Chapter Text
Louie was sharp, but most didn’t know the true reason why.
Some thought it was because he was lazy. If he could see all the angles, he could look for the easy way out and use it to get out of things. That should be a positive on its own, but those of his family looked at it in disappointment and disliking. He was in a family of adventurers, so why would he want to get out of it the easy way?
He didn’t fit in.
Some thought it was because Louie was greedy. If he saw all the angles, he could see which one benefited him the most and go with it. This is truly a resourceful skill in itself and many would like it, but not his family. Louie would think his great uncle would appreciate it, and he did- but only until his whole family started to believe that Louie would put his greed above those he cared for.
Well- who he was supposed to care for.
It hurt when everyone thought Louie would put his greed before his family. It actually, physically hurt . He would never do that! At least- not on purpose. Louie loved his family; that's why he saw the angles.
That was the real reason. Louie wanted to protect his family.
If he saw the angles, he could see how to get them all out of that temple alive, with or without the treasure. If he saw the angles, he could see the insecurities of that kid bullying his brothers in second grade and kick him down a few notches so he’d leave Huey and Dewey alone. If he saw the angles, he could tell his Uncle how the man’s rude boss was clearly in an affair and he could use that as leverage to get a raise(he got a long talking to about how blackmail was illegal(lame) and Donald had proved his point by quitting and just telling the mans’ wife anyways).
Louie loved his family, and he wanted to look after them- ever since he was a baby. He didn’t want to be a burden, so he used his skills to help as much as he could. If he had a use, maybe he wouldn’t be left behind.
But if he used his skills to help, and it wasn’t wanted or appreciated, then what good was it?
So, Louie stopped looking for the angles. He stopped second-guessing things or reading between the lines. He stopped trying to stand out-
That was a mistake both he and his family would regret.
Louie had stayed back on another adventure, just like usual. Ever since he stopped seeing the angles, he saw that he was truly no longer of any use to his family. He hated being a burden, so why bother going with them when all he would do is slow them down?
It's not like he was wanted anyways.
So, when his brothers woke him up at five am saying that he should get ready to go, he waved them off with a “love you, good luck, try to come back alive”. Louie followed saying this by turning around and going back to sleep. It took him a few minutes to fall unconscious again, so he didn’t miss the sigh Huey let out or the groan Dewey gave in what Louie knew must have been annoyance.
The two tried to change his mind, promising gold and treasure and saying Scrooge might let Louie keep his own share at the end(a bold-faced lie if he’s ever heard one), but it was all for not. He knew when he wasn’t wanted, and even if they said otherwise, Louie knew he would be. He rarely was.
He had to pretend to sleep after a minute, to make the two of them finally drop it. Why would they be so insistent? They had finally gotten rid of him during their adventures- he’d wish they’d stop rubbing salt to the wounds as he was trying to heal them.
When he awoke, it was to an empty mansion a few hours after he had been left. He knew no one else was home, so it was fine. Maybe he could watch some TV, or just walk around and see which random room he would stumble upon.
He hung around for a while, not bothering Duckworth when it was time to eat. Louie wasn’t the best cook though, and just ate small snacks instead of a meal. He was just finishing with his late, makeshift dinner when the others returned.
He was surprised with how early they returned, but chalked it up to Launchpad when he heard that he had been the one to fly for the day. Everyone was talking excitedly, Dewey wearing an old looking silver ring with a large pearl on it and Webby was holding a sack-bag over her shoulder. He was just going to pass by with a short “welcome home”, but Webby stopped him short.
“Oh, Louie!” His siblings all grinned as they rushed to his seat, making him return to sitting instead of leaving. Their excitement was strong, but their smiles seemed a little strained. They were almost desperate, but Louie knew it was probably just fake. They really didn’t have to bother with all this.
Webby dropped the bag and searched it. “You will not believe what we found!”
Their forgotten love for him? Ha! Joke. Their love had most likely been fake from the very start.
Sigh . Even in his head, Louie couldn’t make the depression funny enough to ignore.
Instead, Webby pulled out a doll. It was a strange looking ragdoll, with a cloth body and clothes that were soft to the touch. Its hair bangs were made of a wool like cloth that held firmly in its style, and the beak was well made and attached. It had large black button eyes, round and untarnished without a scratch, and captivating enough to make you want to stare into them for hours.
The strange part? It was him .
The doll was Louie. His signature side swept bangs, his small smirk, his trademark green hoodie- it was mini-Louie.
