frowned. "We don't even know what happened to them. All we know is that Magica had something to do with it. How can we get them back if we don't know anything?" "We need to head to the amphitheater. There has to be something there." Huey's siblings agreed and the four of them headed down there. It wasn't a long walk but it was one filled with resolve. They were going to do something to help, even if the adults didn't want them to. Their family was in danger too. Once they got there the others looked at Huey for what to do next. "We're pretty sure she lived here, right? We need to look for some sort of secret entrance." And the four of them did just that. Dewey ended up being the one to find it, on accident, he was just walking and suddenly stepped a floorboard that revealed it. They went down there and started looking around for anything that could help them. Dewey, once again, ended up being the one to find something, this time it was a journal. He flicked through it until Webby took it from him and said that they couldn't read through it. "What if it has information?" Huey pointed out and Webby had to give him that. She flipped through it herself until she came upon a poem that looked interesting. "To end the line of Clan McDuck,
She sought a token of their luck,
Well with the eclipse in it's prime,
She'd trapped ol' Scrooge within his dime,
But Scrooge reversed her vengeance plan,
And in his dime the witch did land,
Yet as he struck the final blow,
She cast a spy from her shadow,
I walk the earth and yield her power,
To bring about McDuck's last hour. So that's what happened, she was Magica's puppet all this time. Now we really have to help her, Magica's awful! Even if Lena did chose to do those things she's still been stuck with her for who knows how long! She didn't have any choice, not really." "We will but we're still missing some stuff, like where she and Scrooge are now." Louie then noticed a curtain covering the wall next to them and flung it open to reveal a drawing of some sort. "Whoa, looks like Magica used the eclipse to free herself and trapped Uncle Scrooge in the dime. Welp, that answers one of our questions." "We have to get to the money bin and free them ourselves! And I know just how to Dewey it." Dewey took off and his siblings rolled their eyes before following him. They sure hoped he had a good plan. Donald drove the houseboat towards the money bin with determination: his town was in danger, his family was in danger, his kids were in danger. Magica wasn't going to get away with this. He glanced down at his wrist to see if his charm had gone off yet; it hadn't, which meant the kids still weren't in any danger. He knew it wouldn't be like that for long though, that soon enough they would be facing off against the shadows and damn-it if that wasn't a scary thought. Trust or not, they were still his kids.They were his kids, which meant they had this. He was Donald Duck, which meant he had this. "I am the storm." He said in response to Mrs. Beakley. He vaguely heard her scorn at the comment but was too in the zone to care. He was Donald Duck, he would save the day, just like he always had in the past. Of course in the past he had had help, whether it was Della, or the other Three Caballeros, or even some of his friends that he hadn't seen in years. But now, he realized as looked at everything happening, he had help too. And as long as he had help he knew he could do this. He held onto that belief even as the houseboat started to break down when they were a few miles away from the money bin and shadows started flying at them. "We gotta get to the bin!" "You go, I'll be fine. I haven't had a proper fight in a while anyway." Mrs. Beakley responded as she cracked her knuckles. Donald came out of the engine room and avoided shadows as he lept into the ocean with a shout of, "Look after my boat!" He swam towards the money bin and got in undetected then made his way to the actual bin, where he knew Magica would be. He got there just in time to see a bunch of shadows about to attack the kids and felt his blood boil.The kids made their way up the stairs to the money bin tiredly and Louie felt himself collapse on the stairs, it took a lot out of him to break in. He then heard Huey ask when their shadows came back and fought the urge to hit his head on the stair. Their shadows attacked them and the boys instinctively used their magic to fend them off, at least until Webby shouted for them to cut the lights. Dewey grabbed Louie's khopesh and did just that. Huey complained about not being able to see and was about to make a light source when Webby pulled out night visions goggles and put them on. The boys fell in line behind her and they continued on. They walked for a while not being able to find Scrooge's office but eventually came upon it. Only to be met with a couple of shadows. Without even looking at each other the boys lept into a battle stance and were more than prepared to reveal their magic to save all of them when their Dad came from out of nowhere and surged onto one of