Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Donald was having a great day. He had spent time with family and was pretty much enjoying life in general. His bad luck didn't even effect him this time! Life was good.

Of course his bad luck would rear it's ugly head at some point... It always does..

Donald smiled widely, him humming as he grilled hotdogs. He was on his houseboat at the moment, it being in the manor's pool. His nephews were playing hide and seek with Webby , and Louie so happened to choose the houseboat as a hiding spot.

It'll take the others a while to find him, seeing as the game was being played in the garden.

Scrooge was... Somewhere doing billionaire stuff probably and Mrs. Beakly was cleaning up the manor.

All in all, a pretty darn good day...

At least, that was until a literally portal opened up next to him. He sqwacked in surprise, him jumping a few feet away from it.

It was big enough for someone tall to walk through, the inside being a purplish black void.

He could see Louie peeking up from behind the couch, the green-clad duckling's eyes wide in shock. Donald didn't blame him for it, there was a random portal after all.

Donald stepped closer to Louie, moving to protect him. If something bad went through, Donald didn't want Louie to end up getting hurt.

It was a few seconds of tense silence before red blurs shot through. Both Donald and Louie yelled in surprise when they shot towards them.

Donald was in front of Louie now, him attempting to blue the red things...

It didn't work.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was Louie's terrified expression before they were both dragged kicking and screaming through the portal by the things that now were red strings...

When he came to, he was in a bright area. It had no color, and it seemed to have no ground, sky , or even walls.

Not only that, but Louie wasn't around either...

Wait, where's Louie?!

Donald panicked, standing up faster than he could process as he yelled," LoUiE?!"

He froze, eyes widening at the sound of his voice. He quickly reached for his throat, eyes wide. Instead of the usual raspiness his voice usually was, it was now a mixture of highs and lows creating a glitching kind of sound that echoed slightly. You can actually understand what he was saying now..

He can worry about his voice later, he needs to find his nephew fast.

So he kept yelling for him, him starting to run in a random direction.

When he didn't find the younger duckling, he ended up panicking even more. Where was his nephew?! If whatever those strings were hurt him, he'll-

"You'll what, duck?"

Donald jumped, eyes wide as he searched for the source. When he didn't find it, he growled," I'lL... Do SoMeThInG! WhErE's mY nEpHeW?!"

The voice chuckled," Hm... Your Nephew is safe... For now. And he'll remain safe as long as you do what I say."

Donald huffed," ThAt dIdN't aNsWeR mY qUeStIoN! WhErE. Is. He?!"

The voice sighed," ... Do what I say first, then I'll tell you. Hell, I'll even show you. But if you don't do as I say... Well, you can tell your little nephew good bye forever."

Donald tensed, eyes widening as rage filled him. This.. Voice was threatening to kill his nephew!

Donald growled," DoN't yOu dArE hUrT hIm!"

The voice seemed smug as it spoke," I won't... Unless you disobey me. If you disobey my commands, your nephew will face a fate worse than death. Are we clear?"

Donald gritted his teeth, keeping his rage in check. This person could've been bluffing but the sailor didn't want to take any chances.. Not when his nephew's life could be on the line..

He grumbled angrily,".. ClEaR aS CrYsTaL... WhAt dO yOu wAnT mE tO dO..?"

The voice seemed pleased by that," Good... Now, here's what I want you to do...",

Donald's heart stopped when the voice turned cold," I want you to destroy Aus for the balance."

.....Oh Phooey.....

Chapter Text

There was rules Donald was told for this... "Job".

The first being that no one must know his true name. He had to go by something else in order for no one to know...

Which , if Donald was being honest, sounded like a lie. The voice probably just wanted him to go by something scarier, seeing as the name 'Donald' wasn't exactly scary.

The next was that no one was allowed to know he was from a different multiverse entirely. Heck, Donald didn't even realize he and his nephew were in a different multiverse until they told him the rule.

The third was that no one must know the true why he is destroying Aus. He had to make up an excuse. They told him he had to act heartless in order for it to seem 'effective'.

Donald didn't think he could act heartless... Not in a million years even.

The last was that if Error disobeyed the other rules or their orders, his Nephew would be tortured and broken beyond repair. Yeah, he was going to have to do what they said....

Doesn't mean he wasn't going to hate it with a burning passion.

He made a check list in his head, once that voice 'left'. The first and most prominent thing was find his Nephew and any other family member that may have been taken here. The second thing was find a way home. The third, and very last thing was to do his "job".

He ended up realizing that it wasn't only his voice that had been changed. It was also his appearance and livelihood. They turned him into something else, he was no longer a duck. He was a skeleton with red, black, and yellow bones. The inside of his skull, which he was relived to know it wasn't realistic, was crimson red while there were little glowing dots that acted as his pupils, the 'eyelights' he's taken to calling them were heterchromic, his right eyelight a grayish white color while the other was blue with a yellow ring around it. His teeth were weirdly yellow.

He didn't even have duck anatomy anymore, which weirded him out. Why'd they have to change his appearance too?!

He huffed, starting on his long quest that will be one of his longest adventures ever....

--------------

Donald really hated life right now. It had been a few years since this all started, him feeling a lump in his throat when he realized that was how long he had been away from all his family.

