Chapter Text
Well, that was it. His very last day working with the man himself, Scrooge McDuck. It was officially time for him to say goodbye to the life he had built in Duckburg. Launchpad McQuack feared what was coming next. He knew deep down that he would miss all of the plane crashes and the carefree life he led with the McDuck family, but it was time for him to take on some responsibility at long last. He was truly going to miss the friends he made, but he had spent so much of his time doddling around since he had moved to Duckburg in the first place. Though he was in his early 30’s, he found it hard to believe that he wasn’t still a child. He couldn’t blame himself. Having lived with such a wealthy family, he had almost forgotten how to take care of himself. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even positive he knew how to take care of himself.
Everything from the garage he had resided in for the past several years was packed up in neat little boxes that Mrs. Beakley helped him put together. Even though Launchpad hadn’t done much else besides cause trouble since the beginning, she had always been so kind to him and accepted him for what he was.
Then there were the kids. Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby. My, had the bond between the five of them grown overtime. They went from not knowing the pilot at all to considering him one of their very best friends. It helped that Launchpad was internally a child. Though he felt like he shouldn’t pick favorites of the kids, he knew that deep-down he had to pick Dewey. Dewey was the most childish child around. This was a quality that Launchpad really appreciated. He pondered over the many memories they had made together.
One of his favorite memories he had of being with Dewey was the time they decided to make a jetpack out of Pep. It was possibly the worst idea that they ever had, but it created one of those memories that stuck no matter what you did to shake it off. He could still vividly see the duckling flying through the air while getting covered with a sticky mess. They both smelled of the cola for several days after the fact.
There was something very final about the whole McDuck family being inside the plane he had recently built. It was built in the shape of his idol, Darkwing Duck. It was definitely a weird choice, but he concluded that it was okay. Darkwing was someone who Launchpad had admired since he made his first appearance around twelve years ago. Countless boxes inside the plane, affectionately dubbed the Thunderquack, were filled with Darkwing Duck memorabilia. Launchpad’s personal favorite was the small bobble head that would say Darkwing’s catchphrase every time he pressed down on the head of it. He kept it on the dashboard of the Sunchaser for the longest time, but Mister McDee had him move it off of there since he was leaving them. It now sat in the same spot, but this time it was in the Thunderquack.
Launchpad heaved out a heavy sigh. Moving out and being on his own for the first time ever was horribly daunting, but he felt like he was finally ready to take on the world and do better than he had done. Responsibility was something that had grown on him. As time went on, he began to think of the McDuck children as his own kids, though. Leaving the four of them all alone was something that was undesirable at best.
He could still recall the day he got close with Louie. In a lot of ways, Louie would consider himself to be the black sheep of the family. He didn’t like adventuring as much as the other kids did and would much prefer to have a lazy day in.
The two of them had gone on an adventure alone. It wasn’t exactly on purpose. Louie was in trouble because he hadn’t done much besides lie around all day, so Mr. McDuck sent him with Launchpad to make a quick delivery. Launchpad, of course, crashed the Sunchaser and they were stuck in Ithaquack all by themselves. The unlikely duo had to discover why half of Ithaquack was perfectly tidy, while the other half looked completely destroyed. It was thrilling, but also stirred up a lot of fear within the two of them. When Louie was quivering with fear, saying that he was unable to push forward, Launchpad scooped him up in his arms, ran to a safer location, and held onto him for a prolonged period of time. He told Louie that everything was going to be okay, though he had somewhat of a tough time believing this himself. At the end of the whole horrific fiasco, Louie told him that he was surprised Launchpad didn’t have a child of his own because of how he knew exactly what to say.
That was the moment Launchpad realized that he was outgrowing the McDuck family. Nobody could have known that, but he suddenly became aware of the fact that he was no longer a child. On the flight back to Duckburg, he laughed with Louie about all of the new inside jokes they had. Jokes that nobody else in the family would understand except for the two of them. The thought that it was time to go forced itself into the back of the larger duck’s mind.
A few weeks later, he invited Mr. McDuck over the the garage he lived in and announced that he felt it was time for him to leave. He knew that as long as he lived in McDuck Manor, he would never truly be independent.
His boss looked relatively alarmed at Launchpad’s idea. Fact of the matter was that nobody else was crazy enough to be Scrooge McDuck’s pilot except for Launchpad. It was unfortunate that he was going to be leaving the McDuck family, but they were all very respectful of his decision, as heartbreaking as it was to see their beloved pilot leave them.
Launchpad pulled everybody into a big group hug. His arms were large enough to cover up every single one of them. A few tears escaped from his eyes. This was it. He was leaving the home he loved for an unknown life in the city of St. Canard. He had no idea when he would be back to Duckburg again, but he knew that the next time he returned, he would find his way back to his chosen family and they would welcome him again with open arms.