Webby held it out to him under its arms, her excitement starting to make sense as she explained. His brothers took their seats and the adults smiled along as they let her tell him. “We didn’t find anything too interesting in the old graveyard tunnels- all the treasure was raided by the King of England during a raid. But we found some trinkets they left behind, and Donald accidentally found a secret tomb that was overlooked! There was just a whole bunch of strange stuff, and it almost looked like it was a small apartment!”
Huey frowned as he recalled the place, “It even had a couch and a table. It looked almost modern, but the cobwebs and dust were centuries old. We even found the skeleton of a cat.” Eww. Louie didn’t need to know that bit. “There were some old silverware and dishes, a weird painting, some old letters that Uncle Scrooge and I plan to look at later, and then there was that.”
“A little me?” Louie gently took the doll Webby handed him. It felt weird, not only to look at it, but to hold it. It didn’t feel like a voodoo doll, but he still had this small feeling come over him. It felt akin to discomfort and dread, and something along the lines of defeat. It felt like hopelessness, as if he was being hunted down and knew he was caught.
It was most likely because he was literally holding the smaller version of himself. “You just found it ? In a room that's centuries old? That’s weird.” And creepy, and suspicious, and-
Something that Louie didn’t really care to think over. He wasn’t the sharp one anymore, so whatever; right?
Mrs. Beakley was the only other one to eye it warily, but she still didn’t think much of it. “Nothing in the room made sense, but the cavern tunnels were stripped of their original treasures and left with knick-knacks from the raid. Your uncle says it's merely a coincidence, but I still stay something’s fishy.”
Della waved it off, “Psh- come on, 22! It's a doll, and we know it's not voodoo or else Louie would be breathing because of how tight the kids held and hugged it on the flight back. It's not magically made from some wizard or spirit either- it's just an old doll that coincidentally looks like Louie. Lou wasn’t even there with us, so it's not like someone saw him, made it, and planted it for us to find!” True. That would be a more likely scenario if Louie had tagged along, but he hadn’t.
Dewey sat on Louie's right and spoke. “I know we’re a little old for dolls and all, but it’s still pretty cool, right? Who knows- maybe it's made from a prince hundreds of years ago and you happen to look just like him!” Louie shrugged, not knowing the explanation and not really caring for one. It was a coincidence, and he’d leave it at that. No need to look deeper or worry about it.
He pocketed the doll and got up to leave. “Well, welcome back, and thanks for the not-a-voodoo doll I guess. I just finished eating, so enjoy your meal. Goodnight…”
All other conversation halted, and their smiles faltered. Donald was the one who’s concern seemed the most believable to Louie’s mind. The two of them had grown apart recently, just like Louie had with everyone else, but he knew that his Uncle still had a part of him that cared for him(hidden down, deep down).
“O-oh, are you sure?” His uncle asked, worry seeping into his tone. What, did he doubt that Louie had eaten or something? “We could all watch a movie or something?”
The others all clambored to agree, but Louie frowned instead. Since when did they all watch a movie together? That was laid-back, and normal- the exact opposite of their family. Louie would do such once in a while with his brothers, and maybe sometimes with Donald, but not all of them together. Would Scrooge even be able to sit through a family movie without wanting to fight or challenge something?
“Umm, I’m good,” he replied. “Have fun and all, but I’m not really up for anything tonight. See ya.”
He left without letting them get in another word, having noticed the disappointed looks and anxious stares. They would have probably started to get upset with him next, and Louie would rather avoid getting yelled at before bed.
Going up to the shared bedroom, Louie pulled out two things as he laid down. One was the doll inside his hoodie, now being sat up on a chair next to his bed. He felt a little childish at the idea of it sleeping in his bed with him, like it would make him a baby again. The second thing he pulled out was a picture under his pillow.
It was the only picture he and his brothers had had of their mom before moving into the manor. An old picture of Della and Donald, with their mom smashing her brother's face into a cake as she laughed. Even if he wasn’t cared for by them as much as before, he still loved them. “They’re still my parents.” He sat the picture up against the doll. The movement made the doll's head fall forward a bit, almost making it seem like it was looking at the picture and assessing it.
Turning his back to the two items and the door, Louie let sleep overcome him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have another nightmare.
No luck.
Just like most nights, Louie woke up in a cold sweat. This time, the theme of his dreams had been an old “favorite”. His family hadn’t returned from an adventure, and instead, through the front doors came police officers to tell him they had passed away. A old enemy had caught up to them, there was a cave-in, or maybe a plane wreck- they were some of his main nightmares. His family dying and leaving him alone.
The best nightmares? Louie was the one to die, and his family was finally free of him. At least these dreams made Louie feel less guilty upon waking.