He put his anger into finding his Nephew and doing his 'job'.

Which, at the moment, his anger was directed to the creator swinging a giant and heavy paintbrush like a baseball bat at him.

And honestly, he didn't give a shit anymore.

After all these years, he ended up with multiple swearwords in his vocabulary, him using them most of the time nowadays.

All he wanted to do was get his nephew and go home. Like seriously, Why was that so hard to do?

He grinned insanely, something he did to hide his emotions, dodging the strikes as he started taunting the creator," Ï-î-Í$ tHæT 棣 ŷØü gŒ-øT, ÍñK$p£øT?"

Did he mention that he could make his voice extremely glitchy if he wanted to now?

The creator growled aggravatedly, his mismatched eyelights being red and purple targets at the moment," I have more where that came from, Glitchy! Just you wait until-"

The creator yelped, eyes wide and now green a lavender as he dodged a blast from one of Donald's gaster blasters.

The creator whined, glaring as his eyelights shifted again," Hey! You interrupted me!"

Donald shrugged, grinning even more," Ŷœ-Øü Tæ£k TœØ mÜçH."

The creator pouted, a huff leaving him," You know, you're rude, Error."

Donald tilted his head, grinning," Dœ-Œ$ íT £øŒk £Ík€ ï ÇæRè?"

Ink, or the creator, paused and stared at Donald, or 'Error' as he is known by with a studying stare,".... nooooo...?"

Donald chuckled, ripping out the codes of the portal he had conjured while Ink was distracted," €xÆçT£ŷ. ÑøŴ , í gØtTæ rÜñ. £àT€R, RÆîñBøŴ æ$s."

Donald mockingly saluted, falling backwards into a portal. During which, Ink had realized what Donald did and yelled in frustration.

Donald cackled on the way through, only to stop when the portal closed. He sighed, slumping against the couch he had landed on.

The other skeleton on the couch turned towards him, their red and blue eyelights filled with concern," You alright, Error...?"

Donald made a fifty-fifty motion with his hand, another sigh leaving him as he sunk into the comfortable cushions that he now rested on. He noticed that the multiverse news was on at the moment, Newstale Sans talking about the events of the multiverse. How the sans even knew what happened around the entire multiverse is beyond Donald.

Dust, or the skeleton sitting beside of him on the couch, hummed in acknowledgement, turning back towards the news.

Horror ended up plopping on top of Donald, the sans snacking on some jerky that was probably in the fridge. Donald rose a brow at the other, the skeleton shrugging in silent response while holding out a different jerky piece to the glitched one.

Donald decided to not fight against Horror's wishes, him grabbing the jerky the broken skeleton handed him and munching on it. Usually Horror was the only one who got Donald to even eat anymore.

Donald didn't really have time to eat usually, seeing as how with his job and the hunt for his nephew he was busy almost all the time. So when he had the chance to go to the moon sans base, Horror managed to get him to eat.

Honestly the destroyer was grateful for the others help, he really was. He just didn't get to show it that much.

The moon sanses, or bad sanses by the rest of the multiverse, didn't know that he was forced to destroy. All they knew was that he cared about them and understood why they were the way they were.

And honestly, that was one of the best things Donald could hope for in this situation.

Chapter Text

Donald yelped, him ducking out of the way of a tentacle. It was dull, meant only for practice fights.

Donald glared, a growl leaving him as he kept dodging," HeY, tHaT's cHeAtInG!"

Nightmare shrugged, playing the innocent card with a smile," I don't know what you mean, Pops. All I was doing was sparring like you told me to~"

Donald huffed, using his strings to trip up the shorter skeleton, which in turn made Nightmare gasp as he fell onto his back. Nightmare got up quickly, a dangerous look in his eyes," Oh, going that route hu- WOAH!"

The goopy skeleton was interrupted by more strings shooting towards him, them causing him to dodge for five minutes long. Nightmare growled, giving Donald an annoyed look," Really?! Come on, Error!"

Donald snickered, the ex-sailor having a pure grin full of gremlin energy as he continued the relentless attack of strings. Nightmare kept whining, dodging as he went and him sending in his own attacks.

The destroyer dodged the other's attacks, managing to successfully make the other immobile in the span of half an hour.

Donald smirked , strutting up the the now struggling skeleton as the ex-adventurer spoke," GiVe uP, yEt?"

After struggling for a few more minutes all the while glaring at the strings making his tentacles immobile, the goop-covered skeleton slumped in defeat, an annoyed sigh leaving him. Nightmare gave Donald a deadpan stare," Fine, I yield, you jerk."

Donald cheered, doing a little dance as he let the other go from his strings. Nightmare dusted himself off, glaring at Donald before turning to head back inside," alright, old man, time to head inside... I'm pretty sure Cross stole from your chocolate stash again seeing as his emotions are saying he's smug."

The destroyer's eyes widened, anger filling him as he immediately ran into the mansion while yelling," CROSS!!!"

Donald chose to ignore that 'old man' comment.

Chapter Text

When Louie had woken up in this world of worlds, he never expected becoming a skeleton.

He also never expected to be forced to have 'another brother'.

You can't just force someone to be someone's sibling, that's just not how things worked. Fate couldn't expect him to just 'go along' with having a new brother and for the now ex-duck to forget his true siblings!