the shadows. "Get away from my kids!" He started attacking the shadows as the kids watched on in shock, the boys began cheering their Dad on as he took all them on one-on-a lot. Once he finished he turned towards the kids angrily and Louie stepped forward. "We can explain!" Donald smiled and walked towards them. "Kids, I told you not to come so of course you showed up, just when I need you." "Classic reverse psychology, feel like I should've seen that coming." More shadows entered the room and Donald ushered them towards the diving board. "Go save our Uncle, I'll keep these palookas at bay, Ducks don't back down." He shut the door to the money bin and turned towards the shadows. "Come and get it, you no good srnejkdfnjndg!" He charged at them and started fighting them off with a mixture of actual fighting and his magic. The shadows kept coming, more and more of them, but he kept knocking them down. One of them got at his throat and messed up the voice box, because of course it did. Regardless, he kept going and took all of them down. Once they were all defeated he looked towards the locked money bin and knew what he had to do. The kids were using all their tricks against Magica but it wasn't working, she was stronger than them. In every way, Dewey and Webby were the adventure junkies who ran headfirst into danger at every chance while Huey and Louie were the ones who stayed back and thought things through. Neither were working. It all came to a head when Webby confronted her over everything and asked where her best friend was. And Magica said something that made her blood run cold. "She was never your friend! She was just a shadow!" Webby got up and lept at her in a fit of rage as the boys tried to figure out how to get the dime and free their Uncle. But before they could try anything the bin door opened and their Dad came in. When he saw what was happening he quickly jumped into action. He effortlessly caught Webby as Magica flung her away and placed her behind him then stood in front of the kids protectively. "Magica DeSpell, this ends now! I won't let you hurt my kids!" She smirked, "You can't stop me!" That was what she thought. As soon as she shot a blast of magic from her scepter he shot one of his own to deflect it. He heard a gasp from behind him but had to focus on Magica, whose eyes had gone wide when she realized what he did. "Nobody hurts my family!" He shot another blast of magic at her and knocked her back. "Boys, the dime, get Scrooge out of it!" He yelled behind him and heard them immediately agree. Magica got back up and was about to go for it herself when he stopped her, but just barely. They were pretty evenly matched, his only upper hand being that he was a sorcerer and he knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. He needed help. He needed his boys. He risked a look at them and saw they were struggling to find a way to free Scrooge. And that was when he figured it out, Magica had to be the one to do it. Which meant she had to hit it with her magic which would reverse it. He just had to figure out a way to get her to do that. He shot another blast of magic temporarily immobilizing her and turned to the boys, "Boys, I could use some help over here!" They looked at him uncertainly, "Are you sure?" He gave them a confident nod, "Never been surer of anything in my life." They grinned and ran over to him as Magica got free. "We need her to hit the dime, that'll free Scrooge." He explained and they nodded. She made another move but Louie created a barrier before it could reach them as Dewey used his kinetic powers to make the gold attack her. She fended it off but barely, making it clear they now had the upper hand. But for how long he didn't know. Louie's barrier suddenly broke and the four of them forced back from the blast. Magica raised her scepter again, "You four may have magic as well but you'll never be powerful enough to stop me! I've been in the shadow realm for years, this is my domain!" All of the shadows started circling around them and Donald quickly encased them in a bubble. The shadows started pounding at it but there was no way they were getting through, not for a few minutes at least. And a few minutes is what they needed. He looked at the boys who were frightenedly watching the shadows and got their attention, they needed a plan. And maybe he just got one. "Boys, how good is your multi-person magic?" "Pretty good, I guess. Why?" Huey asked. "Because we're going to need it to get rid of these shadows. Magica's right, this is her domain, but if we can change that we have a chance. Sorcerors are more powerful than witches, especially when we're together. Especially when three of us are bonded." He bent down and gripped their shoulders. "We can do this. You can do this, you three are so powerful and I'm so proud of you. No matter what happens, I'll be always proud of you, my boys." They tearfully grinned at him and nodded. He popped the bubble and the four of them got into position. The shadows quickly moved in but they were quicker. "Lux, illa