With a deep sigh, Louie rubbed his hands down his face, groaning lightly into his hands so as to not wake his brothers.
“t-t-t-t-t-t”
Huh?
“Squeak!”
Turning his head, Louie gave a small yelp as he startled, sitting up in shock at the sight. The chair was where he had left it, with the doll and picture in place. However, a small dark gray mouse with tan markings on its face and a long black tail, now sat on its hind legs beside the doll. It was small, not even half the size of the doll, so it wasn’t a rat.
It squeaked a third time as it looked at him, its black eyes shining a bit from the light coming from the window. Louie hadn’t ever seen a mouse inside the manor, knowing Duckworth and Beakley left the place much too clean and kept for one to sneak its way in. So how-?
His thoughts were brought to a screeching halt however as the mouse leaned towards the picture and nibbled gently at a corner of the paper.
Shoot. Louie grumbled and swatted a hand close enough to scare the thing off. It worked, but the mouse already had the picture in between his teeth.
Scared away by Louie's sudden movement, the mouse held the paper fast in his mouth as he jumped off the chair and scurried out of the room.
Louie groaned and got out of bed, giving chase as he followed and tried to keep up. Be it any other picture, and Louie wouldn’t care. However- this picture , was too important. His brothers would never forgive him if he lost it. They already disliked him normally; he didn’t need them to loathe him when they still all lived together.
Louie ran after the mouse, having hoped to corner it enough to make it drop the picture. However, he quickly realized that this was a jumping mouse, and the small rodent was quicker then Louie appreciated. He followed it all the way to the bottom floor, trying to suppress his growl of annoyance as he watched it push its way out a cracked open window in the kitchen.
Running out the backdoor, Louie followed it outside, debating if avoiding his brothers’ wrath was really worth all this trouble. At least he was able to keep up with it, and the moonlight made the gray fur of his body easy to see in the dark. He followed it until it finally seemed to reach its destination in the thicket of trees around the house.
Actually, Louie wasn’t sure if he had ever seen this part of the property. It looked like the area was meant to once be a garden, but knowing his great uncle, Scrooge probably forgot it even existed and let it overgrow. In the center, the mouse ran up to a well, hopping up the few levels of stones built up, sitting on the edge as it turned back to him.
Louie felt like he was being teased, or maybe taunted. It looked to him almost expectantly as he approached, making his movements slow in attempt to not scare the jumping mouse again. Now close enough to try, Louie slowly reached for the picture in the mouse's mouth. Just as he nearly had it in his grasp, however, the rodent turned tail and hopped into the well.
Like it was suicidal.
What the actual fu-
“Uuuuuuuuuuugh,” Louie groaned out. He stepped up to the well, not taking immediate notice of the leaves and vines growing onto the well as he leaned to look in. It took him about five seconds to feel his skin prickle though, and Louie recognized that his hands were on poison ivy. Great . However, Louie didn’t pay it much mind, what with his thoughts being preoccupied by the sight below him.
The mouse stood on a small stone sticking out of the inside wall, the picture still clasped in its teeth as it looked up to Louie. It set the picture down, just being a foot above the waters below as it turned and jumped down into the small pool.
So yeah, the mouse was suicidal.
However, just like earlier when Louie first saw the doll- there was something even stranger to notice.
The waters glowed. A deep blue and violet mixture of glowing liquid. It swirled vibrantly as the mouse jumped in, before settling once more as Louie stared down at it.
So, yeah, they had a magic well in their backyard. Was he even really surprised by this point? Louie couldn’t recall it ever having been mentioned when they moved in, so either it wasn’t important and the waters were just luminescent, or his Uncle and Beakley had no idea this thing was here. Despite Louie's gut telling him to hightail it back to the manor, he stared down at the photo below, knowing he needed to get it back.
It wasn’t going anywhere now, what with the mouse having drowned itself - so all Louie had to do was climb down carefully and grab it.
Ignoring the itch on his hands, Louie carefully climbed into the well and held fast to any jutted out stones as he made his way down. He made sure not to slip, not wanting to risk that the glowing pools were made of acid or magic. Soon, he made it down far enough to reach the photo(thank goodness all that adventuring gave him practice in climbing).
He almost had the page in his fingers, having to bend his body as he kept his grip and stance on some stones, trying not to fall. Until finally, he caught it.
Sighing with relief, Louie pocketed the photo and tried to climb up- only to slip two stones up, and fall backwards into the pool of luminescent waters.
The last thing Louie was was the full moon above the well, before his eyes shut tight on instinct from the liquid surrounding his body.