Heck, Louie didn't even feel a connection with his 'brother'.

Speaking of, the overly cheerful skeleton had returned from his little outings with his friends.

"Nightmare! I had an amazing day with the other's today!", his 'brother' said cheerfully, his ignorance to Louie's day plain as can be.

Dream didn't even notice the pain Louie has been going through ever since waking up as the Guardian of negativity! Dream just believed his 'friends', completely ignorant to Louie.

At least Louie's real brothers saw the problems Louie was going through. This 'new brother' didn't even act like a brother.

It aggravated Louie to no end. But did the normally greenclad kid do anything about it? Nope, he was waiting to see if Dream would even realize what the actual - excuse his french- fuck was happening.

Louie tried to find his Uncle, he really did. But, he couldn't find him...

Didn't mean he would stop trying though.

____________________

What really hurt, after years of being bullied was that fact that Dream never asked where the bruises came from. He never asked where the cracks came from, or why Louie flinched when Dream touched him.

He never questioned the looks the villagers would give Louie, the looks of pure hate and cruelness. Or... Or even the marks made by teeth and other things....

He just completely ignored Louie's pain, never once asking 'are you ok?'. Louie even told him the truth, told him all the things the villagers did..

What did his so called 'brother' do? He laughed. Laughed and said it was funny. Said that Louie shouldn't make mean jokes about their 'friends' like that ever again.

That made Louie resent the yellow clad skeleton so much... Brothers should believe their siblings, not... Not what actually happened.

Which strengthened Louie's belief of not being Dream's brother.

Louie missed his actual brothers, just wishing to be in his older triplets' arms and be told 'it'll be ok'. Heck, he wanted his uncle to protect him from the true monsters, to be in his duncle's arms and hide away from this shitty world..

Louie had never felt more satisfied than the moment his 'brother''s face contorted to panic when the ex-duckling ate the apples....

Chapter Text

[???:Hello!]

Donald rose a brow at the message, not suspecting an unknown number to text him of all things. The only people who have his number were the gang by extension of Nightmare who also had his number, Blue, geno , fresh, and somehow reaper and Lust.

Donald decided to indulge whoever this was, seeing as he was really bored at the moment.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: Heya. Uh.... Wazzup?]

It took only a second for this random person to respond.

[???: GASP, YOU RESPONDED! YAY! ]

Did.... Did this person really just type out the action of gasping? Donald snickered, finding whoever this was hilarious.

This person ended up changing the name of their number, changing it to " CrashPilotingIsMyKink".

Donald sputtered, eyesockets wide as a wheeze left him. He was clutching his torso, struggling to breath.

Who the actual fuck was texting him and can he be their friend?

[ExSailorExtaordinar: nice name XD]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Thanks! My friend DW helped me come up with it!]

Error paused, hos eyesockets narrowing at that. DW?.... Why did that sound familiar.....?.. Eh, he'll figure it out later.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: No problem. Say, are you someone who crashes planes alot? Your number name made me curious.]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Yup! Crash 'em all the time! It's really fun!]

That wasn't very surprising...

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: your number name is cool! Were you a sailor at some point?]

Donald frowned, taking a moment to respond.

Then ultimately decided to just tell them. It wasn't like they would recognize him by it anyways..

[ExSailorExtaordinar: Pretty much. Even owned my own houseboat before.]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Hhhheeeeyyy, I had a friend who was an exsailor with a houseboat! If he wasn't missing at the moment, you two would get along great!]

That's... Oddly starting to sound like himself.

Wait, who even is this?

[ExSailorExtaordinar: maybe I can help look for them? How long have they been missing for? What's their name??]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Gee, ya don't have to..]

[ExSailorExtaordinar: nonsense, I want to help now. Besides, I might actually be able to do something to help.]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: well.... Alright. They've been missing for about 7 years now with their nephew. Their name is Donald Duck and Louie Duck. ]

Everything stopped.... Well, not stopped but slowed to a still. Donald's heart fell, him losing his ability to breathe altogether.

He just stared at the message, his body tense. This... This can't be... Was he getting fucking tricked?! Is this some kind of sick prank Fate thought would be hilarious?

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: imma send a picture of them! Hope it helps!]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink sent png.02937_Donald.Duck_Louie.Duck_0]

Donald hesitated, gulping down his unease. If this was a joke, it was a really bad one...

Who here would even know about his nephew and him? No one was supposed to know...

Specially not someone who is his enemies here....

He clicked the link, it now showing him a picture of two anthromorphic ducks on a couch. The smaller and younger one was in a green hoodie and they were drinking a pep soda. The other... Was himself. Or at least, who he used to be. The black sailor suit was very familiar, and the aged look of himself due to years of worrying about triplets...

He knew this photo. It was on his old phone... The one he had when he still was in duckburg... Huey and Dewey had decided to take the picture and post it online with the caption 'Two peas in a pod chilling and watching Ottoman empire'. Earlier that day he had promised to watch it with Louie so they could bond more. It was before he let the boys go over to their great uncle's mansion, and definitely before his twin returned from the moon..

He decided not to delete it when he had got his phone back.

He was shaking now, very close to crashing. This.... This was a real photo... Meaning....