obumbratio delendis rit conferatur!" They shouted and a surge of light came from them and directly into the shadows making them explode. Magica let out an enraged noise from behind them and shot another blast magic towards them. Donald thought quick and grabbed the dime making her directly hit it, freeing Scrooge. "Way ta de spell yer own spell, DeSpell." He taunted and turned to the others. "Lads, good ta see ye again. The magic's new though." They smiled at him. "Good to have you back, Uncle Scrooge. Now, where we were?" Donald got into a battle stance and felt the boys do the same next to him. Then saw Scrooge also do the same. The two of them shared a smile and a nod, they were going to take her down, as a family. Like they always should've been. Now that she was out of her domain Magica was much easier to handle, which is what Donald had been hoping for. She wasn't even really thinking about her attacks anymore, just trying to hit Scrooge. It was clear revenge had been her only plan here. And that would be her downfall. "Yew know ae oughtta thank yew." Scrooge told Magica as he dodged another one of her attacks. "For showing you how weak and pathetic you truly are? You're welcome." "If yew hadn't attacked me my family may well have left forever. By tryin' ta destroy me yew sort o' saved my family." Magica gave them a venomous glare and grabbed her scepter for one final attack. But Donald was ready, he grabbed it and magically broke it in half before she could stop him. The orb fell out and something told him not to grab it. He got his answer when it began to expel energy that went straight for Magica and pulled her into it, her panickedly screaming as it did so. The money bin and the rest of Duckburg fell into a peaceful calm, finally it was over.Everyone started cheering, everyone excepted one person. All she wanted to do was cry. "Lena's... gone." The boys looked at her sadly but hopeful. "We don't know that. Not for sure. We don't know what happened to her, but I'm sure wherever she is she's watching over you." Webby smiled at the three of them and they hugged her. None of them noticed Webby's shadow change for a split second. "Listen, about us having magic-" Webby cut Huey off with a smile, "It's okay, I understand why you didn't say anything. I'm not the best at keeping secrets and I probably would've told Uncle Scrooge. But you have to tell me more about it later!" "Deal." The four of them made their way over to the adults and stopped when Scrooge turned around. "Huey, Louie, the third one." Dewey frowned at that. "Curse me kilts have ae missed yew." The boys smiled at him and raced to hug them, Webby joined a second later. After the hug broke Scrooge got up and turned towards Donald who had just coughed up the voice box. "How long have yew had magic?!" Donald rolled his eyes, "My whole life, Uncle Scrooge, that's how magic works." "Yew never said anythin'. Never said the lads had it." Scrooge replied helplessly. "You made your viewpoint on it pretty clear. I didn't know how you'd react and I didn't want to risk it, especially the second time." The boys looked at their Uncle unsurely and he opened and closed his mouth as he tried to think of what to say. No one dared interrupt them. "Ae didnae... Donald, when ae would say those bad things aboot magic users, ae was talkin' aboot the users themselves nae their magic. Ae would never, curse me kilts, Donald, we're family ae wouldnae have gotten mad at yew or anythin'! Ae'm sorry ae made yew feel ae would, sorry ae made ye feel like yew had ta tell the lads nae ta say anythin'." Scrooge looked at the four of them. "Yew'll always be my family, no matter what." The four of them grinned and hugged him. He held them tightly as the others happily watched on. The McDuck clan was back together once again. Everyone looked around at the mess that was the money bin, "Maybe we should..." "Head home fer the night? Ae agree." The boys tiredly looked at their Dad with hopeful eyes and he agreed. The mess would still be there tomorrow. The McDuck clan headed to the garage so Launchpad could drive them back to the mansion. And once they were in the limo the four kids huddled together, and when three had become four they weren't quite sure but it was a welcome change. As Launchpad drove the adults talked while the kids slept. Mrs. Beakley brought up Donald's houseboat and he fought back a groan. "Looks like we're staying with you even longer, Uncle Scrooge.""That's fine with me, lad, that's fine with me."The money bin stood perfectly still as they drove away from it creating a picture-perfect scene of disaster. As long as it was like that they would be reminded of what went down that day, the day Magica Despell almost won. She didn't though and that was what mattered. But the reminder would still be there. But not forever, eventually the money bin would be restored to its former glory and this whole thing would be behind them. For tonight though, it was a disaster sight where something seemed to be strangely off. The Scepter's orb was nowhere to be seen.