Was he talking to Launchpad Mcquack? This person seems like LP....

[ExSailorExtaordinar: huh. Hey, is your name Launchpad Mcquack?? I think... I think I know you.]

LP wouldn't hesitate to tell a stranger online who he is.. Donald knows that for sure.

They immediately responded.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: yep! how'd you know? Are you psychic??? ]

.... That's definitely LP....

[ExSailorExtaordinar: well, no.. I'm not psychic. I wish I was though. I just know you is all.... My name is Donald, and I'm pretty sure I'm one of your missing people.]

Might as well as say his actual name instead of the fake one he had to use.

It took LP like twenty minutes to text back and Donald was worried the poor pilot had a stroke or something. He wouldn't blame him for it...

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: WAIT REALLY?! ARE YOU BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! YOU'RE DONALD DUCK?????]

Donald sighed softly, a chuckle leaving him. Same ol' LP.... The big ol' softy.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: Yeah, I am. Huh, small world , am I right?]

Definitely NOT a small world, seeing as Donald was all the way in a different multiverse... Wait, how'd LP even find a way to text him?!

[ExSailorExtaordinar: I'm confused, how'd you find my number? ]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink:gsjdidbeujevdudjbd I just typed in a random number and clicked yours! Mr. D it's so nice to hear from you! Uhhhh, I'm being surrounded by teens now-]

Donald snickered, leaning back in his hammock. Then Donald blinked. Teens?

... Wait, LP said it had been 7 years since both his nephew and him have been missing... Wait, that means that the boys and Webby are 17 and 18 respectively..

Stars, he feels old now.

Wait it's been literally eons here..... Does that mean Louie is now eons older than his brothers, even though the greenclad duckling was the youngest triplet?

Stars, he somehow feels extremely older now.

Oh shit, Louie's brothers and Webby are looking at the messages. And possibly Lena, Violet, and Goslyn.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Mr. D , where are you and Louie?]

Guess one of the kids wanted to ask him that...

[ExSailorExtaordinar: no where you can get to, I'm afraid. Trust me, if I knew how to get back I would with Louie. ]

There was a pause now, maybe the kids trying to steal Lp's phone?

After a bit, LP answered.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: HI, IT'S ME WEBBY! ARE YOU REALLY UNCLE DONALD?!]

Donald was mistaken, LP lost the tug of war and Webby somehow got the pilot's phone.

Donald snickered again, finding this funny to an extent.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: The one and only. How've you kiddos been? Also what happened to Lp?]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: OH WE'VE BEEN GREAT! BEEN REALLY MISSING YOU AND LOUIE AND WE'VE BEEN DOING AN INVESTIGATION TO FIND YOU TWO FOR YEARS AND LP IS TRYING TO-]

And now it was the tug of war for the phone again. Donald sighed, a fond smile of his face. He was still wary of whoever was texting him.. But for now he'll believe them.

For now...

Chapter Text

"Who are you texting, Error?"

Donald jumped like ten foot into the air, falling to the ground with an 'oof'.

He glanced up, noticing Nightmare was there and the goo-covered skeleton having a bit of a... Concerned look? Why would Nightmare become concerned about Donald of all things? Donald wasn't worth the worry...

Donald huffed, sitting up properly. It wouldn't hurt to tell Nightmare about it... He trusted the dark skeleton enough.

"YoU rEmEmBeR wHeN I tOlD yOu tHaT I cOuLdN't gO bAcK tO pEoPlE wHo mEaNt a LoT tO mE?"

Nightmare nodded and Donald continued," WeLl... OnE oF tHeM aPpArEnTlY fOuNd A wAy tO tExT mE."

Nightmare's eyes widened, him exclaiming," What?! Are you sure it's them?! Is this why you feel happy but cautious?!"

Donald nodded, grinning," YeAh..."

Nightmare immediately pulled Error up on his feet, shaking him by the glitched skeleton's shoulders," TELL ME WHAT THEY FUCKING SAID!"

Donald grabbed the shorter skeleton's shoulders, getting him to release his grip. Donald was about to respond when more messages popped up.

It was the kids asking even more questions..

Donald then got an idea, turning to smile at Nightmare," HoW aBoUt I sHoW yOu?"

Nightmare looked confused as Donald sat in his hammock and pulled Nightmare up to sit next to him.

Nightmare allowed it, him now staring curiously at Donald's phone.

Donald typed a quick 'hold on' before scrolling up to the top of the messages. He then handed the phone over to Nightmare," hErE, tHiS wAy yOu cAn rEaD tHeM yOuRsElF."

Nightmare nodded, thanking the destroyer for trusting him with this as he started reading the messages.

After a bit, Nightmare's visible eyesocket seemed to widen even further, his eyelight dissapearing fully.

His expression was pretty disbelieving, as if he couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw.

That made Donald confused. Why was Nightmare seemingly acting weird about the messages....?

After about 30 minutes, Nightmare handed the phone back, staring at Donald in confusion as well as an emotion Donald couldn't quite place...

Nightmare spoke, his voice quiet and shaky," You're... You're.... You...."

Donald started to panic when tears started to pool in Nightmare's eyesocket. Donald spoke quickly,his hand going to Nightmare's face in an effort to calm the younger, " HeY, HeY, wHaT's wRoNg, NiGhTy?"

Nightmare lurched forward, clinging onto Donald as if he would never see him again. Donald yelped, eyesockets wide as the hammock swung and almost caused them both to fall out of it. The destroyer started glitching wildly, him staring at the now sobbing skeleton.

What made Nightmare so upset? Was it the amount of time Donald was gone...? Or...

The glitched skeleton's thoughts paused when Nightmare mumbled," ... I thought I would never find you again...."

Even more confusion filled the ex-adventurer, him staring at the smaller with the same confusion.

They stayed like that for a while, Donald trying to figure out what Nightmare meant....

Until he did. His eyesockets widened to the size of plates, him staring at the younger now. No.... It couldn't be...

Donald stuttered, tears starting to form,"...l-LoUiE....?"

Nightmare just nodded, burying his face in Donald's chest. The ex-sailor slowly wrapped his arms around the smaller, tears mixing with his markings as they slid down his face. Sobs were now leaving Donald , him hugging the smaller close.

Donald found him... Well , more like they found eachother without even realizing it...

They stayed like that for what could've been hours.. And Donald didn't mind. He wouldn't be the one to push away first, not after searching for literal eons for his nephew.

Donald had even turned off his phone and set it in his pocket, vaguely aware that LP and the kids may freak out if he doesn't respond soon.

Eventually Nightmare, now Louie shifted, pulling away and looking up at the older skeleton," Hey, Unca Donald.... How do we go home....? We got to at some point..."

Louie rubbed the back of his neck, something that reminded Donald so much of the greenclad duckling... How'd Donald never notice how similar his nephew and Nightmare were?! They even had the same voice, albeit Nightmare's was slightly deeper and echoey...

Donald hummed, rubbing Louie's skull comfortingly while he thought,"... NoT qUiTe sUrE. I hAd BeEn MoRe FoCuSeD oN fInDiNg YoU..... I'm GlAd I dId..."

Louie smiled shakily, the younger probably still processing things,"... Y-yeah... I'm glad I found you too... "

Donald was so happy getting his nephew back... Now time to find a way home....

Chapter Text

Louie had fallen asleep after a while, exhaustion seeping away from him. The ex-duckling was curled up against Donald's side, him gripping the destroyer's sweater tightly.

Donald chuckled softly, rubbing his hand on the younger's skull before turning on his phone, noticing the messages had continued.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Uncle Donald, is louie ok? We're worried about both of you.(This is Huey by the way.)]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: the dewster speaking! are you two somewhere epic?!]

There were more questions then he had the time to answer. Like 'is there great food there' or 'are you two just taking a very long vacation'.

Donald huffed out a laugh, shaking his head as he went to respond.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: Gonna answer these as best I can. Louie's alright, and so am I. Dewey, I wouldn't call this place epic but it does have some interesting places to go to. For the food one, it depends where we go to get food. Although Louie met someone who's really great at cooking so there's that. No Lena, we're not on a very long vacation.]

It took about a minute for someone to respond.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: How do we know you are who you say you are? Show us proof either by picture or telling of something the only the actually Mr. Duck would know. By the way, this is Violet speaking.]

It's not surprising Violet would be the one to be hesitant. He can't show them a picture at the moment, but maybe something the boys would recognize would help.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: That's fair. Are the boys there? I need them to confirm this.]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Yes, Huey and Dewey are here.]

[ExSailorExtaordinar: Alright.. When they were younger, I used to sing them a song their mom wrote for them to put them to sleep. It went ' Look to the stars my darling baby boys, Life is strange and vast.
Filled with wonders and joys. Face each new sun, With eyes clear and true.
Unafraid of the unknown, Because I’ll face it all with you.' Della sang it to the triplets eggs as well. I would also make the boys hot chocolate when they couldn't sleep after a nightmare and sat stargazing with them. And after they became friends with webby, I did it for her too.]

It took Violet not too long to answer back.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Alright, they have confirmed that to be true.. You're off the hook for now.... Is Louie with you? The other two are wondering.]

[ExSailorExtaordinar: Yup, he's asleep at the moment though. He's had a rough few hours.]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: How so?]

[ExSailorExtaordinar: well... We had only recently found eachother again. He's still processing it I think.. I had looked for him ever since we were brought to this place, and I think he did the same.]

Donald decided to not mention the fact that the text messages were the only thing that revealed who they were to eachother... At least not yet. 

It took a bit, but someone now had the phone.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Hey, did you adopt any kids while you're there? Uh, Lena speaking btw.]

That made him freeze, eyes widening. 

... How'd she know???

Well, he didn't technically 'adopt' anyone..

He took care of some kids though.

The main one's being Paperjam and Gradient respectively. They weren't quite his kids..

You see, Ink decided to try to make 'better' versions of Donald. The ones that lived up to Ink's expectations of what he wanted the destroyer to be like.

Yet, they weren't what ink wanted apparently, seeing as Error found them in the antivoid alone and cuddled together.

It took him forever to get them to trust him enough to take them to their now forever home, which was Nightmare's mansion. But it was worth it, because they were now happier then way before..

... Now that he thought about it, it seemed more like he adopted them...

Ok, so she was right. Whatever.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: what gave you that idea?]

He wasn't about to answer that yet.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: cuz you tend to adopt any kid you come across, even if they have parents or guardians already. For example, webby.]

He sputtered, face growing red.

He does NOT adopt ever kid he meets! He just... Cares alot about them is all.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: One, I DO NOT adopt every kid I meet. And Two... Yes, I adopted a couple of kids. If I didn't, I would've been angry at myself.]

A few seconds later, Dewey had gotten a hold of the phone. Donald could just tell by the way he texted.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: YOU ADOPTED KIDS?! Who are they?? What's the most awesomest thing they've witnessed what-]

It was hastily sent, as if there was a struggle over the phone. 

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Sorry uncle Donald about dewey's rant... But, does that mean we have cousins?? Because if so I'm totally showing them the greatness of the junior woodchuck rulebook.]

That's definitely Huey now.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: it does. I'm hoping you all can meet them at some point. They're great kids. I'm sure they'll enjoy talking to you about it. And to answer dewey's questions, Their names are Paperjam and Gradient. Gray is a few months older than Paperjam. You'd have to ask them about the awesomeness thing they've seen though.]

It didn't surprise Donald that the boys haven't changed much in the time that he and Louie have been gone. He's just relieved that they are ok and safe at home..

The next question surprised him.

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Do they have phones? Or a way to add them to a group chat at least? ]

He smiled then, glad the kids wanted to talk to them.

[ExSailorExtaordinar: They do. I'll ask them if they want to join it. Do you kids have phones on you?]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Yup! We'll send you our numbers through this group chat.]

That's good. 

He looked at Louie for a moment, unsure if he should wake him up or not. He , after a minute debate with himself, ultimately decided to let him sleep. Donald would just carry him back to the mansion. 

One last thing was bugging him though..

[ExSailorExtaordinar: Alright. By the way, is LP ever going to get his phone back?]

[CrashPilotingIsMyKink: Not until we get your number on our phones.]

Of course. 

Chapter Text

Bones flew by quickly, Donald dodging them effortlessly.

If there was some thing he was thankful for in this situation, one of them would have to be the fact that his bad luck seemed to have lessened greatly in this world.. Albeit it still showed up every now an then.

For example, during a trip to get supplies for everyone back at Louie's castle, the stars ended up intercepting him. If he was being honest, they annoyed him greatly..

They always thought he was trying to destroy every single au he enters.. Which was far from the truth by the way..

He growled aggravatedly, glaring angrily at the stars. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?!

Blue had an excuse, he was stuck following the other two stars around, meaning Blue was stuck fighting him when they saw each other. Ink and Dream on the other hand.. They didn't have an excuse at all.

Hell, Ink even made sure to get the person who was in sans' place to call him when Donald even stepped one foot into the aus..

Even a simple supply run was a hassle... Which is why he usually never went on them. But, Louie was explaining the whole 'Donald is his uncle' thing to his group at the moment... And at the same time explaining to the two youngest skeletons as well.

Donald sent out his strings, attempting to tie up all three 'protectors'. They all dodged , annoyingly enough.. Although Blue had a bit more difficulty. 

Donald formed a gaster blaster near him and aimed it at Ink and Dream, acting as if he wanted to get rid of them both first before moving onto Blue. He charged it, firing it at the two, as he backed up a bit, they dodged it again, a smoke cloud forming in the air from the lasers impact with the ground. 

With their vison now limited, the destroyer took the chance to leave, opening a portal quickly.

Ink was yelling incoherently, anger filling his voice.

Good thing the glitch grabbed the supplies and put it in his inventory before the stars showed up, said glitch grinning and jumping into the portal.

It closed behind him, some of the DIY smoke bomb floating into the portal before hand.

Donald sighed softly, glancing up at the mansion in front of him. It was much less darker than he was used to over the years.. But he didn't mind it. Mainly because how dark it is , is connected to Louie's magic and thus his mindset. It helps tell how Louie is feeling..

Welp, time to see what chaos happened while he was gone..

Chapter Text

"So does that mean Dad is like EXTREMELY ancient?", a young kid's voice echoed out, followed by a slightly older child's voice exclaiming," Pj!"

Ah, he apparently walked in on part of Louie's explanation to them. He poked his head through the doorway to the room everyone was in, Donald spotting several skeletons attempting not to laugh their heads off. Louie looked between offended and wanting to laugh.

Gradient was berating Pj for his choice of wording, Pj responding with," What?! It's a genuine question! We know Nighty is like millenia old, and since Dad is somehow older than him, that means he's like really old!"

Gradient huffed out a reply, his hands on his hips angrily," Pj, I get that but saying it like that wasn't very nice.."

Louie gasped dramatically, now slightly more offended but is obviously dying from hidden laughter," You dare call me millennia old?! I'm like, a couple centuries max."

Donald rolled his eyes at his nephew's childish behavior, him deciding to reveal himself as he walked fully into the room," yOu aNd I bOtH kNoW tHaT's a lIe."

Both PJ and Gradient perked up, them turning to Donald with excitement. They ran forward and hugging him at the same time, them exclaiming cheerfully in unison," DAD!!"

Donald chuckled, hugging them back as he did. Louie scoffed, Donald shooting him a look of pure amusement at the goop covered skeleton.

Louie crossed his arms and sulked at what the destroyer said, his voice begrudging," why do you betray me like this.."

Donald reached over to where Louie sat (It was only a foot away from where Donald stood), him patting the ex-duckling's skull with another chuckle," BeCaUsE I'm YoUr UnClE aNd I gEt tO Do ThInGs LiKe ThAt WiThOuT cOnSeQuEnCe."

"AlSo..", Pj tensed as Donald's eyelights landed on him," I'm nOt aNcIeNt ,kId, bUt i'M nOt yOuNg eItHeR. "

Pj frowned, tilting his head in confusion," What's that supposed to mean??"

The glitch grinned mischievously, pure amusement in his eyelights," YoU'lL lEaRn wHeN yOu'Re mY aGe."

The young skeleton whined in annoyance, the floating ink that was part of his head shaped like a stormcloud ," Ddddddaaaaadddd!!"

Chapter Text

"UNCA DONALD!"

Donald jumped in surprise, eyes widening as he fell off of his hammock with a yelp. He grunted as he landed on the ground. He turned towards the back door, a glare leaving him as he huffed," YeS, LoUiE?"

Louie was panting, eyesocket wide with excitement as he clutched something tightly in one of his tenticles.

At the moment, Donald was enjoying the outdoors in the garden, it being very peaceful. At least, that was until Louie had burst through the door.

"I found something!", Louie moved the item in front of him , his tenticle dropping said item into his awaiting hand. It was a small orb, magic bright as it swirled inside of the glass.

Donald raised a brow, crossing his arms," Uh hUh... I sEe ThAt. WhAt iS iT?"

Louie pouted, his eyelight becoming slightly bigger," you don't recognize it??"

Donald shrugged, cringing when the younger sent him a look," WhAt? Am I sUpPoSeD tO rEcOgIzE iT?"

The ex duckling sighed, mumbling to himself about 'you people need to read sometimes' before speaking with gestures to it," This is a special orb that I've been looking for for ages! The orb is said to be able to locate anything you desire, including places and people! Once it locates it, it'll either guide you if it can or show you the location of what you are looking for!"

Donald's eyes widened, him scrambling to his feet," ArE yOu SeRiOuS?! HoW'd YoU fInD iT??"

The goop covered skeleton nodded quickly, a grin on his face now," Horror had been snooping around and found it in an AU that had no name. This can help us get home!"

Louie sounded pretty eager, and Donald couldn't blame him. The chance to go home was something they've been wanting for a long time, a very long time in fact.. It was now slowly going into their reach.

But, there was a couple of concerns...

"ArE yOu SuRe ThE aU hAd No NaMe?", Donald frowned, raising a brow at that.

"Horror said he looked and couldn't find it. So he just thought it didn't have one. ", Louie shrugged, messing with it a bit.

Donald sighed, shaking his head," ThE nAmE mIgHt'Ve BeEn CoVeReD uP... AlSo iT wAs TeChNiCaLlY HoRrOr'S fInD , nOt YoUrS."

Louie pouted," But he works under me... So that makes it my find too!"

Donald huffed , deadpanning at his nephew. Louie smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Oh well... Hopefully they can get the orb to work. And when it does, hopefully they can finally go home...

.....right...?

Chapter Text

Donald stared at the sky lazily, his arms behind his feathered head as he watched the clouds slowly drift by. He sighed softly, annoyance slightly filling him as he spoke," Why did you bring me here, louie? We both know this isn't real ."

Louie quietly sat next to his uncle, back in his duckling form. There was a slight grey tint to his feathers, the same as Donald's. The exduckling spoke, him hugging his knees,". .. I figured we could just... Be ourselves for a bit... Just because it isn't real doesn't mean it wasn't...."

Donald looked over at Louie, noticing his faraway gaze. He spoke softly ,"... That wasn't the only reason, was it?"

Louie just nodded, him looking away ,".... You never sleep.... Ever. I just... Figured being in a nice place instead of a nightmare would help you. I... Can't believe I never found you through your dreams.. How could I be so blind to the fact my own uncle was right under my nose the whole time..?"

Donald sat up, setting a hand on his nephew's shoulder," It's not your fault, Lou. You couldn't have known.. Don't go beating yourself up about it, ok?"

Louie was quiet for a bit, him looking away as he hid slightly in his green hoodie. Donald let the silence continue, allowing the younger to process what he said. He had lowered his hand down, setting it beside of himself as he turned his gaze towards the ocean before them. The waves were soft, the wind blowing the gently as the houseboat rocked lightly in the water. It had been a while since he last seen his house boat.. So it was good to gaze at it again.

Louie, after what seemed like a while, spoke up again ,".... Unca Donald..?"

Donald glanced at the exduckling, his head tilting slightly as he gave his full attention to him," Yes, Lou?"

The king of nightmares, man that was weird to think about now with the knowledge that his nephew was Nightmare, shifted nervously, messing with his sleeves as he spoke ,"... Do you.. Think we'll ever get back to.... To who we used to be?"

" You mean become ducks again.", Donald spoke, it pretty much a statement than a question.

Louie nodded, hiding a bit in his hoodie. Donald thought about it for a while, before he spoke ,"... Well. Maybe... But..."

Donald sighed, glancing at his feathered hands in thought ,"... We'll need to find out what changed us and how to get it to change us back... We... Might not be able to if I'm being honest."

Louie looked up, a look of understanding forming on his face. He nodded, a soft sigh leaving him ,"... Figures... How are we gonna explain... This to everyone from home?" The exduckling gestured between the two.

Donald chuckled, leaning back once more," We improvise. Tell 'em the truth the way we see it."

Louie deadpanned at his uncle,  a 'are you kidding me' look on his face.

Donald shrugged at the look, a grin formed on his face," what? It's one of the best ways to explain anything to anyone, no matter what it is ."

Louie crossed his arms, raising a brow,"... Uh huh.... Sure it is.."

Their conversation continued like this, Louie asking things and Donald answering them. It lasted for what felt like hours...

At least , that was until a shift happened. It wasn't extravagant or anything like that... But it was noticable to the destroyer and exguardian.

They paused both glancing at eachother in confusion. What the hell?

Something felt... Wrong. Like something wasn't right.

The area started fading, an indication that they were waking up. Good, maybe they could find out what the hell happened.

Louie sighed softly, sticking his hands into his pockets as he looked up at his uncle," ... Looks like we need to wake up now. "

Donald nodded, smiling as he ruffled Louie's head feathers," this was nice. Thanks, kiddo."

Louie smiled back, shrugging nonchalantly," It's no prob. Just another day in the office."

They both chuckled at that, both finding humor in it.

With that, everything faded away into darkness.. Donald hoped that whatever this was, it wasn't bad...

It couldn't be to bad... Right?

Chapter Text

It was quiet…. Well sort of anyways. There was background noise… but the duck teen barely paid attention to it, him in favor of staring at his phone in thought. 

Where was his baby brother…? Louie's been gone for years… yet no sign of him or their uncle could be found.

Uncle Donald and Louie both remained quiet on their location, only saying ' It has lots of places to go to' or ' It's far from home '. No indication of where they could find them…

And his newly adopted cousins ( or at least they were his new cousins due to having just met them not too long ago) weren't much help in that department either. 

It was like..  Something was purposely keeping them away. Like something was purposely stopping them from telling the others the full story. 

… what did Louie even look like now? Uncle Donald too… 

The blue clad duck teen cracked a small grin, imagining his uncle looking older and his brother looking similar to himself but also different. 

He sighed then, his grip on his phone tightening a bit. They were so so close to finding them… yet there was more to go before they could.

It sucked… only knowing if they are ok in the form of the texts… 

His train of thought paused as he heard a knock on his bedroom door, him pausing in surprise. The knock was soon followed by the door opening, his older brother poking his head in with a small smile," Hey Dewey… you doing ok?"

Dewey grinned, easily masking his emotions as he gave a thumbs up to the red clad duck teen," I'm dewing great, Huey. What about you?"

Huey seemed to hesitate before walking in, closing the door behind him. Then he walk over to Dewey's desk, practically collapsing onto his chair as a heavy sigh left the older,".... I…. I'm worried. "

Dewey tilted his head, brows knitting together slightly in concern," about what??" 

Huey moved his hands around, as if trying to put his words together or something. When he seemed to figure it out, he spoke truthfully," Well… about how Uncle scrooge is gonna take the whole 'Uncle donald and louie texts' thing… I… I don't know how he'll react to it… especially after all he did trying to find them."

Dewey cringed at the thought. Yeah, that was pretty concerning… 

Scrooge did a lot of things to try to find them, he pretty much tore through the whole world. He looked in every nook and cranny, even going to the lengths of getting a magic user's help. That was some dedication, especially with how much Scrooge disliked it.

All didn't quite work… But he didn't give up looking.

Dewey could sometimes hear him mumble ' Can't let it happen again..' Under his breath when he thought no one was listening. The blue clad triplet figured out pretty quickly that Scrooge wanted to keep more family members from getting lost like the triplets mom…

".... Well, I imagine he'll want Uncle Donald's and Louie's numbers. Then, he'll probably yell at Uncle Donald on the phone and they'll end up yelling at each other. ", Dewey shrugged, his tone joking but also slightly having a serious undertone. 

Huey paused, staring at Dewey in surprise before a soft chuckle left him,"... You know… that's probably exactly what he'd do."

Dewey nodded, cheerfully replying with," Yurp!"

The brothers laughed a bit more, the tension in Huey's shoulders easing as they did. "Thanks Dewey… that helped.", Huey smiled.

"No prob-", Dewey's reply was interrupted by an angry Scottish shout of surprise. 

That was followed by said Scottish voice yelling," KIDS, LIVINGROOM RIGHT. NOW."

Dewey siblings looked at eachother, a knowing expression on their faces. 

"Looks like we're about to see his reaction…", Huey spoke quietly, him standing up.

Dewey stood up and stretched, nodding with a grin," Welp, time to face the music. Last one there is a rotten egg!" With that Dewey ran out the door, Huey yelling in suprise before following with a indigent ' HEY!'. That was also followed by Huey running after him. 

It sorta felt like old times… when him and his siblings just chased each other and had fun. 

They still do.. But it's not the same. Not without Louie or Uncle Donald. 

Hopefully one day… they'll find them. 

One day….